Putting Soffit House To Good Use

Last Night, The Wife and I had another couple over for dinner. We haven't entertained at all since we moved in, and it was high time to do so. Having friends over for a meal and meeting the two-bottle minimum is our very favorite way to spend a weekend night, and I'd forgotten how much I miss doing that.

Eric and Trent both seemed to have a good time. They both just got through finals in college, and it's fun to see young people whose minds are being excited by so much new learning. I don't think Trent was prepared for the idea that dinner and drinks would be the only activity for the night, but they are both in their early 20's, so it's possible he just didn't think it through that they wouldn't be able to go out dancing later in the evening. But we had a great time -- they're so young and idealistic! And they drink martinis -- and peer-pressured The Wife into drinking one, too. I don't think she was quite prepared for how strong a martini can be.

I would have done my famous marinated trip-tip, but the critters' vet appointment (all them got clean bills of health) took much longer than we had anticipated, so I wouldn't have had time to give the steak a good soaking. Instead, we bought ribeyes and I did a spice rub on them. They were served with Italian roasted potatoes and steamed broccoli. We had two appetizers -- insalate Caprese (the Roma tomatoes at the market didn't look very good, so I used domestic vine tomatoes instead) and fondue. Dessert was chocolate creme brulee, with a Grand Marnier float as part of the carmelizing. Rich and decadent. Here's the fondue I made:

8 oz. gruyere cheese
8 oz. emmenthaler cheese
6 oz. white wine
2 tbsp. flour
garlic powder
black pepper
chives
cayenne pepper
nutmeg
mustard seed
bay leaf
lemon juice

Chill the wine. Grate the cheese, set aside. In a medium saucepan, combine the wine and flour, stir until flour is completely dissolved. Place on medium heat, add spices and lemon juice. Bring to a simmer, stirring constantly. Remove bay leaf, discard. Slowly add the cheese, about 4 oz. at a time; stir until completely melted before adding next batch. When all cheese is melted, transfer mixture to heated fondue pot and serve very warm, with long forks and bite-sized chunks of ciabatta bread, broccoli, and/or fresh apples.

This is a pretty rich fondue. Do not skip the flour -- otherwise the cheese will float out a layer of grease on top of the mixture, and you want that fat to be mixed into the whole. I had more of the fondue for dinner tonight, and it doesn't keep quite as well as I might like, so the last of the leftovers needs to go bye-bye tonight.