belated PFW

I feel so bad, but I totally missed this month's Party Food Wednesday. So we're celebrating a little late. And also hopefully next week, for the real May PFW. Have any of you observed this holy food holiday yet? If you haven't, you should.

Its been incredibly quiet and boring at work lately. So I've been passing the time by doing a little homework, listening to npr podcasts, pretending to be busy, and checking out some food blogs. This week, I was looking at Deb's spring inspired recipes on Smitten Kitchen and decided that her leek toasts with bleu cheese would be a perfect edition to this week's hors d'oeuvre dinner.

I started by chopping and washing two large leeks, and soaking them in cold water. Don't skip this step! It was pretty disgusting how much dirt was in the bottom of the bowl after a few minutes.

Then, I sauteed them in a little booder and awl. Actually, I melted the butter and oil in high heat, then added the leeks and turned them down to low, covered and let simmer for a while, stirring occasionally.

A few cranks of pepper and some sea salt, and they're done. Easy!

While those were sautéing, I started on my shaved asparagus pizza, also from Smitten Kitchen. Shaving asparagus with a potato peeler is actually a lot harder than it looks. It took the entire length of Sanne's shower for me to finish shaving a bunch of asparagus. 

This pizza had 1/4c parmesan cheese, 1/2c mozzarella cheese, and shaved asparagus...

but I didn't measure, obviously...

I grated a little extra parmesan on top, and a little salt and pepper, and broiled it on high for about 5 minutes. 

And no Party Food Wednesday would be complete without some bone marrow and parsley salad...

and Indian boxing (?).

We may or may not have been given a little Indian rum after dinner, and Susieji may or may not have made some of his beef curry. It was a genuine Party Food Wednesday, complete with matching party.

I'm going to miss these guys so much when I'm gone...
Susieji and I were talking tonight and he said something that managed to stick in my foggy mind: "When you are cooking, you get to just be you." He is a wise one, that Susiegee.

oh man, this smell...

I made a quiche with the rest of my leeks, which turned out to be perhaps my best quiche to date. 

Susieji and I share not only a love of cooking, but a love of the Cranberries. I can't even tell you how happy this video makes me:



And that was PFW3. A very good one.
By the way, we are a mere 10 posts away from 200!!! Hopefully I can knock those out before I move. I think I can...

m

religious experience

For Sanne's birthday on Wednesday, 9 of us gathered at Blue Ginger in Wellesly for some Asian-inspired tapas and cocktails. To say it was good is an understatement, the biggest of the year. Because it was, quite possibly the best meal most of us had had all year. Talking about it now, it's still difficult to decide on a favorite dish. Please, if you are within driving/walking/public transit distance, GO TO BLUE GINGER.

Not wanting to miss and key ingredients, I've copied and pasted from the menu everything we tried. Take a gander...

pictured:
Thai Coconut Martini: Cilantro & chili infused vodka, Coco Lopez & lime ~ creamy, spicy, delicious.
Between the 9 of us, we had about 4 of these... and were still talking about it the following day. Have any of you ever had a spicy cocktail? What a delight.

Blue Ginger Gimlet: Russian Standard Vodka, fresh lime, house made ginger syrup & a splash of sweet & sour
This was really tasty and classic.

we also tried:
Blood Orange Honey Smash: Makers Mark, Blood Orange, pomegranate purée “Smashed“ with our House made Honey Syrup – a winter delight

pictured:
Seared Scallops and Bacon-Scented Risotto Cake with Fennel Cream and Endive-Orange Salad
Holy. Crow. I'm not sure what they meant by bacon "scented". Did they seal it in a room full of bacon? spray it with bacon perfume? Whatever they did, this Eau du Bacon inspired me to conquer my fears and tackle rissoto.

we also tried:
Goat Cheese-Mushroom Rangoon, Watercress-Beet Salad with Horseradish Vinaigrette
Mouth-wateringly good. It had sort of a truffle-y taste to it. And the sauce was so rich.

pictured:
Hawaiian Bigeye Tuna Poke* with Crispy Sushi Rice Cake & Peppercress-Tosaka Salad
I could have eaten 9 more of these (and of everything else, if we're being honest here...)

we also tried:
Braised Shortrib and Manchego Grilled Cheese with Thai Tomato Soup
grilled cheese and tomato soup is, in my humble opinion, the food of the gods. This Asian-twist on an American classic was really good. Manchego and ribs dipped ion a spicy soup... yum.

Garlic Black Pepper Shrimp with Edamame Sticky Rice and Pea Tendril Salad

 

pictured:
Blue Ginger Charcuterie Plate: Duck Prosciutto, Foie Gras Torchon and Beef Cheek Terrine
Honestly, I've never tried duck anything before, and this things has duck two times, so obviously I'm trying it. It was reeeally good. Especially that little pate disc of duck butter.

the perfect bite

I take it back: this is my favorite thing in all the land

pictured:
Bittersweet Chocolate Cake, Cardamom Ice Cream, Spiced Sugar Wafer and Chocolate Ganache
There are no words. I mean, just, yeah.

birthday hobbs

birthday cake:

Sesame Macadamia Caramel Nut Tart, Toasted Coconut Ice Cream, Housemade Hot Fudge and Goslings Rum Caramel Bananas

cupscupscups



I'll get this one...

Happy Birthday, Sanne! So glad you were born!
m

I... declare... Party Food Wednesday!

Wednesday is one of my favorite days for a few reasons. #1 It's really quite at work, I can work in peace, in jeans. #2 I have no other commitments. No class, tutoring, church. It's my night off. And now, #3 I am hereby declaring that the first Wednesday of every month to heretofore be known as Party Food Wednesday! Yippee! Hooray!

Since I decided this after I stopped at the store, tonight's PFW isn't that exciting in that you've seen it all before. But hopefully you will get as pumped up about this as I am, and spend the next 30 days thinking up some amazing recipe ideas to share for next time.

Happy Party Food Wednesday!

m