Tamara's Birthday

Wine:
Grand Vin de Bourgogne 2007 Camille Giroud
Charles B. Mitchell Grand Reserve Vintage Cuvee 2005
Turley 2000 Napa Valley Petite Syrah Hayne Vineyard
Champagne Michel Dervin Brut
Patrick Javillier Bourgogne Cuvee des Forgets 2007
Hans Wirsching Silvaner Dry 2007

Tamara’s was in town with Michael and it was her 70th birthday. She requested that we cook a dinner for her. We invited Billy and Kevin over who were leaving the next morning for a week in Hawaii. Tim also joined us.

We decided to frame a dinner around Moroccan food. We started with some great Cheeses from The Cheese Store of Silverlake. We also served Baba Ganoush from Marouch our favorite Lebanese restaurant. The Baba Ganoush has an extremely smoky flavor - I just love it! We also made a Carrot Puree with Caraway and Feta from the Casa Moro the Second Cookbook by Sam & Sam Clark. This is a FABULOUS appetizer and not hard to make. I really recommend it! It is a winner!

We then made a delicious Beet Soup from the first Moro Cookbook: Moro the Cookbook. It is a perfect soup for a cold winter day. It is topped with a dollop of yogurt / garlic spread.

We decided to make Lamb Steamed with Preserved Lemon and Cumin. It is from Casa Moro the Second Cookbook by Sam & Sam Clark. We bought the meat from our new local meat and fish store: McCall’s Meat and Fish. We served it with couscous. The lamb was perfect. This is one of those slow roasted dishes. We simply put the meat in a clay pot with the spices and put the dish in the oven for over 7 hours. The meat was succulent, falling off of the bone.

Tamara lucked out with two birthday cakes. I don’t think I have ever been to a birthday party where the guest of honor had two cakes, but why not? The Village Bakery and Café in Atwater Village baked a special cake they call the “Fight Cake” because people fight over the last piece. We served it with fresh strawberries marinated in Balsamic Vinegar. Tim also brought a Coconut Cake from Sweet Lady Jane. So of course we all had to have a piece of each. As you can tell from the wines listed above, we also had lots to drink in celebration of Tamara’s big day. It was a wonderful Winter Birthday dinner. Make the carrots!

CARROT PUREE WITH CARAWAY AND FETA
==========================
From Moro the Cookbook by Sam & Sam Clark

For this dish the flavor of the carrots is very important, so for that reason we would recommend you buy English organic carrots. At Moro we serve them with triangles of crisp pitta bread.

Serves 6-8 as a mezze, 4 for a starter or light meal
1 ½ - 2 lb organic carrots, scrubbed
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
sea salt and black pepper
1 level tablespoon caraway seeds, roughly ground in a mortar
2 tablespoons roughly chopped fresh mint
¼ pound feta cheese

CRISPBREAD
1 oz. butter 2 pitta breads (or use good crackers)

Preheat the oven to 400.

For the crispbread triangles, melt the butter over a low heat. As it is melting, warm the pitta in the oven for a couple of minutes, then carefully split the pitta in half lengthways and brush the butter on both sides.

Now place on a board and slice each half in half again lengthways and then cut four or five triangles out of each one. Place the triangles on a cooling rack and transfer to the middle shelf of the oven. Bake for about 10-15 minutes or until golden brown.
Now turn up the heat to 400. Slice the carrots into rounds no more than 2cm thick. Toss with half the olive oil and some salt and pepper, and place in a roasting tin. Cover with foil and roast for about 45 minutes, or until completely tender. Remove and cool a little before putting through a mouli or mashing by hand or whizzing in a food processor. Transfer the pureed carrot to a bowl, stir in the caraway, half the mint and the remaining olive oil, and season with salt and pepper.

To serve, spread the puree on a plate, crumble the feta on top, drizzle
a little more olive oil, and finally sprinkle on the remaining mint. Serve with crispbread triangles round the edge of the plate

Beetroot Soup with Black Cumin
===================
From Casa Moro the Second Cookbook by Sam & Sam Clark
This simple soup is similar to borscht but with a hint of spice. The black cumin gives it an ethereal quality, which takes it to a new height. This is a rare variety of cumin that has more of an aromatic nutty flavor than normal cumin; the seeds are finer and more curled in shape. It is usually found in Indian/Bengali shops under the name of 'kala jeerd'. This soup is also delicious made with sherry vinegar instead of red wine vinegar, but omit the cumin and yoghurt.
Serves 4
4 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 large Spanish onion, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 rounded teaspoon black cumin or normal cumin seeds
1 ½ - 1 3/4 raw beetroot, peeled and finely diced
1 large potato, finely diced
5 1/4 cups cold water
3 tablespoons good-quality red wine vinegar
1 small bunch fresh flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
3 ½ oz. home-made or Greek yoghurt, thinned with a little milk seasoned with 1 garlic clove crushed to a paste with salt
sea salt and black pepper
Heat the oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Add the onion and a pinch of salt. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onion begins to color. Now add the garlic and cumin and cook for 2 more minutes to release their flavor, followed by the beetroot and potato. Pour in the water, bring to a gentle simmer and cook until soft, about 15 minutes. Place the vegetables and the cooking liquid in a blender or food processor and blend until just smooth. You may need to do this in two stages. Return to the pan, add the vinegar, half the parsley, and salt and pepper to taste, bearing in mind you may need more salt than you think to balance out the acidity of the vinegar. Serve with a little yoghurt on top, the rest of the parsley and an extra drizzle of olive oil.

