Pewter Chef Returns

Wife and I had business partner and friend Lebanese Dave and girlfriend L over for dinner. I made the offer that we do an 'Iron Chef' meal. As you may remember this is where I have the guest bring a number of ingredients (usually a protein, a starch, and a vegetable) without letting me know before hand what they are getting. Then I whip up dinner based on their selections. Its fun and I have the extra benefit of not having to do any planning or get tired from pre-dinner cooking.

For tonight's meal Dave and L brought the Pewter Chef:

• Portobello mushrooms
• A lemon cucumber
• Two tomatoes
• A hot chile pepper
• A blend of rice and lentils
• And a big piece of halibut
  

Here are some of the ingredients before we started. That was one nice piece of halibut!

I prepared the mushrooms in two ways. I made a Spanish style tapa with garlic, pimenton, saffron and sherry. And I made a Greek style salad with yogurt, roasted portobello, salt cured cucumber and garlic.

Prepping the mushrooms for the Spanish tapa

The roasted portobellos and the cucumber curing in the salt

Devastated remains of the two mushroom courses after we forgot to take pictures earlier

Dave was taking the pictures with my phone so I have some step-by-step technique shots that I don't normally get. Dave was also into my wines which is why we have this picture as well.


I cooked the rice/lentil mixture and it was a bit too wet so I dried it out in a wood bowl. I then sauteed some pancetta (Italian salt cured bacon) and onions, mixed that in with the rice/lentil mixture for flavor.

Rice/Lentils

I made a sauce with onions, garlic, parsley, the hot pepper, white wine, chicken and fish stock, heavy cream, and butter.

Here I'm using a technique for getting the tomato pulp easily into the sauce. No putting the tomatoes into boiling water then an ice bath to get the skins off. Just grate the tomato pulp right off the skin with a box grater. I like the movement Dave captured in the picture.

I sauteed the fish in a good amount of butter and oil and it came out really smooth a delicate. So here's the plating sequence.

Starting out with a nice bed of my flavored rice/lentils

Halibut with crispy skin up placed at a nice jaunty angle on the bed of rice/lentils

Applying the sauce in a decorative manner

Finished product - should have put some kind of garnish on it :(