small things of which I'm proud

In among everything on my mind and going on this weekend, a meal of which I was proud. I'm not always pleased with the food I produce, I admit - my own harshest critic all too often. Last night I put together a reasonable meal, though.

Dan came over - still in town from PA following a conference we both attended. Good company, and he very graciously brought delicious wines for us to enjoy. We all sat in the kitchen, and - following some snacks of cheese and nuts - dug into these little parcels.



Cornhusks are the wrapping for the parcels. Inside them are sockeye, one large shrimp, a bit of roasted poblano, slivers of yellow squash, and a dollop of butter flavoured with salt, lime zest and juice, and cilantro. I steamed them up for a bit (the tricky part - difficult to gauge doneness).

To plate, a generous spoonful of Cuban black beans, the parcels, a couple of corn rounds, and a sprig of cilantro atop. I actually thought they looked attractive. In the center of the table, I set a bowl for the emptied husks.

All in all, it was a nice meal. The parts went together fairly well, I thought, and the pale cornhusk parcels against the dark beans was a welcome contrast.

Dessert was an old restaurant standby: a brown butter tart. No blueberries this time, however. Mangoes have been in abundance in the stores, so I used them in the tart and swapped out the almonds slivers for pistachios. Dan was sent home with a couple of wedges, and I hope they made for a good snack for him today.