I was too drunk and tired to post this last night, but we had a guest over and we made a nice dinner for her.
I started with a reprisal of the amuse-gueule that I concocted on Easter: I took a scallop, seared it hard for 90 s per side, sliced it in half, put in a layer of caviar, put the top back on, covered with crushed pink peppercorns, placed it on a seared escarole leaf, then smothered it in a sauce of lemon, cream, and seafood stock.
For a vegetable, I made a spring vegetable salad, with asparagus, lima beans, mint, arugula, pistachios, and grated parmesan cheese, and covered this with a lemon/oil/shallot/tarragon dressing. I made "smashed potatoes," which is kind of like how you treat plantains in tostones. In this case, you quarter them, simmer them for 20 minutes, smash them ~1/4" flat with a mallet, then fry them until browned and crisped on the outside. For the meat, I took a ~1.5" thick tenderloin filet, then smashed it down to about 3/4" thick, and marinated it in olive oil, garlic, and thyme for a few hours. I then flash-cooked this on a smoking hot grill pan, then served with a chimichurri sauce.
I am not a dessert person, so DW scooped up some ice cream covered with berries in a sweetened sauce.
It was all very yummy!
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