MNMC: Children of Men and a Cooking Dervish

MNMC member Sean Freisen was culinary king last night,
and what a feast he created! We convened around 7:30 for a delicious meal of Chicken Piccata, Roasted Asparagus and Rosemary Ciabatta. The chicken cutlets were perfectly cooked, and the sauce was brilliant. It was the perfect consistency, silky and layered from the reduction of lemony-tartness, capery-saltiness and the browned-meaty richness. ( I think I made all those words up). The asparagus were an excellent side dish, holding their own against the pronounced flavor of the sauce, and all of us could not stop eating. But our lively chef of the hour didn't stop there. As we finished up glasses of wine and got ready to start the movie for the evening, Children of Men, Sean whipped up dessert: Rice pudding with raspberries. But the name doesn't do justice to the most amazing rice pudding I've had. One taste, and I detected the slightest hind of citrus (orange zest, I was told). A second taste uncovered sweet basil. A lovely combination with the raspberries and pudding. Yum.

I'd also like to share a very important fact that the youngest member of the MNMC, Jett, taught me last night: Babies make great knife-sharpening audiences. Who would have thought? Maybe it was the metallic notes of knife striking sharpener, but he was fixated as he sat on Annie's lap watching my every move. And very supportive—breaking out in a huge grin if I sharpened with speed, and shrieking a little cry of encouragement to keep going if I started slacking off. What a kid!