July 21, 2018 Breakfast – Sausage, Potato, and onion Sauté with sunny side up eggs on tortillas. Lunch – Tabouli Salad. Dinner – Savor catered pop up dinner at Gruet

July 21, 2018 Breakfast – Sausage, Potato, and onion Sauté with sunny side up eggs on tortillas.  Lunch – Tabouli Salad.  Dinner – Savor catered pop up dinner at Gruet

We thawed a number of items when we emptied the freezer section of the refrigerator, including a lb. of Jimmie Dean Sausage.  For breakfast today I suggested sautéing some sausage with potatoes and onion and egg, like in a burrito.  Suzette agreed and took over cooking when I finished dicing the onion and PPI baked potato.

She cut ½ lb. of sausage into sections and sautéed it.  I added the diced onion and potato and crumbled the sausage further.  When the ingredients were mostly cooked Suzette broke four eggs onto the top of the sautéed ingredients and and covered the skillet with a wok cover to steam the eggs.  Here is what the finished dish looked like.

Suzette steamed four small tortillas in the microwave and placed two each on a plate and ladled the egg sauté onto the plates.  We took plates to the garden and ate a pleasant breakfast beside the pond.

The pond has finally cleared and we were able to count four goldfish.  We were thrilled.



Suzette wanted to go to the Cottonwood Mall Sears’ “going out of business sale” and I went along for
the ride but rather than shop I found a chair near the entrance where I could sit and read, while she went to buy a rototiller and toaster.

After we coordinated the pick up at the merchandise pick up door, we drove to Donut Mart on Coors and I picked up seven or eight bagels and talked to Tahir for a few minutes.

We then drove home.  I ate a salad of tabouli, kalamata olives, and two labne balls plus two slices of French bread spread with taramasalata.

We lay down for a nap after lunch.  I woke up around and dressed and drove to Nob Hill.  After
saying hello to Jay and Paula we walked to the stage at Carlisle and listened to a traditional blue grass
band and then a contemporary rhythm and blues group named Fat City.

We left at 6:45 and drove to Gruet for the Savor pop up dinner.  When we arrived a friend of Suzette’s, Ellen Costilla and her daughter, Michelle, said hello and we talked and then we joined each other for dinner.

The tasting room was pouring Blanc de Blanc 2012 and still Pinot Noir for dinner.  I chose two glasses of the Blanc de Blanc, which my current favorite wine made by Gruet.  After sipping those we ordered dinner.  It was hard to decide because there were three good choices, pork tenderloin on a bed of lentils with caramelized onions, Coq au Vin served on a bed of mashed potatoes mixed with roasted root vegetables, and Eggplant Parmigiana.  We decided against the pork dish because we eat
so much pork.  I ordered the chicken when the Savor guys assured me it would include a thigh and they would add some extra caramelized onions.  Suzette ordered the eggplant parmigiana because she loves eggplant.


Ellen ordered the chicken and Michele ordered the pork tenderloin and lentils, which looked lovely.

Here are pictures of my coq au vin:

The coq au vin was cooked to haut cuisine  perfection. The chicken fell into pieces when prodded by a fork and knife and the mashed potatoes and root vegetables drizzled with the cooking sauce were delicious.

This is my third time to try Chef and owner Stephen Ormsby of SavorbyStephen’s  catering.  This was the first full pop up meal and the most impressive.

Stephen Ormsby grew up in Taos where his first cooking experience was in the Taos High School Culinary Arts program.  I remember fondly the elegant and delicious appetizers the students prepared for the Winter Wine Festival in Taos.  He then went to Le Cordon Bleu cooking school in Phoenix and after graduating worked at a number of restaurants owned by the Fox group, including Michelin starred restaurants in both the back and the front of the house.  He returned to NM working in a number of Albuquerque restaurants before starting his current catering service.

Stephen’s pop up meals usually offer three entrée choices that are rather complete meals combining vegetables or salad.

Here is a picture of Chef Stephen and his crew

The portions tend to be small but adequate due to their exquisite flavors.  The exception last night was The Eggplant Parmigiana, which included four ½ inch thick slices of eggplant cooked in a delightfully fresh marinara sauce garnished with crisp croutons of French bread.

I enjoyed my coq au vin and when Suzette was not able to finish her eggplant, I enjoyed a bit of her dish also.  I drank another glass of Blanc de Blanc and Suzette drank a glass of Pinot Noir with dinner.

We left around 8:30 and arrived home in time to see Grantchester on PBS at 9:00.

After Grantchester ended I ate a bowl of clafoutis with whipped cream, a cup of Earl Grey tea with lavender with milk and a sniffer of Calvados.

A Grand finish for a grand day of food.  I rarely eat three wonderful meals in one day, but today was one of those days.

Bon Appetit