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.

Heck if I'm not seeing green out my window, lalalaaa! Even if it snows again, that green isn't going away until like, October, baby. Yes, we Minnesotans have officially stepped out of our dreadful black-n-white photo-prison into the alternate world we call Not Winter, like Alice Through the Friggin' Looking Glass... Man, is it good.

As was the Halibut with Fingerlings, Fava Beans, Meyer Lemon, and Savory Creme Fraiche I made for dinner last night. I've been just itching to try this pretty recipe, from Sunday Suppers at Lucques by Suzanne Goin (killer cookbook, seriously), and a visit from our friend Niko provided the perfect reason to give 'er a scratch. The slightly overwrought name makes the dish sound complicated, but the steps are easy and can be completed ahead of time, so the actual plating is a breeze. I used small red new potatoes (no fingerlings at Whole Foods, where I knew I could find favas, easy enough trade) and fresh sorrel instead of savory (again, an easy and tasty substitution). The end result was tender halibut, delicious over crushed potatoes and fava beans, made zesty-creamy-glorious with spoonfuls of lemon-parsley sauce and rich creme fraiche. Lovely combo. Mmmm. Hmmm. (Recipe posted in comments, below.)

Niko crept out at the crack of dawn (not in shame, merely for a very early flight back home to his family), so John and I were off on our own today. Errands...followed by an utterly romantic window-table brunch at La La Lucia's! Popovers and roasted potatoes and a fried egg sandwich - open faced, with bacon, tomato (real, ripe tomato, in May, how does she do it?),arugula, aioli, and but of course - a fried egg. Any take on the Spanglish sandwich is just...scrumptious with me.

Tomorrow, stay tuned, dinner for the fam and if I do say so myself, I'm on a bit of a roll lately and I have big plans. BIG plans. Well, not caviar or lobster big, but beef tenderloin big, and that's something. You know I'm done with neither favas nor morels (although John wishes I were, I can tell; he kindly feigns enthusiasm which I do appreciate).

Welcome Not Winter!

Moderate it: OK, there are healthier ways to eat fish than with buttery potatoes and creme fraiche (I considered this a special occasion). To lighten the dish without stripping it bare, serve the potatoes without butter, grill the fish (instead of sauteeing it), and let the creme fraiche (you only need a small dollop) pull it all together. Still delicious!

I love the peppery bite of watercress, in salads, on sandwiches, and very much in soup, where it tastes like spring, mmm. Oh, I know that we are very, very, very (sigh) far from spring (in this neck of the woods, anyhow), but what better reason to slurp a breath-of-fresh-air little soup-tasty, spring-inspired but still completely cozy, creamy, and warm? I've included a recipe from the lovely Sunday Suppers at Lucques cookbook, by Suzanne Goin, perfectly appropriate since it's, well, Sunday, and you might be looking for an idea for, well, supper! And since watercress (and other fresh herbs) are now available year-round at almost every grocery store, why the heck not? So here it is...McGrath Farms' Watercress Soup with Gentleman's Relish Toast - crispy, salty anchovy-toasts afloat in a classic,creamy watercress soup. Delightful. To be really decadent, grill up a few small, crusty lamb rib chops and eat 'em right off the bone as a little appetizer. Lick your fingers. Sip a Pinot Noir. Savor your creamy, peppery soup. Lick the spoon. Nibble a piece of soft cheese with slices of ripe pear for dessert. Kiss your sweetie. Ouch. Man, if that won't chase away the January blues, I don't know what will. (Recipe posted in comments, below.)

Oh wait, yes I do! A girlie, giggly late-afternoon cruise with Suz and Kim! Yes, one more birthday celebration (tee hee) coming up later today. A long, lazy drive over to St. Paul, along the creek, over the river, down stately Summit Ave, ending at Sweeney's Saloon. Yep, I chose a burger-beer outing to celebrate with my minxes, followed by a long-overdue Feminine Hijinx session. We have yet to podcast in Suz's new home! No more sipping wine and cackling from the "naughty pine," sniff, we'll have to rechristen our new recording space. Stay tuned...

