Brisket on the Egg

Wine:

Quivira 2007 Sauvignon Blanc
Beringer Cabernet Sauvignon 2002
Shotfire 2005 Barossa Shiraz
Frog’s Leap 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon
Vin Du Bugey-Cerdon “La Cueille”
Movia Sauvignon 2005


We had Bea, Billy and Kevin over for dinner. We wanted try a Smoked Brisket in our egg. We started cooking it (low and slow 200 degrees) at 10am. I had purchased the brisket, of course, from Harvey Guss. It was a giant slab. 12.8 pounds! When it was finished 10 hours later at 8pm surprisingly it was still a little tough. Oye! Bea reminded me to cut it across the grain and on the smaller end it was fine. We decided that we would then braise the brisket. Two days later we braised it in beef stock with fresh tomatoes and it came out perfect! Moist, tender and retaining the smoky flavor. It was a good recovery! We still have a lot of left over brisket and plan to make a pasta sauce from it,

We started with Hummus and Pita Chips from Joan’s on Third. They are just great.

We then had a wonderful new soup. It is from the Moro East Cookbook. The soup is Tomato and Fig Soup. I would never had thought of putting those two ingrediants together in a summer soup. It was fabulous! It is made with fresh and dried figs and the best summer tomatoes. Delicious!

With the Brisket we served the sinfully good Potato Gratin from the Sunday Supper at Lucques Cookbook. Bacon is my favorite seasoning.

For desert we made a Fig Upside Down Cake. Joy and Brenda gave us the recipe. It is easy to make and perfect! The recipe for the cake was in out July 4th blog.

Did I say lots of wine!




Tomato soup with cumin and figs
===============================
From Moro East by Sam & Sam Clark
This soup is based on a recipe from Fra Juan's restaurant in the monastery of Guadalupe. It is strictly a summer dish, an interesting Spanish twist on a classic tomato soup. While serving this soup at the restaurant, a waiter over¬heard a customer say it was the best tomato soup she had ever had. Of course, it was a moment when the ingredients did shine. It was at the beginning of August, after a heat wave, and British tomatoes tasted as good as they get. The allotment figs were superb, too. It's a thrill to find recipes that have been cooked for hundreds of years, but in the end this means nothing unless the ingredients are at their peak.

Serves 4

6 tablespoons olive oil
1 kg flavorful tomatoes, roughly sliced
1 medium onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
150-300ml water
3 garlic cloves, chopped
a little caster sugar (optional) ^
2 1/2 teaspoons cumin seeds, lightly toasted in a pan, then crushed
5 or 6 ripe, plump fresh figs, finely diced
400g tin of chopped plum tomatoes, drained of juice (we used fresh tomatoes)
a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, to serve
lOOg dried figs, chopped

Heat the olive oil in a saucepan over a medium heat, add the onion and green pepper with a good pinch of salt and cook gently for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened. Add the garlic and continue cooking until sweet and golden brown. Add two-thirds of the cumin and cook for 1 minute more. Now add the tinned tomatoes and dried figs and simmer gently, uncovered, for 50-60 minutes, stirring now and then. When the mixture is rich and concen¬trated, put in the fresh tomatoes and increase the heat slightly, then simmer for 15 minutes more. With a handheld blender, whizz until smooth, then pour in enough of the water to achieve a consistency like double cream. Season well with salt, pepper and sugar if necessary.

Stir half the fresh figs through the soup and use the rest to garnish each portion in the bowl, along with the remaining cumin and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

Pork Loin in the Egg

Wine:

Coenobium Vendemmia 2006
Mea Culpa Ranina 2005
Rose de Loire NV
Edizione Pennion 2004 Rutherford-Napa Valley Zinfandel

We decided to buy a smoker and do some serious smoking. We purchased a large ceramic egg. The walls are an inch thick and it holds the heat (and smoke) and moisture while the meat slowly cooks. It is very different from a traditional Weber made of metal (and mucho heavier).

For our first attempt at using it, we invited Bea over. We knew should would be forgiving of any problems and we would have plenty of wine to drink if things went badly.

Bottom Line as they like to say. It worked perfectly. We cooked: Herb-Crusted Pork Loin Roast from License to Grill by Chris Schlesinger. It was delicious and moist and smoky and tender!

