On March 20, my neighbor Daniel Sklar wrote: Sucheta served a lovingly prepared three-course meal for four.
She began the evening with an aperitif of red wine. Her husband, Dipak, served as sommelier. She expertly had on hand a nicely chilled non-alcoholic cold duck (a type of sparkling wine made from burgundy and champagne) for the non-drinkers. This was a nice touch.
A tasty salad was served as the first course. Fresh baby spinach leaves were mixed with baby carrots, golden raisins, walnuts, almonds, pistachios, dried cranberries, and shredded cheeses. The salad was tossed with a dressing made of apple vinegar and three cheeses. A sliced avocado, ripe and of just the right softness, was added to give a wonderful creaminess to the starter.
The second course was a Sucheta specialty: homemade roasted butternut squash ravioli. A filling of pureed butternut squash, mascarpone cheese, parmesean cheese, and cinnamon was prepared. Next, fresh pasta was made with semolina, rolled out with a pasta maker, and used with the squash filling to make individual ravioli. The ravioli was cooked quickly in boiling water, drained, and immediately served with a light sauce of sage-infused olive oil and toasted walnuts. Scrumptious!
The third course was a homemade chocolate mousse tart served a la mode with homemade dulce de leche gelato. The bittersweet chocolate was a perfect compliment to the flaky crust.
The verdict: elegant, tasty, and fully satisfying. Sucheta has done it again!
