Good Food, Good Friends, Great Life!
Last night our good friends Douglas, Paul, and Diana came over for one of what I call my “Experimental Dinner Nights.” Basically, I turn my husband and friends into guinea pigs and test out new recipes on them with the promise that if whatever I make is terrible, we’ll go out for dinner instead. Anyone who comes to one of these dinners has to be flexible. Last night was a prime example of one of those times, but more on that later.
My inspiration for last night’s dinner came from a Better Homes and Gardens Special Interest Publications: SOUPS magazine I found while standing in a particularly crowded check-out lane at the grocery store a month or so ago. As I was flipping through the magazine, killing time until it was my turn to check out, I came across a recipe for Northwest Salmon Chowder. Immediately my mouth began to water. The picture alone brought back memories of our trip to Alaska this past summer where I ate, conservatively, six or seven bowls of salmon chowder in a two-week time period. It was the best stuff I’d ever had. I knew, after reading the recipe, that I’d have to try it myself (with a few modifications), hence last night’s Experimental Dinner.
Because everyone coming to dinner was somehow associated with Scott’s company, I knew I couldn’t plan on an early dinner. The recipe said it took thirty-five minutes to make the chowder, so I figured I’d have everyone over around 7 PM and serve them Armadillo Eggs as an appetizer. (If you haven’t had HEB’s Armadillo Eggs, you’re missing out on something amazing. They are cream-cheese stuffed jalapenos wrapped in bacon, all pre-made for you and everything. Mmmmm!!) While eating appetizers, I’d start the chowder, and that would give us time to visit a bit while it cooked, then, about half an hour later, we could sit down to eat. Our guests arrived to a house full of smoke. Because you cook the Armadillo Eggs at 425, the bacon basically broils and puts off a lot of smoke. Usually this is not too big of a problem. I didn’t realize, however, that the cookie sheet on which I was baking them was too long for my oven door to actually close completely until it was too late… Grateful for windows that open in the kitchen, I shoo-ed the smoke out as best I could and, as the air cleared and we could breathe again, I served the appetizers. They were delicious. Then I got to work on dinner while we visited. I shouldn’t have worried that we’d be rushing from appetizers to main course; the chowder took an hour to cook! I felt terrible, but again, this is why one has to be flexible when I experiment. It was worth the wait. The chowder was absolutely amazing and actually pretty healthy. It’s chock-full of vegetables and has such a great flavor. Everyone really liked it and said it was definitely blog-worthy. You can find the recipe here. I served the chowder with baguettes Scotty picked up from HEB on his way home from work. Initially I had planned to make the bread from scratch myself but I just didn’t have the time. (I’ll be honest: I probably did have the time, but I chose to take a mid-afternoon nap instead.) The crusty loaves were a perfect complement to the bowls of yumminess.
For dessert, I chose to try something new as well. I’d never made a chocolate mousse before, and since it’s one of my most favorite things in the world to eat, I thought it was high-time I learned how to make one. I knew I was pretty close to making a mousse with the filling of my Aunt Nancy’s Chocolate Pie, but I wanted to make it creamier. After a bit of research, I learned that what I really needed was egg yolks instead of marshmallows. Since I needed sixteen marshmallows for the pie, I figured three egg yolks would be sufficient for my recipe. I bought a dozen eggs so I’d have extras if/when I screwed things up, and on Wednesday, I set to work making my first-ever mousse. Clearly the luck of the Irish was with me as my mousse turned out perfectly the first time and I now have a lot of eggs sitting in my fridge. I didn’t overcook my eggs (something I read to be quite common among mousse-makers), and I didn’t over-fold my whipped cream (probably because I’ve had so much practice with Aunt Nancy’s Chocolate Pie). I didn’t really follow a recipe when making my mousse; I got the general idea from a bunch of different things I read online and combined the stuff that I thought would work the best. Here is what I did. I served the mousse in crystal goblets with some home-made whipped cream and fresh berries on top. No one else licked their cups so I managed to refrain, but it was that good. Seriously.
All-in-all, the dinner was perfect. I couldn’t have asked for better company, and the food was absolutely delicious. The only thing that could have made the night better would have been a blizzard. Eighty degrees outside in January – SERIOUSLY???