May 11, 2017 a fun and rewarding day Lunch – La Hacienda. Dinner – Sautéed Smoked Pork Chops, Chard Custard, Corn on the Cob, and Grilled Artichoke
I toasted ½ of an everything bagel for breakfast and smeared it with cream cheese and garnished it with red onion slices, capers, and slices of Gravad Lax and drank a cup of tea with it.
Suzette had a meeting downtown this morning, so she ate the other half of the bagel with cream cheese and Lax and mentioned a menu using the ingredients that we had, smoked Park chops, fresh corn on the cob, and the two chard custards Cynthia brought us Sunday evening.
At 11:00 I spoke to the tenant at 524 Romero about paying the rent of $2,500.00. He said he had it and would be going to his La Hacienda restaurant at noon. I told him I would meet him at his restaurant and he could deliver it to me there.
I then finalized a letter that had to be sent certified and put on my riding clothes and rode to the Old Town post office and mailed it certified. I then rode across Central to Old Town and the two blocks to the plaza where La Hacienda Restaurant is located. The La Hacienda Restaurant has a covered portal filled with tables overlooking the plaza and the San Francisco de Neri church. I lay my bike against the railing separating the portal from the sidewalk between two planters, so it would not impede any foot traffic and sat at a table next to the bike.
I had the new issue of the New Yorker that arrived in the mail today and read and then ordered an enchilada plate with ground beef and red chili sauce. The enchiladas were not made in my favorite manner, which is to soften them in a chili broth and then bake them in the oven. It appeared to me that La Hacienda used the easiest and least flavorful method of making an stacked flat plate of enchiladas of dipping a tortilla in hot oil to soften it and then laying ground meat taco mixture between the two bottom layers and then pouring red chili over the top tortilla and then the plate is filled with a scoop of beans and a scoop of rice and garnished with grated cheese and then put under a
heat lamp to heat the enchiladas and melt the cheese. The problem with this method is that the tortillas are not evenly softened because not all areas of the tortillas are evenly covered with the same amount of liquid and those areas that have not been submerged with chili sauce are tough and the areas of tortilla that have been only slightly sauced have an uncooked texture. The enchiladas I was served had both of these problems today. My favorite enchiladas are prepared at the Shed in Santa Fe, which both softens the tortillas in chili broth for a few seconds and completely covers the enchiladas with red chili sauce and cheese and then bakes them in the oven or broils them under a salamander to fully cook and integrate the textures and flavors of the ingredients. After you have tasted the texture of fully baked enchiladas, you will notice the deficiencies of any lesser method
immediately.T
he La Hacienda enchiladas were not bad today for what they were. The red sauce was delicious and pleasingly picante as was the taco meat blend of onions, ground beef and spices between the two bottom tortillas. I requested more garnish and chopped onions and those were brought on the side after the plate of enchiladas was delivered. Also, shortly after I sat down a warm basket of freshly fried tortilla chips with red chili was delivered to my table that I really enjoyed. I also enjoyed the al fresco dining under the portal with a view of the sun lit plaza and church grounds.
Best of all, after I ate, Debbie arrived with an envelope filled with the rent payment. I paid my tab and rode the 17 or 18 blocks to the bank and deposited the rent and then rode home after my pleasant midday outing.
I worked until 6:45. Suzette came home around 6:00 with a bunch of fresh fennel and a bunch of fresh rhubarb stalks from her gardens at the Center for Ageless Living. While I was still working she diced the stalks of rhubarb and put the diced rhubarb with sugar, water, and strawberries she had bought at Costco a few days ago into a large casserole and simmered the mixture until it reduced into a thick sauce.
When I finished work and went to the kitchen I was confronted by a pile of fennel that needed to be diced, which I did. I then fetched the three ears of fresh corn and shucked them. Then we remembered that we had bought a plastic container with four medium artichokes for $2.49 at Trader Joe’s on a Saturday and we had boiled them on Saturday for thirty minutes instead of an hour and then I squeezed out as much water from them as possible to try for them to retain some texture and structural integrity so they would not collapse when grilled.
Tonight Suzette sliced two artichokes in half with our bread knife with it serrated blade and they did not collapse. She then grilled them on the propane grill while the pork chops were sautéing and the ears of corn were boiling on the stove and the rhubarb/strawberry compote was bubbling while I reconstituted our artichoke dipping sauce by adding 1 ½ T. of fresh chopped fennel fronds!
Mayonnaise, lemon juice and a drop of harissa. Finally, we heated the chard custards for 1 minute and 23 seconds in the microwave to fully heat them and opened a bottle of French apple cider we also bought at Trader Joe’s last Saturday. We filled our plates with an ear of corn, a sautéed pork chop, a chard custard, and two grilled artichoke halves and took everything out to the garden to eat al fresco at around 7:45 as the sky was ablaze with pinks and golds from the setting sun. The temperature was pleasant and there was little wind. We enjoyed the warm evening and our fabulous meal with so many delicious and fresh ingredients.
After the mosquitos began attacking us, we went back inside and watched the latest historic news reports from Washington. This period of history seems to me to be a lot like 1973 and 1974, when Watergate investigations were going while anti war demonstrations were going on and the counterculture was still going on.
After a while Suzette suggested we try some of the strawberry/rhubarb compote with scoops of vanilla ice cream. We made small bowls and it was delicious. More fresh food. I love the spring when fresh produce starts being available.
Bon Appetit
No comments:
Post a Comment