I woke up early on Saturday in order to head to the grocery store. I needed to get supplies in order to prepare Lapin's congratulatory dinner. She had succeeded in getting a co-op placement with Suncor and as such I was to cook her a nice dinner. She had chosen a recipe out of the cookbook I had purchased a while back and it seemed easy enough. The menu was rather simple, although it lacked a binding theme:
Because it is summer, I decided to try out a refreshing drink to go along with dinner: a mint iced green tea. I brewed the tea and added it into a pitcher and added fresh mint leaves and sugar. After a few ice cubes were added, it was off the fridge where it would continue to cool. Hence, the iced portion of the name. The aroma was just intoxicating. The subtle hint of mint seemed to cool the body as it enveloped the senses and it did just that as Lapin and I sipped away at it during dinner.
Dinner started with a very-berry balsamic spinach salad. Although Lapin despises vegetables, I take it upon myself to show her that not all of them are bad and can be rather tasty. I chose this spinach salad because I really enjoyed it when my cousin, Pisa, had made it for me when I visited her in Guelph. Although I was unsure of the exact recipe for the dressing, I took a stab at it. Overall, the salad came out extremely well. The craisins and strawberries helped offset the spinach flavour by adding a fruitiness to it. This was further enhanced by the dressing that simply complimented both the spinach and the berries. Lapin and I were both quite surprised that she enjoyed it.
Next came the main, a roast chicken with country sage stuffing and roast vegetables. I had bought a whole chicken that morning and spent a good 10 minutes trying to find the courage to de-giblet the bird. After removing all the giblets, I cleaned the bird and got to work on preparing the stuffing. It was simple enough and after Norman, the name I had given the chicken, was stuffed, it was off to the sauna for him/her. I couldn't serve the chicken alone and refused to bring potatoes into the mix as they're really starchy and the summer heat wouldn't make that any better. I went with a medley of broccoli, zucchini, and eggplant. Alas, the vegetables were left in the oven a little too long and ended up a little more crisp than I had intended them to be. After the veggies and chicken were finished, I tossed in two garlic and parmesan dinner roles. Again, having lost track of time, they came out a bit crisper than intended. Although not burnt, they had an extra crisp crust. Aside from the vegetables and dinner roll, it was a success. The chicken was moist and flavourful and although crunchy, the bread was really tasty. The veggies were a tad cold from sitting out, but I still enjoyed them. Lapin on the other hand squirmed as she ingested the zucchini and eggplant.
Finally, to end off the night, a traditional strawberry shortcake. The cake portion was more like a scone and not like the normal every day fluffy spongey cake. I hand whipped the cream which took quite some time as my arm grew weary. After assembling the cake, it was almost a shame to think that we'd have to eat it. I was extremely proud of how it turned out and the only thing left to do was to see how it tasted. Both Lapin and I were surprised by the biscuit like quality of the cake. A little disappointed by this set back we continued to eat. Surprisingly, I found that it got better as I ate more. I believe my palette became more accustomed to the expectations of a biscuit and subtle hints of sweetness came roaring by. I even got seconds which turned out to be a bad decision as I was already stuffed.
Dinner had come to an end and Lapin left happy with her dinner.
Because it is summer, I decided to try out a refreshing drink to go along with dinner: a mint iced green tea. I brewed the tea and added it into a pitcher and added fresh mint leaves and sugar. After a few ice cubes were added, it was off the fridge where it would continue to cool. Hence, the iced portion of the name. The aroma was just intoxicating. The subtle hint of mint seemed to cool the body as it enveloped the senses and it did just that as Lapin and I sipped away at it during dinner.
Dinner started with a very-berry balsamic spinach salad. Although Lapin despises vegetables, I take it upon myself to show her that not all of them are bad and can be rather tasty. I chose this spinach salad because I really enjoyed it when my cousin, Pisa, had made it for me when I visited her in Guelph. Although I was unsure of the exact recipe for the dressing, I took a stab at it. Overall, the salad came out extremely well. The craisins and strawberries helped offset the spinach flavour by adding a fruitiness to it. This was further enhanced by the dressing that simply complimented both the spinach and the berries. Lapin and I were both quite surprised that she enjoyed it.
Next came the main, a roast chicken with country sage stuffing and roast vegetables. I had bought a whole chicken that morning and spent a good 10 minutes trying to find the courage to de-giblet the bird. After removing all the giblets, I cleaned the bird and got to work on preparing the stuffing. It was simple enough and after Norman, the name I had given the chicken, was stuffed, it was off to the sauna for him/her. I couldn't serve the chicken alone and refused to bring potatoes into the mix as they're really starchy and the summer heat wouldn't make that any better. I went with a medley of broccoli, zucchini, and eggplant. Alas, the vegetables were left in the oven a little too long and ended up a little more crisp than I had intended them to be. After the veggies and chicken were finished, I tossed in two garlic and parmesan dinner roles. Again, having lost track of time, they came out a bit crisper than intended. Although not burnt, they had an extra crisp crust. Aside from the vegetables and dinner roll, it was a success. The chicken was moist and flavourful and although crunchy, the bread was really tasty. The veggies were a tad cold from sitting out, but I still enjoyed them. Lapin on the other hand squirmed as she ingested the zucchini and eggplant.
Finally, to end off the night, a traditional strawberry shortcake. The cake portion was more like a scone and not like the normal every day fluffy spongey cake. I hand whipped the cream which took quite some time as my arm grew weary. After assembling the cake, it was almost a shame to think that we'd have to eat it. I was extremely proud of how it turned out and the only thing left to do was to see how it tasted. Both Lapin and I were surprised by the biscuit like quality of the cake. A little disappointed by this set back we continued to eat. Surprisingly, I found that it got better as I ate more. I believe my palette became more accustomed to the expectations of a biscuit and subtle hints of sweetness came roaring by. I even got seconds which turned out to be a bad decision as I was already stuffed.
Dinner had come to an end and Lapin left happy with her dinner.
I, on the other hand, was left with the dishes.
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