Fantastic Birthday Leftovers!

We ate the leftovers from our birthday dinners all week long! We made a stock with all of the leftover lobster shells. The broth tasted like the sea (if there were lots of lobsters in it). We then made Risotto using the lobster broth and placed leftover lobster meat on top. Later in the week, we created Fried Risotto Cakes. We fried the risotto in butter untill they cakes were crispy and then put lobster on top. Both presentations were great. The first time I ever had risotto cakes was at Campanile. They usually are on the menu there.

We stretched the risotto into one more fantastic meal. We were at the Hollywood Farmer’s Market and they had the very first Chanterelle Mushrooms of the season. Unlike most foods, chanterelles are best early in the season. So these first picked chanterelles are the best of the year. We sautéed them and spooned over the reheated risotto.

Palate had given us some Suckling Pig from the birthday dinner to take home. Cathy found a recipe for a Gratin of Flageolet Beans in Chez Panisse Cooking cookbook. We went to The Santa Monica Farmers Market and ran into Jason from Palate who told us where we could find fresh Flageolet Beans. They were beautiful. We then made the Gratin with the beans using the leftover pig. It was outrageously good! I actually took some to Jason at Palate. Guess you would call it: Take In.

Andrea stopped by and joined us for dinner on the patio. It was a warm night and we ate out on the deck.

We started with a delicious Tomato Salad with Burrata.


Gratin of Flageolet Beans
From Chez Panisse Cooking – Paul Bertolli and Alice Waters

For 4

1 1/4 cups flageolet beans, washed, soaked in cold water overnight
2 tablespoons pure olive oil
1 small carrot (2 ounces), finely diced
1/2 large stalk of celery (2 ounces), finely diced
1 small yellow onion (5 ounces), finely diced
6 cloves garlic, peeled
2 leafy sprigs thyme
4 tomatoes (14 ounces), peeled, seeded, diced
Piece of prosciutto hock with rind attached (j ounces)
5 cups beef broth or water
1 teaspoon salt
4 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 1/2 A cups bread crumbs
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons grated fresh Parmesan

Warm the olive oil in a 6-quart noncorroding pot. Add the carrot, celery, onion, and garlic and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes, until the vegetables soften slightly and release their perfume. Add the thyme, tomatoes, prosciutto hock, and beans. Cover with the broth and stir in the salt. Bring the beans to a simmer, cover, and cook for 1 1/2 hours. Remove the cover after i hour, raise the heat slightly so that the liquid bubbles all over its surface, and allow the liquid to reduce during the last 30 minutes so that it is at the same level as the beans. When stirred, the beans should appear saucy.

Preheat the oven to 35o°F.

Remove the prosciutto hock and the thyme sprigs. Cut the meat and rind from the prosciutto, chop it into coarse bits, and add it to the beans. Stir in 2 1/2 tablespoons of the parsley.

Pour the beans into a baking dish (10 by 8 by 2 inches). Mix the crumbs with the remaining 2 tablespoons parsley, extra virgin oil, and Parmesan and spread them over the beans in an even layer. Bake the beans in the oven for 40 minutes, or until the edges bubble and the crumbs are evenly browned.

Cliff Turns 65!

We had a fabulous birthday party at Palate Food + Wine in Glendale. It was really fun for Cathy and me and the guests. Special kudos go to Joy and Brenda who drove down from Napa. They joined us for 4 days of dining!

Billy and Kevin invited us over for Dungenesse Crabs cooked on his outdoor wok. I went downtown to Chinatown and personally picked out the live crabs. They were some of the best I have ever had! Lots of great wine from Kevin's seemingly unlimited supply.

The next night we went to Barbrix our favorite local restaurant in Silverlake. We ate outdoors (always a treat in LA) and had a wonderful dinner. Yea Don!

Monday night we went to Osteria Mozza. I had asked them grill some Lobsters as an appetizer. They went overboard and planned a whole dinner for us. Chris served us a Burrata sampler plate, then the Lobster with a Fantastic Salad. They then served Lobster Pasta two ways, one with tomatoes one without. An assortment of delicious desserts capped off the evening. It was mind-blowing!

