Friday Things

1) Actual conversation in my house last night:

Me: "Maybe add some cumin or something so it's not so one dimensional."

Hubby: "Don't talk so loud ... the chili is going to hear you."

2) Got my greens in today with a green monster, salad and spinach pizza:

 

3) Today is my nephew's 5th birthday!!!  Happy Birthday Giovanni!

 

4) I found these new coconut treats ... they get 2 thumbs up!

5) We have our friends' wedding tomorrow night - can't wait!

What are you up to this weekend?

Cooking Class Bachelorette Party!

Friends of mine are getting married on Saturday!  The bachelorette/bachelor parties took place last night, and for the bachelorette party we took a cooking class!!  It was something I have always wanted to do.

We were split into two groups of eight.  The first group made the appetizer and potatoes for the main course.  Our appetizer was a white bean dip with veggies and crackers.

 

I was in the group that prepared the meat, made the soup and the zucchini "fries."  We each cut open and filled our own pork tenderloin.  We also made one giant batch of coconut butternut squash soup, and we each cut up a few small zucchini for the fries (which we just tossed with olive oil and sea salt and baked at 430 F).

 

 

It came together really well, and the soup was my favourite part.  I loved the ginger in it.

Throughout the evening we also decorated cookies.  It was the first time I ever made my own decorating bag (out of parchment paper).

 

It was a yummmmmy evening and a nice change from the usual bachelorette party.

Have you ever taken a cooking class?

Do you have any weddings to go to this year?

We have three already!!!!  I love weddings :-)

5 Tastes in 5 Courses

Last night I hosted a Foodbuzz 24x24 dinner.  Each month Foodbuzz holds a contest for its Featured Publishers called 24x24 in which 24 special meals take place within the same 24 hours.  In order to enter the contest a Featured Publisher needs to create a proposal for a meal that will be made and enjoyed on a specific day of the month.  The winners are given $250 to make the proposal come to life.  I was lucky enough to be chosen for my proposal "5 Tastes in 5 Courses."  I was also selected a couple years ago for my dinner "A Little Feast on the Prairies."

5 Tastes in 5 Courses

My vision for this dinner was to create five courses, each celebrating one of the five basic tastes of sweet, sour, salty, bitter and umami.  Four of our close friends joined us for this fun foodie evening.

Salty

We began with a selection of salty munchies including caviar, rice crackers with sea vegetables, sea weed, veggie straws, soft cheese and pretzels stuffed with peanut butter.

 

 

We enjoyed the appetizers with red wine.  

I was a paparazzo while my friends nibbled and sipped.

 

Bitter

Kale salad with lemon tahini dressing and walnuts.  This course was enjoyed with beer.

  

Sour

Ciorba (Romanian sour soup) with sour dough bread and whipped butter.

Umami  

Ultimate umami burger and french fries with truffle salt and homemade curry ketchup.

Ultimate Umami Burger

2 lbs lean ground beef

2 tablespoons Taste No. 5 Umami Paste (optional - fish sauce or soy sauce would work too)

Season with fresh ground pepper and truffle salt.

Mix the above ingredients.  Form into patties and then BBQ.  Top with bacon, Gruyere cheese, caramelized onions, mushrooms and Parmesan crisps.

 

 

 

Homemade Curried Ketchup 

2 pounds tomatoes (unpeeled and quartered)

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 T apple cider vinegar

1 T fresh ginger, chopped

3 cardamom pods

2 star anise

4 cloves

1 tsp onion powder

2 T curry powder

salt and pepper to taste

Put everything in a pot.  Simmer for about an hour (or more) until broken down and reduced.  Strain, discarding peels and spices.  Refrigerate. 

 

The truffle salt is quite potent so we put it on the table so our guest could adjust the seasoning on the fries to their liking. We also put regular ketchup, mayo and mustard out.

 

Sweet

There were three sweet desserts including red velvet coconut donuts:

Double chocolate merlot cookies:

 

Jumbo rainbow cookies:

I sent my guests home with little goodie bags - 5 Tastes to Try at Home.

Included: Pack of Smoothie Blend Jelly Bellies (Sweet), Dark Chocolate (Bitter), Dried Porcini Mushrooms (Umami), Sour Skittles (Sour), Pop Corners (Salty)

It turned out to be a great evening with yummy eats and great friends - Thanks Foodbuzz!  This dinner was the highlight of my weekend.

What was the highlight of your weekend?

What is your favourite of the 5 tastes?