Dinner with Chef Ed

Congratulations to Bill Smith of Boyce who was the winner of our drawing to attend the Mystery Basket Dinner at my house last evening. We had a great time and we'll be doing it again on a more regular basis. Here's a photo of the wonderful mushroom and asparagus pasta that we made.

The dinner format was that each couple attending the dinner provided three ingredients for the mystery basket from which we all made dinner. I provided the basic proteins and the wine and supplemented the mystery ingredients with things from my pantry. The mystery ingredients we ended up with were:

penne pasta
Thai rice stick
Parmigiano cheese
garlic
rosemary
mint
Italian parsley
Thai basil
piccolo basil
baby spinach
baby arugula
eggplant
heirloom tomatoes
jicama
Jalapeño peppers
sambal oelek
beets
portabella mushrooms
button mushrooms
pears
asparagus
green beans
chocolate chunks

I contributed shrimp, elk sausage, fresh herbs, fish sauce, goat cheese, walnuts, balsamic vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, ginger, butter, heavy cream, cinnamon, and coconut milk.

I don't think I spent more than five minutes throwing together this menu. I started sketching it after three or four couples arrived and modified it slightly to incorporate the new ingredients that the later arriving guests brought. I wanted to keep things simple so that everyone could participate.

Roasted Beet, Goat Cheese, and Walnut Salad on Baby Spinach and Baby Arugula with Balsamic Vinaigrette

Red Thai Curry of Shrimp, Eggplant, and Jicama on Rice Stick

Penne with Mushrooms and Asparagus in Rosemary-Garlic Cream

Roasted Green Beans, Heirloom Tomatoes, and Elk Sausage (see photo)

Semolina and Chocolate Chunk Cookies with Ginger-Cinnamon Pear Confit

We had three cutting boards going simultaneously and divided up the work. Shawn made the beet salad, Jaime made the penne with help from Rob, the elk sausage was a team effort especially in stringing the beans, I made the Thai curry, Bill made the cookies and pear confit, and Daisy the killer beagle kept the floor clean.

It was a great party and we only broke one wineglass! Keep coming to the restaurant for your chance to participate in the next dinner.