Mark's done it again!

My brother Mark has done it again. I have to hand it to him, while I love to cook myself, my brother has taken it to a whole new level. You should see how his face lights up when he talks about the different ways you can turn a simple ingredient into a delicious meal, how animated he gets when he thinks of new ways to combine ingredients. He is like an artist and the kitchen is his studio and the ingredients are his tools.

Tonight he cooked a delicious dinner for my dad and I, Auntie Grace, Uncle Julien and Wei-Yuen. He had been so excited to make this meal because he loves everything about throwing a dinner party, the preparation, the setting up of the place settings, the picking of the dinner plates, and of course, the cooking. He is really my mother's son, no question.

So yesterday, Mark and I started preparing the meal we had tonight. He really wanted to make ribs and we decided to have a simple salad, risotto, squash soup and a potato dish. He finally decided on twice baked potatoes which came out so creamy and was a perfect match to the ribs.The ribs were so tender and the sauce was perfect, it had the right amount of sweetness to compliment the meat. The squash soup, which we had to start, was delicious as well. We had forgotten that we had apples and pears in the fridge so when Mark made the soup he just used squash and potatos. To sweeten it we added syrup and it was definitely the right decision.

The risotto was creamy with just a hint of color and flavor of saffron. It was a perfect accompaniment to the ribs as well. Mark's so excited, he's going to turn the leftover risotto to deep fried risotto balls for lunch tomorrow. Yum yum yum, he's going to scoop balls of risotto with a sliver of cheese placed inside, dip them in egg and breadcrumbs, then deep fry.

Everyone enjoyed the meal, down to the light blue and yellow dining plate set that matched the light blue table cloth. Mark had chosen the set from my mom's collection of dinner plates, she had always loved buying dining plate sets so we have lots stored everywhere in every home we own. My mom always loved having dinner parties for the very same reasons Mark enjoys it and Mark is just as much a great host as my mom was. And just like my mom always did for every dinner party, Mark ended the meal with his piece de resistance - a Cherry Clafoutis, eaten with a large scoop of breyer's vanilla ice cream (my favorite vanilla ice cream brand). It was not too sweet and the custard gave it a soft and almost creamy texture which was nice with the crispy top and edges. The cherries that bled through the pancake-like pie gave a beautiful color throughout and added a hint of tartness. It was just heavenly.