Moroccan Salad:
My mom sent me this recipe from a cooking class she took recently... it sounded like my kind of thing:
Raquel Sultan’s Salad
2 Small Fennels, diced
4 Navel Oranges, diced
1 Red Onion, diced
1 Cup Cilantro, chopped finely
1 Grated lemon rind
4 Small avocados diced
½ Lemon Juice
3 Tbsp. Olive Oil
Course salt to taste
Despite the fact that I forgot the red onions, it turned out great. A brilliant, bright, and refreshing blend.
I used a navel orange, as suggested, but they're out of season right now. One of my guests made the excellent suggestion of subbing-in mandarin oranges, which are delicious in December.
Leek & Potato Soup:
I started this one off by sauteeing two large, chopped leeks together with a medium yellow onion. Once softened, I added one pound of yellow nugget potatoes, quartered, and sauteed for another two minutes. Then I added some leftover garlic-infused beef broth and water (2 litres in total?). I left this to simmer around 30 minutes, until the potatoes became buttery soft, but not falling apart. Half of the potatoes and leeks were reserved, while the rest was pureed with the liquids. At that point, I realized that it was too thin, so I pulled out one of my grandmother's tricks and thickened it up with about 2 Tbsp worth of 'cream of wheat.' The reserved solids were added back to the pot, seasoned with salt and pepper, and garnished with some freshly chopped chives.
It came out pretty good, but not exquisite. I definitely added too much liquid, making it both runny, and less intense. Next time I'll use more leeks, and garnish it with freshly-toasted croutons.
Steaks with Mushroom-Peppercorn sauce:
The (marinated) steaks were seared in a scorching-hot pan with a tiny dash of oil, and tossed into the oven to cook through. About 1 Tbsp each of minced garlic and coarsely-crushed black peppercorns were sauteed in the (searing) pan, a pound of sliced mushrooms was added and sauteed, a cup of red wine was drizzled in, and finally a brown roux was added to thicken it up. Note that the key to using roux is to mix it with some of the sauce's hot liquids, in a cup, before adding it to the pan. Otherwise you end up with lumps.
I'm sad to say that the steaks didn't do the sauce much justice; they just weren't great quality cuts. The sauce could be improved by adding more peppercorns, and perhaps some fresh herbs at the end (rosemary comes to mind for some reason).
Desert:
For desert, I served my grape & strawberry compote (see below) with butter pecan ice cream, and freshly-grated nutmeg. I won't lie to you; this was excellent.