Winter Nights Dinner

 

 

 

Roger joined us for dinner. The winter weather in Los Angeles was still cold and intermittently rainy.

Gerry and Nancie had sent us apples and pears and we used them in a great new salad from Sunday Supper at Lucques. Somehow we had missed this recipe in the cookbook. It is called: Barbara's apples and asian pears with radicchio, mint, and buttermilk dressing. The title essentially tells the recipe. We added candied walnuts and raisins to make it very much like a Waldorf Salad. It was delicious, fresh and crisp. This salad is a keeper!

For the main course we had one of our favorite pastas: Pasta with Lentil and Prosciutto Sauce from: Cucina Simpatica by Johanne Killeen and George Germon. I needed a small chunk of Prosciutto and when I asked to buy it The Cheese Store of Silverlake, Chris gave me a prosciutto bone with lots of meat left on it. We cut off what we needed for this pasta, This was the second use of the prosciutto he gave us, we had previously used some in the meatloaf we made last week. We still have some left, and plan to make a soup out of it.
The pasta is great. One thing I really like is that it is topped with chopped red onion rather than cheese.



Pasta with Lentil and Prosciutto Sauce
==================================


From: Cucina Simpatica – Johanne Killeen and George Germon

Ask your butcher for an end piece of prosciutto. Usually these pieces are less expensive, and they are fine for this sauce.

4 tablespoons olive oil
1 stalk celery, diced
1 carrot, scraped and chopped
1 large onion (4 to 5 ounces), peeled and diced
1 tablespoon minced fresh garlic
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
One 3-ounce piece prosciutto or pancetta, chopped (1/2 cup packed)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
8 ounces (1 heaping cup) lentils ^
1 red onion
11/2 pounds imported spaghettini or linguine fini
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut up

1. Heat the olive oil in a small heavy stockpot and add the celery, carrot, diced onion, garlic, jalapeno, red pepper, prosciutto, and salt. Gently saute, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are soft and aromatic, 15 to 20 minutes.

2. Add the lentils and 5 cups of water, bring to a boil, and simmer until the lentils are soft but not mushy and falling apart, 18 to 22 minutes. The sauce may be completed to this point and chilled in the refrigerator until ready to use.

3. If you have refrigerated the sauce, heat it slowly over a low flame. Bring 5 quarts of salted water to a boil in another large pot, and chop the red onion for garnish.

4. When the lentil sauce is hot, drop the pasta in the water and boil until it is still quite firm, 4 to 5 minutes.

5. Drain the spaghettini in a colander, then add it to the sauce with the butter. Toss the pasta in the sauce for 1 to 2 minutes until al dente. Serve very hot, topped with the chopped red onion.

SERVES 6 AS A MAIN COURSE


Barbara's apples and asian pears with radicchio, mint, and buttermilk dressing
=======================================================

1 xtra-large egg yolk
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons grapeseed oil
2 tablespoons finely diced shallot
1 to 2 lemons, for juicing
1/4 cup creme fraiche
1/4 cup buttermilk
2 apples, firm, crisp, and juicy
2 Asian pears
2 heads radicchio
2 tablespoons sliced mint
1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper


When I was growing up, apples seemed so bland and boring—1 could never get excited about a mushy Red Delicious the way I could a summer peach. But today, thanks to small farmers around the country like Barbara and Bill Spencer of Windrose Farms, we have a lot more choices where apples are concerned, and a lot more to get excited about.

Determined to revive the disappearing heirlooms, the Spencers painstakingly planted more than forty varieties of apple trees on their farm in Paso Robles, Cali¬fornia. It took 6 years for the trees to produce, and that glorious fall, when Barbara turned up at the back door of Lucques with boxes and boxes of their impressive crop, I was blown away. The apples looked dazzlingly beautiful and tasted even better. From russeted emerald greens to mottled pinks to deep burgundy-blacks, we sampled our way through them all, picking our favorites and taking note of which were better raw and which were better cooked. Some of our favorites for eat¬ing out of hand were Braeburn, Arkansas Black, and Gernes Red Acre. Crisp, sweet, and tart, these revelatory fruits were the inspiration for this fall salad.

And if it's not enough that they're growing all these beautiful heirloom apples, Barbara and Bill also grow some of the best Asian pears I've ever tasted. Juicy and delicately perfumed, they're a fun surprise, sliced and tossed with the apples, buttermilk, mint, and radicchio in this thirst-quenching salad.

Place the egg yolk in a stainless steel bowl. Begin whisking in the grapeseed oil drop bv drop, as slowly as you can bear. Continue in this manner until the mixture begins to thicken. Once the mayonnaise has emulsified, you can add the rest of the oil in a slow steady stream, whisking all the time.

Combine the shallot, i tablespoon lemon juice, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a small bowl, and let sit 5 minutes. Whisk in the creme fraiche and buttermilk. Gently whisk this mixture into the mayonnaise, and taste for balance and sea¬soning.