I love LA! Yes indeed I do, oh my. John and I just returned from a long, lovely weekend in La La Los Angeles. Sunny and 80 degrees, my friends, heavenly. Perfect medicine - warmth, color, flowers, birdsong. We put in place our tried-and-true, John-and-Stephanie formula - great hotel + great scenic drives + great food = amazing trip. And it worked! We arrived on Thursday afternoon, rented a convertible, and made our way to our hotel. Waved good-bye to Lionel Ritchie (he departed as we arrived) and settled in the bar for a snack and a glass of wine. Cheers! After chilling, unpacking, and spiffing up a bit, we tooled over to the way hip Chateau Marmont for a garden-side cocktail and light dinner (I had a particularly delicious deconstructed "salad" of poached warm shrimp in a light sauce, alongside a stack of butter lettuce leaves, a little pile of toasted cashews, and a fan of sliced avocado. Pretty and delicious.)

Friday morning we were up and at 'em, bright and early - or in our case, dark and early, since the two-hour time change had us drinking coffee by oh, about 5:15 am. Which worked in our favor, actually, since our Friday plan was a top-down, ocean-side drive up to Santa Barbara and beyond. I've never been to Santa Barbara before...it's now a favorite, ha. Wow, what a place. We wandered into a lovely lunch spot, sat on the patio, enjoyed the warm sun and cool breezes, delicious salads, and then set off for Los Olivos (setting of the movie Sideways), thinking we'd stop at a winery or two. But the drive through Los Padres National Forest was so stunning, and intoxicating on its own, that when we arrived we decided we didn't really want any wine! (Who ARE these people who took over our bodies?!) Plus, we were anticipating our 7 p.m. dinner reservation at Lucques, and fretting about traffic, so we headed back to LA...

...and good thing, since it took us forever to get back into the city. Oh my, the traffic, it really is beyond description and worthy of its reputation. Like, 10 minutes to travel one block at one point. Aaaagh! Forget about prettying up for dinner - oh no. We went hot and sweaty straight to Lucques and barely made our res. It was hard to calm down and enjoy our dinner, although we did our best. The food was incredible (I particularly loved my white bean soup with nettles and green garlic), the service top-notch, the setting lovely and cozy. Hard to beat. I definitely need to go back in a different (more relaxed!) frame of mind.

Saturday we drove around Beverly Hills and Bel Air a bit (again, wow, the money, it's pretty mind-boggling) then made our way over to John's high school friend David Cremin's lovely home. We hung out there a bit, chatting and catching up with David, his wife Dana, and the youngest of their three daughters, Jessica. Then the five of us piled into their car and headed over to Canter's Deli for lunch. Classic, fabulous deli, OMG was it good. Crunchy, garlicky pickles. A pile of warm pastrami on soft rye. A giant, tender matzo ball in rich chicken stock. A chopped hearts of romaine salad. And the best - The Best - chocolaterugelach I have ever had. We rolled on out of there - stuffed! - bade farewell to the Cremins (who we'll hopefully see in Minnesota this summer!), and made our way back to the hotel for poolside digesting. Which we didn't achieve - there was a waiting list for chairs by the pool (darn!) so we had to relax in our gorgeous room, balcony doors thrown open, sipping cold beer from the mini-bar. Yeah, it was tough, you should feel really sorry for us. We did eventually rouse ourselves, and spiff up a bit, and after an elevator ride with Morgan Freeman (he's tall!) we made our way to the hotel bar to hang out for awhile - it is definitely a scene. Such fun to people-watch in LA, there's nothing like it.

So! Now we're back. The cold snap has broken, thank goodness. Time to return to normal eating! Normal sleep! And yes, normal Minnesota weather (heavy sigh....). And even still, it's damn good to be home.