Salmon with Roasted Vegetables and Chocolate Soufflé
When I was in high school a classmates told a group of us about summer jobs at Mills College. I jumped at the opportunity since I was interested in earning money to fund my album and jewelry obsession. The job was working as a waitress for the summer conference season. This was my first food service job, and it was the beginning of a lifelong career. Of the three of us who were hired, I was the only one who lasted the summer, and continued to work there every summer until I graduated. The woman who hired me, and who mentored me is still one of my dearest friends and favorite people. Recently I invited her and one of her best friends, another dear and favorite friend over for dinner. I love having them over because the conversation lively with lots of laughter and great stories, and they are lovely appreciative guests who notice everything about the food and table setting. As a chef, there is no greater pleasure than feeding a grateful appreciative guest. This classic dinner menu was perfect for the occasion.
Because the dinner was on a Saturday night after a long work week I knew I had to keep it simple, which is fine because simple is often elegant, which is what I was after. I didn’t plan on a first course or appetizers because both the entree and dessert are substantial. The entree was pan fried salmon on top of Italian cici beans and pancetta roasted green beans and zucchini.
Dessert was chocolate soufflé, soufflé’s are mostly a thing of the past, which is a shame. They are warm and velvety, perfect in the winter. This soufflé recipe is a good one for entertaining because the base can be made ahead, the beaten egg whites added before baking. If you cook them in individual ramekins they will be done in 15 minutes. Of course they lose their height almost immediately. Unless you serve the soufflés on the oven door, your guests will never get to see their full hight. But the flavor is just as good collapsed as it is at it’s full height. Since I had some leftover I discovered they were also good cold, a dessert that wasn’t quite a mousse and not quite a souffle, but a good dessert nonetheless.
Here’s to dear friends!
Pan Fried Salmon
Pancetta Roasted Vegetables
Pancetta is the Italian bacon that tastes more like pork than bacon. It typically is sold sliced thinly and enhances anything it’s cooked with. I used green beans and zucchini but it’s just as good on potatoes, asparagus, winter squash, cauliflower, or broccoli.
Chocolate Soufflé
Soufflé’s look fancy and hard, but are a basic custard enhanced with egg whites. The base is a classic white sauce that can be flavored any way you want, with chocolate or strawberries, for sweet, or cheeses and vegetables for savory. This custard part of the soufflé can be made hours ahead. But I cannot tell a lie, making the soufflé in stages will not result in raise as high as when you make the entire recipe right before baking it. But, doing it in stages gives you the opportunity to serve it for dessert since you can easily slip into the kitchen after the entree has been cleared and whip the egg whites, fold them into the base, and fill the ramekins and pop them into the oven. Whip the cream and butter and sugar the ramekins ahead of time.
