Single city girl falls in love and moves to the suburbs. Actually, Jill was moving past even the suburbs. But when a girl is in love, she's gotta do what she's gotta do. Neatly stacked boxes and everything, we had one last hurrah in Jill's city apartment.
It was a full-house. All seven of us were there to send Jill off. With pizza on the way, we opened the wine and beer. Steph worked at the stove, gently steaming some mussels with garlic. And Amanda composed a salad with arugula and roasted pears and walnuts in a beautiful red bowl. After polishing off my chocolate molten cakes, we thought we were done for the evening. "Let's go to a bar" I think Amanda said. Jill perked up immediately from her sleepy and cozy position on the couch. "Bar?" she asked happily with a big grin on her face.
So we were off to the bar, but not before being stopped on the road by a guy. "Hi ladies. I like long walks on the beach, margaritas and I'm a Sagitarius," he yells from the inside of his car. Hilarious.
At the bar, Amanda and I split a Peach (Peche) Lambic. A Belgian beer made by Lindemans, Amanda likened it to a peach champagne when she was introducing it to me. It was sweet, fruity and crisp tasting. It was nothing like the typical beer we all know. I've since tried the Framboise or Raspberry Lambic and it just isn't as good. The Raspberry Lambic was heavy and thick, more closely resembling a melted raspberry popsicle. My pick is for the lighter more fun sister, the Peach Lambic.
So after indulging in tasty things all evening, we had to say goodnight and part company. Jill's moving away. But it had been a lovely city evening to remember. And, she'll be back.
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Arugula and Roasted Pear Salad with Walnuts and Parmesan Cheese
Serves 4 to 6
1 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
Ground black pepper
2 bunches arugula, stems removed, washed, dried, and torn into bite-sized pieces (about 7 cups)
1 recipe Roasted Pears
4 ounces Parmesan cheese, shaved into thin strips
with vegetable peeler
1 cup walnuts, chopped coarse and toasted in
small dry skillet over medium heat until lightly
browned and fragrant, about 3 minutes
1. Whisk together oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper to taste in small bowl.
2. Combine arugula, pears, and Parmesan in large serving bowl. Add vinaigrette and toss gently to combine; sprinkle with chopped walnuts. Serve immediately.
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Roasted Pears
4 firm Anjou or Bartlett pears (about 2 pounds)
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
2 tablespoons sugar
1. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position, place baking sheet or broiler pan bottom on rack, and heat oven to 500 degrees.
2. Peel and halve each pear lengthwise. With paring knife or melon baller, remove core. Set each half cut-side down and slice lengthwise into fifths.
3. Toss pears with butter; add sugar and toss again to combine. Spread pears in single layer on preheated baking sheet, making sure each slice lies flat on surface. Roast until browned on bottom, about 10 minutes. Flip each slice and roast until tender and deep golden brown, about 5 minutes longer. Let pears cool while preparing salad.
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Mussels with Wasabi Mayo
Mussels
Steam mussels in white wine, a little water, and chopped or crushed garlic
Wasabi Mayo
1. Add wasabi paste or powder (powder plus water) to French-style mayonnaise to taste. You want it to have some kick, since the coating of mayo on the mussels is thin you should probably err on the side of spicy. If you can't find French-style mayo, which is creamier than Hellmans, make your own mayo by whisking together 1 egg yolk, 1 tablespoon dijon mustard, and 1 teaspoon Champagne vinegar. Season with a little sea salt. Add 3/4 cup peanut oil by drizzling slowly, then 1/4 cup good quality olive oil. (Sometimes I use a little less peanut oil, but if you use too little it won't be the right consistency). When I made it for Supperclub, I made homemade mayo and then added my wasabi paste from a tube.
2. Remove mussels from shells and let cool (Removing the mussels is so that they won't get too watery and turn the mayo into a watery mess). Let the mussels cool and very lightly coat the mussels with the mayo. Then return them to the shells (which you can either wipe dry or stick in the oven on 250 for five minutes). This makes a nice presentation.
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Molten Chocolate Cakes
Thomas and I were served this particular dessert at my friend Injung's house. She's an amazing cook and the type of girl who eats something at a restaurant and then attempts to recreate dishes at home. This makes approximately 4-6 individual cakes with melting lava-like centers. It's definitely a crowd-pleaser..and very simple to make. Among its many good qualities, it's a dessert that can be dressed up or down. Leave it in the dish for more casual occasions with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream. For more formal dinner parties, turn it onto a plate that you've drizzled raspberry coulis onto, or dust some powdered sugar on it.
6 oz semi-sweet choc.chips (1 cup or 1/2 of a 12 oz bag of chips)
1/4 c.unsalted butter (1/2 stick)
2 eggs
2 egg yolks only
1 tsp.of vanilla extract
5 Tbsp sugar
large pinch of salt
1 Tbsp flour
Melt the chocolate and butter together. Take it off the stove. Add vanilla, sugar and salt. Let the mixture cool a bit, then add the eggs and yolks. Lastly add the flour, and stir just enough to incorporate it. Butter very well 4-6 ramekins. Add the batter to the ramekins. At this point you can refrigerate the ramekins for a couple of hours up to 2 days; I almost think the cakes turn out better this way. Bake in preheated 400 degree oven for about 10-14 minutes (if the batter is refrigerated, let it sit out for about 30 minutes before baking). After 10 minutes, I check to see how they're doing. They should puff up and start to pull away (just a tiny bit) from the ramekin sides. When they do this, you know it's ready. Don't overcook...otherwise the centers won't be gooey. Serve with vanilla ice cream.
Adapted from Bon Appetit
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