Smoked Salmon and Melon

We wanted to have Kirk and Mira over for dinner and invited Tom and Joan to join. We are getting amazing use of our new deck in front, and every dinner seems to begin with drinks and appetizers on the deck. We sit on the chairs and the steps provide perfect stadium seating. This space was amazingly designed.

This has been the summer of new melon recipes for us. This is a great Thai Melon Salad from the City Cuisine Cookbook by Feniger and Milliken. Everyone really liked the salad. We left out the dried shrimp. It turned out that our chilies weren’t as hot as we expected, so try the chilies as you cook. They all vary in hotness.

For the main course I smoked a salmon in the Egg. Low and slow. We used the recipe for Honey-Cured, Smoked Salmon from Cooking with Fire and Smoke by Phillip Stephen Schulz. You can find the recipe in our blog of: Jan 15, 2009. Click the date to get the recipe.This time the salmon was perfect! I kept the temperature exactly at 175 degrees the entire time. The key is not to overcook the salmon and dry it out.

With the Salmon we served a new dish for us: Green Beans and Carrots with Cumin Seeds. This recipe is from The Spice Merchant’s Daughter by Christina Arokiasamy. We met her in Ubud, Bali at a book signing and bought her cookbook. I am not a great fan of green beans, but I liked this recipe. Actually as I think about it, I do like green beans if they are prepared in an interesting manner. It is just that I grew up with steamed boring green beans (probably from a can or frozen – but didn’t we all!). This is a good recipe. With the Salmon and Green Beans we served Saffron Rice from a recipe in the The Food of Morocco Cookbook. You can get the recipe from our blog of: July 20, 2010. Click the date to get the recipe.

We definitely had a lot of great wine and also a Godiva Liquor for dessert.

Green Beans and Carrots with Cumin Seeds

The Spice Merchants Daughter

Christina Arokiasamy

This simple yet delectable vegetable dish is commonly served in Malaysian homes for lunch or dinner because it is a healthy addition to any meal. The mustard seeds and cumin release a warm, nutty flavor when added to hot oil, bringing out the very best in the vegetables. The natural sweetness of this dish beautifully complements Cardamom Butter Rice with Sultanas, served with salmon or any curry dish, serves 4

2         tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1         teaspoon black mustard seeds

1         teaspoon cumin seeds

2         garlic cloves, minced

2         xrge shallots, finely chopped

2         medium carrots, cut into matchsticks

8         ounces green beans, sliced diagonally

1-1/4 teaspoons salt, or to taste

1.            Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the mustard and cumin seeds. Immediately cover with a splatter screen to prevent the mustard seeds from popping out of the pan. After 30 seconds, or when the mustard seeds just begin to pop, add the garlic and shallots. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 to 7 minutes, or until the shallots turn brown.

2.            Add the carrots and green beans and cook until the vegetables are crisp-tender, 5 to 7 minutes. Season with salt and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and serve immediately.

Thai melon salad

City Cuisine

Susan Feniger & Mary Sue Milliken

This authentic Thai dressing, packed with savory ingredients like garlic, chiles, peanuts, and dried shrimp, accentuates the coolness of summer melons. This dish looks lovely prepared with alternating rows of brightly colored melons: Cantaloupe, Watermelon, crenshaw, and honeydew are some we use at the restaurant.

3         garlic cloves, pureed

2         tablespoons palm sugar or brown sugar

¼        cup thai fish sauce

½        cup fresh lime juice

3         or more serrano chiles to taste, stems                            removedand thinly sliced with seeds

1         tablespoon chopped kaffir lime leaves or  1  teaspoon grated lime zest

½        cup dried shrimp

½        cup roasted, unsalted peanuts

6         cups assorted melon cubes, in 1/2-inch cubes, each variety separated

¼         cup fresh cilantro leaves for garnish

Mix garlic, palm or brown sugar, thai fish sauce, lime juice, chiles, and lime leaves in a medium : bowl. Roughly chop shrimp and peanuts by hand or in a food processor and add to garlic mixture. (the dressing can be made in advance and stored up to 3 days in the refrigerator.)

