Table Talk
Friday Nights
It's always a dilemma. Friday rolls around and after being on my feet all week cooking, I'm not terribly anxious to go home and cook dinner. It's the same dilemma that my clients often have-- what do I feed my family at the end of the day? I am no fan of fast food, and am admittedly a picky eater, so even restaurant food is often less than appetizing. Add to that the tendency of Friday nights to be crazy busy at many restaurants and I have a conundrum--brave the crowds to eat mediocre food, but not cook, or figure out a meal that is easily pulled together and delicious. So when our plans fell through last Friday, instead of torturing ourselves with the Friday night crowds, I invited our friends Mike and Lynn over for dinner. But that left the menu. The requirement was that I had to have everything on hand--no additional trips to the store. And I didn't want to spend much time in the kitchen. I had bought some duck liver mousse a couple of days before that I put out for an appetizer, along with some Boursin cheese and Nita Crisps. And I had frozen some apple dumplings a couple of weeks ago that I could pull out for dessert. That left the main meal: start to finish in under an hour. And worth every minute.
Duck Liver Pate & Boursin Cheese
Tri-Tip Steaks with Kalamata Olives, Garlic, Oregano and Feta
Mashed Yukon Gold & Sweet Potatoes with Gouda, Roasted Garlic & Smoked Paprika
Sauteed Asparagus & Fennel
