StephanieL

Two business trips later in the year: a short one to Long Beach, CA at the end of July and a sadly longer one to Orlando in October.

Funny to see a review of L&L Hawaiian Barbecue. I remember its outpost near the Seaport--it was the first place I ever had plate lunch.

Well, thanks to our garden, at least I'll never have to buy parsley again. Think of the savings!

From The Bean Book, a Mexican-inspired dish of ground beef, red cabbage, white beans (RG Marcellas, in this case), and diced tomatoes. The recipe calls for either tostadas or rice on the side, but I went with regular corn tortillas.

I love turnip cakes. Will have to pay Hang Ah a visit sometime.

Back to basics: mussels in white wine with garlic, shallots, and sweet peppers.

Our condolences. We will miss his stories.

Reindeer's Tail, courtesy of the East Bay Times: 2 oz. dark rum (I used Gosling's Black Seal) 1/2 oz. fresh lime juice 1/2 oz. allspice dram 1/4 oz. Demerara syrup 2 dashes Angostura (or other aromatic bitters) Shake over ice and strain into an ice-filled rocks glass. Garnish with a lime wheel.

Adventures in pizza making went slightly awry--the combination of possibly underproofed frozen pizza dough and a not-hot-enough oven led to N needed to bake the pizza for longer than expected, so that the crust wouldn't be raw. However, that led to a tough crust and some of the toppings burning. Oh well. OTOH, the salad of roasted (garden) cauliflower and garden greens was excellent.

Apple Sidecar 1 1/2 oz. apple brandy (I used a mix of Calvados and Laird’s Applejack) 3/4 oz. Cointreau 3/4 oz. Meyer lemon juice Cinnamon sugar Rim a cocktail glass with cinnamon sugar. Shake the brandy, Cointreau, and lemon juice with ice and strain into the rimmed glass. Garnish with an apple slice.

Wow.

Today, we've had 4 measurable earthquakes hit us, all centered just a few miles from our house.

More heavy rains coming our way starting tonight.

Gotta say that I liked the audacity of the halftime show.

Fusilli with RG Marcellas, roasted delicata squash, and homemade kale pesto.

At 85. He did sarcasm very well.

Blow is going to Harvard: Charles Blow named inaugural recipient of Langston Hughes Fellowship — Harvard Gazette. I read that Pamela Paul's column is gone too.

Yes, I bought it new. I don't have the willpower to cellar a beer for 10+ years. 😉

--Pork butt, first seared at a high heat and then roasted at a lower heat for about an hour --RG Mantequilla beans, simply cooked --Sweet-and-sour red cabbage --Steamed bread dumplings, made with frozen pizza dough. They came out dense, so N said that next time she'd leave enough time to make homemade bread dough --For dessert, king cake from Dong Phuong Bakery

North Coast Old Stock Ale, 2023 edition. Super-malty, which I like, with a bit of sweetness. 10.9% ABV, but it didn't feel like it.

On my to-go list, especially since there's now a branch in the East Bay.

We had leftover yellow split peas from dinner a few nights ago, so N made another lamb dish from Ethiopia. This stew would normally use slow-cooked leg of lamb, but in the interest of time she used ground lamb and just kept the spice profile. One thing N has noticed is that the two recipes she's made from this book use a lot of onions, but they aren't caramelized--they're finally chopped and allowed to melt into the dish. This means there hasn't been a fond, with a corresponding lack of "fond" flavor. Perhaps that's part of the Ethiopian cooking style?

--Broiled lamb chops with berbere seasoning and a chimichurri sauce --RG yellow split peas cooked with ginger and onions, from the Ethiopia cookbook --Roasted cauliflower from our garden We didn't have tej, so I opened this mead we got at the National Museum of Denmark. It's not like any mead I've ever had; to me, it tastes a lot like buckwheat. N said that she'd prefer it as an aperitif in small amounts (like a dry sherry), rather than having it in wine glasses with a meal.

From the NY Times: Baked Barley Risotto With Mushrooms and Carrots

I was lucky enough to eat at The Slanted Door on someone else's dime (business dinner). I was hoping I could go back to a reopened Ferry Building iteration.