I have NEVER had lobster that came out of the shell so easy. Grilled Lobster is definitely my favorite way to have it prepared. Cathy had the fantastic idea to bring home all of the leftover lobster shells and lobster meat, so that we could make a lobster stock and lobster risotto. I will never leave lobster shells again at a restaurant. It was an inspired idea!

For the party on the day of my birthday, we invited our Silverlake neighbors and some close friends and family. Palate outdid them selves. Of course we planned a meal around Suckling Pig! The food was exceptional everyone commented on how great it was. A Tomato Salad with Watermelon in it was a great hit. You thought you were biting into a red tomato and you got a piece of sweet watermelon. It was a very cleaver idea. Then then served Scallops with Truffles. What more can I say? The Suckling Pig was the best ever, it had been confied in duck fat, making the skin really crispy. It was served with an incredible Potato and Corn Succotash. For dessert: a Rosemary Bread-pudding to die for. In addition the setting in the library at Palate and drinks outdoors on the patio only added to the joy. I have attached a link to some pictures from the party. It was truly memorable.
Thanks to Octavio / Jason and Steve (for the great wines). It was a memorable night!
See pictures of the party here.

Gaspacho, Steak, Corn and Potatoes!

Wine:

Muralhas de Moncao Vinho Verde Branco 2008
Chateau St Jean 2000 Cabernet Sauvignon
Macvin du Jura Domaine Rabet Dessert Wine

Bea joined us for dinner. The weather has been drive with your top down, enjoy wine on patio overlooking the city weather. We started the evening outside. We decided to grill some steaks. This could only mean DRY AGED Porterhouse from Harvey Guss Meats!

Summer also means tomatoes every way you can make them. The recipe for Yellow Tomato Gazpacho from The Sunday Supper at Lucques Cook Book is my very favorite. We have made it many times.

Summer grilling steaks demand Corn on the Cob – Grilled.

With the corn and steak we made a favorite: Potatoes with Onion and Balsamic recipe that Cathy invented.

We finished with Chocolate Cupcakes.

Cathy Potatoes
============
3 pounds potatoes ¾ inch cube skin on
2 medium red onions or 12 cippolini onions chopped
Salt and pepper
6 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
4 - 6 Tbl melted butter

Mix all ingredients well back uncovered at 350 till crispy!

Yellow Tomato Gazpacho
====================
From Sunday Suppers at Lucques

2 1/2 pounds ripe yellow tomatoes
3 Persian cucumbers, or 1 hot-house cucumber
1/2 jalapeno, seeded and cut in half
4 sprigs cilantro, plus 12 cilantroleaves
2 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons diced red or orange sweet pepper
3 tablespoons diced red onion
18 small cherry tomatoes, cut in half
Super-good extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

This recipe was developed by Julie Robles, longtime Lucques cook, then sous-chef, then chef de cuisine. It's one of those magical recipes in which you combine a few simple ingredients and end up with an unexpectedly dramatic result. It's a foolproof recipe, but, tasting it, you'd never know how easy it is to make. As long as you have a blender (it doesn't work as well in a food processor) and really great tomatoes, this refresh ing gazpacho is a guaranteed crowd-pleaser.

Blanch the yellow tomatoes in boiling water for 30 seconds. Cool the toma¬toes in a bowl of ice water a few minutes, and then use your fingers to slip off their skins. Remove the cores, and chop the tomatoes coarsely, saving all the juice. Reserve the ice water.

Seed and dice three tablespoons' worth of unpeeled cucumber, as prettily as you can manage, for the garnish. Set aside. Peel and coarsely chop the remaining cucumbers.

You will need to make the soup in batches. Place half the yellow tomatoes, coarsely chopped cucumber, jalapeno, cilantro sprigs, garlic, vinegar, and olive oil in a blender with i% teaspoons salt and some pepper. Process at the lowest speed until broken down. Turn the speed up to high, and puree until the soup is com¬pletely smooth. If the soup is too thick, add a little of the reserved ice water. Strain the soup and taste for seasoning. Repeat with the rest of the soup ingredients. Chill the soup in the refrigerator; it should be served very cold.

Toss the diced pepper, diced onion, and diced cucumber together in a small
bowl.

