The Didn't Pace Yourself Dinner

JJ arrived and we decided invite to Billy / Kevin and Robert / Darryl over for dinner. The watch word for the dinner that was definitely disregarded was “Pace Yourself”. We started out with Popcorn with Truffle Butter. Couldn’t be easier to make: Pop your popcorn and the coat with melted truffle butter and a little salt. Everyone liked it.

Crab with Dynamite Sauce has become a signature dish for us. Once again we made it. The sauce is terrific but it MUST be made with Japanese Mayo. We started with a recipe that we found on The Fine Lobster Blog called: Creamy Spicy Lobster: a twist on a Nobu Classic. Everyone loves it! We served Japanese Rice with it. We purchased excellent canned Lump Crab meat from McCall's Meat and Fish. It is called: MeTompkin. Look for it! The recipe can be found in our blog of: Sep 5, 2010. Click the date to get the recipe. With the crab we served Uni and Seaweed. They were a great accompaniment to the crab.

For the main course we made a Smoked Salmon. We had purchased a beautiful salmon filet from McCall’s Meat and Fish. We decided to slow cook the salmon in the egg. This is a great (and easy recipe). We used the recipe for Honey-Cured, Smoked Salmon from Cooking with Fire and Smoke by Phillip Stephen Schulz. You can find the recipe in our blog of: Jan 15, 2009. Click the date to get the recipe. We served Corn with Lime and Broccoli that with the salmon.

For dessert we made a ChewyDate Bars from the City Cuisine cookbook.

Darryl and Robert brought Brownies. Unfortunately due to not-pacing yourself, there are no pictures of the dessert. Those who attended will understand.

Chewy Date Bars

City Cuisine

By Susan Feniger Mary Sue Milliken

1 POUND PITTED DRIED DATES, CHOPPED

1 CUP WATER

1 CUP GRANULATED SUGAR

1/2 CUP FRESH LEMON JUICE

3 CUPS ROLLED OATS

2 1/2 CUPS ALL-PURPOSE FLOUR

1 3/4 CUPS PACKED BROWN SUGAR

3/4 TEASPOON BAKING SODA

3/4 TEASPOON SALT

1 3/4 CUPS (3V2 STICKS) UNSALTED BUTTER, MELTED

Preheat oven to 350°F. Generously butter a 9 x 12-inch pan.

Combine dates and water in a saucepan. Cook at a low boil for 5 minutes, until mixture is as thick as mashed potatoes. Stir in sugar and remove from heat. Add lemon juice and set aside to cool.

In a large bowl, mix together oats, flour, brown sugar, baking soda, and salt. Add melted butter to dry mixture. Stir to evenly moisten.

Spread half oat mixture in baking pan to form an even layer. Cover evenly with all date mixture. Spread remaining oat mixture over top.

Bake about 40 minutes, until top is golden brown and pebbly. The edges should start caramelizing. Set aside to cool, in pan on rack, about 1 hour. Run a sharp knife along inside edges to loosen. Invert, trim edges, and cut into squares.

Makes 12 Large Squares