July 3, 2012 Grill Lamb chops and tabouli and BD cake

Suzette took me to lunch for my BD at Chez Alex.  The restaurant serves a luncheon special of an appetizer or salad with either a quiche or crepe for $9.99.  I ordered the cold carrot soup had the salmon crepe.  Suzette ordered the hot fresh green pea soup and crab quiche.  The green pea soup was the best dish.  It had a goodly proportion of leek and the peas had a little grit and bite on the tongue.  Suzette celebrated the approach of our trip to France with a glass of Vouvry and I had a glass of Rhone rose ($8.00 each glass).  The meal was just okay, but better than a hamburger and fries.  My salmon was overcooked and grey in color.  The crepe was soft and the Swiss cheese melted on top just okay.  The carrot soup was watery and without much flavor.  I had a Cuisine Minceur déjà vu moment as I spooned it into my mouth.

I went to an appointment and on the way home stopped at Pastians to buy a loaf of German sourdough rye and a 9 grain loaf and saw a lovely chocolate cake that I just had to buy for dinner.  I then stopped at Lowe’s market for tomatoes (vine ripe clusters for $.69/lb.) and powdered sugar.

When I got home around 4.00 p.m. I had another litigation related emergency that I had to take care of that took until 6:00 p.m.

We had invited Charlie Palmer down for dinner at 7:45 p.m. so I started making tabouli when I returned home.

Tabouli recipe

1 cup #2 Bulgur wheat, covered with water in a bowl for 1 hour and then drained

1/3 to ½ cup of olive oil, Nomads’ Moroccan

1 large lemon, juice

1 bunch, parsley, chopped finely

¼ to ½ cup fresh mint, chopped finely

2 medium tomatoes, diced 

1 cucumber, peeled and diced

3 green onions, minced.

1 clove garlic, pressed

½ tsp. salt

Making the tabouli is a cumulative process.  After draining the excess water off the bulgur after it soaks for one hour, add the olive oil and lemon juice and then add the other ingredients.  Mix and serve.

We grilled the lamb chops using the Mike Verhagen method of cooking them on the center bone side first and then on each side for about 4 minutes per side.  The result is a more uniformly cooked meat that is moist and tender.  Suzette is not sold on this method yet, because she likes to see a line of red in the middle and that does not occur with this method.

We drank Burgess Merlot with the dinner and cabernet sauvignon with the chocolate cake.

I loved my simple, fresh and wonderful BD dinner.

Bon Appétit