We started with Grilled Bread (on a Panini maker) topped with Burrata and Pesto.
We knew Bea loved Farro (as we do) and we made a delicious Roasted Beet Farritto from The Babbo Cookbook. The beets at the Hollywood Farmer’s Market are very sweet right now.

Once again for dessert we had those great Ginger Cookies from The Cheese Store of Silverlake.



ROASTED BEET FARROTTO
======================
Adapted from "The Babbo Cookbook" by Mario Batali (Clarkson Potter, 2002)
Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
1 bunch beets, about a pound, scrubbed
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 cups farro, rinsed and drained
2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses or saba, unfermented boiled-down grape must (sold in specialty food shops)
1/2 cup brown chicken stock or half chicken, half beef stock
Parmigiano-reggiano, for grating.
1. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Trim tops off beets, drizzle with oil, and season with salt and pepper. Wrap in heavy-duty aluminum foil and roast until tender, about 45 minutes. Cool.
2. Bring 3 quarts of salted water to a boil. Add farro and cook until just tender, about 20 minutes.
3. While farro cooks, peel beets, cut in two and slice in half-moons 1/4-inch thick. Place in a bowl and toss with pomegranate molasses or saba.
4. Drain farro, and place in a skillet with stock. Add sliced beets, and toss over high heat until most of the stock is absorbed and farro is tender, about 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve, topped with grated cheese.
Yield: 4 to 6 first-course servings.





Herb-Crusted Pork Loin Roast
===========================
From License to Grill

1 cup roughly chopped mixed fresh herbs: and combination of parsley, thyme, sage, rosemary, basil, oregano, and / or marjoram

¼ cup minced garlic

1 to 2 tablespoons red pepper flakes, depending on your taste for heat (we used ½ teaspoons)

¼ cup freshly cracked black pepper

¼ cup olive oil
1 – 3 to 4 pound bone-in center-cut pork loin roast, chine bone removed


Build a fire in the grill and arrange to cook via indirect heat.
In a small bowl mix all ingredients and rub the pork loin generously with the herb mixture.

Cook covered trying to keep the heat in the covered grill at about 225 to 280 degrees. Cook 2 ½ hours to 3 hours until the internal temperature of the meat is about 150 degree.

Chicken and Fig

Wine: Little James’ Basket Press Gigondas

It was a warm night and we decided to eat outside on the deck overlooking the city. Figs are in season, so we decided to build a dinner around them. We made a great chicken dish that we really like from The Zuni Café Cookbook. It is easy and very tasty. The dish is called. Chicken Braised with Figs, Honey & Vinegar. The name tells the story. We served it over freshly made cous-cous.

Tomatoes are just coming into season (they are late this year) and we picked up our first box of Cherry Tomatoes. We made a great salad from The Casa Moro Cookbook: Feta Salad with Anise Bread, Tomatoes and Oregano. It is absolutely delicious.

For dessert we had Fresh Cherries from the Hollywood Farmer’s market.


Feta Salad with Anise Bread, Tomatoes and Oregano
====================================
Casa Moro, The Second Cookbook

6 slices of Anise Bread, Crackers or Toasted Feta
Cherry Tomatoes cut into halves or quarters
½ medium red onion, finely chopped
Feta Cheese
2 tablespoons fresh or dried oregano leaves
2 handfuls oily black olives

Dressing
1 Garlic clove, crushed to a paste with salt
1 ½ tablespoons good-quality red wine vinegar
1 medium to large tomato, sliced and pureed to juice in a food processor
6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt and black pepper

For the dressing, whisk the garlic, vinegar, tomato juice and olive oil together then season with salt and pepper.

Combine all ingredients and add dressing and toss. Don’t over dress the salad.


Chicken Braised with Figs, Honey & Vinegar.
==============================

for 4 servings:

4 chicken legs (8 to 9 ounces each}
Salt
About 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
A sprig of fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
About 1 tablespoon honey
8 to 10 ripe fresh figs - Kadota, Smyrna, Excel, Adriatic, or Black Mission
About 1/2 cup Chicken stock
A few black peppercorns, barely cracked in a mortar
About 1/2 cup dry white wine
About 2 tablespoons mild-tasting olive oil
About 2 tablespoons dry white vermouth
1 medium yellow onion (about 8 ounces), root end trimmed flat, peeled, and cut into 8 wedges

Seasoning the chicken (for the best flavor and succulence, do this step 12 to 24 hours in advance).

