Dinner for Father-in-law

Last weekend my Father-in-law came into town for a short visit. So what says welcome to my humble abode better than being a guinea pig for new recipes?

Dijon Roasted Trout

I'm generally a creature of habit and cook my trout with lemon and fresh herbs on the grill. I decided it was time to change it up. I used dijon mustard, whole grain mustard, creme fraiche, a dash of white wine to create the sauce and placed it on a baking sheet in a 350 degree oven for 15 minutes. Brent and my FIL loved it. I could have done without the creme fraiche.

Parmesan Broccoli

I love, love, love broccoli! It's my favorite vegetable. For this dish I placed broccoli florets on a roasting pan with sliced shallots, sliced garlic and mushrooms. I tossed all in a bit of olive oil and sprinkled with salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. I then roasted it all in a 450 degree oven for about 12 minutes. After removing it from the oven I added lemon zest, 2 T fresh lemon juice, 1/4 aged Parmesan cheese (not the Kraft stuff in the bag) and some toasted pignoils. We all agree, this is delish!

Pecan Wild Rice

I prepared the rice according to the package directions using chicken stock in lieu of water. Toasted the pecans and set aside. In a separate bowl I combined 1 tablespoon of butter, zest of one orange, 2 T fresh orange juice, 1 tsp of salt, 1/4 tsp of pepper, about 1 cup of halved green grapes and the pecans. Toss with wild rice and serve. Note - I used wild rice for this test and will use a wild rice blend next time. Otherwise, the dish had great color, aroma and flavor!

Limoncello Parfait

I had something similar to this at a brunch once and paid about $10 for it. So this was my attempt at recreating the recipe. For this recipe I tossed one carton of sliced strawberries, a pint of blackberries and a pint of raspberries with 2 T of sugar and about 1/4 cup of limoncello. I let this sit together in the refrigerator for a few hours stirring a few times along the way. In a separate bowl combine an 8 oz container of Fage made with 2% (Greek yogurt), 1 T honey, 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract and 1/3 cup homemade lemon curd (can use prepared lemon curd). Place berries in a serving bowl and top with the yogurt mixture. Garnish with a lemon and eat!