Martin, Jay and Fiyaz were here for dinner tonight. We went to the farmer’s market today and stocked up on root vegetables, so I wanted to do some sort of chicken dish with the roasted vegetables. Most of tonight’s dinner could be prepared ahead of time.
– The chicken breasts were very good and very easy. The article describes a basic technique and has a few stuffing recipes. I took them out of the oven at around 155 degrees instead of 165 like the article said – they were perfectly done (I cut into one to check). I like this method of searing the breasts skin-side down in cast iron before turning them over and finishing them in the oven.
– The root vegetables were really good. I’m loving parsnips. I also added some scarlet turnips for more color.
– The soufflés were a bit of work. I was glad I had prepped everything ahead of time so I could concentrate on whipping the whites and making the sugar syrup. They were excellent, though, and can be made ahead of time (up to a week ahead if you freeze them!) since they’re made with an Italian merengue. I used frozen blackberries and raspberries. I’m definitely going to make them again – they’ll be great for a dinner party.

• Smoked Trout Rillettes (Fine Cooking #42, January 2001, p. 44)
• Chicken Breasts Stuffed with Prosciutto, Parmesan & Sun-Dried Tomatoes (Fine Cooking #45, July 2001, p. 60)
• Roasted Medley of Winter Roots (Fine Cooking #48, January 2002, p. 56)
• Rustic Mashed Red Potatoes with Butter
• Berry Soufflés (Fine Cooking #19, March 1997, p. 71)

Wine: Langmeil 1999 Shiraz (Barossa Valley, Australia). We originally opened a Rosemount Grenache/Shriaz to go with the meal, but it wasn’t good (bad storage, perhaps). I didn’t like this wine with dinner at all. Too heavy. Not well-balanced. Martin thought it reminded him of pomegranite. I agree, but I don’t like pomegranite!