October 19, 2016 Lunch – Taj Mahal. Dinner – Beer cooked Brats, Sauerkraut, and Potatoes and Carrots

October 19, 2016  Lunch – Taj Mahal. Dinner – Beer cooked Brats, Sauerkraut, and Potatoes and Carrots

I was happy to be back in the office this morning.  I talked to Aaron At 10:00 and we decided to meet for lunch at Taj Mahal at 11:15.

The Taj was wonderful as usual.  I said hello to the cousin who manages the Taj in Shamiz’ absence who I like very much because of her shining disposition and waved to Mr. Singh the Executive Chef.

Aaron filled me in on his trip to Romania, from which he returned at 11:00 last night.  He said the wineries he visited were very impressive and the harvest is almost complete.  

As we were eating Mike Verhagen came in and I invited him to join us.

I also invited Mike to join us for dinner and the debate.

After we finished lunch I went to Sprouts and bought four brats, a lb. of sauerkraut, some mushrooms, some peanut clusters, milk, an eggplant, and string beans.  I then drove to Quarters and bought a case of out of date Coors beer and a case of Wicked Cherry cider on sale for $10.99 per case.

I returned home at 2:00 and did a letter for Aaron and then drove to Poulin Design for a 3:00 appointment.

I arrived home at 5:45 from my appointment, just as Suzette was arriving.

We discussed dinner and since Willy was coming also, decided to boil the brats in beer and make potatoes and carrots and the sauerkraut and to serve grilled artichokes with a mayonnaise dressing.

Suzette soon had the beer water heating and peeled the potatoes.  I went to the garage and fetched the carrots and went to the garden for a sprig of tarragon.  I then diced the six potatoes and two  and covered them in a sauce pan with water.  I then diced 1 onion, 3/4 of a red bell pepper, and a Granny Smith apple, which Suzette sautéed in olive oil to make into a garnish for the brats.

Suzette boiled the potatoes and carrots and the drained them and added a bit of salt and butter to them, sautéed the bell pepper, onion and apple, and boiled the brats.  

We had no mayonnaise so I made about two cups of it using Julia Child’s recipe in Mastering the Art of French Cooking volume 1, by mixing four egg yolks with 1 ½ T. of  fresh lemon juice, ½ tsp. of  salt, and ¾ tsp. of prepared Dijon mustard and then slowly adding 2 cups of olive oil.  I then stripped the leaves from the tarragon sprig and chopped them and added them to the mayo.

I added about 1 cup of the newly made Mayo to the bowl of PPI mayonnaise and yogurt dressing and placed it on the table.

Mike arrived at 7:00 and Willy arrived a little later.  Suzette grilled the eight or nine PPI artichoke halves and served them as a warm appetizer and as avegetable with the meal. Everyone dipped the artichoke leaves in the mayonnaise sauce and enjoyed them.

  The grilled artichokes and mayonnaise dressing

Then Suzette plated the brats, the potatoes and carrots, and the sauerkraut and I fetched a sweet Bavarian mustard and the jar of Grey Poupon Dijon style mustard and I poured apple ciders for all and we enjoyed a very Alsatian/Normandy style meal.

I was awful during the debate yelling about Donald Trump’s refusal to answer the questions and his negative insults to Hillary.  I hope she wins so I can stop my ranting.

After dinner I fetched the Calvados and cognac and the newly purchased chocolate covered peanuts, which were not very good because the chocolate coating was waxy and bad chocolate.

We talked with Mike and Willy until 10:30, when we bid each other goodnight.

Bon Appetit