V-Day Lavender Cookoff

This V-Day, M and I decided to impress each other with our culinary cleverness and creativity. The mission: to come up with surprise dishes for each other. The challenge: making everything go well together. The solution: taking a cue from Iron Chef, M suggested we have everything include lavender.

Suffice it to say, it was the best V-Day dinner this thirty-something's ever had. Partly out of generosity and mostly out of desire to remember how to make these things, we present...le menu! Let us know if you make any of them!

• Lavender Lemon Drop Martinis - by Daisy
• Lavender Vinaigrette Arugula Salad - by Meshawn
• Lemon Lavender Risotto with Asparagus and Toasted Pine Nuts - by Meshawn
• Lavender Crème Brulée - by Daisy

Lavender Lemon Drop Martinis

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Makes 6 servings

Ingredients (local and organic whenever possible):

• 1/2 Tb. dried lavender
• 1/8 c. sugar
• 1/4 c. water
• 2 oz. vodka
• 1 oz. fresh lemon juice

Directions:
Combine lavender, water, and sugar in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Stir frequently until sugar dissolves. Cool however you can. If you can wait a couple of hours, do it. If not, that's what the freezer is for.

Pour vodka, lemon juice, and your newly made simple syrup into a cocktail shaker with ice and shake well. Serve in cocktail glasses rimmed with sugar and add a twist of lemon peel to complete the picture.

Lavender Vinaigrette Arugula Salad

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Makes 6 servings

Ingredients (use local and organic whenever possible):

• 6 Tb. olive oil
• 2 Tb. balsamic vinegar
  
• 1 Tb. lime juice
  
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
  
• 2 tsp. Dijon mustard
  
• 2 Tb. honey
  
• 1 tsp. dried lavender
• Salt and pepper (if you have time, make lavender salt by putting salt and dried lavender in a container and seal for up to a week to infuse the salt. This lavender salt is good sprinkled on other foods for a nice lavender kick!)

Directions:
Blend all ingredients in a blender.

Sprinkle on arugula, toasted pine nuts, and whatever else you love in a salad, and voila!

Lemon Lavender Risotto

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Makes 6 servings

Ingredients (local and organic whenever possible):

• 1 lb. asparagus
• 4 Tb. olive oil
  
• 1/2 onion, diced
  
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
  
• 2 cups arborio rice
  
• 24 ounces veggie stock
  
• 3 cups white wine
  
• 1/3 cup lemon juice
  
• 1 tsp. dried lavender
• 1 3/4 cup fresh shredded asiago cheese
  
• 1/3 cup toasted pine nuts 

Directions:
Prepare the asparagus by breaking off and discarding the tough ends (about the last inch of the spear). Cut into 1 o 1 1/2-inch pieces. Sauté with 1 tablespoon of olive oil until tender and set aside.

Over medium heat, sauté the garlic and onion in olive oil until the onion is translucent (about 5 minutes). Add the rice and sauté until the rice becomes slightly translucent with small white dots in the middle. (This takes about a minute.) Add 1 cup of the vegetable stock. Stir continuously. As the liquid cooks down, continue to add liquid one cup at a time, alternating between the vegetable stock and the white wine. After 10 minutes, add the lemon juice and continue stirring. After about 18 minutes, begin testing the rice every 2 minutes. (NOTE: This entire process of adding liquid takes about 20 minutes, and you must stir continuously.)

When the rice is almost done, add the  lavender and asparagus. Remove the rice from the heat after 2 minutes. Add the cheese and mix again. Spoon into a serving bowl, sprinkle with pine nuts, and enjoy.

Lavender
Crème
Brulée



Makes 4 servings

Ingredients (local and organic whenever possible):

• 2 cups heavy cream
• 3 Tb. dried lavender
• 6 egg yolks
• 1/2 cup sugar + 2 Tb.
  

Directions:
Bring to a boil, then remove from heat and add lavender. Let sit for about an hour, then strain lavender out. Bring cream back to a boil, then remove from heat.

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 300 degrees. Whisk egg yolks and 1/2 cup sugar together in a large bowl. Very slowly, mix in the warm cream, a couple of tablespoons at a time to make sure the eggs don't scramble.

Pour the mix into four 4-ounce ramekins and place in a baking dish. Fill the baking dish with hot water - enough that it comes about halfway up the cups. Bake 25-35 minutes, until the custard is firm on the sides but a little jiggly in the middle. Remove ramekins from baking dish and refrigerate for a couple of hours or overnight.

Sprinkle the 2 tablespoons of sugar equally on top of each. Use a torch to lightly brown the sugar, then dig in.

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