Christmas Dinner: Behind the Scenes II

I feel a little bit slacking when everyone else is talking about New Year resolution when I am still on Christmas! The Christmas tree at our place is counting its days (I know we were supposed to take it down like two days ago). So I’d better get this entry out!

table setting

The challenge of doing a prix fixe dinner party at home is, since dishes are served in order, they need to be kept warm. But not all the dishes can be made ahead, foie gras, for one, is best prepared a la minute. In a professional kitchen, there are line cooks responsible for each station. But in our little kitchen, it’s just me and hubby. Two pairs of hands, four burners and one oven, and in case you are wondering, we have no maid. ☺

So between courses, we ducked into our kitchen to prepare the next dish. I felt a little guilty to have left our guests’ stomach half empty but we comforted ourselves by thinking: this is the typical wait time in a high end restaurant anyway! I told them it’s our trick to starve them first so they will be happy no matter what is served to them!

Here is the list of the dishes we prepared-

Red Pepper Cream Soup

Red bell peppers sautéed in butter with chopped onion and minced garlic, added chicken broth, boiled and simmered. It was then pureed until smooth and sent through a strainer. I suspect roasting instead of sautéing the red peppers would have brought out the flavor better! I also think I might have added too much chicken broth and the soup came out a little bland in taste. But I was able to compensate it with some cream, mint leaves, and seasoning so it turned out pretty good. It was made ahead and warmed up before served.

red pepper cream soup

Seared Foie Gras on toasted bread, with cranberry chutney

I already have an entry on this. Like I said, it has to be prepared a la minute (a la minute, I just love how it sounds! The food already feels tastier this way!) The cranberry chutney is best made ahead and warmed up before served. This way it allows the flavor to integrate and give a smoother mouthfeel – not an ensemble of 5~8 different ingredients dancing on your palette! The foie gras was just excellent, it melts in your mouth. Although The grade B foie gras we got is not the highest grade, it is the best for searing. the fatty content of the foie gras pairs very well with the fruity flavor of the chutney, with the crunchiness from the toasted bread, it was perfect – if I may say so myself. :)

Arnaud’s smoke salmon

Our friend Arnaud brought some home-made smoked salmon. It is probably one of the best smoked salmon we’ve every had. He had purchased the salmon 2 months ago when it was still in season and had it freshly frozen. He had told us how he smoked the salmon but i don’t think any of that registered in my head, i was just too busy eating :P

Arnaud’s smoked salmon

Main Course – roast rib eye w/ blanched green beans and sautéed baby potatoes

We roast the rib eye in the oven, first seared it in 450F for 15 minutes, then turned down the heat to let it roast slowly until internal temperature reached 130 degree. We turned down the oven to 190 (thank you Arnaud for keeping an eye on it!) to keep it warm. we prepared the side dishes a la minute – green beans were already blanched but were stir-fried on the spot with bacon; baby potatoes took a little time to cook through but our guests just kept the conversation and laughters going at the table and it was a relief to know they were having fun and weren’t starved and bored to death waiting for the main course!

some guests have said they liked the cranberry chutney a lot. So here is the recipe-

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CRANBERY CHUTNEY recipe

(I don’t have the exact formula to make it. but it’s one of those dishes you can customize to your liking – more cranberries, less cranberries, more sugar, less sugar, more wine, less wine. then just bring them to a boil and let it simmer until you like what you taste. Let your taste buds decide!)

Dried cranberries

Raisins

prunes (optional)

Apple cider

Sugar/brown sugar

rice wine vinegar

Cinnamon stick

Port wine (a must. It changes everything)

Brandy (just a splash, optional)

Cloves (optional. I only put a tiny bit)

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Enjoy!

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