Trim the excess fat, then season the chicken evenly all over with salt (we use a scant 3/4 teaspoon sea salt per pound of chicken). Cover loosely and refrigerate.

Cooking the chicken:

Preheat the oven to 375°.

Pat the chicken legs dry; this will make them less likely to stick. Heat a scant
2 tablespoons olive oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-low heat, then add the
chicken legs, skin side down. The oil should sizzle, not pop explosively, when
you add chicken. Adjusting the heat as necessary, cook until the skin is evenly
golden, about 8 minutes. Turn the legs over and color only slightly on the other
side, about 4 minutes. Pour off the fat.

If your skillet is ovenproof, arrange the onion wedges in the spaces between the chicken legs; otherwise, transfer the chicken to a shallow flameproof braising dish that will easily hold the chicken and onions in a single layer, and add the onions. Add the wine, the vermouth, and enough stock to come to a depth of about 1/2 inch. Bring to a simmer and add-the bay-leaf, thyme, and cracked black peppercorns.

Place, uncovered, in the oven, and cook until the meat is tender but not quite falling off the bone, about 40 minutes. The exposed skin will have turned golden and crispy; the liquid ought to have reduced by about half. Remove from the oven and set on a slight tilt so the fat will collect at one side of the pan.
Combine the vinegar and honey and warm slightly. Taste. The vinegar should dominate, but without making you squint. Trim the stems and cut the figs in half.

Skim as much fat as possible from the braising liquid, then set the pan over
medium heat. Bring to a boil and swirl as you reduce the liquid to a syrupy con¬sistency. Distribute the figs evenly around the pan, add about 2 tablespoons of the vinegar-honey syrup, and swirl the pan to diffuse the bubbling, amber syrup without smashing the tender fruit. The sauce will be glossy. Taste - it should be rich and vibrantly sour-sweet. Add more, or all of the syrup, to taste. The vinegar adds a bright but unstable note of acidity, which will fade with boiling, so sim¬mer for only a minute or less.

Serve each chicken leg with 2 wedges of sweet, soft onion and 4 or 5 fig halves, bathed in a few spoonfuls of the sauce.

Best Damn Ribs Ever

Wine:

GC Pinot Noir 2006
Prosecco Sparkling Wine Brut Zonin
Vin Du Bugey-Cerdon “La Cueille ” (2 bottles)
Amador Foothill Zinfandel 2006

It was a warm night and we ate on the deck. Billy and Kevin joined us for dinner. We sure drank a lot of good wine!

We started with Hummus and Pita Chips from Joan’s on 3rd. They have the BEST toasted pita chips! We also purchased their Green Bean / Potato Salad, The Los Angeles Times had recently reviewed it and given it high marks, we wouldn’t grade it that high.

Besides wine, Kevin and Billy brought a great home made Asian Cole Slaw.

The high point of the dinner was the Barbequed Ribs. We purchased baby back ribs from Harvey Guss and decided to SLOW smoke them. We followed a recipe that Cathy found in License to Grill by: Chris Schlesinger and John Willoughby. The recipe is called: Chinese-Style Baby Back Ribs with Ginger-Scallion Sauce.

This is an AMAZING recipe! We cooked the ribs covered in our Weber Grill to smoke them. We first marinated the ribs and then cooked them wrapped in aluminum foil. At the end we removed the foil and moved all the coals to one side of the grill and placed the ribs on the other side of the grill to cook them via indirect heat. The name of the game is to keep an even temperature of about 220 degrees for about 2 ½ hours. You really have to play with the vents and adding fuel to the fire to make it happen. Billy at the end showed us how minute changes in air openings vastly affect the temperature. I don’t think we ever had better ribs, anywhere!

We made a great salad that we ate with the leftovers, Cherry Tomatoes, sliced Persian Cucumbers, Green Onions, Basil, some of the Toasted Pita and home made blue cheese dressing. It was really tasty.


For dessert we had a Peach / Blueberry Pie from Joan’s on 3rd. It was good!

