Life has ramped up to a new level. Some days we feel a little out of control, but one thing that grounds us, is gathering with our trio and friends and breaking bread. With all the craziness this week, we didn’t have a chance to invite guests, luckily Sunday was our rehearsal, for our Mahler Symphony #2 concert, for charity. I used this time to concentrate on the music…. oh yeah and to invite Brian and Andrea. So now that we have some entertaining guests, on to plan the menu. I just want to say, that making pasta is therapeutic. I hope I didn’t give too much away…..
We gathered, with “the mighty Enzo” to lift a glass and gather at the table, to start with our homemade tortellini stuffed with roasted butternut squash.
Shawn used our saffron pasta recipe, then we stuffed them with roasted squash, ricotta, parmesan and herbs. The sauce was just sage leaves crisped in brown butter, so the tortellini would be the star. As an added surprise, they are sprinkled with crushed ameretti cookies, for a bit of crunch. And yes, rolling out pasta dough is relaxing for us. the assembly line of cutting stuffing and shaping pasta, while chatting away always gets rid of some of the week’s stress. Our wine pairings for this evening were a 2013 Tommasi Ripasso (gifted by Brian) and a 2012 Marrenon Doria Luberon (gifted by Jaymar).
For our main we tried a new recipe, chicken braised with apples and cider. Shawn changed it up, by using chicken supremes.
Chicken and apples are just right together, and the spice mix just adds a subtle flavor profile. The semi-boneless chicken supremes makes it a bit easier to eat as well. There are certain topics of conversation, that are never recommended in polite company. These include religion, politics, racism and terrorists. So of course we discussed all of them, with some musical discussion thrown in. I love the fact that a group like this can give different views about otherwise touchy topics with intelligence, feeling and insight. I make it sound like we had a very serious conversation, but we also had some chit-chat and jibber-jabber, to round things out.
There is a dessert that has been on the list of things we want to make for at least 10 years. Every time we are going to make it, we change to something else. This week we finally served Poached pears with mascarpone, chocolate and caramel sauce.
This is one of those times that the sum is greater than the parts. I was quite surprised how much of the flavor of the wine and spices that the pears took on. Shawn was concerned that the pears might not be ripe enough, but a little extra cooking time, checked regularly for that perfect texture. Add to that mascarpone, whipped cream, caramel and of course chocolate, with raspberries, for colour and a burst of flavour. I’m not sure why we waited so long to make this dessert, but it is lovely. Last minute Shawn opened a 2011 Vineland – Select Late Harvest Vidal. This is a great wine when you want something special to accompany dessert, but lighter and more subtle than the icewines. This was quite a treat, and for once Steph was not conducting, so she was able to have a little extra tipple.
Now for once on a Monday we are not off to rehearsal, instead we had a Monday night performance of Mahler’s Symphony #2, supporting St. Michael’s Hospital ICU unit. A nice meal and an anticipated performance….. Not a bad way to start the week.
Thank the food gods for this weekly ritual which ensures sanity, and one excellent, phenomenal meal to sustain us all through the crazy times. It’s exciting preparing complicated performances, but sometimes a bit scary too. All will be well!
Everything was superb. The tortellini were exquisite (even without the crumbled amaretti in my case.) The poached pear is a keeper! And the vidal was a perfect ending.
Dinner was simply divine! Thanks so much for inviting me to join your dinner party this evening.