TracyFood

Foto Friday: Tracy cooks a benefit dinner. 19 December 2008 1:43 pm

Posted by Tracy in : cooking,dessert,eating,friends,people,pictures , trackback

So. Earlier this month I wrote about some fundraisers for Mark Zolun of Iraila Mediterranean Rustica, who has cancer and no health insurance (someday, I will live in a 21st century first world country that does more than pay lip service to its small business owners, but today is not that day). While there’s still a chance I might make it to one of the events in Eugene, in the meantime my mom and I cooked up a scheme to have a little benefit dinner of our own at my parents’ house in Westfield, NJ. The menu: ricotta gnocchi in hazelnut brown butter sauce, with two different kinds of roasted vegetables on the side.

I was going to attempt babas au rhum for dessert, but last-minute sanity (and a shortage of flour) prevailed. Besides, I was already tempting fate by imitating one of Iraila’s signature dishes — two would just have been pushing my luck too far.

My gnocchi were based on a recipe in the September 2007 issue of Cook’s Illustrated, and I’m proud to say they turned out pretty great! They cooked up lighter and fluffier than Mark’s (I suspect because his involve potato) but nonetheless quite tasty indeed (we sort of made up the sauce but it’s hard to go wrong with hazelnuts and browned butter).

Here’s some more pictures of the cooking process:

and me showing off the food:

Finally, dinner:

The roasted veggies on the left are seasoned with lemon juice and Middle Eastern/North African-inspired spices (cinnamon, cumin, cayenne); the ones on the right ended up practically braised in olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and their own tasty veggie juices. Desserts were store-bought miniature black and white cheesecakes and chocolate mousse cakes — of course, no match for Kenne’s flourless chocolate cake, but a nice finish to a great meal nonetheless.

So that was our benefit dinner for Mark. Next up is sending tax-deductible donations to his medical fund (Washington Mutual account #3411304029). That’s what I want this winter holiday season. Also, a cure for cancer. Plus, peace on earth. (Seriously, go read that comic. Especially if you think this post needed a unicorn chaser… with dinosaurs in it.)