Girls Night Out

A group of girlfriends and I attended a cooking class on Wednesday night. Really, we were more interested in sipping wine and chatting, but the way the class was set up, we actually had to pay attention. Our club offers these classes once in a blue moon and this is the first opportunity that I’ve had to attend. I wish that I could have taken pictures, but I forgot my camera. Here’s what we enjoyed.

Wine Pairings (I should have written down the brands served.)
Souvignon Blanc
Viognier
Chardonnay

Appetizer (These were SO good and would be really easy to do.)

Crab Wontons
1/2 lb crabmeat
1 pkg wonton wrappers
5 oz garlic/herb Boursin cheese
3 T parsley, chopped

Mix crab with boursin and parsley. Add large tsp of mixture to the middle of each wrapper and fold into a pouch. (Pinch at the top to close.) Fry each wonton in 350 degree oil for about 3 min. Serve with dipping sauce.

Sesame-Soy Dipping Sauce (These must be restaurant proportions!)
1 c rice wine vinegar
2 c olive oil
2 T wasabi
2/3 c soy sauce
1 c sesami oil
1 T black sesame seeds

Baby Spinach Salad (This was really good.)
Baby spinach
Dried Figs (Look for them near the raisens in the grocery store.)
Walnuts (She candied them, but didn’t give specific directions.)
Blue cheese
Red onion, sliced

Sherry Vinaigrette
1/4 c sherry
1/4 c honey
Shallot, minced
1 t thyme
1 orange, freshly squeezed
1 c olive oil
s/p to taste

Chicken Scaloppini Stack
This would be good to serve for company. I didn’t think there was enough cheese in the grits, so if I do this at home, I’ll double the amount.

Chicken
2 T canola oil
2 T butter
2 lb chicken tenderloins (I would pound them a little bit.)
2 3/4 c flour, seasoned with s/p
1/4 cup pancetta, diced and cooked
12 oz mushrooms (She used four types, but any will work.)
12 oz artichoke hearts, sliced
1 T capers

Heat oil and butter in large skillet. Dredge chicken in seasoned flour and saute in pan, turning once, until golden-brown and cooked through on both sides. Remove chicken. Add remaining ingredients and saute until mushrooms soften. Return chicken to pan.

Lemon-Butter Sauce
This was too rich for my taste. I think you could get away with serving the stacks without this sauce.
Make this first and keep it warm while the chicken cooks.

3 T lemon juice
4 oz white wine
4 oz heavy cream
1 lb butter
s/p to taste

In saucepan over medium heat, add lemon juice and white wine. Boil and reduce to 1/3. Add cream and simmer until mixture thickens. Slowly add butter, about 2 T at a time, until completely incorporated (whisk continually). Season to taste with s/p. Remove from heat and keep warm.

Cheese Grits
Quaker Quick Grits (Follow instructions for 6 servings.)
1/2 c cheddar cheese ( I would use 1 cup.)
3 T butter

Add cheese to grits just before grits are finished cooking. Pour into square, shallow pan and place in refrigerator to cool and firm up. Remove chilled/firm grits and cut into triangles. Sautee each grit cake in butter over medium heat until golden-brown on each side.

Presentation
Alternate layers of grit cakes with the chicken mixture and then drizzle lemon-butter sauce over the stacks. Sprinkle with parsley for garnish.

The chicken was served with Garlic-Streusel Green Beans. I’m not going to include the recipe because it was not anything special, imo.

Macaroon-Toffee Ice Cream
Served with Palmiers

I don’t like coconut, so I didn’t like the ice cream, but the Palmiers were delicious and easy to make.

Ice Cream
1/2 gallon ice cream
6 oz macaroon cookies
3 Heath Bars

Soften ice cream. Separately chop macaroon cookies and heath bars in food processor. Fold these into ice cream. Place in freezer to firm up.

Palmiers
2 c granulated sugar
Puff Pastry Sheets

Pour 1 cup sugar on a flat, dry surface. Unfold puff pastry sheet onto sugar and pour 1/2 cup of sugar over the top, spreading evenly. With a rolling pin, roll dough to 13″ x 13″ with sugar pressed into both sides. Fold two opposite sides halfway toward the middle, then again to meet in the middle. Finish with a fold as though closing a book. (It should now be six layers thick.) Slice the dough into 3/8″ portions and place, cut side up, on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. repeat steps with second sheet of pastry. Bake the cookies for 6 minutes at 450 degrees , until caramelized and brown on the bottom, then turn over and bake another 3-5 minutes until the bottom caramelizes. Transfer to a cooling rack.

We are having a party at school on Tuesday during our planning time to welcome our new assistant principal and two new teachers on our team. I think that I’ll make the Palmiers to share. They’ll be easy to whip up Monday evening.