(Pre-) Father's Day Dinner

I am going to use my post for the day to talk about a dinner we made last weekend. Dru and I decided to host dinner for our parents on Saturday in honor of Father's Day 2009. I will give the synopsis of the event and meal, but I particularly want to publish some of the recipes and formulas that we used...I have been asked by some people about some basic standby meals (and I have told others that they need these standbys...Chatty, I'm looking at you). While the meal was very nice, it really was composed of a few basic items.

First, the theme

This was not to be an epic 12 course extravaganza...we were short on time and manpower since Dru ran a 10 mile race in the morning, and I am lazy, leaving me from about 10 AM to 6 PM to plan and execute. I decided that four plates was a good number for the time I had, and if the menu was smart.

Because we are big on food and because I like to tie a good meal together (like the Dude's rug...it really tied the room together), the first task in planning the menu was to decide on a theme. I got thinking about Father's Day, and family, and siblings, and Dru and her sister Casey inevitably came to mind. Dru and Casey are very similar in some respects and very different in others, so I wanted to get that idea into the menu.

The final theme for the meal was "siblings" and was represented like this: Each course consisted of two items which were similar in ingredients or presentation, but which were also distinct and which could stand on their own.

Next, the menu

To open, two ravioli. No picture here, because we ate it up before we remembered to document.

• Fennel, sausage, and homemade ricotta with an arrabiatta sauce
• Kale, pine nuts, and feta with a (slightly) creamy tomato sauce
  

What a great start! I made fresh pasta, which made for nice toothy ravioli and which gives them an "exciting, abstract shape." We wanted to use veggies from our weekly CSA delivery, and we have a LOT of kale. I sauteed the kale with wine and lemon, and a touch of honey, then blended with the pine nuts to make a filling. As far as the first ravioli was concerned, well, I just like sausage and fennel (great combo), and fresh ricotta is a) delicious and b) super easy to make. The sauces here and in the next dish were simplified by making one base marinara and then adding a little extra before serving.

Next, rollatini, which is grilled eggplant wrapped around:

• Lemon and mint risotto with asparagus tips, topped with tzatziki sauce
• Basil risotto with diced tomato and broccolini, topped with traditional marinara

There is some debate over who came up with the lemon-mint flavor, but regardless it was awesome. That rollatini was probably my favorite item of the meal. Tzatziki is also really easy, and let me use half a cucumber that we had in the fridge.

The entree was fish baked two ways, served with sauteed lentils and fresh local peas (similar to black-eyed, not English peas):

• Salmon under herbs with lemon
  
• Salmon under spinach with mustard

This was a great contrast: the herbs and lemon made for a super flavorful and savory bite of salmon, and the mustad and spinach gave the dish some spice. For herbs, I used fresh dill, basil, thyme, and Italian parsley. (Side note: parsely is the most under-appreciated herb out there. It makes savory dishes so much deeper and can be so much more than garnish.) The other piece of salmon got a very light rub of dijon mustard and was covered in spinach with a bit of dill. Both were baked for about 15 minutes, leaving the greens slightly wilted and the fish perfectly rare.

To close:

• Buckwheat cookies with ricotta, drizzled with dark Tennessee wildflower honey
• Chocolate stout cake with whipped cream and fresh mint

Every dish was a hit and was interesting because flavors on the left and right side of the plate were contrasting. It was a good meal because each dish had some underlying ingredient that was presented in two ways, mostly visually and always flavor-wise. However, rather than wax poetic about how good it was (and it was), I would rather offer a few of the recipes that I used. If anyone wants info on a dish that I don't detail, just ask. I will add the recipes as separate posts, rather than making one giant post here.

Half of the meal was shooting from the hip, so don't take these recipes as gospel. For example, I had never made rollatini or these specific risotte before, though we have made all the components at one time or another. Whenever I cook, I'm just trying to have fun and experiment with something new. It (very) occasionally turns out poorly, but it is generally good. I've learned not to go off the deep end experimenting for a dinner party, but taking a known technique and changing flavors is not too risky.

Have fun and eat well!

Next up:

• Fresh pasta
• Fresh ricotta
• Simple marinara and variations (the new hotness)
  
• Risotto in all its glory