Last Meal Before Vacation

Wine:
La Bastide Dauzac 2000 Margaux
Valle Dell’ Acate Zagra Sicilia 2006
Donnhoff Niederhauser Hermannshohle Riesling Auslese 1998

This will be our FINAL dinner before our trip to Japan and India. To follow a blog of our trip click here.

Bea came over and brought some wonderful wine. We made a salad of Smoked Trout. For the dressing we use Crème Fresh, Lemon, Walnut Oil, Salt Pepper and horseradish.

Knowing that we would NOT be eating a lot of meat on our trip we made one of our favorites: Tendrons de Veau Le Cameleon (Braised Veal with Fresh Pasta). It is from a great cookbook: Bistro Cooking by Patricia Wells. We serve it over pasta and it is very rich and good.

For dessert, Shelley had given us Chocolate Truffles that she had made. They were delicious.

Soup for a Winter Day

It had been cold and raining in Los Angeles and Cathy found a great soup recipe in The Zuni Cafe Cookbook. She modified the recipe slightly and it turned out to be a wonderful thick soup. Perfect for a rainy winter day!

Lentil-Sweet Red Pepper Soup with Cumin & Black Pepper Soup
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Modified by Cathy

For about 4 cups

2 TBL extra-virgin olive oil
1/3 to ½ cup diced sweet red pepper
½ teaspoon whole black peppercorns
¼ cup teaspoon cumin seeds
¼ cup finely diced carrot
¼ cup finely diced celery
¼ cup finely diced yellow onion
1 to 2 garlic cloves, smashed and chopped
1 bay leaf
1 bay sprig of fresh flat-leaf chopped (stem and leaf)
1 cup lentils, preferably black or dark green French, picked over
4 to 4 ½ cups chicken stock
¼ pound bacon

Cathy sautéed the bacon, then removed the bacon reserving the fat in the pan.

Crush the peppercorns and cumin seeds in a mortar.
Saute the peppers and cumin and black pepper about 5 minutes until the peppers are softened. Add about 2 tablespoons of oil. Add all vegetables, bay leaf and parsley and sauté until soft.

Add the lentils and about 3 cups of the stock or water. Bring to a simmer. Stir, and taste the liquid for salt. Reduce the heat and cook uncovered, barely simmering, until the lentils are tender and have absorbed most of the liquid, about 15 minutes. Turn off the heat cover, and leave 5 minutes for the lentils to soften.

If you are going to puree or partially crush the lentils, do so now – it is most efficient to do this while the mixture is thick and dense, before you add the last of the liquid. We use an emersion blender to puree, right in the pan.

Add more liquid, in ½ cup doses, to bring the soup to the desired texture.
Tear up the bacon and add to the soup.

Simmer, taste for seasonings and serve.

Pasta and Chicken

Wine: (from Bea)

Domaine Stirn Alsace Grand Cru Brand Riesling 2002
Veladora Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc 2006

Bea came over for dinner and brought some great wines. For the first course we had some more of the Bucatini all’Amatriciana. It made a delicious first course. The recipe is posted in our previous blog.

We then made one of our favorite chicken dishes: Chicken with Preserved Lemons and Breadcrumbs. It is roasted over potatoes, onions and garlic. The chicken is vey moist and the breadcrumb preserved lemons go great with it!

For dessert we had German Chocolate Cake from Perfectly Sweet.

It was a great dinner on a cold drizzly night.

Roast Chicken with Preserved Lemons
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Adapted from Laurent Tourondel
Time: 1 hour 45 minutes

1 6 1/2- to 7-pound chicken
6 ounces (1 1/2 sticks) soft butter
2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
3 tablespoons finely diced onions, plus 2 large onions, sliced
1/4 cup finely diced preserved lemons (available at Middle Eastern markets and specialty food stores)
1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs
Salt and pepper
3 pounds unpeeled fingerling potatoes, cut in two lengthwise
8 large garlic cloves, peeled and halved
1/4 cup olive oil.