LAMB STEAMED WITH PRESERVED LEMON AND CUMIN
=================================
From Moro The Cookbook by Sam & Sam Clark
We had originally read about tangia in Paula Wolfert's book 'Moroccan Cuisine' (Grub Street), and were immediately captivated by the exotic idea of a stew being slow-cooked in the ashes of a hammam (steam bath). A few years later in Marrakech, we were led to the depths of a great furnace, to the side of which, neatly sitting in piles of hot grey ash, were two or three tangia pots. Tangia is a specialty of Marrakech and a favorite dish during Ramadan, when there can be more than a hundred of these pots steaming away silently in the dusty heat of the furnace.

6 whole lamb shanks, or 1 shoulder of lamb on the bone, about 4 pounds,trimmed and sawn into 6 pieces
1 large or 2 small Preserved Lemons, washed, flesh discarded, (und roughly chopped (about 2 tablespoons)
1 1/2 large onions, sliced
1 tablespoon cumin seeds, roughly ground
2 small heads garlic, cloves halved
3 tablespoons roughly chopped fresh coriander
5 oz. water
3 oz. butter
sea salt and black pepper

Preheat the oven to 450.
Blitz the preserved lemon, onion, cumin, garlic and coriander in a food processor. Place all the ingredients in a heavy-bottomed medium-sized saucepan (or earthenware pot) and mix together thoroughly. Season. Cover the top of the meat with baking parchment, then cover the top of the saucepan or pot with foil and then put on a tight-fitting lid. Place in the hot oven and immediately turn the heat down to 275 degree. Cook for 5-6 hours. Remove and check for seasoning. The meat should be falling off the bone We like to serve this with a mixed herb salad and some flatbread, but couscous, although not traditional, would also be suitable.

Our 25th Wedding Anniversary

Last night was our 25th wedding anniversary. We went to Palate for dinner. We asked them to create a dinner for us based upon fresh lobster. They served us lobster 4 different ways. It was amazing. Among the best dinners we have ever had. They paired fabulous French Champagne and Burgundy wines with each course.

We started with a bacon, lobster and avocado sandwich on gougéres. It was so good we could have stopped there.

We then had a lobster sashimi with voluptuous ripe citrus and a vanilla bean vinaigrette.

They then presented us with goat tortellini with shaved lobster, preserved lemon, 1st of the season asparagus, green garlic and hazelnuts.

Next was a lobster curry over couscous with baby carrots, English peas and chicken hearts.

For dessert they served something that I am sure no one has ever had, persimmon enoki mushroom in a lobster custard.

We had felt like we had died and gone to foodie heaven. A memorable anniversary!

Our grateful thanks to Palate for a wonderful night!

Roast Veal Dinner

Wine: Schloss Muhlenhof 2008 Muller-Throcken
The Prisoner 2007 Napa Valley Red Wine
Chateau Dassault 2005 Grand Cru Classe
Les Hauts Lastour 2006 Coteaux du Quercy

We ate at Palate and Jason had made an excellent Lemon Roast Veal with Rosemary based upon a recipe in a Lynne Rossetto Kasper “The Splendid Table”, a cookbook that we had given him for Christmas. We decided to make it ourselves.

It turned out to be quite a project to find a bone-in veal roast. Luckily, Bea had sent us a notice that a new butcher shop: McCall’s Meat and Fish had recently opened near us. We drove over, and checked it out. It is small but has an excellent selection. Once we decided to make the veal, we called them and ordered the veal. When we finally picked it up, it was a beautiful peace of meat.

We followed the recipe, rifting off of Jason’s adaptation. We added lucques olives and preserved lemon peel to the sauce at the end, as Jason had.

Kevin started the meal by making a Salad with Pears, Gorgonzola Cheese and Walnuts.

We also made Mashed Potatoes from a recipe in the cookbook: The Café Zuni Cookbook.

For dessert we had left over Birthday Cake from Barbara’s birthday dinner that we had frozen. It was excellent. We are grateful that Barbara didn’t want to take the cake back to San Francisco with her!


Lemon Roast Veal with Rosemary
Vitello al Forno
Lynne Rossetto Kasper “The Splendid Table”

Scented with lemon and herbs, this veal roast gains extra succulence from a fine mincing of pancetta, Tucked into slits in the roast, it flavors and moistens the meat as it cooks. Some Emilia-Romagna cooks baste the veal with milk, hut I prefer the equally traditional hasting of white wine and the unusual finishing
touch of fresh lemon, a favorite trick of a Modena friend Moist veal is
guaranteed by taking the meat only to the rosy stage. In Italy it would be more well done, a style that is delicious there hut turns dry when done with most American veal.

Serves 6 to 8

3 to 4 pounds boneless loin of veal
2 ounces pancetta, minced
1 large clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup minced Italian parsley
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3-inch sprig fresh rosemary, or 1teaspoon dried rosemary leaves
2/3 cup dry White Wine
1/2 cup Poultry/Meat Stock
Rosemary sprigs for garnish

Method

Working Ahead: For the best flavor, season the roast pancetta mixture 1
day abead. Refrigerate it, lightly covered, until about 1 hoar before roasting. The roast is best eaten as soon as cooking is completed.

Seasoning the Veal: Mince together the pancetta, garlic, and parsley. Turn into
a bowl, stirring in 1 tablespoon of the lemon juice. Using a paring knife, make 15 or 16 deep slits into the roast, over its entire surface. Using your fingers, stuff the seasoning mixture into each slit. Set the roast on a platter, cover lightly with wrap, and refrigerate 24 hours.

Roasting the Veal: Preheat the oven to 350 Rub the veal with the olive oil and sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Set it in a shallow pan with the rosemary. The roast will take about 25 minutes to the pound (1-1/4 to 1-3/4 hours).
Roast 20 minutes, then pour half the wine over the meat, basting with the pan juices. Continue roasting, basting and adding small amounts of wine, until an instant-reading thermometer inserted in the meat’s center reads 150 F. Remove the roast to a warm platter and keep warm.

