A Bit of Santa Fe

Wine: Synthesi Aglianico Del Vulture 200

We decided to revisit the Babo Cookbook. There is a recipe for Grilled Pork Loin that we previously had made. We decided to make it again. This time we toned down the Red Pepper. It has a dry rub that is made from the Dried Porcinis, sugar and red pepper. They are placed in the Cuisinart and blended till they become a fine powder. The meat is then coated with the rub and refrigerated over-night.

When the grill is ready you scrape off most of the coating. It has absorbed juices from the meat and is no longer dry. It smells great!

Simply grill the meat.

Our friends who own the Santa Fe Weaving Gallery, Barbara and Jill, sent us a cookbook: Cooking with Café Pasqual. We have eaten lunch at the restaurant many times, when we have visited Santa Fe.

We made two recipes from the book. A Cold Beet and Chipotle Soup and a Fresh Corn Cake. We found the soup too much like borscht from our youth. Although it would never be that spicy in a Jewish home!

The Corn Cake was more interesting. It was moist and light, A cross between corn bread and a corn soufflé. It went well with the Pork.

Fig Pasta and More!

Wine: Puelles Rioja 2002

We ate at Campanile and had a totally unusual Fig Pasta, it was sweet and buttery and tasted of the fig. It was most unlike a traditional pasta. We love figs and they were in season, so we decided to do some research and see if we could find a recipe. I say we,it was really Cathy! Once again, Lynn Rossetto Kasper had a recipe in The Splendid Table Cookbook.

Fig Pasta
The key is to only cook the sauce in the last minute or so that pasta is cooking. It needs the briefest of cooking time or the figs will break down.

4 Ounces unsalted butter
1 lb figs cut in 1/8ths
Shredded zest of 1 lemon
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
1 cup heavy cream
1 ½ cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Add the zest to hot butter, cook about 30 seconds.
Add figs and pepper and cook about 1 more minute.
Add cream and drained pasta and cook about 30 seconds more toss in the cheese and serve!

It is very unusual and good. Kasper describes the dish as a Renaissance-inspired dish. Not everything has to be new to be good. We will definitely make it again!

We then grilled Pork Chops using the recipe from Jar.

Char Sui Pork Grilled Pork Chops The recipe was published in Bon Appetit in March 2006 in an article about Jar.

1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
1 cup oyster sauce
1/4 cup black bean garlic sauce
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 tablespoon chopped peeled fresh ginger
1 teaspoon red food coloring
6 12- to 14-ounce pork rib chops, each about 1 1/2 inches thick



Mix first 6 ingredients in large bowl for marinade. Place chops in extra-large resealable plastic bag. Add marinade to bag. Seal top, releasing excess air. Turn bag to coat chops. Refrigerate 3 to 5 days, turning bag occasionally.

Preheat broiler, adjusting rack 8 inches below heat source. Line rimmed baking sheet with heavy-duty foil. Remove chops from marinade. Place chops on prepared pan with some marinade still clinging. Broil until chops are cooked through and thermometer inserted horizontally into center registers 145°F, watching closely to prevent burning (chops may char slightly in spots), about 9 minutes per side. Transfer to plates and serve.

Corn is in season so we bought fresh corn at the Hollywood Farmer’s Market and grilled it. Grilled Corn: After shucking we salt, butter, wrap in aluminum foil and throw on the Grill. After about 5 minutes of cooking I remove the foil and roll the corn directly on the grill browning and caramelizing the corn.

We will have great leftovers!

Tomato and More Tomato

Wine: Cuilleron Syrah 2005

We went to Lucques, like we do every Sunday night that we can, and had a wonderful Tomato Gazpacho. When we returned home Cathy checked the Sunday Supper at Lucques cookbook and found the recipe for: Yellow Tomato Gaspacho.

The soup is very easy to make, spicy in a way I like, with chopped a jalapeños, red pepper, red onion relish. When you serve it you top it with the relish, cherry tomatoes and cilantro and olive oil. The inspiration is keeping the relish out of the soup until you serve it. By adding it as a garnish at the end the vegitables remain crispy and intense. A fabulous summer soup.


We then had a large second course (or at least Cliff’s portion was) of both a simple pasta and a wonderful roast chicken. Cathy adapted both of the recipes from Lynne Rossetto Kasper: The Splendid Table.

The Penne Pasta Balsamic was made using Kasper’s Candied Tomatoes recipe. The candied tomatoes were added to the cooked pasta after they had been sautéed briefly with lots of Balsamic. Finally chopped basil was added.

The Roast Chicken with Herbs was a roasted chicken with lots of Garlic and Rosemary under the skin. The herbs are put under the skin the day before so the flavors can flow into the chicken. The chicken is then placed in the refrigerator for 24 hours. When the chicken was cooked it was delicious. The skin (my favorite part) was very crispy.

We never seem to grow tired of fresh tomatoes!

Penne with Balsamic

Wine: Le Clos du Caillou Cotes du Rhone 1998


White Nectarines are fresh and sweet at the Farmer’s Market. We made a Salad with Arugula, Almonds, Prosciutto and dressed it with Saba

Continuing our use of heirloom tomatoes we made one of favorite pastas. The recipe is from Rogers and Grey: Italian Country: Penne with Tomato and Balsamic Vinegar. What makes this such a good recipe is that when the penne is cooked it is thrown back into the pan and slightly cooked with lots of butter. Then lots of balsamic is added to the pasta. Finally the sauce and basil are added to the pasta.

It is served with Pecorino Cheese. Often I find Pecorino to salty. Chris at The Cheese Store of Silverlake sold us a Pecorino that wrapped in Grape leaf. It was very good and not overly salty. It was the best pecorino I have ever tasted. It was the perfect complement to the pasta. We had lots of leftovers and continued to enjoy the pasta for several days.

Rogers and Rogers

Wines: Chateau Gloria St. Julien 2000
Les Argiles Vouvray 2004

The Zuni Café Cookbook


When ever we go to San Francisco we eat at the Zuni Café. It seems we also get their Chicken for two. They have published various renditions of the recipe. This one is from their cookbook: The Zuni Cafe Cookbook. We make it at least once every summer.

Zuni Roasted Chicken with Bread Salad

Papa Al Pomodoro from Italian Country Cook Book Rogers / Gray
Serves 10

4 garlic cloves, peeled and cut into thin slices
¾ cup olive oil
9 pounds ripe sweet tomatoes, peeled and seeded, or 4 ½ pounds canned plum tomatoes, drained of most of their juices
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 loaves stale bread
1 large bunch fresh basil
Extra-virgin olive oil

Put the garlic and the olive oil into a heavy saucepan and cook gently for a few minutes. Just before the garlic turns brown, add the tomatoes. Simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally until the tomatoes become concentrated. Season with salt and pepper, then add 2 ½ cups water and bring to a boail.

Cut most of the crust off the bread and break or cut into large chunks. Put the bread into the tomato mixture and stir until the bread absorbs the liquid, adding more boiling water if it is too thick. Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly. If the basil leaves are large, tear into pieces. Stir into the soup with ½ to ¾ cup of extra virgin olive oil. Let sit before serving to allow the bread to absorb the flavor of the basil and oil. Float some more extra-virgin oil on top of each bowl of soup.