My Friend Jose is an Amazing Cook:
Our menu for the day was emailed well ahead of time, to whet our appetites. It was requested that we provide pie/cake etc, but he cooked everything else.
Appetizer: button mushrooms stuffed with asagio and parmesan cheeses with prosciutto
These tiny mushrooms were my favorite part of the meal, and not just because I love mushrooms. They were about an inch around, and then topped with chopped onions, celery, prosciutto (which, for those who don't know is a dry-cured ham that is delicious), and then asagio and parmesan cheeses. Really, mushrooms plus bacony ham plus cheese, wow! Lightly roasted in the oven, they were warm and we all struggled not to eat every last one. We had to leave one or two for Jose!
Entree: roasted eggplant, zuchinni and bell peppers alongside whole wheat rotini in a light lemon sauce and asparagus topped with grilled chicken. Garlic bread provided as well as Sangiovese red wine
Roasted vegetables is something I can never get enough of. They were covered in olive oil then roasted in the oven until soft and with that slight toasting on the outside. Angie took the last of the zucchini (my favorite!). Some of the bell peppers were also stuffed with the extra toppings from the mushrooms.
The whole wheat rotini and lemon sauce were a perfect complement to the rest of the meal. Delicious but not overpowering, it simply showed off the deliciousness of the chicken.
The garlic bread was the same- exactly what we needed to go with everything else.
The chicken was absolutely amazing. Covered in a spice rub of pepper, oregano and more, I never knew you could get so much flavor without some kind of butter! It was slow grilled over charcoal, and cooked to be tender and moist with just that lovely flavor of being grilled.
Dessert: Hunter honey mead.
Both the wine and the mead were finds of ours from last weekend at Wine in the Woods. The Sangiovese red wine was the winner of the 2010 Maryland Governor's cup and is from Fiore Winery, a local Maryland winery. Fiore makes italian style wines. Fiore describes the Sangiovese as " A deep ruby color with a brilliant aroma of spicy ripe cherries that come alive with aeration. Very vibrant red fruit flavors that are bright and lively on the palate. A smooth dry palate cleansing finish with soft tannins. Sangiovese goes especially well with pasta and other Italian foods. "
The mead is from a place called Orchid Cellars, again, a local maryland product. Having had honey mead before, I was not terribly interested in trying it. All the honey mead I'd tried before had been watery and sickeningly sweet- like drinking sugar water, in a bad way. However, Orchid Cellar's mead was anything but. Its very thick, and strong flavor. Unfortunately, they don't have descriptions up yet, but I would describe the Hunter mead by saying it has a base sweetness, but is very spicy and includes an after-kick of jalapeño. A wonderful blend of sweet and spice.
And You Should Date Him:
Jose took the time to design this menu to be very healthy- I'm working on losing weight, so dinner was whole grains, vegetables and grilled chicken, instead of a more traditional memorial day menu. It was extremely thoughtful.
