HAPPY DAYS

I've just returned from a week in Amagansett, Long Island, a family reunion with cousins and siblings. It was a week of general hilarity, often-told remeniscenses and soul-soothing companionship. We ate often and generously and talked non-stop about food. Although we went out for a few meals, the best were at home - all the men did one meal - we were the princesses, and the next night was out turn. We poured wine for ourselves, chopped, pared,roasted and boogied to great old blues songs my cousin had downloaded. And, the last night was a feast = large, succulent lobsters steamed for us by the fishmonger, crisp cole slaw, roasted rosemary potaoes and a rich coconut cake for my cousin, her favorite way to celebrate her birthday. All washed down with a light, Sancerre-like sauvignon blanc - heaven on earth.
Now, at home, the weather is hot and sultry and for a friend who's coming for dinner I'm preparing a salade nicoise, crisp sourdough bread and, for dessert, grilled pound cake topped by a melange of berries with creme fraiche on the side. Simple and about all I can manage in this heat.

informal dinner with friends

My best friend,Jean, came from New York to spend a long weekend with me, and we talked every waking hour, and cooked. I'd invited our dear friends Dick and Richard to dinner, and my daughter, Rachel.Jean broke off the ends of bunches of fat asparagus and peeled them, then shaved the raw stalks into ribbons, to be combined with a lemon vinaigrette and a generous showering of freshly grated parmesan. This was our first course,served on old green glass plates - the essence of spring. Next, barbecued chicken. Early in the day I'd rubbed the thighs with a spice mixture that included lemonade powder - no salt. It had a nice, flavorful kick to it. While I prepared the sauce, Jean boiled potatoes for a particularly good old-fashioned potato salad. We filled an antique pitcher with spring flowers from the garden - columbine, iris, babtisia, both yellow and blue, and little branches of pink azalea. Lots of white wine, laughs, and,for dessert, strawberry and rhubarb pie with streusel topping, Richard's favorite. A perfect evening.

a weeknight dinner

A friend came for dinner last night and I had made a turkey meat loaf, moist and flavorful. To accompany it I boiled a yam just to the point of slight underdoneness. I cut it into large cubes, then sauteed it in olive oil, along with scallions, halved grape tomatoes, garlic and asparagus. When done, I showered fresh cilantro over all. Delicious.! I had some flatbread on hand, so I brushed both sides with olive oil and sprinkled the top with za'atar, then toasted it in a 375 oven until browned and crisp. This informal melange of textures and flavors came together happily.I'm looking forward to the leftovers.

family supper

My daughter, son-in-law and grandkids came for Sunday night supper after a long day at soccer games. I put out some red bean pate with crackers and in a few minutes we sat down to our informal dinner. Oven-fried chicken, my most often prepared rendition, which I'd come upon a few years ago while reading Amanda Hesser's delightful "Cooking For Mr. Latte." I brine the chicken for several hours (I used all thighs), then tossed it in flour to which I'd added a nice amount of lemon zest and some grated parmesan. Then into a hot pan with a bit of melted butter and baked till crispt. As accompaniments, roasted carrots and broccoli, the latter roasted with thin-sliced garlic and some red pepper flakes. Garlic bread, hot and crisp-crusted completed our dinner - except for dessert. Malted blondies, served warm, the chocolate bits within oozing slightly and on the side, a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Comfort food, with loving family.

weekend in nyc

I visited a good friend in the city and we had a marvelous dinner at an informal place in Brooklyn, "The Big Fork". The owner, his wife and friends had done all the refurbishing of the small space with it's brick wall, funkly lighting and tiled kitchen. The food was fresh, imaginative and oh, so delicious. And the wine list offered a well-chosen selection of wines by the glass - I chose a lovely gruner velt-liner. I shared the first course with my friend, grilled squid, sparklingly fresh. It was accompanied by a mound of quinoa and some grilled pineapple and the juxtaposition of flavors, textures and tastes was perfect. A perfectly prepared duck breast with a confit of fruits and served with a black rice cake was rich and succulent and the individual apple tart with a cakey crust was the ideal finish. Now i am intent on grilling squid on my soon-to-arrive, state of the art gas grill. As is typicl of NYC restaurants the bread was terrific and refills appeared without our asking.

sunday in the kitchen

What better for a cold and somewhat gloomy Sunday than The New York Times, a good workout, buckwheat pancakes and blueberries for breakfast and a few hours in the kitchen. Although I prefer fat asparagus to skinny, I'd come upon bunches of pencil-thin stalks for only a dollar a pound, so I bought four pounds with the idea of aspaaragus tarts, a touch of spring. I prepared a savory dough that included a generous pinch of baking powder, producing an easy to work with crust that was rich and tender. Next, I blanched the asparagus stalks after peeling them, shocked them in ice water, and after they were drained I wrapped them in a heavy terry towel to absorb any residual moisture. Then I cleaned and chopped some leeks and cooked them slowly in butter, along with chopped garlic. After pre-baking and cooling the tart crusts, in nine inch pans with removable bottoms, I mixed heavy cream, eggs, parmesan and seasonings. I layered the tarts with the asparagus and leeks, poured in the custard and baked them. I'd also made a half dozen individual tarts, one of which I enjoyed for dinner. Scrumptious. Oh, I forgot to mention that two or three minutes before removing the tarts from the oven, I cut up little pieces of camembert and sprinkled them atop, baking for just a couple of minutes till they became nice and gooey.
I had three glistening young eggplant in the fridge and decided to prepare an eggplangt parmesan, grilling half inch slices in a grill pan rather than frying them. I made a light and simple tomato sauce which I cooked for fifteen minutes, laid a bit of the sauce in a rectangular casserole, then a generous sprinkling of parmesan,followed by a layer of the vegetable. I repeated these layerings, and topped the final layer with a mix of bread crumbs and fresh oregano. I froze it immediately, to be baked and served midweek.