WOW. The third REEL TASTY dinner was last Saturday and we had a great turn out. A few familiar faces graced the table for a second time but the rest were all fresh, hungry peeps. It was touch and go moments before guests started to arrive as an evil cloud loomed over the deck poking its cumulonimbus fingers at us threatening the worst. Thankfully brother wind blew our foe north and the night began without a problem.
As always, we want to thank all our guests for making the evening super special. Aside from the joy we get out of playing around in the kitchen with knives and fresh ingredients, having a great mix of old and new friends breaking bread together is the reason we put on these evenings .
Let me jump back for the first time readers. Reel Tasty is our summer supper club where Aimee, my co-chef/host, and I screen a movie on a 2 story building while feeding our guests some of our latest gastronomic creations. We are already scheming on August’s menu. August 15, Shhhhh. Invites going out Monday. Enough of that, lets get into the goods.
photo credit: Kun Kim
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We started the night off the way all flights should begin. Aimee’s white sangria and Candied bacon peanuts greeted our guests on the back of the deck as they began to mingle. Virgin America has nothing on us in the food dept. We rounded that out with some goan avocado salad with mini pappadams to keep everyone snacking but not get too full. Meanwhile, back stage Aimee and I were busy pulling together the apps.
photo credit: Kun Kim
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The sangria helped spark the “getting-to-know-each-other”. Not that our chatty group needed pushing. By the time we brought out the appetizers it seemed everyone had become well acquainted. As usual, the appearance and ingesting of food only augmented the “friendly effect”. First up was corn and mushroom fritters with smoked tomato dipping sauce (YUM!)
photo credit: Kun Kim
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Followed by grilled bruschetta with hangar steak, blue cheese. We topped this with fresh arugula and caramelized onions.
photo credit: Kun Kim
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The sun is setting a little earlier as the summer goes on which left our guests nibbling and talking at the far end of the deck through dusk and into pure evening. There was something very calming about the atmosphere. The way the conversations quieted and seemed to become more intimate as the night seeped in was perfect. After the atmospheric transformation was complete we were ready to have everyone sit for entrees. In our usual fashion we had set the table with a few appropriate decorations.
photo credit: Kun Kim
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Back in the kitchen we were doing a quick chicken prayer to speed up the cooking because the couscous and prawns were coming dangerously close to done. The prayer worked and all three entrees were plated and garnished simultaneously. This serendipity produced a more dramatic than usual presentation to the table. It felt a little weird for us but seemed to quench an anticipation that the table was at that moment struggling with.
photo credit: Kun Kim
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With out further ado, we presented the roasted east Indian chicken, grilled prawns with cucumber, mint, yogurt sauce and the grilled vegetable cous cous.
photo credit: Kun Kim
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As the last of the chicken was served and the final prawn was snapped up, we began the movie portion of the evening. As usual we started with some pre-movie fun and some trivia.
photo credit: Kun Kim
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About an hour and 15 minutes later, just as Striker was landing the doomed jet safely at the airport, we presented out final course. A nectarine and berry shortcakes with freshly whipped cream was followed by a round of homemade chocolate-french grenache ice cream.
photo credit: Kun Kim
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Once again the dinner came to a close and our guests started to say their farewells. This dinner Aimee and I had the opportunity to spend more time with our guests than in the past before they departed. This was in large part due to our excellent staff that were so dedicated to their tasks that we can’t thank them enough. MVP of the night goes to Ross for keeping the sink empty at all times. Somewhere during the evening Ross turned Springsteen on us.
photo credit: Kun Kim
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If you are thinking about coming to a future dinner drop us a line at dinners@forkingtasty.com so we can put you on the invite list. Thanks to everyone again for making this evening great. We hope to see you all on the deck again soon. As always, below are some of the recipes from the evening.
Recipes:
Grilled Vegetable Cous Cous
ingredients
3 cups israeli couscous
4 zucchini
2 eggplants
2 pkg cipolini onions
2 pkg cherry tomato
balsamic viniger
tumeric
salt+pepper
chicken stock
directions
1. Slice zucchini and eggplant(peeled) about 1/2 inch thick
2. salt and pepper them and drizzle with olive oil
3. grill them on med heat until grill marks appear
4. place onions and tomatoes in roasting pan and roast at 425 for 30 min
5. reduce balsamic vinigar down to about 1/4
6. pour vinigar over onions and tomates. roast for another 15 minutes
7. cut zucchini and eggplant into cubes add onions and tomatoes into same bowl. keep warm
8. brown couscous and boil chicken stock
9. add cous cous to stock
10. bringto a simmer. remove from heat and keep covered
11. in 10 minutes mix in vegtables and serve
Turkish Prawns w/cucumber yogurt sauce
ingredients
16 Jumbo prawns (the biggest you can find)
spanish smoked paprika
turkish pepper flakes(maras biber)
salt+pepper
1 large container of plain yogurt
3 cucumbers
2 cloves garlic
bunch of mint
olive oil
directions
1. clean and peel prawns leaving on the tail. pat dry of moisture
2. mix prawns once with olive oil then spronkle with salt, pepper, paprika and pepper flakes. mix a second time to coat the prawns. skewer for the grill and set aside.
3. peel and remove the seeds from cucumbers. place in food processor with garlic. miz until very fine
4. remove mixture and strain removing as much liquid as possible
5. return mixture to the food processor and add yogurt. salt to taste
6. mix until smooth
7. add mint to the desired taste. set aside in refrig
8. grill prawns on high heat about 5 minutes each side. watch for burning
9. remove from grill and skewers
10. serve with a little yogurt sauce poured over prawns with additional sauce on the side
Roasted East Indian Chicken
ingredients
chicken parts(4 legs, 4 thights, 1 breast quartered)
paprika x2
garam masala x3
tumeric x1
cardimum x1
chili powder x2
cumin x1
salt+pepperx1
olive oil
1 can of chicken peas
9-cippolini onions
directions
1. place chicken parts in bowl or bag
2. add olive oil and mix
3. add all spices to a bowl and mix so they are combined
4. add spices to chikcen and mix until chicken is completely coated
5. heat oven to 375 degrees
6. place chicken in baking pan with chick peas and onions
7. cook for 1 1/2 hours. Turn chicken once halfway through cooking
8. transfer to a large platter and serve
