A 30th Wedding Anniversary Menu and A Winner for the Giveaway!

So I don't date myself too much here, not MY 30th wedding anniversary, but rather a 30th wedding anniversary party that my parents and I hosted for my aunt and uncle who got married on the same day as my birthday. I was a bratty flower girl at their wedding, and as a surprise to me, they rolled out a birthday cake onto the reception floor which I got to cut, and then I graciously returned the favor by throwing a tantrum for all their wedding gifts.

My aunt, the young bride, who was probably exasperated with me at that point for stealing their thunder, steely bartered one gift to me in exchange for good behavior. Thinking I had won the duel, I smartly marched up and selected the largest and shiniest gift box, only to open it up and find a three speed metal blender.

Defeat.

As pay back, I threw them an impromptu little party last week because my parents were in town unseasonably and my mom always complains how she never gets to do anything for her little sister's anniversary.
Since I now pretty much exclusively cook out of all your blogs, this turned out to be another installment of I Ate Your Food, and since I needed to post my giveaway winner..I rolled it all into one post! Scroll down for the winner...yes, I am evil that way.

Here is the menu that my mom and I drummed up for the party. Our idea was to re-create their wedding reception menu, which none of us could actually remember. Yes, I remember my STEEL BLENDER but failed to remember other details of the evening. My dad vaguely described roast chicken, potatoes and salad and so we ran with it:

Lentil Soup With Sauteed Scallops

Garlic Rolls

Hearts of Palm Salad With Cilantro Vinaigrette

Flavors of India Roasted Cornish Hens With Carrots, Celery and Leeks

Hasselback Potatoes

Broiled Salmon with Spicy Mushroom Sauce and Saffron Rice

Lemon Coconut Cake with Raspberry Preserves

As is the case with all meals, as the dinner progressed, I got caught up and couldn't take pictures of all the items, so I'm just leaving a link to the master recipes that I used =(.

But as is always the case, many thanks to all the talented bloggers out there whose recipes I use with much success.

Lentil Soup and Sauteed Scallops - sourced entirely from Chicho's Kitchen with very little adaptation at all.

My only note would be to serve this soup piping hot. I tried to use a soup warmer thingy seen in the pic that I had bought, and it ended up not working right, so my soup reached the table barely warm, a point my loud guests noted quickly. Grrr....

Garlic Rolls - the detailed and step-by-step instructions on Suhaina and Nag's Edible Garden blogs are testament enough. These were killer rolls, perfect in every way and my favorite part of the meal!

Hearts of Palm Salad with Cilantro Vinaigrette - adapted from Food and Wine magazine Recipe by Carolina Buia and Isabel González.

Dressing:

2/3 cup cilantro leaves
1/4 small red onion, finely chopped (subst. for shallots) 
juice of 1 lemon 
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons agave nectar (subst. for honey) 
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste 

Salad:
2 clementine/oranges, peeled and sliced into segments (pith removed) 
1 14-ounce jar of hearts of palm, drained and sliced 
2 bunches Romaine lettuce - rinsed, dried and chopped
1/2 red onion, sliced thinly
a few grape tomatoes, halved
 
1.In a blender, combine the ingredients for the dressing except olive oil and salt and pepper. With the machine on, add the olive oil in a steady stream and blend until smooth. Season the vinaigrette with salt and pepper.
2. Toss together all ingredients for the salad, serve immediately with dressing.


Flavors of India Roasted Cornish Hens With Carrots, Celery and Leeks - I adapted this recipe from Whole Foods website.
I substituted Cornish hens (one per two guests) and the recipe came out perfect.  I added 2 cups each chopped carrots, leeks and celery to the roasting pan with the hens and served the veggies alongside the meat. They still took a good 1.5 - 2 hours to cook, but came out moist and flavorful.


Broiled Salmon with Spicy Mushroom Sauce and Saffron Rice - again entirely sourced from Bong Mom's Cookbook.
I've made this recipe several times now, and I love the mushroom sauce that goes with the easy to bake salmon.

Hasselback Potatoes - these truly deserve their own post, but here is some eye candy to enjoy in the meantime. I adapted the recipe from Seasaltwithfood and added flavored ranch butter to the potatoes as they baked.
They need to be served right away, which I made a mistake on, I made them well in advance, so they lost some of their appeal when sitting out and growing cold.

..and finally dessert. I had to make them cake, in honor for my cake all those years ago, so I chose Dorie Greenspan's Perfect Party Cake, which truly was perfect in every single way. What a keeper of a recipe. I ran out of time with this item, so instead of buttercream icing, I just used whipped cream both in the filling and to cover the cake.

Apologies for zero pictures, I kick myself for not grabbing my camera before everything was chopped up and eaten!
And now for the winner of my first ever blog giveaway. The $40 Amazon.com gift card goes to comment #....

........1! As pronounced by random number generator - that is Divya all the way in India who blogs at Easycooking. Congratulations Divya, and thanks to all who participated!

To be honest, I always though the first and last comments were unlucky as they stood no chance against all the other numbers, but I guess that proved my theory wrong! Bang, the first comment got selected, early bird gets the worm...in the form of a gift card =).