To serve, arrange each variety of melon cubes in alternating rows on a platter or in individual bowls. Spoon dressing over melon in a stripe and garnish with cilantro. Serve chilled.

6 servings

My First Double Crust Pie (Plum)

This has been the summer of me perfecting my Margarita recipe. Everyday I have one exactly at 6pm, varying ratios of Tequila, Fresh Lime Juice and Cointrau. It is a tough process to perfect a recipe, but someone has to do it. Always being a multi-tasker, this is also the summer that I decided to learn how to bake pies. My mother’s pies were great. She often made them. At least my memory of them is they were great. For some reason I never asked her how she made them.

So I am pulling together recipes and trying to figure out both the pie crusts and the filling. This is my first attempt. A Plum Pie. It was very good. For the crust I used a recipe from: William-Sonoma. It was for a pie dough that is made in a mixing machine. I made a double recipe (top and bottom). As it was mixing, I turned my back on the mixer and did some other work in the kitchen. When I returned to the mixer, about a minute later, it was clearly a disaster. The dough was a clump sitting in some water in the bowl. I tried to figure out how to repair the damage, and finally with Cathy’s help decided to chuck the whole mess in the garbage and start again. There went a half pound of butter. Oh well. I tried again this time watching over the mixer like a hawk. It worked perfectly this time. Lesson learned. The biggest pain is cutting  the butter into ¼ cubes to add to the flour. There must be a tool for this. I will ask some bakers to find out a tool or trick.

I wanted to sprinkle the top of the pie crust with large pieces of granulated sugar. When I went to Gelson's Market surprisingly they don't sell it. I suppose there aren't a lot of pie bakers in our neighborhood. They do have a bakery in the market and their pies have the sugar on them. I asked the sales clerk if she would sell me some, she hesitated and said she would have to check with her manager, who was on break. When I returned the manager said they don't know how to price it so he just filled a coffee cup about 1/2 way up and gave it to me. Very nice!

Long ago I tried to make a pie crust and I have a clear memory of trying to roll it out and how difficult it was to get it round, and then move it to the pie. Cathy had bought me a cool tool, I felt like I was cheating, but used it anyway. Available on Amazon, Harold Pie Crust Maker is a zippered round plastic bag 11 inches across. You put the dough in the middle of the bag and then roll it to the edges till you have a perfect circle. You then unzip the bag and turn onto the pie pan. We have a beautiful old pie pan that was Cathy’s mother’s. It is nice using this family treasure. At any rate thank you Harold for the bag (although it is a little hard to clean after it is used). In reading the recipe I decided to prebake the bottom crust. This was something I had to learn to do also. You place a sheet of parchment paper over the crust and fill the pie with beans. That keeps the shell from bubbling up. When it is partially baked, you remove from the oven, remove the beans, by lifting them out on the parchment paper and store for another use.

For the Plum Pie, I used a recipe from Stars Desserts by Emily Luchetti. We used to love going to Stars when we lived in San Francisco. What a shame it closed.

Basic Pie Dough

William Sonama

Ingredients:

            1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

            1 Tbs. sugar

            1/4 tsp. salt

            8 Tbs. (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch cubes

            3 Tbs. very cold water

Directions:

To make the dough by hand, in a large bowl, stir together the flour, sugar and salt. Using a pastry cutter or 2 knives, cut the butter into the flour mixture until the texture resembles coarse cornmeal, with butter pieces no larger than small peas. Add the water and mix with a fork just until the dough pulls together.

To make the dough in a stand mixer, fit the mixer with the flat beater, and stir together the flour, sugar and salt in the mixer bowl. Add the butter and toss with a fork to coat with the flour mixture. Mix on medium-low speed until the texture resembles coarse cornmeal, with the butter pieces no larger than small peas. Add the water and mix on low speed just until the dough pulls together.

Transfer the dough to a work surface, pat into a ball and flatten into a disk. (Although many dough recipes call for chilling the dough at this point, this dough should be rolled out immediately for the best results.) Lightly flour the work surface, then flatten the disk with 6 to 8 gentle taps of the rolling pin. Lift the dough and give it a quarter turn. Lightly dust the top of the dough or the rolling pin with flour as needed, then roll out into a round at least 12 inches in diameter and about 1/8 inch thick. Makes enough dough for one 9-inch single-crust pie or one 10-inch galette. 

