Dinner is Poured, A Birthday Menu

It's time to celebrate one of my best friends. Another year down! I love that we've been friends for 30 years! And I really love that we celebrate our milestones with dinners that now include our spouses and all our kids.

This year, I decided to plan her dinner inspired by the cookbook that one of my blogging friends just published. I was honored to be a recipe tester for Cooking with Cocktails: 100 Spirited Recipes by Kristy Gardner* of the blog She Eats. For months, I was part of a team that tested and commented on her recipes...until she was confident that the recipes were fantastic. And, they are fantastic. Kristy sent me a copy along with the best thank you card. Ever. Look...

And she even signed it for me. Woohoo. "Follow the gin!" Okay!

I can't wait to share some of her dishes with my friends tomorrow.

Dinner is Poured

A Birthday Fête for Jenn’s 44th Birthday

Red Wine Chorizo with Blistered Cherry Tomatoes & Fresh Herbs

Brandy-Laced Chicken Liver Pâté

Framboise Whipped Stilton Cheese Toasts

Cazuelitas de Bacalao

Paired with Donnafugata Anthilia

II.

Winter Greens & Citrus Salad

Martini Puttanesca Topped with Seared Salmon

Grappa Ricotta Gnocchi with Wilted Greens

Paired with Donnafugata Sheherazade Rose

III.

Spanish Wine-Poached Pears

Chocolate Chip Amarula Cookies

Paired with Badia a Coltibuono Vin Santo

*This blog currently has a partnership with Amazon.com in their affiliate program, which gives me a small percentage of sales if you buy a product through a link on my blog. It doesn't cost you anything more. If you are uncomfortable with this, feel free to go directly to Amazon.com and search for the item of your choice.

Comments

A Cheese Board Anchored on a Trio of Italian Cheeses + A Pinot Nero from Alto Adige #ItalianFWT on CulinaryCam.Com

I am in the process of migrating over to my new domain. Come on over to read " A Cheese Board Anchored on a Trio of Italian Cheeses + A Pinot Nero from Alto Adige " for December's #ItalianFWT.

Connecticut Lobster Rolls, Canned Lobster Bisque, and a 2019 Henry Fessy 'Maître Bonhome' Viré-Clessé #Winophiles

This month the French Winophiles group is looking at affordable wines from Burgundy. Host Cindy of Grape Experiences wrote: "Burgundy, or Bourgogne, is known for its wines of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir... as well as Aligote, Gamay, Sauvignon, César, Pinot Beurot, Sacy, Melon in lesser quantities. Many of the well-known wines are quite expensive, but there are plenty of values to be found." Read her invitation here. And there won't be a Twitter chat for this event, so you will have to dive into the articles themselves to read about our pairings and findings. Here's the line-up... Wendy Klik from A Day in the Life on the Farm enjoys Domaine Chevillon Chezeaux Bourgogne Hautes Cotes de Nuits, 2018 Paired with a Maple Pecan Chicken . Camilla Mann from Culinary Adventures with Camilla shares her love of Connecticut Lobster Rolls, Canned Lobster Bisque, and a 2019 Henry Fessy 'Maître Bonhome' Viré-Clessé. Jeff Burrows of FoodWineClick! explains why we should Look t...

Hot Chocolate Agasajo-Style {Spice It Up!}

photo by D For my Spice It Up! kiddos this week, I was looking for an exotic drink to serve while we learned about saffron. I found a recipe from food historian Maricel Presilla that mimicked traditional Spanish hot chocolate from the 17th century where it was served at lavish receptions called agasajos . When I teach, I don't always get to shoot photos. Thankfully, D grabbed my camera and snapped a few. Ingredients serves 14-16 1 gallon organic whole milk 3 T dried rosebuds - or 2 t rosewater 2 t saffron threads, lightly crushed 3 T ground cinnamon 3 whole tepin chiles, crushed 2 vanilla beans, split lengthwise 1 C organic granulated sugar 1 lb. bittersweet chocolate Procedure In a large soup pot that can hold a gallon plus, combine milk, dried rosebuds (or rosewater, if you are using that), saffron threads, ground cinnamon, chiles, vanilla beans, and sugar and warm over medium heat till it steams. Whisk to dissolve sugar, then lower heat an...

Culinary Adventures with Camilla

Search This Blog