It’s show time and this time it is BIG!

Almost 2 months ago, 800km/500miles from home, 30+ guests to satisfy, 10 courses to prepare, 30+ hours of cooking for a 6h dining experience; these are the ingredients to keep in mind reading what will follow.
Almost two months ago a very close friend of mine, Daniela, asked me to cater for her boyfriend’s, Giacomo, birthday dinner to be held near Bologna, in Italy. 

I was expressly requested to provide more of a feast (not that I ever put on the table mozzarella and ham with stale breads at my dinners) than a simple "spaghettata" Italian style. The challenge grew bigger when the number of guests started inflating like proper sourdough bread. Bubbly bubbly they raised to 30+ people. I had never cooked for more than 6 people so this was starting to take the shape of a very interesting adventure. To fix the menu proved to be quite challenging. Many cups of coffee, gazes in the air, and sketches of the possible platings brought to life a 10 courses menu divided in 4 appetizers and 6 courses from starch to meat to fish, passing by a fragrant broth and ending with a fresh panna cotta grazed by some local fresh white truffle. 

A rapid email chain with all my professional Chefs and foodies friends supported me on the choices I made.

Dining with a foot in China and another in Sicily

It is already a couple of months ago that an Italian friend of mine returned to Bonn to pay us a visit. We met up in the local vegetarian restaurant for a coffee and some catch up talk on our busy lives. Between a gossip, a complaint on our social life or our studies, she mentioned that she was guest at a couple of good friends and old colleagues. To thanks them for their hospitality, she asked me to prepare a traditional Sicilian dinner for the four of us.
I put together a very simple menu that required minimal cooking to do ahead of time and showing fresh and fragrant flavours typical of my island and, as it is traditional in Italian cuisine, I have divided the starch from the protein course.
The result was a summery four courses menu:

• Fried eggplant rolls with parsley and orange peel & Zucchini rolls with mint and lemon peel;
• Pasta alla Norma;
• Codfish gratiné with an almonds, thyme and black olive crust served with a fragrant orange salad;
• Mini cassata cake with home-made pistachio marzipan.

It’s ShowTime: Alexander’s birthday dinner.

Last Saturday, the 12th of September, I was asked to prepare the birthday dinner for a friend of mine, Alexander. The location was the same as the last times and only one of the guests was new to me. This time I felt the menu preparation a bit differently, probably for laziness I pushed it almost to the last minute. That did not feel right while cooking at all... Still having doubts about the interplay of the different dishes featured in the dinner can feel like a weight and impede you in the movements. Anyhow, I managed to deliver the dinner and the guests seemed pleased with the food, which is what counts.

As inspiration this time, I opted for going in Asia and be influenced by the Chinese culture. In my usual potpourri, I even added a Mexican and Italian touch to some dishes. Long story short, the menu read like this:
• Spicy pineapple salsa over whole-grain crackers;

It’s ShowTime!

The show went on yesterday night. Starting 4pm the ponytail was in place, the hat was on and the apron wrapped around me (do you get the tacos look?). Part of the shopping was delegated to a friend of mine (also guest for the dinner) that kindly performed it with success (only the mint was missing, no big deal compared to my forgiveness of the precision scale and small pots at home).
All started from the cookie dough: butter and brown sugar creamed together, egg in, then the roasted sesame seeds, oatmeal and flour. Once the sweet sausage was shaped, it was time to let it firm up in the fridge.
Time to prep the carrots! After peeling them (with a lefty-peeler) they were cut in a bias in chunks and braised in some butter and brown sugar.
By then it was the good time to move to the canapés and appetizers (did I tell you already that I was preparing a 4 courses dinner? actually 5...). The kalamata olives caviare was the next one on the list. Oh man, isn’t pitting a boring job?? But you get so much more taste! So pitted kalamata and fresh thyme leaves ended their journey under the blade on my sharp knife RIP.
The cookies were then ready to be shaped and baked.
To continue with the appetizer, the next ones on the list were the chocolate-cilantro rolls. So cut the big sheet of the bric dough, brush them with butter and fill them up with fresh cilantro, chocolate, red chillies and mascarpone. Roll them up brushing them with a bit more butter and voilà!
Second on the line of the appetizers were the salmon pouches. This time I needed rice paper. After having moistened it a bit (it comes in brittle hard round sheets) they were filled with diced salmon fillets, some red currants berries, mascarpone cheese and a pinch of Melange Noir from Ingo Holland. All is ready for the oven!
Once all the guests were arrived, I served the cocktails canapé: Sesame-Oatmeal Cookie with Kalamata Caviare and Strawberry.

 

Time to start putting together the main course.

There is always a first time…

It was few days ago when I had the pleasure to try what I would like to be my future job; but let’s start from the beginning.
Some time ago a friend of mine told me about the birthday of a friend of his, nothing peculiar so far; the nice part came when he told me that he was thinking of gifting him a dinner. Nice idea, no? You get to sit with your friends, drink good wine, chitchat, listen to good music and eat a meal especially prepared for you. The bottom line is that he wanted me to prepare that meal.
Pointless to say that I was very happy of this opportunity; my first dinner as a cook! I, in the kitchen cooking, plating and so on; them enjoying the results in the living room.
It was a very nice experience indeed. The kitchen was quite well equipped in tools and space but a cook’s knives are irreplaceable, don’t you think so too? Thankfully I already learned to travel with some of my equipments whenever I have to cook at a friend’s place.
It took me a couple of days to figure out the menu to prepare. I opted for a combination of traditional, regional and seasonal elements.
It’s asparagus time and Germany is quite a good producer of them (especially the white ones but I prefer the green). Strawberries are another hit of the season. The specimens coming from Bornheim are a nice orange read, roundish and of a wonderful smell; so aromatic, they are amazingly good!