Thursday dinner

8 of us, guests of honor my visiting Danish cousin and her Norwegian husband. Johan is a member of the oldest red wine tasting group in Norway. When they are here I try to make a nice dinner with wines from my cellar that I know he either enjoys or might enjoy trying. Here is the menu & the wines I am thinking about:
Arrival wine- a couple bottles of Champagne
Fish course. Citrus cured salmon with ginger with Japanese cukes aside, Wine- 1996 & 1997 Kalin Semillon
Salad : Asian-mixed greens, seaweed, avocado, wasabi peas
Main course: 5 Spiced duck breasts Wine- 2006 Kistler Kistler Vnyd Pinot Noir
Starch: Cashew noodles
Vegetable: peapods maybe steamed with some herb butter,
Crème Brulee, with a slice of dulce de membrillo aside, wine- 1997 Trimbach Vendage Tardive Gewurztraminer

If I need an extra wine after the Semillon I have a backup of some St. Supery White Meritage

My wife started limiting me when entertaining to 4 courses a few years ago. She says I get too cranky..imagine that, therefore, no soup or cheese course.

This dinner gave me an opportunity to order in some duck breasts. Taking advantage of the opportunity I ordered in 40! I do love duck breast!

Desserts aren't one of my areas of expertise so I always try to find a recipe for a dessert that is idiot proof and doesn't take much time. I have found an okay creme brulee recipe that is ready for the oven in less than 5 minutes. I just never have cared to spend as much time and preparation for a dessert as the other courses.

What do you think?

Johan is a member of the oldest red wine tasting group in Norway and 3 of the 4 wines being served are white. hmmm...

Johan is a member of the oldest red wine tasting group in Norway.

I like the way this fact could even be known. Small country and all.

So creme brulee is idiot proof? I often like serving custards for dessert (depending on what was in the main course), although the timing for taking them out of the oven is extremely important. But once that's done they are ready well ahead of time.

[Jenise]

Lovely menu, George. Only one thing that doesn't feel right to me, and that's the peas because the butter component seems out of place. A suggestion? Stir fry the whole pea pods with a bit of chopped fresh garlic then pour in some sake to steam them in the pan (scotch is a reasonable substitute, I've done it). Then toss with fresh mint and serve. Right in line with your original idea, but more Asian.

Lovely menu, George. Only one thing that doesn't feel right to me, and that's the peas because the butter component seems out of place. A suggestion? Stir fry the whole pea pods with a bit of chopped fresh garlic then pour in some sake to steam them in the pan (scotch is a reasonable substitute, I've done it). Then toss with fresh mint and serve. Right in line with your original idea, but more Asian.

Thanks. I was looking and still am looking for some flavors to add that would go along with the Asian influence dinner without using soy sauce. My creativity ran out when I came up with the side dish. I went with the pea pods themselves because they can be done fast and are still of a good quality.

Johan is a member of the oldest red wine tasting group in Norway and 3 of the 4 wines being served are white. hmmm...

I know Howie but Johan does also enjoy whites. I know that he really enjoys a properly aged Vendage Tardive. The California Semillon that ages beautifully will be something he has never encountered. Without including another course, which my wife no longer allows me to do, I don't know where to add additional reds.

Johan is a member of the oldest red wine tasting group in Norway.

I like the way this fact could even be known. Small country and all.

So creme brulee is idiot proof? I often like serving custards for dessert (depending on what was in the main course), although the timing for taking them out of the oven is extremely important. But once that's done they are ready well ahead of time.

The particular recipe of creme brulee is actually idiot proof.
Easy Creme Brulee Recipe I found online from "Food & Wine" I think
Geo Modified Not as smooth, a little darker in color, but fast and good.
"This truly is an easy creme brulee! It's got all the basic brulee ingredients: heavy cream, egg, sugar and vanilla. If you don't have a cooking torch you can easily put this under the broiler to get the traditional creme brulee crunchy topping."
Serves/Makes: 4
INGREDIENTS:
2 cups heavy cream
5 egg yolks
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon good vanilla extract
light brown sugar , sugar, or bakers sugar

PREPARATION:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Whisk the cream, egg yolks, sugar, and vanilla extract together in a bowl. Mix it all up until it gets nice and creamy. Pour this mixture into 7 ounce sized ramekins. I suppose you could pour it all into one smallish casserole dish too. Place the ramekins in a baking pan. Fill the baking pan with hot water, about halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Place the pan with the ramekins in the oven for 45 minutes to an hour or so. After 45 minutes or so check them every ten minutes. You'll know they're done when you can stick a knife in one and it comes out clean. Remove the ramekins from the baking pan, set them on the counter, and let them cool for 15 minutes or so.

Then put them in the refrigerator and let them chill overnight.
Sprinkle a thin layer of the light brown sugar on the top of each. Make sure it's a THIN layer, but also make sure it completely covers the custard. Now torch it! Or, if you don't have a torch, you can supposedly put them under the broiler for a minute or so. I haven't tried this. The point is, you need to caramelize (melt and let harden) the sugar.

The particular recipe of creme brulee is actually idiot proof.

INGREDIENTS:
2 cups heavy cream
5 egg yolks

Pour this mixture into 7 ounce sized ramekins. I suppose you could pour it all into one smallish casserole dish too. Place the ramekins in a baking pan. Fill the baking pan with hot water, about halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Place the pan with the ramekins in the oven for 45 minutes to an hour or so.

Have you made it before? To me that sounds like a long time cooking for dividing the recipe up into small ramekins. Especially since you're using heavy cream which sets up quicker than milk. I could see 45 minutes at 325 for the whole mixture with heavy cream.

But hey, what do I know. If you've made it before, I'm sure it will work.

Although I maintain that custard still requires skill and precise timing, especially if you're as fanatical about the texture as I am. So don't forget to take full credit at the dinner table!

Have you made it before? To me that sounds like a long time cooking for dividing the recipe up into small ramekins. Especially since you're using heavy cream which sets up quicker than milk. I could see 45 minutes at 325 for the whole mixture with heavy cream.

But hey, what do I know. If you've made it before, I'm sure it will work.

Although I maintain that custard still requires skill and precise timing, especially if you're as fanatical about the texture as I am. So don't forget to take full credit at the dinner table![/quote]
I have made it twice. Texture was okay. The darker color is due to the use of vanilla extract rather than working with a vanilla bean. Simply strain it if you are concerned with the texture.