July 18, 2021 Brunch - Gravad Lax on Bagels. Dinner at Cliff and Nancy’s

 July 18, 2021 Brunch - Gravad Lax on Bagels. Dinner at Cliff and Nancy’s 

This morning we started at 7:20 with a 3/4 mile walk in the bosque.

When we returned at 8:00 I sliced and toasted a bagel into three slices and spread the slices with cream cheese and then garnished them with slices of red onion, gravad lax, tomato and capers.  I made a cup of green tea and Suzette made a Bloody Mary and we watched Fareed Zacharia and stage 21 of the Tour de France with its iconic finish on the Champs-Elysées, while we destemmed tarragon leaves for the Herbs de Simon we are making.  Suzette then processed the tarragon, oregano, lavender, and rosemary in the coffee grinder to reduce everything to the same size and made a mixture with 1 cup oregano, 1/2 cup of tarragon, 1/4 cup of lavender, and 1 T. of rosemary.

It took about four hours for the bike race to finish, so toward the end I opened a bottle of Gruet Blanc de Blanc Sauvage Champagne and Suzette made a plate of pieces of brie, salami and ham charcuterie, and crackers and we ate a snack as the bikers raced on the Champs.

We were hoping that Mark Cavendish would win to set the all time record for stage wins of 35, but his lead out went too soon and he got caught behind another lead out and finished third.  In retrospect it is still wonderful that he tied the record of Eddie Merckx at 34 stage wins.  

The winner of last year’s Tour won again this year, Tadjet Pogacar.  He won all the other jerseys, Yellow for best time, polka dot for best climber, and white for best young rider.  He is 22.  There were three 22 year old riders who did really well this year.  Besides Pogacar, there was a Danish rider named Jonas Kindegaard who came in second and an American from Durango named Kuss who won a stage. So there was lots of new talent this year.

After the race I made the cucumber Sauce for the salmon dinner.

Cucumber Sauce/Tzatziki 

I went to the garden and picked the few sprigs of dill we still have and combined it with some dill in the fridge and picked three stalks of mint.  I chopped the dill (about 1 T.) and about 2/3 cup of mint finely and combined with that in a mixing bowl; two cucumbers peeled, seeded, and diced plus tsp. of salt, 1 1/2 cups of yogurt, 1 T. of olive oil, two cloves of garlic pressed, and juice of 1/2 lemon.  I refrigerated the sauce to mellow.

I then lay down and read and napped and ate a bowl of popcorn Suzette brought me. At 4:00 I showered and dressed.

We fetched two bags of Herbs, the sauce, a bottle of St. Sagnol Rose de Provence and a bottle of Picton Bay Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand and drove to the Blaugrund’s house at 5:30. I bought the bottles at Trader Joe’s for $7.00 to $9.00 each.

Soon after we arrived the Chews arrived with an appetizer and salad, both of which were amazing.  The appetizer was a baked half eggplant filled with a buttermilk and sour cream sauce drizzled with za’ tar spice and garnished with pomegranate seeds and sprigs of fresh thyme, very delicious and filling.

The salad was beyond wonderful, it was baby arugula, strawberry wedges, baby Lima bean, sugar snap peas, crumbled blue cheese, slices of Armenian cucumber, and micro greens.  I have not had such a fresh, elegant bean salad since eating a similar bean salad at Blue Hill in NYC.  

Nancy had set up a cheese board, almonds, olives, and crackers in the living room and we were served drinks and talked and snacked for a while.  Nancy offered two types of Fever Tree tonic water and made us a gin and tonic with the Indian tonic.  The cheeses were lovely, a semi-hard Toscano, a Port Salud, and a blue cheese.  Nancy made us each a small plate with a slice of each cheese and a few different crackers.  It was a lovely start to the meal.

We then moved to the dining table where I was served the eggplant appetizer. Suzette opened the rose and poured glasses of it.

After the appetizer we were served the salad and it was amazing.  I could not stop thinking about the bean salad served at Blue Hill in NYC.  This salad was the best bean salad I have tasted since then and may be even better because of the addition of interesting ingredients in addition to the fresh beans and peas.

Nancy the grilled two salmon fillets and served the entree course of grilled salmon and Israeli couscous with the Tzatziki sauce.  The salmon was lightly seared, just the way I like it, half way between sushi and fully cooked. I loved everything, the salmon, the couscous with sautéed Pinon nuts, and the sauce.

We served glasses of Sauvignon Blanc with the salmon for those who wished.

Nancy said they were intimidated by my gastronomic standards, but I can truly say this was the best meal I have had in a very long time.  The excellent quality and creativity shown through in every element of the dinner.

And we still had dessert.  Nancy served a gelatin custard with fresh berries that carried the theme of freshness to the end of the meal.

I can not say enough good things about the meal.  It was one of those meals that can only happen at the height of summer when gardens are most productive and the salmon are running.

I did not care for the St. Sagnol Rose. It seemed to lack brightness and was heavy tasting to me compared to the delightful Tavel at the July 5th party supplied by Kurt. But everyone admired the bottle with its undulating curves.  The Picton Bay was better with its citrus flavor that contrasted and yet complemented the oiliness of the fresh salmon.  The salmon reminded me of the salmon fresh off the boat we bought in Philo, Calif. and cooked in our BNB.  It was that good.

This is the most memorable dinner of the summer so far.

We said goodnight at 9:00 and drove home on 2nd St. Because the freeway was closed.

We went to bed as soon as we returned home.  I slept until 3:00 and then blogged and went back to sleep at 5:00.

Bon Appetit