I’m extra lucky to include Angela among my friends—extra lucky because not only is she a reliable friend, but she also lives within a short walk and she’s a wonderful cook who enjoys sharing her cooking talents. She watches for interesting recipes in magazines, newspapers, packaging, and then, unlike me, she actually uses them.
Angela’s current recipe possibilities
Case in point: An evening this week
With Michael out of town, Angela invited me to dinner and declined my offer to contribute. I brought a bottle of wine. The menu:
- Radish sandwiches
- Grits, Cheese & Onion Souffle
- Asparagus and mesclun salad
- Chocolate-dipped strawberries
Angela sprinkling salt on radishes
You may recall that I’m not a big fan of radishes, but, thanks to Angela, I now have a radish dish I really like. She was surprised I’d never had them before. It’s a simple dish: Slices of good bread with a generous spread of butter, topped with thin radish slices (which, in an ideal world, have been crisped in ice water) sprinkled with coarse salt. In other words, it’s really good bread and butter with a little added crunch and flavor from the radishes and salt. And look how pretty they are, especially in contrast with the turquoise plate:
The souffle
I’m sure Angela is intimidated by some kind of cooking. I just don’t know what it is. Souffles are something that intimidate me. They have a reputation as being unreliable, so I’ve never been bold enough to try them on guests nor sufficiently motivated to try them just for family.
Angela uses manual egg beater to beat whites…
…and then incorporates them into the grits mixture.
Eighteen minutes later, souffles!
Browned, puffed and delicious, the dish had a nice corny flavor that went well with the three kinds of onions in it. Angela made it look so easy, I may just try it myself one of these days.
On the side
As if these delights weren’t enough, we had an asparagus and mesclun salad with a garlic dressing. (Angela and I share the CSA subscription, so the salad may look somewhat familiar to readers.)
And the final touch, strawberries dipped in chocolate. Her chocolate mixture used semisweet baking chocolate with a touch of butter, milkl and almond flavoring. It was a much smoother and more flavorful combination than many I’ve tasted. Bliss.
Salute to Angela
Cheers for another wonderful meal at Angela’s table. If my luck holds, I hope to have many more. Salute to the cook, my friend and neighbor.
Meryl // May 24, 2008 at 5:11 pm
Lucky you to have such a wonderful neighbor!
The radishes are also good with a small slathering of creamy cheese (brie, goat cheese, or similar) in place of the butter!
Joanne // May 24, 2008 at 5:42 pm
What a fabulous dinner! I hope the tornadoes mentioned on the news skipped your area and you are safe and sound. I also hope you’ll try radishes again…I wash the radishes, and dip them right into a slightly warm pat of good butter. If the butter is unsalted, go right from the butter to a bit of good salt. Mmmh. Good.
Oh, radish idea #2. I make kohlrabi slaw with the cuisinart…with carrots, turnips, radishes, and green onions. The dressing is this, depending on amount: (for 2 kohlrabi…plus) 1/2 cup honey, warmed over the stove or in the microwave, 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar or rice wine vinegar, mix well. Add red pepper if desired. (I use Aleppo Pepper for warmth without fiery heat.) Mix with the slaw. Drain after a while, if desired. Leftovers make great salad rolls with those rice wrappers from the Asian grocery…
Janet Majure // May 25, 2008 at 9:54 am
You are so right, Meryl, I am lucky.
And thanks, both of you, for your great radish ideas. The radishes and turnips are things in my CSA bag that I never have enough ideas for.
Joanne, Thanks for thinking of me. Fortunately, the tornadoes were in areas with few people, although two people in a car on a rural highway (far from here) were killed. The t-storms, though, seemed to be all over. It’s that time of year, but I don’t recall storms being so consistently in the middle of the night as they have been the last couple of years.