Earlier in this week I was in touch with Doug and we agreed that we should get together as it has been months since we last hung out. So I invited him over for brunch and extended the invitation to Ken and Roka, as this is the usual guest list for brunches with Doug.
Prep work began Saturday afternoon. There was a lot of prep work and one gets hungry, so I made an asparagus, bell pepper and onion quiche for Saturday dinner. Thanks to Brent for the idea of making the quiche in a springform pan. What a good idea and nice presentation!
Begin by blind baking the crust for about ten minutes. Then pull out the peas, bake for another 2-3 minutes to dry the interior a little bit, then add the filling and return to the oven. The finished product was beautiful and tasty.
Below, me in the kitchen. Nice view.
Straying from the more traditional brunch menus, I looked to the Mediterranean for inspiration. Our menu:
- Toasted pita bread with garam masala hummus and roasted eggplant and red pepper dip
- Roasted wild mushroom soup thickened with buttermilk
- Mediterranean lentil salad served over a bed of red oak leaf lettuce
- Sliced chicken breast poached in white wine and shallots, served with a fresh tarragon-dijon mustard sauce
- Quinoa salad with ginger-lime vinaigrette
- Banana bread with lemon honey whipped cream cheese
For the eggplant and red pepper dip I started by roasting eggplant until soft. I cut off the skins and cubed the meat, combining with onions, shallots and bell peppers. Some balsamic vinegar added a rich sweetness and a jammy texture and I finished with parsley and toasted pine nuts.
Starting with a variety of local mushrooms (which, ironically, are less expensive than the standard white button mushrooms), I roasted them in olive oil and garlic then blended them with chicken stock. In a second pot I sauteed aromatics (shallots, onion, celery and carrot) with fresh thyme and marsala wine, then blended with chicken stock, straining out the solids. Finally, I combined the two pots, reducing the liquid by about 25% before finishing with a little buttermilk for a rich tanginess.
For effect and convenience, I served the soup in cappuccino cups so they could be sipped by our guests. If I had a soda bottle, I would have tried something like a white truffle foam to top the soup.
Quinoa, a grain indigenous to South America, is a tasty way to get a complete non-meat protein into your diet. Cooked similarly to cous cous, I combined it with chopped yellow bell peppers and green onion, then dressed it with a vinaigrette made with lime juice, olive oil, and freshly grated ginger. It made a nice accompaniment to the chicken breasts.
The chicken breasts were marinated and then poached in a combination of white wine, olive oil and lots of shallots. After poaching they were allowed to cool for a half hour in the poaching liquid, which encourages more moisture to be retained in the meat. The chicken was sliced on the bias and then served with an easy sauce made from lots of fresh tarragon and parsley blended with dijon mustard and mayonnaise.
The salad, which could have stood on its own without the greens (although it was perfectly nice with them), was made of lentils combined with small-dice carrots, celery and fennel, along with black olives and cherry tomatoes, seasoned with a lemon vinaigrette and then sprinkled with cheese. Normally, feta would be used but in this case the local ricotta has a feta-like texture.
For dessert I made oatmeal banana bread. I also made small loaves for each guest to take home. When I went to the local street market to buy the bananas with Tawn, the vendor laughed when I said I wanted the most overripe bananas in order to make a cake. “Oh!” she said to Tawn, “Are you going to bake it?”
“No,” Tawn replied, “he bakes it himself.”
“How did he learn that? He must have a Thai wife,” replied the vendor.
The secret to this bread is that is has oatmeal in it along with plenty of freshly-chopped walnuts. It is very tasty and went well with the whipped cream cheese, to which I added fresh lemon zest and Chiang Mai sunflower honey.
Tawn handled the table setting, for once not getting too worked up over how the entire house looks. It looked fine and everyone was comfortable. Making their debut were the little placecard holders Tawn picked up in Paris: tiny chairs.
A quick picture before eating. From left to right: me, Roka, Doug, Ken and Tawn.
Another Sunday at Chris and Tawn’s…
christao408 
very nice Sunday brunch. I like those cute little chairs.
I love the little chair placeholders!! The story about the fruit vendor is cute. I find it funny that people still associate cooking with girls when if you think about it most of the famous chef’s are men. Anyhoo, I love using quinoa too! It’s so tasty. 🙂 Oh and yummy look spread as usual.
Can you be my husband’s BFF? (so that your cooking skills can rub off on him) My favorite channels are the Foodnetwork and HGTV.
On a serious note, have you ever thought of starting up a B&B? You’ll sure be an excellent executive chef! Tawn could be the interior designer? Those miniature chairs are CUTE!! BTW, W and I’ll be going to the Hollywood Bowl for an evening concert where I need to bring a picnic basket, any ideas for the menu? LOL
halo,I’m nic.could you help me go to this site,just say happy birthday,thank you so much:http://weblog.xanga.com/happybirthday_909/672556683/item.html?&rand=881748003or http://www.xanga.com/happybirthday_909
…..p.s.very great food,yummy
WHY didn’t I know you when I had visited Bangkok in 2006?! WHY?! WHY?! WHY? Your cooking looks fabulous Chris!
