The Write Ingredients

Dinner Party, Reviewed (with Buttah)

We had some good friends over for dinner last night and had a marvelous time. We ate a bit (or a lot, I guess) and then moved into the TV room to play the Wii. Its a great way to burn off all those calories! K&C brought some really amazing spicy cauliflower bits to start with. Just small pieces of the stuff coated in cayenne and panko and lots of butter. They were just spicy enough that the camambert I had on had was required to soothe the burning sensation.

T&B brought a beautiful salad of mixed greens, spiced walnuts, blue cheese and big, big blackberries. The dressing was a creamy balsamic and I can't wait to pick up a bottle. (It tasted better than homemade.)

The main dish was a cumin-coated pork tenderloin. The pork was from my favorite farm, Otis Family Farm, and the recipe was from Grazefest back in July. This time we read the instructions and pureed and strained the corn/cream mixture only to be disappointed. Next time we'll just puree it and leave it a little chunky. I think by straining it, we lost a lot of the corn taste. But the pork, again, was really tender.

I served two side dishes. The first was a platter of Roasted Root Vegetables. It included baby red potatoes, turnips, carrots, rutabaga and parsnips. Now, I'm not sure how I made it 30-some years without trying rutabaga or turnips, but I'm sad that I've been missing it for years. They are such simple, humble vegetables and cook up just as tender and sweet as can be. It's a fabulous combination, and healthy to boot. (just a little bit of buttah).

The second side dish, Rice and Noodle Pilaf, was a last minute addition because I felt we needed a carb/starch. I found this on epicurious and thought the cinnamon stick in the rice would complement the apple in the vegetables and the cumin on the pork. And this rice/orzo mixture was a hit. I believe it will become a staple around here. And I'm sure it will be fabulous leftover or for lunch.

And then, on to dessert. I posted a photo of it yesterday and while it looked good, it didnt have the food-stylist-professionalism that the cover of Cooking Light had. But it tasted damn good. My husband, who readily admits he's not a dessert fan, was ooing and ahing all over this thing. Nobody believed it was from Cooking Light. But, I have to admit, I may have doubled the chocolate drizzle, and the bourbon whipped cream was certainly not "light".