Salutations
Wednesday, January 14, 2009 at 12:00PM "I'll be there 4:30-5."
5:00 comes, "Hit some traffic on 90, maybe a bit later." Typical Vincent. I generally don't tolerate tardiness when cooking is involved. If anything, I prefer guests to be early, because I usually get antsy and start cooking early. But being late? I have four plus dishes with three time as many components to keep warm in a 10x10 kitchen. I've known Vinnie for six years, but haven't seen him in almost two. I counted on him to be himself. So of course, I planned ahead.
The goal tonight, is to for the first time, cook food I like, that I care about, for a welcoming dinner soiree. Food allergies may be considered, but if someone doesn't like fennel, spice like I do, or anything else, too bad. I owe my guests at least this much.
Asian pear wrapped in proscuitto
I adore Asian [and fusion] cuisine. There's something about the delicate, clean, and minimalist intricacies interwoven in the cuisine that appeals to me. The numerous layers of flavor keep every bite interesting. I try to apply these methodologies in almost all my food.
Tonight, beef tenderloin with peanut sauce, mango shrimp salad, pork Vietnamese tacos, Asian pear prosciutto maki, and possibly carrot noodles with sugar snap peas, interrupted with waves of ginjo sake are going to be prepared. Should be a big step up from the last thing I made for the guests, which was probably a nine layer dip.
The best way to execute is to work ahead. Thankfully, I happen to be telecommuting so a lot can be done on my lunch break. All I need to do is boil the shrimp; make sweet soy, spicy mango puree, and salsa verde for the Vietnamese tacos; and start the two hour reduction also known as peanut sauce. Burner one gets halved tomatillos covered with water. Burner two is on high with a pot of water, seasoned with honey and salt. Garlic and ginger are caramelizing for the sweet soy on three. And four has my shallots, garlic, coriander, soy sauce, oil, ginger, sambal, honey, water, and peanuts. The mango puree is nothing but mango, salt, and chiles (in my case sambal oelek). It's a great day to have a boat motor on hand.
Mango and Shrimp Salad
Once in the pool, the beautiful [14s] shrimp are cooked and immediately immersed in an ice bath. I can't stand over cooked shrimp. Animals should only have to die once. Shrimp should be pink and have a slight curl, but they shouldn't look like they're smelling themselves.
The ginger and garlic have good color, so it's time to add the soy and sweetener. Traditionally, sugar goes in, but I can't bring myself to cook with sugar. This is why I always have honey and agave nectar on hand. I turn down the heat, add the soy sauce, realize I don't have enough, add ponzu, and then a very generous squeeze from the bear. Sorry dude.
I am very careful when heating the sweet soy. It cannot reach a boil. If the black stuff starts to foam, it will smell really bad, and consequently taste poor as well. Be patient. After a few minutes, I drop some chili flakes in and pour the sauce off into a bottle, which is in an ice bath.
Cutlery isn't the only gift from Japan
The other two burners have made excellent progress, so I unleash the boat motor on them. After the tomatillos are blended, they still simmer to reduce further, and are seasoned with pepper, sambal oelek, and nam pla. The peanut sauce gets blended, and still needs to simmer for at least another 90 minutes.
The stove is officially in lassiez-faire mode so I prepare the mango puree. Get all the flesh off that obnoxious oblong seed, and blend with a dash of salt, and chili. Set in the fridge to assimilate and done. Back to my real job.
After a few hours of X++ I get hit with the news. At least he tells me this time. While sad that I will have that much less time with my friends from the east, I remain calm. This is what I expected to happen, because damnit I have a plan.
At an undisclosed time, the guests arrive. Hugs and luggage carrying around. We retreat indoors and take a deep breath. Time to execute the plan.
I get all my ingredients out and give three to Vinnie. Those are for my very Italian friend. I remembered in school how he had an adoration for melon and prosciutto. So why not get him involved? This does a number of things. This entertains him while I finish everything else, relieves personal stress, and makes it taste better. Now he has personal investment in the meal, and will put more diligence and care into that single dish than I ever could.
But stop! Before you start rolling, taste everything on its own first. I'm not telling how much of each ingredient to roll in. Taste a sample of the 12 year old balsamic vinegar. Taste the melon, taste the prosciutto. It's really good stuff.
I know only 75% of what I gave him made it to the plate, but I'd argue this to be the best part of the meal. Catching up, and making great food.
During this time, I break the sound barrier to dice mango, make blood orange supremes, dressing, a rub for the tenderloin, broil the tenderloin, fire the pork with sweet soy, warm tortillas, and finish the sauces. We finish at about the same time.
Every dish is done at the same time, served at the appropriate temperature. The cold, crisp pear is wrapped in beautifully fatty, salty prosciuto, finished with the sweet, syrupy aged balsamic. The mango and shrimp salad is topped with a bright lime dressing, with the clean finish of mint. Vietnamese pork tacos are sweet and salty, but finished with tropic heat from the tomatillos and mango puree. Then finally, there is the main attraction, the beef skewer. Ask Vinnie how it was- his face was never more than two inches above the plate.
Why I didn't use a peanut garnish- I don't know
Recipe 
Reader Comments (6)
Aw, what a fun time. The care you put into planning the menu and even planning in the lateness shows how much you care for your friends.
"I counted on him to be himself. So of course, I planned ahead."...Ass. But the dinner was pretty fantastic.
Great Work Chef!! Asian Fusion with even an Italian flare. Hari Hachi Bu. Buon Appetito. My salivary glands are on overload.. Hope all enjoyed your efforts.
I've added Dash of Stash to my "blogs I love to read" list. Now I won't miss a posting!
Wow. I'd love to be at one of those dinners.
I'm not exaggerating when I say that every time I read one of your blog posts my eyeballs go like this O_O (except in this post the mention of "X++" made them go like this >.<).