Dec 30 2008
What to make?
I’m not much for going out for dinner on New Year’s Eve. I don’t like crowded places, and most things I can cook better myself (unless I’m willing to spend more than $100 for just my serving, not including drinks). Besides, I enjoy the process of planning a menu for the evening, from appetizer to dessert.
Last year, my menu was a first course of a salad with seared scallops, pomegranate seeds, and a pomegranate vinaigrette that I made, a second course of steak au poivre and matchstick potatoes, and a dessert course that I actually can no longer remember! The steak au poivre was one of the best things I’ve ever cooked in my life (and I’ve made that dish several times), and it completely overshadowed everything else…which was even more amazing, as desserts are my specialty.
It’s tempting to do steak au poivre again, because we both enjoy it so much, and because it’s the one time of year that tenderloin medallions are marked down just a bit. Living in the Midwest, I always have access to quality beef, but if we also have a seafood course, we have to see what looks best at the seafood shop and create a dish around it.
I’ve been pondering what to make for a dessert for a few weeks now. I want it to be something special, and probably something I haven’t made before. Molten chocolate cakes (or molten lemon cakes) are easy, yet they look impressive. A lemon mousse topped with whipped cream could be a nice, “light” finish to the meal. If I can find any meyer lemons at the store, I might decide to make something with lemon (which we both love).
If you’ve never tried meyer lemons, it’s really worth your while to check them out. They are a sweeter lemon, if you can imagine that, and they just burst with flavor. In the summer, I love making fruit salads with a squeeze of meyer lemon juice, and in the winter (a peak time for citrus), making desserts out of citrus can be a real pick-me-up when it’s been snowing for days on end.
Time to work on planning my menu for tomorrow!
