Last night, we had very good friends over for dinner. They happen to be the parents of Dario’s girlfriend, Alex. You see, we met at anti-natal classes so Dario and Alex have known each other since the womb. They played together as children but then we moved to the other end of Auckland and our get-togethers got less frequent until there was a period of two years between the ages of 14 and 16 when they didn’t see each other. Then they did and a mini-explosion happened and they really saw each other – not as two childhood friends but as a male and a female. They are now 22 years old and it’s still going strong.
Anyway, Stephen and Genevieve came for dinner last night and I love cooking for them because they are so appreciative of my efforts. They are good enough friends that I can experiment on them and that’s what I did.
We started the evening with small tarts made with puff pastry and three layers of flavours. The first layer was peas, salmon, ricotta and lemon whizzed together in my Cuisinart Mini Processor, then I added a little feta cheese crumbled on top and a small slice of tomato. We ate them while drinking two bottles of French champagne. The tarts disappeared pretty quickly as did the champagne.
Then we had home-made tortellini but I forgot to take any photos of them and they were so pretty too.
Next came the piece de résistance – a deconstructed Thai chicken burger. Now I don’t really go for deconstructed food and this was not my intention when I created this dish, but once it was assembled, I saw that I had done exactly that – deconstructed a hamburger.
I cooked polenta and cut out beautiful thick circles.
Then I made chicken patties stuffed full of lots of Thai flavours – coriander, chillies, ginger, lemon grass, soya sauce and cut them to the same size as the polenta.
I bought some massive tomatoes and cut slices which I baked and placed on top. Burgers need a sauce but tomato sauce wouldn’t cut it with Thai flavoured burger so I ground up some cashew nuts, coconut, lemon, mint and loosened it with coconut milk. I spooned this on top of the tomato and served it all with a little green salad. Please excuse the photo. These were taken very quickly because it is one thing to keep the family waiting before they can eat but it’s not on with friends.
Then came the biggest experiment – the dessert. I wanted to make it gluten and sugar-free so I found a tart base recipe made with coconut flour and used that though I did add some tapioca flour to bind it well.
Then I used the middle layer of these slices and topped it with whipped cream mixed with strawberry and date puree. The base was a little tough but held together well and the rest tasted good. I dribbled some of the strawberry/date puree on the cream as decoration but it came out rather random and once it was on the cream, there wasn’t much I could do about it so this is not the best decorated tart.
- 1 kg. chicken breast, diced
- 1 lemongrass, chopped
- 100g breadcrumbs
- 1 cup self-raising flour
- 2 spring onions, chopped
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- 1 cup cilantro, chopped
- 1 egg, beaten
- The zest of one lime
- The juice of one lime
- 1 chilli, seeded and chopped
- Salt & pepper
- Mix all ingredients and form 8 patties.
- Cover and place in the fridge for half an hour to firm up.
- Fry two minutes per side in a frying pan.
- Place them in a baking dish and bake 10 minutes at 180°C/350°F.
That whole meal looks and sounds delicious! I love the deconstructed burgers, I’m nt usually one for deconstructed food either but they look fantastic! And serving a gluten/sugar free dessert is brave, but it looks fantastic!
It was a bit freaky to try the sugar-free route with guests but, apart from the tough pastry, it worked.
Suzanne
That’s an unbelievable story. I met a girl at mother’s group and we became the best of friends and her daughter and my Archie get along so well but as much as her mother and I would love for them to become a couple, they’re just friends and there’s no romance between them. Your situation sounds like the thing of novels. Good on them and lucky you! What a great meal. Love how a few photos didn’t get taken because of the champagne! xx
It is a sweet story – hope they make it to old age together.
It’s a shame about the absent photos but there’s nothing much you can do once the food is in the tummy.
Suzanne
Truly, I audibly gasped when I browsed your dinner pics … I wanna come to your house for dinner 🙂
Thanks, CJ. You can come any time, just give me a little warning and I will deconstruct something for you.
Suzanne
Yay … Excellent 🙂
Haha, champagne can do that! I hear you ;-). Your tartlets look divine and they wouldn’t last long in this house either (champagne or not!). Looks like your dinner experiment paid off beautifully start to finish. So many tempting dishes. Sounds like a lovely evening, how fun!
It was a lovely evening and champagne is a bit of a menace that way.
Suzanne
I loved your story about the childhood sweethearts as my 6 yr old is convinced he is going to marry a girl he has known since birth. It might just happen. It is so nice to have friends who enjoy their food enough that you can experiment. It all looks lovely.
Thanks, Ang. You never know, your boy might end up with his childhood sweetheart. It does happen.
Suzanne
That’s a great story about Dario and Alex. And I love having friends I can experiment on! Everything looks totally delish. Sounds like you had a great time.
If I have guests I don’t know too well, I will practise the menu on my family first and make adjustments but, with close friends, you can just go for it and hope for the best.
Suzanne
Wow how sweet is that? I’d say they were meant for each other:) Everything looks delicious Suzanne. I’m really curious about the Thai burgers -yum!
I guess they were meant for each other. The Thai burgers were great. I browned them in a frying pan and then put them in the oven for 10 minutes. They held together really well, which I liked.
Suzanne
I love having good friends over where I can experiment. One of my favourite parties was a pasta party where we all crammed in the kitchen and made different things. My good friend Vic decided the only thing he was good at was turning the crank.
Much wine and laughter and we were eating one the best meals of my life.
This is a lovely meal!
Your meal sounds like such wonderful fun. I can imagine the chaos which would create the laughter, with the help of a little liquid refreshment.
Suzanne
What a wonderful dinner, everything looks delicious! Hope you’ll post the recipe for the Thai burgers soon, I’d love to try them!
Thanks, Laura. I will add the recipe to the post later this week.
Suzanne
Awww…hope Dario and Alex end up together in the future! 22 is too young to predict what’s ahead, but hope they make it through!
As for the wonderful foods you prepared for Dario parents…VERY NICE! I especially adored the beautiful tartlets. Too bad the tortellini was absent photographically, but I’m sure they’re beautiful as well as delicious! Next time, invite me over! LOL!
I hope so too but you never know, Jen. I will make the tortellini again sometime and invite you. Hope you can come but I will have to give you plenty of warning so you can book the flight.
Suzanne
I wish I was having dinner with you. You do it up right.
I’ll invite you next time, Kim.
Suzanne