Dinner chez...the asian aunties!

Way back at the beginning of October me and my roomies had the pleasure of dining chez Chef Bublé. At the end of the evening we all thanked Leslie and Bublé and insisted that they come over to our place in the near future for dinner.

Well fast forward almost 4 months and we finally found time to all get together! Why it took so long I can't even begin to explain! Well...it may have had something to do with the neuroscience exam and the fact that December was a crazy busy month.

Once we settled on a date the challenge was on to put together the perfect meal! It took a lot of brainstorming but we finally chose the following for the menu:

Appetizers:

Brie Cheese and Jalapeno Gouda Cheese with Stone Ground Wheat Crackers

Tomato Basil Bruschetta

(see below for recipe)

Entree:

Asian-flavoured Quinoa

(click here for recipe)

Cherry Tomato and Basil Salad with Mozzarella Balls

Orange-Ginger Pork Tenderloin

(recipe below)

Dessert:

Molten lava cakes, served with vanilla frozen yogurt, mixed berries and chocolate chips

Everything turned out superbly and it definitely would not have been possible without the help of my roomies (aka my Igors...hey, they chose the name themselves :P)

After dinner we played a game of Settlers of Catan which Helen ruthlessly won. It was Bublé's first time playing and she didn't even give him a chance. See the red line going across the board in the picture below? Yeah...that was Helen's road to victory :P.

Then Leslie and Bublé introduced us to Words With Friends (scrabble app for the iPhone) and we all became consumed with that. Such a sad, sad picture below but I swear we were talking with each other!

Leslie and Bublé, it was wonderful having you both over last night! The Asian Aunties greatly enjoyed your company :).

Recipes

Tomato Basil Bruschetta (from Chef Michael Smith)

• 1 baguette, sliced
• olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, cut in half
• 1 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese
• 2-3 tomatoes
• a handful of basil leaves, finely chopped
• 2-3 green onions, finely sliced
• cilantro (our own addition to the original recipe)
• salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat broiler. Generously brush each slice of bread with olive oil and toast until golden brown on both sides.

Rub both sides of the toasted bread with the garlic. Sprinkle some of the mozzarella cheese on each slice of bread and return to the broiler for a few minutes until the cheese melts a bit.

Chop tomatoes and toss twith basil leaves, greeen onions, and cilantro. Season with salt and pepper. Place a spoonful on top of each bread slice. Serve!

Orange-Ginger Pork Tenderloin (from my classmate Tish)

• butter
• oil
• salt and pepper
• 1/4 cup finely chopped onion
• 2 tbsp peeled, minced ginger
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1 cup orange juice
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp cornstarch
• 2 pork tenderloins

In a small bowl,  mix 2 tbsp OJ with cornstarch. Set aside. In a large saucepan, heat 1 tbsp oil and add onion, ginger, garlic and red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring frequently until onion is light golden. Add the rest of the OJ, the chicken broth and soy sauce. Simmer until reduced to 1 cup. Whisk in cornstarch mixture and simmer 1 min.

Cut tenderloins crosswise into 6 slices. Flatten with hands and sprinkle with salt and pepper. In a large skillet, melt 1 tbsp butter and 1 tbsp oil. Add pork in batches until browned and cooked through (4-5 min per side). Transfer pork to a platter. Add the orange ginger sauce to the skillet (with juices from the pork) and heat. Toss pork in sauce until coated. Serve!

Note: you can also let the pork simmer in the sauce for a bit. This is what I did while everyone was eating appetizers to keep the dish warm.