Making the Sauce: Skim the fat from the pan juices. Set the roasting pan on
a burner over high heat. Bring the juices t a boil, stirring in the stock. Boil, scraping up the brown glaze in the pan with a wooden spatula, 2 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened slightly and is full-flavored. Season with salt and pepper, and stir in the remaining 1-tablespoon of lemon juice.

Serving: Keep the sauce warm as you carve the meat into 1/4 -inch-thick slices.
Garnish the platter with a few sprigs of rosemary, and pass the sauce separately.

Sausage and Mushroom Risotto

Bea joined us for dinner. We made one of favorite winter dinners: Risotto con Luganegh Risotto with Pork Sausage and Porcini Mushrooms from The Cuisine of Venice & Surrounding Northern Regions by Guisti-Lanham Dodi. We love this risotto!
You can find the recipe in our blog of: April 21, 2009. Click the date to get the recipe.

We started with a salad of: lettuce, walnuts, parmesan cheese, and dates.

We drank some great wines and Bea sure seemed to enjoy herself☺

Paella

We decided to make a Fish Paella. Jason at Palate ordered shrimp, monkfish, scallops and sausage for us. We have made this recipe before and it is excellent. We use the recipe from MORO the Cookbook. We really like Moro it is located in London and is a Spanish-Moroccan restaurant. They have 3 cookbooks and they are all excellent.

We started with a Caesar Salad from The Zuni Café Cookbook. You can find the recipe in our blog of: July 25, 2009. Click the date to get the recipe. It is a great rendition of the famous salad. Because they don’t have you cut up the romaine leaves you can eat it with your hands. My kind of finger food!

Paella de rape con azafran
MONKFISI-I RICE WITH SAFFRON
MORO The Cookbook by Sam & Sam Clark

Clams or prawns can added to this rice with great success. Put the prawn shells in the stock for extra flavor.

Serves 6 as a starter, 4 as a main course

7 tablespoons olive oil
400g monkfish fillets, trimmed and cut into 2-3cm bite-sized pieces
2 large Spanish onions, finely chopped
2 green peppers, halved, seeded and finely chopped
6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
800ml hot Fish Stock
1 teaspoon (about 100) saffron threads
250g calasparra (paella) rice
80 ml white wine or fino sherry
1 small bunch fresh flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
1/2 teaspoon sweet smoked Spanish paprika
225g piquillo peppers, torn in strips
1 lemon, in wedges
sea salt and black pepper

Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a 30=40cm paella pan or frying pan over a medium to high heat. Carefully add the monkfish to the pan and stir-fry until still fractionally undercooked in the centre. Pour the monkfish and any of its juices into a bowl and put to one side. Wipe the pan clean with kitchen paper, and put back on the heat. Add the remaining olive oil and when t is hot, the onions and peppers, and cook for 15-20 minutes, stirring every so often. Turn down the heat to medium, add the chopped garlic and fennel seeds, and cook for a further 10 minutes or until the garlic and onions have some colour and are sweet. Meanwhile bring the stock to the boil and
add the saffron to infuse for 10 minutes off the heat. Now add the rice to the pan and stir for 1 minute to coat with the vegetables and oil.
(Up to now everything can be done in advance, and you need only continue 20 minutes before you wish to eat.)

Put the heat to medium to high, and ad the white wine or sherry to the pan, followed by the hot stock. At this point, add half the parsley and the paprika and season perfectly with salt and pepper. Do not stir the rice after this as it affects the channels of stock, which allow the rice to cook evenly. Simmer for 10 minutes or until there is just a little liquid above the rice. Spread the monkfish out evenly over the rice along with its juices. Push each piece of monkfish under the stock. Gently shake the pan to prevent sticking and turn the heat down to medium to low. Cook for 5 more minutes or until there is just a little liquid left at the bottom of the rice. Turn off the heat and cover the pan tightly with foil. Let the rice sit for 3-5 minutes before serving. Decorate with strips of piquillo peppers, the rest of the chopped
parsley and the lemon. We would serve this paella with a salad.

Rainy Night Dinner

It has been cold, rainy and miserable in Los Angeles the last week. We decided to make the ultimate cold weather dish: French Onion Soup. It is perfect on a winter night. We always make French 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. You can find the recipe in our blog of: Dec. 21, 2008. Click the date to get the recipe.

We started with a frisee salad recipe from Nancy Silverton's Sandwich Book . It is a delicious salad and I especially like the hot dressing that she uses. Any salad with croutons has to be good in my book.

Sort of Frisee Lardon
From Twist of the Wrist by Nancy Silverton

I've taken my favorite bistro salad—frisee, poached egg, and bacon—and turned it into my favorite sort-of sandwich. Large chunks of bacon, rustic hunks of toasted bread, peppery greens, and scoops of soft-cooked egg tossed together with a warm mustard-sherry dressing will satisfy the Francophile in you.

6 ounces bacon, preferably applewood-smoked, sliced off the slab into 3 1/2-inch-thick strips

FOR THE CROUTONS
1 pound white sourdough loaf
1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove, peeled
5 extra-large eggs
1 medium head (about 8 ounces) radicchio, leaves removed and torn into large pieces – we only used frisee lettuce in our version
1 medium head (about 4 ounces) frisee, center core removed, pulled apart into small bunches
1 large bunch (about 4 ounces) dandelion greens, mizuna, or arugula, tough stems removed – we only used frisee lettuce in our version

FOR THE VINAIGRETTE
½ cup bacon fat (If you don't .get enough rendered fat from frying the bacon, add enough olive oil to make up the quantity)
1-2 shallots, peeled and finely chopped (about 2 tablespoons)
¼ cup sherry-wine vinegar
1 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

FOR THE BACON: Cut each strip of bacon into 4 pieces. In a skillet, over I medium-low heat, cook the bacon until cooked all the way through but not crisp. Drain it on a paper towel, and reserve the fat.

