All I wanted to do on new years eve was go out to dinner but (forgetting to plan ahead) there was no room for us at any nearby restaurant that I was interested in eating at. On Wednesday I decided I would be cooking and by that afternoon I had come up with a menu I thought Adam would appreciate.
The plan...
-Coconut Quinoa (care of The Sprouted Kitchen)
-Shredded Brussels Sprouts
-Seared Tuna Steak
All of this would be lightly topped with a raspberry glaze
But wait, let's backtrack a little...
A week before, feeling hopped up on holiday cookies, I had asked Adam how he felt about throwing together a little new years day get together. Our amazing friends Jill & Paul (and their puppy Chilton) graciously allowed us to put this on in their apartment which is larger and better suited for such things. With the space worked out and a small guest list of mutual friends, we spent Friday grocery shopping. Before I could even think about dinner I needed to make a dent in Saturday's lunch. I decided on a soup to incorporate most of the good luck foods you're supposed to eat on new years day and Jill & Paul contributed some AMAZING leftover ham and stock from their Christmas party. We ended up with ham, black eyed pea and collard green soup made with chicken stock, ham stock, a bit of water (which was totally needed because it was pretty intense and salty) a couple of sweet onions and garlic. We served it over brown rice and I made some cornbread (instructions off the box!) with peach chutney (ingredients below and it's a MUST make) to be served along side. All of this was done on Friday BEFORE I started to cook dinner.
So back to the evening feast, the quinoa took WAY longer than I thought it would and definitely called for more water than expected but (with some tweaking) it was totally amazing. For the sprouts, I steamed them for 4 minutes, grated them on a cheese grater, spread them on a baking sheet and broiled them for about 5 minutes (or until they turned a little brown). Then I tossed them with a little homemade vinaigrette (oil, balsamic,half a lemon, brown mustard and salt/pep) and laid them over a pile of quinoa to make a nice bed for my tuna. I coated each side of my tuna steaks with salt, fresh cracked black pepper and Japanese 7 Spice (upon Adam's recommendation). When the pan was super hot I gave the tuna (which was sushi grade) about a minute on each side, sliced it, and laid it over the veggie and grain. Then I ended up topping it with the peach chutney instead of a glaze. The ginger really complimented the sweetness of the quinoa. I think this meal my have made Adam's fave 5! You HAVE to make this chutney. I cannot stress this enough.
Here are some pictures of the weekend festivities and some from the time we've spent in Massachusetts!
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