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Using a cleaver, chop wings from chicken at joint closest to breast; reserve.
2. In a medium mixing bowl, combine butter, one tablespoon rosemary, diced onions, lemons and bread crumbs to form a thick paste. Using your fingers, separate skin from breast of chicken, and slather mixture under skin about 1/2 inch thick. Sprinkle skin liberally with salt.
3. Place wings in a roasting pan, and place chicken on top. In a large mixing bowl, combine remaining rosemary, the potatoes, garlic, sliced onions, olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste. Toss to mix well and add to pan around chicken. Roast, occasionally basting chicken and tossing potatoes, until juices run clear when chicken is pierced with a knife at joint of leg, about 1 1/2 hours. Carve and serve each portion with some seasoned skin and potatoes and onions.
Yield: 6 servings.

Coconut Bread Pudding
Adapted from Laurent Tourondel
Time: 45 minutes plus one hour's resting

6 large eggs
1 1/8 cups sugar, more for topping dish
2 cups heavy cream
1 13 1/2-ounce can coconut milk
2 tablespoons dark rum
10 slices challah or sliced brioche, 1/3.-inch thick.

1. In bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, combine eggs and 1 1/8 cups sugar. Mix until smooth. In a small pan, bring cream to a boil. With mixer running at medium-low speed, slowly add hot cream. Add coconut milk and rum, and mix again just until smooth. Allow mixture to rest at room temperature for one hour.
2. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Fill a kettle with water and place over high heat to bring to a boil. In an 8 1/2-by-12-inch baking dish, arrange challah slices so they overlap in two columns. Pour custard evenly over top, and press down lightly with a spatula. Place dish in a large, deep pan, like a roasting pan. Carefully pour in boiling water so that it comes about halfway up the sides of baking dish. Bake until custard is set but not too firm, 30 to 35 minutes.
3. Sprinkle liberally with sugar, and caramelize it with a kitchen torch or by placing it under a broiler for 2 to 3 minutes. Serve, scooping out individual portions.
Yield: 8 servings.

Get-Well Soup and Pasta

Wine: Chateau Maris Minervois La Liviniere 2003

Cathy was feeling like she might be getting a cold and Billy has had a lingering one. Kevin also was feeling funky. Cathy found this recipe and it really turned out well. It is very tasty. Mothers Get-Well Soup from My Bombay Kitchen by Niloufer Ichaporia King.

The New York Times had a recipe for Bucatini all’Amatriciana. It is vey rich and good. You don’t need to eat a lot of it and it would make a great first course.

Earlier in the week we went to Literati II. They have a great Carrot Cake and we ordered a piece to go. Great dessert!

We sent a care package of the Get-Well Soup to Kevin and Billy.



Mother’s Get-Well Soup
======================
from My Bombay Kitchen by Niloufer Ichaporia King

½ pound lamb, beef, Turkey or Chicken (We used beef)
2 tablespoons ginger-garlic paste
1 onion, finely chopped
3 whole cloves
6 black peppercorns
¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
6 cups water
1 teaspoon (or more) salt
¼ cup barley or 1 cup cooked barley
¼ to ½ cup diced carrots
¼ to ½ cup green beans cut into pea sized sections (we left these out)

Cut the meat into small pieces, cut off all visible fat
Combine the meat, paste, onion, barley, cloves, peppercorns, and turmeric in pot with the water and 1 teaspoon salt
Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer until rich and meat is completely tender and falling apart and the barley is completely soft, about 45 minutes.
Taste add more salt if desired.
Add the carrots and beans and cook till tender, about 10 minutes

Ginger-Garlic Paste
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½ cup roughly chopped fresh ginger (about 4 ounces)
½ cup roughly chopped peeled garlic cloves
About ½ teaspoon salt (optional)
Vegetable oil

Blend ginger and garlic in blender or food processor until a smooth paste (add a little water if needed) – that is it!

To store remaining ginger-garlic paste in refrigerator put in non-reactive dish cover with little oil. Cover tightly and refrigerate.