FOR THE CROUTONS: Cut the loaf of bread in half and reach in beneath the crust to pull out i'/2-2-inch pieces of bread. Place the bread chunks on a I baking sheet, drizzle them with the olive oil, and toss well Toast them in the oven for about 15-20 minutes, until they're lightly browned, shaking the pan occasionally to ensure they're evenly baked. When the croutons are cool enough to handle, rub them with the garlic clove and set aside.

TO COOK THE EGGS: Place the eggs in a medium saucepan with water to cover. Bring them to a boil, and then turn down the heat to a low simmer. Sim¬mer the eggs for 5 minutes, then plunge them into a large bowl of ice water for a minute or so. Take them out as soon as they're cool enough to handle.

In a huge bowl toss to combine the radicchio, frisee, dandelion greens, toasted bread, and bacon.

TO MAKE THE VINAIGRETTE: In a medium-sized skillet, over medium heat, warm the bacon fat (and olive oil, if necessary). Add the' shallots, and I cook them for 2-3 minutes, until they just begin to sizzle. Whisk in the vinegar, salt, and pepper, and cook for about i minute. Whisk in the mustard, and cook another 30 seconds. Remove the vinaigrette from the heat, and season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Pour most of the vinaigrette over the salad, and toss well to combine. Cut the top 1/2 inch off the eggs and, using a spoon, scoop them out of the shells in large spoonfuls into the bowl. Pile the salad onto 4 plates, and driz¬zle the remaining vinaigrette over each.

Tim's No-Show Surprise Birthday Party

We decided to make a vegetarian Indian Dinner. Cathy found a recipe for Mung Bean Dal With Apples and Coconut Tarka in the New York Times. This is the first time that I remember cooking with Mung Bean, they look like yellow lentils. It is cooked with both coconut milk and shredded coconut. It is a good recipe. With the Dal and Rice we served Roti that we purchased at India Sweet and Spice. With recipes like this, I could become a vegetarian (or at least eat less meat.

The dal came in handy when Billy and Kevin decided to have a surprise birthday party for Tim. Because one of the guests, Sumon, was from Bangladesh, and we mistakenly assumed he was therefore a vegetarian, we took the dal. The surprise was on us, however, because Tim, unaware that this was his birthday party, never showed up. Once we realized he wasn't coming over to eat his birthday dinner, we decided to go on without the birthday boy. Sumon, who as it turned out, was not a vegetarian, declared the dal as excellent!

We also made Macaroni and Cheese. As faithful readers of this blog know, this is one of our ALL-Time favorite dishes! he recipe is from Paris Bistro Cooking by Linda Dannenberg and is called: Gratin de Macaroni a l’Ancienne. You can find the recipe in our blog of: Feb. 2, 2009. Click the date to get the recipe.

We also purchased a delicious Coconut Cake from The Village Bakery and Cafe. They made the cake especially for Tim. He picked up the leftovers the next day, but didn't get to blow out the candles.


Mung Bean Dal With Apples and Coconut Tarka
New York Times
Time: About an hour
1 1/2 cups dried mung beans, washed and picked over
2 medium green apples, cored, peeled and chopped
1 14-ounce can coconut milk
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 tablespoons butter or vegetable oil
1/2 cup shredded coconut
2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
2 tablespoons minced garlic
Pinch ground turmeric (optional)
1/2 cup sliced scallions
1/2 cup chopped fresh mint leaves
Juice of 1 lime.
1. In a large pot, combine beans, apples and coconut milk. Add enough water to cover. Bring to a boil over high heat, then turn heat down to medium-low so mixture bubbles steadily but not violently. Cook, stirring occasionally and adding salt as beans become tender, until beans are quite soft, 45 to 60 minutes; add water as needed to keep everything moist.
2. When liquid has thickened, put butter or vegetable oil in a skillet over medium heat until it melts and is foamy (or shimmering if using oil). Add coconut, ginger and garlic and cook. Stir frequently and adjust heat to prevent burning, until mixture (called a tarka) crisps and turns golden, 5 to 10 minutes.
3. Add turmeric if using it, then stir in scallions, mint and lime juice. Cook for a minute or two more, then stir butter mixture into pot of beans. Taste, adjust seasoning and serve.
Yield: 4 to 6 servings.

Moroccan Chicken

We made Expatriate Roast Chicken with Lemon and Olives from The Slow Mediterranean Kitchen by Paula Wolfert. This is a very easy chicken to cook and the Moroccan flavors are exceptional. You need Preserved Lemons which you can either buy or preserve yourself. I love the taste of the olives and the preserved lemons.

With the chicken we made Cous-Cous, the traditional side for this dish. It absorbs all of the great sauce that the Chicken recipe creates. The recipe is on our blog of: Aug 2, 2008. Click the date to get the recipe.

New Year's Eve 2010

Billy and Kevin invited us to their house for New Years Eve. We said we would bring a few of the courses. We started by making at his house: Spaghetti with Caviar, Scallions and Chopped Egg. The recipe is from The New York Times. This is an outrageously good and easy way to prepare Caviar.

We then served a salad of Shaved Foie Gras from: Chez Panisse Café Cookbook by Alice Waters. This recipe has to be started a week before you eat it! The Foie Gras is packed in salt and cured. It is then sliced over a salad. It is very rich. Definitely not a dish you can eat often!

