Valentine's Dinner Menu

Just a bit behind in posting.Valentines is one of the times I like to go for gold and really set out to challenge myself and impress my guests, so for Valentine's last year, I was inspired by the French Laundry Cookbook I received as a Christmas gift from my husband.  Since I work full time, I had to streamline the recipes a bit.

Menu

• Puff pastry coins topped with Gorgonzola mousse, toasted walnuts and caramelized pear
• Egg shells filled with truffle custard topped with mushroom ragout and drizzled with truffle oil
• Roasted beet and blood oranges with baby greens, feta cheese and champagne vinaigrette
• Marscapone orzo topped with butter poached lobster and lobster butter with grated Parmesan
• Sous Vide chicken roulades stuffed with spinach, Gruyère, prosciutto and mustard, served atop creamed corn and roasted red pepper sauces
• Red Velvet Cake balls dipped in dark chocolate and served with raspberry sauce

For the puff pastry appetizers, I was inspired by several recipes, so there is not a specific one for these delicious tid bits. To start, I cut circles out of puff pastry sheets and pierced then with a fork, baked them according to the package and stored them in an air tight container until Saturday.  I made the mousse with a package of cream cheese, 6 ounces of Gorgonzola and enough heavy cream to make the consistency pipe-able by whirling in the food processor. Toasted some walnuts and chopped very fine.  I took two peeled pears and sliced each into layers, then julienned and then cut into a small fine dice. I tossed the pears with some honey and butter and sauteed until juices were absorbed and pears were well caramelized.  Setting the pears and walnuts aside and bringing the mousse to room temp when ready to assemble about an hour before guests arrived.  To assemble, I piped a dollop of the Gorgonzola mouse onto each puff pastry coin, sprinkled with the toasted walnuts and then topped with a demitasse spoonful of the caramelized pear.  Very pretty and oh so yummy with a nice pinot.

I took Friday off and did the shopping in the morning and then came back and started prepping.  I'd already bought the egg shell cutter. And although it only took six eggs to get the hang of it, it took two dozen eggs to get the 10 I needed for my dinner.  The trick with the egg topper is not to let the spring thingy hit too hard. Use a paring knife point to separate the top of the egg from the bottom.  The hard part is removing the membrane inside without breaking part of the eggshell off while holding it.  But it was worth it.  Not only is the recipe in the French Laundry easy, but superb quality.  It calls for a truffle ragout, but I used baby bellas, adding a bit of truffle salt and drizzle of good truffle oil. Thomas Keller may not agree, but my guests thought it was outstanding. The presentation in the egg shells and cups made it very special and well worth the little extra effort.