Coaching Cooking

I am someone who loves to go out to eat. Yes, it might seem strange since I also like to cook. But, it’s pretty clear that it’s hard to enjoy a meal that you’ve made if you’ve been making it for several hours. Yes, there have been many wonderful, truly indulgent meals.

Still, this year (mostly due to budget cuts in my life), AB and I are making Valentine’s Day dinner together. There’s also something so homey and cozy about dinner at home when you can eat with abandon, spill food on your clothes (or anywhere else for that matter). Plus, when dinner is done and you’re feeling a bit sloshy and full: hey, you’re already home! And there’s no horrific bill to sign because you already paid for everything. Plus there’s a great big box of chocolates and maybe even a movie to commemorate the occasion (try “Singles” or “Annie Hall” or “Sex and Lucia”).

Here’s our Valentine’s Day 2007 menu: (the starred* items have recipes below)

Dungeness Crab cocktail
Prosciutto-wrapped asparagus*

Beef fondue with mushrooms and pea pods*
Roasted red potatoes with herbs
Red wine (help me out here, Farley)

See’s chocolates (you HAVE to try these some time…they’re no Maison du Chocolat, but they are really great)
Bonny Doon’s Framboise

Recipes and links:

Prosciutto-wrapped Asparagus

Ingredients:

1 bunch of asparagus, washed and stalks trimmed (the bottom few inches) to remove the tough outer leaves
1/4 lb. of prosciutto (AB recommends San Daniele brand prosciutto)
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar
1/3 cup of good olive oil

Directions:

Blanch the asparagus in salted water for a few minutes until the asparagus are bright green, but not mushy. Drain asparagus and cool to room temperature. Mix the balsamic, olive oil and salt and pepper together in a small bowl. Wrap a thin slice of prosciutto around each asparagus stalk and arrange the wrapped asparagus on a platter. Serve with the balsamic dipping sauce. Feed to your lover….or to your loved ones!

Beef Fondue:

Here’s a link to basic ingredients for beef fondue plus sauces. I also recommend using an electic wok for greater surface area (so more people can cook the beef cubes). Beef fondue also goes great with some dipping sauces including:

**horseradish cream
**soy sauce, sesame oil, and chopped green onions
**barbeque sauce (one of my favorites is this one from Stonewall Kitchen)
**worchestershire sauce
**okay, some people out there like ketchup. It tastes great with the cheaper cuts of beef. If you’re serving filet mignon, I have to say no. Find a fancier sauce.

Serve beef fondue with fresh vegetables as these can also be cooked in the fondue or wok pots.

Beef fondue can also be cooked in chicken broth. Then serve it with cubes of tofu (cooked in the broth as well) and vegetables. After the fondue has been used for a while, the broth can then be served as a flavorful soup with udon noodles, tofu and thinly sliced (or quick-cooking) vegetables like napa cabbage, spinach or baby bok choy (thrown these in to cook for a few minutes). Fondue is so much fun to serve at a dinner party or just with the one you love (feeding each other is optional and probably best done only when the two of you are together and far away from the rest of the unsentimental world!).

Happy Valentine’s Day!