Food & Wine

Friends coming over for a special birthday dinner

Apr 09, 2021,15:41 PM

Last time we put on a seafood dinner it was at friend M's house. Then the next day we ate up the leftovers for brunch and I shared that here (you read along jealously, I hope).

Today I will show how I do it. This is another birthday meal by request, "NO gifts, no cards, just please cook my wife a dinner?" How could I refuse?

Step 1 starting 6 am today with a loaf of bread rising, then baking in the steam oven, while I run to my office and crank out the menu (above)

then cooling on the rack. Step 1 complete. This will be toasted and spread with smoked whitefish.

Step 2 prepare the seafood.

Little shrimp cocktails on red, orange and yellow bell peppers, cut to size of the shrimp. This will be served cold and topped with cocktail sauce or sweet chili sauce, and served with a Vietnamese spring roll (my wife bought these ☹️ as I don't have the knack or patience to make them with all this other stuff underway). I consider this salad in a tube. With peanut sauce.

Crab legs cut at the joints, down their length, and drained. These will be warmed slightly to serve with melted butter.

Scallops picked for size and shape, will be dried before searing and basting with a dill & mustard butter sauce.

Step 3 Prepare vegetables. This is mashed sweet potato to make a base for the scallops -- normally I like yukon gold mashed, but white scallops on pale potatoes don't work for me. Here we have a little butter, nutmeg, salt and pepper. I like them a bit chunky to contrast with the scallops.

Step 4 Local California strawberries for dessert / decor

Fancy little cake from a local Mexican bakery, garnished with more berries.

Step 5 Bottles of J Rose and Roederer Brut to wash down all the aquatic creatures.

Now to relax for an hour and the action will begin. We have a formal dining room apart from the kitchen, and I am using to being the cook and sous-chef without too many others intruding. When they all crowd in I get frantic so doing all this prep in advance makes it much easier for me to get all the courses delivered at the proper time and temperature.

Cheers,

Cazalea

Comments: view entire thread

Nice! Can I skip to desert right away!

By: Chronometer (aka yacomino) : April 9th, 2021-15:48

Yes, it came with 8 cupcakes so the extra 4 are up for grabs

By: cazalea : April 9th, 2021-16:05

That’s a feast !

By: Cpt Scarlet : April 9th, 2021-15:49

Great menu Chef Mike !

I was going to do salmon and scallops using a Two Fat Ladies recipe (hence now you may notice the fish opposite the scallop on the menu)

By: cazalea : April 9th, 2021-16:04

but the salmon I bought wasn't that great when I did a quick timing test this morning. If I'm doing two items together in the oven I like to pre-run the cook step to ensure no rubbery scallops and petrified salmon. So we will be reserving it for the cat o...