Gastronome

No one in our family was particularly attached to having a turkey this year so I pulled together a great birdless meal that was easy to execute and, if I do say so myself, totally satisfying to eat!

Salmon Crostini with Mustard Dill Sauce (from sfgate)
French Green Beans with Garlic Butter
Vegetarian Stuffing
Cranberry Citrus Relish (from meriko)
Potatoes Boulangere (from Gordon Ramsey’s F-Word)
Prime Rib With Mint Chimichurri
Wheat and Butter Pop-overs

The potatoes were the best surprise: all the flavorful joy of a layered augratin dish without the fatty cream.

This Fourth of July, we were lucky enough to have our friends Kristen and Michael come for a visit. The fourth isn’t just Independence Day to them - it’s also their wedding anniversary. Obviously, a party was in order. The day cleared up just in time to fire up the grill around 2, and we shut it down right around 9; just in time to hike up the hill and see the fireworks. I wasn’t feeling too creative, so I pulled out a lot of the old favorites from the all-day firesessions out back at Hill Street. (Noone seemed to mind. If I make fire and don’t serve that peanut sauce, I get lynched.) As usual, the grilled figs were the hands-down favorite - even our hardened anti-fruit-with-seeds-eater succumbed to their charms. The menu’s below - I’ll post recipes through the week. (Anything in particular you want to see?) Kristen and Michael were exceptional prepchefs, and many thanks to Dallas who acted as my impromptu grill-sous all day. Extra bonus: All photos by the amazing Kristen Johansen. (Prep chef, charming guest, AND photographer? Come back anytime, darling.)

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It’s been hot here in the low country. Last night I tried something in tune with the vacation get-away calibur heat: a caribbean-themed dinner. My versions of the dishes are below, but all the original recipes are from the May 2006 Bon Appetit (I can post ‘em later, if anybody wants).

Ap: Plantain Chips with Warm Cilantro Dipping Sauce
Veggie entree: Spicy Rice with Blackened Faux-Chicken
WW-friendly entree: Brown Rice with Jerk Shrimp
Dessert: Luigi’s Italian Lemon Ice

Ever so slowly, I catch up on my dinner party backlog. Here it is, February, and you’re just hearing about New Year’s Feast? Dreadful. 2005 was full of change and growth for so many of the people dear to me. This year, it seemed appropriate to embrace the theme of comfort… thus, NYF 05 - “all the comforts….” was born. We set the table with the good china, dined on our favorites in our PJs, and toasted our way into 2006 with cupcakes. The menu of comfort food was also well-suited to production on a day also dedicated to the baking of wedding cakes!

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Yesterday morning we hit the Farmer’s Market at the Ferry Building. They sky was overcast and the rain was drizzling, but the organic farmers were out in full force hawking the season’s best. I picked up a huge bundle of leeks ($3!) and an assortment of monster green onions, then holed up in the kitchen for a while to concoct an onion-based veggie-only comfort food style dinner with my spoils.

My Festival of Onions for Grey Rainy Saturday Night Menu:
meriko’s Green Garlic Soup (slightly modified for the lactose intolerant)
Ginger Basmati Pilaf with Cumin and Scallions
Fresh ciabatta from the Acme Bread Company
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Aloha! I’m planning a menu for about 10-20 adults/kids/family this month in honor of my daughter’s 1st birthday. A traditional menu would look something like this: assorted pupu (appetizers), Kalua Pig, Poi, Sweet potatoes, Luau or laulau (pork or chicken and fish wrapped in taro leaves), a chicken dish, Lomi salmon (cold tomato-salmon dish), macaroni salad, fruit (pineapple, mango and papaya), Haupia (coconut pudding), and fruity beverages. I’m going to bend tradition a bit to accomodate my 40+ hour work weeks and motherhood; the goal is stick to the theme but make as much of the food ahead of time as possible.
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Saturday night we had Tammy, Todd & Forrest over for dinner. You can blame the circular thyme theme on my savasana practice at yoga. We started with a “trifle” with alternating layers of Laura Chenel chevre blended with thyme and Carolina B’s fig and sesame jam. Some warm flatbread sprinkled with coarse pink sea salt, and cyprus cocktails with sprigs of rosemary completed our first course. We ended with a Navarro 2001 muscat blanc and fresh thyme sorbet. Read on for the rest of the menu….

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This Thanksgiving we cooked up a storm and served 16 lovely folks a feast. (And another 6 or so who came and snacked and helped eat dessert! And yet, there are still Too Many Leftovers…) William joined me in the kitchen - a sous chef extraordinaire. Click the teasers for the full-sized pics; the full menu is below. I’ll post some recipes over the next few days. (Yes yes! Including the timpano!) If you have requests, send ‘em in the comments!

Some observations this year: all the truly tedious prep worked seemed to center around peeling food that resembled brains. (Brussell sprouts & chestnuts.) The biggest hit of the night was a dish we put together on the fly. (”William, can you do some kind of chipotle-maple sauce to put on chipotle-rubbed sweet potatoes?”) William’s stripey herbed flatbread in a champagne bucket ruled my inner presentation contest. The item I forgot to serve this year: calvados & porcini pate. Final glove count: nine.

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Last night I finally had a chance to cook for the Lempert-Lopez’s. (It’s been on the list for a YEAR.) The Leckmans joined us, and it was Sunday-as-unusual! Beca said she was craving tapas - specifically the gambas al ajillo and potatoes decadence we used to get at Timos. With that, I was off and running….
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I was looking for an excuse to make some tasty new food and mix up some tasty new cocktails. The tail-end of my vacation seemed as good a time as any, so I threw out an invitation and pulled together the recipes. I wound up selecting four cocktails from the last two years of Gary Regan’s “The Cocktailian” column from the Chron, and plumbed through my copy of Nancy Silverton’s Sandwich Book. This fall, I’m in love with my panini grill all over again. A few folks came over, and we had a lovely evening! Even Ely liked the proscuitto.
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