Last Night's Dinner Party
Discussion
There were 6 of us tonight. I'd planned this in the week and went to Sainsbury's for the produce. I found it to be very expensive and they didn't have several items I needed.
Starter:
Tandoori salmon pieces (ground cumin, coriander, ginger, garlic, chilli, salt, pepper, fenugreek, asafoetida, turmeric, lemon juice, yoghurt) served on a half paratha with pea-shoot, coriander and mint salad, homemade tomato and chili chutney and Patak's brinjal chutney.
The salmon was pan-fried after marinading for 4 hours in the spice mix and yoghurt. The chutneys gave a great background chili kick and the paratha another texture. Very fresh with the salad leaves and herbs.
Main:
Herbed pork tenderloin (rosemary, thyme, lemon, garlic, balsamic, salt, pepper, chilli), slow-roast pork belly with a Madeira sauce, crisp black pudding, dauphinoise & creamed potatoes, steamed carrots and broccoli with butter, crackling
The mash had so much butter and cream in it that it didn't stick to the saucepan when heated! I'd used mandolined King Edward's for the dauph' and cooked it long and slow which made it very crisp but tender within. The tenderloins were a difficult call. Pan fried for colour, oven to cook through, served just pink in the middle but by no means rare. As Sainsbury's only had vac-packed pork belly full of water and not having the time to shop elsewhere I thought I was in for a crackling nightmare! I took the skin from the meat and crackled it with salt, two racks and 200degree heat. I then rolled the belly with thyme, salt and pepper and cooked it in foil for 3.5 hours.
The sauce began as Sainsbury's signature beef stock, roasted onions, carrots and tomatoes, blitzed up, strained, with madeira added and reduced to give the correct consistency. Pan/roasting juices added along the way.
I overcooked the broccoli in the process of plating up but the carrots cooked in chicken stock were good.
Finished with a slice of Bury Black Pudding to add richness and another dimension.
Dessert:
Dark chocolate and ginger tart with vanilla ice cream and physalis (I know it sounds like an STD but they are the tiny orange fruit which come in their own little lanterns and give a sweet/sour orange note.
I am not a dessert person but my girlfriend got this spot on. Bitter/sweet chocolate and ginger goo, biscuity chocolate pastry and white chocolate swirls, good quality bought vanilla ice cream and the physalis in their little jackets were a worthwhile accompaniment.
Seemed to go down very well. Leftovers for dinner. Forgeot to take pictures but it's true, all true I tell you!
Dinner for 6, £65, drinksnot included, hic!
Starter:
Tandoori salmon pieces (ground cumin, coriander, ginger, garlic, chilli, salt, pepper, fenugreek, asafoetida, turmeric, lemon juice, yoghurt) served on a half paratha with pea-shoot, coriander and mint salad, homemade tomato and chili chutney and Patak's brinjal chutney.
The salmon was pan-fried after marinading for 4 hours in the spice mix and yoghurt. The chutneys gave a great background chili kick and the paratha another texture. Very fresh with the salad leaves and herbs.
Main:
Herbed pork tenderloin (rosemary, thyme, lemon, garlic, balsamic, salt, pepper, chilli), slow-roast pork belly with a Madeira sauce, crisp black pudding, dauphinoise & creamed potatoes, steamed carrots and broccoli with butter, crackling
The mash had so much butter and cream in it that it didn't stick to the saucepan when heated! I'd used mandolined King Edward's for the dauph' and cooked it long and slow which made it very crisp but tender within. The tenderloins were a difficult call. Pan fried for colour, oven to cook through, served just pink in the middle but by no means rare. As Sainsbury's only had vac-packed pork belly full of water and not having the time to shop elsewhere I thought I was in for a crackling nightmare! I took the skin from the meat and crackled it with salt, two racks and 200degree heat. I then rolled the belly with thyme, salt and pepper and cooked it in foil for 3.5 hours.
The sauce began as Sainsbury's signature beef stock, roasted onions, carrots and tomatoes, blitzed up, strained, with madeira added and reduced to give the correct consistency. Pan/roasting juices added along the way.
I overcooked the broccoli in the process of plating up but the carrots cooked in chicken stock were good.
Finished with a slice of Bury Black Pudding to add richness and another dimension.
Dessert:
Dark chocolate and ginger tart with vanilla ice cream and physalis (I know it sounds like an STD but they are the tiny orange fruit which come in their own little lanterns and give a sweet/sour orange note.
I am not a dessert person but my girlfriend got this spot on. Bitter/sweet chocolate and ginger goo, biscuity chocolate pastry and white chocolate swirls, good quality bought vanilla ice cream and the physalis in their little jackets were a worthwhile accompaniment.
Seemed to go down very well. Leftovers for dinner. Forgeot to take pictures but it's true, all true I tell you!
Dinner for 6, £65, drinksnot included, hic!
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