Slice the apples and Asian pears away from the core. Cut into 1/8-inch thick slices and place them in a large salad bowl. Tear the radicchio into large bite-sized pieces and add to the bowl. Toss the salad with three-quarters of the dressing, and season with salt and pepper. Add a squeeze of lemon and a little more of the dressing if necessary.

Transfer to a large chilled platter and scatter the mint and parsley over the top.

Rainy Winter Meal

 

 

Los Angeles had turned cold and rainy. We decided it was time for a warm winter dinner. One of the best things I can think of on a cold rainy night is French Onion Soup bubbling with melted cheese and a glass of Red Wine. So French Onion Soup it was!

Made the same recipe we always make, Onion Soup from Julia Childs first book: Mastering the Art of French Cooking. It is the best! It is really quite easy, and always works out. The trick is to cook the THINLY sliced onions slowly to bring out their flavor.

For the entre we made a fabulous provencal meat loaf and mashed potatoes. The recipe can be found in Mediterranean Grains and Greens by Paula Wolfert. The meatloaf is entirely made from pork and sausage with lots of greens. It is almost like a pate in texture. It is delicious. What better to go with meatloaf then mashed potatoes?

This was a perfect cold rainy night dinner!

Onion Soup
========

1 ½ lbs or about 5 cups of thinly sliced yellow onions
3 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoons oil
1 heavy bottomed, 4 quart covered saucepan

1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon sugar (helps the onions to brown)

3 tablespoons flour

2 quarts boiling brown stock, canned beef bullion

½ cup dry white wine or vermouth
Salt and pepper to taste

3 tablespoons cognac

Rounds of slice French Bread

Gruyere cheese

Cook the sliced onions slowly with the butter and oil in the covered saucepan for 15 minutes.

Uncover, raise the heat to moderate and stir in the salt and sugar. Cook for 30 to 40 minutes stirring frequently, until the onions have turned an even, deep, golden brown.

Off the heat, blend in the boiling liquid. Add the wine, and season for taste. Simmer partly covered for 30 to 40 minutes or more, skimming occasionally. Correct the seasoning.


Set aside uncovered until ready to serve. Then reheat to the simmer.

Just before serving add 3 tablespoons cognac.

Pour the hot soup in oven proof soup bowls. Add the soup not quite to the top. Put a slice of toasted French bread on top. Generously cover with guyere cheese. Bake in 325 degree oven till the cheese is brown and melted.

provencal "meat loaf" with cabbage, artichokes, chard, spinach, and ground pork (France)
==========

Serves 8
1 chopped onion
1 leeks, trimmed and chopped
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 artichoke bottoms, blanched for 10 minutes, then thinly slliced
3/4 pound ground pork
2 bunches Swiss chard leaves, cooked and chopped
1 bunch stemmed spinach, cooked and chopped
2 ounces pork sausage, skinned and shredded
2 ounces cured ham such as prosciutto, shredded
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2/3 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1 tablespoon crushed garlic
3 cups stale crustless bread, torn into small pieces
1 medium green or savoy cabbage (2 1/2 pounds)
¼ cup bread crumbs

This delicious Provencal "meat loaf will easily feed eight. I like to prepare it for four, serving it warm along with pickles, salad, and mashed pota¬toes, then prepare the leftovers the following day by slicing it, dusting the slices with flour, and fry¬ing them in extra-virgin olive oil until brown and crunchy on all sides

One day in advance of serving, fry the onion and leeks in the olive oil in a small skillet until softened. Cool, then mix with the artichoke bottoms, pork, greens, pork sausage, ham, salt, pepper, parsley, spices, garlic, and dried bread in a bowl; blend well. Cover and refrigerate overnight to allow flavors to develop.

The following day, preheat the oven to 350degrees.

Discard outer leaves of the cabbage. Wash the cabbage, discard inner core, and cook in boiling salted water for 30 minutes. Drain cabbage well.

Line a 6- to 8-cup oiled gratin dish with half the cabbage leaves, overlapping. Place the filling in the center, flatten slightly, and cover with the remaining leaves to completely enclose. If the cabbage and its filling rise above the sides of the dish, gently pat down to make them more compact. Brush the top with oil and sprinkle with bread crumbs.

Fill a roasting pan with water and set it in oven. Place the dish in the center and bake for 1 hour. Remove the water bath and finish baking until brown and crusty, 1 hour more

First Dinner Back from India

For the first dinner we cooked we had some unusual requirements. First of all it had to have beef! Secondly cheese! Thirdly Pasta! Fourthly fresh salad! Lastly we wanted lots of leftovers. All things we didn’t have a lot of in India!

We had a brand new cookbook: A Platter of Figs and Other Recipes by David Tanis. We decided to make Orecchiette al Forno. One of the fun things about making it is the recipe calls for you to make your own fennel sausage. It is very easy to make. We doubled the recipe and made a lot! It was very good and lasted for several days. We didn’t get tired of it.

We started with a fresh salad made with blue cheese and candied walnuts that we had purchased from the Cheese Store of Silverlake. To the salad we added fresh pear slices from the pears that Gerry and Nancie had sent to us. Delicious!

