Day 4: The First Three Course Meal

It's round two, and after leading the project into a false sense of security with a couple of days of rest, I decided to hit it hard today with a three-course meal for guests. More correctly, I was the guest in my sponsor family's home and we had the pleasure of working together to fix a salad, main course, and dessert from the book. Patrick doesn't have any kind of guide for which courses to pick with which other courses, but that's okay because I think he means that to be part of the adventure of a meal. I tried to choose something I thought wouldn't be too much trouble to get for my sponsors, but that would still be agreeable (and still unique) to taste, and that the dessert wrapped together at the end. I realized that I am not to be in the business of meal planning, but I think it turned out well. Anyway, this evening was:

Orange-Onion Salad

Boneless Rack of Lamb in a Pecan Crust with Barbecue Sauce and Shoestring Sweet Potatoes

Grapefruit Tart with Chocolate-Pecan Crust

I don't mean to give a play-by-play, but let me recommend first

and foremost the shoestring sweet potatoes. They were the surprising key to the lamb main dish. And, as is always to my liking, they were not hard to make at all. Laura had this clever little mandolin that easily julienned the potatoes and then it

was simple to toss them into hot oil for a brief time and fish them out. They crisped right up and really added something to the lamb. Laura was also surprised that the barbecue sauce was really more of a red-wine reduction with barbecue added. Red onion and orange actually work really well together (with some cinnamon added), and the tart made me realize again (like the lemon cream) the beauty of the citrus/sweet combination. That, I think, is Patrick's true genius in writing this book--the clever combinations of things I wouldn't normally think to put together.

Of course there were mistakes, as there will be with any dis

h I make (I still haven't managed to get the hang of cooking lamb perfectly), but I think everyone really enjoyed the "living theater" of the Riddle kitchen and spending some good time together over food as a family.

Also, this was the first dish I've made where I really focused on the presentation when serving (probably because I wasn't just serving myself). I've always been one to scoff at the idea of spending excessive amounts of time on the presentation of a dish, but I really do think Patrick has something in telling me how to serve it. It preserves some of the character of the dish and allows some connection to its creator, but also allows some of my own personality to come out. I think I've been sold on presentation.

"This custard tart is at once startling and refreshing."