After missing a week, due to vacation, our trio is back together for Monday Night Dining. Being off for a week was so relaxing, even though we had docks to take out an leaves to rake, being at the lake with NMJ and the dog, helped us re-centre. I would like to note that I did not miss Monday night rehearsal, but when asked about MND dinner, people were shocked that we had “take-out”.
Tonight we just had our trio, which gave us the chance to regroup and reconnect after our break. For any of you following from other parts of the world… I just want to let you know…. It’s effing freezing here!!! We have snow and ice and it’s still a month until winter starts! But Steph braved the elements and walked over, so maybe it’s not so bad… we just need to acclimatize.
With the colder weather, we wanted something warming and rich. I remembered that we once made a Cuban style stew, so for this week, we have decided on latin dishes. Shawn and I were fighting over who got to use the oven, since the app and the main needed time, but we worked that out and off we go. For the first course we had Canelones Del Mar. Homemade pasta, shrimp and crab filling, with a cheese and cream sauce… very rich and succulent.
After a little time for conversation, we served the main… Ropa Vieja pot pies, with roasted root vegetables. The name is Spanish for old clothes, which may refer to the Shredded look to the beef. Ropa Vieja is a tomato based Cuban stew, often made with flank steak, braised in beer, black beans, chilis and peppers. It is a rich stew, with a bit of zing to it. Our version was served in individual “pot pies”, with a savory dumpling cooked on top. I thought that the serving size might be a bit small, but in the end, it was very filling.
The biggest problem with our dessert for tonight is that while cooking, it fills the house with the most amazing aromas. You feel like you are in the tropics…. then you look out the window. Don’t get me wrong I absolutely love Canada, and I am a winter person, but trying to get used to the changing season can take some time.
Our dessert is a new recipe, Valencia Orange and Cheese Flan with Orange Rum Sauce. We may have to tweak that name. This is a combination of a traditional latin flan, flavoured with Valencia orange zest, star anise and canela, but with a bit of a cheesecake texture. The sauce is reduced freshly squeezed orange juice, with a touch of sugar, orange liqueur and spiced rum. I think we may have found a new favorite flan.
My concerns about sharing the oven were for naught. We actually finished ahead of schedule and had time for a cup of herbal tea and a chat, before rehearsal. It was a lovely evening of reconnecting, after our break and re-centering time.
If this is what the cold weather brings on, I say, let it snow!