Yes, we HAVE had two DNIs. October was "Breakfast for Dinner." Back when I was an undergraduate "Breakfast for Dinner" meant "another instant oatmeal packet for dinner," and I probably tipped it into my mouth and swallowed it without the luxury of water while on my way to go practice.
This meal was considerably better.
Blood Orange Screwdrivers
Blood oranges, like blood pudding or mincemeat pie, are one of those foods that have such an off-putting name that you might never voluntarily try them. Really though, it's a delicious fruit--not quite as acidic as your run of the mill Florida orange. (Is that an orange orange?) Ashley called them "more floral." Their juices ran redly. (Actual English word.) As a cocktail, it's pretty simple..just shake with some vodka and ice and serve. There was an option to add orange blossom water, but we declined that option, since we couldn't find it at Wegmans.
Homemade Sausage Patties with Roasted Apples
Baked Eggs with Spinach and Gruyere
That's all gooey, Gruyerey goodness atop that ramekin. One of the best parts of this DNI was the excuse to buy some more ramekins (a 6oz set to use with the 8oz set we make oatmeal in every morning), and this egg dish flavorful at every layer. You see the Gruyere on top, and then the egg underneath, but underneath the egg is a sauteed layer of spinach and tomato mixed with heavy whipping cream, garlic, oil, and spices.
Everyone loves French toast, oui? So how can you make French toast better while simultaneously making it even more French? By using a croissant, of course. The syrup (mixed with brown butter and salt) is possibly even more decadent than the heavy cream batter that you dip the croissant in. I wasn't kidding about a sugar coma, either. I actually don't remember anything that happened that evening after eating this. Would very much recommend this to anyone who likes food and does not have any bloodwork/doctor's appointments in the next 30 days.
An Elegant Classic
This maybe was not our best DNI effort, in terms of fidelity to the book and recipes. At some point last week J mentioned "we ought to pick a night for our November DNI." Then followed a depressed silence as we looked at the calendar and she bleakly said "I guess it will be Tuesday or not at all, huh?"
We did manage, on Monday morning, to somehow cram two boys, their two largest books (because they have to bring the very biggest books they own), a beet, a fennel bulb, a head of endive, a potato, two oranges, two pears, two bags of spices, a tub of mushrooms, a tub of olives, a bottle of capers, a bag of golden raisins, a bag of gummy worms (n.b.--the gummy worms were not for DNI purposes), and a box of frozen puff pastry into the double stroller on our morning run.
We were going to get out to the liquor store for Apple brandy, Benedictine liquer, and a Muscat wine as well, but between all the lessons and rehearsals it just didn't happen. Because we didn't have the appropriate alcohol, the cocktail for this month (an Apple Flip) and the dessert (Poached Pears in Muscat) didn't end up happening. At some point in the next few weeks we'll make both of these and report back to you on how they tasted. I'm sure they would have been delicious.
In preparing everything else, I was not able to be as helpful as I like to be for DNI days. In fact, I was not particularly helpful at all. I was gone all morning for a rehearsal, gone most of the afternoon for another rehearsal, and then immediately went to go stand in line to vote when I got back. Yes, this DNI was on election night. And yes, the food tasted much better BEFORE we found out the election results. Everything has sort of tasted like ash and despair since then.
I was able to work on roasting the onions when J went to vote, and we had everything in the oven by about 7:30, so we munched on the crudites as an appetizer.
Fall Crudites with Creamy Olive Tapenade
I think my favorite part of the meal was this olive tapenade. It wouldn't have been quite the same with crackers, so the vegetables were a good choice. It had real mayo, dijon mustard, capers, and olives. Very complex, very creamy, absolutely delicious dip.
Roasted Red Onions with Golden Raisin Gremolata
There was a time when I detested onions. I regarded onions the same way James now regards black beans--with suspicion, bargaining, and tears. I haven't been particularly keen through must of my adult life to put raw onions on a burger or to over-flavor the potato salad with too much onion taste. I don't particularly care for onion rings. But these onions were pretty good...after spending an hour and a half in the oven soaked in orange juice, honey, and vinegar, you can tell that they were onions at some point, but now have changed into something entirely sweet and different. The topping that we put on them (golden raisins and orange zest) added some nice sweetness as well.
Chanterelle Pot Pie
The name here is a little misleading, because we couldn't actually find chanterelle mushrooms. We ended up buying a mix of shiitake, cremini, and portobella mushroom pieces, and we used turned out just fine. The filling also had heavy cream (of course,) peas, carrots, and celery. There was an option to make our own puff pastry, but you've already heard about how we didn't have time to do anything properly, so the Wegmans puff pastry worked just fine. J prepped another one of these and left it in the fridge for me before she left town. It was a very good supper last night.
Wegmans Cake
This recipe was actually very simple. Instead of making the DNI dessert, which we didn't have the ingredients for, we picked up some slices of Wegmans cake. It was a sweet end to the last meal that we shared together before America elected Donald Trump to the presidency. So...yes. There's more to be said and written about all that. But that conversation, just like the missing Apple Flip and Poached Pears in Muscat, is going to require a trip to the liquor store first.
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