three meals in the desert

Two dinners and a lunch for us to talk about.  Here we go.

Wally's Desert Turtle.  Our favourite place to get to.  Yes, there is better, more adventuresome food in the desert.  And, honestly, service was kind of lacking this time.  But we love it there.  My streak continued:  so far as I can recall, I have had liver and onions every time I have eaten there, and this time was no different. 

Yum!  Also, chocolate souffle shared for dessert. 

What a nice evening it was, service glitches aside.  So happy to be back.  Conrad was able to chat with the owner about a possible big birthday dinner for himself later in the year, too.  You know that made him happy.

King's Highway.  Brunch and an opportunity to catch up with Kent for the first time since he and Geoff moved to France, split up, moved back to the desert.  Nice to see him, and a nice choice for brunch.  A diner, but a few cuts above.  I had a mocktail to sip,

then a substantial breakfast burrito because I was in a breakfast-y mood. 

I stole fries from Van, yum.  I'd be happy to go back.

Bar Issi.  The other restaurant at our hotel.  Van and I had been there the year before, but it was nice to get Conrad there with us.  We had a table outside, and the temperature, while warm, was entirely pleasant.  We had cocktails and then dug into a few courses.  A tomato salad that was just dressed, thick slices of heirloom tomatoes - simple and good.  Puccia bread with butters, piping hot and delicious. 

Zucchini blossoms, a nice little treat. 

Two pizzas, one pepperoni and one with chicken and asparagus. 

We ate our fill and took the rest back to the room.  A very nice night, but Van and I did think that some of the little service issues we experienced last year hadn't yet been fully fixed.  Ah well.

All in all, good dining in the desert.  And there are yet new places to try next visit as well as old faves to return to.

a bit of baking

Being at home for several days means I am bound and determined to do some cooking.  I made a roast chicken last night, and it was not half bad.  But I was happier that the early appearance of stone fruit in the stores meant that I could pull out my quick and easy souffle recipe.

No, really.  Make a fruit puree, fold it into whipped egg white and sugar (a meringue, essentially).  Bake in individual ramekins.  Bob's your uncle.

A second night here of enjoying dinner together.  I made a Remember the Alimony

and switched to a rose with my chicken.  We'll all get together again tonight over at Van's for online happy hour and for grilling (steaks!).

This morning has been quiet and easy.  I won't quite say lazy.  No, we didn't go for a walk, but I did get back in the kitchen and made up a batch of scones. 

When was the last time I did that?  Honestly, not since some time last year.  A batch of dried blueberry scones for a holiday weekend Sunday morning.  A very nice thing, indeed.

Bridget came to town

One thing I've noticed in my now eleven years in southern California is that people come to visit.  Well, not necessarily to visit me/us, but also that.  No, they come to visit SoCal, and we benefit from seeing them.  That was not often the case in Chicago and almost never in my two years in Montreal before that.

Bridget is the latest on that list.  I've known here for, oh, thirty years, since she lived in Terrace and I was in between degrees and cooking at the restaurant.  We reconnected years later when I lived in Chicago and she was in the Milwaukee area.  I think I last saw her in about 2012 when she came down to see us and go to see Noel Gallagher in concert with me.  She's vacationing in southern California this week, having arrived yesterday, and before heading to Santa Barbara tonight (I'm writing this on Monday night before bed, but I'll publish it on Tuesday), she had dinner with Conrad, Van, and me.

Ah, so good seeing her.  Lots of familiar old names came up.  And hey, look at us, both well into our 50s and looking it. 

We met up at Perle, which I hadn't been to in a while.  Good food, as expected, though the gap between the first course and the mains was a little long.  I had some oysters to start and then had the choucroute. 

Tasty, and it didn't feel too rich or heavy.  The four of us split the chocolate souffle

and the tarte tatin for dessert. 

A bottle of red wine for the table, a decaf to finish for me, and that was a lovely little Monday night meal.

