Bun Ga Nuong (Chicken and Vermicelli)

We decided to try a new recipe from the New York Times: Bun Ga Nuong (Chicken and Vermicelli). I found the recipe too bland. If we made it again we will spice it up.

We started with a Tomato and Burrata Salad with Pesto. One of my favorite summer salads.

Bun Ga Nuong (Chicken and Vermicelli)

New York Times

Ingredients

2       whole chicken breasts, split to make 4 pieces

2       cloves garlic, finely chopped

2       shallots, finely chopped

Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

1       tablespoon vegetable oil

½      cup dry rice vermicelli (available in Asian grocery stores)

1       small head of iceberg lettuce, shredded

2       cucumbers, sliced

¼      cup fresh mint, chopped

¼      cup unsalted roasted peanuts, chopped

For The Chili-Lime Vinaigrette:

½      cup water

Juice of 1 lime

4       tablespoons Vietnamese fish sauce

1       tablespoon sugar

1       clove garlic, chopped

1       tablespoon chopped red chili pepper

2       tablespoons vegetable or olive oil

Preparation

1.   Marinate the chicken breasts in the garlic, shallots, salt, pepper and the vegetable oil for 20 to 60 minutes.

2.   Bring three quarts of water to a boil. Add the rice vermicelli and cook three to four minutes or until it is almost soft. Strain in a colander and set aside.

3.   Grill the chicken on both sides until done. Cut into bite-size pieces.

4.   In each of four bowls, divide the lettuce and cucumbers. Top with the vermicelli. Arrange the chicken on top of the vermicelli.

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5.   Combine the ingredients for the chili vinaigrette and mix together thoroughly. Pour three to four tablespoons of the chili vinaigrette on each salad. Sprinkle with fresh mint and peanuts and serve.

Scarpetta's Spaghetti With Tomato and Basil

Scarpetta's Spaghetti With Tomato and Basil is a favorite pasta of ours. One of the things that makes it so special, is that you half-cook the pasta. When it is half-cooked, you add it to the simmering sauce where it finishes cooking absorbing the sauce directly into the noodle. And it is Vegetarian! You can get the recipe on our blog of: August 6, 2015. Click the date to get the recipe.

Rotisserie Chicken

Another classic that we love. Obviously you need a rotisserie to make Rotisserie Chicken with its crispy skin. The juices from the Chicken drip down into the pan of Potatoes and Onions. Cathy decided to par-boil the potatoes for a few minutes before dicing and putting them in the rotisserie. In the past, sometimes the potatoes would not get completely cooked. This ensured that they would be perfect!

We stuffed the two chickens using the recipe for Roast Chicken for Two and from The Balthhazar Cookbook by Keith McNally, Riad Nasr & Lee Hansen. This is a great recipe that keeps the chicken very moist. You can find the recipe on our blog of: June 23, 2012. Click the date to get the recipe.

BLT Pasta

BLT Pasta

New York Times

When another summer tomato sandwich just won’t do, try this BLT pasta instead. This clever twist on the classic sandwich substitutes spicy arugula for lettuce and in-season cherry tomatoes for heirlooms, which cook in bacon fat and produce a silky, smoky sauce. If baby arugula is out of reach, baby spinach, watercress or Swiss chard would work well in its place. Serve with a raw, shaved zucchini salad tossed with lemon juice, olive oil and mint.

Ingredients

1   pound paccheri pasta or other tubelike shape, such as penne or rigatoni

8   ounces bacon, diced into 1/2-inch pieces

1   pound cherry tomatoes, halved

Kosher salt and black pepper

5   ounces baby arugula

½  cup grated Pecorino Romano, plus more for serving

Flaky salt, for serving (optional)

Preparation

1.   Bring a large pot of well-salted water (2 heaping tablespoons kosher salt to about 7 quarts water) to a boil. Add pasta and cook until it is just under al dente, 1 minute less than package directions. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta cooking water, and drain the pasta.

2.   Meanwhile, make the sauce: Place the bacon in a large skillet and cook over medium-low heat until crisp, stirring occasionally to make sure it does not burn, about 8 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside on a plate lined with paper towels. Turn heat to medium and add the tomatoes to the skillet, tossing them to coat in the bacon fat. Season with salt and pepper. As the moisture from the tomatoes releases, scrape any browned bits that have accumulated at the bottom of the pan (add a few tablespoons of the pasta water if you need to) and continue to cook until the tomatoes begin to fall apart, about 5 to 7 minutes more. Add half the cooked bacon back to the skillet and toss to combine.