Chinese-Style Baby Back Ribs with Ginger-Scallion Sauce
=======================================

½ cup soy sauce
½ cup white vinegar
¼ cup lightly packed brown sugar
3 tablespoons freshly cracked white (or black) pepper
2 tablespoons five-spice mix (found in Asian section of grocery)

6-7 pounds pork spareribs

For the Sauce

½ cup white vinegar
1 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons minced ginger
1/3 cup lightly packed brown sugar
½ cup minced scallions (white and green parts)

1. Build a small fire in ½ of covered grill besides coal we soaked some pieces of Apple and Maple wood, drained and added to the fire to produce a better taste; let the fire burn down somewhat.

2. In a small bowl, combine the soy sauce, vinegar, brown sugar, pepper, and five-spice mix and mix well. Generously coat the ribs with this mixture and place them on the grill but NOT over the coals. The other option is to do what we did, and spread the ribs on the grill and then loosely cover the ribs with aluminum foil. Put the cover on the grill and try to maintain a temperature of 220 degrees. After about 45 minutes flip the ribs and continue cooking. Ribs are done when you cut one open and there is NO pink meat in the center. Usually this will be about 2 ½ hours.


3. While you are cooking the ribs, make the sauce: in a small saucepan, combine all of the ingredients except the scallions and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the fire, and simmer for 30 to 45 minutes until sauce has been reduced by half. It should coat the bottom of a spoon when dipped in the sauce. Remove the sauce from the heat allow to cool and stir in the scallions.

4. When the ribs are done, paint the ribs and return to the grill for a final browning of the sauce on the ribs.

Gad Zooks

Wine: Beaune 1er Cru Grand Vin de Bourgogne 2005

We started with a Salad made from Fresh Figs from the Farmer’s Market and Prosciutto from The Cheese Store of Silverlake.

We made a great vegetarian pasta. It is very easy and good. It is from a cookbook by Mark Bittman, The Minimalist Cooks at Home. He names the recipe: Spaghetti with Zucchini (Carbonara without the Bacon). We went to the Hollywood Farmer’s Market and bought some great fresh zucchini. The Parmesan cheese was from The Cheese Store of Silverlake.

We ended the dinner with Fresh Cherries and those wonderful Ginger Cookies from The Cheese Store of Silverlake.


Here is the recipe for the pasta.

Spaghetti with Zucchini (Carbonara without the Bacon)
=====================================================

Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 or 4 or more small zucchini washed, trimmed, and cut into slices 1/8 to ¼ inch thick
2 eggs
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 pound spaghetti or linguine
½ cup roughly chopped mint, parsley or basil (we use fresh basil)


Salt water and bring to boil
Place olive oil in 10 to 12 inch skillet over medium high heat.
Add zucchini, cook stirring occasionally, until very tender and lightly browned, 10 to 15 minutes. Season with a little salt and a lot of pepper.
Meanwhile, beat the eggs and ½ cup of the Parmesan together.
Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook until tender but firm. When it is done, drain it and combine it immediately with the egg-cheese mixture, tossing until the egg appears cooked. Taste add more salt or pepper if necessary.
Toss in the herb and serve immediately, passing the remaining Parmesan at the table.

A Cheese Store Dinner

Wine: Les Aphillanthes Cote-du-Rhone

Bea came over and we had some great wine along with an excellent dinner.

For the first course we had a Salad made from: Walnuts, Radicchio, Spanish Cheese Queso de Garioneado Cow / Goat Cheese from The Cheese Store of Silverlake and Saba. The recipe is from Sunday Suppers at Lucques.

When I stopped by The Cheese Store of Silverlake, Chris informed us that he was carrying a new Bacon, David’s Bacon. It is an artisanal Bacon that comes a slab, and he slices it to order. We decided to create a dinner around it. The oblivious choice was: Pasta Carbonara. We decided on the recipe from The Zuni Café Cookbook by Judy Rodgers. It is different from traditional ones in that it has both fresh peas and fresh ricotta cheese. We chose this recipe because peas are delicious right now at the Farmer’s Market. It is very rich and good.

For dessert we had the fabulous Ginger Cookies from The Cheese Store and Fresh Cherries from the farmer’s maket.

A great summer dinner.


