Personal Chef dinner for 8....

After a whirlwind trip to NYC( which I'm going to write about soon, I swear) I returned on Friday. I had no time to relax, as I had a personal chef dinner for 8 on Sunday. Thankfully, the clients had picked a menu that I'd made a few times before. The salad was a new addition, but I made it last week before we left in order to test it. It's a wonderful really simple salad from Cook's Illustrated. Arugula w/ dried apricots, pears, goat cheese and almonds. The main dish was also from CI, but I made a couple changes. I added fresh rosemary and used a cherry jam from France instead of the orange marmalade the recipe calls for. If you have a CI membership, its called Pork tenderloin with a dried cherry port sauce. I mashed sweet potatoes to go with the meal. The client raved and raved about the sweet potatoes. I used 1 stick of butter, a few tbls of heavy cream, 2tsp of brown sugar and salt and pepper for 7 potatoes. They were very good!!

I used a nifty little tool to french cut fresh green beans. I blanched them and then sauteed them with pine nuts and butter. I used a garlic/cheese finishing butter I picked up at Wegman's in Buffalo. Dessert was chocolate fondue w/ assorted fruit and amazing shortbread cookies. I used the recipe from Ina Garten( half w/ pecans) and cut them with my maple leaf cutter. I also made a batch of Peanut butter rice krispie treats. There was NOT one of those left on the platter.

I was hired thru the Canadian Personal Chef Alliance. I was required to provide a 3 course bistro dinner, but I also threw in an appetizer( forgot to take a pic) of an artichoke and white bean dip. I also threw in my famous( actually Peter Reinharts) overnight foccacia. If you want an amazing bread w/ little effort, seriously make that bread!!