Bucatini all’Amatriciana
========================

Adapted from New York Times by Michael Tucker
Time: 45 minutes
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, sliced thin
3 cloves garlic, sliced
1/4 pound guanciale, in 1-inch slivers 1/4 -inch thick
3 cups canned San Marzano tomatoes (about a 28-ounce can)
1/2 teaspoon red chili flakes, or to taste
Salt1/4 cup grated aged pecorino cheese, more for serving
1 pound bucatini.
1. Heat oil in a 12-inch skillet. Add onion and garlic, and sauté over medium heat until transparent. Add guanciale and sauté until barely beginning to brown.
2. Break up tomatoes and add. Cook about 15 minutes, crushing tomatoes with a spoon, until sauce has become somewhat concentrated and homogenized. Season with chili and salt and stir in 1 tablespoon cheese. Remove from heat.
3. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, add bucatini and cook until al dente, about 9 minutes. Drain and transfer to skillet. Gently reheat contents of skillet, folding pasta and tomato sauce together until they are heated through and pasta is well-coated, about 5 minutes. Fold in remaining cheese. Check seasoning and serve with more cheese on the side.
Yield: 4 to 6 servings.

Where is Billy?

Wine:

Kosta Browne 2005 Kanzler Vinyards Pinot Noir
Kosta Browne 2005 Miron Vinyards Pinot Noir
Domaine La Bastide Roussanne 2006
J&H Chardonnay 2006



It has been cool in Los Angeles so we decided to make French Onion Soup. We always use the Julia Child recipe from her classic: Mastering the Art of French Cooking. The recipe is excellent and is not very hard to make.

We also made the Mock Porchetta recipe from The Zuni Café Cookbook by Judy Rodgers. We purchased the pork shoulder from Whole Food and it marinated for 3 days in a dry rub.

We invited Bea over for dinner. She brought over some extraordinary wines. Just before we served dinner, Kevin dropped by and we invited him to join. It was to be our last dinner with SRK as a special guest because Kevin took him home to heal Billy who was sick.

It was an especially good dinner and we sent a care package home to Billy.

We had purchased a German Chocolate Cake and served it for dessert.

Roger and Andrea

Wine: Domaine J. Laurens Brut Sparkling Wine

Our neighbors Roger and Andrea stopped by and we invited them to join us for dinner. Roger had come over to help me tune our new Home Theater. It really sounds good now.

We made a Provencal “Meat Loaf” with Cabbage Artichokes Chard Spinach, and Ground Pork. It is very good. It is fairly complex to make and you need to start to a day in advance to let the flavors blend. The meatloaf is completely surrounded with Cabbage and the topped with Bread Crumbs. It is excellent! The recipe can be found in Mediterranean Grains and Greens by Paula Wolfert.

We also made Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes from The Zuni Café Cookbook by Judy Rogers.

These potatoes are very rich!

Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes
==========================
1 ½ pounds peeled potatoes peeled and cut into 1 ½ cubes
Boiling Salt water
2 – 3 tablespoons milk, half-and-half or heavy cream heated until hot
2 – 3 tablespoons buttermilk at room temperature
3 tablespoons unsalted butter just melted

Boil the potatoes until fork tender (8-15 minutes)
Drain the potatoes, and mash or rice
Beat in the hot milk, then the buttermilk and butter.
Whip vigorously taste for salt and serve immediately.

New Year's Eve 2007

We had a New Year’s party for our neighbors. It was great because no one had to drive! We planned to have an outdoor bar on our patio. Los Angeles had been cold and we were worried that there would be high winds. We lucked out and the weather was relatively mild. Silverlake Wine provided lots of glasses for us. It was really appreciated. We purchased all of our Champagne from them they have a great selection.

Barbrix will hopefully be opening soon in Silverlake. We had them cater the event and they did a great job! Matt is a wonderful chef and Tara baked great cookies for desert. The food was wonderful. Everything from oysters on the half shell, short ribs, polenta, cheeses from The Cheese Store of Silverlake, tasty meats from F’ra Mani. At midnight we played some Bollywood dance numbers. It was a great way to spend New Years.

If you have a need for some catering we really recommend Barbrix! Conact us and we will put you in touch with them. We can't waite for them to open!