DB~ and I took our pilgrimage to the Strip for our annual New Year's Eve dinner. DB~ had her heart set on crab legs again, so we knew a trip to Wholey's was on the docket. I wanted to eat something that had some feet on the ground, so I thought that Strip District Meats was in my future. Each are on opposite ends of the Penn Avenue drag, so negotiating with an infant (and a few other stops in between) would be a challenge.
We got two jumbo crab legs for DB~. After looking at them, DB~ remarked that she wanted to see the whole crab put together that spawned those legs. My trip to Strip District Meats was a little more frustrating. First, I had to wait to be served until an older lady was done making the counter girl check nearly every slab of ribs for the perfect ones. It was excruciating.
Finally, when I was waited on I was told that they were completely out of rabbit tenderloins. I had to switch to Plan B and chose one of my personal favorites -- quail. Instantly, I knew that I wanted to do a raspberry-based sauce for the quail, so I picked up some of those.
When it was time to make dinner (meaning, when db` was going to bed), I did a peanut crust on the quail. First, I seasoned two of them with salt and pepper. Then I lightly brushed them with egg and pressed chopped peanuts on to the birds. I put them in a 375 degree oven for 25 minutes.
At the same time, I put in some yellow squash that were drizzled with homemade pesto. After 10 minutes, I put some chunks of sheep-goat cheese on top, too. When the squash came out, I stacked them in little towers for the presentation factor.
When the quail came out, I let them rest on the pan for a few minutes, then drizzled the reduced pureed raspberry, honey, balsamic vinegar sauce on the birds. Each of us had some basic couscous to eat, as well.
Everything was great, even if we had to whisper to not wake up a sleeping infant.
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