Irish Potato and Leek Soup

Spring Break has come and gone. After a visit to the seaside and then to a rental by Lake Conroe, the kids are back in school, the weather has suitably warmed up and I have just recovered from a lovely bout of food poisoning.

*record player comes to a screeching halt*

Just the thing to mar an otherwise lovely few days. And food poisoning puts you off food completely, let alone food blogging. But the right antidote was a lovely cup of the simplest of soups. To boot, after the weather unexpectedly got chilly last weekend (in the middle of SPRING!), I reached for this warm and comforting potato and leek soup from a cookbook called Irish Pub Cooking.

Just the thing for when the weather is awful outside.

Or when solid food makes you want to hurl.

Take your pick.......

Leek & Potato Soup (adapted from Irish Pub Cooking)

Small tender leeks are better than the huge ones. In either case, remember to seprate the stalks and wash the leeks thoroughly, there is usually dirt trapped in every crevice.

2 Tbsp butter + 2 Tbsp oil

1 onion, chopped

3 leeks sliced

2 medium sized potatoes cut into small cubes

3.5 cups vegetable stock

2 cloves garlic mashed with a little salt

1/3 cup light cream (for garnishing)

2 Tbsp fresh chives or parsley (for garnishing)

salt and pepper to taste

1. Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat, add oil, and then saute onions, garlic and leeks for 2-3 minutes or till they become soft, but not brown.

2. Pour in stock, bring to a boil, reduce heat and then simmer for about 15 minutes.

3. Use an immersion blender or transfer to a blender and pulse in bursts for a hearty texture, or process until smooth.

4. Return the soup to the pan and season with salt and pepper to taste, reheat and serve in warm soup bowls.

5. Add a little swirl of cream and garnish with snipped chives or parsley.

This recipe heads off to Joanne who Eats Well With Others and is hosting Regional Recipes - Ireland. Slainte! Boy, do I need some of that...

And it will also be making an appearance at Souper Sundays hosted by Deb of Kahakai Kitchen.

Barefoot Bloggers - Cheddar Corn Chowder

The Barefoot Bloggers are cooking soup this week - a cheddar corn chowder as chosen by Jill of My Next Life and which is featured in The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook on page 74.

So I skimmed through the recipe, and it seemed fairly straightforward - cheese, corn and potatoes (for the chowder part I presumed). This was going to be interesting because while those were flavors I enjoyed, technically, I'm not a soup person. I'm just saying...

But armed with the fairly simple list of ingredients I decided to make this soup today, and really read the recipe. And realized some pertinent things.
Like Ina likes to feed all of Long Island when she makes soup. Twelve cups of chicken stock and ten cups of corn kernels?
Oy..
The potatoes go in unpeeled.
Ay carumba...
I just had regular potatoes so I peeled and diced them. What is a white boiling potato anyway? I need to do some more detective work on the potato aisle next time.

And the bacon. All of the bacon. It's FRIED (Hallelujah), and then it disappears from the recipe and reappears as the garnish. Errmmm....Bacon needs to give its agent a call I thought, what a waste. But then I realized that bacon was kind of sacrificial in this soup, it was for the greater good because the bacon fat that is rendered is then what makes the base of the soup.

Slightly alarmed, but a little wiser, I made the soup. And instead of halving the recipe, I fifth'ed it. And invented that new word in the process *beaming*.

And the husband licked the bowl clean and asked for more.

I'm so glad I took part in this challenge. This soup is not thick like New England seafood chowders and I'm HAPPY about that! The thickness of regular chowder is a slight put-off factor for me. The soup is simple, its flavors are succint, its warm and comforting, and perfect for the crisp months that lie ahead for us! On some personal notes, I further reduced the quantity of cheese and half-and-half regardless of my fifth'ing (there she goes again!) because I did not want to overpower the overall taste or make the soup too dense.

I have a new soup recipe in my arsenal. If I make the entire quantity, it would be great as a party starter in cooler months, or I can feed the troops before I wage war on the tony suburb next door. Oops, did I just say that out loud?

Cheddar Corn Chowder

8 ounces bacon, chopped
1/4 cup good olive oil
6 cups chopped yellow onions (4 large onions)
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1/2 cup flour
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
12 cups chicken stock
6 cups medium-diced white boiling potatoes, unpeeled (2 pounds)
10 cups corn kernels, fresh (10 ears) or frozen (3 pounds)
2 cups half-and-half
8 ounces sharp white cheddar cheese, grated

Directions
In a large stockpot over medium-high heat, cook the bacon and olive oil until the bacon is crisp, about 5 minutes. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and reserve. Reduce the heat to medium, add the onions and butter to the fat, and cook for 10 minutes, until the onions are translucent.

Stir in the flour, salt, pepper, and turmeric and cook for 3 minutes. Add the chicken stock and potatoes, bring to a boil, and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes, until the potatoes are tender. If using fresh corn, cut the kernels off the cob and blanch them for 3 minutes in boiling salted water. Drain. (If using frozen corn you can skip this step.) Add the corn to the soup, then add the half-and-half and cheddar. Cook for 5 more minutes, until the cheese is melted. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper. Serve hot with a garnish of bacon.