February 27, 2022 Brunch - Baked Egg Casserole Snack - Leftover Lamb Meatballs with Tomato/Harissa Sauce Dinner - Fried Tofu and Mixed Vegetables with Rice and Shrimp

 February  27, 2022 Brunch - Baked Egg Casserole  Snack - Leftover Lamb Meatballs with Tomato/Harissa Sauce   Dinner - Fried Tofu and Mixed Vegetables with Rice and Shrimp

At 9:30 Suzette made a delicious baked egg casserole with crisp bacon, milk soaked French bread, whole eggs, tomato slices and an oz. of minced red onion, and grated cheese.

It was interesting but it stuck to the Pyrex baking dish, so had to be destroyed to be served.

We then drove to Costco where we replenished our cleaning supplies plus bought potstickers, heavy cream, a bottle of XO cognac, olive oil, romaine lettuce, frozen salmon fillets for Willy, fresh shrimp for BBQ shrimp, frozen shrimp, butter, Pecorino Romano cheese, French baguettes, brats, and sauerkraut.

When we returned home I was hungry, so I ate the leftover lamb meatballs from last night’s dinner.

I rested until 5:00 and then rode my bike around the neighborhood one time.

When I returned, Suzette was hungry.  We had decided before we drove to Costco to buy shrimp so we could add them to the PPI Deep fried tofu and mixed Vegetables left from Friday’s lunch with Aaron for dinner.

So I snapped and chopped six asparagus stalks into 1 inch pieces, and 1/2 onion into slices and Suzette thawed 12 shrimp and cut them in half and sautéed those three ingredients until cooked and then added the leftover cooked rice and then the mixed vegetables and finally I added a few dashes of sesame oil, 2 T. of Chinese Cooking Wine and about 1/2 T. of soy sauce to loosen up the ingredients.  It was a quick, attractive, delicious dinner.  

I drank Jasmine tea and Suzette drank water.

After dinner Suzette had a small bowl of candied cherry ice cream.

We watched an episode of Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and then went to bed.

Bon Appetit

February 26, 2022 Lunch - Beef and Lentil and Barley Soup with Corn Bread. Dinner - Mesa Provisions

February 26, 2022 Lunch - Beef and Lentil and Barley Soup with Corn Bread. Dinner - Mesa Provisions

Today I worked on the brief from 7:00 until 1200.

I then heated a bowl of beef, lentil, and barley soup with a buttered honied corn muffin. 

I can’t recall eating a more filling meal for the quantity of food in a long time.

I rested from 2:30 until 4:30 which revived me.

I dressed and Suzette and I left for the symphony at 5:20.

It took a while to navigate the vaccination review but we were in our seats by 5:50, when I decided to go to the restroom.  I walked briskly down the stairs and when I left the bathroom walked up the two flights of stairs without any difficulty. I was amazed and happy.

I was looking forward to the Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No. 2, but there was a change in the program.  Instead of the Rachmaninov, guest pianist, Ukrainian born Alexander Gavrylyuk, played solo on the new Steinway piano a short Rachmaninov piece and then three selections from Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition, the last being the “Gates of Kiev”.  It was the most stirring and powerfully rendition of Mussorgsky I have ever heard.

Then the orchestra returned and he joined them to play Prokofiev’s Concerto No. 1.

Gavrylyuk’s skill was immense and he pulled sounds out of the new piano I have rarely heard.  It was an exhilarating evening of music.

Mesa Provisions

After the symphony we met Cliff and Nancy at Mesa Provisions at 3120 Central in half the space previously housing Vivace at 8:00.  We waited a few minutes and when a table opened we were seated.

The menu was interesting with mostly small plate offerings. Cliff ordered the Brussels sprouts served with small dots of spicy hoisin and a puddle of sweet white miso honey sauce. The Brussels sprouts must have been blanched and then quickly deep fried because their outer leaves were super crispy and the middle was firm but soft and tender.  I was immediately impressed by the skill and creativity exhibited in the sauces.

Nancy and I ordered the Orange salad with slices of fresh orange, Manchego cheese, bite-sized pieces of radicchio, green Castelvetrano pitted olives, and a firm brown butter pistachio dressing coagulated in a puddle on the bottom of the plate, and Suzette ordered the kale salad with aged Gouda, butternut squash, dates, maple pecans dressed in a Bourbon Vinaigrette.  As soon as we ate the salads we realized that Chef Steve Riley had just as assured a hand and creative approach to the menu items as Alexander Gavrylyuk did to Mussorgsky.

