What did you eat on Valentine's day?

[Amfibius]

Here are some pictures from my Valentine's day dinner party I much prefer eating at home than going out to a restaurant, especially since I get to spend some time in the kitchen!



Valentine's Borscht Consomme. A normal Borscht has all the veggies boiled in the soup. I boiled the soup, removed the veggies, clarified the broth, and added fresh veggies, all cooked to highlight a different range of textures. Here we have baked beetroot (1 hour), steamed carrots (4 minutes), steamed beans (2 minutes), and raw radish and capsicum. All have been cut into heart shapes. The beans were tied together with steamed chives.



This is what it looked like after the beetroot consomme broth was added.



Main was confit duck with saffron rice. A friend took a picture of me prepping the dish.



Confit duck leg, deep fried, with saffron rice, raspberry, and baby vegetables. Plating was a bit ugly, but I wasn't sure how to arrange the food on the plate. I didn't want to put the duck on top of the rice, so I did the best I could!



Dessert was Heston Blumenthal's "Exploding Chocolate Cake" with passionfruit. Instead of his chocolate floccage, I made a white chocolate ganache and decorated it with white chocolate hearts stained pink with food colouring The base has popping candy in it - quite an unexpected surprise.

[metaphacts]

Originally Posted by Amfibius

Here are some pictures from my Valentine's day dinner party I much prefer eating at home than going out to a restaurant, especially since I get to spend some time in the kitchen!



Valentine's Borscht Consomme. A normal Borscht has all the veggies boiled in the soup. I boiled the soup, removed the veggies, clarified the broth, and added fresh veggies, all cooked to highlight a different range of textures. Here we have baked beetroot (1 hour), steamed carrots (4 minutes), steamed beans (2 minutes), and raw radish and capsicum. All have been cut into heart shapes. The beans were tied together with steamed chives.



This is what it looked like after the beetroot consomme broth was added.



Main was confit duck with saffron rice. A friend took a picture of me prepping the dish.



Confit duck leg, deep fried, with saffron rice, raspberry, and baby vegetables. Plating was a bit ugly, but I wasn't sure how to arrange the food on the plate. I didn't want to put the duck on top of the rice, so I did the best I could!



Dessert was Heston Blumenthal's "Exploding Chocolate Cake" with passionfruit. Instead of his chocolate floccage, I made a white chocolate ganache and decorated it with white chocolate hearts stained pink with food colouring The base has popping candy in it - quite an unexpected surprise.

Superb!

[jwhite613]

Everything looks amazing!!!

But I love desserts!

[chessman]

wow!!

[bart]

Keith, I invite you to my place!!
I'll take care of the drinks...

[metaphacts]

Originally Posted by jwhite613

Everything looks amazing!!!

But I love desserts!

Pop Rocks hidden in the dessert always provide an entertaining response.

[Kingsrule]

For us it was just grilled rib eyes, salad, and mashed potatoes

Cliquot Champagne
97 Montelena Estate Cab
97 Pegase Graveyard Hill

[jdandy]

Bar-B-Que chicken on the grill, corn on the cob, Caesar salad.

[BlueChiaro]

We dined out...

Appetizers:
Me: Sonoma Goat Cheese Ravioli simmered in organic tomato broth with roasted garlic and fresh basil (this was AWESOME!!)
Mrs. BlueChiaro: Organic Mixed Greens Salad with toasted pumpkin seeds, tomatoes, cucumbers and white balsamic vinaigrette

Entrees:
Me: Maui Tuna Crunch Salad sushi-grade seared tuna, tropical organic greens, toasted almonds and miso vinaigrette
Mrs. BlueChiaro: Cedar Plank Roasted Salmon with roasted sweet carrots and fresh asparagus

Sparkler:
Marques de Gelida Brut, Cava ’07 (and inexpensive sparkler that we really enjoyed!)

[eljr]

Chinesse, right out of the container.