Shrooms!

The Boletes are early and there are loads. Every week I play tennis in Round Top with our friend Annie. Her court is on the mountain, in the woods, surrounded by wild blueberries, moss and bluestone slabs. A keen collector of shrooms, right before I arrived in the morning Annie gathered a basketful of boletes. She cooks them fresh or slices and dries them for soups in autumn and winter. After we played, she gave me a brown bag full of some beauties. We ate them that night, sauteed in Spanish olive oil with some smoked salt, Tarragon and Lemon Thyme. Yum!!

August rain brings mushroom bounty.

Jeff may think his eye sight isn't as good as it used to be, but I don't know anyone else who can spot wild mushrooms on the fly while driving. Last year it was a scattering of Chanterelles under a dark canopy of evergreens and this year, at the far end of a field, a soccer sized Giant Puff Ball and its' anomalous kin. 

Check out their sculptural, alien forms!

d'Yquem & the best eggs in the valley...

On the way home yesterday, I stopped by Grazin' Angus Acres to pick out dinner. Ended up with an amazing Rib Eye, some eggs for the morning and some Angus breakfast sausage.

I made an Frittata for lunch, with some left-over Corn Succotash from the night before, Jalapeno Jack cheese, a little Prosciutto and lots of herbs from the garden. 

I gotta say, the eggs were some of the best I've had in a long time. They were soooo vibrant yellow and soooo ultra creamy! Wow! I think they rivaled the eggs from the chickens my parents raised when I was a kid.

To go with it, I made potato salad with the tasty breakfast sausage--really great flavor! It was unique and a little meatier than you might expect for a breakfast sausage, with a polite amount of spice.

Just as the Frittata went in the oven, Jeff came home with a bottle of d'Yquem sec. This really excited me, because I'm in love with beautiful white Bordeaux. And d'Yquem, known for their dessert wine--%100 semillon, well, need I say more? Ok, I will! Its complexity, perfumed aroma, honeyed, floral, wide, long finish, might have descended from the angels.

Corn!

Well, it's August, and it's all about corn. Deliciously sweet, juicy and lightly crunchy "Butter & Sugar" Holmquest Farm corn, that is! Our friend Jeffrey Elliot picked me up a package of Japanese spice for my birthday during his trip to Japan, while checking out the production of Henckels knife making, the company for which he works. So jealous of his trip, filled with the best Uni, brilliant chefs & bizarre seafood finds at the fish markets...  

Sweet butter and Japanese Spice, yes, oh so nice!

Left-overs. Oops, there's little to none!

Awesome!

Pickles & Pork

Kirby cucumbers are now at all the local farm stands.

They are perfectly tiny, firm, moist and delicious. And they make a great pickle.

We did a basic 3-2-1-1 brine on the cucumbers and served them w/ crispy braised pork belly, peanuts, beans sprouts, cilantro and a spicy sauce made from the reduce pork braising liquid along with some soy sauce & sambal. This is a good one!

Cadence Wine Dinner

We had our first wine dinner this year with Cadence Winery.
They are a Washington based winery who focus their efforts and passion on Bordeaux blends.

A husband and wife wine making team Ben & Gaye were on hand to discuss their wines and wine making techniques.

It was a beautiful spring day and we wanted the menu to start with that feel.

Amuse Bouche: Asparagus & Goat Cheese Tart

The first course was an English pea salad with Lenny B's smoked trout

trout roe, radish and baby opal basil.

2006 Maryhill Winery Winemaker's White Blend

The second course was a roasted Black Angus marrow bone.

We procurred theese awesome bones from Grazin Angus Acres an all

natural Black Angus farm just down the road.

We served it with some smoked toungue from the same steer, grilled bread,

poached Burgundy snails, and a parsley caper salad.

This was a seriuos plate of goodness

2005 Cadence Coda

The third course for the evening was a braised lamb shoulder,

grilled spiring onion fava bean puree and a salad of micro arugula & preserved lemon.

2005 Cadence “Ciel du Cheval Vineyard”, Red Mountain
2005 Cadence, “Taptiel Vineyard

The dessert!!

Roasted frui flan draped by crispy almond pastry.

2005 Madrone Mountain Late Harvest Gewürztraminer

Triple Bypass Decadence

Some late winter early spring goodness to share.

Pancetta,flat- not rolled, dry cured and hung for 3 months.

Just look a that unctuous fat & rosey pork -What to do?
How about crisping thin strips and topping crispy sweet breads,

over potato latkes, with a smoked Bearnaise sauce.

And because that wasn't rich and decadent enough we put together

Braised Veal Cheek Lasagna with a little swiss chard & bechamel to round it out.

25 mg of Lipitor as a digestif