Long Weekend

There was much food, drink, and merriment- we had two couples come stay with us for the weekend as we all attended Debi and John’s wedding. The weather was perfect, perfect, perfect, and everything unfolded at a tranquil pace that made for lots of refined hedonism and good time with good people.

Only one of the four- Andrew– was with us for dinner on Friday, after a not-so-successful mushroom-hunting walk; it’s been really dry here and not much is up right now. I got some organic ribeyes and cooked them sous-vide for about an hour at 52˚ C while I made a bunch of complementary sides out of the garden’s still-opulent bounty. These included: fingerling potatoes sautéed gently in duck fat, more green mash (this time of radicchio, endive, and sorrel) grated raw black radish, celery root purée with yogurt and truffle oil, and wilted radish greens with garlic. We enjoyed the hell out of a 1998 Tignanello, which further strengthens my conviction that Italian wines- especially the Super-Tuscans- taste the way California wines wish they could. As we tucked in, Milo said “Dad, you forgot to take a picture of the dinner.”

The next day was the wedding, so we primped and prepared and piled in the car. It was a beautiful ceremony outside on a hill, followed by lunch and dancing. John did not sit in with the band, which is a pity, but he had promised Debi that he wouldn’t. He played our wedding, though, and that’s what matters. I didn’t take a picture of Gerard’s fabulous catering, distracted as I was by Milo dancing like a mad monkey to the badass sounds of (Grammy™-nominated) Sex Mob featuring Dave Tronzo and DJ logic, but I did get this plate’s-eye view of Logic and Swami Bruce (Bruce owns the Temple where the wedding took place, and officiated.)

Then, on Sunday, a fabulous brunch at Liz’s house, for which I cured a Sockeye salmon (courtesy of Gerard) into gravlax using salt, sugar, 7-spice, lime zest, and fennel seeds. Process shots follow:

The fillets.

After 24 hours on the cure, I flipped them over.

After another 24.

The finished product, sliced and served with fennel, dill, chervil, and lemon.

And then, after all our guests headed back to Boston, I made a simple roast chicken with rosemary-garlic red potatoes, green mash, steamed broccoli, and lemon-herb gravy. All
in all, the ideal way to spend a glorious fall weekend.