Food...

So I decided to have a nice dinner the night before I fly to germany in san francisco for me and my girlfriend.
But since I had no reliable car which she could take back to davis the next morning. Well we canceled it.

Instead I surprised her with a nice dinner on friday night. My exact works were something like

get the hell out of my kitchen and don't come in before I call you

And spend 5 hours cooking, steaming and so. Ok the sauce was cooking 5 hours, the actual preparation was only 45 minutes.

Result?

• steamed lobster and a dill bed
• gravlax
• sauteed duck with tarragon sauce, my signature dish
• sauteed bell peppers with a balsamic reduction
  
• mozarella and cheevre as appetizer
• different kinds of breads
• some riesling
• vanilla ice cream with flambeed pears, my signature desert

I even managed to get everything done in time and it was the first time my planning kinda worked out. Ok it was 25 minutes late, but at perfect temperature.

recipes:

duck breast:

• rub in salt and pepper
• let rest in frigde for 2 hours
• pat dry
• heat a bit of canola oil
• reduce heat to medium
• put duck fat side up in the pan for 15 minutes
• turn duck over and cook on low for 5 - 6 minutes to medium done

tarragon sauce:

• put half a stick of butter in pot
• melt it gently
• add a cup of flour and heat it till it's brown and smells toasty
• add a cup of chicken stock and mix it in
• add another cup of chicken stock and keep mixing
• add 2 cups of chicken stock
• keep simmering for 4 -5 hours, depending how salty you like the sauce
• remove skin from time to time
• let the sauce cool down, it should be now only 2 cups left
• add a cup of whipping cream
• add fresh crushed tarragon leaves
• cook for 2 minutes
• keep warm till serving

lobster

• pick a lobster
• lay it on aluminium foil
• add a bit of butter
• add 2 - 3 stems of dill
• add salt
• add pepper
• add a bit of water or wine
• make a tight pouch of the aluminium foil and keep everything in it
• preheat oven to 350 Fahrenheit
• leave the lobster in the overn for 15 minutes

cheeses, gravlax

• put in bowl
• sprinkle basil over
• done

sauteed bell pepper

• heat a pan as high as possible
• add salt and pepper
• toss very thinly cut bell pepper into it
• add 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• keep tossing till the vinegar is mostly evaporated
• serve warm or cold, depending on taste
  

flambe pears

• get canned pear and slice them thinly
• add 2 shots barcadi 152
• add 1 shot cointreau
  
• carefully heat it
• ignite and let it burn
• keep steering with a spoon to make sure all the alcohol burns down
• server over vanilla ice cream