May 13, 2018 Mother’s Day Brunch

May 13, 2018 Mother’s Day Brunch

We invited Amy and Vahl for Mother’s Day Brunch at 11:30.

The menu was randomly organized.  Suzette saw a recipe for a fresh sugar snap pea salad in the current Edition of Bon Appetit the other day.  That is what motivated her to buy fresh sugar snap peas and asparagus at the Farmers’ Market on Saturday morning and fresh garbanzo beans and corn at El Super Saturday afternoon and request that we go to Lowe’s after El Super so she could buy a quart of buttermilk for the dressing.

Here is the recipe:

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I wanted to use the aged beef in the freezer in the basement, so we can decommission that fridge.  I fetched the last three aged ribeye steaks on Saturday and thawed them overnight.  Suzette researched methods for de-salting meat and found that one can soak meat in cold water or wine.  At 5:00 a.m. this morning I soaked the meat in cold water until about 9:00 when Suzette washed the steaks to try to remove as much salt as possible and then covered the three steaks with red wine plus a sprig of parsley and a bay leaf.

We decided to also make garlic mashed potatoes and sautéed mushrooms to go with the grilled steak and sugar snap pea salad and I planned to serve a bottle of 2012 Chateau Roudiers from Appellation Montagne-St. Emillion I had bought at Trader Joe’s on Friday for $12.99.

Sugar Snap Pea Salad

We first de-stemmed the sugar snap peas and while Suzette removed the garbanzo beans from their husks, I sliced the sugar snap peas and asparagus lengthwise into long linear sections.  Then I cut the kernels from the extra ear of corn we cooked last night.  Suzette lightly sautéed the salad ingredients to cook them but still leave them crisp and then put them aside.

 Mashed Potatoes

While I was slicing, Suzette went to the garden and gathered a small handful of garlic chives.  I peeled and diced eight or nine potatoes and put them into a pot half filled with water to keep them from becoming discolored.  I then finely sliced the garlic chives and added them to the pot of potatoes.  Latter Suzette boiled the potatoes and garlic chives and whipped them in the Kitchen Aid with heavy cream and butter.


Amy and Vahl arrived around 11:30 and Willy arrived shortly after noon. Vahl wanted a Bloody Mary, so Suzette made him one.  Amy and I drank glasses of Emma Reichart Pinot Noir Rose’ and Willy and Suzette drank minted green sun tea Suzette had made in the morning.

We had worked in the garden a bit.  Suzette worked with Mario while I removed dead heads from the rose bushes and then we cut several nice roses for the Center piece Suzette wanted to make in the flower vase used in her parents’ wedding in the 1940’s she brought back from E Town last week.

Amy brought a box with a dozen cheese quiches filled with caramelized onion.

Then we began cooking. Suzette made the salad dressing with 3/4 cup buttermilk, 2 T. of lemon juice, a pinch of salt and 3 T. of yogurt.  I sliced ½ lb. of white mushrooms and a few sprigs of thyme, a large shallot, and a garlic chive stalk.

I then sautéed the mushrooms and  sprigs of thyme, a large shallot, and a garlic chive stalk in a medium skillet with three T. of butter and 2 T. of olive oil.  After the mushrooms softened I added 2 or 3 T. of Amontillado sherry t make a light sauce.

Suzette grilled the steaks to rare to medium rare.  Then she put a puddle of salad dressing on each salad plate and the ladled the cooked salad ingredients onto each puddle of dressing.
I opened and pour ed out the 2012 Chateau Roudiers and then cut the steaks while Suzette hearted pieces of PPI teriyaki salmon for Willy and Amy.

We took salads, wine glasses and plates of food to the gazebo table in the garden and enjoyed a pleasant lunch.

I went back for the bottle of 2016 Chateau Haut Sorillon Bordeaux Superior and drank that, but everyone agreed it was not as good as the Roudiers.  So best value in Bordeaux is Roudiers for $12.99.

The meat was still salty but edible, which was a big improvement from its original condition.  We are discussing making Boeuf Bourguignon with all the PPI steak and wine marinade.

After lunch we served slices of the chocolate mousse torte I bought a5 Costco for a Willy’s birthday and we drank Sorillon and tea with it.

We finished lunch and then watched the first stage of the Amgen Tour of California, which was won by a young rider from Colombia.

We nibbled guacamole and crema and corn chips for a snack later in the evening after everyone left.

Bon Appetit