NYE '11

Shown in no particular order.

Pudding with whipped cream in a depression era glass. Classy. Pudding recipe from here (slightly lighter on the chocolate than suggested and skipped the double boiler suggestion), w/ a pinch (just a small pinch) of garam masala. CFT prediction for 2011 food trends -- Indian spices in dessert.

Whipped cream made with a little powdered sugar and vanilla. The whole thing really looked like a poorly made cappuccino, which was kind of neat.

Surf. Sliced scallop, just warmed through in a 450 oven, over a butternut squash puree (flavored with salt, pepper, butter, ginger, and vinegar). I thought the sauce would serve two purposes. First, be all trompe l'oeil scallop roe, cause if scallop roe, that delicious sauce maker, is available in Cle I haven't been able to find it. And second, mask my weak ass non-coin shape making knife skills. It did neither, but it tasted pretty good.

Scallops from Kate's. Squash from Covered Bridge. French butter from The Cheese Shop.

And the turf. Short rib how the cohabitant likes it, braised in aromatics, red wine, and a can of tomatoes served with the defatted (mostly) braising liquid. I was told "we need a vegetable with the meal," so I steamed some carrots, sliced them in half, and heated them up in a little butter enriched water. They were nice.

Beef from Millgate.

Not pictured is a simple leaf lettuce salad with a traditional vinaigrette. That and a traditional blanc de blancs champagne to go with the whole meal.