To make a double-crust pie: Double the recipe, cut the dough in half and pat each half into a round, flat disk. Roll out one disk into a 12-inch round as directed and line the pan or dish. Press any scraps trimmed from the first round into the bottom of the second disk. Roll out the second dough disk into a round at least 12 inches in diameter and about 1/8 inch thick and refrigerate until ready to use.

To make a lattice top: Double the recipe, cut the dough in half and pat one half into a round, flat disk. Roll out the disk into a 12-inch round as directed and line the pan or dish. Trim the edge of the dough, leaving a 1/2-inch overhang. Press any scraps trimmed from the first round into the bottom of the remaining dough half. Pat the dough into a rectangle and roll out into a rectangular shape about 1/8 inch thick. Trim to cut out a 14-by-11-inch rectangle and refrigerate until ready to use.

Nut Dough Variation: Add 2 Tbs. ground toasted pecans, walnuts, almonds or hazelnuts to the flour mixture and proceed as directed.

Make-Ahead Tip: Pie dough may be made ahead and frozen for up to 2 months. To freeze, place the dough round on a 12-inch cardboard circle and wrap it well with plastic wrap. Alternatively, use the round to line a pie pan or dish, flute the edge and wrap well.

Adapted from Williams-Sonoma Collection Series, Pie & Tart, by Carolyn Beth Weil (Simon & Schuster, 2003).

Plum Pie

Stars Desserts

Emily Luchetti

Plum pie has to be my favorite type of pie. Not often seen, it is imaginative yet still gives all the comfort that pies should give. Serve it with Hazelnut Ice Cream for a heartwarming combination.

Serves 8 to 10

1/3      cup water

I-1/2 cups plus 1 tablespoon sugar

8 cups 1/2-inch-thick slices ripe, firm plums (about 20plums)

1/4 cup cornstarch

1/4 cup brandy

Pinch salt

2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

4 ounces (1 stick) sweet butter

1 partially baked 10-inch pie shell

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Bring the water and 1-1/2 cups of the sugar to a boil in a heavy-bottomed 

nonaluminum pot large enough to eventually hold the plums.

Add half the sliced plums to the pot and re­turn the liquid to a boil.

Stir together the cornstarch and the brandy in a small bowl. Add the 

brandy-cornstarch mixture, salt, and lemon juice to the pot.

Gently stir in the butter and the rest of the plums,

being careful not to break up the plums.

Spoon the plums into the partially baked pie shell with a slotted spoon.

(You will not need the leftover liquid.) Arrange the lattice in a Crosshatch pattern

over the pie. Sprinkle the remaining 1 tablespoon sugar on top of the lattice.

Bake the pie for 35 to 40 minutes, until it is set.

Let it cool for at least 30 minutes before serving.

Pasta, Pesto on the Deck

Tomatoes are fabulous at this time of the year. We had bought lots of them from the Farmer’s Market. I made a salad of mixed tomatoes, Burrata Cheese, Almonds and a home made Basil Pesto. I simply blended lots of basil leaves, some olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper. It was great!

For the main course we made Lentil Pasta. This is a favorite pasta. We make it all of the time. Even though it is vegetarian, it has the consistency of a meat sauce. This is delicious pasta that you should try. The recipe for Italian Lentil Pasta is from Locanda Veneta in Los Angeles. You can find on our blog of: July 22, 2008. Click the date to get the recipe.

Compai!

Scott, Cathy, Robert and I went to Torrance to MitsuwaShopping Center. Within the giant Japanese grocery store there are food booths selling Japanese food.

We had food from two of them that we really enjoyed. At

Santouka: a Ramen Shop, we had the Pork Ramen, it was very good. Next to it is a stand called: Gosquared, it sells a kind of Egg Foo Young Japanese style – try the Pork Modern Oknomi-Yaki.

The two stands were great! The grocery store is enormous with a huge variety of imported food.

Not to far from there is a Gourmet Cookware Store called: Tsukiji Hitachiya Cookware that only sells Japanese utensils.

