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  • Gourmet Night- April 2012

    1 vote
    Gourmet Night- April 2012
    Publisher of Cookbook Junkies
    by Cookbook Junkies
    115 recipes
    >

    Ingredients

    • Appetizer- Italian goat cheese and pesto torta
    • Drink- Strawberry Lemonade punch
    • Salad- Mixed Greens with apples, feta, bacon, & walnuts
    • Horseradish dressing
    • Main Course- Spicy Grilled Tilapia with Creamy Grits and Mushroom Scallion Sauce
    • Dessert- Raspberry Pistachio Cheesecake
    • Italian Goat Cheese and Pesto Torta
    • 4 oz. goat cheese
    • 8 oz. cream cheese
    • salt, pepper
    • 3 Tb tomato paste
    • 3/4 c. minced, sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil
    • 1/2 tsp balsamic vinegar
    • 1 c. pesto (must be thick)
    • Line medium sized bowl with saran wrap, edges hanging over. Spray
    • saran wrap with Pam. Combine goat cheese, cream cheese and salt and
    • pepper with electric mixer until smooth. Reserve 1/3 cup mixture. To
    • reserved 1/3 c. mixture, add tomato paste, sun dried tomatoes and
    • balsamic vinegar. Mix with spatula until smooth. Take half of goat
    • cheese mixture and spread on bottom of bowl. This part can be a little
    • tricky since the plastic wrap likes to stick to the cheese and not the
    • bowl as you’re trying to spread it! I would suggest using a large, flat
    • spoon (like a serving spoon) and run it under hot water until the spoon
    • is warm. Then using the back side of the spoon, gently press the
    • cheese mixture along the bottom of the bowl. (The warmth of the spoon
    • will keep the cheese from sticking to it. If it starts sticking again,
    • go run it under the hot water again.) Next spread with pesto, then with
    • sun-dried tomato mixture. Smooth remainder of cheese mixture on top
    • using the warmed-spoon trick. Cover and refrigerate for one hour.
    • Serve with toasted baguette slices.
    • Strawberry Lemonade Punch
    • 6 oz. frozen lemonade concentrate
    • 10 oz. frozen thawed strawberries
    • 8 oz. can crushed pineapple
    • 2 liters gingerale
    • I doubled this recipe for gourmet night
    • Mixed Green salad with Horseradish dressing
    • 12 cups mixed greens
    • candied walnuts
    • 1 pkg. cooked and crumbled bacon
    • 8 oz. feta cheese
    • Horseradish dressing:
    • 1
    • lemon
    • 3 tablespoons
    • creme fraiche
    • 3 tablespoons
    • plain whole milk yogurt
    • 1 tablespoon
    • honey
    • 2 tablespoons
    • prepared horseradish
    • 2 tablespoons
    • dijon mustard
    • 1 pinch
    • salt
    • 1 pinch
    • freshly ground pepper
    • Zest the lemon, then juice half of it. In a jar, combine juice &
    • zest with remaining ingredients, stir, then cover the jar and shake.
    • Taste and adjust to make it spicier, creamier, or sweeter to your
    • preference.
    • I forgot to take a picture of my main course but I found this one online. Similar, but not quite what mine looked like!
    • Spicy Grilled Tilapia with Creamy Grits and Mushroom Scallion Sauce
    • Mushroom Scallion Sauce:
    • 1 tablespoon butter
    • 2 cups sliced baby portobello mushrooms (cremini)
    • 1/2 cup sliced scallions
    • 1/4 cup white wine
    • 1/2 pint heavy cream
    • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
    • 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (I used 1/4 tsp)
    • Salt and black pepper
    • Grits:
    • 5 cups milk
    • 1 1/2 cups quick-cooking grits
    • 2 tablespoons butter
    • 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
    • 1/2 teaspoon salt
    • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
    • Sauteed Carrots:
    • 4-5 whole peeled carrots, tops removed, sliced lengthwise (I used a cheese slicer for thin slices)
    • 1 TB olive oil
    • Salt and pepper
    • Tilapia:
    • 6 (6-ounce) tilapia fillets
    • Jamaican jerk seasoning
    • Mushroom Scallion Sauce: Melt butter in a large saute pan. Saute mushrooms and scallions
    • for about 3 minutes. Stir in wine and heavy cream. Season with garlic
    • powder, cayenne, salt, and pepper. Stir until sauce thickens slightly.
    • Keep warm until ready to serve.
    • Grits: Bring milk to a boil over medium heat. Gradually whisk in grits, butter,
    • cheese, salt, and pepper. Turn down heat, cover, and cook until grits
    • thicken to desired consistency, stirring frequently. Keep warm until ready to serve.* not too long or they will get rubbery.
    • Sauteed Carrots: Heat saute pan to medium high. Add olive oil, carrot ribbons, salt & pepper and saute until just tender.
    • Tilapia: Rinse and dry fillets and then sprinkle each side liberally
    • Plate entree by spooning grits on center of plate. Lay tilapia on
    • top of grits. Top with mushroom
    • scallion sauce, lay the carrot slices on top of fish in a criss-cross
    • manner and serve immediately.
    • Raspberry Pistachio Cheesecake
    • Pistachio Graham Cracker Crust
    • ¼ cup shelled, unsalted pistachios
    • ¼ cup granulated sugar
    • ¼ teaspoon coarse salt
    • 1 ¼ cups graham cracker crumbs
    • 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
    • Filling
    • 2 pounds cream cheese, at room temperature for at least 6 hours
    • 1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
    • ½ teaspoon coarse salt
    • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
    • 1 tablespoon vanilla paste, or seeds from 1 whole vanilla bean
    • 5 large eggs, at room temperature
    • 2/3 cup sour cream
    • ½-1 cup raspberry jam
    • ½ cup shelled, unsalted pistachios, pulsed in a food processor until coarsely ground
    • 3 (1/2-pint) containers raspberries
    • Confectioners' sugar, for dusting (optional)
    • oven and pour in the boiling water to come about ½ inch up the sides of