Pour the gazpacho into six chilled soup bowls, and scatter the pepper mix¬ture over the soup. Season the cherry tomatoes with salt and pepper and place three cherry tomato halves and two cilantro leaves at the center of each bowl. Fin¬ish each soup with a drizzle of super-good olive oil. To serve family-style, place the soup in a chilled tureen or pretty pitcher and garnish with the tomato halves and cilantro; pass the diced vegetables on the side.

Black Truffles from Italy!

Palate Food + Wine was selling beautiful Black Truffles from Italy. We purchased a truffle that was 1 ½ oz. You can see from the quarter next to it that is fairly large.

We decided to make a Truffle Risotto. We went to The Cheese Store of Silverlake and picked up some Parmigiano Romano to blend into the risotto. We also got Vermont Cultured Butter. It is an excellent butter for cooking!

We made a standard risotto recipe and then used our truffle cutter to slice extremely thin slices on top of the risotto. It was delicious!

We started with a Caesar Salad, using The Zuni Café recipe from The Zuni Cafe Cookbook. It was especially good this time. I think it was due to the fact that I used a little more garlic than usual. One of the joys of the salad is that you don’t break up the romaine lettuce and you eat it with your hands! The recipe is long, the time to make it is easy. We cheated and used store bought crutons!

It was a nice night and we ate outside once again on our deck. We plan to make fried risotto cakes with the leftover risotto. They are a staple at Campanile often on the menu. I always like them.

zuni caesar salad

Nothing strikes such a resonant note among Zuni Kitchen Alumni and current staff so much as memories of working the salad station, often referred to as "Caesar's Palace." The Caesar outsells every other salad, indeed every other dish, every day by a factor of three, and after three or four hours, the ritual of cracking, whisking, tasting, tweaking, tasting again, and so on takes its toll on the sturdiest palate.

There is nothing clever, original, or mysterious about this Caesar salad. The main "trick" we rely on is top-notch ingredients, freshly prepared. If you use a lesser cheese, or grate it too soon, you will get a different salad. If you squeeze the lemon juice ahead of time, it will have little or no fragrance. If the eggs are not particularly fresh, or you beat them into the dressing too far in advance, the dressing will not have body. Old or harsh-tasting garlic will dominate every other component and spoil the dressing. Likewise, fresh croutons are exciting; stale ones are dull. And look for salt-packed anchovies; more delicate and nutty than oil-packed fillets, they give the Zuni dressing its distinctive flavor. (But if you can't find salt-packed fish, and must use oil-packed ones, make sure you rinse them in warm water and press between clean towels to extract as much of that oil as possible. Even fillets packed in "good" olive oil can have a vaguely rancid taste or smell straight from the can or jar.) Finally, make the effort to use very fresh romaine; after a few days in the refrigerator, or on the shelves in the produce department, its sweetness fades and it can become muddy, metallic, or bitter.

As you assemble your impeccable ingredients, bear in mind that most vary from day to day and place to place. Red wine vinegar varies in flavor and acidity, as do olive oils. Lemons vary widely in size, juiciness, fragrance, and acidity. Romaine varies in sweetness, "amount of heart," and the texture of the leaf- smooth or crinkly. [The latter needs a lot more dressing per leaf.} And garlic varies in pungency. All this notwithstanding, the proportions below are good guidelines, if making tens of thousands of salads means anything. Start with them, then smell and taste each component each time you make the salad, adjust¬ing for your palate, and remember what you like and how you got there. If you know you love garlic, or anchovy, prepare extra, to make the adjusting easy,

I will be forever thankful to Paula Blotsky, who distilled our daily tweakings into these basic guidelines. Her name is on the greasy, dog-eared recipe card I wrote out fifteen years ago and still refer to.

FOR 4 TO 6 SERVINGS:

For the croutons:

A 4- to 5-ounce chunk or slice ofday-old levain or sourdough bread or
other chewy, peasant-style bread

To finish the salad:

1 to 3 heads romaine lettuce (to yield about 1-1/2 pounds usable leaves)
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
2/3 cup mild-tasting olive oil
About 1-1/2 tablespoons chopped salt-packed anchovy fillets (6 to 9 Fillets)
About 2 teaspoons chopped garlic

2 to 3 tablespoons mild-tasting olive oil

Salt
2 large cold eggs
About 3 ounces Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated (1-1/2 cups very lightlypacked)
Freshly cracked black pepper
About 1-1/2 lemons (to yield about 3 tablespoons juice)

Preheat the oven to 350°.

