October 15, 2017 Lunch – Lambert’s   Dinner – Grilled Boneless Leg of Lamb marinated in garlic confit, Tzatziki, grilled Eggplant with a Tahini Sauce, Braised Cabbage, and Forbidden Rice

This morning I ate a ½ bagel smeared with goat cheese as I watched Fareed Zakaria and Meet The Press.  We then went to Bent Street because Rebecca needed to go to Lethrworks for a repair of her purse.  It was 11:30 so I suggested that we eat lunch at Lambert’s.  We took a table on the patio in the shade.  It was chilly, but the waitress brought us blankets.

Elaine ordered the green chili stew.  Rebecca ordered Eggs Benedict with green chili sauce, Suzette ordered a Salad Nicoise, Billy ordered enchiladas stuffed with calabacitas to go, and I ordered the smoked trout plate with homemade bagel.  It was a good brunch menu.  Suzette and Rebecca drank mimosas and I had a glass of Marcal Cava.

After lunch we drove to the Harwood and saw the Ron Davis show and the permanent collection.  I was particularly impressed by one of the Robert Ray paintings that looked a lot like the one I bought several years ago at the Harwood’s silent auction during the winter wine festival and the great Victor Higgins' Winter Funeral from 1931, one of the iconic New Mexican Modernist paintings.  Here it is.

Then we drove south on Pueblo del Sur to Pieces, a large consignment store, where a Suzette found a triple cavity bowl by Blair for $10.00.

We then turned at a side street and went to a garage sale where there were fabulous clothing items from all over the world being sold by a woman who was Swiss and had collected them back packing all over the world.  We bought a Swiss duvet covers, Ecuadorean hats and ponchos, Indian vests, Peruvian Alpaca purses, and a Nepalese monk’s purse for a total of $300.00.

We then drove Rebecca back to Common Threads, were she bought a Mali indigo dyed shawl and a stuffed pillow.

We asked Rebecca if she wanted to see any more galleries and when she said yes, we drove to Kit Carson street and went to Mission Gallery.

There were two ladies helping Rena, who has become frailer, and told us she was closing the gallery and since the gallery was originally Joseph Sharp’s house, it was being taken over by the Couse-Sharp Foundation.  The Couse house is two doors down the street.  I was really saddened when Rena Rosenqvist told me she was closing the gallery and held her hand for a moment when we said goodbye.  Rebecca found a lovely porcelain vase by Alice Corning for $175.00 that Suzette and I
wrapped up in bubble wrap with gorilla tape.

We then ran through Robert Parsons Western art gallery and Wilder Gallery.

It was 3:45, when we finally headed to Kylene and Barry’s house.

When we arrived Billy and Elaine were preparing dinner.  They were marinating the boneless lamb in the garlic confit Rebecca had made that morning and had grilled slices of eggplant and made a light tahini sauce with the addition of lemon for the grilled eggplant.

Suzette decided to thicken some of the poaching medium for a sauce for the poached pears she had made a couple of nights ago, by adding some raspberry preserves and simmering the mixture.

We all decided to make forbidden rice, so that was added to the menu.

Finally Billy had created a dish of cabbage, garlic, and onion sautéed and then cooked in stock.

I volunteered but was not needed so I read “Song of the Sirens” by Ernest Gann, our book club selection for this month at the table in the front yard while warmed by the late afternoon sun.  The days have been exquisite, cool mornings, warm afternoons, and brilliant sun and clear blue skies with puffy white clouds: picture perfect New Mexico fall days accented by the changing colors of leaves on the trees.

Wheeler Peak and yellow color of cottonwoods 

At 6:30 we opened the bottle of Benton Lane Pinot Blanc for glasses of aperitif.  It was slightly sweet and had a Sauternes thickness to it that was pleasing, a good aperitif.

Finally at 7:15 everything was ready and I opened the bottle of 2000 Pommard Premier Cru Clos De Vergers and then the 2009 Londers Anderson Valley Pinot Noir.  The Pommard was full bodied and
yet smooth.  Suzette thought the 2009 Londers was still young, but she loved Pommard with
its great Burgundy authority.  I also liked the Pommard because it was smooth at the front, in the middle, and at the back of the pallete.  There were no rough edges anywhere, a truly wonderful wine.  The Londer Pinot in comparison was lighter, fruitier, and had an elegant finishbut lacked the powerful character of the burgundy

Billy and Elaine cooked the lamb to medium rare perfection and all the other dishes were delicious.  I was particularly impressed with my Tzatziki.  I don’t know what I did but it was delicious.  The only thing I did differently was to use half fresh garlic and half previously frozen garlic and fresh dill and chives along with the usual fresh onion and mint and Trader Joe’s European yogurt and juice of a lemon.

This was the first time I ate forbidden rice and it tasted the same as regular rice,  except the color was black, even after it was cooked.

The eggplant with its tahini sauce was also delicious, as was the soft cooked cabbage.

Finally when everyone finished their plates and drank their wine, Suzette and Elaine began the dessert course and I poured glasses of Calvados for Billy, Suzette, and me while Suzette plated the
pears poached in red wine and in a bowl of the slightly thickened sauce and  garnished them with dollops of the cream fraiche she had made by mixing half and half and sour cream and Elaine cut us slices of apricot and raspberry torte she had bought at the farmer’s market and made mint camomile tea.  Suzette suggested that I swirl the cream fraiche into the sauce.  The combined sauces together were indisputably better as a fruity creamy sauce.

This was a healthy, relatively light Mediterranean meal of exquisitely well prepared dishes that will be remembered for a long time.

I am particularly fond of this kind of meal that has a unifying theme, such as a Greek/Mediterranean food where everyone does one or two dishes really well.

Bon Appetit