Category Archives: dinners

Crostini, Tahini and Curry Dinner

 The evening’s main course: Curried chicken with caramelized tomatoes over quinoa polenta and a side kale salad. 
Not a huge sports fan but I like making major games an excuse to have people over for dinner. As preparation for our annual Superbowl dinner, we invited a few friends for drinks and eats to watch 
the NFC Championship Game. 
 
Having guests over is also a good time to practice table setting. Here I used the teak napkin holders I got to match our table, a bunch of daffodils and Riedel stemless wine glasses.  
The first order of business was the homemade chicken liver pate crostini, pictured here with chopped roasted almonds and sage and drizzled with truffle oil. 
A Malbec was the choice for the evening and alongside a sliced baguette we served 
Cowgirl Creamery Mt. Tam Cheese, a crazy soft creamy cheese that is always a crowd pleaser.  
The soup of the evening was the recently discovered Chickpea Tahini Soup.
quinoa polenta and a side of Kale Salad.
The daffodils bloomed by the end of the evening. I love being around for that.
Screaming sports fans, not so much đŸ™‚

Arroz Caldo Dinner, New Year’s Day

Arroz caldo is a Filipino rice porridge in a chicken base, a popular dish to celebrate the New Year 
because the expansion of the rice when cooked symbolizes growth and prosperity.

Chop up some garlic, onions and ginger.

An uncle once said, “The secret to making good arroz caldo is to wash the chicken very, very well.”
It really makes a difference.

Washed chicken pieces.
Saute garlic, ginger and onions until garlic is brown and onions are clear.

Add chicken and coat with oil.

Add rice.
The chef says that the secret is to coat the rice with all the sauteed chicken goodness.
Add broth and simmer on low heat for two hours, skimming the top every so often.
Chop up some scallions for topping.

Key toppings include scallions, fried garlic, lemon juice.

For the occasion we opened a 2003 Cakebread Cab we’ve had since a Napa trip in 2006.

For appetizers we had rye crackers, truffle honey and Hungarian duck liver pate.

Drizzle some good stuff.

I love these hand-carved glasses.

Ladle on the arroz.

Nothing compares to this.

Aling Rosing’s Chicken Arroz Caldo

1/2 head garlic, chopped
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 medium sized ginger, sliced into strips
10 chicken pieces, washed and dried
2 cup white jasmine rice
2 chicken bouillons
bottled fried garlic
scallions, chopped
lemon slices
fish sauce
In a 10 liter stock pot, saute ginger, garlic and onion until onion is clear. Add chicken pieces and coat with oil for about five minutes. Add rice and coat with oil. This is a very important step that allows the rice to take in the flavors of the chicken and oil. Allow to cook for five minutes, stirring to prevent sticking to the pot. Add bouillons and water up to three-fourths the pot’s height (7.5 liter mark). Simmer on low heat while mixing often to prevent sticking. Do not allow to boil over. Cook for about two hours until rice is broken. This version results in a soupy kind of arroz caldo, so add more rice if you want it coarse and thick like a risotto. Top with scallions, fried garlic and lemon juice. This recipe is huge (serves eight), so adjust portions accordingly for a smaller pot.
Enjoy!

Doenjang Chigae Dinner, Woodside

Doenjang Chigae is a traditional Korean soup made with doenjang (fermented soybean paste), meat, tofu, potatoes and vegetables.

Style elements of this home  are here.

Hungarian duck liver pate with homemade bread from Japan and crackers.

Cheeses and caperberries.

Fried shishito peppers.

Olives and cheese.

A nice fume blanc.

Cutting bread.

Kimchi

Kim

Rice

Japchae

Doenjang chigae in a bowl.

Dinner plate

Cutting some ginger for tea.

Oh what do we have here?

Pour that bubbly.

Vintage 1999 Dom Perignon, strawberries and cream.

Happy New Year!

Ching-I’s Frutti de Mare Dinner

I might just be really getting into documenting food preparation and presentation. We were fortunate enough to be invited to partake of and prepare a meal to celebrate friendship and the coming year. Thank you to Ching-i for the very special evening. Only you can pull something like this off.
Please check out the preparation photos for each dish!
“Italian Sushi” – Rigatoni stuffed with uni, seeweed, panko and soy sauce.

Fresh shucked Kusshi oysters.

Grilled scallops, dashi, ponzu, sesame.

Grilled eggplant with ginger, mustard leaves, sprouts, anchovies and greens with onion sesame dressing.

Steamed snow crab.

Fresh sea urchin (uni) from Maine and California.

Documenter, sous chefs and chefs.

A tribute to Cheateau Montelena is here.

Style elements are here.

The evening’s spirits are here.

A Tribute to Chateau Montelena

It was great to finally open a bottle we saved from a Napa trip in 2006. The 2003 Chardonnay by Chateau Montelena was the perfect pair to our seafood dinner. It was crisp, smooth and celebratory. Cheers!
Took some photos to commemorate the bottle:
In a tub of ice with the remains of a California urchin.

Posing with the shell of a Maine urchin.

The evening’s spirits.
Happy 2012!
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