We had an awesome meal at Lynley's on the evening of Friday, January 8, 2010. Unfortunately Andrea was not able to make it, so we had Jodi's sister Natalie attend in her place. We were also fortunate enough to have a second guest, our dear friend Melanie. (You may have spotted her on this blog previously). We started off the evening with delicious Samosas by Lara (a recipe from the March 2008 Real Simple magazine) and a warm Crab Dip by Melanie. Natalie favored us with a delicious Arugula Salad and Bridget brought Cranberry-Nut Rolls (from the November 2009 issue of Bon Appetit). Lynley outdid herself with her fabulous main dish of Braised Short Ribs (she literally spent 2 days on these); Jodi provided a delicious Maple Roasted Butternut Squash, and we ended the evening with Raquel's Sour Cream Pound Cake Cupcakes!

All of us!

Crab Dip Appetizer

1/3 C. salsa (I use Rosarita, Mild, Thick and Chunky)

1/2 C. milk

3 pkgs (8 oz. each) cream cheese, cubed

2 pkgs (8 oz. each) imitation crab meat, flaked

1 can (4 oz.) chopped green chilies

1 cup thinly sliced green onion

Use non stick cooking spray to cover the bottom and sides of the slow cooker. Combine salsa and milk, then add to slow cooker. Stir in the remainder of the ingredients. Cover and cook on low 3-4 hrs,stirring every 30 minutes. Serve with crackers.

Samosas

Arugula Salad

Arugula
toasted and sugared pecans
tomatoes
fresh Parmesan
avocado
Dressing:
Zest of one lemon
6 TBS olive oil
2 cloves of garlic
juice of one lemon
1/4 tsp dry mustard
1 TBS white wine vinegar
sugar, salt and pepper to taste

Cranberry-Nut Rolls

Jodi's well-organized plate.
Look at all those colors!

Braised Short Ribs

Maple Roasted Butternut Squash

1 large butternut squash
1 head garlic, separated, but not peeled
2 TBS good olive oil
1 1/2 TBS pure maple syrup
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 oz thinly sliced pancetta, chopped
16 whole fresh sage leaves
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Peel and seed the butternut squash and then cut it into 3/4 to 1 inch cubes. Place the squash and the whole unpeeled garlic cloves on a sheet pan in one layer. Toss with the olive oil, maple syrup, salt and pepper and bake for 20 to 30 minutes, until the squash begins to brown, turning once during baking. Sprinkle the pancetta and the sage leaves evenly over the butternut squash and continue to bake for another 20 to 30 minutes, until the squash and garlic are tender and caramelized. Season to taste.

Sour Cream Pound Cake

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup sour cream
3 eggs
1 pinch baking soda

1. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease and flour a 8x4 inch loaf pan.
2. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add sour cream and eggs.
3 Add flour and a pinch of soda, mix well. Pour into a 8 x 4 inch loaf pan.
4. Bake at 375 degrees F for 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted into center of cake comes out clean. (Raquel obviously used muffin tins).

Raquel's Version of Butter-Cream Frosting
1 cube butter (1/2 cup)
1 bag powdered sugar
2/3 cup milk
2 tsp vanilla
Mix all ingredients together. Add milk until you reach desired consistency. Ideal for sugar cookies - replace butter with shortening for stiffer frosting - better for decorating cupcakes.

Here is a little taste of the African theme
we had going on at Lynley's!