Chive Blossom Dinner

So this turned out pretty well. Chris and Holly came over and their friend April and Alisha (who came up to get married, so congrats to them). Almost every component of the dinner worked well. And all the components that I made, except the ham, had chive blossoms in them.

So here's a bowl full of chive blossoms, that I used throughout the dinner:

Chive Blossoms

And then the whole dinner:

Chive Blossom Dinner

Eden Farms Berkshire Pork Black Forest Ham

This was a pretty good ham. I really have enjoyed eating it and serving it.

Chive Blossom Mashed Potatoes with Young Gouda

Cream + sour cream + chive blossoms. I did however forget to add in the cheese (I had grated it already), so we topped it with it later, which still worked well.

Chive Blossom Biscuits (based on these)

Chive blossoms + bacon and biscuits...delicious. I was happy with how these turned out. I used a few slices of the Vande Rose Farms bacon along with the other ingredients. I really do love that bacon.

Quick Braised Baby Carrots with Honey, Chive Blossoms and Lemon Juice

This was the only part of the dinner that I wasn't thrilled about. I had a concept in my mind, and it just didn't pan out like I thought. It wasn't bad, per se, just not that good.

Fresh Spinach salad with Baby Carrots, chive blossoms, and feta

This was a good mix. I was hoping that Lois would have the Chive Blossom feta, but even so it was a good combination of ingredients.

Holly also brought a salad as well, which was also good.

Veal Burgers

These were nice. I used fresh mozzarella from Lucca, a little tomato sauce combined together to make a nice little burger.

Buttermilk Waffles (p25 May and June 2010 Cook's Illustrated) with strawberries

I made lots of extras, put them in the freezer so we could have them for random breakfasts. The strawberries, however, had gotten moldy in the single day since I bought them. I was a bit miffed. Anyways, I've made 'em before and I'll make 'em again (I still have some of the dried buttermilk left).

Left over Eden Farms Berkshire Pork Black Forest Ham Sandwiches

I think I had ham sandwiches once for dinner, and then 4 times for lunch...and yet, I still love ham.

Fried Duck Eggs on toast

This was simple and turned out well. The duck egg yolks were huge in comparison to the whites. They also tasted a little different from eggs. A bit richer...

Reduced-Fat Fried Fish with Tarter Sauce (p4 June and July 2010 Cook's Country)

I was going to make this Friday, but forgot to take the fish out of the freezer...so it'll be on next week's menu.