Jasper
Kona
Angela made a scrumptious baked cauliflower gratin, her husband grilled some particularly flavorful and juicy tri-tip, and another friend brought yummy bruschetta.
My contributions included 1) lox-style smoked salmon with a soft cow's milk cheese called Le Roule on baguette slices, topped with green onions and parsley, 2) melt-in-your-mouth asparagus with goat cheese on baguette slices, topped with fried capers, 3) new potato salad with fresh peas, asparagus, and radishes, and 4) lemon pudding with lemon curd for dessert! I already included a link to the pudding recipe in a previous post, but I guess I'll just have to include it again because it is JUST SO GOOD. Beth helped me make a triple batch the night before the feast; tripling it meant longer 'whisking' time, but it was well worth it.
New Potato Salad with Fresh Peas, Asparagus and Radishes
Inspired by recipe from Epicurious.com
Vinaigrette:
1/8 cup Champagne vinegar
1/8 rice vinegar
1/2 small shallot, finely chopped
1 tsp honey
1 TB Dijon mustard
2/3 cup olive oil
1 TB fresh lemon juice
salt & pepper
Salad:
1 lb fingerling and/or baby red potatoes
3/4 lb English peas shelled and/or Sugar Snap peas, ends trimmed
1 - 2 bunches of asparagus, fat ends snapped off, chopped into 2 inch pieces
1 bunch radishes, thinly sliced
3-4 bulbs spring onions, chopped
3 TB chopped parsley
1 small jar capers, drained
plenty of parmigiano-reggiano, shaved or grated
salt and pepper
Cook potatoes in salted boiling water for 10-20 minutes depending on size. They should be just tender enough to be easily pierced with a fork. Set aside.
Cook peas for 2-3 minutes, or until just tender, in same boiling water. Remove from water, immediately put them in bowl of ice water. Drain and set aside.
Cook asparagus in same water, 3-4 minutes, until just tender. Remove and immediately put in bowl of ice water. Drain and set aside.
Fry capers in 1 TB oil over medium heat.
Toss potatoes with other veggies and the vinaigrette. If eating this dish right away, you can add the other ingredients to the potatoes while they're still warm, but if saving for a brunch, I would suggest cooling the potatoes completely before adding the other ingredients, otherwise the green veggies will continue to cook a little and everything will get a bit soggy!
Season to taste. Top with parmigiano-reggiano.
3/4 lb English peas shelled and/or Sugar Snap peas, ends trimmed
1 - 2 bunches of asparagus, fat ends snapped off, chopped into 2 inch pieces
1 bunch radishes, thinly sliced
3-4 bulbs spring onions, chopped
3 TB chopped parsley
1 small jar capers, drained
plenty of parmigiano-reggiano, shaved or grated
salt and pepper
Cook potatoes in salted boiling water for 10-20 minutes depending on size. They should be just tender enough to be easily pierced with a fork. Set aside.
Cook peas for 2-3 minutes, or until just tender, in same boiling water. Remove from water, immediately put them in bowl of ice water. Drain and set aside.
Cook asparagus in same water, 3-4 minutes, until just tender. Remove and immediately put in bowl of ice water. Drain and set aside.
Fry capers in 1 TB oil over medium heat.
Toss potatoes with other veggies and the vinaigrette. If eating this dish right away, you can add the other ingredients to the potatoes while they're still warm, but if saving for a brunch, I would suggest cooling the potatoes completely before adding the other ingredients, otherwise the green veggies will continue to cook a little and everything will get a bit soggy!
Season to taste. Top with parmigiano-reggiano.
Lemon Pudding with Lemon Curd
From Epicurious.com
For Lemon Pudding
1 TB cornstarch
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup half-and-half
2 TB fresh lemon juice
1 TB unsalted butter
For Lemon Curd
1/2 tsp finely grated fresh lemon zest
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup sugar
3 jumbo egg yolks
2 TB unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
Make lemon pudding:
Whisk together cornstarch, sugar, and a pinch of salt in a 1 1/2-quart heavy saucepan, then whisk in half-and-half until smooth. Bring to a boil over moderate heat, whisking constantly, then boil, whisking constantly, 2 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in lemon juice and butter, then transfer pudding to a metal bowl. Set bowl in a larger bowl of ice and cold water and stir frequently until cold, about 10 minutes. Transfer pudding, covered, to refrigerator (reserve ice water).
Make lemon curd:
Whisk together zest, lemon juice, sugar, and yolks in a 1- to 1 1/2-quart heavy saucepan. Add butter and cook over moderately low heat, whisking frequently, until curd is thick enough to hold marks of whisk and first bubbles appear on surface, about 4 minutes.
Force lemon curd through a fine-mesh sieve into another metal bowl, scraping bottom of sieve, then transfer to ice bath and stir frequently until cold. Cover surface of curd with wax paper and chill in refrigerator until ready to serve.
Serve pudding with a dollop of lemon curd on top (notice how it resembles an egg!). Soooo springy!
Jasper and Angela
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