A Dinner Guest

Penelope and I met Wayne in town yesterday for a late lunch. Around two when we were finishing, Wayne says, "Oh, Jerrod is coming for dinner."

I had met Jerrod once before, he is an easy-going guy from Vancouver that Wayne works with occasionally.

I wouldn't consider 2pm an ideal time to start planning and executing a dinner, but I like company and relished the challenge. Wayne wouldn't be home until dinner, so Penelope and I drove home and got to work. In between nursing and doing a quick pick-up around the house, I made dinner.

I could have made something easy and boring, but when we have guests for dinner, I am a bit of a perfectionist, things have to be just so. Dinner is served in courses, of course.

For an appetizer, I made bruschetta. I sort of cheated here. I sliced a baguette and broiled it with a bit of mozzerella. Then I smeared pre-made (gasp!) pesto on it and then sprinkled on some chopped tomatoes. Then a drizzle of balsamic glaze.

Jerrod is a vegetarian, so for our main course I made eggplant parmesan and a side of linguine:

Eggplant Parmesan
1 eggplant
2 eggs
1/2 c bread crumbs
1/2 c parmesan
1/2 t garlic salt
olive oil
Slice eggplant; Dip in eggs, dip in combined crumbs, parmesan & garlic; Fry in hot oil; drain on paper towels.

Mediterranean Sauce
1/4 c chopped onion
2 t oil
1 garlic clove, minced
1 can tomatoes
1 bay leaf
1/2 t each: thyme, basil, oregano, fennel seed
1/4 c dry white wine
1/8 c lemon juice
Saute onion in oil for 5 minutes; Add remaining ingredients and simmer for 30 minutes. Remove bay leaf.

Place sauce in the bottom of a casserole dish; Arrange fried eggplant on top; Sprinkle with mozzerella cheese and bake 30 minutes or until Eggplant is as tender as you would like.

I had never made eggplant parmesan before. For dessert I made flourless chocolate cake. I had never made flourless chocolate cake before either. Perhaps I shouldn't try TWO new recipes when having guests.

Flourless Chocolate Cake
4 oz good quality chocolate
1/2 c butter
3 eggs
3/4 c sugar
1/2 c cocoa powder
Melt together butter & chocolate; Beat in remaining ingredients; Bake 25 minutes at 375. Cool, sprinkle with powdered sugar and garnish with raspberries to serve.

I have recently discovered Ghirardelli 60% cacao chocolate chips, and am in love. So I used them for the chocolate. Someone recently gave us some cocoa powder from the Dominican Republic, so I used that also.

Wayne and Jerrid arrived around 6:30. The bruschetta was scrumptious, the eggplant was good, but the sauce was a bit tangy from the lemon juice. (I cut the lemon juice in half in the recipe above.) And the cake was delicious! Just like one I had in a quite fancy restaurant actually. We had a delightful evening.