Guy Crosby Dinner

It clear to see why The Science of Good Cooking is on the NY Times Best Seller list.  It is filled with information and tips on how to prepare different kinds of meats, vegetables, fowl, desserts, etc. so that the dish comes out like it should.  Guy Crosby is a good friend of Sandy’s and signed copies of his books and answered questions at an event that Sandy coordinated.  I am hoping that when he returns to the Bay Area in August, that we’ll be able to invite him for dinner.

Even experienced cooks, as our group clearly is, finds great information on why to prepare a dish a certain way ranging from the chemistry that is occurring to tips on making it an easier dish to prepare.

The recipes were not “exciting” recipes but pretty basic without any exotic ingredients, spices or herbs.   Our dinner was an “old fashioned” dinner in the best meaning of the descriptor.

We started out with Deviled Eggs.  Tina was going to prepare them but she finally succumbed to the cold/flu that she’d been fighting all week.   I decided to go ahead and prepare them for her rather than change the menu.  It was a very interesting process starting with how to lay the eggs on their sides for about an hour to make sure that the yolk remains in the center of the whites when boiled.  That also brings the eggs to room temperature.   He starts the eggs with cold water, brings them to a boil and then immediately removes them from the heat and lets them sit in the hot water for 10 minutes.  Gently break their shells and immediately plunge them into an ice bath.  I used to mash the yolks with a fork but Guy recommends that I mush the yolks in a fine sieve with a wooden pestle and I got really fine particles of egg yolk that turned into a delicious yolk filling that I piped into perfectly centered whites, as you can see from this photo.  I decided to add a sprinkle roe and chives over the yolks.  Bill poured a Roederer Estate NV Sparkling Wine from Anderson Valley, our favorite sparkling wine producer in California.  It was a wonderful wine with the deviled eggs, with just enough citrus, yeast and acid to offset the rich eggs.

 

Our next course was prepared by our new member, David, who chose the Quiche Lorraine.  Everyone agreed that this was the best quiche they had ever eaten!  I think it was helped by the fact that David used only the best ingredients.  He did some research years ago and located the best smoked bacon in the USA.  He found it in Tennessee and gets it shipped to him.  Benton’s Smoky Mountain Country Hams.  He also used fresh hen eggs that were only 1 day old.    He followed the recipe exactly as printed.  He usually tweaks recipes but this time, he was religiously faithful to the directions and ingredients.   You’ll notice from the photo that this is a deep dish quiche and was made using a springform pan that is lined with foil to ease the release of the quiche.  The crust was flakey and tasty, and made in an food processor which makes this recipe a “must try” for me, although  I’ll have to order the bacon first.  David brought a beautiful white Burgundy to drink with his quiche, Puligny-Montrachet 2007, Premier Cru “Champs-Canet” SC.E. Domaine Ramonet.  I love white burgundies and this was no exception…it was creamy and luscious.  Perfectly paired with David’s quiche!

We then ate a  Spicy Shrimp Salad with Corn & Chipotle that Sharon prepared, again, following the recipe exactly.  The shrimp was tender and juicy because the recipe called for a quick dip in boiling water.  Although the salad used chilies, it was tempered by the homemade lime mayonnaise and sweet corn kernels.  We all enjoyed the result.  I forgot to ask Sharon if she used fresh-shucked corn or had to use frozen because of the season.  But, if they were frozen, I didn’t notice.  Bill selected a J. Rocchioli 2005 Chardonnay, Rachael’s Vineyard, Russian River Valley in Sonoma.  This Chardonnay was bright & lightly fruity and stood up well to the spicy shrimp.

Jeffrey made the Onion Braised Beef Brisket, again, following the recipe exactly.  This is unusual for our group since we usually do a little tweaking after tasting the trial run.  Maybe it’s because we don’t do trial runs anymore?  We must be getting better!   The brisket is seared first and Jeffrey explained that he was told to weight it down with a cast iron pot to get an even sear on the non-fat side.  It resulted in an evenly seared and perfectly flat brisket, making it easier to get even slices.  The recipe used a lot of onions to get the wonderfully browned, caramelized onion sauce and flavors.  Another recipe I intend to try soon.  It was a wintery dish that fit an early March dinner.  Jeffrey brought a wine from his winery’s cellar to go with his brisket.  The Mount Eden Vineyards 2000 Cabernet Sauvignon estate bottled Old Vine Reserve wine was the best choice.  This robust, well-balanced wine accented the caramelized onions and the brisket actually enhanced the flavors of the wine as well.    It also worked well with the Roasted Brussel Sprouts that Michelle, another new member, prepared.  She chose this recipe because she wanted to see if Guy’s recipe worked better than others that she used.  It was a good comparison because I am not a brussel sprout fan.  This one brought out the nutty flavors of the vegetable that was accented by chopped walnuts and a touch of lemon.  I ate every bite and I noticed that everyone else did too.

We were indulged this evening with 3 desserts.  Annie made  Orange Sherbet and Shortbread Cookies.  The orange sherbet was the best orange sherbet I’ve ever tasted.  It was creamy, not too sweet and had the fresh orange flavor that was accented by orange zest.  Her shortbread cookies were more like cookie bars. . .well, triangular bars actually.  They were thick and so-o-o buttery.  I love shortbread cookies because I don’t like sweet but do like butter (I know, don’t forget to take my Lipitor!).   Bill poured a lovely Chateau La Tour Blanche 1999, Sauternes, France to accompany this dessert.  It was a good choice to accompany the sherbet and cookies.

It did not go as well with the Crêpe Suzettes that I made for the dinner.  They were too sweet for the wine.  When the recipe said I didn’t need a crêpe pan for this dessert, I was hooked.  Guy also said to expect the first few crêpes to not turn out well and he was right.  It takes a tiny bit of practice but after the first few, I was turning out perfectly round crêpes that were lightly browned.  The orange sauce was pretty straightforward.  I made the crêpes ahead of time and although the recipe didn’t say to, I would warm them a little before serving next time.  Also, because you can only turn them over with your fingers (anything else would tear them), I would recommend wearing latex gloves to protect your fingers for the second it takes to turn them.  Guy recommends lifting them and turning them from the far edge and flipping them towards me.  I tried it the other way and tore the crêpes so follow the instructions and get perfect crêpes.

Our last dessert was served as an amuse bouche from the chef who was Sandy this time.  She made Tangerine Meringue Cookies for that last sweet bite of the evening.  They were so cute and everyone commented on the touch of tangerine.  She had a hard time keeping the meringues crispy because of the humidity Saturday evening.  She re-crisped them before driving over and in the short time between the drive and the dinner’s previous courses, they got sticky on the exterior.  The interior remained crispy and the taste was wonderful.

The conversation of the evening brought forth some great ideas for more field trips.  One is a restaurant in San Francisco that serves dinner in the complete dark, served by blind waiters.  It would be a great test to our olfactory organs and tongues.  Can we tell if it’s beef, lamb or pork?  Red or white wine?  What a great culinary adventure!

The other idea was to take a mushroom foraging field trip with a mycologist.  David and Michelle promised to look into both the restaurant and the mushroom trip.  I’ll also check with David Kinch to see he still has the name and contact info for his wild mushroom expert.  When Kinch owned the Sent Sovi restaurant, he sponsored a mushroom hunt with dinner that I joined and thoroughly enjoyed.

Our next dinner will be hosted by David and Michelle and we will be cooking from Charlie Phan’s (of Slanted Door Restaurant fame), Vietnamese Home Cooking.    I am looking forward to this book because I love Vietnamese cooking!

Cook on!