We showed Bridget the condo after that, then I walked her back to the parkade so she could reclaim her car and hit the road.  Safe driving and an enjoyable rest of the vacation to her!  I hope we see her again before too long.

Memorial Day weekend, 2023

Rather than break down the entire weekend into separate posts, let's do one larger post, shall we?

It was a good Memorial Day long weekend.  We got some things done.  We had some lazy, easy down time.  I wish I had read a bit more, but ah well.  It was good, nonetheless.

I spent Friday doing interviews during my work-from-home day, then the three of us did an online happy hour(s) with friends in Kentucky.  We hadn't caught up with them in months, so it was well overdue and very welcome.  After we got off that call, I served us up some lamb shanks I had prepared earlier, along with a parsnip puree and a bit of green vegetable. 

A nice red wine,

and that was our evening for the most part.  I think we were to bed fairly early.

Saturday morning was Amara.  Hooray!  Always a treat to make it over there.  The (delicious as ever) usuals for us:  arepa for me, breakfast croissant for Conrad, and a breakfast burrito for Van. 

That was a late breakfast for us, and we didn't bother with lunch after that.

Saturday during the day, we all had various things to get done.  I got into the kitchen, though, and put together pizza dough and sauce as well as a dessert to take over to Van's.  Did I photograph any of them?  Nope.  I thought my cooking was incredibly subpar that day, and I was embarrassed by what I had put together.  I'd rather forget the effort.  Still, it was a nice evening to sit out on the deck.  Van and Conrad enjoyed their drinks while I finished dinner. 

After the meal, we came inside to watch a little RPDR and then head to bed.

Sunday started off cool and cloudy as well, but Conrad and I got the little girl on her leash

and wandered down into San Marino and South Pasadena with her, admiring the flowers

and especially the jasmine that is everywhere, perfuming the air wonderfully. 

When we were back and Van was up and around, I made us all some waffles, scrambled eggs, and bacon.  A bit better than the night before but hardly worth a photo.  Ugh.  Someone teach me to cook properly!

Conrad and I had some errands to get done on Sunday.  First, we bought new phones.  Second, we bought a new washer and dryer.  Third, I ordered a new wine fridge.  I think there was more.  That was a lot, though.  Van came by just before 5, and we wandered over to Maestro for dinner at the bar. 

I was happy to see how busy they were that early on a Sunday.  A lot of energy.  Jo was working the bar that night,

and she does enjoy making a tiki drink, so after I enjoyed my usual mezcal campfire,

I switched to her variation on a planter's punch. 

Tasty!  We shared some guacamole, a salad,

the tetela,

and the mole chicken,

and I was happy.  A little television when we got home. 

And I went to bed early.  Wow.  Saturday night had been a poor night of sleep.  Sunday night?  I think I got nine hours!

A holiday Monday is a nice thing.  Cool weather, no traffic:  Conrad and I walked over 4.5 miles and only had to stop for a signal once.  Nice!  I got back into the kitchen yesterday, and I was on and offline as well.  I also finally swept and hosed down the back patio area - much needed!  Conrad set it up for the three of us to have dinner, but before we ate, we took Van and Olive over to the Caltech campus for a nice walk.  Van, surprisingly, had never been over there in all these years, so it was a treat for him.  And for the little girl, who had new things to sniff!  Once home, I put together some guacamole for us to snack on and put rice on the stove,  Our neighbour, Erik, texted to say he had good news to celebrate and a bottle to share, so I told Conrad to tell him to come over for dinner with his son.  I had plenty of food.  That made for a nice, unplanned dinner party.  The country style pork ribs in tomatillo sauce turned out fairly well, and the apricot and passionfruit souffles were a delight. 

Nice job, Peter.