Cut the bread into 1/2- to 3/4-inch cubes, toss with oil to coat evenly, salt lightly, toss again, and spread on a sheet pan. Roast, rotating the pan as needed, until golden all over, about 8 to 12 minuses. Taste a crouton; it should be well sea¬soned and slightly tender in the center. Leave to cool on the sheet pan.

Discard the leathery outer leaves of the romaine, then cut off the base of each head and wash and dry the leaves. Go through the leaves, trimming them of dis- ' colored, leathery, bruised, or wilted parts, but leave them whole. You need about 1-1/2 pounds of prepared leaves. Layer the leaves with towels if necessary to wick off every drop of water-wet lettuce will make an insipid salad. Refrigerate until ,5 just before dressing the salad.

Whisk together the vinegar, oil, anchovies, and garlic in a small mixing bowl. Add the eggs, a few sprinkles of the cheese, and lots of black pepper. Whisk to emulsify. Add the lemon juice, squeezing it through a strainer to catch the seeds. Whisk again, just to emulsify. Taste the dressing, first by itself and then on a leaf of lettuce, and adjust any of the seasonings to taste. If the romaine is very sweet, the dressing may already taste balanced and excellent ~ if it is mineraly, extra lemon or garlic may improve the flavor. If you like more anchovy, add it. (You should have about 1-1/2 cups of dressing.)

Place the romaine in a wide salad bowl. Add most of the dressing and fold and toss very thoroughly, taking care to separate the leaves and coat each surface with dressing, adding more as needed. Dust with most of the remaining cheese, add the croutons, and toss again. Taste and adjust as before. In general, the tastier the romaine, the less you will need to emphasize other flavors.

Pick out first the large, then the medium-sized, and then the smallest leaves and arrange on cold plates. Add a last drizzle of dressing to the bowl to moisten the croutons if they are at all dry and stir them around in the bowl to capture dressing on each of their faces and in their hollows. Distribute the croutons among the salads and finish each serving with a final dusting of cheese and more pepper.

Delicious Pasta!

Now that tomatoes are at their peak we have been trying to include them in lots of our dinners. Stone fruit is also delicious right now. The Hollywood Farmers Market is a treat right now!

We started with a Nectarine Salad, Lettuce, Almonds, Saba and Prosciutto from The Cheese Store of Silverlake. We really like salads with stone fruit! Saba makes a great dressing for a salad.

For the pasta we made one of our very favorite tomato based pastas. Penne with Tomato and Balsamic Vinegar from: Rogers and Gray: Italian Country Cookbook.
We purchased a very unusual pasta from The Cheese Store of Silverlake: Cannolicchi. We never have eaten a pasta like this. It unravels when cooked into string like pasta. You can find the recipe in our blog of: Oct 26, 2008. Simply click the date to get the recipe.

For dessert we had fresh Grapes. They have finally arrived in the market and are very good.

Grilled Lobster

Surprisingly to us, we had never made lobster. I purchased 4 lobster tails and we decided to Grill the Lobsters. Apparently lobster tails arrive frozen. We kept them on ice until we were ready to cook.

This is a simple task! Heat the grill. Place lobster on grill shell side down. Grill for 5 minutes or so. Apply melted butter to lobster and flip. Grill to lobster is shell is red.

We started with a salad from Mozza2Go. Mozza Restaurant has opened a takeout facility. I purchased several items including Nancy’s Chopped Salad that we ALWAYS order at the restaurant. It was delicious. The only difference was that we got to eat it on our deck overlooking a beautiful Silverlake Sunset!

We only ate two of the lobster tails. We kept the other two and made a Lobster Salad from them. Tomatoes are at their summer peak. We really enjoy eating outside now that the weather is so nice!

A Rice Find!

Tomatoes are finally at their peak at the Hollywood Farmer’s Market! We started with a Salad that we topped with sliced tomatoes, Burrata Cheese, Chives and Basil. We get the fresh Burrata at The Cheese Store of Silverlake.

