Thursday, June 20, 2013

June 19, 2013 Lunch-Anatolia, Dinner-Bratwurst with PPI Grilled Asparagus, Kabocha Squash and Cucumber and Tomato Salad

June 19, 2013 Lunch-Anatolia, Dinner-Bratwurst with PPI Grilled Asparagus, Kabocha Squash and Cucumber and Tomato Salad

I called Sally earlier in the day and went by Bill’s at 12:30 and we walked over to Anatolia for lunch.  It was crowded, perhaps because one of today’s specials was a Beef Doner Kabob plate lunch for $6.49, instead of its regular $8.50.  Sally introduced me to Anatolia and I follow her lead and order whatever the daily special is.  Recently I discovered that there is a rather regular pattern to the specials and Wednesdays it is usually Beef Doner Kabob, which consists of pieces of thinly sliced beef marinated and then rubbed with seasonings and grilled.  I like it a lot and am probably going to become a Wednesday regular.  Today Sally told me that she actually prefers Chicken Tawah?, which, if I recall correctly, is a chicken and green chili stew that Sally says is served on either Thursdays or Fridays.  All plates are served with one half plate of rice, on which the meat entrée is piled and the other ½ of the plate is covered with a Greek (Turkish) salad garnished with pickled onions. Usually, there is a small dessert, such as a square of baklava served after the meal, as there was today.
The Beef Doner Kabob Plate met all my expectations today.  It was spicy and cooked to perfection; tender and flavorful.  I love Anatolia and after lunch the owner and chef told me that they were negotiating for a larger restaurant in downtown Albuquerque.   It is wonderful to see a good restaurant succeed.

I spoke to Susan Palmer and we decided to get together for dinner on Thursday evening.  I offered to bring a rack of lamb riblets and the PPI Calabacitas we made on Sunday evening.

Meditation was cancelled, so I thawed out a package of two bratwursts from Sprouts for a light meal that we could eat while we watched the fourth game of the Stanley Cup Finals.

When Suzette came home and saw the brats, we discussed what stuff to eat with the brats and we decided to save the Calabacitas for Thursday and she went to the fridge and soon found the ½ PPI Baked Kabocha squash and when I suggested salad, she said she wanted to make a one skillet dinner with the brats and the PPI grilled asparagus from last night’s meal.  I offered and she agreed to add sautéed onion to the dish, so I minced one medium yellow onion.  

Suzette started by boiling the brats in beer until they cooked and then she added the onion to the brats and unfortunately or fortunately, she returned to her work on the computer and the onions and brats scorched a bit, so I added more beer and then Suzette added the asparagus and a bit of brown sugar and cooked the whole affair with more beer into a rather savory, somewhat charred stew-like combination that imparted a charbroiled and slightly sweet flavor to the caramelized onions.

 We did a similar thing with the squash half.  Suzette halved the squash and I minced ½ of a granny smith apple and we stuffed the squash quarters with a bit of butter and brown sugar and the minced apple pieces and baked them in the microwave until hot and the apples had softened.

I still wanted some salad, so I decided to dice the remaining ½ cucumber and a tomato and add that to the PPI tomato and cucumber salad Suzette had made for Sunday or Monday’s dinner and we dressed the revived salad with more of the PPI basil orange juice and mayonnaise dressing Suzette had made for Saturday evening’s meal.

So pretty soon we had made a beautiful meal without much effort.  I went to the basement and fetched some beers and then put opened bottles of mayonnaise, mustard and horseradish on our recently purchased lazy-susan and we played with it as we combined those ingredients into a dipping sauce for our brats.

 
We enjoyed our fun meal while watching the well played, high intensity game between Boston and Chicago that went into overtime.

After dinner Suzette suggested we heat up the last of the mango, nectarine and blueberry cobbler and so we enjoyed a bowl of it with vanilla ice cream.

It seemed to me to be a perfect meal for the occasion; sort of a combination of picnicking and eating really good concession food at a fancy sports event, without all the bugs and loud crowds of people.

Bon Appétit

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