Birthday Dinner

Since Jeff's birthday fell on a weeknight, we opted to have a fancy dinner at home on Saturday. We invited two other couples to join us, but since one had to cancel, there were only four of us for dinner. (Not that this really matters since the couple that joined us are a blast!) In an effort to wrap up three days of birthday festivities with a flourish, I prepared a five course meal: crostini with ricotta cheese and honey-balsamic sauce, baked scallops, bell pepper soup with Parmesan puff pastry sticks, rigatoni with squash and prawns, and chocolate pots de creme with Spanish almond cakes. Of course, no celebration is complete with cocktails including Jeff's favorite chocolate martini!

For starters, the crostini was extremely simple and a big hit. Though, you'll notice the recipe calls for goat's cheese, while I used ricotta. I do love goat's cheese, but when I looked at in the grocery about four ounces was going for over five dollars. That seemed pretty exorbitant since it was the same price as the premium Parmigiana Regiana. I know other stores (like Trader Joe's and Fresh and Simple) have goat's cheese for a much lower price, but I didn't have time to make a further trip. Even with the substitution, this was excellent. I would make it again as a snack for the guys as well as serving it to guests.

Goat Cheese & Balsamic-Honey Crostini

1/2 cup honey
1/3 cup water
Few sprigs of favorite herbs, such as sage, basil, rosemary, thyme
3 1/2 tablespoons good-quality balsamic vinegar
6 to 8 ounces young, fresh goat cheese
12 slices baguette-type French bread, cut diagonally about 1/2-inch thick, toasted


In a small sauce pan over medium-high heat. Combine honey and water; bring to a boil. Add herb sprigs and reduce heat to a simmer. Let simmer for approximately 10 minutes until total amount of liquid is reduced to about 1/2 cup. Remove from heat. Remove and discard herbs. Stir in balsamic vinegar and let cool. Spread goat cheese thickly on toasted bread. Drizzle with balsamic-honey syrup and serve.

The second course, baked scallops, is one we've had before. The first time I made this I used the small bay scallops (as shown in the recipe), but yesterday the larger sea scallops were a better deal. (They were actually only 5.99 a pound while the bay scallops were 6.40 for 12 ounces!) Either way, this is an easy dish that can be served in smaller portions as an appetizer (I made five ramekins from one pound.) or larger portions as a main dish. Both times I've made this, I have separated the scallops into individual servings, though, instead of using one large baking dish.
 
Baked Scallops
4 tablespoons butter, melted
1 1/2 pounds bay scallops, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup seasoned dry bread crumbs
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Pour melted butter into a 2 quart oval casserole dish. Distribute butter and scallops evenly inside the dish. Combine the bread crumbs, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, parsley, minced garlic and Parmesan cheese. Sprinkle this mixture over the scallops. (I roll the scallops in the mixture before putting them in the dish, and then sprinkle any left on top.) Bake in pre-heated oven until scallops are firm, about 20 minutes.

The next course, bell pepper soup, is also something I've made before with great success. However, previously I used yellow bell peppers rather than the green ones I bought yesterday. Since both the yellow and red peppers were more than twice the price of the green ones, I decided to use those. The taste was the same - delicious - but Jeff objected to the color. (It looked a little like pea soup.) While the color didn't bother me, I do recall that the yellow version was much more appetizing and beautiful. Along with the soup I served a basket of Parmesan puff pastry which is another favorite. These come out in long lonely sticks which are quite pretty standing in a vase or (cut in half) arranged in a bread basket. (I only used one sheet of the puff pastry for the twists, though. The other sheet I cut into rounds and baked mini cream puffs, which I plan to fill with chocolate pudding. Thanks, Mom!)

Bell Pepper Soup
1/4 cup olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
4 large bell peppers, seeded and diced
1 medium potato
1/2 - 1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (I used chipotle sauce instead.)
1 1/2 - 2 cups vegetable stock

Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add the onions and saute 3-4 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients except the stock and bring to a simmer. Cover, simmer stirring occasionally until peppers are very tender (about one hour). Puree the mixture in the blender in two batches. Return the mixture to the pan and stir in the vegetable stock. Season to taste. May be served hot or cold. May be topped with a dollop of sour cream and chives.
 
Parmesan Puff Pastry

1 (17.3-ounce) package frozen puff pastry sheets, thawed
1cup freshly grated Parmesan
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 cup butter, melted


Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly grease a baking sheet. On a lightly floured surface, unfold pastry sheets. Cut each sheet into 13 strips, about 3/4 by 10-inches apiece. In a shallow dish, combine cheese, basil, and garlic. Brush pastry sticks with melted butter. Roll pastry in cheese mixture, lightly coating each side. Gently twist pastry sticks, and place on a prepared baking sheet. Bake for 12 minutes. Remove to wire racks to cool.

The next course, rigatoni with squash and prawns, was wonderful! This is from Giada De Laurentiis on Food Network. While I followed the directions and made the sauce from scratch, I think the prep time could be cut down immensely by using frozen squash. In addition, rather than saute the shrimp, I drizzled them with olive oil and fresh herbs, spread them on a cookie sheet, and popped them in a 400 degree oven for about five minutes. They were pink and perfect when they came out. (I watched the Barefoot Contessa do this last week!) I can see this recipe becoming a family favorite. The flavor of the squash is a little sweet and lovely with the pasta and shrimp.
 

Rigatoni with Squash and Prawns

3 tablespoons olive oil, plus 3 tablespoons

1 pound butternut squash, trimmed and cut into 1-inch cubes
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon salt, plus 1 teaspoon
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus 1/2 teaspoon
1 cup vegetable stock
1 pound rigatoni
1 pound prawns, peeled and deveined
3/4 to 1 cup whole milk (I used some left over half and half.)
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup grated Parmesan


Warm 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add the butternut squash, garlic, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper. Saute until the squash is golden and tender, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the vegetable stock, bring to a simmer, cover and cook until the squash is very soft, another 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer the squash mixture to a blender or food processor and puree. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain pasta. Meanwhile, warm the remaining 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle the prawns with the remaining 1 teaspoon of salt and remaining 1/2 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper. Add the prawns to the pan and cook until just pink, about 3 minutes. In a large pot over low heat combine the cooked pasta, pureed squash mixture, and 3/4 cup milk. Stir to combine. Add the remaining 1/4 cup milk if the sauce needs to be moistened. Add the cooked prawns, basil, and cheese. Stir until warm and serve.

We finished the meal with chocolate pots de creme and Spanish almond cakes. I'm not posting the pots de creme recipe, which I found in my old standby Better Homes and Gardens cook book, because I was disappointed in the final product. The taste was very good - smooth and so chocolaty - but the custard did not set. It was terribly runny. On the other hand, the little almond cakes were very nice. I used some small square ramekins for the molds, and then cut them in half to serve beside the pots de creme, which I garnished with a fresh strawberry.

Almond Cakes
4 eggs
9 oz blanched peeled almonds
4 oz sugar
Zest of 1 lemon
Cinnamon
1/4 cup flaked almonds
Butter and flour to grease the pans


Grind the almonds in an electric grinder with a little sugar to prevent them from going oily. (I used the grind setting on my blender.) With an electric beater, beat the eggs with the rest of the sugar until light and fluffy. Add the cinnamon, lemon zest and ground almonds. Grease and dust with flour 6-8 individual tart pans; fill them with the mixture and sprinkle with almonds flakes. Bake at 350 degrees F for 15 minutes. Remove from the pans while hot. Cool on wire racks. (I baked mine an extra 5 minutes, because they weren't done in the middle.)