I then grilled a salmon filet that we had purchased at the fish monger at the Hollywood Farmer’s Market. We of course used the Egg to smoke the salmon, low and slow! We have used this recipe before and think it is excellent. The recipe is called Honey-Cured, Smoked Salmon and it is from Cooking with Fire and Smoke by Phillip Stephen Schulz. You can find the recipe in our Blog of Jan 15 2009. Simply click the date to get the recipe.

Cathy found a recipe for a Squash or Pumpkin dish called: Jewelled Pumpkin Rice in the Moro East Cookbook. This was a first time making it, and it definitely is joining the repertoire of rice dishes that we will make again. It is delicious. We also found out it re-heats! This is a great one, and not very difficult. Give it a try!

Jewelled Pumpkin Rice
From Moro East by Sam & Sam Clark

This pilav is areal winner. For those who need convincing about pumpkin or squash,
this is the dish to try.
Serves 4-6

1 pound peeled and seeded butternut squash (from 1 ½ lb squash), cut into 1/3 in dice
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
a big pinch (about 50 strands) of saffron
3 ½ oz unsalted butter
2 ½ in piece of cinnamon stick
4 allspice berries, crushed
1 large or 2 medium onions, thinly sliced across the grain
½ oz dried barberries (or currants)
2 oz shelled unsalted pistachios
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
2/3 lb basmati rice, soaked in tepid, salted water for 1 hour
16 ounces vegetable stock

Preheat the oven to 400

Toss the diced butternut squash with half of the salt and the olive oil. Spread it in a single layer in a baking tray and roast for 30 minutes or until tender. Mix the saffron with 3 tablespoons of boiling water and add1 ounce of the butter, which should melt. Set aside.

Heat the remaining butter in a medium saucepan with the cinnamon and allspice until it foams, then add the onion and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Fry over a medium heat for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally until the onion is soft and starting to color.

Add the barberries, pistachios and cardamom and cook for 10 minutes more, until the onion is golden and sweet. Now drain the rice and add to the pan, stirring for a minute or two to coat, then pour in the stock. Taste for seasoning then scatter with the roast squash. Cover with a circle of greaseproof paper and a tight-fitting lid and cook over a high heat for 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for a final 5 min¬utes.

Remove the lid and the greaseproof paper and drizzle with the buttery saffron water. Replace the lid and leave to rest, off the heat, for 5-10 minutes.

Dinner with Tim

Wine:
Vinja Barde Vitovska 2006
Le Telquel
Valpolicella 2007

We decided to invite Tim over for dinner. We really like him, but had not had a chance to spend time talking to him in depth. He has let a very interesting life growing up in Shanghai China before coming to the States. We enjoyed the stories.

It was a warm night and we started out on the deck with drinks and some re-heated Tarte Flambe from Church & State. Church & State is an exceptional restaurant serving very authentic French Bistro Food. It is in Downtown Los Angeles in an area that is being converted to lofts. The restaurant can be very loud at times but it is excellent!

We then had Tomato Soup with Cumin and Figs from Moro East by Sam & Sam Clark. We make this every summer when tomatoes and figs are both in season. It sounds unusual but it is great! We really recommend it. You can the recipe from our blog of Aug 20, 2008. Just click the date to get the recipe.

We made Spice-Crusted Pork Tenderloins with Banana-Date Chutney from a recipe in License to Grill. We had never made this recipe before and liked it a lot. The joy of having the Egg!

Cathy made Fregula Sarda (a thick Sardinian Cous-Cous). It has lots of flavor and makes a great side.

Tim brought a Cheese Cake for dessert. Yum!

Spice-Crusted Pork Tenderloins with Banana-Date Chutney
From License to Grill


SERVES 4

Most people think of pork as high in fat, but a pork tenderloin actually has no more fat per ounce than a boneless, skinless chicken breast. Because of its weight and thick¬ness, the best grill treatment for this cut of meat is to sear it over a hot fire until it looks good (golden brown) on the outside, then pull it to a cooler section of the grill and let it finish cooking from radiant heat, as opposed to direct heat.
Here we rub the tenderloin with spices before cooking, then serve it with an intense chutney. The dates in the chutney make it very rich, so you don't need to use a lot—a couple of tablespoons per serving should do it.

