Sounds like it will be a great evening. I'm sure the chef will be thrilled! This is very nice and can be made ahead of time as well. The Tannery’s Crab Crème Brûlée with Pickled Cucumber and Melba Toast adapted from Paul Flynn via The Afternoon Show and Paul Flynn: Irish Food Serves 4 as a starter “Any time you have something creamy, you need something sharp to offset it. This is why we serve pickled cucumber with this dish. You need something to cut through the cream, and the pickled ginger is the starting point of that,” says Paul Flynn. One of the keys to this dish is its lovely creamy consistency, so keep an eye on your oven temperature: “You put it into a low oven because you don’t want the eggs to soufflé, you want them to gently set, like a custard.” 400 ml (1 3/4 cups) cream 1 egg 2 egg yolks 1 garlic clove, peeled and finely chopped (or grate it directly into the custard mixture with a Microplane grater) 2 tablespoons pickled ginger, drained and finely chopped salt and freshly ground black pepper 150 g (1 cup) picked white crab meat, finely chopped 50 g (1/2 cup) freshly grated Parmesan pickled cucumber, to serve (see recipe below) Melba toast, to serve (see recipe below) lemon wedges, to serve Place the cream in a bowl with the eggs, garlic, pickled ginger and some salt and pepper and mix well. Add in the crab meat, ensuring there is no shell, and mix well again. Cover with cling film and place in the fridge to allow the flavours to infuse for at least 30 minutes, but ideally up to overnight. Preheat the oven to 150°C (300°F). Ladle or pour the mixture into the ramekins, making sure you get an even amount of crab in every ramekin, as the crab tends to fall to the bottom. Place the ramekins in a roasting tray. Fill the tray with warm water until the water comes halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Place this bain marie in the oven and cook for 45 to 60 minutes (check after 40 minutes). When cooked through, the mixture should be set but still have a slightly wobbly consistency. Remove the ramekins from the bain marie and allow to cool ��" the crab crème brûlée should be served at room temperature. When ready to serve, sprinkle a very thin layer of Parmesan on top of each ramekin and brown under the grill. Serve with pickled cucumber, really thin Melba toast (“sort of a retro addition that you don’t see very often”) and a lemon wedge. “So there you have it,” says Paul. “The Tannery crab crème brûlée ��" my classic.” Pickled Cucumber 1 cucumber pinch of salt 50 g (1/4 cup) caster sugar 50 ml (1/4 cup) white wine vinegar 1 teaspoon sweet chilli sauce Slice the cucumber as thinly as you can (a mandolin or food processor’s slicing attachment is perfect for this job). Place the sliced cucumber in a bowl and sprinkle with a little salt. Set aside. Bring the sugar, vinegar and chilli sauce to the boil and reduce for 30 seconds. Take off the heat and allow to cool completely. Once it’s cool, pour the liquid over the cucumbers and stir gently to coat them all. This will keep in the fridge for 2 or 3 days ��" any more and the cucumber loses its colour. Melba Toast Toast slices of white bread and remove the crusts. Slice the bread laterally to make two slices that are half the original thickness of the bread. Rub off excess bread from the untoasted side, then cut diagonally into triangles. Place the untoasted side under the grill until the edges curl. The Tannery Restaurant

I have a gem for you! Strickly uppa crust and very easy. Different from the usual sweet versions with nuts and sugar. I found this recipe many years ago out for lunch by myself. Someone had left a copy of the Cleveland Plain Dealer food section on the table, and the rest is history. This is WAY swanky as well as really delicious. It will get you raves, I absolutely promise. I also promise that although it looks tricky, it's actually a breeze. I thought things like cutting the brie, rolling the pastry, and getting it to stick to the cheese would all be difficult, but they were all very very easy. Plus, you can assemble the whole thing a day ahead and stick it in the freezer and bake just before party time. Healthy it isn't, but you didn't ask for that! :) Enjoy. Baked Brie with Pesto A 1.1 lb. (see note) wheel of brie, not too ripe About 2 T pesto sauce 2 oz. lox or nova or smoked salmon, cut up to little bits (buy the cheaper tidbits if you can find them) 2 sheets (1 package) frozen puff pastry, defrosted per package instructions 1 egg, beaten Make sure brie is firm before you begin. Refrigerate it several hours or place in freezer for 25 minutes. Using a long, serrated knife dipped in warm water, cut the brie in half horizontally. Spread one side with the pesto not quite to edge and top with the fish. Replace top half of brie, place on a greased baking sheet and freeze 30 minutes. (I like to use a greased quiche dish instead; then I can serve it right in the dish. The 1.1 lb. wheel of brie leaves room for crackers; the bigger one just fits.) Roll out one sheet of pastry a little so that you can cut out a circle that will cover the top and sides of the brie. Place the brie in the middle of the circle and fold the dough up around the sides, pressing the edges into the cheese. Roll out the other sheet of pastry and cut out a second circle of the same size. Invert the cheese onto this circle, brush with the egg wash, and form a tight seal (this dough does this very easily). Turn the cheese back over and replace it on the baking dish or sheet. If you like, use the dough scraps to make cut-out decorations for the top. Keep them simple; remember, it’s puff pastry. Then brush all over with the remaining egg wash. Return to freezer for 15 minutes and preheat oven to 400. You can freeze it overnight at this point. Remove baking sheet from freezer and place it on the middle rack of your oven. Bake 20 minutes or until golden brown. Let it rest at least 25 minutes before serving, or it will be very runny. If you wait a lot longer than 25 minuets, you can reheat at 250 for 15 minutes. Serve with crackers or bread, or just its own pastry, if you didn’t let it get runny, or even cold the next day. Note: you can use any size wheel of brie, but it must be an entire round. If you use the 1.1 pound size, you can get away with using only one sheet of pastry per wheel, if you roll it thin. The huge size needs the whole package.

ok, the last part didn't end up on the post. here's the whole recipe. Sorry :) and I never did put it in the frig with the saran wrap. Still was very good! Zucchini Carpaccio 1 pound Zucchini 4 tablespoons Pine Nuts 6 tablespoons Parmesan Reggiano Cheese (flakes) 3 tablespoons Lemon Juice 9 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil Cut the Zucchini with a salamander or carefully with a knife into finely sliced penny-thin wafers, with the skin left on. In a bowl combine the olive oil (fruity olive oil with no bitterness or peppery taste) and the lemon juice. Evenly spread the zucchini slices across a 9 x 9 inch plate. Cover the plates with a plastic film and put in the refrigerator. Toast the pine nuts for a few minutes in a pan to slightly brown them and develop their flavor. SERVING Right before serving, take the plates out of the refrigerator, wash the zucchini with the lemon & oil dressing, season with a pinch of salt and freshly ground pepper. Spread 1.5 tablespoons of shaved parmesan cheese and 1 tablespoon of toasted pine nuts on each plate.

Oh we like them fried in a skillet as well as on the grill. The ones in the skillet are the greasy kind that you get in diners. He fried the french fries like we like them very well done...We even toasted the buns with butter and a little garlic. I so want to go in there and fix the last burger for me for an extra breakfast. The bagel I had with Tony just didn't fill me up...