Finally we baked our traditional holiday cake. Mary Ann’s Fruitcake
From: Craig Claiborne’s The New York Times Cookbook. No cake gets worse press than a Holiday Fruitcake. This cake is not like any of them. It is GOOD! It is also easy to make, although it needs to be made at least a week before you serve it. We love it, and served the leftovers toasted for breakfast. If you are reticent to make a cake try this one, it is full prove and easy.

Billy and Kevin made a beef tenderloin and asparagus and an ultra-rich potato gratin for the main course and served us wonderful wines. Happy New Year!

Spaghetti with Caviar, Scallions and Chopped Egg
New York Times

Coarse sea salt
4 eggs
1 pound spaghetti
5 tablespoons butter
freshly ground black pepper
6 scallions, thinly sliced
8 tablespoons osetra caviar, or more to taste.

1. Fill a large pot with water, season gener¬ously with sea salt and bring to a boil. Meanwhile, fill a small pan with water and bring to a boil. Add eggs to small pan, and reduce to an active simmer. Cook for 9 ½ minutes. Drain. When eggs are cool to the touch, peel and finely chop. Set aside.

2. When large pot of water boils, add spaghetti, and cook until al dente. Drain reserving ½ cup cooking liquid. Add butter and a few tablespoons of cooking water to pot and place over medium high heat. When melted and bubbling, add spaghetti, and toss to coat. Season with salt and a generous amount of pepper.

3. To serve, divide spaghetti among four plates. Sprinkle chopped egg and scallion on top. Spoon caviar in center. Serve immediately; guests will mix spaghetti as they eat.

Yield: 4 servings.

shaved foie gras and rocket salad
from: Chez Panisse Café Cookbook
Alice Waters

Fall is a time when we make delicious composed salads with bits of duck and gizzard confit, pigeon liver toasts, little grilled quails, or duck skin cracklings paired with new-crop nuts and autumn fruits. This is the luxurious extreme of such salads. A fresh duck foie gras is expensive, but a little goes a long way. The recipe makes enough cured foie gras for several meals.

serves 6.

1 fresh duck foie gras, about i po
Salt
1/3 cup hazelnuts
1 clove garlic
1 1/2 teaspoons sherry vinegar
1 1/2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
Pepper
6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
6 large handfuls rocket

Prepare the foie gras several days in advance. Let it soften at room temperature for about an hour. When it is pliable, pull the two lobes apart, grasp the veins and gently pull to remove them. Don't worry about disfiguring the foie gras; it will be pressed later. When all the veins have been removed, lightly season the two lobes with salt and re-shape them into their original form. Cut a 2-foot length of cheese cloth, place the foie gras at one end, and roll up the foie gras in the cloth. After 2 1/2 turns, trim off any remaining cheesecloth and tie the ends firmly, making a tight sausage shape. In an earthenware or glass vessel that is 4 inches taller than the rolled foie gras and at least 2 inches wider, make a 1 1/2-inch layer of salt. Add the foie gras and cover completely with a layer of salt at least 1 inch deep. Place a weight-on top (a full wine bottle works well), and refrigerate foi:3 to 4 days.

In a preheated 400 oven, toast the hazelnuts for about 15 minutes or until golden and aromatic. Meanwhile, make the vinaigrette. In a mortar, mash the garlic to a paste with a little salt. Add the sherry vin¬egar, red wine vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and freshly milled pepper. Whisk in the olive oil, taste for acid and salt, and adjust. While the nuts are still warm, rub them in a clean kitchen towel to remove their skins. Chop the nuts coarsely. Wash and dry the rocket. Retrieve the foie gras from the salt and remove the cheesecloth. Wrap the foie gras in plastic and keep it very cold while preparing the salad, either in a bowl of ice in the refrigerator, or, briefly, in the freezer. Dress the rocket lightly with the vinaigrette, divide among 6 chilled plates, and sprinkle with the hazelnuts. Use a sharp vegetable peeler to make shavings of the cured foie gras over each salad. Be generous. Fin¬ish with a flourish of the pepper mill. The foie gras left over will keep a week in the refrigerator, well wrapped.

Variation: Serve the cured foie gras with a salad of thinly sliced sweet garden fennel, raw cepes, and tender parsley leaves. Instead of shaving the foie gras, cut it into 1/4-inch-thick slices, and drizzle the salad with a little aged balsamic condimento and fruity extra-virgin olive oil.


Mary Ann’s Fruitcake
From: Craig Claiborne’s
The New York Times Cookbook


1 pound golden seedless raisins
1 pound pecan meats, broken
3 cups sifted flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 pound butter at room temperature
2 cups sugar
6 eggs, separated
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon warm water
1/4 cup Grand Marnier



1. Place the butter in the bowl of an electric beater. Start beating and gradually add the sugar. Cream the mixture well and add the egg yolks one at a time, beating constantly. Blend the soda and water and add it, beating. Beat in the Grand Marnier. Pour this mixture into the nut mixture and blend together with the hands.

2. Beat the whites until stiff and fold them in with the hands. Continue folding until the whites are not apparent.

3. Spoon and scrape the mixture into the prepared pan, smoothing the top with a spatula. Bake for 2 to 2x/4 hours, or until the cake is puffed above the pan and nicely browned on top. If the cake starts to brown too soon, cover with aluminum foil. Remove the cake from the pan shortly after it is baked. Tapping the bottom of the cake pan with a heavy knife will help loosen it. Store the cake for at least 10 days. If desired, add an occasional touch of Cognac or rum to the cake as it stands. Keep it closely covered and refrigerated until ready to use.

Yield: 1 10-inch cake.