Having the dressing coagulated in a puddle under the salad ingredients made one mix the dressing with the ingredients that I thought was an interesting concept.

I was blown away.  My immediate thought was that Mesa Provisions was the best restaurant in Albuquerque.

We had a good experience with the wine also.  Our waiter was very cooperative and brought me small tastings of two whites, a Spanish Verdejo from Rueda and a Grenache Blanc from Cote du Rhone.  Nancy had ordered a glass of Sauvignon Blanc, but both she and Suzette liked the Verdejo when they tasted it.

Nancy ordered a glass of the Verdejo when she ordered a second glass.  We requested and were served two pieces of toasted French baguette to accompany our salads.

Cliff drank a La Cumbre beer.

Suzette and I also ordered a small plate of Moroccan meatballs with a Harrisa Sauce and Nancy and Cliff split the house specialty, 1/2 Smoked Chicken served with a bowl red Chile pinto beans cabbage slaw, pepita crema, and duck fat toasted tortillas.

Since Suzette and I were eating heavy spicy lamb meatballs, we chose reds.  Suzette chose a glass of the lighter Tenuta Garett’s “Rosina” Barbera di Asti and I chose a heavier St. Cosme Cotes Du Rhone Syrah.

The food was plated very attractively, the meatballs were served in a bowl covered with a tomato/ harrisa sauce and garnished with a small blob of yogurt and sprig of micro oregano.

I immediately ordered another small bowl of yogurt because I suspected that the harissa’s spiciness needed to be tamed a bit.

I was right. As soon as Suzette tasted her meatballs she took a dab of my yogurt and ordered another small dish of yogurt also.

The bright spiciness of the tomato/harissa sauce actually complemented the dense lamb meatballs, especially when a bit of yogurt was added to each forkful of meat and sauce. The flavors were so bright and exciting that neither of us could eat more than 2 1/2 of the 3 1/2 meatballs in each portion and our waiter graciously packed up the two remaining meatballs and sauce in a take-out cardboard box.

The 1/2 Smoked chicken was served at the same time as our lamb meatballs. Nancy and Cliff have a prefect relationship to chicken. Cliff likes dark meat and Nancy likes white.

Nancy gave us a taste of chicken and cabbage slaw and I liked the slightly sweet slaw that added a brightness to the bland but tender smoked chicken.

After we finished our entrees, our waiter presented us with the dessert menu.  We were full but one item caught my attention, Arancini Dulce, so we ordered one order of it with four spoons.

We were served a plate with three small round fried fritters set in a swirl of pistachio cream with a thin delicious quarter slice of candied orange balanced on top of each fritter. 

We dipped bites of fritter into the pistachio cream for a delightful creamy warm method of cleansing our mouths of the previous heavy meat flavors.

I felt that we received good value for our dining dollars. Each of our bills was under $100.00 for a three or four course dinner with wine and bread.

I highly recommend Mesa Provisions.  It is a wonderful addition to the fine dining scene in Albuquerque.

Bon Appetit

https://nmphil.org/music-

February 25, 2022 Lunch - East Ocean Dinner - Beef, Lentil, and Barley Soup with Corn Bread

February 25, 2022 Lunch - East Ocean   Dinner - Beef, Lentil, and Barley Soup with Corn Bread

Rahim came by this morning and brought a donut, which I heated for my breakfast.

Rahim made us chais.  He has a specific recipe, he brews a cup of black tea and chai Marsala and the adds milk and then we heated the combination for 50 seconds to cook the milk a bit.

Rahim calls the cooked combination, twice cooked tea.

After Rahim left, Aaron called and invited me to lunch at East Ocean.

When I met Aaron at East Ocean we decided to order Clams with Szechuan Sauce and Deep Fried Tofu with Mixed Vegetable’s plus two fried egg rolls.

We loved lunch.  Both the dishes were delicious.  It was great to see Aaron and hear that the company is progressing.

After lunch I took the leftovers and drove to Smith’s to buy fresh asparagus on for sale for $.87/lb., plus bananas, and more green beans.

