The turnout

Okay, so as promised, I am going to describe what I actually made tonight and how everything turned out (and also what happened in my first attempt at chocolate cake).


First things first. I made:


Salmon Wellington (Food Network) - Wow, everyone was very impressed with this! So what this dish is, for those of you who don't know, esentially salmon wrapped in a puff pastry. This recipe has some fancier additions: a creamy dill and asparagus sauce and asparagus "logs" topping the salmon, all of which is wrapped in a puff pastry. The only downfall was that the very middle of the salmon was undercooked, even though I had cooked an extra 10 minutes at 350 F. I don't know how I can avoid that problem next time, but I will most definitely be making this again!! My family and I agree this is a close second - second only to the potato-crusted salmon by Michael Smith (F/N) - in all the salmon recipes I've made. 5/5


Sauteed mushrooms (enoki and crab) and spinach - My own creation :) Just added a few teaspoons of olive oil to a skillet over medium-high heat, and sauteed some frozen chopped spinach. Once the spinach had wilted a bit, I added the mushrooms. When the mushrooms developed a golden colour, I added a splash of white wine, waited for the liquid to absorb, and added a generous sprinkling of roasted garlic seasoning, salt and pepper. Very easy! 4/5


Butternut squash soup (Allrecipes) - I think that I have made this so many times now that I refer to the recipe less and less everytime I make this. A mistake on my part. I have a penchant for thick, creamy soups, but without following the recipe, the soup was too thick, a problem that is easily rectified with the addition of water. Note to self: follow recipe next time. Flavour did not fail to disappoint. The only issue was the consistency. 3.5/5 (Don't get me wrong. This is only based on today's turnout. Again, I've made this recipe before with stellar results.) 


Molten heart chocolate cake (Food Network) - A success (this time)! However, even though I scaled the recipe down to yield 4 servings, unfortunately, even then, there were leftovers. Everyone was full from dinner! That aside, the "heart" was indeed molten and it was the level of sweetness! The recipe calls for semisweet chocolate and I only had dark chocolate, so I used the actual amount of sugar stated in the recipe. (Normally, I use about 3/4 of what recipes state - personal choice as I don't like my desserts to be too sweet.) Did I mention that it was a cinch to make? Always a bonus, of course! I have a photo of a half-eaten cake, which I promise to post eventually. (Be forewarned that I have a poor track record with posting photos in a timely manner, though, haha.) 4.5/5


So all in all, a good turnout tonight and I am definitely pleased with myself. I know I promised to share my disastrous first attempt at the chocolate cake, but it is late and I'm sorry, but I am going to have to save it for next time (again)!


Hope you enjoyed reading. Good night! 

xo

-Kitchen Girl