paryzer

Mrs. P made a coffee rubbed D’Artagnan magret duck breast with sides of roasted delicata squash and TJ’s sweet potato fries. I had a cranberry, cherry, cabernet conserve (not pictured) with the duck. It all went great with an excellent Chateauneuf Du Pape.

Mrs. P made bacon, apple, and bleu cheese stuffed D’Artagnan Heritage double cut pork chop😋 She also made butternut squash mac and cheese and roasted delicata squash. It went great with an excellent French Syrah.

In a major shock and loss to the NJ culinary world, Kevin Kohler, iconic chef and owner of Cafe Panache passed away this morning😪 He was only 63 and seemed in great health. There was no known cause of death. This was one of our favorite restaurants in NJ and has been around for an incredible 38 plus years. Chef Kohler was one of the first to embrace farm to table and still went to the local farms and picked his own vegetables until the end. Chef Kohler and Cafe Panache will be sorely missed. I can’t see how they can continue to remain open, especially in these Covid times, unless someone else

She supposedly died again. https://pagesix.com/2021/01/05/tanya-roberts-dead-at-65-a-day-after-premature-announcement/?utm_source=maropost&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=news_alert&utm_content=20210105&mpweb=755-9235403-719092275

Oops. Apparently she is still alive. https://tvline.com/2021/01/04/tanya-roberts-alive-not-dead-false-death-statement/

Mrs. P went all out for our New Year's Eve dinner. She made coffee rubbed Heritage double cut pork chops from D’Artagnan, with sides of roasted delicata squash and roasted Brussels sprouts with butternut squash, crispy bacon, pearl onions, fried sage, and maple syrup. For dessert she made pineapple rum ice cream with caramel sauce and fresh fruit. It all went great with Molly Dooker The Boxer Shiraz and 20 year old Taylor Fladgate port.

On Christmas day we enjoyed an excellent charcuterie dinner mainly courtesy of D’Artagnan. We enjoyed duck and chicken leg confit, uncured applewood smoked and hickory smoked bacon, uncured applewood smoked heritage ham, smoked chicken, andouille sausage, chicken sausage with apples, roasted delicata squash, Humboldt fog cheese, drunken goat cheese, 60 day aged gruyere, onion focaccia bread, various crackers, caramelized onion jam, cranberry cherry cabernet conserve. It all went great with an excellent red blend.

The NY Post had an amusing article on the history of the 21 Club and tales of debauchery. https://nypost.com/2020/12/15/sinatra-trump-and-other-tales-from-nycs-21-club/?utm_source=maropost&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=nypdaily&utm_content=20201216&tpcc=morning_report&mpweb=755-9213649-719092275

It’s that time of year. Costco is having their annual D’Artagnan Christmas sale. I just got the below great deal for $124.99. It normally retails for around $200.00. https://www.costco.com/d’artagnan-13-piece-gourmet-food-lover’s-luxury-charcuterie-gift-box-12.5-lbs..product.100682449.html

Mrs. P made Andouille sausage and peppers 😋 It went great with an excellent red blend.

Mrs. P made an awesome duck leg confit salad with blue cheese, delicata squash, toasted pine nuts, and arugula among other ingredients. She also made a crispy duck leg confit for me😋 It all went great with an excellent red blend.

You can thank the wildfire smoke for that. https://www.sfgate.com/news/editorspicks/article/Bay-Area-sky-orange-wildfire-smoke-San-Francisco-15553461.php#photo-19930736

We enjoyed a sensational INDOOR dinner out for the first time in six months at Il Nido in Marlborough Township, NJ. All of the tables were nicely spaced and the servers were fully masked. We went early and had the whole room to ourselves for the first hour. They removed some tables and only had 5 tables in this particular room. They have 3 other rooms plus they set up beautiful canapes outside and took up a big chunk of the parking lot. The outside was jammed when we left. The owners added hepa filters for better air circulation. We enjoyed a delicacy of 36 month aged culatello with hazelnuts;

Mrs. P made a healthy roasted cauliflower steak topped with sautéed red onions, and roasted shishito and mini peppers on the side. I topped it off with spicy Korean Gochujang sauce to give it a nice kick. It was also marinated in balsamic vinegar to give it a nice char.

Mrs. P made a very refreshing watermelon salad with feta, mascarpone, pistachios, pickled red onions, arugula, fresh homegrown mint, in a balsamic reduction. It was an excellent start to a crab fest featuring Dungeness crab and Alaskan king crab claws. We had TJ’s sweet potato fries on the side. It all went great with a nice red blend aged in rum barrels.