We were delighted to donate a dinner for ten to Girls Inc. of Santa Barbara. The dinner included a bevy of superb wines donated by an affiliate of the Girls Inc. The setting was a beach home at the Miramar beach in Santa Barbara, CA. I designed a menu that was very wine centric and based on solid French underpinnings. While the dinner as a whole was delicious, my favored course was the breast of duckling and fresh cherries. This particular brand of duckling, Maple Leaf, is very tender and bursts with flavor. For the Porcini Tagliatelle, I used powdered porcini for part of the flour and an assortment of cultivated mushrooms. Braised short ribs are always a hit. I use a wine rich demi-glace sauce to braise the short ribs and they emerge tender and infused with the sauce. Chocolate is always a strong finish for red wines and the host brought out a vintage Chateau Haut-Brion to pair with the warm Chocolate Velvet Cake, recipe follows.
About Girls Inc.:
The mission today of Girls Inc. of Greater Santa Barbara is to Inspire all Girls to be Strong, Smart, and Bold. We offer programs at our Santa Barbara Center campus and Goleta Valley Center. Programs today include: Operation SMART, Media Literacy, Economic Literacy, Preventing Adolescent Pregnancy, Sporting Chance, Friendly PEERsuasion, Project Bold and many more. The Gymnastics program is available to both Girls Inc. members and the general public.
I love beets! Mostly I love them in a salad. At a recent dinner party, we provided an alternate first course for folks who avoided seafood. A larger version makes for a nice luncheon dish. This is a very simple dish that relies on good ingredients, accurately prepared.
Does every catered meal need to be complicated, haute cuisine? Not really. We recently catered a luncheon for a pre-wedding event and prepared simple, simply delicious food. It no secret, jus by great ingredients and cook with precision.
This past week I prepared a dinner for my friend chef Darren McGrady that featured recipes from his book Eating Royally. The dinner was part of Brit Week in Los Angeles, Ca. The starter was a delicious terrine of smoked fishes served often at Buckinghan Palace. It reminds me of the potted shrimp from the Mrs. Beeton's cook book. I made a few adjustments to the method and presentation. The essentials for preparing this dish are great smoked fishes, fresh butter and pressing the pureed fish through a fine meshed sieve. I used plastic silverware trays to form the terrine. Larger mold work as well. Make extra and freeze the terrine for future entertaining.
