White Night! (February - Floral White)

True to form, I waited until the last weekend of February to prepare this month’s meal. I didn’t use to be this big of a procrastinator! Honest! J

So…February was WHITE NIGHT! Although not exactly a bright flash of color, white was a delicious theme. In literature and advertising, it often symbolizes innocence and perfection. When it came to this month’s food, white was a guilty pleasure! A high-cal, flavor-full smorgasbord! I was careful to include some vegetables, but honestly, that took some creativity. Plus, the meal would have been just as delicious without them. Here’s what was involved.

Appetizer: Charcuterie plate featuring 4 cheeses, 2 meats, and baby dill pickles (all available online through Zingermans!) Cheeses were: 1. Antique Gruyère, 2. Comté, from Fort St. Antoine, 3. Bridgewater (a soft “pepper” cheese), and 4. Raw Milk Stichelton. Meats were: 1. Crespone Salami and 2. La Quercia prosciutto

Pasta: Homemade Gnocchi with a gorgonzola cream sauce. I actually used recipes from www.cooksillustrated.com but that site is only available through a subscription. The above recipes seem like great alternatives.

Entrée: Roast chicken with a fresh white salad. Again, I used www.cooksillustrated.com for the chicken but you can search online for a recipe you like. The white salad was adapted from this: http://www.everydayhealth.com/health-recipe/red--white-salad.aspx. My version included white cabbage, celery, fennel, peeled radish, and peeled apple with a mustard vinaigrette.

Dessert: Pavlova! This Australian favorite is essentially a meringue cake. I topped mine with lemon flavored whipped cream, strawberry-rhubarb compote, and fresh kiwi!

Drinks: Nick’s homemade Riesling paired nicely throughout dinner. We capped off the evening with a round of “White Russians”.

Now before I let you go…I’ve gotten quite a few comments from friends about how fun but silly this little food experiment is. Touché. Truth is…I’m just a grown up geek... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9qYF9DZPdw

Please tell your food (or music) lovin’ friends about this little project! I’d love to have a few more followers!

See you in March!

P.S. After posting this, I remembered an old poem I wrote ... Ironically, it's both "white" and "dinner" themed : )

A Napkin’s Niche

1

A white dove

Gracefully floating in the air

As the careless litter bug zooms past

2

A quick kleenex

For the runny noses of small children

Too excited about their deformed snowman

To run for the fancy Puffs

3

Laying next to the bloodstained soldiers

The only survivor after Sloppy Joe’s War

Trusty sword by his side

4

Last minute love messages

Scribbled by the hand of a teenage boy

Too shy to express his love in person

5

Best friend to the vain school girl

Praying the boys won’t see

She’s only a size A