November 7, 2015 Four helpings of refried beans. Lunch – La Salita, Dinner – Pink Grouper in aluminum foil, refried Black Beans and rice

November 7, 2015 Four helpings of refried beans. Lunch – La Salita, Dinner – Pink Grouper in aluminum foil, refried Black Beans and rice.

Even though I had lax, cream cheese, onion and capers on Bosque Bakery French sour dough bread for breakfast, I was hungry by 11:30, so I started my grocery shopping run by driving to La Salita for a platter of two Swiss cheese filled chili Rellenos with double refried beans, garnish and onions.  I had to force myself to finish it, not because it was not incredibly delicious, but because I simply could not eat all the wonderful food I found before me.  I was seated in the second dining room at around 12:00 and no one else came, so I enjoyed reading the incredible story of the law student’s journey from Syria to Sweden in the October 26, 2015 New Yorker in peace and quite, although the owner came by and said, “I see you have a private dining room today.”

After lunch I drove to Talin.  We had decided to bake fish in foil for dinner, so I was looking for a fresh Mexican fish.  I faced a dilemma when I arrived at the fish department because I was confronted by three likely candidates, red snapper, monkfish, and pink grouper.  I finally decided that the grouper looked the best and would be the best value because it would yield more meat per pound, so I bought a two pound steak.  My favorite fishmonger descaled  and cleaned the larger of the two fish and cut me my desired steak. I also bought sprouts, and a couple more shallots.

Then I drove to Gruet Winery and Justin prepared my quarterly wine club order while I sipped a glass of Rose brut champagne.  I sat beside a couple of wine aficionados visiting from Columbus, Ohio who mentioned Camino Real Winery, so I mentioned the Greenhouse Bistro and drew them directions to the bistro and winery and also suggested they go to Milagros winery and drew them directions to it also.  After I drank about half of my glass of rose I realized I was a pretty lucky guy to be able to enjoy all this wonderful food and wine.  

I drove to Ranch Market to get the rest of the things we needed for dinner, including two large cans of refried black beans, ground cojita cheese, Latin American crema, carrots, avocados, and a red bell pepper.  I also bought smoked pork chops, heads on shrimp, apples, and limes.  

I arrived home by 3:00 and put a bottle of Gruet 2010 Blanc de Blanc champagne and a bottle of Gruet rose into the fridge to chill and collapsed into bed and slept for a few minutes even though TCU was playing OSU.  Unfortunately, TCU played badly and fell behind, due to several interceptions, so watching the game became of secondary importance. 

At 4:00 Suzette arrived and we went to work in the garden for a few minutes.  We covered part of the mint and chard.  Then we started cooking, but we were both tired and by 5:30, when Carey and Peter arrived, we still had not made much progress.  Thank goodness Peter and Carey were more energized than us.  

Also, Because Carey is such a good cook, it was easy to integrate her into the cooking process.  Actually both she and Peter have had cooking careers.  Peter was a cook in the marine corps and after his military service for a while.

I was making my Baked Chocolate pudding for dessert.  Here is the recipe, except I added thee extra egg yolks 1/3 cup extra chocolate chips, only ¾ cup of sugar, a dash of Grand Marnier, and a dash of vanilla.  I separated the egg whites and Carey whisked them into a soft mound, but we did not stiffen them enough and I could not bind them into the chocolate mixture properly.  Also I used one bowl instead of two to save time and one hour at 350 was not a sufficiently long baking time to fully bake the dessert, so it turned out to be a deliciously gooey half baked molten torte.  Unfortunately, we needed to bake the aluminum pockets, so we removed the chocolate torte  in its Bain Marie from the oven after one hour.  Next time I will turn on the gas burner and keep cooking it on top of the stove

One of the reasons I had trouble with the dessert is because I helping with the other two dishes.  I filleted and cut the grouper into chunks, while Carey and Suzette chopped onion, carrots, a tomato, and garlic and a pimiento from our garden and butter and white  wine and wrapped the ingredients with aluminum foil into wrapped pockets.  

While they worked on the fish dish, I went to the basement and found the avocado leaves.  I also opened the can of beans and added one tsp. of dried Mexican oregano and avocado leaves to the beans.  Carey and Suzette chopped garlic and added it to the beans and I moved the PPI basmati rice from its aluminum sauce pan to a plastic bowl with a cover and put it into the microwave. 

Finally everything sort of came together.  The fish pockets cooked, the black beans integrated al their flavors, so Suzette heated the rice in the microwave and I opened and poured the Gruet rose.  We also made buttered toast with slices of Fano baguette for Peter.

Carey and Suzette garnished the black beans with chopped avocado and cilantro, and sprinkled cojita cheese on it to make a beautiful presentation.  Suzette spooned rice into the aluminum pockets to mix with the light wine and vegetable broth sauce.  

It was Carey’s  birthday, plus they are within days of leaving to start their new life in the Azores, so Peter and Carey were in a great mood and that elevated the excitement around the food, which I thought was also terrific.  We talked and ate and drank rose.  Carey had not ever tasted the Gruet rose and was surprisingly pleased with its blend of Chenin Blanc and Pinot Noir.

The beans were so delicious, I took a second helping. Or should I say a fourth helping of beans.

After dinner Suzette served bowls of the gooey chocolate dessert garnished with PPI crème anglais and I poured the Gruet 2010 Blanc de Blanc, which tasted better and more full bodied than I had remembered it being.  Dessert was incredible. I loved it and Peter and I took seconds. 

Finally a bit after 9:00 we all began to crash, so we said goodnight.

Bon Appetit and Bon Voyage