3 12-to 14-ounce pork tenderloins
Salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons minced garlic
3 tablespoons fennel seeds
3 tablespoons cumin seeds
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

Banana-Date Chutney (recipe follows)

1. Sprinkle the pork tenderloins generously with salt and pepper.
2. In a small bowl, combine the olive oil, garlic, fennel seeds, cumin seeds, and cinnamon and mix well. Coat the tenderloins generously with this mixture, then grill over a hot fire, turning once or twice, for about 5 minutes, long enough to develop a nice brown, crusty sear on the outside. Once the tenderloins are well seared, move them to the side of the grill, where the heat is low, and cook, turning occasionally, for 10 to 12 minutes. To check fordoneness: Cut into one of the tenderloins at its thickest part; it should be just light pink at the center.
3. Remove the pork from the grill and let it rest for 5 minutes. Slice the pork on the bias and serve with a generous spoonful of Banana-Date Chutney.
BANANA DATE CHUTNEY

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 medium red onion, peeled and diced small
2 tablespoons minced ginger
1/2 cup roughly chopped pitted dates (about 10 medium dates)
2 ripe but firm bananas, peeled, halved lengthwise, and sliced into half-circles about 1/2 inch thick
2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
1/2 cup molasses
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
¼ cup roughly chopped fresh mint
Salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste

Heat the oil in a small saucepan over medium heat until hot but not smoking. Add the onions and saute, stirring occasionally, until soft, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the gin¬ger and dates and saute, stirring a couple of times, for 1 minute more. Add the bananas, red pepper flakes, molasses, and lemon juice, bring to a boil, and sim¬mer until most of the liquid has evaporated, 7 to 10 minutes. Remove from the heat, stir in the mint, and season to taste with salt and pepper. This chutney will keep, covered and refrigerated, for about a week.

Melon and Corn

Two of the best treats of summer are fresh melons and corn. We had both!

We started with a very simple dish of Melon with Lime Juice, Almonds and Prosciutto. This was our first melon of the season. We purchased it at the Hollywood Farmer’s Market. It was delicious. The prosciutto of course was from The Cheese Store of Silver Lake.

We then made Pasta with Corn, Pancetta, Butter, and Sage. It is a very easy pasta to make and delicious. You can read the recipe from our blog of Aug 12, 2008. Click the date to get the recipe.

For dessert we had a Chocolate Cup Cake that we picked up at The Cheese Store of Silver Lake. It was great!

The Egg and I

Wine:
Bugey Cerdon Method Ancestrale Bernard Rondeau
Bugey Cerdon Method Ancestrale Cave du Mont July
Le Galantin Bandol Rose
La Caudrina Moscato D’Asti Romano Dogliotti
Charles Mitchell Reserve Zinfandel 2005
Le Telquel Red Table Wine

Billy and Kevin joined Michael and Tamara and us for dinner. We wanted to cook on the Egg so that M and T would see it in use. We decided to make the
Herb-Crusted Pork Loin Roast From License to Grill. It is both easy and delicious! You can get the recipe from our blog of July 2, 2008. Just click the date to get the recipe. (Interestingly we made this dish exactly 1 year to the day a year ago).

We started on the deck with lots of wine, cheese and salami from The Cheese Store of Silver Lake. It was a beautiful night. June gloom is over and LA has been beautiful.

We then had a Salad with Nectarines, Almonds, Prosciutto dressed with Balsamic Vinegar and Virgin Olive Oil.

We made Sticky Rice to go with the pork. We use our Computerized Sanyo Rice Cooker and add the Rice, Shitake Mushrooms, Chopped Scallions, Soy Sauce and Oyster Sauce and Chopped Chinese Sausage to the rice we use chicken broth as the liquid. You need to wash the rice multiple times the night before you cook the rice and when the water finally is clear, cover the rice in water overnight. When ready to cook drain the rice and mix all ingredients to taste and cook in the rice cooker. If you like rice and don’t have a rice cooker you really should buy one! It makes it a no brainer!

For dessert we made a Fig Upside Down Cake. It is a great cake and not very difficult. (Isn’t that the aim: great food easy to prepare?). You can find the recipe in our blog of Aug 4 2007. Just click the date to get the recipe.