PASTA alia CARBONARA
====================

THIS ROGUE VERSION OF CARBONARA IS BASED ON ONE I HAD IN ROME. It IS not
very saucy, and the ricotta makes it pleasantly curdy. The bacon should be crispy-tender and aromatic; don't be tempted to cook it in advance-you will sacri¬fice much of its aroma to convenience, and it will tend to harden. And don't sub¬stitute Parmigiano-Reggiano for the aged pecorino.
Serve with a chewy, dried semolina pasta shape that does not grab too much sauce: spaghetti, spaghettini, penne, or bucatini.

Wine: Bodega Norton, Mendoza, Argentina, Malbec Reserve, 1999
FOR 4 TO 5 SERVINGS:

5 ounces bacon {4 or 5 thick slices}, cut into 1/4- to i/2-inch segments
5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 large or 5 small eggs, at room temperature
About 2 ounces pecorino romano or 1/2 cup fresh ricotta cheese, at pecorino sardo, grated {1 cup lightly packed)
1 pound spaghetti, penne, or bucatini
Freshly cracked black pepper
Salt
About 3/4 cup shucked sweet English peas or mature sugar snap peas or double-peeled favas



Warm the bacon in the olive oil in a 12-inch skillet or 3-quart saute pan {see Note below) over low heat. It should gradually render a little fat, which will mix with the oil.
Meanwhile, lightly beat the eggs with the ricotta.

Cook the Pasta until al dente.
When the pasta is about 1 minute from al dente, add the peas or favas to the water, and raise the heat under the bacon. Cook bacon till just crispy on the edges and soft in the middle. Let cool briefly.
Drain the pasta, and add to the pan with the bacon.
Immediately pour in the beaten eggs, all over the steaming pasta. Add most of the pecorino and lots of cracked black better and the ricotta and fold to combine.
Serve with additional pecorino and pepper.

Cherries and Mushrooms

Wine:

Chehalem 2001 Pinot Noir
Movia Sauvignon 2005

Cherries have finally appeared at the Hollywood Farmer’s Market. At first they weren’t to sweet but now they are excellent. Cathy found a very unusual salad in
The Zuni Café Cookbook by Judy Rodgers: Mixed Lettuces with Roasted Cherries, Hazelnuts, and warm Saint-Marcellin Cheese. The recipe title says it all. The salad has the warm cherries and cheese and is a real treat. We will definitely make it again.


When we arrived at the Market, David, the Mushroom seller, had a large selection of Porcini Mushrooms. We decided to make a Pasta with the Porcinis.
The recipe itself is easy, it is just the mushrooms that are expensive and hard to find. David thinks they will only be around for 2 weeks or so, so I am glad we got them! We used the Porcini Mushroom Pasta recipe from: The Splendid Table by Lynne Rossetto Kasper.

For dessert we had Coffee Ice Cream (that Billy and Kevin left) with Ginger Chocolate Cookies from The Cheese Store of Silverlake. We topped it with a great Black Cherry Sauce with Cognac from Stownwallkitchens. Someone had given us the sauce (unfortunately we don’t remember who) and we had it in our refrigerator for a few months. When we finally tried it, it was fantastic! Now we have to find out where we can buy it! At least they have a web site. We really recommend it!


Mixed Lettuces with Roasted Cherries, Hazelnuts, and warm Saint-Marcellin Cheese
===========================================================================

About 24 hazelnuts (3/4 ounce, or scant 1/4 cup)
16 or more ripe cherries (or more)
About 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
A few splashes or kirsch or grappa
About 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
Salt
2 wheels Saint-Marcellin Cheese (about 3 ounces each) at room temperature
Young lettuce

Preheat oven to 325 degree

Roast the hazelnuts on a small baking sheet until the skin darkens and starts to split, about 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from oven increase the temperature to 400 degrees.

What the nuts are still hot, rub skin off and and coarsely chop.

Rub the cherries with few drops of olive oil, and season with a few drops of the kirsch or grappa and a pinch of salt.

Combine the oil, vinegar, and salt to taste. Add another few drops of kirsch or grappa and adjust for taste.

Place the cherries on parchment paper, with the cherries on a baking sheet. Roast until the fruit is near to burst and the cheese is beginning to slouch, about 6 minutes.

Dress the lettuces and hazelnuts with the vinaigrette and arrange on the plate. Top with the hot Cheese and Cherries. Watch out for the cherries pits! Enjoy!