Barbara's Birthday Dinner

Wine:

Champagne Michel Dervin Brut
Chablis Premier Cru Domaine Servin 2004
Grand Vin De Leoville Saint-Julien 1982
Chateau Canon 1er Grand Cru Classe Saint-Emilion 1985
BV Georges De Latour Private Reserve 2003

Our friend Barbara had come down from San Francisco to celebrate her Birthday and the New Year. We had Billy / Kevin and Tim over to join us for the dinner.
John, another friend of ours had also come down from San Francisco and had left for Thailand. He left us a gift of two exceptional old wines that we decided to drink in honor of Barbara’s big day on the 30th.

We started with Lobster Raviolis from a favorite Silverlake caterer, Matt Poley. He is definitely king of lasagna. You can buy his products at Silverlake Wine. His web site is: www.heirloomla.com.

We had a surprise when a different Matt, who is the chef of Mozza called us and asked us if we have his recipe for Squash & Farro Soup. He had given us the recipe for this delicious soup years ago, and had apparently lost it. We hadn’t made it for quite a while and had forgotten about it. Luckily the recipe was on our blog, and we copied and sent it to him. In addition we decided to make it ourselves for Barbara’s Birthday. We really love the soup, it is very thick and perfect for a cold winter day.

For the main course we made a Beef Tagine with Sweet Potatoes from: THE FOOD of Morocco Cookbook. You can get the recipe from our blog of Oct 2, 2009. Click the date to get the recipe. Because there were so many of us, we did not use the traditional Tagine pot, but rather an enameled Dutch oven. It turned out just as well. We were very happy.
We made Cous-Cous to go with it.

Barbara’s favorite cake: Spiced Pecan Cake, is from K-Paul’s in New Orleans. We have had it there several times and it is outrageous. We contacted a local bakery: The Village Bakery and Cafe and took the recipe for the cake to them. They agreed to make the cake, it turned out perfectly.


Squash & Farro Soup
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By Matt Molina
Base:
1 cubed squash
1 yellow onion, sliced
4 carrots, sliced 1 celery stalk, sliced
10 whole garlic cloves, peeled
1 dried arbol chile
pinch dried porcini (optional)
1 ounce olive oil
1 quart chicken broth
2 sprigs parsley
1 sprig thyme
2 ounces prosciutto, in one piece
Salt & Pepper

Sweat squash, onion, prosciutto, carrot, celery, garlic, chile and porcini in olive
oil and salt for about 10 minutes.

Add broth, thyme and parsley. Bring to a boil, then simmer for about 30-35 minutes-or until squash & garlic are soft.

Once vegetables are tender, remove herbs, prosciutto and chile, then puree well. Set aside.

Farro:

1 cup farro or barley
1 chopped yellow onion
2 ounces chopped pancetta
1 bunch deveined, washed and coarsely chopped beet greens or chard
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 cups water
1 tablespoon salt

Toast farro in a saucepan with olive oil over medium high heat, stirring frequently.

Once the farro begins to smell like popcorn, turn down heat and add the pancetta, onion and salt, rendering the pancetta and sweating the onion, about 5 minutes.

Add water and bring to a boil, then simmer about 20 minutes.

Add the greens and cook for 10 minutes more, stirring occasionally until the farro and greens are tender.

When the farro and greens are tender, combine the two components together, and warm. Garnish with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and serve.

Risotto of the Vigil

Crozes Hermitage Paul Jaboulet Aine Mule Blanche 2005
Brunello di Montalcino Vendemmia 2001

Every Christmas season we make Risotto of Vigil from The Splendid Table by Lynne Rossetto Kasper. It is a very hearty risotto and perfect for the cold climate.
We happened to see Billy and Kevin and invited them over. Caesar Salad using the recipe from The Zuni Cafe Cookbook. You can find the recipe in our blog of July 25, 2009.
Click the date to get the recipe.

A neighbor, Kazue, had requested that I help her set up her new TVs and video recorders. I was happy to help her. As a thank you, she dropped off some delicious Pastries from Little Tokyo. We had them for dessert. Yum!




Imola's Risotto of the Vigil
Risotto della Vigilia di Natale
The Splendid Table Lynne Rossetto Kasper

A saute of beef and cabbage simmers in a risotto of tomato and wine. Carrot and onion browned with fresh sage and a hint of garlic boost the flavors of this country dish. Breaking Christmas Eve's meatless vigil with this one-dish feast was the tradition in the farmhouses of lmola's countryside.

Serves 6 to 8 as a first course, 4 to 6 as a main dish

About 4 cups water
3ounce lean salt pork, cut into small dice
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
8 ounces lean beef chuck, cut into 1/4- to 1/2-inch pieces
1 small carrot, coarsely chopped
1 small stalk celery with leaves, coarsely chopped
1 medium to large onion, coarsely chopped
3 large fresh sage leaves, or 3 large dried sage leaves
1 medium Savoy cabbage (about 1 pound), halved, cored, coarsely chopped
4 cups Poultry / Meat Stock (beef or veal stock)
1 cup water
1 1/4 cups (8 ½ ounces) imported Superfine Arborio or Roma rice wine
1/3 cup dry white wine
1 large clove garlic, minced
1 cup canned tomatoes with their liquid
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil leaves
2 cups (8 ounces) freshly grated Italian Parmigiano-Reggiano
cheese
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 marrow bone approximately 1 inch soaked 1st.

Working Ahead: The risotto is best cooked just before serving, but its base can be prepared several hours ahead. Refrigerate the browned beef. The sautéed vegetables can be held up to 3 hours at room temperature in their covered pot.
I
Blanching the Salt Pork: Bring the water to a boil, drop in the salt pork, and boil about 4 minutes. Drain, rinse, and pat dry. (We use end of a prosciutto and simply cut off the required amount of meat)

Making the Base: In a heavy 5-quart pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the salt pork and cook slowly 8 minutes, or until it has given up much of its fat and turned golden brown. Remove the pork bits with a slotted spoon, and reserve. Pour off and discard all but 3 tablespoons of the fat. Turn the heat to high and add the beef. Quickly brown 8 minutes, or until dark and crusty on all sides. Remove with a slotted spoon, and reserve. Stir the carrot, celery, onion, and sage into the pot, and cook over medium heat, 5 to 7 minutes, or until the onion is golden brown. Add the cabbage, and stir frequently over medium-high heat, about 10 minutes, or until wilted.

