Dinner Party - October 17, 2010

It's been awhile since I have updated this blog! I have been too busy with life, work, and fire drills :)  It's not an excuse and I finally found time today to spend a couple of hours to add a few recipes. Last Sunday I made a 7-course dinner for about 15 people -- well almost. My wife made an incredible lemon flan with lavender shortbread that was to die for :)  It wasn't exactly a vegan meal but 1 of the courses was vegan and I made a substitution for another course.  I'm not going to post that recipes just yet and will save that for a future posting.  Here was the menu for the Sunday afternoon early dinner:

1. Chilled Asparagus Crab soup topped with Avocado, Caviar, and Creme Fraiche
2. Smoked Salmon and Ahi Tuna with cucumbers served Poke style topped with Benito flakes and Vegetable Chips
3. Olive Oil-Poached Line-Caught Halibut served sauteed spinach in a saffron cream sauce
4. Lychee Sorbet with Sparking Wine Gelee – Palate Refresher
5. Sun Dried Tomato Hummus & Heirloom Tomatoes Bruschetta
6. 64-hour Sous Vide Beef Short Ribs served with Potato Croquettes in a Wasabi/Aioli Sauce, Carrot Puree, and Roasted Vegetables
7. Lemon Flan w/ Lavender Shortbread

Smoked Salmon and Ahi Tuna with cucumbers served Poke style topped with Benito flakes and Vegetable Chips

8oz Ahi tuna sashimi quality (chopped)
8oz cold smoked salmon (chopped)
2oz Ogo fresh seaweed (chopped)
1/4 cup sweet onions (diced)
1 tbsp. Hawaiian soy sauce
1 tbsp. sesame oil
1 tsp. sea salt
8oz English cucumber (diced)


The Poke style Ahi can be made the night before. I prefer to make it a few hours before so the marinade can soak into the Ahi. Combine the tuna, onions, soy sauce, sesame oil, and sea salt together in a bowl and refrigerate for at least 4 hours. To serve, use a circular or square mold and start with the smoked salmon as the first layer. Press down with a spoon and make sure it is pressed against the mold. Add the cucumber next and press down. The final layer is the poke style Ahi. The 3 layers should be uniform in size. You can top this with benito flakes and then a vegetable chip to be used as a serving scoop.

Chilled Asparagus Crab soup topped with Avocado, Caviar, and Crème Fraiche


1lb fresh or canned asparagus
2 leeks – whites only (chopped)
3 cups chicken stock/broth – good quality
1 tbsp flour
1/4 cup heavy cream
6oz Dungeness crab meat


In a sauce pan, heat olive oil and add the leeks. Cook for 10 minutes until the leeks are cooked through. Add the asparagus and half of the chicken broth/stock. Cook for 5 minutes and remove from heat. Heat more olive oil in a pan and add the flour. Cook until the flour turns brown about 1-2 minutes. Slow whisk in the remaining broth and until it is thickened and smooth. Combine the two together and use an immersion blender and blend until smooth around 2 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and refrigerate overnight. The soup may appear thin but will thicken when chilled. To serve top with a couple of slices of avocado, a dab of crème fraiche, and some caviar.

Olive Oil-Poached Line-Caught Halibut served sauteed spinach in a saffron cream sauce

1lb fresh halibut
1cup extra virgin olive oil
8oz heavy cream
Pinch Saffron
8oz fresh spinach
2-3 garlic cloves chopped
2 tsp. Cajun spice (e.g. Tony Chachere)
1/4 cup onions chopped

Rinse the halibut and pat it dry with paper towel. Cut in 4 pieces of equal size. Season with the Cajun spice top and bottom. Use a glass pyrex baking dish and place halibut in the dish. Cover with olive oil and place in an oven at 170 degrees. Bake in a low heat for 20 minutes. While the halibut is baking prepare the saffron cream sauce. Place 1 tbsp. of oil in a sauce pan and add the onions. Saute for about 5 minutes and add the cream and saffron. Cook this down for at least 15 minutes and until thickened. The sauce should be a bright yellow at this point. Also prepare the spinach by heating oil a pan with olive oil and add the chopped garlic cloves. Cook for a 1-2 minutes and then add the spinach until done. To serve add the spinach first on a plate, add one of the halibut to the spinach, and then top with the saffron cream sauce.

Lychee Sorbet with Sparking Wine Gelee – Palate Refresher


1 Canned lychee with syrup
2 tbsp. vodka
1 cup champagne
1 package gelatin

This is a simple recipe that makes a great palate cleanser for a multi-course dinner. Start with the champagne gelee. Combine ½ cup of champagne and 1 package of gelatin in a sauce pan. Heat until the gelatin is dissolved. Remove from the heat and slow add the remaining champagne. Pour in a baking dish and place in refrigerator overnight
Prepare an ice cream bucket in freezer. Open a can of lychee and pour the syrup in a brow.

Take the lychee and place in a blender. Blend until smooth and strain. Keep the remaining liquid and mix with the syrup. Pour the mixture in frozen ice bucket and start the machine. Add the vodka to prevent the sorbet from freezing up. After 25-30 minutes, remove and place in a container and freeze overnight.
To serve, scoop the sorbet in a dish and add a couple of small cubes of champagne gelee.

Sun Dried Tomato Hummus & Heirloom Tomatoes Bruschetta

2oz sun dried tomatoes
1 cup heirloom tomatoes chopped
1 baguette sliced
1 canned garbanzo beans
3-4 garlic cloves
1 tbsp. tahini sauce or sesame paste
Olive oil

Take a fresh baguette and sliced diagonally about ½”. Place the sliced baguette on a baking pan and lightly drizzle oil on each slice. Baked at 400 degrees for 10-12 minutes until the edge is slightly brown and crisped.

Making the hummus is quite easy. In a blender add the sun dried tomatoes, garlic, tahini, and the garbanzo beans with the liquid. Blend until smooth and creamy. To serve, top the baguettes with the hummus, then a scoop of the heirloom tomatoes and garnish with micro greens.

64-hour Sous Vide Beef Short Ribs served with Potato Croquettes in a Wasabi/Aioli Sauce, Carrot Puree, and Roasted Vegetables

1lb boneless short ribs (boneless and choice preferred)
1 tbsp. each salt and pepper
4 Russets potatoes chopped in large chunks
1 cube Irish butter
1/2 cup whole milk
1/4 cup green onions chopped
8 small carrots
4 small zucchini squash
4 large carrots
1 cup Italian bread crumb

To make the sous vide beef short ribs, you’ll need a sous vide machine or a whole lot of patience with a crockpot :) Season the beef short ribs with salt and pepper. Vacuum pack the short ribs in two packs and place in a sous vide machine at a temperature at 132 degrees for 64 hours.

Peel the potatoes and boil in salt water for about 20 minutes until it is fork tender. Add the chopped green onions, butter, and whole milk to the potatoes and use a potato masher until the large lumps are gone. Add more milk necessary if the potatoes are too dry. Form small balls with the mashed potatoes and coat with the bread crumbs. Pan fry for about 2 minutes on each side with olive oil

Roast vegetables in a baking dish drizzled with olive oil and salt for about 30 minutes at 375 degrees. To make the carrot puree, take the roasted large carrots and use an immersion blender. Add butter if necessary to smooth the puree down.
When the short ribs are done, pour out the liquid and make a gravy with it. Take a blow torch and sear the outside of the short ribs for 1-2 minutes. Slice across the grain and serve.

Lemon Flan w/ Lavender Shortbread
Recipe coming soon!