Hillary: Sous-Chef Norvégienne

Tonight was Hillary's turn to help me prepare supper for Scandinavian Saturday. She was as helpful in the grocery store* as Abigail was last time, but there was less that she could really do at home in the kitchen, so I made most of the meal by myself. Here is what we served:

appetizer

We served slices of Jarlsberg and Gouda cheese with rye crisps and sliced hard-boiled eggs.

main course

We served a mixed greens salad with seared scallops and a blueberry vinaigrette.

After cooking the scallops, I brought to a boil some fresh blueberries, the juice of a lemon, a chopped shallot, and some olive oil, which we drizzled warm over the scallops and topped with grated parmesan cheese on the bed of greens.

We also served pork meat balls with prunes.

I stewed prunes, an apple, and caraway seeds in some port wine, reduced it, and stuffed it into minced pork meat balls seasoned with ginger, nutmeg, and curry--and then fried them in butter.

We also served vanilla-scented rutabaga.

I boiled some small potatoes with a couple pounds of diced rutabaga, drained and mashed them, and mixed them with a stick of butter and the seeds from a vanilla bean.

dessert

We served warm nectarines with almonds and vanilla ice cream.

Hillary dished up the ice cream and popped the bowls into the freezer to wait until after the meal. When we had finished eating, I sent the ladies downstairs to relax and then stewed wedges of a half-dozen nectarines in the juice of a lemon, butter, sugar, and the remains of the vanilla bean. I ladled the warm nectarines in their syrup over the ice cream, and Hillary sprinkled each bowl with honey-roasted sliced almonds.

How does it sound, Faithful Reader? And have you thought of menu suggestions to share with me for upcoming Saturdays?!

*A first for me: I forgot my wallet at home and didn't realize it until Hillary and I had the grocery shopping done and were ready to push the full cart to a checkout lane! I borrowed the telephone at the service counter and called Susan, who brought me my wallet. While waiting for her, Hillary and I hung out in the magazine aisle and read.