When my family in law comes to diner I kind of get the creeps. Cooking for friends or my family is rarely a problem. But from the moment husbands family steps into the picture I completely freak out. I am sure there are wonderful theories about this phenomena… no doubt about that. But for me it just plain horrible. The husband tries his best to calm me down a bit, but rarely succeeds.
Now it was even worse because they were coming on Ostara and I had to make sure that “my holiday” was not rubbed into their faces. I am not quit sure my family in law even knows I am pagan… And I was certainly not planning to tell them straight away.
So I tried to use some subtle decoration that did not scream “I am a wiccan!” I got the most amazing tulips, grass green candles and pretty ribbons who made sure that our living room was transformed into a spring Walhalla. No altar this time around for me, but I was satisfied non the less.
I decided to keep the menu simple. I did not feel like spending hours in the kitchen like I normally do. No I wanted simple, but tasty food that could be prepared in advance and that just needed a final touch right before serving.
I build my menu around the Ostara theme by using lots of young vegetables, eggs, cheese and I used the colours green and yellow a lot.
It turned out to be great. My family in law was very enthusiastic about my menu. The best compliment was when my mother in law asked me for some recipes.
INGREDIENTS PEA CAPPUCINO WITH PINK PEPPERCORNS
500 grams of peas (I used frozen peas)
1 small potato
325 ml chicken stock
85 ml cream
1 teaspoon of pink peppercorns
pepper and salt
INGREDIENTS CAULIFLOWER PANNA COTTA WITH GREEN PESTO
½ cauliflower
½ litre cream
2 gelatine leaves
nutmeg
pepper and salt
2 tablespoons of parmesan cheese
30 grams of basil
2 gloves of garlic
30 grams of pine nuts
3 tablespoons of olive oil
INGREDIENTS SHRIMPMOUSSE
200 grams of gray shrimps
300 grams whipped cream
fresh dill
paprika powder
pepper and salt
PEA CAPPUCINO WITH PINK PEPPERCORNS
Peal the potato and dice him into small cubes.
Bring the potato to the boil in the chicken stock. When the potato is boiling add the peas and let this simmer for about 10 to 15 minutes.
Now poor the peas, potato and stock into the blender and blend this together into a pea mash.
Season the mash with pepper and salt.
In the mean time whip the cream and season it with a little bit of salt.
Now add ¾ of the cream to the pea mash and season according to taste.
Poor the pea mousse into glasses and place them for about 2 hours into the fridge.
Just before serving you poor the rest of the cream on top of the mousse and you decorate with the pink peppercorns.
CAULIFLOWER PANNA COTTA WITH GREEN PESTO
Wash the cauliflower and cut it into really small pieces. This is very important, cause you need to cook the cauliflower really fast. Because of the cream we ‘ll be using you cant have it cook for hours.
Now cook the cauliflower in a mixture of the cream, a little bit of water, some pepper and salt. The cauliflower should almost fall apart into the cream.
In the meantime soak the gelatine in some cold water.
Make the green pesto in your blender. Green pesto is one of the easiest things to make. You just add all the ingredients together in the blender and you mix it into a lovely green pasta. According to taste you can add some extra oil, pepper, salt or basil even.
When the cauliflower is done you mix it together with the cream using your hand mixer. Season it with pepper, salt and some nutmeg. Now add the soaked gelatine leaves and stir well.
Now add a tablespoon of pesto to a glass and poor over some of the cauliflower panna cotta. Pop this in the fridge for about 2 hours before serving.
SHRIMP MOUSSE
Shrimp mousse is one of the easiest things to make as an appetiser. The taste is really luscious and soft and you can make it in less then two minutes!
Just mix the shrimps into a paste with your blender. Then mix the whipped cream with the shrimps using a wooden spoon. Season this mixture with pepper, salt, dill and paprika powder.
Poor the mousse into the glasses and pop it into the fridge for about 2 hours.
Just before serving you add a little bit of paprika powder on top of the mousse.
Silkes Cooking Corner 