Guys’ night in the kitchen

Friday, February 23rd, 2007

Last saturday night was a true gourmet night for us, when three guys decided to - read “were forced into” - join together and cook up a delicious spread for their lovely wives in the spirit of Valentine’s day. The 6 course menu was perfectly paired with a flight of wine, and turned out better than any tasting menu we have ever had!

Cream of Wild Mushroom Soup

The scrumptious feast started with this cream of wild mushroom soup by Siv, adapted from this Emeril recipe : http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_18141,00.html. He skipped the garlic croutons and garnished this with some roasted walnuts instead, it was delicious! The cognac in the soup gave a nice little kick to the taste.

Crab Cakes with Lemon Dill Sauce

Next in line was this delicious crab cake by Sudhakar. This recipe is from the food network show Paula’s Home Cooking , and can be found here: http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_22842,00.html. The crab cakes were just so yummy, it was crispy on the outside, yet so moist and soft inside, and the lemon dill sauce was so flavorful! This dish was paired with a nice Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc.

Pan Sauteed Halibut with Curried Corn Sauce and Tomato Chutney

We took a break after the crab cakes, and then Siv served this halibut dish, which was my favorite for the night (okay I am a little biased :)). This is another food network recipe by Bobby Flay. http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_10524,00.html. The curry powder used in this recipe uses ancho Chile powder, made from dried poblano peppers, it is used in a lot of Mexican dishes. I love the sweet spicy flavor of this chile powder, and the curry powder was very distinctly flavorful. I’m glad he made extra curry powder, I have to come up with a recipe to use this.

The halibut went nicely with the 2004 Santa Margharita Pinot Grigio.

Roasted Chicken Breast with Green Spice Paste

The fourth dish in the line up was this awesome chicken dish by Sudhakar, his own recipe. Okay, this dish did not photograph well, but don’t let that fool you, this was just so yummy! In my opinion, chicken is one of the toughest meat to get right, since the meat is so bland, you have to make it better with the ingredients used. This dish was just perfect, chicken was so tender and moist and the perfect size, and the spice paste (made of onions, green chilies, cilantro leaves, cashew nuts and almonds) served over the chicken was just wow! The mild spices in this dish was paired well with a nice local Merlot.

Scallops With Pasta

Finally, last dish in this gourmet line-up were these pan seared scallops and pasta in a red sauce by Deepak. He wasn’t feeling well all evening, still this had turned out so great, just imagine what this would have tasted like if he was in perfect health! Scallops were so tender, and well marinated in the sauce, and the combination of the pasta and the red sauce was just perfect! It’s been a few days, so I just can’t remember what the sauces were made of :-(. Since this was the only dish with carbs and hence the most filling, it was perfect to serve at the end.

We finished off the meal with a nice store brought Tiramisu and a Tawny port wine. The guys had really done an amazing job of coming up with the perfect order and the timing between dishes, and the wine selections were amazing! Now if we can just get them to do this more often!

Meet the chefs - Siv, Deepak, Sudhakar, and their lucky wives - Sigma, Hema, Suneeta