Saturday Night Dinner

The dinner party was fun. The Lewises and the Smiths had not met before and it is always fun to introduce new people and have it click. After the guests arrived, I put the Rice and the Chicken Piquant in the oven and we took our Shrimp Remoulade up to the new terrace. We have a great view from the terrace but we kept getting a few sprinkles of rain so we didn't stay there as long as I thought we would but it didn't stop the talking even when we came back downstairs.

When the things in the oven were done, I dressed the salad and let everyone serve themselves. Right after I served the dessert, the sky really opened up with lightening, thunder and rain. We sat at the table enjoying all the conversation until almost midnight. By then the rain had let up and our guests could walk home. That is one of the nicest things about San Miguel, you can walk most anywhere you want to go. By the time everyone left, we weren't in the mood to do the dishes so this is what greeted us this morning.

I think all the dishes turned out okay with the adjustments that you have to make for cooking here. I've written before about the lack of canned tomatoes in San Miguel. So to make the Chicken Piquante, I bought tomatoes, peeled them and cooked them in the sauce. There is some difference from using canned tomatoes but the taste is still good. I haven't found long-grain rice here either but I had brought some with me when we came back a couple of weeks ago. Yesterday was the first time I had made homemade ice cream in about a year. I probably should have looked at the recipe first but I just launched in making it and while it tasted okay, it would have been smoother if I had followed the recipe. I "borrowed" Phil's recipe for remoulade sauce and added a couple of things to it and it was delicious. Definitely a keeper because you can get by without horseradish or Creole mustard which most of the recipes I looked up on the internet called for.

Phil's Remoulade Sauce
Phil Jefferies gave me this recipe and I've added a few things to it. It makes about 3 cups of sauce. Delicious on shrimp. Good with fried fish, or as a sandwich spread.

2 cups mayonnaise
1/2 cup sour cream
4 tablespoons Dijon mustard (Creole mustard if you have it)
4 tablespoons capers minced
2 tablespoons parsley minced
2 tablespoons shallots (or use onions or green onions)
1 clove garlic minced
2 tablespoons sweet pickle minced
1 tablespoons horseradish (if you have it)
I added:
4 tablespoons catsup
cayenne to taste since I didn't have any horseradish
1/2 to 1 teaspoon paprika
Mix and let flavors meld in the refrigerator for a couple of hours before serving.