wednesday nite dinner no. 2

hard to believe it's already been 2 weeks since my first wednesday nite dinner. time flies fast and especially as of late. between work and social life, i've neglected my poor food blog. but dedicated i am and right now i'm working on some interesting entries including a review of the new front porch in bernal heights and a photo journey of my summer trip partaking in some of new york's finest hole-in-the-walls. but back to this entry... and we all know what this one's about... =)

in attendance from left to right: victor, kendrick, danna, andrew and ali


on the menu tonite, latin influence...


coming up with an interesting starter that would complement the main dish was a challenge this time. i wanted to be creative but couldn't get past the old chips and salsa concept. upon researching different salsas, i realized tomatillos (used to make tangy and tart salsa verde) could be stuffed like tomatoes are. so i picked up a basket of tomatillos, which interstingly enough, when hulled, emit a slimy, sticky goo from its skin. very werid.


reaching back on an old childhood favorite, i decided to devil it (think deviled eggs) only spicing it up with smoky saffron and hot red jalapenos to add more of a latin element. the tomatillos were deseeded then roasted whole with evoo, salt and pepper.


i then mixed the yolks of 4 eggs with some mayo, dijon, lemon juice, saffron, salt and pepper, then added the chopped egg whites and jalapeno. spoon some "devil" into each tomatillo, plate with greens tossed in vinaigrette and sprinkle a little paprika for effect and voila! saffron deviled tomatillos with greens in a lemon-lime vinaigrette.


overall this was ok but definitely needs tweaking of seasonings. i agree with ali that it should be spicier and there was too much acidity going on, given the tomatillo and the lemon-lime vinaigrette. some sweet element was missing. but it shows promise.

pork chops al pastor served with cucumber-jicama-mango salsa and caramelized onion couscous with cilantro and pomegranate seeds.

i love tacos al pastor. the sweet and savory marinated pork served on steaming hot tortillas with hot sauce and cilantro and onions is to die for. so i wanted to bring that to the chop platform and replicate. the marinade consists of pasilla, chipotle and guajillo peppers, cloves, cinnamon, vinegar and crushed pineapple. i let the chops marinate for a couple hours.


meanwhile i caramelized 2 mayan sweet onions for 20 min in a frying pan...


and stirred them into a pot of buttery couscous...


grilling the chops on the grill downstairs took about 15 min total. however, the heat on my grill is uneven and resulted in a couple chops being over/undercooked. toughness became a factor and this really wasn't my moment to shine, being a self-proclaimed pork chop wizard. the marinade also wasn't quite right, lacking depth and complexity, with only smoky and sweet notes that didn't meld together. i also should've pre-salted my chops a day ahead, (per zuni cafe practice). i think it really works to season the meat throughout. next time. it plated beautifully though...


i laid a bed of couscous and sprinkled with pomegranate seeds, then rested the chop on that. a ladle of salsa accompanied the meat. this consisted of diced jicama and mango, thinly sliced cucumbers, lime, cilantro, jalapeno, and evoo. the jicama provides a nice crunch. the mango, however, could've been more ripe and would've sweetened it up a bit. i personally felt the couscous was right on track, having sweet caramelized onion cut by the tartness of pomegranate and pungent cilantro.


all in all, everyone did a pretty good job of cleaning their plates -- and bones -- so i guess it tasted good enough.


dessert came next. victor graciously photographed while i assembled...


flutes of pomegranate almond champagne with floats of mango and raspberry sorbet


this dessert was inspired by both my recent trip to citizen cake in hayes valley and what my chef friend, paul tang, did with his dessert and wine pairing there. having poured his leftover raspberry sorbet into his sweet, crisp champagne, he created a fizzy fruit smoothie that was just awesome. here, i opted for an almond flavored champagne from TJ's and added some pomegranate seeds to the bottom (which ended up floating to the top)...


and added mango sorbet to the mix.


the result was pretty good overall, although some of us felt the raspberry didn't go with the almond flavor that well. in fact the almond flavor was a little too unexpected. i'll be experimenting with other champagnes per danna and ali's suggestions. what was the italian one called again? =)

so overall i felt my 2nd wednesday nite dinner was good. prepping and timing was a lot more manageable this round, but seasoning was off. i guess that's the risk you run when you're cooking or creating dishes for the first time. ah but then again, all of you out there are my guinea pigs. =) so don't worry, i will get better and better. for those that dined last nite, please give me feedback. i'm always looking to improve!

and so ends another dinner and anticipation for another... here are the next lucky five!


drumroll please...


jeff! (he couldn't read your writing)


scott! (what's the heart doing there?)


who's RD? oh that's rebecca der!


edmundo!


june!

congratulations! the next wednesday nite dinner will be held on december 6th. what with thanksgiving dinner for 30 on the 18th and then again for family in LA on the 234d, i'll need the time to get my creative cooking juices flowing again. ;)

thanks again for everyone's support and see you at the next wednesday nite dinner!