Memorial Day 2008

Wine

Heidsieck & Co. Monopole Blue Top Champagne Brut
Dao Cabriz Portugal White Wine 2007
Whispering Dove 2002 Oakville Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon (2 bottles)
Joseph Phelps Cabernet Sauvignon 2004
Domaine La Bastide Syrah 2005



We started with a great new (to us) Champagne that Bea brought. It was delicious. At The Cheese Store of Silverlake we picked up a Roasted Cashew Pesto that we served as an appetizer. We also had some delicious Almonds.

For a first course we made Asparagus Pasta. We love this pasta in the spring when Asparagus is young. Asparagus, Brown Butter, Parmesan Cheese – what could be simpler?

We decided to grill steaks for Memorial Day. Once again we purchased Dry-Aged Porterhouse Steaks from Harvey Guss. After much discussion of how best to grill them, I proceeded to use the Webber Grill. I started the fire with Mesquite Wood and then added mesquite charcoal and spread them evenly across the bottom of the grill. I singed the steaks on one side and then cooked them with the Webber cover on to smoke them. I then flipped them and returned the cover. The steaks when served, were cooked rare and were not only delicious but extremely tender. Sometimes the grilling Gods are with you! They were this time! Bea had brought two bottles of Whispering Dove that we drank with the steak.

We made a Fava Bean Hash. Corina who has a wonderful neighborhood restaurant, Canele, had shared the recipe with us. It is a delicious recipe.

For dessert we had Lemon Bars from L.A. Bread. We know it is one of Kevin’s favorite.

We drank a lot of great wine with this dinner. Thanks to all!

Fava Bean Hash
=============
From Corina at Canele

Portions according to taste

Potatoes Quarter then Slice
Green Garlic – Confit it
Cipollini onions
Salt
Sauté all in ¼ olive oil

Add to Pan
========

Double shucked Fava beans
Chopped mint leaves
Cracked Picholine olives
Warm through and serve

The Termite Dinner

"Click" the arrow above to hear Shelley talk about cookies!

Wine:

Tobin James Liquid Love 2004 Late Harvest Zinfandel
Bourgogne Chardonnay 2005
Leal Merlot 2004 San Benito
Kosta Browne 2007 Pinot Noir
Domaine Laurens Brut
Guerila 2006 Pinela


Our neighbors Shelley and Dave love good food. They also have made their house be a great dinner for lots of termites. Talk about being eaten out of house and home! At any rate, they had to get their house tented and fumigated to kill the little buggers and we invited them to stay with us.

Shelley said she would like to cook us a dinner. She is great cook and we immediately took her up on it. I think it is the first time that anyone has come into our house and cooked a dinner for us. Cathy and I were sous-cheifs.

Billy and Kevin joined us for dinner. Billy, also a great cook promising to cook us Dungeness Crab, on his outdoor wok in the future. Just a subtle reminder.

Shelley started with a Cold and Creamy Avocado Soup with Crayfish. There was lots of dry Sherry in it! In fact there was lots of wine with this meal!

We then had Roasted Herb-crusted Salmon. There was a lot and we only left a tad. It was delicious. With the Salmon she served: Roasted Potato Wedges with Olive Oil, Rosemary and Bacon (my favorite seasoning) and Roasted Medley of Vegetables: Asparagus, Broccollini and Baby Carrots. There was an Orange-Dill Mayonnaise and a Parsley-Scallion Herbed Butter as toppings.

The next course was a Cheese Course of 4 cheeses: a 5 year aged Gouda, Morbier, Creamy Goat Cheese and a Potted and Pungent Triple Cream.

We then had Chocolate Chip Cookies that Shelley had made.

Finally we had a Dessert Wine.

It was an amazing night and luckily I didn’t have a hangover the next day!

Indian Food via Courtney

Wine: Orcella Orsus 2001 Garnacha

Courtney had brought us several Indian Sauces by Maya Kaimal. We decided to try two of them. They are great and make it possible to just open a jar add some ingredients and cook a fast easy meal. It reminds us of Nancy Silverton’s book: Twist of the Wrist. Easy / fast dinners with fresh ingredients and canned sauces.

We had purchased a large cauliflower at the Hollywood Farmer’s Market so that we could make Cauliflower Tandoori. The recipe that we used was very easy. Cut the Cauliflower up into little florets and stir in 1/4 cup Maya Kaimal Tandoori Paste and 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil, salt and pepper. Place in a 500 degree oven for 10 to 25 minutes until tender. That’s it!

