My brother was in dire need of a guys' night over at his place, and I was happy to oblige. There were six of us in all, and I kept things relatively simple for dinner. John took care of all the wine, and I've got to say that my younger sibling did quite well: a 2006 Brancott Sauvignon Blanc, a 2002 Dry Creek Meritage, and a 2004 Louis Latour Marsannay. The Grandfather Port was brought along by Paul, but we started late and at one in the morning, it was a bit too late for Port and cigars on the back porch.
First course, something I came up with yesterday, loosely based on something I had in Denver and wrote about here. The dish at the right was assembled like so from bottom to top: I made a nice mix of bok choy and fire-roasted tomatoes, and used this as the base. Then a johnnycake (or cornmeal pancake), but I added a pound of shredded crab meat and a healthy dose of Old Bay seasoning to the batter beforehand. Then a fillet of grilled tilapia, topped with a bit more of the bok choy/tomato mixture. Finally, a drizzle of sauce (reduced soy sauce+orange juice+honey+Dijon mustard) and a dash of orange zest. Granted this may sound a bit fancy, but honestly it's not that different from grilled bass with cornbread and greens.
The main course, and celebratory portion of the meal for my brother's 29th birthday, was a nine pound ribeye roast. I've cooked this many times and blogged on it often, so I won't go into further detail, but let's just say that it never fails to amaze. This one I rubbed down with a mixture of Dijon mustard, salt, and pepper a few hours before roasting. I served it with some baby green beans (steamed with sea salt and rosemary), but the big hit was the horseradish sauce, and for that I'll provide the recipe.
- Get a horseradish root from the grocery store. It will be brown, ugly, and possibly coated in dirt. Wash it as best as possible, then trim away the skin and dirt until you've got a nice pure white root showing.
- Rinse it off and then grate it into a bowl. I used a microplane grater. If you need to clear your sinuses, sniff the pile of gratings.
- Important: The longer you wait after grating, the hotter it gets. To stop the process, put the grated horseradish into an acid. I prefer white wine vinegar or cider vinegar.
- Take a bowl of mayonnaise and then squeeze the vinegar out of the horseradish. Add to the mayo, stir, and serve.
Dead simple, and light years beyond those packets of Horsey Sauce from Arby's.
My brother was in dire need of a guys' night over at his place, and I was happy to oblige. There were six of us in all, and I kept things relatively simple for dinner. John took care of all the wine, and I've got to say that my younger sibling did quite well: a 2006 Brancott Sauvignon Blanc, a 2002 Dry Creek Meritage, and a 2004 Louis Latour Marsannay. The Grandfather Port was brought along by Paul, but we started late and at one in the morning, it was a bit too late for Port and cigars on the back porch. 
First course, something I came up with yesterday, loosely based on something I had in Denver and wrote about here. The dish at the right was assembled like so from bottom to top: I made a nice mix of bok choy and fire-roasted tomatoes, and used this as the base. Then a johnnycake (or cornmeal pancake), but I added a pound of shredded crab meat and a healthy dose of Old Bay seasoning to the batter beforehand. Then a fillet of grilled tilapia, topped with a bit more of the bok choy/tomato mixture. Finally, a drizzle of sauce (reduced soy sauce+orange juice+honey+Dijon mustard) and a dash of orange zest. Granted this may sound a bit fancy, but honestly it's not that different from grilled bass with cornbread and greens. 
The main course, and celebratory portion of the meal for my brother's 29th birthday, was a nine pound ribeye roast. I've cooked this many times and blogged on it often, so I won't go into further detail, but let's just say that it never fails to amaze. This one I rubbed down with a mixture of Dijon mustard, salt, and pepper a few hours before roasting. I served it with some baby green beans (steamed with sea salt and rosemary), but the big hit was the horseradish sauce, and for that I'll provide the recipe. 
3 comments:
So, how was the 2002 Dry Creek drinking?
I wasn't taking wine notes at the dinner, but I did a bit of lecturing to the wine novices present. The Sauvignon Blanc had classic NZ grapefruit aromas and flavor, the Marsannay was a mild and pleasant Pinot Noir, and the Dry Creek was a damned nice California Meritage with a bold profile.
Best regards
Post a Comment