deesdeliciousdinners.com

The New Year is fast approaching and you may be thinking about a gourmet dinner for a group of close friends or just with your special someone. Since you want to concentrate on celebrating, rather than always keeping an eye on the kitchen, choose a menu that’s luxurious but not time consuming to prepare. Truffle oil imparts an unmistakable rich earthy aroma and flavor that’s delicate at the same time. Like truffle mushrooms add truffle oil to a dish at the last minute. Cooking dissipates the truffle’s flavor and aroma. End this year and bring in the New Year with a memorable midnight breakfast focused on truffles.

Start with a salad of tangy pink grapefruit sections, smooth avocado slices and crisp butter lettuce dressed with walnut oil. Peel the grapefruit over a bowl and use the juice instead of vinegar with the walnut oil. Sprinkle with pomegranate seeds and walnut halves for crunch.

Scrambled eggs may seem mundane but not when served with a petite filet mignon steak and garnished with shaved white truffles. The creaminess of the eggs plays off the richness of the beef and lets the flavor of the truffles come through. Beat two eggs per person ahead of time. Add 1/4 cup of heavy cream — it is a holiday so now’s not the time to worry about that diet. Keep in the fridge until the steaks are done. Sear the steaks in a heavy skillet for a minute each side. Finish in the oven until medium rare — between five to seven minutes depending on how thick the steaks are. Scramble the eggs while the steaks rest. Shave the white truffles over the hot scrambled eggs right before you take them out of the pan. Stir through. The ambient heat will cook the truffles just enough. Heaven on a plate. If you’re feeling really decadent drizzle of few drops of truffle oil over the steak.

Finish the meal with chocolate truffles, the candy made from heavy cream and dark chocolate. Of course champagne is your drink. If you feel you must obey custom and drink a red with the beef try a lighter merlot rather than a heavy burgundy.

Truffles are a fungi, just like other mushrooms such as button, As hard as people have tried it’s not possible to grow truffles on a commercial basis. Truffles grow where and when they want. They’re found by dogs trained to uncover them by their scent. Pigs have a very sensitive sense of smell and used to be used to hunt truffles. Unfortunately pigs love to eat truffles as much as sophisticated chefs and gourmands. Ever try to take food away from a 300 pound sow? Not easy.

December 28, 2011

From out kitchen to yours. We wish you and yours the best.

December 26, 2011

You don’t have to stay up all night on a cookie baking binge. These gifts take a little preparation in drying the fruit but after that it’s mostly putting the packages together. If you can slice, bag and tie a bow, you can do this.

Keep guests warm after a holiday open house providing packages of drink mixes you’ve made yourself as favors. If it’s in the budget add a small, one-serving size bottle of wine to the spiced wine package. These gifts take up space so it looks like you’re generous but they don’t cost much at all to put together. Consider borrowing a dehydrator for a few days to dry the fruits and save even more money.

Gourmet Hot Chocolate
Fill a cellophane bag with mini marshmallows, five or six foil wrapped chocolate candies, peppermints or hard candy raspberry drops. Add directions to add to a cup of hot milk. Tie with ribbons. You could add a purchased package of cocoa to add to the package for less than fifty cents.

Spiced Cider
Add four dried orange slices. Don’t use orange peel because it doesn’t take up much space and people won’t know what it is at first glance. Add several cinnamon sticks and a 1/2 teaspoon of whole cloves with one or two whole star anise. Add a card that says to add the spice mixture with the orange slices to 3 cups of hot apple cider.

Mulled Wine
Place a couple of slices each of dried orange slices, apple slices and lemon slices to the cellophane bag. Dip the apple slices into a solution of half lemon juice and half water to keep them from browning while they’re drying. Add your choice of spices including allspice, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, even a few black peppercorns to add a bit of heat to the wine. Finish with 1/2 cup of raisins.

Tropical Tea
Dry 1/4 inch thick half slices of fresh pineapple, mangos and dried raspberries or strawberry halves. Place two tea bags either black, green or fruit flavored into each cellophane bag and tie with ribbons that match.

If you feel that the drink mixes alone aren’t quite enough for a favor. Put the bags into a wine glass for the mulled wine, clear glass coffee cup for the cider and cocoa and a smaller clear glass tea cup for the tropical tea. You could put colored excelsior in the bottom of the glass or cup for added color and bulk. These favors cost less than a dollar apiece but look fabulous.

December 23, 2011

Holiday time is gift giving time. Cooks are making batches of jellies and jams, pickles and relishes, sauces and chutneys, while bakers are decorating cookies, cakes and breads.

If you love food and have a sense of adventure consider giving that special someone their choice of experience days. You may be asking yourself exactly what an “experience day” is. Well it’s a day they’ll never forget. Choose from a hot air balloon ride at sunrise with a scrumptious breakfast included, or a mini spa day for two with delectable cuisine for lunch. If your significant other has always wanted to drive a Ferrari, rent one for the day. Pack a lunch of duck pate, water crackers, fresh fruit, and smoked turkey sandwiches slathered with bacon, avocado and spicy chipotle mayonnaise.

It’s no mystery that Agatha Christie chose the Orient Express as the setting of one of her best known books, “Murder on the Orient Express,” also made into a movie, more than once, by the way. The Northern Belle was designed to travel inland in Britain, while the Pullman Express was outfitted in over-the-top luxury to ferry passengers to the luxury liners.

While a full overnight trip may be out of the budget both wallet and time wise, one of the orient express day trips might fill that gift box perfectly. It’s perfect for anyone who has a sense of adventure and taste for the exotic. And speaking of taste there’s the food.

Start with fresh salmon and crayfish napped with a delicate but bright lemon mustard dressing. The soup course is always seasonal to take advantage of the ripest vegetables accented with chives and cream. And how could you travel the English countryside on the Orient Express Pullman Express and not order rare roast beef paired with crisp dauphinoise potatoes for dinner? Of course, you’ll enjoy a cheese course before a rich and satisfying pudding, perhaps custard over a dense fragrant vanilla scented cake smothered in fresh berries.

And that’s just one of the menu choices. There’s also rare juicy lamp chops, seared pork served with apples or succulent chicken breast stuffed with ham.

December 3, 2011