It is very interesting. We bought several things. It was like being in Japan, with all kinds of pots, strainers etc. that we had never seen before.

The reason we went to the Market was so that I could understand how you buy Yellow Tail Collar. The answer is obvious, you go to the fish department and look for a package labeled Yellow Tail Collar. Oh well, I really like it! We invited Tom and Scott to join us for dinner.

We had some left over pork. It was a natural to make Yakisoba using it. It is a simple and delicious dish to prepare. We use a recipe from the New York Times. You can get the recipe from our blog of: March 7, 2010. Click the date to get the recipe.

To cook the collar is very easy, you simply season the fish then place in the broiler and cook till done. We had recently eaten at Unamicatessen, and bought a sauce that we put on the collar before we broiled the fish. We had bought some saki (which we usually don’t drink) and served it with the food. It went well and we really liked the saki.

For dessert we served Fresh Grapes and a delicious Japanese Cake made of many layers. Good dinner and excellent find in Torrance.

Robert Tells the Truth

We saw Robert walking his dogs and decided to invite him and Darryl over for Jar-B-Que. We call it Jar-B-Que because the recipe is from Jar Restaurant in Los Angeles. Robert demurred on joining us, but later changed his mind. This recipe for Hosin-Marinated Pork Chops is absolutely, without a doubt, the best you will ever eat! Robert brought Farro Salad and Cucumbers that he had prepared. We seved Rice with the dish. They were great with pork chops. Robert proclaimed the chops the best he had ever eaten. He always says this, but this time I think he was telling the truth. 

Dessert was Brownies and Ice Cream. 

This was a yummy dinner!

Hoisin-Marinated Pork Chops

Jar Restaurant

Note that the choos need to marinate for at least three days, so begin preparing this dish well in advance. what to drink: A white wine with snappv acidity and lemon-lime notes, like dry Riesling or Gruner Veltliner.

6 SERVINGS

1-1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce

1 cup oyster sauce

1/4 cup black bean garlic sauce

3 garlic cloves, chopped

1 tablespoon chopped peeled fresh ginger

1 teaspoon red food coloring (we omit this item)

6 12- to 14-ounce pork rib chops, each about 1-1/2 Inches thick

Mix first 6 ingredients in large bowl for marinade. Place chops in extra-large resealable plastic bag. Add marinade to bag. Seal top, releasing excess air. Turn bag to coat chops. Refrigerate 3 to 5 days, turning bag occasionally.

Preheat broiler, adjusting rack 8 inches below heat source. Line rimmed baking sheet with heavy-duty foil. Remove chops from marinade. Place chops on prepared pan with some marinade still clinging. Broil until chops are cooked through and thermometer inserted horizontally into center registers 145 degrees F, watch closely to prevent burning (chops may char slightly in spots), about 9 minutes per side. Transfer to plates an serve.

Unholy Cow

Kash and Krushna were in town. Krushna is in a hit movie in India and is going to be a huge star. They are both known by all Indians, and can't go anywhere in public without being mobbed. We invited them over for dinner. Steak from McCall’s Meat and Fish was a must. You obviously can’t get good steak in India! None are better than McCall’s.

We started with Salmon Spread and then had our old, delicious, reliable, Dynamite Crab. We sure make this often, and everyone always loves it! We served it with Rice and Seaweed. You can get the recipe from our blog of: Sep. 5, 2010. Click the date to get the recipe.

With the steak we Grilled Corn. By the way when we grill corn, we Butter and Salt the ears then squeeze a Lime over each before wrapping in foil. I like the extra little kick that lime juice gives.

It was great seeing them before they return home.

Bengali Dinner

Shumon’s sister, Trina was in town, she was travelling from her home in Alaska to her family’s home in Bangladesh. Shumon asked if he could host a dinner at our house, because we had more room than his. We of course offered our house. His sister wanted to cook a Bengali Beef Curry for us. I am sure she used an old family recipe that was in her head. No recipe, no cookbook, just food as she was brought up to make and eat. Being Muslim, beef is ok for them to eat. We are used to eating curries in India, but the cow is sacred there, and we have never had a beef curry. We purchased the required meats at McCall’s Meat and Fish. Tina did all of the cooking, and it was excellent! It was so good, in fact, that we didn’t have any leftovers!

