November 2, 2023 Lunch - PPI Vietnamese Chicken Noodle Soup Dinner - Spanish Journey meal at Greenhouse Bistro at Center for Ageless Living

 November 2, 2023 Lunch - PPI Vietnamese Chicken Noodle Soup

 Dinner - Spanish Journey meal at Greenhouse Bistro at Center for Ageless Living

I had a lazy morning as I watched the Market take off for the best 3 day gain since April.  It takes time for news to be absorbed and acted on like the lack of an increase in the Fed’s interest rate

By the end of the trading day my portfolio was up 2%.

At 10:30 I heated the sauce pan of leftover Vietnamese Chicken Noodle Soup after whisking in an egg and slicing three water chestnuts that I added  to the soup.

I then went grocery shopping at El Super.  I bought lots of stuff for lots of meals: a pineapple, avocados, limes, parsley, cilantro, green leaf lettuce, mushrooms, broccoli, green onions, requeson, shredded mozzarella, and red enchilada sauce for enchiladas, yogurt, eggs, smoked pork cutlets, Posole and pork stew meat for posole, Shiner Bock beer, asparagus, gala apples, oranges, brown onions, and red onions.

By the time I returned home and unloaded it was 2:00 and the market closed up big time for another 2% gain.

I heated the rest of the soup and added the last of the mung bean sprouts and hoisin and sriracha and ate a third bowl of soup and then rested until 4:00 when I met with Frank about a legal matter until 4:45.

Willy arrived at 4:50 and Cliff and Nancy picked us up at 5:00 and drove us to the Center for the special five course meal.

There was a long table set in the Bistro and about 17 people came for the $65.00 meal.

The meal included our favorite food and beverages from our trip to Spain.

The meal began a bit after 6:00 with a glass of vermouth with ice cubes and a slice of orange exactly as it is served in Spain. It was served with olives and potato chips, like in a bar in Spain that served a small tapa with each order of drinks.

After about 15 minutes the first appetizer course was served. The first dish was one of our favorite and most creative dishes we ate on the trip at the Birran Gastropub in Ribidavia, burrata on a bed of Romesco sauce garnished with broiled anchovies with a glass of Spanish Sparkling Cava.

The next dish was the most famous dish in Asturias, Fabada.  Suzette had bought bags of the large Asturian beans that are a necessary ingredient of the dish and bought Spanish Morcilla and Chorizo at Talin and roasted pork belly that are essential ingredients of this bean stew.  I was startled that it tasted exactly like it did in Spain.  I cut up the chunks of meat and combined bites of meat with a few beans and sauce for an unforgettable experience repeatedly.  The Fabada was served with a good Albariño that had been aged on the lees that almost eliminated it acidic tendency. Both the Fabada and the Albariño were perfect.

I could have stopped at this point and been happy but there were two more courses.

The next course was a plate filled with two roasted meatballs and potato wedges, with a broiled slice of leek served on a puddle of Romesco sauce. We had eaten the broiled leek with Romesco sauce at the Parador that was once a monastery located next to Bodega Monasterio de Corias  The Romesco sauce tasted more of tomato than chili, which was a little less spicy than in Spain and more to my liking.  The leek was a little tough until I turned it over and submerged it in the Romesco sauce, that softened it and infused it with Romesco sauce. This dish was served with a small glass of apple cider. Again, I had memories of eating the same dishes in Spain.  The meal was really a journey into Northern Spain’s cuisine.

After the last entree and dessert the staff poured shot glasses with one’s choice of cherry or apple cider liquor that we bought in Gangas de Carceas at the Bodega de Monasterio de Corias Winery.  I loved the apple cider liquor with its fresh apple flavor.  The cherry seemed a little sour, but it had leaked on the trip back from Spain and may have slightly oxidized.

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The last course was a dessert recipe cooked by Jose Andres

his 2008 PBS series on Spanish cuisine, a parfait glass filled with apple balls cooked in a syrup made by reducing red Rioja wine and sugar with cinnamon sticks by half and served with balls of vanilla ice cream and a sprig of mint.

I think everyone enjoyed this amazing Spanish meal.

Suzette and the kitchen staff at the Bistro did a magnificent job with Suzette’s guidance and assistance.

After the meal we said goodnight to the Blaugrunds and Willy drove us home.

We went to bed soon after arriving home.

Bon Appetit