This Could Be Me!

Wine: Domaine De Fontssainte Corbieres - 2003 from SilverLake Wine

We are working our way through Suzanne Goin's new cookbook: Sunday Suppers at Lucques. Besides Lucques she also co-owns another excellent restaurant AOC. and her husband owns The Hungry Cat (soon to be open for Lunch – Yea), which is the best restaurant that is close to Silverlake. It is a great fish bar with surprisingly the best Hamburger in Los Angeles! One day hopefully one of them will open a restaurant in Silverlake where we live (and Jessica Goin). It would be closer for mother also….

At any rate we go to Suzanne’s restaurant: Lucques every Sunday night and on other nights also (Think Steak for 2 – better yet order it!)

It had been cold and chilly so we were focusing on winter food.

1st course was Coleman Farms Treviso with Gorgonzola, walnuts, and Saba. When we think of Lucques we also think Suzanne’s ever changing Salads and first courses are exceptional, always changing and challenging. This salad was a combination we don’t remember having. It is wonderful. Sharp trevisio (a cousin of radicchio), sweet saba, crunchy walnuts, smooth cheese (we substituted St. Agur from Cheese Store of Silverlake for the recommended Gorgonzola). This is a salad we will come back to.

Main Course: bouef a la nicoise: Braised beef Stew with red wine, tomato, olives and buttered noodles

Talk about comfort food. When the dish was almost complete and was sitting in pan completely filling the house with great aromas, Cliff stated: “This could be me!) Boy was it! Everything you want in a Stew: Caramelized Short ribs, Olives, Tomatoes etc. We purchased the Short Ribs at Whole Food. We had them cut the ribs into 2 inch cubes (gives more caramelized sides of meat.

It was FABULOUS. Oh the meat! Oh the Pasta! Oh the Leftovers.

For desert: Perfectly Sweet - German Chocolate Cake.

Afterwards retired to living room to continue reading: Golden Boy, a charming memoir of an young English Boy growing up in and discovering exotic Hong Kong. Cathy had finished it and also liked it. She is currently reading the very fantastic: Kafka on the Shore.

Mac and Cheese

All wines from Silverlake Wine
All Cheese from Cheese Store of Silverlake

Wines:

Mil piedras Malbec 2003
Le secret ivre – vin de pays dec collines rhodaniennes -2004






We decided on a winter menu.
We started with a Cesar Salad from the Zuni Cookbook our favorite.

Macaroni and Cheese from Paris Bistro Cooking by Linda Dannenberg.

This is the BEST Mac and cheese recipe we have ever had! We make it several times per year.

Gratin de Macaroni a l’Ancienne
(Old-fashioned Baked Macaroni)


12 oz Elbow Macaroni
7 oz Prosciutto cut in Strips
3 oz blanched bacon
1 ¼ Cups Crème Fraiche
Salt and Fresh ground black pepper
6 tablespoons Grated Parmesan Cheese
1 ½ cup Grated Gruyere Cheese

Preheat the oven to 425

Cook the macaroni in salted boiling water until still quite firm.
Drain. Mix the macaroni with the prosciutto, bacon, crème fraiche, and milk and adjust the seasoning. Add about ½ cup of the grated Gruyere.

Spread in a buttered shallow ovenproof glass or earthenware casserole.
Sprinkle the remaining cheeses on top.

Bake for 25 minutes, until the cheese is browned on tap and liquid is completely absorbed. Let sit 5 minutes before serving.

Dinner at Bea's Bath House

Wines:
Champagne Drappier Brut Carte-d-or
August Kessleler Riesling 1995 Rheingau
Moscat

New Year's day continued our saga of a broken sewer main. So while the plumbers unsuccessfully sought to solve our problem, we wondered when and if we would ever be able to take a shower. Fortunately Bea invited us to take a shower at her house, so we packed towels, and headed over. We had Champagne, cheese, pasta leftovers, and cakes from New Years Eve, so we packed our stuff and went to Bea’s.

Bea had purchased some Alaska King Crab legs. We had reservations for New Years Day lunch at Hungry Cat, but unfortunately had to cancel because of the plumbers. However, Cliff was inspired by the King Crab at Hungry Cat and tried to reproduce it. He made a sauce of: Butter, Shallots, Basil, Salt, Pepper, Green Onions and Dijon Mustard. It worked out well. We had both Chocolate Cake and Pomegranate Cake for desert with Moscato wine. It was a good start for the New Year. But when are we supposed to diet?

New Years Eve 2006

We invited our neighbors in Silver Lake to go to a Chinese Restaurant in Monterey Park named New Concept. They created a 10 course banquet for us. It was great. Lobster, Crab, Sea Cumber, Squab, Chicken Salad, Thai Fish, Shrimp, etc. We had lots of wine and closed the restaurant. The group:

Shelley & Dave
Terry & Mike
Les & Linda
Bea & Tony (an honorary neighbor)
Bea her daughter Midge and Midge husband Randy

Returned to our house for Champagne from Silverlake Wine and two cakes from LA Bread, a wonderful flowerless chocolate cake, and a white cake covered in pomegranates. Shelly brought cookies for that extra sugar rush!

We closed out 2005 and are ready for 2006!