The Dinner Party

So the dinner party was a success! Our friends brought over their lovely little puppy Gable so it was more of a doggie play date / dinner party, but thoroughly our kind of vibe.

For the starter, I made a mixed green salad with grapefruit segments, goat cheese, walnuts and dried cranberries with a balsamic and chive vinaigrette. For the entree I made a mushroom tart with tofu, parsley and chives, accompanied by a steamed artichoke with a caper and garlic aioli. Our friends are vegetarians, hence the veg main course.

For dessert, I went out on a limb to try a recipe I found from the Golden Door Spa. It's a flourless chocolate cake without the guilt, i.e. without fat or sugar.

I didn't take many pictures (thoroughly distracted by puppy playtime) but here's a look at the dinner table in action and our dessert. I topped the flourless chocolate cake with a blackberry coulis I made by blending fresh blackberries with some frozen raspberries, a little honey and lemon juice.

Here's the recipe for the flourless chocolate cake. Cooked yam and banana replace the typically "guilty" fat and sugar in the original recipe and, I must say, this was a surprisingly light dessert.  The recipe for the mushroom tart came from a vegetarian cook book I have, but here's a similar recipe you can try.

Now that the holidays are over, are you planning any dinner parties? I want to hear all about it! Leave a comment below or email me.

Happy (belated) Hanukkah!

I know it's a little late, but my family did our Hanukkah dinner last night. It's never too late for latkes though, right?

Here's a look at the grand plate of latkes we served last night...homemade from scratch with love from, er, Trader Joe's. Hey, no judging!

My cousin also brought the most amazing Hanukkah cake for us to indulge in. The delectable, dark chocolate ganache was such a light, refreshing end to such a light meal...if you don't count the fried latkes....or the schnitzel...or the tri tip...or the jelly doughnuts. Gym time for me today! 

(BTW my cousin is a professional pastry chef. Don't try this at home kids.)

It's also never too late to share a little Hanukkah history! So, here's a brief overview of the holiday for those of you that don't follow the way of the tribe. And no, I didn't make this up myself. It's a little excerpt from the all-knowing resource known as the internet. The internet is always right, right? Read all about the history of Hanukkah after the jump, as well as a link to a latke recipe.

Taco Tuesday

I can never pass up the opportunity to make Taco Tuesday. Second day into the week, we all deserve some delicious tacos, served up with our favorite condiments and salsas.

Last night I decided to try something very different with my tacos, using the ingredients I had laying around the kitchen. Complemented by some fresh tortillas from the market (they were still warm when I bought them, how could I possibly resist?) they made the perfect, easy dinner.

First I cut up a large butternut squash and placed it in the over with some oil, salt and pepper for about an hour, until I could easily pierce it with a fork. Once fork-tender, I cut the squash up into pretty little orange cubes and sweetened them with a bit of maple sugar and bumped up the flavor by adding some coarse salt and a little pepper.

On to the tofu, I cubed it the same size as the squash and pan-fried it. As it was super-firm tofu, it can withstand a good pan frying without falling apart. While in the pan I seasoned it with salt, pepper, garlic, chili powder, cumin and coriander. After the tofu gained a light, crispy texture on the outside I added the squash so it could pick up some of those wonderful spice flavors.

I fried up some tortillas and loaded it up with my yummy taco mixture, topped them off with some goat cheese (I love goat cheese with coriander and cumin, something about it...) and some fresh cilantro.

Delicious and the active cooking time was only about 15 minutes. Vegetable, protein, a little fat and a little green, this light yet satisfying dinner will definitely be going into my "to make again" file.