It was good to cook again. We did miss Bea who often joins us. She is in the hospital with a broken foot.


Orecchiette al Forno
==============
If you choose a sturdy dried pasta type like orecchiette (little ears), you can cook pasta ahead without compromising quality. For a vegetarian version of this baked pasta, omit the sausage and add crushed fennel seeds to the greens. Other greens can be easily substituted for the rapini, if you like.

2 pounds orecchiette
2 teaspoons finely chopped rosemary
Olive oil
Red pepper flakes
2 pounds rapini (broccoli rabe), washed
Salt
1 pound Fennel Sausage (recipe follows)
1/2 pound fresh ricotta
Butter
4 garlic cloves, chopped
Grated pecorino

Have two pots of well-salted water boiling briskly. Cook 1 pound of pasta in each pot until extremely al dente, about 9 minutes. Lift the pasta from the water and spread on baking sheets to cool; drizzle lightly with olive oil to keep it from sticking together.
Using the boiling water, blanch the greens for 1 minute or so. Drain in a col¬ander. When they are cool, roughly chop the greens and set aside.

In a large skillet, lightly brown the sausage meat, breaking it up with a •wooden spoon as it cooks so it crumbles into small pieces. Remove the browned sausage from the pan.

Pour off any fat from the pan and return the pan to the stove. Add 2 table¬spoons olive oil and heat over medium heat. Warm the garlic in the oil, but don't let it brown. Add the chopped greens, rosemary, and a little red pepper. Lightly salt the greens, stir them around the pan, and turn off the heat.
To assemble the dish, put the cooked pasta, cooked greens, and cooked sausage in a large bowl and mix gently. Add the ricotta and mix again.
Butter two shallow earthenware gratin dishes. Put half the pasta mixture in each dish. Sprinkle lightly with grated pecorino. Cover and keep at room tempera¬ture for up to several hours.

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Shortly before serving time, bake the pasta for 15 minutes. Uncover and bake for 5 minutes more.
Serve the pasta in warmed soup plates. Pass grated pecorino at the table.

fennel sausage
==========
Much commercially made sausage is of dubious origin, filled with preservatives and odd synthetic seasonings. It's very easy to make fennel sausage at home. This recipe yields double the amount of sausage needed for the orecchiette. Of course you could halve it, but I suggest you make the whole recipe—just wrap the remainder well and freeze.

2 pounds ground pork shoulder,not too lean
2 teaspoons crushed fennel seed
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 teaspoons salt
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped

Working quickly, to keep the meat quite cold, mix all the ingredients well. Refrigerate immediately and use within 2 days, or freeze in small packages for later use.

Bea Cooks!

Click the picture above to see and hear a video clip of Bea Cooking!



Wine:

Barrel 27 High on the Hog Paso Robles White Wine 2007
Kosta Browne 2005 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir

Bea joined us for dinner. It will be the last dinner we cook before we leave for vacation. We wanted to use the Egg one last time.

We started with a Persimmon and Pomegranate Salad with Arugula, Almonds and Prosciutto and Saba. We have been having a lot of these salads lately and really like it. It is very easy to make and reminds us of fall.

We then had Herb-Crusted Pork Loin Roast from License to Grill by Chris Schlesinger. It was delicious and moist and smoky and tender!. It is very easy to make on the Egg. I published the recipe in our blog entry of July 2, 2008. Click the date to get the recipe.

We made a great recipe from Sunday Supper at Lucques Winter Squash Risotto.
It was the perfect accompaniment to the Pork. We even got Bea to do some stirring. Click the picture watch a sound movie clip of her!

We then served Goat Cheese from The Cheese Store of Silverlake with Truffle Honey.

We followed with Limoncino Liqueur.


winter squash risotto with radicchio and parmesan
2 cups 1/2-inch-diced Kabocha squash
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon thyme leaves
4 cups chicken stock
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup diced white onion
1 chile de arbol, crumbled
2 cups high-quality Arborio rice
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 cup thinly sliced radicchio
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
1 cup sliced flat-leaf parsley
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

People think risotto is a super-rich dish, made with tons of butter. But when it is made properly, the richness comes from the starchy rice and the stock. To make perfect risotto, really pay attention to what's happening in the pan. As the risotto cooks, stir it with a wooden spoon in rhythmic movements that go across the bot¬tom and around the sides of the pan. The rice should be constantly bubbling, drinking up the liquid as it cooks.

Preheat the oven to 425°F.

Toss the squash with 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 teaspoon thyme, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and a healthy pinch of pepper. Roast the squash on a baking sheet 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it's tender when pierced.

Bring the chicken stock plus 4 cups water to a boil, and turn off the heat.

Heat a medium-sized heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat for 2 minutes. Add the 3 tablespoons butter, and when it foams, add the onion, remaining 2 teaspoons thyme, chile, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and a pinch of pepper. Sauté 5 to 7 min¬utes, stirring often, until the onion is translucent.