And now it's a short work week.  I have a road trip to come next weekend, so that should provide some good posts down the line.

a last hurrah

We had dinner out at Wally's last night.  It remains our go-to for when we want to feel a little more special, a little more cared for.  Is there more innovative food elsewhere in the Coachella Valley?  Is there a more hip and youthful setting?  Yes, I admit that is the case.  Wally's is a fine rebuttal in a sense, a place of white table cloths and people dressed a little nicely (sorry for the vanity shot!)

and teams of waitstaff taking care of the tables.  It's old school in its food, but it does old school so so very well.

Van's realtor and dear friend, Jennifer, treated us along with her husband and another friend staying with them at their Palm Springs condo to a meal last night.  It was a last hurrah of sorts - oh sure, we'll come down to the desert and we'll come to Wally's.  But it won't be like it has been, walking the two or so blocks over any time we had the urge.  A little bittersweet.

But we will make a point of visiting again and hope that they haven't forgotten us.  As always, it was the liver for me,

and we shared three souffles, including this raspberry one, for dessert.

By the time this posts this evening, Conrad and I will be back in Pasadena.  I'll be down in the desert again next Friday, and that will be my farewell to all the good times at this Rancho Mirage home.

you know what I love?

Liver.

Unapologetically.

Liver. 

Honestly?  I don't need the bacon, but some good onions really enhance the experience.

I credit Annalee, who, years ago at Don Diego's incited me to try some duck livers from some birds that she had broken down for dinner.  Sauteed quickly, a light vinaigrette and a sprinkling of crumbled blue cheese.  Holy gosh, they were good.  A revelation to me, which is odd.  I had loved braunschweiger as a child (really loved it to the point of taking sandwiches with it for school lunch).  On the other hand, I love my late Mum, but she cooked meat to within an inch of leather, and her approach to the calves liver that she made for her and Roy was very much that.  I hated liver as a child.

But oh, I love it now!

This past Friday, while we were in the desert, we wandered over to Wally's for a nice evening out.  Some oysters to start with,

and a raspberry souffle to share for desert,

but as with, oh, every time that I go there, I had the liver for dinner. 

Bring on the old school restaurants that still make it.  And they make it very nicely indeed.  Van opted for the same, and Conrad politely declined a taste because he DOES NOT APPRECIATE LIVER.

Oh, and as a reminder (and thank you Liliha Bakery Waikiki), I love Spam as well.

Me?  A food snob?  Kiss my grits!

tonight's dessert

Conrad heads off to LA on Sunday for a week of work, thereby missing Valentine's Day. Oh, it's not a big day for us. I worked too many years in restaurants to have an appreciation of such the day. I don't mind missing out on February 14, especially since we might have date nights otherwise.

Anyway, as I might have mentioned on the blog before, there are four key foods to woo Conrad: chocolate, raspberries, salmon, Pinot Noir. I managed three of the four tonight. Up first: some Whole Foods sushi and sashimi. Salmon? Check. With that we had a bottle of a New Zealand Pinot I'd found on sale the other day. A Central Otago Pinot. We were excited. Alas, it was... meh. Thin, weak. Fine for a few sips with dinner, but we ended up chucking most of the bottle and turning to a Hahn blend that was far more delicious. Oh, and I cooked up a bit of asparagus, too. So, two out of four magical ingredients.

We sipped a bit of wine, made some social plans for the next several weeks, then I got into the kitchen and whipped up dessert. Item #3: chocolate. Mexican chocolate this time, in fact, some souffles. Guilty admission: we had one each and then, because the half-batch I made resulted in more than 2 souffles. Don't judge me.

No raspberries tonight, sorry Conrad. Perhaps I can work some in to some baking before you leave on Sunday.

something old, something new

I wheeled out a couple of familiar recipes last night and tried a few new ones. Mixed success, in my brutally honest opinion, but a fine dinner overall.