    Directions

    The Menu:

    1.

    Preheat the oven to 300°F. Bring water to a boil for a water bath.

    Butter the bottom and sides of a 9 inch springform pan, wrap in aluminum foil so outside is completely covered; set aside.2.

    To make the crust: In a food processor, pulse the pistachios with the

    sugar and the salt until coarsely ground. Transfer to a large bowl, add

    the graham cracker crumbs and butter, and mix to combine. Press the

    graham cracker mixture over the bottom of the buttered pan. Set aside.

    3.

    To make the filling: In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the

    paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese, sugar, salt, vanilla extract,

    and vanilla paste or seeds on medium-high speed, scraping down the bowl

    several times, until the mixture is completely smooth, about 5 minutes.

    4.

    Turn the mixer to low and beat in the eggs one at a time, until

    blended, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Beat

    in the sour cream until blended.

    5. Place the cake pan in a

    roasting pan. Pour the cream cheese mixture into the cake pan. Place the roasting pan in the

    oven and pour in the boiling water to come about ½ inch up the sides of

    the cake pan. Bake until the filling is set but still jiggles slightly

    in the center, 1 hour 15 minutes to 1 hour 20 minutes. Remove from the

    water bath and let cool to room temperature. Chill for 4 to 6 hours, or

    overnight, in the pan.

    6. To finish, remove cake from the pan. In a small saucepan, warm the jam over low heat

    until liquid. Let cook slightly. Brush the top and sides of

    the cheesecake with the jam. Cover the top of the cake with a

    single layer of raspberries. Holding the cake with one hand under the

    bottom, and working over a sheet pan to catch the excess, gently press

    the ground pistachios all around the side of the cake. Dust with

    confectioners' sugar, if desired.

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