Stir in half the roasted squash, the rice, and 1-1/2 teaspoons salt. Cook about 2 minutes, stirring continuously, until the rice just begins to toast and the grains of the rice have a white dot at their center. Pour in the white wine, and once it has evaporated, quickly add 1 cup of the hot stock and stir continuously. When the stock is completely absorbed, begin adding the liquid in 1-cup batches, stirring all the time with a wooden spoon in a rhythmic back-and-forth motion. Wait for each batch of liquid to be absorbed before adding the next. The rice should be bubbling and absorbing the stock quickly. After about 15 minutes, taste the rice. It should be slightly al dente. The risotto may need more liquid and more time so keep cooking until it's done. It should be neither soupy nor dry; each grain of rice should be coated in a flavorful, starchy "sauce."
When the rice is almost done, turn off the heat and stir in the remaining squash. Let the risotto "rest" for a minute or two and then quickly stir in the radicchio, half the Parmigiano-Reggiano, and /2 teaspoon salt. Taste for season¬ing. The rice will keep absorbing liquid, so add a little more stock if it seems dry. Stir in the remaining 2 tablespoons butter and the parsley. Spoon the risotto into a large shallow bowl and sprinkle the rest of the cheese on top.

Last Tomatoes of the Season

It is the very end of the tomato season. We decided to make one of our favorite pastas one last time. It is: Penne with Tomato and Balsamic Vinegar From: Rogers and Gray: Italian Country Cookbook. We purchased heirloom tomatoes from the Hollywood Farmer's Market. We peeled the tomatoes first. It is easy to do if you first drop them in boiling water for about 30 seconds then plunge them in ice water. The skin just peels off. We use core chop up and use the pulp plus seeds. This is another one of those pastas that you would think had meat in it, it is so rich. As you can read from the recipe below, you can make it with canned tomatoes if fresh ones aren’t available.

Our neighbor Kazue had dropped off a bag of persimmons from her tree so we started the meal with one more Salad of: Persimmons, Pomegranates, Almonds and Greens and Saba. The salad is also good with the addition of prosciutto. We look forward to next summer’s crop of tomatoes. On the other hand, the end of tomatoes means winter is coming and with that lots of Braises!


Penne with Tomato and Balsamic Vinegar
=============================
From: Rogers and Gray: Italian Country Cookbook
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves, peeled and cut into slivers
1 handful fresh basil
1 – 28 ounce can peeled plum tomatoes (we used fresh heirloom tomatoes, of course!)
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
12 ounces penne pasta
8 tablespoons balsamic vinegar, at least 10 years old
6 tablespoons butter cut into pieces
1 heaped cup pecorino or parmesan cheese, grated

Heat oil in large pan and gently sauté the garlic slivers until lightly browned.
Add a few of the basil leaves and then the tomatoes. Stir and cook gently for 30 to 40 minutes, until reduced to a thick sauce. Season with salt and pepper and add the remaining basil.

Cook the penne in salted water, drain thoroughly, and return the pasta to the sauce pan along with the butter. When the butter is melted, add the balsamic vinegar and toss over gentle hear for a few seconds until the penne has turned brown in color.

The in a handful of grated cheese, and finally stir in the tomato sauce. Serve with more cheese.

Pomegranate and Friends

Wine:

Gin an Tonic (Jill of course)
Bourgogne 2007 Rose de Pinot Noir
Chateau de La Liquiere 2005 Vielles Vignes
Limoncino Liqueur

Jill and Susan flew in from Santa Fe to attend a conference at the LA Country Art Museum on Indonesian Textiles. We joined them for the day along with our neighbor Shelley. It was very informative. We learned a lot about the various ways textiles are used to symbolize status, religion, location, etc.

We decided to cook dinner for them. We started with Drinks, Cheese and the delicious Truffle Honey on the deck.

For the first course we had Persimmon and Pomegranate Salad with Arugula and Hazelnuts. Our neighbor Kazue had surprised us by dropping off some Persimmons. Every year in the fall, when both pomegranates and Persimmons come in, we always make a salad with them. For some reason we had never followed the recipe from Sunday Supper at Lucques. This time we did and it was a MAJOR revelation to us. In the past, when I peeled pomegranates I tried various techniques to extract the seeds. This book has the secret! It was simple, and the juice is used for the salad dressing. I have included Suzanne’s full story. Rather than pressing the fruit with my fingers and rolled it on the counter top pressing down hard. It was like magic, easy to extract the liquid and when I tore open the fruit the seeds just fell out! What a discovery!

For the main course we decided to make a again a favorite: Roast Chicken with Preserved Lemons Adapted from Laurent Tourondel. We have made this many times, a sure winner! You can get the recipe from our blog entry of Jan. 23, 2008. Just click the date to get it.

For dessert we made Date Bars from the City Cuisine Cookbook. These are a favorite! They work for both dessert and breakfast the following days. They can also be frozen.

We followed with chilled Limoncino Liqueur (thanks Dennis).

It was great spending the weekend with Jill and Susan and hope they return soon!



