By Billa
It was my turn to host a dazzling dinner. So, on a rainy day in April I invited the gang over for a May date. Aptly, the theme of the dinner was April Showers Bring May Flowers. I wanted there to be flowers in every dish, as well as having dishes that looked like flowers.
Here’s the menu. Note that every colorful ingredient is either a flower or the product of one.
Appetizers
Tomato “Tulips” Stuffed with Boursin
Smoked Salmon Rosettes on Cucumber Slices
Artichoke Pate on Rice Crackers
Soup
Roasted Asparagus Soup
Salad
Spring Greens, Purple Pansies, Rose Water/Pistachio Vinaigrette
Entree
Roast Chicken Thighs with Saffron, Hazelnuts, and Rose Water
Barberry and Saffron Rice
Broccoli Puree and roasted sunflower seeds
Desserts
Spanish Olive Oil Cake
(with Vanilla, Orange Blossom Water,
Strawberries, and Blackberries)
Ghraybeh Cookies
(with Orange Blossom and Rose Waters)
The table setting featured live tulips, flowered napkins and tablecloth and green-stemmed glasses that suggested flowers.
The Drinks
In line with the recent trend for mocktails, we served a nonalcoholic dirty lemon tonic. In keeping with the theme, there was a slice of lemon shaped like a flower at the end of the toothpick. It was made with preserved lemon and everyone seemed to like the taste - sort of like a sophisticated lemonade, I thought. Here’s the recipe: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1024102-nonalcoholic-dirty-lemon-tonic
For those who preferred something stronger, there was a Prosecco with floral overtones.
The Appetizers
These “tulips” are actually grape tomatoes stuffed with Boursin cheese. The stems are wooden skewers inside scallion greens.
I cut an “x” in the top of each tomato, then piped the Boursin cheese inside using a plastic baggie with a small hole in the corner. Next, I covered wooden skewers with scallion stalks and stuck them into the closed end of the tomato.
Here are smoked salmon roses atop cucumber slices spread with cream cheese. I learned to make the rosettes at the following website:
This was the third appetizer: Rice crackers with artichoke pate, topped with hearts of palm rings with toasted black sesame seeds.
The Soup
Michele’s dramatically presented roasted cream of asparagus soup had a lovely smooth texture and flavor. Here’s the recipe:
Roasted Cream of Asparagus Soup
Ingredients
2 pounds of asparagus
Extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 large onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon fresh tarragon, chopped
1 teaspoon fresh chive, chopped
¾ cup heavy cream
Whole nutmeg, couple of grates will be needed
4-5 cups vegetable broth
Salt and pepper
Edible flowers and chives for garnish (optional)
Preparation
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. A large baking sheet will be need.
Break asparagus in half (discard or keep for a vegetable stock), rinse and dry extremely well, as you do not want them to steam. Place asparagus on baking sheet and lightly drizzle with olive oil. Roast for approximately 15 to 20 minutes, turn over at halfway point, and cook until a nice char appears.
Remove from oven, season with salt and pepper.
While asparagus is roasting, in a large skillet melt the butter, add onion and garlic. Stir occasionally until onions are translucent but not browned. Add in asparagus, herbs, cream, nutmeg, and just enough stock to cover asparagus. Bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally, until the ingredients are thoroughly combined, about 5 minutes. Take off burner and let cool down slightly.
Puree soup, in batches, in blender until smooth.
Reheat before serving. Adjust seasoning as needed.
The Salad
Here’s a description of Luci’s colorful salad in her own words:
We do not think of salad as activating sweet receptors. Rather, they typically contain bitter elements such as those from lettuces, sour tastes from the vinegar or lemon in the dressing, salt of course, and if elements such as cheese or anchovies are included, umami. But, for this dinner, some sweet tastes had to be included. That was accomplished by lots of pansies (their taste resembles wintergreen) and some sweet lettuces in the salad proper along with rose water in the dressing. Pistachio oil and nuts added umami. The result was interesting, a bit different from the usual salad, good tasting and, as appropriate for a dinner of floral delights, quite pretty.
Ingredients
Salad - A mixture of bitter and sweet lettuces and 2-3 tablespoons pistachio nuts.
Dressing (enough for 6 servings)
1/4 cup pistachio oil
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon rose water
Salt and pepper
Preparation - Mix dressing ingredients together, pour over salad ingredients.
The Entree
I wanted the main course to feature floral flavors, so I looked mainly at Middle Eastern recipes as I knew they often use rose water. I found this recipe, which comes from the Israeli chef Yotam Ottolenghi. Good choice. The chicken thighs turned out to be juicy, tender, and full of complex flavors. The recipe can be accessed at this site:
The chicken was accompanied by barberry and saffron rice also from chef Otttolenghi. The barberries gave the rice a slight sour tang that combined nicely with the mixed herbs, saffron, and pistachio nuts. That recipe can be found here:
A broccoli and sunflower seed puree completed the entree.
The Desserts
The Spanish olive oil cake came from chef Jose Andres’ new cookbook World Central Kitchen. I added the strawberries and blackberries on top to give it the appearance of a flower and to lighten things up.
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Finally, there were these ghraybeh cookies; melt-in-your-mouth Lebanese Middle Eastern shortbread cookies. They’re not too sweet, but delicately flavored with both orange blossom and rose water. Here’s the recipe from Chef Ottolenghi’s book Jerusalem:
Ghraybeh Cookies
Ingredients
3/4 cup ghee or clarified butter, solid from the fridge
Scant 2/3 cup confectioners’ sugar
3 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
1/2 teaspoon salt
Scant 4 teaspoons orange blossom water
2 and 1/2 teaspoons rose water
5 tablespoons unsalted pistachios
Preparation
In a stand mixer, with the whip attachment, cream together ghee and sugar for 5 minutes, until fluffy, creamy, and pale. Replace the whip with the beater attachment, add the flour, salt, and orange and rose waters, and mix for a good 3-4 minutes, until a uniform, smooth dough forms. Wrap in plastic and chill for 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Pinch a piece of dough, weighing about 1/2 an ounce, and roll it into a ball between your palms. Flatten it slightly and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Repeat with the rest of the dough, spacing well apart. Press one pistachio into the center of each cookie.
Bake for 17 minutes, making sure the cookies don’t take on any color but just cook through. Remove from the oven and leave to cook down completely. Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
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