Weekly Noshings

And to add onto last week’s Greek class I tried my hand at moussaka for my roommates on Monday.  Monday night a rare thing occured, all three of my roommates were home for dinner and we all had dinner together.  I instantly started working on the moussaka as soon as I got home from work as it takes an hour to bake and took me about 30 minutes to prep the three components for the dish.  I used beef instead of lamb because I had some in the freezer but everything else was exactly the same as what we did in class.  My eggplant roasted perfectly, my meat stew in the Merlot and tomato sauce turned out lush and the bechamel came together without a hiccup and was decadent.  I had the perfect pan for baking it and the proportions where right on for layering it.  The dish puffed up and set just as it was supposed to.  I was super excited.

Along with the moussaka I had picked up some good paesano bread from the store and had that with some sundried tomato dipping oil.  I also pan steamed a large artichoke, Greek style.  I trimmed the artichoke and cleaned it up before quartering it.  I then sauteed onion and garlic in some lemon olive oil before adding the artichoke and about two cups of chicken broth.  I covered the pan and let the artichokes steam for a good 30 minutes until tender.  Last minute I sprinkled them with chopped parsley.  They were great and I was happy all of my roommates like artichokes.  And Mikayla made a great Greek salad to round out the meal.  The Robert Griffin wine I used for the moussaka stew we had for dinner and we proceeded to stuff ourselves and drink and chat for two hours.  It was a really great dinner and a real need for me socially.  I haven’t had the time to hang out with the roommates much lately, and now knowing that Mikayla’s days are numbered until she moves back to Portland.

Thursday night I was finally back at FareStart for something that I really missed and it was a sold out night.  The special occasion restaurant located in Magnolia/Ballard called Palisade was supplying dinner and for the first time ever I was in charge of wine support, running out wine glasses and bottles to the guests from the bar and pouring wine.  It was fun and I got to work with my Michigander friend, Timothy, who is our very own wine conneisur.  For dinner we had three fantastic courses, which I took to go just so I wouldn’t be so late before my early flight out:

First Course
Strawberry Salad, Whipped Laura Chenel Goat Cheese, Toasted Almonds, Aged Balsamic, Wild Arugula

Entrée
Pan Seared King Salmon, English Pea Puree, Crushed Rainbow Potatoes, Applewood Smoked Bacon, Meyer Lemon Butter

Dessert
Flourless Chocolate Cake, Toasted Marshmallow Meringue, Crushed Strawberries

A really great week that I needed before heading off for a long weekend in Michigan for my brother’s graduation from UM.  

Chelsea