Turning a “Meet & Eat” into a Wine & Dine!

Congratulations to the Standards of Excellence team in San Jose for rocking the house on Thursday for our “Meet & Eat” cooking event, celebrating our cooking segments on the 960AM Green Morning Show, airing Saturdays from 9am – noon!  The guests were so thrilled to see our sensational showroom and live kitchens in action. Speaking of action, the whole team worked all night long setting up, greeting, networking and also helped cook, clean and pack out. Whatever was needed, it got done in style!

Let’s get right to the food, guests literally “ate it up” and we promised to share techniques and recipes. Let’s begin with butternut, shall we?

Arlyn, my assistant, and I

Here is Arlyn, my assistant,  made a vibrant looking platter of Butternut Squash Bits with Goat Cheese, Pesto and Pistachio, a technique adapted from Eric Gower, “the Breakaway Cook”. This simple appetizer is quite a revelation, who knew it could be so delicious?

Method:

• Cut and peel a butternut squash and cut it into two-bite half rounds (from the top part) and wedges (cut from the bottom after removing the seeds with a spoon). 
• Toss with olive oil just to coat and season well with salt and pepper. 
• Place on a parchment lined sheet pan and cook at 375°F Convection for about 10 minutes until just soft and beginning to brown. They will be picked up by hand, so do not over cook! 
• Remove from heat and top with crumbled goat cheese and drizzle with prepared pesto and add a sprinkle of chopped pistachios or other chopped nuts, or pumpkin seeds. 
• Serve warm or at room temperature. So simple!

How about that Warm Crab and Artichoke Dip in a toasted bread bowl?  Stay tuned for a video of that dish, but for now here is the recipe. Sandra Cisneros popped the artichokes into the Miele Steam oven for me, and here I am stealing her thunder (and the artichokes!). James Mc Intire was cooking, chopping and teaching, here cutting up the bread bowl once it was almost empty for a final treat.

About that flatbread… Many grocers have a prepared pizza dough, but it is not that easy to use at first. Here are a few tips:

• Remove it from the bag, place it onto a parchment lined sheet pan that is brushed with oil and sprinkled with cornmeal for added texture, and allow it to come to room temperature. 
• Pre-heat your oven to 450°F Convection. 
• Cut dough in half and stretch each piece into a long oval, allow to rest. 
• Stretch and flatten again with the tips of your fingers. Place pan into oven for about 7 minutes until dough is set, partially cooked but not brown. 
• Remove from oven, loosen par-cooked dough from the parchment and top with sparing amounts of cheeses, sauces and cooked meats or vegetables or thin sliced fresh tomato. 
• Return flatbread to the oven directly onto the rack with the sheet pan on the rack below to catch drips, cook until crisp and brown.
• Remove and top with fresh herbs and a sprinkling of salt and pepper. Cut and serve!

We served many courses of excellent food to our happy crowd of designers, clients, builders and more. Chris Hensey and David Patterson lead the “front of the house” action. The heart of the excitement in the “front of the house” came from our long time client, Gary King who is now a sommelier for Hannah Nicole Vineyards, out of Brentwood, CA. He graciously brought along wines to pair with our menu. The HNV 2007 Petit Verdot Reserve worked on so many levels with our lamb meatball appetizer with its savory and sweet flavors and aromas. Wow. Gary paired his HNV 2009 Sauvignon Blanc expertly with the crab and artichoke dip, finding a prefect fit for the hard to pair flavor of artichoke. Well done! This super wine morphs on your tongue to create several taste sensations with each sip. Super- luscious!

Gary King from Hannah Nicole Vineyards

That is our recipe for success: a well received event in our Standards of Excellence showroom, appliances working their magic, guests enjoying food, wine and each other. Thanks so much to all of you and to Gary from HNV for turning our “Meet and Eat’ into a “Wine and Dine” with your presences! Cheers!