Dinner parties

Since last Thursday we've been having some kind of dinner gathering every other day. Last Thursday, it was a group of Elise's coworkers. Saturday, we had people over for lunch. Yesterday, we had the family of one of Shelley's coworkers over. Today, the monthly Ministerial Association meeting is at the Adventist Church.

Yesterday was a tad stressful because Shelley informed me during mid-afternoon about the invitation she had given to the family. Thus after dropping off the girls at their drama class, on the way back into town I had to come up with a menu. Originally my plan was to simply have leftovers for supper. Well, all of a sudden that plan flew out the window and into the Narrows...

I settled on using some of the leftover sushi fillings to make some more rolled sushi; a simmered vegetables and noodles dish; and a garlic-ginger beef dish. Stopping at the grocery store, I came across a display of big, juicy strawberries. I added that to the menu as a topping (with whipped cream) for vanilla shortcake.

I have yet to bake a cake that comes out of the pan without sticking and falling apart... I followed the directions, to the letter and punctuation marks; but for some reason the top always wants to stick. Fortunately since it was going to be cut up anyway, it didn't matter that it didn't come out of the pan quite right. Our guests brought a strawberry cream pie, which coincidentally(?) went quite well with the shortcake.

I didn't measure what went in, so if you decide to try these, make sure to test for taste.

Simmered Vegetables and Noodles

• Udon noodles, cooked or fresh (or other asian wheat noodles)
• Vegetables (examples: snow peas, bell peppers, leafy greens, cabbage, carrots, green onions)
• Tofu, cut into about 1/2 inch cubes
• Mushrooms, cut into about 1/2 inch pieces
• Soy sauce (1/4 cup or so...)
• Dashi stock (1 to 2 cups)
• Sugar (2 or 3 tbsp.)
• White wine or rice vinegar (1 to 2 tbsp.)

Directions

1. Depending on the vegetable, chop into bite sized pieces. (1/2 to 2 inches)
2. In a large, deep saute pan (I used a 14-inch pan with 3-inch sides) combine soy sauce, dashi-stock, sugar, and vinegar. (Soup should be fairly salty with a hint of tangy-sweet.) The total liquid should be about 1-inch deep. Heat until it begins to simmer.
3. Arrange noodles, vegetables, tofu, and mushrooms in pan. Make sure all ingredients are covered, or nearly covered, by the soup. Once soup begins to simmer again, reduce heat to maintain simmer, cover and cook 15-25 minutes.

Ginger-Garlic Beef

• Top sirloin steak (3/4 to 1 lb.), sliced into 1/8-inch or thinner slices
• 1 tbsp. grated ginger
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 2-3 tbsp. soy sauce
• 3/4 cup dashi stock
• 1 tbsp. sugar
• 1 tbsp. toasted seseame seeds (optional)
• 2 green onions, chopped (optional)

Directions

1. Combine ginger, garlic, soy sauce, stock, sugar, and sesame seeds in a small bowl. (The sauce should be pungent, salty, and with a hint of sweetness.) Set aside.
2. Heat non-stick frying pan on medium-high. When hot, stir-fry the steak slices for 2 to 3 minutes. Add sauce from step 1. Bring to simmer. Reduce heat to maintain low simmer, cover and continue to cook for another 10 minutes or so.
3. If using green onions, add to pan and cook another minute or two.