We used the Maya Kaimal Tikka Masala Sauce to make Chicken Tikki Masala. Cut up boneless / skinless chicken in 1 inch cubes. Saute in 1 tablespoon oil until lightly browned, add the full bottle of Tikka Masala and simmer for 30 minutes.

We made Saffron Rice to go with the two dishes.

At the Hollywood Farmer’s Market we tasted lots of different cherries. We finally found a seller that had cherries that we really liked. We decided to make Sautéed Cherries. I pitted them and then Cathy made a sauce from: Butter, Brown Sugar and Cognac. We added the cherries. Not the healthiest way to eat fruit, but boy was it good!

Thanks Courtney, the sauces were great!

Asparagus and Mango - Tastes of Spring

Wine: Cuilleron Vignier 2005

We made a very simple appetizer of Fresh Indian Alphonso Mango and Prosciutto. Our local Indian Market had received a shipment of Mangoes from India and they quickly ran out. Luckily I was able to buy some before they were all gone. We had purchased a hunk of Prosciutto from The Cheese Store of Silverlake and I hand sliced some to go with the Mango - it was a great first course.


At the Hollywood Farmer’s Market I tried to buy some morel mushrooms. They were very hard to find this year and they only sold us a small bag. Cathy made a great butter and shallot sauce with the morels and we served them over asparagus. David at the market said that the area where they pick them is still covered with snow. Makes you wish for global warming so the snow would melt and we could get our mushrooms. Just kidding!

We made one of the great easy favorites: Asparagus Pasta. This is as simple as it gets and is delicious. I sure sign of spring. It reheats easily for quick leftovers! I really suggest you try this one.

For dessert we had Ginger Cookies from The Cheese Store of Silverlake. They are the best!

Asparagus Pasta
===============

1. Break Asparagus stalks where they naturally break towards the stem end
2. Wash and shave the stalks lightly if you wish
3. Cook the Asparagus for about 3 minutes in boiling water till just tender
4. Meanwhile brown butter in a small pan till bubbling and brown
5. Cook Pasta, we use a cork-screw pasta
6. Rinse Asparagus in cool water to stop cooking, cut in 1 1/2 inch pieces
7. Combine Asparagus, Brown Butter and Pasta in dish mix well
8. Top with grated Parmesan Cheese

Fava Bean Pasta

Wine:
Stefano Farina Barolo 2001
Saracina Mendocino Blanc Sauvignon Blanc 2003

Bea came over for dinner. At Lucques Restaurant we had a great salad and decided to make one like it for a starter. The Salad was made from Belgium Endive, We couldn’t decide on the correct Feta Cheese to use, so we used two different Feta cheeses (goat and sheep - both French) we added Pitted Black Olives and Pixie Orange slices. We made a lemon and olive oil dressing. It was great!

The main course was Fava Bean Pasta. This particular version was exceptionally good. Cathy sautéed the onions for an extra long time and they were extra sweet. Fava beans are best in spring when they are young. You have to buy a lot (4 to 5 pounds) then remove the beans from their pod. This can take an hour to do and is best done on the patio while drinking wine. The beans are then par boiled for a minute or so and given a second peeling to remove the skin. This is really an easy and extremely delicious pasta.

For dessert we had German Chocolate Cake.


Bacon and Fava Bean Pasta
========================

1 lb. Linguini
1 ½ Onions
2 Garlic Cloves
2 Pounds fresh Fava Beans (start with about 5 pounds pods)
½ Cup White Wine
½ Pound Bacon
3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1 Cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
Hand full of fresh chopped sage

1. Prepare the fava beans by removing all beans from the pod. Then blanch beans for 1 minute. Then peel the skin from the blanched beans. Discard the skin.
2. Chop bacon and sauté but not too crisp
3. Remove bacon from pan, pour off bacon fat
4. Add olive oil and sauté onion and garlic till soft and translucent
5. Add wine, boil till almost all evaporates leaving ¼ cup of liquid left in pan
6. Using wooden spoon scrape and deglaze the pan retaining the brown bits from the bottom of the pan in the liquid
7. Add chopped sage, peeled beans, and bacon and sauté until hot
8. Toss with cooked pasta and add grated parmesan cheese

Serve and enjoy