It seems like forever since we’ve had a good old fashioned Cooking Club, but we finally got the gang together this weekend to enjoy some amazing new foods. The theme was “New Year, New Experiences” and everyone was asked to try out a new technique, a new ingredient, or a new kitchen tool in the preparation of their assigned dish.
As everyone arrived, Jeanette was custom creating tasty milkshakes to order. Jason was assigned an appetizer course, and one-upped the task by bringing two! He warmed us up with some Smoked Flying Fish Roulades with Wasabi Caviar, and cooled us off with his Prosciutto Melon Balls. Greg wowed us with his Curried Butternut Squash Soup; this was a very delicious comfort food recipe that I look forward to recreating in the future.
Thus prepared, and with the smoke clearing from the very messy kitchen, the main courses rolled out. Paul created “Quatre Epices a la Madeline” (Duck Confit) perfectly done with just the right amount of crisp on the skins. Jessica graced us with her first “Au Gratin” experience, Tomato-Potato gratin, a definite success. As host, I had the main course assignment and decided to attempt cooking Lamb for the first time. I was relatively happy with how my Lamb Chops with Rosemary-Mint Demi-Glace turned out, although I would change a few things for my next attempt. It was a very meat-and-potatoes evening, which resulted in several naps and much couch-lying, but well worth it.
Bringing it all to a finish, Desiree created one of the most elaborate, multi-step desserts I’ve ever seen, Roasted Pear Bundles with Ginger and Caramel Sauce. It tasted as good as it looks, and the techniques Desiree had to use to create it were very impressive to behold as a finished and assembled work of culinary art.
Great work everyone! If this is how the rest of the year is going to go, I’m very excited to see what happens the next eleven months!
Paul
February 2, 2009 at 12:27 PM
It’s clear everyone worked hard on their dishes, and I think they were all unqualified successes. I think you’re also being too modest – the lamb was excellent. Of course, it was my first time eating lamb, but if it gets better than that I’m pretty sure it would be illegal.
That said, Des’s dessert was jaw-dropping. It really did take an entire day to make, but the results were incredible. I’m glad she’s decided to never make it again for practical reasons, but I’m hoping some day we’ll be able to hire someone to make it for us every day (and hire someone else to force us to run off the calories).