Speaking of old and new, that was the mix at our kitchen table. Conrad and I have each been with the Smelts 10+ years. Brad and Matt are at about a year apiece. We have a great group of younger swimmers on the team these days, and it was a nice opportunity to get to know both of them a little better. The dinner started from a Facebook post by Brad when he was visiting a particular winery in California, Merry Edwards. I commented that Conrad loved the Pinot Noir from that winery, and Brad said he had picked up a bottle to share. I suggested he bring it for dinner, he agreed and invited Matt along to fill out the table nicely. A vegetarian meal to fit Brad's diet, and some good wine to enjoy. Oh, plus team gossip, of course!

Unusually for me, I did not force everyone out of the kitchen while I cooked. Conrad opened a bottle of Champagne for the four of us (why not celebrate anything we could?), and they munched on cheese, quince paste, crackers, olives, nuts, and caper berries. Me? I finished off a batch of rice cooked with the liquid drained from black beans I'd cooked up. Then I turned my attention to empanadas. Ah yes, fried food. Mmmmmm. A fine recipe, and one you've seen from me before.

I had roasted two types of mushroom (trumpet and hen-of-the-woods) and chopped those up. To them I added some cooked diced potato, charred garlic, diced goat milk gouda, and some chopped rehydrated red chile. This became the filling for the empanadas. While we chatted, I was pressing the dough and folding it closed around the mushroom mixture. A lighter set of flavours - a little earthy, but not too deep and rich - to go with the Pinot, or so I hoped.

But I'll be honest, I could have done better with the empanadas. The oil wasn't hot enough at first, and the slow cooking let the first several I made open up as they cooked. Grrrr. The last several were better, I'm glad to say, but it was a bit embarrassing to have kitchen mistakes on full view. Brad and Matt were very indulgent of them, thankfully.

I served the empanadas with the rice (which also was a bit less good than I would have liked, though I think the leftovers will go nicely with eggs and a chile sauce of some sort - it's been a long time since last I made that recipe, but I used to love it in the days back at the restaurant), red chard, and a sauce I'd made using dried red chiles, onion, charred garlic, dried mushrooms, and tomato. It turned out well, I think, a happy experiment.

And so we dined.

And the wine, I should add, was delicious.

After dinner, we remained in the kitchen. Matt had brought a Washington Cab blend, and we slowly sipped our way through that. Conrad helped tidy a bit, and I started on dessert. Here's where the new recipes came in, and frankly, I thought they were pretty darn good. I had made hazelnut shortbreads from Emily Luchetti's truly wonderful Stars Desserts cookbook (my hardcover edition needs rebinding badly) earlier in the afternoon. I also made a batch of hazelnut ice cream from a recipe I found online. It was well worth skinning all those nuts, I tell you. The nut flavour was subtle, and it would be understandable to think that the ice cream was a good, rich vanilla. There are a lot of leftovers of it, though, and I may find myself tempted in days ahead.

I went with hazelnut, though, because I think its a great complement to plums. The plum season will soon end, and I will be sorry to see it over. For snacking or for cooking, plums are a wonderful fruit, after all. I used 9 prune plums last night in making the showstopper: souffles.

There I was, in the kitchen, mixer running at high speed as I whipped up egg whites and sugar. I folded them in batches into a strained plum puree. Three ingredients, that was it. The mix then went into prepared ramekins and into the oven. A short time after that, Brad started getting excited, asking if I had made baked Alaska. He knew that I had made ice cream, and he thought that egg whites plus ice cream logically meant that classic dessert. Nope, sorry Brad. His excitement was cute, though. My own excitement came with the rising of the souffles. I had plates ready with a scoop of ice cream (for adding into the hot, sweet-tart souffle) and a couple of cookies. The souffles came out of the oven, a nice brown on top, pink around the sides. Onto the plates, onto the table, and delighted reactions all around (including from me). This was one of the best desserts I've done in ages - a little forethought on what to make and how to present it, a willingness to take a small risk.

We ate it all up, full as we were, and settled into contented conversation once the plates were clean.