When I arrived home I ate a slice of French baguette with peanut butter and honey.

Then I checked my portfolio and found that it was another good day with a gain of 2.2%.  My portfolio regained the loss it suffered in the last two prior days. That is a greater volatility than seen since the March meltdown two years ago.

Suzette arrived around 5:30 and we decided to heat the beef, lentil, and barley soup and make corn bread.

Suzette fetched the ingredients and mixed the corn bread batter and pre-heated the oven to 425 degrees.

I fetched the corn bread forms from the basement.

Suzette wanted to use the form with 8 seashell shaped cavities so I oiled it.  Suzette filled seven of the cavities and baked the corn bread for 22 minutes.

The form was not fully seasoned or greased so the muffins stuck to the form and we could not remove them from the form, so we dug the muffins out as best we could.

Suzette served us bowls of soup and the butter and honey.

We buttered and spread the muffins with honey and ate them withe soup.

It was a simple but delicious dinner.  I fetched a bottle of Origon red wine from the basement and opened it and poured two glasses.

We found that one bowl of soup and 1 1/2 muffins completely satisfied our hunger.

We watched the war for a while and at. 7:30 Suzette went to bed.

I stayed up until midnight when it was morning in Ukraine when Zelenzky said, “We are still here,” while standing in the center of Kiev.

Bon Appetit.

February 24, 2022. Lunch - Cream of Green Chili and Chicken Soup. Dinner - PPI Steam Roasted Chicken Thighs, PPI Roasted Root Vegetables, and steamed Green Beans

February 24, 2022. Lunch - Cream of Green Chili and Chicken Soup. Dinner - PPI Steam Roasted Chicken Thighs, PPI Roasted Root Vegetables, and steamed Green Beans

For breakfast I toasted a slice of French Baguette and spread Marian berry  preserves and lay slices of Gouda cheese on it and melted it in the microwave for 33 seconds.  I ate it with a cup of tea.

Then at 11:15 I drove down to the Palmer’s where I found a bowl of Cream of Green Chili and Chicken soup with toasted pieces of green chili rolls.

The soup was delicious. I had forgotten what a great soup Cream of Green Chili and Chicken Soup is.

We drove to Placitas at 12:00 for the book club meeting.

I took a bottle of Emma Reichard rose of Pinot Noir.

After the meeting I drove Charlie home and then drove to Smith’s to shop.  I bought some green beans, two bags of breaded shrimp, a container of cherry and a container of chocolate ice cream and potatoes.

I arrived home at 5:30, too late to meditate.  Suzette was at home and we decided to heat the three remaining pieces of lemon baked chicken and some of the leftover roasted vegetables and steam the green beans.

We invited Willy for dinner and then I snapped the green beans.

Then we made a mirepoix by chopping carrots, an onion, and two stalks of celery that she sautéed and then made a rich beef broth in the large casserole and diced and added the leftover steak, a cup of barley and two cups of lentils to make a beef and barley soup.

When Willy arrived Suzette started heating the chicken and vegetables and steamed the green beans and I opened a bottle of Spanish La Granja white wine, a combination of Viura and Verdejo grapes.

We enjoyed a pleasant dinner of PPIs and discussed our trip to Mexico and then Suzette helped Willy plan his trip to Mexico.

After dinner Willy left and Suzette made small bowls of vanilla ice cream with chocolate syrup.

I went to bed at 8:30.

Today the market finally turned from strongly negative to strongly positive, an over 800 point swing. I had my best day ever because Square had a good earning and prognosis report, a 4% increase computed after the after market Square earning announcement.

Bon Appetit

February 23, 2022 Lunch - Duran’s Pharmacy. Dinner - Roasted Root Vegetables and Rib Steak with Sautéed Zucchini and fresh corn kernels.

February 23, 2022 Lunch - Duran’s Pharmacy. Dinner - Roasted Root Vegetables and Rib Steak with Sautéed Zucchini and fresh corn kernels.

I woke and worked from 3:45 to 5:30 and then slept until 7:00.

The market went up and then collapsed as the news of a Russian invasion of Ukraine became known.  By the end of the day my portfolio was down about 3.2% for one of the worst days ever.

I made a stir fried breakfast by combining several PPI’s; rice, cabbage, sausage, bacon, apple and eggs plus garlic and ginger.