3.   Increase the heat to medium-high and add the pasta directly to the skillet tossing to coat with the sauce. Add the arugula and 1/4 cup of the pasta water and carefully toss (you'll have a very full pan) until the arugula wilts. Add the cheese and an additional 1/4 cup pasta water and toss together until the cheese emulsifies and the pasta is glossy with sauce. If needed, add another 1/4 cup pasta water to loosen the sauce.

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4.   Serve in bowls and top with remaining bacon. Pass the grated Pecorino Romano at the table and season with flaky salt, if desired.

Chicken with Figs and Vinegar

Chicken with Figs and Vinegar is absolutely one of our "Go To" dishes we make it several times when figs are in season. It is excellent. Be sure to try it. You can find the recipe on our blog of: June 27, 2007. Click the date to get the recipe. 

Lamb Chops and Spiced Pineapple Lentils

We served grill Lamb Chops using a great recipe: Grilled Lamb Chops with Pomegranate Molasses from Cooking with Café Pasqual’s by Katharine Kagel. You can get the recipe on our blog of: September 5, 2012. Click the date to get the recipe. With the Lamb Chops we made Spiced Pineapple Lentils. They were great! We served a first course of Tomatoes with Burrata and Pesto. It was a perfect summer meal!

Spiced Pineapple Lentils

Mesa Mexicana

Milliken Feniger

Serves 4 to 6

3       tablespoons vegetable oil

2       onions, diced
1       teaspoon salt

1       teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

3       garlic cloves, crushed

2       cups lentils, washed and picked over

3       cups water

½      cup canned crushed pineapple

Heat the oil in a medium pot over moderate heat. Saute the onions with the salt and pepper until golden, about 10 minutes. Stir in the garlic and lentils and cook 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Pour in the water, bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook, covered, 45 minutes. Stir in the pineapple, remove from the heat and serve.

Salmon Niçoise Salad

This was a beautiful presentation of a Salmon Niçoise Salad. I really enjoyed it. We started with home Focaccia Bread and a Tomato and Burrata Salad topped with Pesto. Excellent summer meal!

Salmon Niçoise Salad

New York Times

Here, the classic French salad becomes an elegant dinner, with mustard-glazed salmon in place of tuna, roasted vegetables and jammy eggs served over a jumble of salad greens tossed with a red-wine vinaigrette. Roasting the vegetables, rather than serving some steamed and some raw as you would for a traditional Niçoise, gives this dish great texture and a delicious contrast of temperatures. The vegetables and salmon are roasted on a single sheet pan, making this an elevated take on the one-dish dinner — fit for company and easy enough for a weeknight.

Ingredients

1         pound baby Yukon Gold potatoes, halved

8         tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2         teaspoons kosher salt, plus more to taste

1-¼    teaspoons black pepper

2         large eggs

2         tablespoons red-wine vinegar

2         teaspoons Dijon mustard

1         teaspoon minced garlic (about 1 clove)

1         anchovy fillet, minced (optional)

6         ounces haricots verts or green beans, trimmed

1-½    cups cherry tomatoes

½        cup pitted olives, preferably Niçoise or Kalamata

4         (6-ounce) center-cut, skin-on salmon fillets

5         ounces tender salad greens, like baby red and green leaf lettuce

Preparation

1. Heat the oven to 400 degrees and place a rack near the top of the oven. Place the potatoes on a sheet pan, add 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and toss. Arrange the potatoes so the cut sides are facing down and roast for 20 minutes.

2. While the potatoes roast, fill a medium saucepan with water and bring to a boil. Add the eggs and cook over medium heat for exactly 6 minutes. Remove the eggs, and when they are cool enough to handle, peel and quarter them.

3. Make the dressing: In a large bowl, whisk together the vinegar, 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard, the garlic, anchovy (if using), 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Slowly whisk in 4 tablespoons of olive oil and set aside.

4. Add the haricots verts, tomatoes and olives to the sheet pan with the potatoes, along with 2 tablespoons olive oil and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Using tongs, toss well, then move the vegetables to the sides to create space in the center of the sheet pan. Pat the salmon fillets dry with a paper towel and place them, skin-side down, in the center of the sheet pan.

