New Years Tasting Menu

We invited dear friends over for an evening of tastes and merriment. Neither of us had made plans until about noon on the 31st and we all decided to have a low key evening at home - with me cooking a multi course tasting menu. My low light food photography needs a lot of work, so I don't have the shots of the meal in progress that I would have liked.

One of the great things I enjoy about cooking is not knowing what I am going to cook until the last possible moment. I am sure this sounds odd, but in most cases I really don't have an idea of what to cook until I see the food in person. That's how it was for this meal. I was at one of Whole Foods' superstores (can't wait for one to be here in Santa Barbara) and did a wander of the various sections looking for inspiration. Once I had done a complete loop of the store I sat down to compose a menu. I knew that I wanted to have small plates, try several different flavor combinations and challenge myself a bit. I also knew that we were not going to be back in Santa Barbara until about 6pm, with our guests arriving at 7, so I could not have things be too complicated. Once in the house, I had 60 minutes to prep.

Let's begin.


Dave and Melodee happen to have lived in this house before us, which is how we found out about it in the first place. Dave is a very accomplished wine enthusiast and was in charge of the pairings. Amazing. We started with a Pierre Joulet Champagne and accompanyied it with:

• Warmed Marcona Almonds with Rosemary
• Artichoke Hummus and Crackers
• Andouille Sausages with Dijon
  
• Sundried Tomato, Olive and Peppers Crustless Quiche with Siracha

This we consumed standing up while I was a whirling dirvish, pulling together the rest of the meal. I had assembled the quiche and had it in the oven about 7 minutes after getting in the house. You can make this easy appetizer yourself;

• Crustless Quiche. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Take 1 cup 1/2 and 1/2, and blend in 2 eggs, 1/2 teaspoon sea salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Set aside. Thinly slice 1/2 red pepper, pit 10 sun dried black olives, dice, then slice 4 small artichoke hearts. Mix these together and set aside. Take a small rectagular baking dish that is about 1 1/2 inches deep, spray it with a olive oil coating, or rub with a small about of EVOO. Put the vegetables inside and cover with the liquid. Place in the oven and bake for approximately 30 minutes. You will see it rise above the rim, don't fret, it won't spill over. When it is slightly firm to the touch, in the middle, take it out and set to cool for 15 minutes. Unmold onto a plate and carefully slice into 1/2 inch portions, place on a plate, garnish with dots of Siracha, microgreens and serve. Note: you can add a bit of cheese to this, any type of vegetable with work as well.
  

While everyone was enjoying the starters, Kymberlee set out some small salads that she had picked out at Whole Foods, we had;

• Greek Salad of Peppers, Onions, Olives, Feta
• Japanese Forbidden Wild Rice Salad
• Vegetable Quinoa
• Marinated Antipasto of Fresh Vegetables

• Seared Scallop Skewers with Fresh Basil Pesto

I wanted something warm with the salad course and took bay scallops (the small ones) and let them soak in some pesto for 30 minutes. I placed six each on skewers, then seared them for about 1 minute on each side - you have to be so careful with scallops to not overcook them. This bit of warm goodness was a great compliment to the salads.

Dave had brought out an amazing wine to enjoy with the next course


I will encourage him to comment on this post to speak more about it and the others served.

The next course was the challenging one, as I didn't have a lot of time, and it was the most complicated;

• Seared Duck Breast with Plum Chipolte Sauce
• Portobello and Peppers Rissoto with Saffron
• Medallions of Eggplant with White Miso

The duck was a classic preparation, score the breast, sear it breast side down for 5 minutes, turn and sear for 2 minute and place into the over for another 10 minutes - when done, let it rest for 15 minutes. The sauce had been selected from a wall of dipping sauces at Whole Foods.

The risotto was on autopilot this whole time, kinda hard to do, but I had to multitask quite a bit to make this whole thing happen. If you are diligent you can pour in the broth, stir and manage the risotto without burning or overcooking it. Once it was done, I folded in the fresh parmesean.

I put a small mound of risotto on each plate, surrounded it with slices of the duck breast and drizzled the plum sauce around the edge.

The eggplant is one of our favorites, because it is easy to prepare.

• Medallions of Eggplant with White Miso. Turn on the broiler first. Then slice a Chinese Eggplant (the long narrow type) into 1/2 inch slices and place into a hot saute pan with olive oil. Sprinkle with sea salt and herbs de provence, turn after 3 minutes and cook the other side, when done place on a paper towel to drain. When cool, spread a very thin layer of white miso on each medallion and place on a baking sheet and put in the broiler for 1-2 minutes til bubbling and brown on top.

The flavors of the duck, the risotto, the plum sauce and the eggplant blended perfectly with the wine. I had told Dave what the meal was going to be on the ride back from the market so he had time to think about the pairings in advance.

The main event of the evening was next, a play on surf and turf:

• Ginger and Sesame Marinated New York Strip Steak
• Skewered Tiger Prawns
• Seared Scottish Salmon
• Chili Ponzu Sauce

I think everyone loves a crusty piece of steak and a succulent bit of seafood. Don't you? I made a marinade of sesame oil, fresh grated ginger, hawaiian sea salt (from a friend in Kauai) and cracked black pepper. Each protein rested in this for about 90 minutes before I grilled each item. I sliced the steak and placed three or four strips on each plate, with a skewer of shrimp. Kymberlee had the Salmon and shared with everyone, I had not had Scottish before and it was very moist. I drizzled the ponzu over everything and garnished the plate with radish spouts (I like their peppery bite).

Here is the wine that we savored during the main event;


By this time the kitchen was a disaster area, but I had a table full of satisfied diners. I excused myself to tidy up while everyone retired to the living room to relax.

For dessert we had one of the most amazing bottles of wine ever, a late harvest Syrah that was in a bottle that didn't have a lable, but had been signed by the vintner.


This accompanied a selection of sweets that Kymberlee had picked out at Whole Foods with some gingerbread men that we had left from Christmas.


I have to say that this was one of the most memorable New Years' Eve events for me. Being able to share a quiet evening with dear friends, talking, laughing and eating together is one of life's simplest pleasures and one we don't do enough of.

Happy New Year everyone.

Melodee, Dave, Kymberlee and Me