I spent a great holiday weekend with friends and family in the Great Pacific Northwest. Dad and I made a customary trip to the market on Saturday morning, and I spent the evening preparing the following meal for a few guests they had over. All of the dishes were met with rave reviews, so I thought I’d record them here for future use:

Hors ‘devours: beechers honey walnut crackers topped with humboldt fog cheese and a sliver of roasted golden beet

First course: pan seared giant sea scallops drizzled with a roasted red pepper aoli (roasted red bell peppers, smoked paprika, cayenne, olive oil)

Second course: mache and butter lettuce salad with satsuma orange slices, shaved roasted ricotta cheese, toasted pistachios, and a pickled red onion vinegarette (simmer champagne vinegar with sugar until dissolved, and pour over minced red onion. let cool on the kitchen counter and when whisk with olive oil and season to taste to finish the dressing).

Third course: petrale sole stuffed with spinach, leeks, cipollini onion, and green olives, served atop roasted pumpkin puree and garniched with rye bread crumbs (toast rye bread and chop into breadcrumbs; add chopped flat-leaf parsley, meyer lemon zest, sea salt, and olive oil)

Fourth course: sliced comice pears served with 82% caco chocolate

wine pairing with fish course: elk cove (oregon) pinot gris