“How did he learn that? He must have a Thai wife,” replied the vendor.You can tell that one at parties. :o)I think I have a handful of comments like that. Worst one so far was “is this your father?”. I swear I don’t have daddy issues…Oh, and your entries are becoming conversation pieces. I was on the phone with my man and was telling him (okay, it went more like “We HAVE to learn how to cook when I move up because Chris makes ______, ________, and ________ perfectly!)”.You put all our culinary skills to shame. And to top it off, Tawn’s cute name-card holders. Aiyah. I almost died; you two are like the Jones’ next door.
@curry69curry – You know what is really nice for picnics? Bring various types of salads and pack them in Chinese food to-go cartons. Ina Garten has some really nice recipes in her book, Barefoot Contessa Parties, including one for shrimp salad, another for a pesto pasta salad with peas, and a panzanella (Italian bread salad). Add to this some sliced salame or nice sausage, some cheese, and a thoroughly chilled bottle of pinot grigio or prosecco and you’ve got quite a picnic. If you need the recipes, let me know.
@brooklyn2028 – If you have any quinoa recipes you particularly like, please let me know. I’ve been at a loss to make much else other than salad. I’ve heard of a quinoa pudding, like a rice pudding, but haven’t read the recipe.
@curry69curry – Oh, and yes, I thought we had discussed the B&B idea. That’s something we’ve thought about. It is just an issue of capital and political instability. Maybe in a few years.
@Dezinerdreams – Dunno why you didn’t know me in 2006, but now we do know each other and I’m sure you’ll come through town one of these days.
@XXKimPossibleXX – Ha ha! I’m not sure what effect I’d have on your husband – a lot of what I can do in the kitchen (and remember that I don’t show most of the flops) is a result of a lot of practice and a willingness to take a chance. I’ve had parties where I served a carrot soup so thick that it was like baby food, so they aren’t all winners.
You sound like me having a get together. You really outdid yourself. You must be pretty tired. Everything looked wonderful and I loved the little chairs!
I think you should host a Xanga cooking show. This is like a Master’s class in brunch!
omg!! O_O *drools* that is A LOT of food for brunch!!! how many hours did you spend in the kitchen that morning? kudos to you!!! you don’t by any chance share some recipes, do ya? *cough*banan bread*cough*
@kenpcho – Don’t try to keep up with the Joneses. So, what’s the story, you’re going to move up to the Bay Area from the Southland? When’s that?
@socaltransplant – Great minds think alike and all… =) It actually was a less labor-intensive and less stressful meal than any gathering we’ve done. Tawn stressed less about the house and I prepared almost everything except the banana bread (which is simple) and the quinoa the day before. Plus, nothing was served warm from the kitchen except the soup, which was just reheated. That way I didn’t have to be hanging out in the kitchen the whole time. What a difference that makes!
@CareyGLY – Thanks, Carey. Don’t know if I’m ready for a master’s class. [blush] But Ina Garten is my hero.
@RedStarr5 – Thanks for your comment. It was a fair amount of food, but designed that way so I have leftovers to eat during the week. It was probably about six hours of cooking on Saturday and another two on Sunday morning, but cooking is relaxing for me so I really enjoy spending my time that way. Better than watching TV, in my opinion. Well, except for cooking shows.
Of course I’d be happy to share the bread recipe with you; it was a new one I hadn’t tried before. It was from allrecipes.com and the link is http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Oatmeal-Banana-Nut-Bread/Detail.aspx.
@christao408 – Thank you for the recipe! The next time I make it to the grocery store, I will definitely make sure the buy the ingredients for the bread. I’m so excited! I’m trying to be a little chef myself, but I don’t come close to any of the foods that you make! Especially lately, I have been crazy busy with school so my crockpot has been my best friend! Hehe. Just waiting for another year and a half to get my bachelor’s and then maybe I’ll have more free time to cook such creative dishes such as yours. 🙂
@christao408 – Well, I’d like to move up sometime soon (within a 5 years, realistically). I’ve been dating my man for a little over four years now and I’d like to start closing in on the long distance. But it’s all too unplanned at this point, but let’s pray I’ll be a Palo Alto resident in the next year or two. :o)But I must say, I will miss my home-city (Irvine). It’s a suburbanite’s paradise. But alas, time to move on to new things. Who knows, maybe I’ll learn how to make my own bread too! Hehe.
Disregard the typos please. I’m embarrassed.
@christao408 – Interesting things I’ve done with quinoa is to sprout it and then make a tabbouleh with it. Also I’ve boiled the quinoa and used it in place of rice for fried “rice”.
@christao408 – Wow. i’ll have to do that next time. Sounds so much less stressful.
@brooklyn2028 – Those sound tasty…
holy shit the food looked friggin fantastic. i’m hungry now.
Very nice…. I like those name placeholders!
@ElusiveWords – Ah, with those few words you have entered the inner sanctum of those whose taste Tawn trusts. =)