Pomegranates
============

When I was a kid, we used to eat pomegranates with a needle, carefully extracting each tiny kernel out of its hard red skin. Like persimmons, they grew in my neighborhood, dangling off scraggly, leaf-barren trees. Their flavor is intense—the seed adds a subtle bitter counterpoint to the astringent yet sweet juice. Pomegran¬ate juice can be used in salad dressings as a bright alter¬native to vinegar or lemon juice. A pomegranate vinaigrette is particularly delicious with a salad of arugula, persimmons, and pomegranates. When you get in the habit of using pomegranates, you'll find they're very versatile. Their sweet crunch goes well with many foods, and this time of year I find myself scattering the seeds over salads, antipastos, and even grilled fish. Pomegranate molasses, available in Middle Eastern mar¬kets, is a deep burgundy condiment made from concen¬trated pomegranate juice and sugar. Used sparingly, the sweet-sour syrup is an exotic addition to pomegranate salsas and is also intriguing with braised meats.

Pomegranates aren't an instant-gratification fruit; they take a little work. To juice a pomegranate, use your thumbs to press and soften the skin all the way around the entire fruit. Next, insert a paring knife halfway into the side of the pomegranate to make a small hole. Hold the fruit over a bowl with the hole facing down, and squeeze firmly to extract the juice, which will come run¬ning out. To take out the seeds, it's best not to cut the fruit in half or you'll lose precious seeds and juices. Instead, insert a chef's knife about an inch into the top of the pomegranate, and turn the knife slightly to crack the fruit open. Pull the pomegranate apart with your hands, separating it into naturally occurring sections. Then pick the seeds out with your fingers.

Pomegranates are in season starting in early fall and ending in early winter. Look for pomegranates that are heavy in your hand and have supple, not-too-dry skin.

Persimmon and Pomegranate Salad with Arugula and Hazelnuts
======================================================


This is one of those salads that I can't stop eating once I start. It's thirst-quenching, crunchy, and downright addictive. The juice from the pomegranate binds with the olive and hazelnut oils to make a bright, acidic dressing for the pep¬pery arugula and sweet persimmons. Juicing your own pomegranates is easy, but if you're not careful, it can result in some embarrassing mishaps. One night at Lucques, a customer asked for a pomegranate martini. Bartender Soren Banks, having seen a bowl of pomegranates in the kitchen, happily agreed to make her one. He rushed back to the kitchen for a quick juicing lesson, and then back to the bar. Following what he interpreted to be my instructions, he proceeded tp spray himself and all the customers at the bar with the bright-red juice. Fortunately, everyone was more amused than angry, especially after a free round of pomegran¬ate martinis (juiced this time in the kitchen).

3/4 cup blanched hazelnuts
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon hazelnut oil
1 tablespoon finely diced shallot; plus 2 small shallots, thinly sliced
3 tablespoons fresh pomegranate juice (from 1 to 2 pomegranates), plus 1/3 cup pomegranate seeds
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
2 teaspoons rice vinegar
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 small Fuyu persimmons, thinly sliced
1/2 lemon, for juicing ½ pound arugula
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 375°F

Spread the hazelnuts on a baking sheet, and toast 8 to 10 minutes, stirring once or twice, until they smell nutty and are lightly browned. When the nuts have cooled, chop them coarsely and toss them with 1 teaspoon hazelnut oil and a gen¬erous pinch of salt.

Place the diced shallot, pomegranate juice, both vinegars, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a bowl, and let sit 5 minutes. Whisk in the olive oil and the remaining 1 tablespoon hazelnut oil. Taste for balance and seasoning.
In a large salad bowl, toss the persimmons, sliced shallots, and pomegranate seeds with the dressing, and season with salt, pepper, and a squeeze of lemon. Gently toss in the arugula and taste for seasoning. Arrange the salad on a platter, and scatter the hazelnuts over the top.

Turkish Pasta

Wine:

Cotes du Rhone Les Laurelles 2006
Chateau La Liquiere Vielles Vignes Faugeres 2005

We started with a Salad with Pears, Walnuts, St. Agur Blue Cheese, Mache, Walnut Oil and Saba

I found a recipe in the New York Time for a Turkish Pasta with Eggplant. It sounded real interesting so we decided to make it. Cathy made some modifications that she thought would improve it - she was right! It turned out to be excellent and not difficult. I really liked the idea of topping with garlic and Yogurt rather than traditional Parmesan Cheese. This is a good recipe I recommend it! We will definitely make it again.

