Fresh Tart

Ahhh,Happy Mother's Day! I hope you're all enjoying a lovely day! I sure am - John's doing the dishes from last night's dinner party - now that's a gift. (As you can see in the pic, we put a fair amount of tableware through its paces.)

So, last night's dinner menu (recipes posted in comments, below). I leaned pretty heavily on one of my favorite cookbooks, Sunday Suppers at Lucques by Suzanne Goin. The book is broken down into seasonal menus, eight/season - I didn't follow any one menu to the letter, but pulled favorite little gems from here and there, all spring-y, all tasty. Stu and Rudy brought fabulous wines to taste and share, also listed below.

Swiss Chard Tart with Goat Cheese, Currants, and Pine Nuts
Veuve Cliquot Ponsardin Champagne, Reims (France)
Ferrari-Carano Fume Blanc 2006, Sonoma County
McGrath Farms' Watercress Soup with Gentleman's Relish Toast
Adrian Fog Pinot Noir 2003, Anderson Valley, Savoy Vineyard (brought by Stu)
Chambolle-Musigny Clos du Village Monopole 1999, Domaine Antonin Guyon, Cote d'Or (France;
brought by Rudy)
Grilled Lamb Chops with Garlic & Herbs (my recipe)
Artichoke-Potato Hash with Black Olive Aioli (because there were no artichokes available at Byerly's - very odd - we instead had Asparagus-Morel-Potato Hash, worked quite nicely)
Faiveley Echezeaux Grand Cru 1992, Nuits-Saint-Georges, Cote d'Or (France; brought by Rudy)
Cain Five 2003, Napa Valley
Buttermilk Lemon Tart (the almond crust is via Sunday Suppers, from the cherry tart recipe; lemon filling is mine)

Despite being pretty wiped out from his birthday party the night before, Nathan was able to join us for (most of) dinner (he's a BIG fan of Bizarre Foods). Man, it was great to finally pull this party together, I'm kinda bummed that it's over. We've had good intentions, but getting Zim and Rudy in the same room, in the same city, at the same time, is a bit of a challenge - how crazy we pulled it off twice in one week! I particularly had a blast cooking all day, I don't get to do that very often these busy days. The only thing that could have made the day better was a lot less rain, and just a bit of warmth, for appetizers on the deck. But whatevs, we have all summer for outside fun (listen to me, so nonchalant about summer, ha), and having everyone in the kitchen with me while I cook is pretty damn sweet.

Today, leftovers baby! Already had some soup for lunch, nice. Perhaps a bite of a lamb chop in a bit. Dinner tonight a laLucia's, with Mom and Stacey, to celebrate Mother's Day (natch) and Stacey's Birthday - Happy Belated Birthday Stacey Pooh (here with Cooper; I know she's having a Happy Mother's Day, ha.)

Moderate it: Stace, you may feel older, but you're never as old as me. After party - enjoy the party leftovers! It's too much work for just one meal - just be ready to pare back to normal. Er, tomorrow.

Snowman! (He's been named "Louis" by the kids, in honor of our dear Siggy Roo, whose middle name was Louis, sniff. We sure do miss him, although it was nice to not worry about rolling up dog doo in our snowballs...) Prrrrfect sticky-snow day for a snowman, thank you sun! And a vegetarian snowdude to boot - broccoli eyes, along with the ubiquitous carrot nose, rad. And so fun, in fact exhilarating (!), to finally be outside.

And nice inside too. I'm braising a pot roast today for...pot roast's sake. To have around for sandwiches, to turn into A Good Hash (if we're lucky), to add a few bites of protein to tonight's main course - and most requested both-kid favorite - Spicy Spaghetti. Not a saucy spaghetti, at all, really just a hint of tomato with lots of olive oil, garlic and enough red pepper flakes to add a kick. So simple, so good. Add broccoli, add shrimp, add anything that your kids (or you!) will like. I try to reduce the ratio of pasta to veg - in this case roasted broccoli - although no one around here uh, embraces the concept as enthusiastically as I...but that's OK, I'll keep trying... (Recipe posted in comments, below.)

Fresh air! Fresh vegetables! Fresh fruit! No combo makes me feel better, and I scored plenty of all three today, so I pronounce it a good day indeed: Lovely walk. Tasty pan of chicken hash (diced chicken, tomatoes, potatoes, green pepper, onion, and mushrooms) alongside an over-easy egg. And the most delicious Texas red grapefruit, tart-sweet and juicy-juicy. Hey, I realize it's not quite as sublime as a lunch of ripe garden tomatoes followed by a long walk and a swim...but for the end of February, it's not so bad. The days are noticeably longer, the sun's packing a bit of a punch - spring she is a'coming, my friends, slowly but surely.

And I am glad.

Ah, the post-Valentine's Day aura still surrounds me, and in it, I bask. Nice Friday, NICE! Dinner at Lurcat last night was as romantic as we could have hoped for - sparkly-dim chandeliers, tables scattered with rose petals, raspberries afloat in festive flutes of champagne, ridiculously young couples sprinkled prettily hither and thither, live jazz, and a cozy window seat for Johnny and moi, private and snug. Rather ridic in its perfection, in fact, but we ate it all up - the dreamy setting and especially the hot, crispy pommes frites dipped in creamy Bearnaise (oh dear me, we way overate them and somewhat ruined our appetites...John stressed on it, I rejoiced; therein lies the difference between us, ha). But also silky mushroom soup alongside itty bitty crispy grilled cheese sandwiches. And then slices of rich, tender pot roast in a deep ruby wine sauce, with a side of roasted cauliflower to make us feel as if we'd eaten "a vegetable." And to finish, a dessert we couldn't even eat (shame!), profiteroles filled with cherry ice cream and doused in warm chocolate sauce. The only thing that really traveled well home was the pot roast...

...which made a small portion of The Kill Hash for my lunch today, dang it was good.

Dinner tonight, nothing but warm, salty tortillachips, guacamole, and cold beer when I met Baseball Mom Beth (she of yesterday's lucky listen to Chef Philip on Cities 97) for a Happy Hour brewskie at McCoy's. It was packed - St. Louis Park is hoppin', who knew? Thank goodness Beer Is Food and guacamole is loaded with monounsaturated fats! (Those chips? Call 'em whole grain and forget about 'em! Hey, moderation is in the eye of the beholder, didn't you realize?)

Have a great weekend!

Hash, not a dish people make much any longer, I suppose since it requires a few slices of leftover roast and a spot of gravy. Too bad, though, because it's a real treat and both the roast and the hash are so simple and satisfying to make. I braised a beef pot roast yesterday and made sure to squirrel away the leftovers so we could enjoy a little hash for Sunday lunch today. Finely diced meat sauteed with aromatic vegetables until deeply browned with a fine, rich glaze... John and I each enjoyed ours alongside an over-easy egg, while Nathan downed his with slabs of warm bread. The perfect Sunday-studying restorative (for him), Sunday New York Times-companion (for us), we're all set for the rest of the afternoon. (Recipe posted in comments, below.)

Unfortunately it's a rather sad day as well, the 5th Anniversary of the passing away of John's best friend, Andrew Cohen. Andrew was a major foodie, way before being "a foodie" was common or easy - the weirder the food, the better, of course - so I think of him often, especially as I get particularly jazzed about something I'm cooking, knowing he would dig it completely (he was a blast to cook for). We sure do miss him. Blah.

Well, on that note, enjoy and appreciate your loved ones on a beautiful Sunday.