Cooking the Rice: Warm shallow soup dishes in a low oven. Bring the stock and 2 cups of water to a simmer in a saucepan. Add the rice to the vegetable mixture, and stir over medium heat about 2 minutes. Blend in the wine and garlic and cook at a gentle simmer, stirring frequently, 5 minutes, or until the wine has been absorbed. Then add the tomato sauce or canned tomatoes and basil, along with the reserved salt pork and beef and cook another 5 minutes, stirring to keep from sticking.

Keep heat at about medium so the mixture simmers. Add 1 cup of the stock mixture and stir until it has been absorbed by the rice. Repeat, stirring in 1 cup until the rice is still a little too firm to be eaten. Then start adding the liquid in 1/4-cup quantities until the rice has only slightly more bite than you would like.

Finishing and Serving: The risotto's consistency should be like a thick soup. Fold in about 2/3 cup of the cheese, remove from the heat, and season with salt and pepper. Let the risotto rest, uncovered, 5 minutes. Mound the risotto in the heated soup dishes land serve, passing the remaining cheese separately.

Pizza!

We LOVE Pizza! We tried to make it in our Egg and it didn’t work out so well. Michael, our Tai Chi Instructor has been telling us about his pizza. He is from New York City and is an enthusiast of the Italian Pie.

He said he bakes his in the oven. He brought all the ingrediants, and after Tai Chi, he baked pizza. It was fabulous. We had invited Billy and Kevin over to join us, and Billy proclaimed it was 3 dimensional; the Best. It was a combination of the thin crisp crust, the uncooked sauce he puts on it and the cheese. Michael really knows how to make good Pizza dough!

Andrea, luckily, called us and we invited her and Roger over. She made it and enjoyed it also. I had stopped at Mozza (The best Pizza Restaurant in LA) and picked up some of Nancy’s Chopped Salad to go with the Pizza. It was perfect.

We spent the afternoon on the deck overlooking the city, eating Pizza and enjoying ourselves. It was a wonderful afternoon.

Here is Michael’s Recipe for Fabulous Pizza baked in your stove.

For the dough:
1 1/4 cups warm, pure water
2 teaspoons dry yeast
3 1/2- 4 cups unbleached white flour
2 teaspoon salt

In a large bowl dissolve the yeast in warm water and let rest for a few minutes. Once bubbles appear add 2 cups flour and salt, stir, then add rest of flour. Turn the blob on to a flat surface dusted with flour. Knead for 10 minutes. Return the blob to the bowl, cover with a slightly dampened cloth and let sit for 1 1/12 hours. Blob will nearly double in size. Cut blob in half and form into to 2 balls. Seal each ball in a ziplock bag or tupperwear container. Let it sit in the refrigerator for at least one day. Dough will continue to rise and the flavor will mature. Remove the dough from the oven at least 2 hours before baking. Let the dough come to almost room temperature so that it is easy to work and elastic.

For the sauce:
1 can high quality crushed tomatoes or Italian plum tomatoes
8 cloves of finely chopped garlic
6 leaves of fresh basil chopped

Stir together. Do not cook the sauce.

He use a Fibrament D baking stone, He keeps it on the bottom rack of the oven, as low as possible. Heat the oven to the highest possible temperature. Preheat at least 1/2 hour before making the pizza.

Chicken Pasta

We had a friend in Cedars-Sinai Hospital. We wanted to have a drink with her son and her business partner so we met them at a bar near the hospital. They didn’t want to join us for dinner so we went to Comme Ca for dinner. They have a Monday night special of Roast Chicken. We had appetizers then the huge chicken was delivered to us. It was way more than we could eat. We had lots of leftovers and asked them to package the chicken for us, we were going to make soup with the leftovers. when the waiter returned with the chicken it was in a bag much too heavy for just the chicken. I looked inside and they had done something really cute. The chicken was in a container but in addition there was a large container of cut up raw vegetables for the soup: onion, celery, carrots, etc. There was also a recipe for chicken soup and a bouquet garnni to flavor the soup.

We decided to de-bone the chicken and make soup with the carcass. With the chicken meat that we had we found a recipe for a Chicken Sauce for Pasta.

Billy stopped by; Kevin was at a work related dinner. Billy was out for a walk and just happened to wind up at our house at dinner time. We made a salad from the fantastic persimmons that are at the market now. They are very sweet! We had lots of leftovers and the next day I drove down to Long Beach and took them to my sister and Sharon.

Fettuccine with Venetian Chicken Sauce
From: On Top of Spaghetti by Johanne Killeen and George Germon

Serves 6 – 8 as a main course

In Venice, water is everywhere. With the canals and the lagoon spilling into the Adriatic, one associates Venetian cooking with fish and seafood. It's true you can eat delectable local sea creatures in a select group of impeccable restaurants. We have feasted on razor clams, scallops, feisty mantis shrimp, inky cuttlefish, and octopus — the list goes on. But there is more to this cucina. You could be regaled by grilled radicchio from nearby Treviso; steamed white asparagus from Bassano; wild mush¬rooms prepared in every imaginable guise; criminally rich Venetian calves' liver; risotto with vegetables, meats, or white truffles; silky, homemade pastas; and some very impressive desserts. One dish we have found inspirational is a delicate vegetable sauce made with tiny pieces of diced chicken tossed with ribbon noodles. We took this food souvenir of Venezia home with us and created a sauce and pasta that evoke happy memories of that magic city. Our elegant, suave sauce is made with carrots. Its striking yellow-orange color is food for the eves.