New York Times
October 1, 2008

Pasta With Turkish-Style Lamb, Eggplant and Yogurt Sauce
=======================================================
2 large eggplants, about 1 pound, in 1/2 -inch cubes
7 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon kosher or coarse sea salt, more to taste
4 fat garlic cloves, minced
1 large shallot, minced
1 ½ pound ground lamb
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, preferably Turkish or Aleppo (see note), more to taste
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint or dill, more to taste
1 pound bowtie or orecchiette pasta
2 to 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, to taste
1 cup plain Greek yogurt.
1. Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Bring a pot of water to boil for pasta.
2. Toss eggplant with 4 tablespoons oil and a large pinch of salt. Spread on a baking sheet, making sure there is room between pieces, and roast until crisp and brown, 15 to 20 minutes.
3. In a large skillet, heat remaining tablespoon oil. Add 2 minced garlic cloves and the shallot and sauté until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Add lamb, 1/2 teaspoon salt, red pepper flakes and black pepper to taste. Sauté until lamb is no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Stir in mint or dill and cook for another 2 minutes. Stir eggplant into lamb. Taste and adjust seasonings.
4. Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, melt butter: the amount is to your taste. Let cook until it turns golden brown and smells nutty, about 5 minutes. In a small bowl, stir together yogurt, remaining garlic and a pinch of salt.
5. Drain pasta and spread on a serving platter. Top with lamb-eggplant mixture, then with yogurt sauce. Pour melted butter over top. Sprinkle on additional red pepper and more mint or dill. Serve immediately. We modified the recipe by mix brown butter with the cooked pasta then tossing in the Eggplant lamb sauce and mixing. We served pasta with yogurt topping at table.
Yield: 8 servings.
Note: Turkish or Aleppo (Syrian) red pepper flakes are sold at specialty markets and at kalustyans.com. You may also substitute ground chili powder. Do not use crushed red pepper flakes; they will be too hot for this dish.

Goa Shrimp and Mahjong

Wine:

Le Secret inre 2007
Danubio Gruner Veltliner 2007
Clos Pepe Estate Pinot Noir 2005
Trimbach Gewürztraminer 2005

Bill and Kevin are still going thru Hell with the remodel of their Kitchen and Bathroom so we once again invited them over for dinner. We hadn’t played Mahjong for a while so we worked in playing after dinner. I won big, maybe it was all the wine Billy drank!

We started with some appetizers from Carousel Restaurant a mid-eastern restaurant.. We had Hammos, Mutabbal, Muhammara with Toasted Pita Chips.

We started with one of our favorite summer soups: Papa Al Pomodoro from Italian Country Cook Book Rogers / Gray. This is a tomato and bread soup, and is extremely thick. It is served with a float of virgin olive oil and fresh basil. I LOVE this soup!
The recipe can be found in our blog of: Aug 2, 2006. Click the date to get the recipe.

We then made Basmati Rice, with Goan Shrimp Curry. We have made the Curry many times and really like it. The recipe can be found in our blog entry of March 9, 2008. Click the link to get the recipe. It is very good!

For dessert we served Apple Pie from Clementine. I really wish the Clementine would open on the East Side of Los Angeles! The pie is a bake at home pie and is as good as any you can make from scratch!

We then served Stilton Blue Cheese and Port while we are playing Mah Jong!

Turkey with a Mexican Twist

Wine:

Silver Oak Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2003
Domaine Les Aphillanthes Cotes Du Rhone 2007
Behrens & Hitchcock Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 2004
Domaine Grand Veneur Chateauneuf-du-Pape 2005

Billy and Kevin are having some work done on their kitchen and bathroom, so we invited them over to get out of the construction mess. We came up with a Turkey dinner with a Mexican twist.

Kevin brought some great wines plus we drank the Silver Oak wine he had given Cathy for her birthday. We started with Guacamole and Chips.

We then had a Salad made of Nectarines, Mache, Almonds, Prosciutto, Saba and Almond Oil. Gerry and Nancie had sent Cathy a series of fruit gift boxes for her birthday. The nectarines were fabulous.

We made a Smoked Turkey with Homemade Cornbread and Chorizo Stuffing in the Egg. First we made the cornbread from scratch. We then let it get dry overnight then made the dressing and stuffed the Turkey. The meat was really smoky with crispy skin. I wasn’t sure how a smoked turkey would turn out, but it was a success. Since we won’t be here for Thanksgiving it serves as a substitute experience.

We had picked up some Mexican Rice at Alegria (our local Mexican Restaurant) and it went well with the turkey and Cornbread stuffing.

We then had a Cheese from The Cheese Store of Silverlake and that wonderful Truffle Honey.

For dessert we had the what was left of the Chocolate Cake Lucques had made for Cathy’s Birthday.

I am constantly amazed at the Egg. What a find!

Billy had suggested that we make a stock out of the remaining turkey bones. We did by boiling with carrots, onions, garlic, etc. We then took the left over turkey and Cathy made a fantastic Turkey Paella with it. I would never have thought that turkey would be so good in a Paella, but it really worked!

Lucques and Campanile Inspire Us

Wine:

Bourgogne Rose de Pinot Noir 2007
Ecluse Paso Robles Zinfandel 2005
Champagne Billecart-Salmon Brut Reserve

Bea joined us for dinner and brought some great wines!

We were inspired by some dishes we had at Campanile and Lucques.

At Lucques we had an end of Summer Salad. It was made with Blue Cheese, Walnuts, Grapes, Pear and Figs. It is a very clever salad that uses the overlap of availability of Grapes, Pears and Figs. It was very good. We dressed the salad with Saba, Walnut Oil.