I drank a glass of V-8 juice flavored with lemon juice.

We called Mike Verhagen and invited him to dinner and I fetched a 2 lb.

Rib steak.

I then worked until 1:30, when I went to Bill Turner’s to review a set of documents for one of his closings.

At 2:30 when I finished I called Suzette and picked her up for lunch.  We drove to several places and ended up at Duran’s Pharmacy.

Suzette was not hungry so she shared my choice of beef enchiladas. We ordered sour cream on e side and water, for each of which we were charged $.75.

The total for the meal was $18.80. We decided it would be another ten years before we would return.

We returned home and I napped until 5:30.

We watched the news for a while and then I started chopping vegetables at 6:25, starting with two carrots, two small onions and a sweet potato.

Soon Mike arrived with bags of parsnips, rutabaga, potatoes, turnips, and two bottles of Gigondas, a 2016 Guigal and a Morel 2020 from Total wine. We decided to open the 2016 Guigal Gigondas.  The wine had great character and smoothness, although it did not have as strong character as the Kirkland bottle we drank last week.

Mike peeled and I cubed a potato, a turnip, a rutabaga, five stalks of asparagus, a parsnip and a five cloves of garlic and Suzette added those to the baking dish of vegetables that she then tossed with olive oil and salt and started baking in the oven. She roasted the cubed root vegetables for 30 minutes covered with aluminum foil and then uncovered the vegetables and placed the large salted and peppered 2 lb. rib steak on the vegetables and roasted the steak and vegetables an additional 30 minutes. The result was a steak roasted perfectly to rare and completely cooked root vegetables.

                   Suzette braised the steak before placing it on the vegetables

The Sautéed Zucchini and Corn 

Suzette cut the kernels off four ears of corn and I sliced two zucchini.

After we put the steak into the oven, Suzette started sautéing the corn and zucchini seasoned with a dash of ground basil leaves.

Dinner was one of those amazingly delicious winter meals with evenly cooked steak and roasted root vegetables, a basil flavored zucchini and corn, and a wonderful wine.

These are rare events, even among the exceptional meals we often cook.

After dinner I fetched the candy dish with the Godiva chocolate truffles and Mike and I tasted the three VSOPs and Otard XO. Mike and I both liked the Kelt VSOP, more than the Martell and A.E. DOR VSOPs.

Suzette went to bed and Mike and I talked and tasted cognacs and my Bernenroy XO Calvados with nibbles of chocolate until 10:45 when we said goodnight.

Bon Appetit

February 22, 2022 Lunch - Dumplings. Dinner - Sautéed Brats with Sautéed Cabbage and steamed broccoli and cauliflower

February 22, 2022 Lunch - Dumplings. Dinner - Sautéed Brats with Sautéed Cabbage and steamed broccoli and cauliflower

I woke up at 6:00 and worked on the brief until 9:00 when I toasted a bagel , spread it with cream cheese and garnished it with slices of red onion, Gravad lax, and capers. I drank a cup of Earl Grey tea with it.  After breakfast I thawed out two brats for dinner.

At 10:00 Rahim and I had a what app telephone conversation with an Indian stock broker who will help us dematialise and sell our Indian bank shares.  

I showered and dressed and worked until 12:00 and then napped until 1:30.  The film people came at 2:00 to look at the living room. I was thrilled when one f them said their mother owned a Van Hassler when he saw my two in the foyer, so I showed them some of my art.

Finally at 2:45 when they left I sautéed the last 8 dumplings and them for lunch.  I have become really fond of the chicken filled dumplings at Costco.  They seem to be the 70% carb and 30% protein combo that is perfect for my diet.

Suzette came home around 3:45.

I worked until 5:45 and then watched the news with Suzette, which was not good.  Russia recognized the independence of the two Eastern Ukraine provinces without asking Ukraine if it wanted to give up some of its sovereign territory and then sent troops into the two provinces Putin declared autonomous to protect them, a move President Biden and all other European nations declared was an act of war that triggered sanctions. Germany de-certified the Nord Stream 2 pipeline and the U.S. blocked the funds and finagling dealings of two Russian banks.

Suzette ate some chips and avocado crema and then at 6:30 we started dinner.  I sliced 1/2 head of cabbage, 1/2 onion, and 1/2 apple.  Suzette then sautéed the cabbage, onion slices, and apple slices in a large cast iron skillet in olive oil and season with white vinegar and sugar.

