To the Kitchen - Friday evening dinner

      It is Friday and time for a good dinner. The sun is out, the cold is gone, it is an enjoyable temperature in and out (outside about 72 deg. F / 22 deg. C). The day began with putting some turnips seeds in the veggie garden, then going down the street to a neighbor and picking 5 gallons / not quite 20 liters worth of figs. Some of them will be part of dinner tonight, others will be prepared for a luncheon on the 20th of this month.

Some of the figs in the pot after they have been washed.

 

      We begin with 3 good size potatoes, wash them well, then slice them into 3/8" thick slices (no more, no less, just have a tape measure handy). Just kidding, but slice them evenly. Place these on a baking sheet that has been covered with aluminum foil and sprayed with a non-stick spray. Lightly coat the potatoes in olive oil, then season with salt, pepper and a little rosemary.

The potatoes are ready to go into the oven.

Place in a preheated oven at 400 deg. F / 205 deg. C - initially for 30 minutes. While the potatoes are roasting prepare a salad, and get the meat out - it is Friday - so the meat today is flounder fillets. Coat the fillets in a mixture of flour, salt, pepper, dry bread crumbs and a bit of garlic powder, then dip the fillets in a mixture of eggs and milk, return them to the flour mixture and set aside. Start frying in a skillet with very hot olive oil, should almost be smoking, cook the  fish 10 minutes before the potatoes are ready, about 3 minutes on each side.
     Besides a good salad with stuff from the vegetable garden (see picture below), we also had

The tomatoes are from the store, but the salad greens are from the garden.

something a bit extra with the fish.Why not splurge on some nice portabello mushrooms, Monday they were $3.59 per pound at our local store and we bought some. They are sliced and sauteed in butter together with a few slices of garlic.

The portabello mushrooms sliced (no they are not sardines).

The mushrooms are being sauteed in a bit of oil.

 

      The potatoes are baking, the mushroom / garlic are done, it is time to work on dessert. In this case fig puree with a touch of a nice 12 year old Scotch Whisky, Glenlivet. Wash the figs, cut off the bloom end and make there are no stem pieces remaining, cut figs in half and remove all seeds.

 

 





 

  After they have been sliced (about 1 1/3 cup per person), put them in a pot with a tablespoon full of butter, 1 1/2 tablespoon of sugar, 1 teaspoon of nutmeg and 1 teaspoons of salt. I can see every one,s eyebrows go up SALT he said. Yes, salt enhanced the flavor of just about all things, including pureed figs. Let the pot simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring often.

4 cups of figs are simmering.

 

      After the figs have simmered let them cool down a bit before putting them into a blender, to avoid the risk of hot bubbles splashing out. Then puree in small batches on slow until a texture one is happy with is reached. If too thin, it may be necessary to add a bit gelatin or corn starch to thicken the mixture up. Add, to taste now, just a touch of the Glenlivet or a similar type of drink of your choice. I am of the belief this will work very well with rum. After blending pour into the serving containers and place in refrigerator or other very cool place to cool down before serving.

 In the blender.



 

    By the way, if blending very big batches it is better to use an immersion blender, I call it my kitchen outboard motor.

The kitchen outboard motor at work.





      The potatoes are still roasting, the portabello is done, the dessert is cooling down, the salad is done. Time to work on the fish. All the steps are listed above somewhere.

 





This can be called the flounder fillet "before" picture.

 This is then the flounder fillet "after" picture.

 

       The poor cook has been working really hard, it is time he has some liquid refreshment, and since we are out of wine, did I mention we are also out of rum. A very sad state of affairs. Thanks to a very generous parishioner, I get a bottle of this stuff in the picture each year for Christmas. Thank you George Yan.



 

It is soo good.

     After the potatoes have baked for 30 minutes it is time to pull them out and sprinkle some shredded cheese on top, a cheese of the cooks choice, a mozzarella, an asagio, a cheddar, or whatever one likes, then place back in oven for cheese to melt. When cheese has melted, bring the tray back out, sprinkle with fresh chopped chives, from the garden. The plates were also garnished with a bit of fresh Italian parsley from the garden.

The final touch being placed on the potatoes.



 

       I have a sign in my kitchen which states "Kitchen rules, Sit, Give Thanks, Eat, Praise Cook, Tips Accepted.". It is now time to eat. First the salad followed by the main course which is followed by the dessert.



The main course.

The dessert. Don't ask or worry about calories,

you pay the doctor to do that.

 

     

      There is always the clean up after such a nice dinner, but then that is what nephews are for.

Leo, wash the dishes, the pots, the pans, the utensils, clean the counters and the stove top. When you are done take the trash out. Did you get all of that?

 

It is my hope you enjoy this.