For the main course we made Lentil Pasta from a recipe from Locanda Veneta in Los Angeles. This is one of our all time favorites. On Sunday we bought fresh tomatoes at the Hollywood Farmer’s Market. We followed the recipe for Oven Candied Summer Tomatoes from The Italian Country Table (Lynne Rossetto Kasper – one of our favorite cookbooks)and them used them to make the Lentil Pasta. The recipe can be found in our blog dated July 22, 2008. Click on the date to get the recipe.

At Campanile we had a great Cheese Course. With the cheese they served a Truffle Honey. The honey was amazing! When we said how much we liked the honey they gifted us with a bottle. We purchased cheese from The Cheese Store of Silverlake and served the Truffle Honey with it. The Brand of Honey is: Sabatino Tartufi.

We had Chocolate Cake for dessert.

Two Indian Dishes and a Hot Dog and Ketchup!

Wine:

Domaine Gauby 2004 Vieilles Vignes
Samsara Wine 2004 Pinot Noir
Robert Sinskey Vin Gris 2005


There was a recipe in the New York Times for an Indian Dish:
Stir-Fried Chicken with Ketchup. It turns out that it tastes Chinese! It was great and easy to make. It is by the author of one of our favorite Indian Cookbooks: Indian Home Cooking.

We decided to make a dish from that cookbook to go with the Chicken: Stuffed Bell Peppers. The peppers were very good but we only had large peppers and they were huge.

We went to The Cheese Store of Silverlake and saw they were selling Hot Dogs! We knew if they had them, there must be something really special about them. So, we bought them and put them on the Egg. They are exceptional! Like no other Hot Dog we have ever eaten. You can read about them here: Lets Be Frank.

Bea joined us and brought some wonderful wine!

May 12, 2004 The New York Times
THE MINIMALIST; A Condiment Gets to Shine
By MARK BITTMAN
THIS is a perfectly contemporary dish: Manchurian in origin, inspired by an Indian chef who lives in New York and based on an ingredient that is in almost every refrigerator.
It's stir-fried chicken with ketchup, and before you turn your nose up, think of hoisin sauce, oyster sauce, mayonnaise, Worcestershire sauce, salsa and all the other condiments that somehow are often considered inferior in haute cuisine circles.
Then think how good ketchup can taste.
I learned about the genesis of this dish from Suvir Saran, an Indian chef in New York. In the version he cooked for me, Mr. Saran tossed cauliflower in a slurry of cornstarch and egg, then deep-fried it. The crust was exquisite, and the cauliflower perfectly cooked. But it was what happened next that really got my attention: He finished the cauliflower in a sauce, made in about three minutes, containing nothing more than ketchup, garlic and cayenne pepper.
The garlic and cayenne gave the ketchup a significant leg up, and the brief cooking time caramelized the sugars. In all, the ordinary ingredient we all grew up with was transformed into a glistening, almost exotic sauce, one that latched on to that cauliflower as if the molecules had fused.
''This recipe is one of many dishes created by Chinese immigrants who now live in India,'' Mr. Saran said. ''You see it in Calcutta's Chinatown, where it's sold on the street, to be eaten off toothpicks.''
I tried making the dish with cauliflower that I didn't deep-fry; it wasn't the same. But when I floured some chicken and seared it in oil until it was quite crisp, then turned that in the sauce, I knew I had hit it: Manchurian-style chicken. (And, yes, you can eat it with toothpicks if you like.)
If you take to this dish, you might start to play with it: cook some peanuts with the chicken, toss some slivered scallions or cilantro in at the end (the color is brilliant, as you can imagine), substitute soy sauce for the salt, or start with squid or shrimp. It's all pretty flexible, and just think, you already have the main ingredient.

STIR-FRIED CHICKEN WITH KETCHUP
Time: 20 minutes
1 1/2 pounds boneless chicken, preferably dark meat, in 1/2- to 1-inch chunks
1/2 cup flour, more as needed
4 tablespoons neutral oil, like corn or canola
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons slivered garlic
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
1 cup ketchup.
1. Toss chicken with flour so that it is lightly dusted. Put 2 tablespoons oil in a large skillet, preferably nonstick, and turn heat to high. When oil smokes, add chicken in one layer. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
2. When chicken browns on one side, toss it and cook until just about done: smaller pieces will take 5 minutes total, larger pieces about 10. Remove to a plate. Turn off heat and let pan cool for a moment.
3. Add remaining oil to pan and turn heat to medium high. Add garlic and cayenne pepper and cook, stirring, about 2 minutes. Add ketchup and stir; cook until ketchup bubbles, then darkens slightly. Return chicken to pan and stir to coat with sauce. Taste and adjust seasoning, then serve.
Yield: 4 servings

Shrimp Louis / Chicken Figs

Wine:

Nerojbleo nero d’Avola 2004
Serre de Catin Cote-du-Rhone 2004
Roero Arneis 2007


We ate dinner at Campanile and Mark had a salad of tomatoes with Thousand Island Dressing. His Thousand Island is the best. We asked him if we could have some to take home. He generously gave us about a cup of the dressing.