5. Brush fillets with remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard, and sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Roast on the top rack in the oven for 10 minutes. Turn the broiler to high and broil for 2 to 3 minutes to lightly brown the salmon. (If you don’t have a broiler, roast salmon for an additional 2 to 3 minutes instead.) The salmon should flake easily and be just cooked in the center.

6. Add the greens to the large bowl with the dressing, and toss gently. Place greens on a large platter, leaving a narrow border at the platter's edges. Place the salmon fillets in the middle of the platter, then arrange the roasted vegetables and eggs around them. Sprinkle with salt and serve.

Penne with Tomato and Balsamic Vinegar

Penne with Tomato and Balsamic Vinegar is one of our favorite pastas. We love making and eating it when tomatoes are the height in summer. You should make this excellent pasta. You can find the recipe on our blog of: October 26, 2008. Click the date to get the recipe.

We started the dinner with Melon and Speck and homemade Focaccia Bread.

Curried Swordfish With Tomatoes, Greens and Garlic Toast

Some dishes are simply beautiful to look at, besides tasting great. This is one. We recommend it!

Curried Swordfish With Tomatoes, Greens and Garlic Toast

New York Times

For a decade, swordfish was dangerously overfished. Over time, the North Atlantic swordfish stock has been rebuilt, and swordfish caught by American vessels are now sustainably fished. One thing hasn’t changed: Handled incorrectly, swordfish can be tough or dry. Searing, then steaming with the moisture that comes from braising greens and ripe, on-the-vine tomatoes, yields a moist and succulent steak. Make sure to use small grape or cherry tomatoes. When the tomatoes burst, the juices meld with the curry powder and the fat (ghee or oil) for a flavorful, spoonable sauce. Drizzle any extra over garlicky bread with a generous squeeze of lemon. If you don’t have ghee, cook the fish in a mixture of butter and vegetable oil, which will give you all the high-heat flexibility of ghee with the rich, flavorful finish of butter.

Ingredients

2        tablespoons ghee or olive oil

1        tablespoon Madras curry powder

2        teaspoons sweet paprika

1-¼   teaspoon coarse sea salt

½       teaspoon black pepper

4        (8-ounce) swordfish steaks

1        small bunch mustard greens or other braising greens, like kale or chard (about 6 ounces), stemmed and torn into big bite-size pieces

10      ounces grape or cherry tomatoes

1        ciabatta loaf or baguette, sliced

1        large garlic clove, peeled

1        lemon, cut into wedges

Preparation

1. Heat the ghee or oil in a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat until melted. Stir together the curry, paprika, salt and pepper. Pat the swordfish dry, and season on both sides with the spice mixture. Cook one side of the fish without moving it, until it is golden and releases easily, about 3 minutes.

2. Flip the fish, add the greens and tomatoes (on the vine), scattering evenly over the top of the fish. Cover with a lid, reduce the heat and cook over medium heat until greens are wilted, tomatoes have burst and fish is just cooked through but still very moist, 4 to 5 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, toast the bread: While warm, rub each piece vigorously with the garlic clove.

4. Remove the fish from the heat and serve immediately, with toasted garlic bread, spooning the juices from the pan over each portion. Squeeze lemon over the top.

Tip

Some cast-iron skillets come with a matching lid, which is useful for making the skillet operate a bit like a mini stove-top oven, cooking evenly and basting the food with flavor and steam. If you don’t have one, use a lid from another pan, or two layers of thick foil, folded at the center and large enough to cover your pan.

75th Birthday

Pre-Birthday dinner with out of town guests at Majordomo

Cathy and I with Chef Matt Molina

To all our friends

Great mix of friends

The Classic video of blowing out the candles!

Click if you want to watch it!

Can't believe I am 75! We celebrated the event at Hippo Restaurant in Highland Park. Matt Molina kept bringing out the course after course of fabulous food. I had invited an array of people who intersect with my life: Friends, Family, volunteers at the Senior Center, Yoga and Pilates teachers, neighbors, etc. They all are important to me and it was great to have them celebrate with us.

The previous night we had dinner at Majordomo with the friends that travelled to LA for the birthday bash. We had a wonderful meal. It was a great birthday celebration. We requested no gifts, but if they were so inclined to donate to political causes we support - exclusively trying to defeat Trump. I am sure they complied with our wishes!