May was quite the busy month. I had barely recouped from my trip to Holland and publicity for the Dance Parade (which was 3 days after later) before I was cooking away for this TEST NEST. I do love doing these dinners, and I’m getting better at being more efficient and timing things so they are hot and ready, but they are a lot of work. I had a few last minute cancellations for the 26^th which left me scrambling to fill the slots but in the end I had five wonderful testers join me (Adam Russell, Camas Hunter, Gabriel Jones, David Caine and Ashley Groesbeck). Here are the results:

Mocktail: Cosmo Craze (throw)

This is the third recipe I’ve tried from Blu water that was too boring, so I threw the rest of the stack away. The mix of cranberry with fresh squeezed lime juice and sparkling water was good, but didn’t have enough of a punch. It needs ginger ale or sprite.

Appetizer: Endive with Gorgonzola, Pear and Walnuts (4 Star); Ricotta-Stuffed Cherry Tomatoes (3 Star)

Almost all of my guests commented that they don’t usually like gorgonzola cheese, but that the mix of pear and toasted walnuts gave a great taste to the endives and they really enjoyed it. I couldn’t find cherry tomatoes so I used grape tomatoes which were too small so I cut them in half instead and filled with the ricotta mixture. While this worked just fine my testers felt it was a little bland and I agree. Maybe throw a bit of thyme or basil in with the parsley. It could use some fresh crushed salt and pepper as well.

Main Course: Tandoori-Style Mango Chicken and rice (4 star) with Sugar Snap Peas and Mint (5 star)

This palette pleasing mango chicken dish with mango rice was delightful. Marinated in a tandoori style yogurt sauce and I let the rice sit in water and the spice mixture as well, really brought out the flavors of the spices. The mango adds a complementary sweetness to the dish and helped balance the palette. One guest mentioned that the rice could have used a bit more flavor, but I think what it could have used was a little more mango inherently giving it more flavor.

Dessert: Blackberry Cinnamon Cobbler a la mode (5 star)

What is it about cobblers and crisps that make them so perfect? This phenomenal blend of blackberries with cinnamon and lemon made for a delightful flavor in each bite. Not only was this a hit, but it was wicked easy to prepare and served with a perfect pairing of vanilla bean ice cream.