Okay. Photos! In no particular order, here's (some of) what we did today.
DUXELLES
Mincing the mushrooms:
The ingredients: Fresh cremini mushrooms, rehydrated dried porcini mushrooms, shallots, parsley. Not pictured: lemon juice.
Mmmm...mushrooms...
CRANBERRY & QUINCE CHUTNEY
Starring: cranberries!
In a supporting role: quince! I wish I could have somehow captured the smell of this quince ---the perfume was sheer magic.
Mix it all up...
...and reduce.
Then add sugar. Lots of sugar. Dear God, those cranberries were sour!
MAPLE-BOURBON PECAN PIE
Pie dough is not my best friend in the world, but I think I managed okay.
The crust (ignore the patches, please!):
Making the filling over a double boiler:
Hot filling goes into a partially cooked crust, sits in a very low oven for an hour or so, and turns out looking lovely, if I do say so myself. The bitch of it is that I can't try a piece to make sure it's okay before the big day. I'm pretty sure that this is why Michael tends to leave the baking to me. He likes to fuss with things while they're cooking, taste and adjust, whereas I'm (usually) happy to follow a recipe and let things fall into place at the end. It's frustrating in this case, though, because I really want to know what it tastes like. "Patience is a virtue," my ass --- I want pie!
WHITE BEAN PUREE
White beans simmered with olive oil, garlic, and bay leaves, until tender:
Then we pureed them in the food processor with lemon juice and some salt. Michael is practicing piping them onto a plate.
Oh, piping bag, where have you been all my life? And why should I get to have this much fun and yet still make things that look pretty? I'm hooked.
CHIVE BUTTER
That is all.
We also managed a number of miscellaneous cleaning tasks and a few other small cooking projects, but those were the big ones. Tomorrow: controlled chaos starts at 5 am. Guests begin to arrive around 3:00. Ready?
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