Farmers Market, Kitchen Dinner

I am very lucky to have great friends who allow me the use of their beautiful kitchen, as well as taking a wonderful adventure to the farmers market.  The meal inspired by the first signs of summer, started to build around fresh greens, beautiful raspberries, and squash blossoms.  
While prepping & cooking, I made a suggestion that we just eat off the kitchen island, rather than move into the formal dining room.  This suggestion was met with lots of nodding and more refills on champagne. 
My new favorite dish, the Shrimp Spring rolls, started off the meal with a bang. Then moved to scallop & asparagus risotto topped with fresh basil, lemon zest and a drop of truffle oil. 

Then next course was a new one. In the squash blossoms, I stuffed a mixture of ricotta, goat cheese, lemon zest, and fresh italian parsley.  These were then dipped in a very light beer batter and deep fried. I tasted one of the blossoms once it had cooled and realized it definitely needed a sauce.

So, I took some fresh raspberries, white balsamic vinegar, and some agave nectar, and macerated the mixture until it became a sauce.  It paired nicely with the stuffed flower. Id say a new keeper. 

The last course, though we probably didn't need it, was a piece of skirt steak marinating in what I am calling a Florentine style chimichurri. The traditional steak sauce took on an Italian flavor by substituting fresh basil for the mint, and white balsamic for the red wine vinegar.  Also added was the juice of a lemon.  This turned out fabulous.  Succulent, juicy, and tangy. Perfect over a salad or on a toasted ciabatta.  Also good eaten with your fingers because you are too impatient to grab a fork. 

All in all this meal was fabulous. Everyone smiling, laughing, drinking, and dancing around the kitchen island.  However, there was one small food related injury.  As the steak was resting, glasses were getting refilled, and relaxation was happening, a full glass of champagne made its way in to Jake's hand.  Let's just say for the sake of this short story he had a few, and was feeling the effects of the good food and alcohol.  As I was slicing the meat for presentation I heard a sudden break in the conversation, and a "Holy shit!" I turned, and saw Jake running to the bathroom with his hands over his mouth.  I looked down and saw a shattered champagne flute.  It took a few seconds to register.  Jake had aggressively taken a sip of champagne and slammed it into his teeth, shattering the glass, cutting his nose, and lodging a few shards of glass in his teeth.  10 min, 1 yard of floss, and one embarrassing band-aid later, Jake emerged unscathed by the events.  We handed him a coffee mug for his beverage and then continued to laugh until we hurt.  Sorry Jake, had to tell it.