2 cups homemade chicken stock
8 ounces skinned and boned chicken breasts
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 small garlic clove, peeled and finely chopped
1 cup finely chopped carrots
1 onion
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup canned tomato, preferably organic
1 pound dried fettuccine or fresh fettuccine
Freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

1. Bring the chicken stock a boil in a saucepan.

2. Cut the chicken breasts into lengthwise strips about the width of a finger. Drop the strips into the boiling stock. Cover and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 4 minutes. Remove the cover and set aside, allowing the chicken to cool in the liquid. When cool, transfer the chicken to a cutting board and reheat the stock.

Meanwhile, melt 3 tablespoon of the butter in another large/saucepan. Stir in the garlic and cook over low/neat until the garlic becomes golden. Add 1 cup water to prevent the garlic from browning. Stir to combine. Add the carrots and salt and cook over moderate heat, stirring often, until the mixture is nearly dry with just a bit of water left. Be vigilant and stir constantly toward the end of this step to be sure the carrots do not brown at all. Add the hot stock and tomato juice. Cover and bring to a boil. Lower the heat, set the cover ajar, and simmer gently for 35 minutes, or until the carrots are very soft. Puree with an im¬mersion blender until you have a smooth puree. Set aside.

4. Cut the chicken strips lengthwise into 1/8-inch-thick slices, then cut across to make 1/8-inch dice. Add the chicken to the sauce and reheat gently.

5. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Generously salt the water and drop in the fettuccine. Cook, stirring often, until al dente. Drain the pasta and transfer to a heated platter or shallow gra-tin dish. Toss with the remaining butter and fold in enough sauce to coat the noodles generously. Sprinkle with Parmigiano-Reggiano and serve at once. Pass more cheese at the table.

Beef Provencal

Every winter we make Provencal Beef Stew from Bistro Cooking by Patrica Wells. It is delicious. I love the macaroni that goes with it! The recipe for the can be found in our blog of: March 21 2009. Simply click the date to get the recipe.

It makes a lot and is perfect for leftovers. We started with a Salad of Persimmons and Pomegranates and Almonds. The pomegranates have been particularly good the season.

For dessert we had Christmas Cookies from Village Cafe (where LA Bread used to be Atwater Village.)

Crispy Chicken

We wanted to try a second dish from the Ad Hoc at home cookbook by Thomas Keller. We decided to make: Crispy braised chicken thighs with olives, lemon and fennel.

We started with a salad using a technique that we experienced at Palate. We made a Salad with Lettuce, Dates, Almonds, Tangerines, and shaved Parmesan cheese. The dressing was different. Instead of using vinegar with the oil, we used fresh squeezed orange juice. It gave the acidity that was needed and created a very fresh taste. I don’t remember using fresh juice before, we will in the future. It paired well with the tangerines in the salad.

The chicken recipe is great. It is baked in the oven and then finished under the broiler to get the skin (which I love, real crisp). The olives, lemon and fennel made for a very provincial taste. My kind of food. Cathy made a Mushroom Farro Risotto to go with the Chicken. It is definitely a recipe we will make again.

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Crispy braised chicken thighs with olives, lemon and fennel
From Ad Hoc at home by Thomas Keller

3 large fennel bulbs
12 chicken thighs
Kosher salt
Canola oil
1 cup coarsely chopped onion
1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
1/4 cup dry white wine, such as Sauvignon Blanc
1 cup Ascolane or other large green olives, such as Cerignola
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
4 fresh or 2 dried bay leaves
4 strips lemon zest—removed with a vegetable peeler
8 thyme sprigs
1 cup Chicken Stock
About 1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves

Olives, here big fleshy green Ascolanes from Italy, and fennel are an extraordinary pairing with chicken. In this one-pot dish, we use only the thighs, the most flavorful part of the chicken. The seared chicken is braised in chicken stock on a bed of fennel, onion, and garlic, with strips of lemon zest. The stock picks up the lemon and fennel flavors and becomes concentrated and rich. Here the flavors are Mediterranean, but the technique itself can.be taken in any number of seasoning directions.

Cut off the fennel stalks. Trim the bottom of the bulbs and peel back the layers until you reach the core; reserve the core for another use. Discard any bruised layers, and cut the fennel into 2-by-1/2 inch batons. You need 3 cups fennel for this recipe; reserve any remaining fennel for another use.

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Set a cooling rack on a baking sheet.

Season the chicken thighs on both sides with salt. Heat some canola oil in a large ovenproof saute pan or roasting pan that will hold all the thighs in one layer over medium-high heat. Add the thighs skin-side-down and brown on the skin side, about 4 minutes. Turn the thighs over and cook for about 1 minute to sear the meat. Transfer to the cooling rack.

Reduce the heat to medium-low, add the onion to the pan, and cook for 1 1/2 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Cook, stirring often, until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in the fennel, turn the heat up to medium, and cook, stirring often, until the fennel is crisp-tender, about 10 minutes.

Pour in the wine and simmer for about 2 minutes to burn off the alcohol. Stir in the olives, red pepper flakes, bay leaves, lemon zest, and thyme, then pour in the chicken stock. Increase the heat, bring the liquid to a simmer, and cook until the fennel is tender, about 1 minute.

Taste the stock and season with salt as needed. Return the chicken to the pan skin-side-up, in a single layer. When the liquid returns to a simmer, transfer to the oven and cook for about 20 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through.

Turn on the broiler, and put the pan under the broiler for a minute or two to crisp and brown the chicken skin. Remove from the oven, and transfer to a serving platter.

Garnish with the parsley leaves. serves 6