Being cousins Susan and I have known each other since we were little but we were never as close as we are now. It all started a few years back with a surprise phone call from Susan. After a light chit-chat she asked me if we could meet during the weekend as her husband, who was her boyfriend back then, and herself were planning to visit Geneva. I of course agreed seeing it as an opportunity to meet with a cousin that I rarely meet and to introduce her to my wife, Aisha, who had never met Susan. At the same time I wanted to check out Susan's boyfriend out of curiosity.
So we met up that Saturday in town for a cup of coffee. We talked and at the end we promised each other that we would meet up again. The next time it was Aisha and I that came to visit them and they invited us to stay at their place when we come to visit them again. Susan's husband, Dalibor, spends a lot of time on the road as part of his job so most of the time he's not very keen on driving anywhere during his days off. So, often Aisha and I drive to visit them. And, it's like it was written in our book of lives that our baby girl was born 5 weeks after their baby girl was born. Thus we see each other more often and made us closer.
Aisha and I don't mind the drive and stay at their place over and over again. It's their warm hospitality that kept us coming back for more. I will always remember the first time Aisha and I stayed at their place. My baby girl was not around yet and we were planning to stay just for a night. But somehow they managed to convince us to stay another night. They even went shopping and brave the late Saturday afternoon, just before the closing, barbaric crowd to provide us with dinner. They asked Aisha and I if we wanted to come but we knew how shopping on a Saturday during that time would be hazardous to our health and we politely declined. To this day I still feel guilty for not going with them, and on top of that they were disappointed with the dinner that they prepared for us, which doesn't help my guilty conscience.
That night Susan and Dalibor made us a rôti de veau or roasted veal. The veal is in a shape of a roulade and it was served with some salad and Baked potatoes with a twist. It's something that neither Aisha nor I have ever seen before. Dalibor said that it's a recipe from his country. The potatoes were peeled, kept whole and each potato was placed on top of a round slice of pineapple in a baking dish. The pineapples slices were from canned pineapples and they used some of the sweet liquid from the can, mix it with a little bit of cream and baste the potatoes from time to time with the mixture. Delicious, you think? That's exactly what Aisha and I kept telling them but somehow they disagreed with us.
Apparently when all of us were sitting at the dining table and Dalibor started to cut the roasted veal into slices he found out that it was not what he had expected. Aisha and I could see from his expression that something was wrong but decided to keep our mouth shut. For us what was in front of us looked delicious. So we let him continue to serve us and when everyone was served we said our usual Bon appetite.
Aisha and I started to dig in and just as we thought it was delicious. The veal was perfectly cooked...moist and tender. And the potatoes, it was a new experience on its own. The acid from the pineapple made the cream curdle and gave a melted cheese texture to the mix. As you know I came from Indonesia, from the Isle of Java to be precise. In Java, depending on the area, sweet and salty dishes are popular. So, the sweet and salty baked potatoes are entirely within my comfort zone.
I could still see that there was something wrong from Dalibor's expression. So, I voiced my opinion, telling them that the food was delicious. That's when Dalibor told us what was bothering him. He said that there was way too much fat in comparison to the meat and that he felt cheated.
"When I saw it I thought it was a good size piece of meat" he said. "So I bought it, now after I cut it, I see that the size is mostly from the fat!"
Aisha and I told him that it was not true and that there was more than enough meat to feed us all but Dalibor was having none of that.
"I'm really sorry guys" he apologized. "Please have some more, as a matter of fact take the rest of it, just cut all the fat and put them aside..."
Susan agreed with Dalibor. "Yes, take the rest of it guys" she said. "We're very sorry, this dinner is a disaster"
"No...no...no...this dinner is excellent!" I said. "You guys must be joking!"
"Yes Dalibor, you did a great job cooking this dish" Aisha said. "And there is more than enough meat for everybody"
To tell you the truth, there was some fat surrounding the meat which what made the meat tasty, juicy and tender, but still there was more than enough meat to feed us all. I was very close to being full after the first serving. Another small serving of salad would probably fill me up. But I'm a fast eater and my brain usually doesn't understand that I'm already full until I over eat.
Susan and Dalibor kept insisting that Aisha and I finished the rest of the roasted veal. Not wanting to hurt their feelings by refusing what they had already considered a "disastrous" dinner, I accepted their offer and Aisha followed my lead. Besides, on the contrary to what Susan's and Dalibor's opinion the dinner was really good! Heck, I would have eaten all of the fat if I didn't think about my health.
Anyways, the last time Aisha, baby Kharisma and I spent a couple of nights at their place they brought up the idea that we should take turn doing the cooking. Somekind of a relay cooking I suppose. We just have to figure which family will cook for lunch and the other will cook for dinner. Aisha and I of course didn't mind at all cooking for them as they always cooked for us whenever we stayed at their place.
So it started with Susan. For lunch she made us some salmon fillets wrapped in puff pastry, a simplified version of the Russian dish Kulebiaka. If I was not mistaken the salmon fillets were topped with a mixture of freshly chopped parsley, chopped onion and garlic, some salt and pepper, and olive oil before they were wrapped in puff pastry and baked in the oven for half an hour. It was served with some peas and hollandaise sauce on the side.
Susan's Salmon in Puff Pastry
Susan and Dalibor are my kind of people, they love to cook good simple food and this one was no different. It's carbohydrate and protein in one package. The salmon, the parsley mix and the hollandaise sauce went so well together, and the puff pastry gave this dish a light and airy crunch.
For dinner it was Aisha and I who did the cooking. I made some marinated chicken émincé with bell peppers, some rice lightly tossed in butter and garlic with a little bit of salt. Aisha made her famous Pao stuffed with ground beef and vegies. Susan and Dalibor had never seen Pao before and were quite surprised that a bread like texture can be achieved by steaming the dough.
Rice, chicken and Pao...oh my...
The next day it was Dalibor who cooked for lunch and he made some Osso Bucco. And somehow during lunch the incident of the "disastrous" dinner was mentioned...again. I'm serious it was like they were still trying to make up for what they believe was a totally messed up dinner. Dalibor was almost force feeding me by trying to make me take a third full serving of his Osso Bucco. I mean, it was very, very good...the meat just fell of the bone and it melts in your mouth...and I'm telling you I can eat a lot...but a third full serving...even someone like me has his limit. To this day we would still talk about that "disastrous" dinner. So, Susan and Dalibor...if you're reading this blog, I am letting the whole world know...that your roasted veal and baked pineapple potatoes were not a disaster. It was what made Aisha and I come to your place over and over again! So be proud of it! :-D
Dalibor's Osso Bucco
As for taking turns in cooking, I'm sure it will become a new tradition for us. It's fun and for me it's an excuse to practice and to show off my cooking skill...
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