The Breakaway Cook Dinner, May 31, 2008

Once again, the cooks brought a memorable dinner to the table and some good ideas and tips to share about cooking from Eric Gower’s The Breakaway Cook cookbook. We had nine dishes this evening in a lovely home in Los Altos. What I always enjoy is trying dishes that I would not have chosen to prepare and being delighted with the results. This evening was no exception.

We started the dinner with Minty, Meaty Won Tons (p. 142). Mary noted that the first time she prepared this dish, she used a heavier won ton skin. The thinner ones were prone to tearing in the steamer. Other than this issue, the dish was easy to prepare. The flavors of this dish were uniquely delicious and Mary commented that even her two sons liked this one! Pairing wines with mint flavors was a challenge but Bill pulled a 2001 Geyser Peak Winery, Sparkling Shiraz, from Sonoma and it rose to the challenge of complimenting the won tons as well as the Breakaway Koftas (p. 152) that Willie prepared for us. Willie opted for ground lamb for this hearty appetizer. The Koftas were explained to the group as Middle Eastern or South Asian meatball or dumpling. In the simplest form, koftas consist of balls of minced or ground meat — usually beef or lamb — mixed with spices and/or onions. It can also be made as a vegetarian dish. (wikipedia).

Next, Janis served the Edamame Salad with Pickled Ginger, Macha Salt & Roasted Almonds (p. 66). She used frozen edamame soy beans from Trader Joe’s that were already shelled making this fabulous salad even easier to prepare. It was difficult for everyone not to eat too much of it because it was so delicious. Bill thought that a Collard-Picard NV Champagne Cuvee, Brut Villers sons Chatillon from France would be a nice compliment to the slightly spicy salad. The champagne brought out the bright flavors of the salad and, as always, Bill chose the perfect pairing.

Scallops with Miso, Ginger & Ruby Grapefruit (p. 18) from Eric Gowers’ first cookbook, The Japanese Breakaway Kitchen was the next dish, prepared by Annie. This dish had been also tried by Sandi and Mary and was a big hit at this dinner too. It is a delicious combination of flavors that brought out the creaminess of the scallops while tickling the tongue with ruby grapefruit and ginger accents. Bill chose a unique wine from Kentucky for this course: Equus Run Vineyards, NV Riesling American. Who would have thought to try a wine from Kentucky but it worked and was surprisingly good!

Rather than have the next dish as a side dish, it was served as a separate entre so we could taste the flavors that complemented the risotto. George prepared the Fennel & Orange Risotto(p. 171) and served it hot from the stove top. It was perfectly prepared with the consistency so difficult to achieve with risottos. To bring out the fennel and orange flavors, Bill selected a 2006 Huber & Bleger Pinot Blanc, from Alsace France from his cellar. The creaminess of the pinot blanc was heavenly with the risotto. We are so fortunate to have access to Bill’s great cellar for our dinners.

The next two dishes were served together. Minty, Boozy Chicken (p. 129)
and Cauliflower “Couscous” with Lemon-Basil Sauce (p. 186) Sandra and Sandi made them. Everyone was pleasantly surprised by the consistency of the cauliflower dish which was indeed like couscous. The lemon basil sauce was another one of Eric Gower's surprise combinations that really worked well. Sandra doubled the onions and sauce to make sure that the dish was moist and not overcooked. One of the problems for all of us is to prepare food that needs to travel and have last minute assembling or heating in someone else’s kitchen. However, the two dishes were fabulous together and rounded this long dinner out. Leaving just enough room for dessert! Bill chose a Sonoma Pinot Blanc this time, a 2006 Michel-Schlumberger Pinot Blanc, Estate, from Dry Creek Valley that brought out the lemony flavors of the cauliflower couscous while accenting the minty flavors of the chicken dish.

The piece de resistance is always dessert and this evening was no exception. Sandy made the Jasmine Biscotti with Almonds(p. 208) which was served with Sharon’s homemade Galangal with Brown Sugar Ice Cream (p. 212). The biscottis were more moist than most biscottis which everyone thought was a good thing! The jasmine was a very interesting flavor and not overwhelming but a nice hint.
There was some discussion about how difficult Galangal is to work with. It is very hard and not at all like the ginger that we are familiar with. George had made this dish as well before the dinner and said that the ginger flavors would be more pronounced if the galangal was cut into small pieces and Sharon agreed that it could do with a stronger ginger quality. Bill chose a Venerable Very Rare Pedro Ximenez Sherry, bottled and drawn July 19, 1985, from Spain. Many people don’t like sherries but this sherry went really well with the biscotti and ginger dishes. Bill explained to the group that because of the high sugar content, this wine will hold for a long time, even if the bottle has been opened.

While there were some dishes in Eric’s cookbook that individual cooks found to be rather strange and unappetizing (see previous blogs), this dinner showed that his Breakaway Cook cookbook had some adventurous ideas and taught us all about some new ingredients and combinations of flavors.