October 1, 2024 Lunch - Salad with melted cheese and salami sandwiches, Dinner - Grilled Lamb Chops with Linguine and Vegetables in a cream

October 1, 2024 Lunch - Salad with melted cheese and salami sandwiches, Dinner - Grilled Lamb Chops with Linguine and Vegetables in a cream 

Today was one of those food days that were wonderful in their simple elegance. I worked most of the day at my desk, two contracts to review in the morning, two old clients with new issues called in the afternoon, and I spent a deal of time trying to negotiate a lease for the Birdland p, all of which took up much of my day starting at 6:30.

At 9:30 I sliced 1/2 of a bagel into two slices and toasted them, spread them with cream cheese, and garnished them with slices of red onion, and the creamiest Gravad lax I have made in many years, and about ten capers on each.

Suzette poured glasses of deliciously sweet fresh squeezed orange juice from El Super and I also drank a cup of chai with mine.

Then I worked until 2:00 when I made a salad of romaine lettuce, a diced Roma tomato, two radishes sliced, 1/4 cucumber peeled and sliced, two hearts of palm sliced, three thin slices of red onion quartered, and about ten green olives. I dressed the salad with the house made Cesar salad dressing and also toasted two slices of baguette and garnished them with slices of Jarlsberg and salami and melted the open faced sandwiches in the microwave to melt the cheese and heat the salami.

I drank water with lunch as I watched TV.

The tech sector got hit hard today by the war in the Middle east and the economic slowdown in China. My portfolio lost 2.2% of its value, a terrible day.

I walked around the block at 3:45 and then rested and read an article in the New New Yorker about a Danish chef named Munk who has a two Michelin star restaurant in Copenhagen that does performative cuisine like shrimp salad inside an ersatz egg ball.

At 6:00 Suzette came and got me to help prep dinner. We had agreed to grill the thawed lamb chops and to make linguine in a cream sauce with vegetables.

I cut flowerets off a head of broccoli and minced 1/2 shallot and a clove of garlic for the cream sauce, Suzette went to the garden and cherry tomatoes,, kale, and a handful of picked chard and kale that I de-stemmed and cut into bite sized leaves. Suzette started boiling the linguine and blanching the broccoli and grilling the lamb chops. Then she started  a roux by melting 2 T. of butter and sautéing the shallot and garlic in the butter. After three or four minutes I added 2 T. of flour and continued stirring and cooking the roux to cook the flour. Then we added milk and whisked the sauce until the flour was emulsified into the sauce and it was smooth. Then Suzette added four or five chunks of Tallegio cheese and I whisked them into the sauce. Tallegio is a very soft cheese that melts quickly and is perfect for melting. It is used for lasagnas and lot.

When everything was ready, we drained the pasta and broccoli and mixed the broccoli, cream sauce, the chard and and about half of the drained linguine together and Suzette plated a pile of the pasta mixture and two small grilled lamb chops.

Suzette wanted a light red wine, so I opened a good Chianti Classico Riserva (Trader Joe’s $6.00) and we enjoyed a delightful dinner.

I love Tallegio because it is so versatile and has a pleasant flavor.

We watched the V.P. debate, which was surprisingly like a debate after the Trump harangue.

Suzette went to sleep after the debate but I stayed up to watch Finding Your Roots at 10:00 and Amanpour at 11:00 because Amanpour interviewed the Prime Minister of Lebonan, who said all parties had agreed to a cease fire along the Lebanon Israeli border when Israel attacked Lebanon to kill Nasrallah and that destroyed the ceasefire. It sure looks like Israel is the aggressor in this war. IF Israel attacks Iran, we could be on our way to a regional war.

I sipped a Calvados with a cup of tea and a chocolate as I watched TV and went to bed at 11:30.

Bon Appetit