The next night we made a Shrimp Louis with Butter Lettuce and Shrimp. It was great a very retro!

For the main course we made (possibly for the last time this year, as fresh figs will be hard to find now that summer is over) Chicken and Figs. It is from the Zuni Café Cookbook. I published the recipe for the Chicken and Figs on June 23, 2008. Click the date to get the recipe.

We served Cous-Cous with it.

A Bollywood Evening

Wine:

Vin Du Bugey-Cerdon (2 bottles)
J. Lohr 2006 Paso Robles Zinfandel
L'Ancestrale du Puits 2005 Cairanne (2 bottles)
Madrigal 2005 Napa Valley Petite Sirah Port

We had two guests staying with us this weekend: Mary Beth and JJ. Mary Beth is a professor of Cinema and we gave her and JJ a Bollywood experience. We watched two great moves by Ram Gopal Varma: Sarkar and its sequal Sarkar Raj. They are loosely based upon the movie God Father. They are available on NetFlix.
We went to Little India (Artesia) for an Indian Lunch and then went to various shops. It was a fun afternoon. We had invited Shelley and David to join us for dinner. It turned out that Shelley had also gone to Artesia and turned up wearing an Indian Outfit. They also brought some delicious Indian Candy.

We started with drinks on the deck and once again had the delicious Ginger Feta Cheese from The Cheese Store of Silverlake. Everyone loved it!

We wanted to make a dinner that didn’t involve a lot of last minute cooking and came up with a dinner menu that we prepared before they arrived.
We started with Tomato - Fig Soup from the Moro East Cookbook. This is very seasonal, and we probably won’t be able to make it again till next summer. It is amazing. The recipe can be found in our blog entry of: August 20, 2008. Click the date to get the recipe.

We then had Orchids Tangy Noodles from The Modern Art of Chinese Cooking. This is always a hit and when prepared ahead of time only gets better. The recipe can be found in our blog entry of: July 4, 2007. Click the date to get the recipe.

We served Char Shu Pork using a recipe from Jar Restaurant. We marinated the pork for 4 days before grilling it on the Egg. The recipe can be found in our blog entry of: July 4, 2007. Click the date to get the recipe. Shelley sent an email saying it was the BEST pork chop she had ever made.

We served a White Nectarine Crisp for dessert. The stone fruit is at its best right now in the market!

Finally we had the Assorted Sweets from Little India that Shelley and Dave brought. We moved very slowly the next day after our great night of excess.

The Best Fried Rice, Ever!

We continued to eat the left over pork.



We used the left over Polenta with Corn and made Polenta con Besciamella (Polenta with Bechamel Cream Sauce)from The Best of Italian Cooking by Waverly Root.

We had eaten at the Grill at Pelican Hills Resort and had some leftover Macaroni and Cheese with Truffles. We made a great Pressed Pork sandwich in our Panini maker to serve with the Pork.

The high-light was making the Pork Fried Rice using Jar Restaurant's recipe for Duck Fried Rice. We simply replaced the duck with pork. We have always thought that Jar has the best fried rice and this recipe proves it!

Pork Fried Rice from
Jar Restaurant

Duck-Fried Rice

There will be extra tamarind sauce; Drizzle it over vegetables, chicken, or fish; stir it into pilaf; or use it as a marinade.

6 SERVINGS

TAMARIMD SAUCE
1 cup sugar
1 cup dry red wine
1 4-ounce container sugar-coated hot
tamarind candy, coarsely chopped
¼ onion, thinly sliced
2 thin slices peeled fresh ginger
2 small garlic cloves, peeled, smashed
1 1/2 cups low-salt chicken broth
1 cup water
FRIED RICE

2 tablespoons canola oil
1 cup shredded cooked duck (we used cooked Pork)
1/2 cup matchstick-size strips leek, white part only
1/2 cup coarsely shredded peeled carrot
½ cup chopped stemmed shiitake mushrooms
3 cups cooked medium-grain brown rice (about 1 1/2 cups uncooked)
1 1/2 cups fresh pea sprouts

For Tamarind Sauce: Place sugar, red wine, tamarind candy, onion, ginger, and garlic in heavy large saucepan, Bring to boil over medium-high heat, stirring until sugar dissolves and tamarind candy melts. Boil mixture until syrupy, stirring frequently, about 8 minutes. Add chicken broth and t cup water; simmer over medium-low heat until thick and syrupy and reduced to 1 1/2 cups, stirring often, about 1 hour. Strain. (Tamarind sauce can be made 1 week ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)

For Fried Rice; Heat oil in heavy large skillet over high heat. Add duck, and sauté until beginning to brown, about 3 minutes. Add leek, carrot, and mushrooms. Stir 1 minute. Add brown rice and stir until heated through, about 3 minutes. Add ¼ cup tamarind sauce; stir to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir in pea sprouts and serve.