Dinner Party

This past weekend, Alex and I decided to have a small dinner party with our friends Torie and Jon and wanted to come up with a casual, yet classy menu. We decided to make brussels sprouts with bacon, fried smashed potatoes, and pork wellington. Here's how we did it:

Brussels Sprouts with Bacon:

15-20 fresh brussels sprouts, larger ones halved
5 cloves of garlic chopped
5 strips of thick cut bacon chopped
olive oil
salt/pepper

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Then start cooking the bacon in a non-stick skillet. While the bacon is cooking, boil enough water to cover the brussel sprouts and cook for 5 minutes. Next cook garlic in the bacon fat, and incorporate cooked brussel sprouts for about 3 minutes. Transfer everything into an oven safe pan, drizzle with olive oil, salt, and pepper, and bake for 20-30 minutes.



This simple dish will change the way you think about brussels sprouts forever, and they make a fantastic side.

Fried Smashed Potatoes:

1-2 pounds of small red potatoes, larger ones halved
fresh parmesan cheese
oil for frying
salt/pepper

Put potatoes in a pot of salted water so that it covers your potatoes, and bring to a boil. Once they are almost fork tender (about 10-15 minutes), drain and let cool on a baking sheet. Once you are able to touch potatoes, lightly press down creating a "smashed" flat potato. Heat up one inch of oil in a cast iron skillet until shinny, and add potatoes with a spatula. Fry potatoes in oil for about 5 minutes on each side, or until golden brown and move to a serving dish. Liberally salt and pepper and add fresh grated parmesan on top.



These potatoes are not only a cheap side dish but they can also pack a bunch of flavor and color to a dish.

Pork Wellington:

2 pork tenderloins, trimmed and cut into 8 medallions and seasoned with salt and pepper
1 T. garlic minced
1/2 t. red pepper flakes
1 bag baby spinach
1 box frozen puff pastry, thawed
16 pieces of thin sliced prosciutto
2/3 cup goat cheese divided into 8 pieces
2 eggs beaten with 2 T. water

Sear medallions in 1 T. oil in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat on both sides. This should take a total of 10 minutes. Transfer to a plate and chill until completely cool. Don't wash your pan, you will want to save it for the gravy later.

Next, saute garlic and pepper flakes in 1 T. oil in a large skillet until fragrant. Add spinach, toss to wilt, and season with salt. Drain spinach in a sieve, pressing with a spoon until dry, then coarsely chop and cool completely.

Once everything has cooled and your puff pastry is thawed you are ready to assemble your wellington. Roll out both sheets of pastry to 12" squares and divide into 8 even sections. Assemble wellingtons by first laying a slice of prosciutto on each square, then topping with a pork medallion. Top pork with 1 T. each of goat cheese and spinach, then another slice of prosciutto.

Fold corners up to the top, and then fold the opposite corner to the center in the same way; press corners to adhere. Tuck in the sides as if wrapping a gift and fold up remaining corners, gently stretching pastry over open areas to enclose the fillings. Transfer wellington to a parchment-lined baking sheet coated with nonstick spray.

Preheat oven to 425 with the rack in lower third; brush wellingtons with egg wash. Bake until golden, 20 minutes. Rest 5 minutes before serving.



Lastly, but certainly not least, my favorite part of the meal,

Roasted Mushroom Sauce:

1/2 lb. assorted mushrooms, sliced (4 cups)
2 T. shallots, minced
1 T. tomato paste
2 T. all-purpose flour
2 T. unsalted butter
1 cup dry white wine
2 cups of chicken broth
1 sprig fresh thyme
1 sprig fresh parsley

Saute mushrooms with salt in oil over medium heat in the pan used to sear the pork. Cook until soft, about 2 minutes. Add shallots, saute 1 minute, then stir in tomato paste and cook until it starts to brown, about 1 minute. Add flour and 2 T. butter; cook 1 minute.

Deglaze with wine; increase heat to high. Boil to reduce and thicken, 2 minutes, then add broth and herbs. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium, and simmer until sauce coats a spoon, 12-15 minutes.

Off heat, whisk in butter and pepper. Discard herb sprigs before serving.



I'm not going to say that this recipe is simple to make or particularly wallet-friendly, but it is definitely worth the time, effort, and cash. Alex and I both agree that it was one of the best things we have ever cooked and will definitely be making it again.