arlette's feast

How many people have a friend like our friend Arlette? She is a fantastic cook and we have a tradition of getting together for dinner a few times a year where she prepares everything from A to Z and brings it to our house where we can (at the very least) set the table and do the clean up. Sounds like an amazing deal, right? It truly is. Have you seen the movie Babette's Feast? Well, we have what we call, "Arlette's Feast," on a regular basis.

Last night's meal was especially beautiful to look at, so with her permission, I took photos of the different dishes . . . there were 10 of them! We started off with a salad of thin sliced tomatoes and cucumbers with chives and fresh basil and a delicious mustard and olive oil vinaigrette dressing. The fennel with dill and thin sliced rings of sweet red peppers and spinach rolls with carrot and tofu filling were as yummy to eat as they were pretty. The artichoke and tomatoes dish was to die for, as was the delicious casserole of brown rice, leeks, mushrooms, in a delicate lemon sauce. Arlette's home made whole wheat bread and rosemary foccacia were delicious. Let's not forget the rapini with white beans and the vegetable pate (not pictured), along with the meal finis, a delicious salad. For dessert, Arlette made a flan-type custard of soy milk and eggs with a caramelized sugar syrup.

Can I just say that this meal was 10 times better than the one I enjoyed at the Culinary Institute just a few days prior?

Arlette will be giving me some of these recipes, so I will be adding them and their sources to this post. She modifies recipes to accommodate Tom's need to be dairy-free. There is a definite European/ Mediterranean flair to everything Arlette does -- and she cooks completely vegetarian. She carries out the tradition passed on by her mother of Corsican cooking. Everything is perfect. Arlette was born and lived in Corsica until she was a school-age girl, when she and her family moved to Wisconsin.

Her choice of music for last night's dinner was "country," so we played some Jimmie Dale Gilmore and Butch Hancock (which is probably the most "country" we have) and we had a really fun evening, starting out with a pleasant "sit" out on the deck with our beverages of choice. We finished off the evening by watching, The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming. Nothing like some good belly laughs to complete an evening.

Here is the recipe from Arlette for:
Leek, Mushroom, Lemon Risotto
(variation from Linda Fraser’s vegetarian recipe book)


8 oz. trimmed leeks (chop roughly)
8 oz. mushrooms (chop roughly)
8 Tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves garlic
1 large onion (chop roughly)
1 ¾ cup brown rice
1 cup white wine
5 cups vegetable stock or water
grated zest and juice of one lemon
¼ cup mixed fresh chives and parsley
salt/pepper

Lemon wedges and parsley to decorate and serve
Parmesan cheese (optional)

Heat 3 Tablespoons oil in large saucepan and cook garlic one minute
Add leeks and mushrooms and plenty of seasoning.
Cook over medium heat about 10 minutes or until soft and browned.
Remove from pan – set aside.

Add 5 T. oil to pan.
Cook onion on medium heat – about 5 minutes.

Stir in rice and cook 1 minute stirring to coat rice.
Add 1 cup white wine. Cook gently stirring occasionally until liquid is absorbed.

Stir in 1 ladle water or stock. Cook until water absorbed.

Stir in more liquid as each ladleful is absorbed – may take 40-60 minutes. Rice should be thick and tender.

Just before serving stir in leeks, mushrooms, grated lemon and juice. Add parmesan (optional). Serve with lemon wedges and parsley.

And . . . another great recipe:

White Beans with Broccoli Rabe
From Williams – Sonoma Savoring Tuscany by Lori de Mori

1 ½ pounds broccoli rabe, tough stalks removed and coarsely chopped
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic, crushed
2 cups (14 oz) drained, cooked dried cannellini beans
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Bring a large saucepan three-fourths full of water to a boil. Drop the greens in the water, cover, and cook for 3 minutes. Drain, reinse under running cold water to halt the cooking, then squeeze out the excess liquid. Set aside.

In a large, deep frying pan over medium heat, warm together the olive oil and garlic. When the garlic is a pale, golden color after about 2 minutes, add the broccoli rabe and the cooked beans, season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until the beans are heated through, 3-4 minutes.

Transfer the greens and beans to a warmed serving dish. Serve immediately. Serves 4-6