29 August 2010

No Sunday Supper tonight kids. I have been in Mazatlan, Mexico for the past week and just returned late last night. I really needed a break, and fortunately, Jeff was able to secure a room time share room at the Pueblo Bonito Emerald Bay, and I cashed in points for our flights. We had a great time. It is the beginning of the rainy and hot off season in Mazatlan, but it was not too bad. We relaxed a lot, and of course, scouted out some great food. From one of my favorites, Mexican Mole, to fresh local lobster and shrimp, the cuisine was great, and the Mazatlan locals were very kind and entertaining. One of the biggest treats was the amazing Mazatlan sunsets! We got to experience quite a few, and the just became more spectacular every evening. Here are a few of my food shots from the trip. So it's back to work and reality tomorrow...hasta luego mis amigas y amigos!

15 August 2010 - Julia Child's Birthday!

Today is Julia Child's birthday! As you may know, she was my rock star. I can't think of anyone else that influenced home cooks more than her. I have all of her cookbooks, and I've ready all of her and others books about her. Last night, I was lamenting to Jeff that I would be unable to cook tonight's Sunday Supper in honor of her birthday since I spent the day at the office writing a strategic brand road map for a client presentation this week. Jeff kindly offered to cook tonight's Sunday Supper as ah homage to Julia. After I determined that I could not talk him out of doing all of that work, we poured another glass of wine and grabbed Julia's "Mastering the Art of French Cooking." We closed our eyes and blindly selected an entree, starch, vegetable and desert from the epic cookbook. Jeff did a great job and definitely mastered the art! The meal was delicious, and what a special treat to come home from a Sunday at work and have a hot, delicious French meal to devour! Thank you Jeff for such a wonderful, kind and noble gesture! As Julia would say, bon appetite!

The Menu:

- Supremes De Volaille a' Brun (Chicken Breast Sauteed in Clarified Butter) – Page 270

- Purée D'Epinards Simple (Cooked Chopped Spinach) – Page 469

- Riz (Wild Brown Rice) – Page 528

- Tarte Aux Limettes (Lemon Soufflé Tart) – Page 645

- Homemade French Baguette


Comments from the guest chef, Jeff Brown:

Wow! Getting to cook with Julia has been quite a challenge and honor!If you plan to cook an entire meal from this cook book you had better set aside your entire day. Also, when she says "use your hands" she means it. I originally tried to make the pie crust with a mixer and it fell apart. I then did as she said and used my hands and "voila!" With that said, I learned many techniques today that I will use in my cooking future. It has been an honor to stand in on Bill's blog today, and I am on my way to mastering the art of French cooking. I hope everyone else had an excellent Sunday supper. Happy birthday Queen Julia!

01 August 2010

It has been a long, hot week, and the dog days of summer have arrived. I can't believe it is August. Summer will be gone before you know it, but we're trying to enjoy the pool and local produce while it lasts. For tonight's Sunday Supper, I decided to celebrate the first day of August with a quintessential summer meal. Jeff and Cory had dinner with me, and we prepared as much as possible on the grill to keep from heating up the kitchen. I have never made ribs, but they sounded great for some reason. I used Willy Senior's (Jeff's dad) method of slow roasting the ribs in white wine before grilling, and they literally fell off the bone. Cory appreciate this since bones freak him out. After the slow roast, we took them to the grill and bathed them liberally in the Grant family secret BBQ sauce. Finger licking good I tell you! For desert, I picked a bowl of fresh figs from the tree and rosemary from the herb garden to make a Fig and Lemon Marscapone tart with a rosemary cornmeal crust. It looks divine and should be interesting during tonight's episode of True Blood. Jazpur hung out with us as well, but spent most of his time in a recycled shopping bag – one of his favorite spots. Here's to farm fresh Sunday Suppers, but oh, OHHHHHH, those summer nights!

The Menu:

- BBQ Pork Baby Back Ribs with Grant Family Secret BBQ Sauce

- Jeff's Roasted Georgia Cork in the Husk

- Grilled Organic Baby Zucchini

- Grilled Whole Grain Sports Bread with Rosemary and Garlic Infused Olive Oil

- One Britt Lemon Marscapone Fig Tart with Rosemary Cornmeal Crust