In another smaller skillet she boiled the brats in beer and then when the beer evaporated she added butter and sautéed the brats until their skins crisped.  I cut portions of stalks of broccoli and cauliflower into bite sized flowerets and then Suzette steamed them.

Suzette fetched the bottle of blue cheese mustard Don and Bev gave us for Christmas plus the mayonnaise. 

I fetched the 12 pack of Negra Modelos from the garage and Suzette fetched the box cutter and I cut 1/2 of the top of the box open so we could easily lift the bottles out. 

Soon everything was ready and Suzette plated the food.  Everything was delicious.  This is my favorite German style dish that Suzette makes.

I went back for seconds of cabbage and the last few broccoli and cauliflower flowerets.

Bon Appetit

February 21, 2022 Lunch - 2000 Vietnam Dinner - Steamer oven baked chicken Thighs with Steamed Cauliflower and Broccoli with Cheese Sauce

February 21, 2022 Lunch - 2000 Vietnam   Dinner - Steamer oven baked chicken Thighs with Steamed Cauliflower and Broccoli with Cheese Sauce

I awakened at 8:00 after being up two hours last night as Suzette was leaving.

We discussed dinner briefly and decided on chicken so after lunch I thawed a package of five chicken thighs.

I ate a bowl of granola, yogurt, milk, and diced mango at around 10:00.

I then did Yoga at 11:00 this morning and felt like I was making progress for a change.

After Yoga I ordered and picked up my new favorite dish at 2000 Vietnam: steamed flour sheets over a bed of sautéed chopped lettuce, cucumber spears, and mung bean sprouts topped with a layer of fried slices of shrimp sausage and Egg rolls.

It was served with three containers of fish sauce instead of two so I was able to soak the dish with fish sauce before re-heating it for 55 seconds at a power of 80% to loosen the flour sheets so they would separate easily.

I made a glass of Vietnamese iced coffee and grabbed the bag of fresh cilantro and a magazine and, since it was sunny and 55 degrees with just a few gusts of wind, I ate in the gazebo.

There was a lot of work involved in eating this dish, separating the sherts of rice noodle and dipping them into the fish sauce and combining them with vegetables and pieces of fried egg roll or shrimp paste.

I finished around 2:00 and then worked at my desk until Suzette arrived at 5:30.

We watched the news and ate peanuts for a while.  Suzette had a scotch and I drank water to try to dilute the saltiness of the fish sauce that was drying out my mouth.

Suzette gave me three choices for preparation of the chicken; Bobby Flay that combines sautéing and baking, floured and sautéed like fried chicken, or baking in the steamer oven that uses no grease, but instead releases grease.

Given my sensitivity to grease we agreed on the steamer oven baking.

Suzette also wanted to steam cauliflower and broccoli and sauce it with a cheese sauce.

Both dishes involved low amounts of added grease, so we agreed on both dishes.

Suzette did a great job on both dishes.  She slipped slices of fresh lemon sprinkled with Herbs d’ Provence under the skin of each chicken thigh and cooked the chicken to 180 degrees which rendered much of the fat.

Similarly, she made a basic cream (béchamel) sauce and added slices of Jarlsberg cheese to make a cheese (Mornay) sauce while the vegetables were steaming.

I sensed this was going to be a great and pretty heavy meal and wanted a good bodied white wine, so I went to the garage and found a 2014 Gruet Chenin Blanc.  I knew Suzette liked Chenin Blanc and hoped this would be a good one.

As it turned out Suzette was enchanted by the wine and we both thought it was a perfect complement to the dishes, good tannins and lots of fruit.

Suzette delivered the perfect compliment, “I hope we have more bottles of this wine.”

I did not eat any dessert.  Instead I drank another glass of water to try to digest the two big meals I had eaten today.

Suzette went to bed at 9:15 and I followed at 10:15, when I blogged this entry.

Russia sent troops into Eastern Ukraine tonight, so we may have the first land war in Europe in over 80 years.

The Ukraine is asking for weapons and getting them and has an army of over 250,000, so Ukraine could become a bloody awful mess very soon.

This will have an immediate negative impact on the market. 

Bon Appetit