We started with a Watermelon and Feta Salad from Plenty byYotam Otttolenghi. We have made this dish several times this year. I would have to say, this is probably the single best new dish we have served all summer. We have served it several times and it always is a hit. It is also easy. Seriously, if you haven’t made this, you should! You can get the recipe from our blog of: June 16, 2012. Click the date to get the recipe. With the curry she served Rice and a delicious Daal.

For dessert we had a Lemon Brule Tart from Proof.

It was great having Tina cook for us. It was just like Mom’s home cooking, if your mom spoke Bengali!

Summer Tomato Pasta!

In summer, when tomatoes are at their peak, we can’t get enough of them. This pasta is a perennial favorite of ours. It all depends upon two ingredients, the quality of the tomato (we only use heirloom) and the quality of the Balsamic. No Costco, go high end!

The recipe for Penne with Tomato and Balsamic Vinegar is from The River Café, one of our favorite restaurants in London. You must eat there if you are in London! The cookbook is entitled: ItalianCountry Cookbook by Rogers and Gray. This is a GREAT recipe! You can get the recipe from our blog of: July 15, 2008. Click the date to get the recipe.

We started with Prosciutto and Melon (with a squeeze of fresh lime juice). The melons this year have been excellent!

Margarita, Soup and Salad!

Margarita!

This is the summer of the Margarita for me. I am trying many recipes. No mix, I only use Fresh Lime, Tequila, Cointrau and Ice in varying quantities. As you can see I liked this one! I am not using salt. Because the limes vary in acidity and amount of liquid released you really need to adjust the ratio of juice to tequila to taste.

I have been waiting all summer to make one of my very favorite soups: Yellow Tomato Gazpacho Soup. It is from Sunday Supper atLucques by Suzanne Goin.

This is the perfect spicy cold summer soup! I love it! The recipe can be found in our blog of: Sep. 3, 2007. Click the date to get the recipe.

For the main course we had leftover Steak. We heated Potatoes up, placed them over a Dressed Salad and surrounded it with steak.

My idea of a perfect summer meal!

Tandoori Lamb

We decided to make Tandoori Lamb Chops.  The recipe is from Indian cookbook: Indian Home Cooking. It is a great recipe and can be found in our blog of: July 16, 2008. Click the date to get the recipe. With the lamb we served grilled corn and some of the left over fig pasta.

We started with a simple Tomato Salad with Burrata Cheese and Fresh Basil.

Shrimp

We love this recipe from Ottolenghi The Cookbook. He has a restaurant in London that we want to eat at on our next trip to that city.  The shrimp recipe is called: Buttered Prawns with Tomato, Olives and Arat.  If you are looking for a simple, delicious shrimp dish this is it! You can find the recipe in our blog of: July 16, 2011. It is wonderful. Try it!

Welcome Back

Robert and Darryl returned from San Francisco and we invited them over for dinner. We started with one of our favorite summer soups. Tomato Soup with Cumin and Figs from Moro East by Sam & Sam Clark. When ever we are in London we always eat at Moro. The recipes are a Spanish – Moroccan blend. This soup is perfect in summer when tomatoes and figs are at their best.

For the main course we served Slow-Roasted Salmon With Cabbage, Bacon,  And Dill from It’s AboutTime by Michael Schlow. Bacon, of course, is my favorite seasoning and this is a great use of it. I love this salmon dish. It is very elegant (and easy). We purchased the salmon at McCall’s Meat and Fish.

For dessert we made not 1 but 2 Apricot desserts! An Apricot Pie and an Apricot Crisp. My pie making continues. Robert, declares it isn’t a pie if it doesn’t have a top crust.

