We've been working on, oh, 92 or so different canapes, amuse bouche, hors d'oeuvres and whatnot this week and today we put on a little buffet. Originality, attention to detail, and creative garnishes were the key to successful dishes...which, I think is where we fell flat on our ass.
Sohl and James did a great job on this platter. James made a smoked trout and cream cheese mousse which tasted great and really refreshing with the cucumber. Sohl made the cajun shrimp over guacamole and a deep fried tortilla chip.
James and I worked on this platter. I baked a pecan shortbread cookie and he topped it with prosciutto-wrapped pears. The sauce is a cilantro pistachio pesto that Sohl worked on. I made a sun dried tomato and smoked chicken salad that James wrapped up in phyllo purses and tied with a chive.
God, what a boring platter. Sohl cut out bouches, or little cups, out of puff pastry which we filled with James's mushroom duxelle and topped with parmesan and a garlic chip. The toothpicks are little chicken cordon bleu bites that I made by pounding out some chicken breasts, rolling them with ham and swiss cheese, skewering them with toothpicks, breading them in panko and then baking them off. Chef really liked the cheesiness of it all, and it had pretty good flavor.
Sohl made the empanadas and salsa, and I worked on the crabcakes and celery seed aioli. Crabcakes are my favorite, and I've always wanted to make them. Never having made them though, I had no idea the wet consistency I had the other day would give me such a headache today. I clarified a bunch of butter yesterday specifically so that I could fry them today...but they were so wet, they just fell apart. I was able to save them by breading them, re-freezing them and then quickly deep frying them at the last minute. Honestly, I think they came out better that way than my original plan. I also made a celery seed aioli that I ripped off from a delicious restaurant in Seattle called Anchovies and Olives. I whipped up a regular mayonnaise and seasoned it with celery seeds, a bunch of garlic powder, and a bunch of lemon. It was delicious!
James made the chorizo and cabbage strudel, which is wrapped in the phyllo, and I made the duck confit spring rolls, which are wrapped in rice paper. It's one of my favorite dishes to make, mostly because it's something I've been making since I was a kid...only usually with chicken, not duck confit...and not wrapped in a spring roll, just eaten over rice. Chef Pastore really liked it, and that meant a lot to me since he's pretty well versed in asian cuisine. And the recipe was dead simple. I just thinly sliced some onions, scallions, cilantro, mixed that with the shredded duck confit, and tossed it with some fish sauce, black pepper, cayenne pepper, and lemon. Delicious. Chef suggested the orange supreme, and I have to say it added a really nice touch. It really woke up the citrus flavor in that duck and made it quite refreshing, along with the cucumber. Next week: back to baking.
