***Hey guys! I’m hard at work on my annual NYE dinner party. Check out this post from last year’s party to get you excited about the food porn that is about to be made.*** NYE 2009– I came. I ate. I conquered. I’m still trying to get the perfect balance at my dinner parties, you know, the one were I don’t work too hard while the guests are here so I enjoy myself, but I also don’t drink so much that I forget the lamb is incinerating in the oven? Yeah, that would be nice. But generally speaking, as long as people have a good time and rave about my food (no pressure), I’m happy gal. Happy freaking New Years, people! Let’s take a few more loving glances at my homemade maple-cured bacon.
Technically, my friend Kevin did the hard work of curing and smoking the bacon for me (he even braved a Chicago snowstorm to do so!). But I purchased the pork belly myself, so I like to call it “my bacon”. I don’t share well with others. The belly came from Crystal my pork lady at C & D Family Farm. Their products are just insanely porky and delicious, pretty much the same price you would pay at the store (unless you shop at Whole Foods, where you can’t leave without spending at least $30. In that case, it will seem cheap!). The belly was only $4 a pound, and they deliver into the city at least once a week. I also think it is insanely cool that I have a “pork lady”.
This bacon made a special appearance in one of the side dishes for the evening, but more on that later. I just couldn’t start a proper NYE post without showing off my new pride and joy. SO–the dinner party. I got the idea from last year’s NYE. Instead of paying $100 to drink @ a bar and pretend I am cool(which always seems to be the rules for the evening), my friends and I just decided to throw our own dinner party, complete with drinks and food. Everyone is poor, so we all chipped in, and this year, we split up the cooking duties. My perfectionist self had to take on more courses than necessary (and even made a few up just for shits and giggles), but I like a good challenge, and like I said, my pals know food, so I had more than enough help. Enough yakking–let’s get peeping at some food. Oh, and if someone knows how to take beautiful pictures in a tiny apartment during a dinner party for eight, please let me know. Until then, use your imagination. Or drink while reading this. I’m a fan of both methods. First course– passed appetizers by Nick and Liz. BLT bites
Smoked salmon potato bites with chive creme fraiche and sweet chili sauce
Both appetizers were delicious and just savory enough to make us hungry for more. I think Nick’s unbridled use of bacon helped. We got to utilize one guest’s Christmas present, a mechanical wine aerator.
Second Course by Dan n Claire (of Chicken ‘n Waffles fame!) Root Vegetable soup with cream and chives
This soup had very little cream in it, but it was so light and almost fluffy, very creamy in that beautiful vegetably-way, you know? The chives played a perfect contrast to the root veggies by giving the soup just a little zing of extra flavor. I was quite impressed with this humble soup, I must say. By the way, all the veggies for the soup (and most of the meal) came from the organic winter CSA we are sharing with Dan and Claire from Homegrown Wisconsin. Third Course Palate Cleanser by Leena Cranberry Sorbet with Ginger and Orange
This picture doesn’t do it justice. It managed to be full flavored and yet light and refreshing. Cranberries really do cleanse the palate quite well, especially if you don’t overload them with too much sugar. I improvised this recipe after reading a few cranberry sorbet recipes online and using my previous sorbet making skills. The key is to under season the recipe. Not too much grated ginger, just a hint of orange zest and juice so that the cranberries are subtly flavored. Recipe below. Fourth Course: Roast Leg of Lamb with Garlic and Rosemary with fatty potatoes by Leena Roast Chicken with Garlic, Rosemary and Lemon by Leena Roasted butternut squash with apples, onions and bacon by Claire and Dan
This is where I dropped the blogging ball. I had two beautifully cooked pieces of meat, and instead of taking a photo of them, I took another drink and hacked them to pieces. Thankfully, I realized the error of my ways in time to get a few dying shots of the lamb leg, but the chicken was already dismantled. It’s a learning process, people. I DID manage to cook for eight people while drinking and NOT hurt myself or anyone else around me, a fact both my husband AND the Chicago police & fire department are proud of. Baby steps.
I LOVE leg of lamb, thanks to my days in Australia where the lamb was grass-fed, cheap and abundant. My favorite preparation is to smoke it over a charcoal grill, but this time I made dozens of slits into the leg and stuck in slivers of garlic. I made a quick paste in the blender from olive oil, rosemary (from my rosemary xmas tree!), and more garlic. I rubbed it all over the leg, and let it marinate all day in the fridge. I let it rest on the counter for an hour, then showered it with salt and pepper before roasting it @ 350F for 20 minutes a pound, with some chopped Yukon Gold potatoes underneath to catch all the fatty drippings and get crispy. I served it all with some homemade basil pesto. And those bastards ate it all.
Dessert: Dark Chocolate Cake with Wattleseed Frosting and Passion fruit sorbet by Leena
I had some leftover wattle seed from Australia (you might remember it from this and this post), and I love making this frosting, which is cream cheese based. It goes so well with wattle seed’s coffee chocolate hazelnut flavors. The sorbet you might recognize because I make it so damn much. I never understood how a flavor could be sexy until I tasted my first passion fruit sorbet. Oh. Ma. Gah. Plus, it was a nice way to cut through the heavy flavors of the dark chocolate and the wattle seed. And of course, who could forget the happy guests.
Happy New Years, everyone! ~LTG! Leena’s Cranberry Sorbet with Ginger and Orange 1 cup fresh cranberries (thawed if frozen) 1 cup of water 3/4 cup sugar 1/8 cup fresh orange juice 1/4 teaspoon fresh grated ginger 1/4 teaspoon grated orange zest splash of hard liquor (I used Grand Marnier) Heat the sugar and water over medium heat stirring until the sugar crystals dissolve. Add cranberries, orange juice, zest and ginger and let simmer until cranberries start burst and mixture is boiling. Let cool, and then puree in blender. Push the mixture through a fine mesh strainer, and reserve liquid. Add 1 teaspoon of liquor into the liquid to prevent from freezing solidly, and cool sorbet base in fridge overnight before churning.
