November 22, 24 and 25, 2012 Sunday: Lunch – Caesar Salad; Dinner – Pork Comfit with sauerkraut and Mashed Potatoes

We tried the gravad lax on bagels with goat cheese for breakfast.

For lunch I wanted to have a warm duck Caesar salad.  I used the fresh greens we had bought at La Montanita Coop, a Roma tomato, a stick of heart of palm, heated green beans and on-half of a duck breast, one green onion, several slices of Pecorino Romano cheese and the freshly made croutons from the stale French bread rolls with a bit of PPI ceasar dressing from the fridge.

For dinner, Suzette combined ½ lb. of sauerkraut from Alpine Sausage Kitchen with the PPI pork confit and made mashed potatoes.   We drank the lovely Tiefenbrunner 2009 Pinot Grigio that Aaron Lohmann had brought us on Wednesday.  It was a Leonard Lucascio selection and very clean and dry and light; the best bottle of Pinot Grigio I have had in years.  The sauerkraut was not overly strong or vinegary, but winey, and mixed well with the pork and potatoes.

On Thursday, November 22^nd, we drove to the Spence Hot Springs in the Jemez Mountains and packed turkey sandwiches and chocolate chip cookies and a bottle of Chateau Serene rosé and bathed in the approximately 100˚ water and chatted with a couple from Stillwater, Oklahoma.  

On Saturday we were called by Nancy Lamm, who said we might like seeing the movie, “Step up to the Plate”.  So Saturday evening we went to the Guild Theatre and bought tickets at 6:20 for the 6:45 p.m. showing of the movie and went next door to El Vicino and each of us drank a 10 oz. glass of beer and watched the three chefs working on the line for twenty minutes.  I particularly enjoyed watching the guy who cooked the food in the pizza oven.   The movie was about the Michelin three star restaurant Michel Bras in rural Southwestern France in the Midi Pyrennes region at Laguiole.  It has had three stars since 1999 and is rated the 7^th best restaurant in the world.

The intensity of attention that Michel and his son, Sebastian, devote to every detail in the restaurant and food is impressive and inspiring; from  going to food markets before sunrise, to experimenting in the kitchen when it is closed, to harvesting the beautiful fresh vegetables and edible flowers from the restaurant’s garden, and to training the wait staff how to describe and taste the unique characteristics of the exquisite food.

When we returned home at 8:30 p.m., I ate a gravad lax salad to test the salmon and it was delicious.

During the day on Sunday, November 25, 2012, Suzette made another apple tart for Lisa Richard, who is convalescing after surgery, with the apple sauce made with apples from her trees in Taos.  We had gone to Lowe’s on Saturday and bought a new bottle of apricot preserves, so for this tart, Suzette reduced the amount of apple sauce filling and made the recommended apricot glaze and also made the crust with wine as she had done before.   The result was a less sweet tart with a lighter crust.  Suzette made fresh whipped cream with powdered sugar.  The result was terrific.  I loved the dessert the best of all the things I ate today with a glass of cognac flavored with the quince syrup Suzette made a month ago.       

Bon Appetit