Saturday's dinner was:

Clams Casino
Angel-Hair Pasta with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Basil
Chicken Milanese with Winter Vegetables
Orange Meringues with Frangelico-Chocolate Béarnaise

The clams were nicely flavored, but although the shells were a healthy size,
the clams themselves were much too small for their shells. Next time I'll
buy twice as many clams and only fill half as many shells.

The pasta was originally going to contain pine nuts as well, but I decided
not to put them in, since we weren't certain how old they were.

The chicken was very good, and the "Winter Vegetables" I made were carrots
and fennel cooked in olive oil until slightly caramelized, then seasoned
with a good amount of salt and a bit of sugar. They were excellent together,
and it somewhat surprises me that I've never seen them paired together
before.

We were too full to have dessert, so we left it until Sunday night. The
meringues were excellent, like little crispy marshmallows with a very slight
orange flavor. I followed the "Meringue Suisse" recipe in my venerable
Gourmet cookbook set. The sauce was made from Frangelico, orange juice, egg
yolks, and Dove milk chocolate with hazelnuts. Although both elements of the
dessert were sublime, I'm not sure that the meringues were improved by
adding the sauce. I probably should have served the meringues as is, with an
accompanying "gianduja" drink of Frangelico, Godiva chocolate liqueur, and
Grand Marnier in coffee. But at least now I know that it definitely *is*
possible to make a Béarnaise sauce with chocolate in place of butter.


Sunday brunch was:

Mimosas
Eggs to order
Toast (sourdough for Lin, multi-grain for me)
Plantain, Onion, and Smoked Pork Chop Hash

Lin thought it was all great, but I wasn't happy with the hash. The flavor
was fine, but the plantains never got the right texture. I probably should
have diced them and cooked them separately in very hot oil, then added them
to the onions and diced smoked pork.

I've also gotta say that our homemade mimosas seemed to taste a lot better
than any mimosa I've ever gotten in a restaurant.


Bob