Suzette was driving to Santa Rosa for the day and I knew she
would not wish to cook after a long day and long drive, so a couple of days ago
I talked to Susan Palmer about cooking dinner and she was kind enough to invite
us to her house for dinner. Then last
week when Janice visited our house, I mentioned the Palmers’ house and she said
she had not seen it since an AIA tour several years ago and then only shortly,
so I suggested to Susan that we include Janice and Tom in our dinner plans.
As it turned out Susan and Charlie were starting a new
project to update to LED bulbs and add additional lighting in areas that lacked
enough light, so Susan wanted to cook extra food to have on hand for the week
to avoid cooking during the remodel period, so I agreed to make a large pan of
roasted vegetables. We discussed the
menu and Susan said she wanted to experiment with apple pie and she would also cook
some vegetables and roast a pork tender.
When I finally reached Janice on Monday she said she had
made corn chowder she could bring, which gave us an appetizer/soup. I said I would bring the Back River Gin we
had bought in Union, Maine in August and
Fever Tree tonic waters, because I know how much Charlie likes gin and
tonics.
So at 4:30 p.m., I started filling our largest pyrex baking
dish (about 10X15) with diced Brussels sprouts, one large onion, one red bell pepper, about 2 Tbsps.
of chopped garlic from our garden, 1½ Tbsp. of fresh chopped sage and two diced small sweet potatoes. I dusted the vegetables with salt and white
pepper and tossed them lightly with olive oil, covered them with aluminum foil
and put them into a 350˚ for 45 minutes and then took a shower at 5:30.
When I got out of the shower Suzette had arrived and took
over with the vegetables. When the alarm
went off she uncovered the vegetables and roasted them for about another twenty
minutes. At around 7:00 we gathered up
the Back River Gin, Fever Tree Tonics, and a bottle of 2012 Eguren Tempranillo
Rosé from the Spanish Rioja and we went to the Palmers.
Shortly after we arrived Tom and Janice arrived with a large
Le Creuset covered Casserole with lovely smelling corn chowder. We heated the chowder and ate it first. Janice said she and Tom had roasted the ears of
corn on the open grill until they took on color and then removed and mixed the
roasted kernels with chipotle (smoked jalapeño chilis) and non-fat half and
half. The soup was excitingly spicy, but
not too over the top picante for me, and exuded a smoky flavor and smell. I thought the smoky flavor and aroma of the
roasted corn was wonderful. When the
roasted pork registered an internal temperature of 140˚ Susan said it was
ready, so I sliced it and, although some pieces were still a bit to red, most
of it was no more than pink and we placed the platter of pork slices, the
carrots, steamed haricots vert, Susan’s roasted potatoes and a sauce Susan had
made on the buffet beside the dining room table and I filled glasses with the
rosé. The Eguren rosé has a slightly
more red wine flavor that its lighter more elegant French cousins, but its
slight fruitiness complemented the pork nicely.
Everyone had a good meal.
Then after dinner Susan made Earl Grey tea and served her
fresh baked apple pie stuffed to overflowing with fresh apples and vanilla ice
cream.
We did not last past 9:30 but we had a great meal and took
home some apple pie for later.
Bon Appétit
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