We talked far into the night. Because Tamara and Kevin are both from Canada, I found out why houses in cold climates have basements (it is all about the foundation for the house being below the freezing line of the earth – otherwise the house would shift with the expansion of the frozen earth). I also found out they didn’t bury dead people in winter, before the invention of the backhoe (the ground was to hard to dig in). Apparently they stored bodies above ground until the earth was soft enough. Ah for enlightening dinner discussions.

Figs!

Wine:
Serrig Wurzberg Riesling Kabinett 1998
Scholium Project 2008 Naucratis

Tamara is staying with us and we decided to invite Bea to join us. There are two fig seasons in California the early one now, the late one in Sep. We decided to a dinner featuring lots of figs.

We started with two great cheeses from The Cheese Store of Silverlake: a French Basque Blue and a Manchego. Chris also had dried raisins still on the vine. They are very unusual and delicious.

We then had a Turkish Chopped Salad that we found in Casa Moro The Second Cookbook. We really like this salad. It is very different with a topping of yogurt and brown butter. I really recommend that you try it. The recipe can be found in our blog of Aug 12, 2008. Click the date to get the recipe.

We then had a Fig Pasta. This is unusual pasta because it sauce is sweet from the figs. If you like figs you should try this one! It is also easy to make. The recipe can be found in our blog of Aug 22, 2006. Click the date to get the recipe.

We finished with a Fig and Raspberry Gratin. This is always a winner and we make it every summer when Figs and Raspberries are both in season. The recipe is variation that Cathy based upon a recipe by Jeremiah Tower. Once again this is an easy dessert. Be sure that you don’t burn yourself on the hot bubbling brown sugar. The recipe can be found in our blog of Sep 10, 2008. Click the date to get the recipe.

It was a fun night. Bea regaled us with stories from her youth. Bea is an artist (among many other things) and has a project to create illustrated one page stories of her life in New York City. We hope she can get it published!

Tamara Visits

Wine:
Marina Cvetic Montepulciano d’Abruzzo Martino Rosso – 2003
Grand Vin de Bourgogne Chablis Premier Cru 2006

Michael and Tamara arrived today. Michael went on to a conference in Anaheim, Tamara came to our house for a stay. We decided to cook. We started with drinks on the patio, summer has finally come to LA. We made two of our favorite dishes.

We started with Feta Salad with Anise Bread, Tomatoes and Oregano from Casa Moro, The Second Cookbook. I love this salad! I published the recipe in our blog on: June 23, 2008. Click the date and scroll to the recipe.

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.

Spaghetti with Zucchini

Wine: Domaine Les Grands Bois 2007 Cotes du Rhone

We started with a salad of fresh Nectarines, Almonds, Prosciutto, Balsamic and Olive Oil. Nectarines are very good at right now and we really like the ones from the Hollywood Farmer’s Market.

We then made Spaghetti with Zucchini from a recipe by Mark Bittman. This is one of those recipes that could turn one into a vegetarian. The trick is to cut the zucchinis very thin and then sauté till they are a dark brown. It makes a great thick sauce on the pasta. This is definitely an easy and good recipe.

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.

Chicken and Figs

Wine:

Burt Simon Weingut Herrenberg 1998 Serrig Wurtzberg Riesling Kabinett
Beringer Private Reserve 2006 Napa Chardonnay

Figs are in season and we decided to make Chicken with Figs. This is a delicious dish. It is started on the stove top then finished in the oven. We invited Bea over and she brought a great Chardonnay. You can get the recipe from our blog of June 23,2008. Just click the date to get the recipe.

We started with Nancy’s Chopped Salad. This is a real favorite of mine. I always get it a Mozza. Nancy has taken a 1960’s classic and made it her own. We served cous-cous with the chicken. The recipe for the Nancy's Chopped Salad is on blog of May 10, 2009. Click the date to get the recipe.

We have had many different Couscous over the years but we found a brand that is exceptional: M’hamsa Couscous from Tunisia. We really recommend it. Look for it at a gourmet shop near you.

For dessert we finished off the Coconut Cake we had purchased at Lark Cake Shop.

The next night we had the leftover Chicken and Fig but made a Salad with Nectarines, Almonds, Prosciutto, Balsamic Vinegar and Olive Oil.