SLOW-ROASTED SALMON

WITH CABBAGE,   BACON,  AND  DILL

It’s About Time

Michael Schlow

1 head savoy cabbage (3/4 head regular green cabbage can be substituted)

6 slices bacon, cut into 6 to 8 pieces each

1 onion, cut into small dice

8 ounces (1 cup) water, plus additional if needed

4 6-ounce salmon fillets, skin removed

1 teaspoon chopped fresh dill, plus additional for garnish

2 ounces (4 tablespoons) extra-virgin olive oil, plus additional for drizzling over roasted fish

4 small knobs butter (a "knob" is about 1 teaspoon)

Juice of 1 lemon

Makes dinner for 4

Try cooking salmon like this, and you might never cook it any other way again. The low-temperature oven really does improve the texture of the fish. The combination of salmon, cabbage, and bacon is perfect for cooler weather, making this an ideal meal for fall, but it's great anytime. For a hearty variation, add some diced, blanched potatoes to the cabbage as it finishes braising.

Halve the cabbage lengthwise, cut out the core, then remove the leaves and slice them into 2-1/2-inch squares.

·               Preheat the oven to 250°F.

·               Place the bacon in a medium sauce pot over medium heat. Render the bacon until cooked but not crispy. You should have approximately 2 ounces (4 tablespoons) fat; if you have more, discard the excess.

·               Add the onion and saute for 1 minute.

·               Add the cabbage and water and let simmer uncovered until the cabbage

·               is tender, about 15 minutes. If all the water evaporates during cooking, add more as needed until the cabbage is very tender.

·               Meanwhile, place the salmon fillets on a nonstick sheet pan. Drizzle 1 table­spoon of the olive oil over each fillet. Season with salt, pepper, and half the dill. Top each fillet with a knob of butter and place in the oven. Cook 15 to 18 minutes for medium rare, 21 to 24 minutes for medium (depending on the thickness of the fish), and if you cook it any longer than that, I can't be held responsible.

·               When the cabbage is meltingly soft and tender, season with salt, pepper, and the rest of the dill. Keep warm while the salmon finishes cooking.

·               Remove the salmon from the oven and drizzle with the lemon juice.

TO SERVE

·               Divide the cabbage between four dinner plates, top with the salmon fillets, and drizzle a little more olive oil over the fish.

·               Season with freshly ground pepper, sprinkled on and around the fish.

·               Garnish with additional fresh dill, if desired, and serve.

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 over­heard 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

150-300         ml 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

a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, to serve

100g 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 concen­trated, 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.

Yakisoba

We had some left over pork from July 4th. It was a natural to make Yakisoba using it. It is a simple and delicious dish to prepare. We use a recipe from the New York Times. You can get the recipe from our blog of: March 7, 2010. Click the date to get the recipe.

Apricot Pie

Scott and Tom are working on me to perfect my pie making ability. Tom is a master of pies. This is the first pie we have ever made. Expect more to come!

July 4th

Pisco Sour anyone?

Watching the Fireworks

We had our annual July 4^th Barbeque. Not much for us to do. We order the food from Bludso’s our favorite Barbeque in Los Angeles. We picked up all kinds of food, Ribs, Brisket, Pulled Pork, Greens, Potato Salad and Cole Slaw.

We eat at sunset on the deck and then watch the fireworks all over Los Angeles. It is quite a show! We love it.

Bea started by making her now famous Pisco Sours. Shu brought some Bengali treats.

We made our new favorite salad: Watermelon Salad with Feta. This is definitely a favorite! You can find the recipe in our blog of: June 16, 2012. Click the date to get the recipe.

Judi brought a great Cheese Cake, Tom and Scott brought a Rhubarb Pie. Michael brought his family and German Beer!

It was great to have so many people for a fun evening and having everyone participate. We always worry if the weather will cooperate, and once again it did, the night stayed relatively warm, the winds died down and the haze burnt off. It was a good night!

Porcini Pasta

We made one of my favorite summer salads: Feta Salad with Anise Bread, tomatoes and Oregano from the Casa Moro Cookbook. This is an absolutely wonderful salad. It is sort of like a Panzanella Salad but I like it even more! You can find the recipe in our blog of: August 28, 2007. Click the date to get the recipe.

Porcini Mushrooms were available at the Hollywood Farmer’s Market. So we made a Porcini Pasta. Yum, and it was super luxurious. It is a treat to get fresh porcinis. We sautéed them in brown butter with some chopped shallots, salt and pepper. Perfect!