Dinner @ Dave's Place

This past Thursday Brian and I had the special treat to be invited over by our sweet friend David McMillian to his Buckhead condo for dinner. He has a passion for cooking and a natural talent to match the zeal.

When we arrived he was preparing a delicious appetizer. His title is funny, but very appropriate.
Dave's Bruchetta on Steroids
Country Bread toasted with extra virgin olive oil and fresh cracked black pepper. Then rubbed with a head of garlic, layered with a spanish goat cheese spread, then pancetta (italian bacon), beefsteak tomatoes/shallots, basil, olive oil, salt, pepper, and white balsamic vinegar. Topped with arugula, drizzle of olive oil and lemon zest.

Goat cheese is probably one of my favorite cheeses and with the fresh lemon zest and juice, this dish definitely was a party in my mouth.

While he was cooking the other items he served us a delightful glass of wine.Stag's Leap - 2007 Petite Syrah

For the main course Dave prepared quiet a feast.
Pan Roasted Chicken
Chicken breasts seasoned with simply salt and pepper. Then I seared the chicken skin side down in blended oil, when I flipped the chicken breasts on the other side, I added butter and a sprig of rosemary and basted the chicken in the herb-butter sauce and finished the chicken in a 400 degree oven.

Lemon Herb Risotto
Simple white grains slow cooked with chicken stock, fresh sage and basil herbs, salt & pepper, and lemon zest and juice.

Sauted Broccilini
Blanched the broccilini in salted boiling water, then sauted in a butter and garlic sauce.

Brian's plate

My plate

Looking at these pictures make me hungry all over again. It was all so good!

I insisted on brining something to contribute to the meal. Dave said he had it covered but allowed me to bring dessert. I am not going to lie, I felt some pressure to pull out every cookbook I own to find the most impressive dessert to pretend I have baking skills. Knowing I would either fail miserabbly, or have to bring the dessert inside my office to risk it being eaten by fellow employees, I decided to fix good old faithful brownines.

Your basic Fudge Brownie with Hersey's Cookie and Cream bars baked in the middle. I forgot to snap a picture before we cut them, but you get the idea.

A sweet ending to a very enjoyable evening. A big thank you to Dave for such a fabulous night. If he ever opens a restaurant I will be his most frequent patron.