Family Dinner

I love family dinners. When everyone has such busy and hectic lives, it is nice to slow things down every now and again with a nice meal, some nice vino, and share some stories. Obviously, the holidays lend themselves to family time and, as such, family dinners. I was already looking forward to that bit. But we tried to take things a bit further this time and we collaborated to create a family dinner that really became a family feast, with everyone taking on a bit of the responsibility for the menu and creating something that was truly special.

After a brainstorming session, we shirked the traditional ham or turkey. While we all loved the thought of either, we wanted to push ourselves outside of tradition and really challenge ourselves... thus landing on duck as our protein. Needing some sort of unifying flavour or attribute, we thought to link our various courses and components through the orange, as it would lend well to sweet or savoury application. 

Pesto Halibut

I am typically quite terrified of fish. In the past, I think I have rushed things. Maybe my pan was too hot. Or, I flipped a steak too soon. Or, I overseasoned. I don’t always know where I have gone wrong but I know that disappointment of a filet that fell apart or of drawing every bit of moisture out of something that was once completely engulfed in it. *tear*

I have pledged to become better at cooking fish. Slow it down. Think about things before I begin. Because once you put that fish to the fire, you really don’t have much time to fuss about and weigh your options before you’ve killed the fish a second time.