Luna Rose Terrace

We dined alfresco last evening at Luna. There was a nice breeze and all the plantings on the terrace looked great. We started with Mussels in a wine sauce. They were plump and juicy. Next Romaine lettuce tossed in lemon juice and olive oil with warm prosciutto wrapped goat cheese and Mediterranean olives-Wow!!

For the entrée we split the Pasta fungi sautéed seasonal mushrooms, shallots, herbs and white wine buttersauce over linguine with Chevre. I love the tangy taste of goat cheese.

The service was great and the food exceptional.

Ace Man

Seeing Jennifer and Remi’s dog photo today reminded me of my old dog Ace. He went to doggy heaven in January. I got him when he was a pup, he was so cute. His ears were so long he would trip on them. His mission in life was food. We had to install baby locks on the low cupboards to keep him out. One time he ate an entire berry pie. He was a great dog and he lived a great life.

Leftovers

Last night I had the leftovers from our Sunday Supper Club. I forgot my camera at work, so no photos. I liked all our dishes, and it was fun getting together again.



Here are the recipes for Quick Salsa and London Broil Marinade.

Quick Salsa:

3/4 cup chopped sweet onion
1/2 cup minced fresh cilantro
1 (10-ounce) can diced tomatoes and green chilies, undrained (such as Rotel)
1 (10-ounce) can diced tomatoes with lime juice and cilantro, undrained (such as Rotel)
2 garlic clove
1 jalapeno chili, chopped

Place all the ingredients in a blender, and process until smooth. (I just mixed by hand)
Yield: 3 cups (serving size: 1/4 cup)
Adapted from CL

Chipotle London Broil:

1 lb London Broil
1/2 Cup lime juice
4 tablespoons chipotle in adobo, minced
4 Tablespoons honey Dijon mustard
6 cloves garlic, minced
3 Tablespoons olive oil
2 Teaspoons cumin, ground
1Cup cilantro, chopped
Salt and fresh pepper, ground

SunChips

Remi, you magnificent bastard, you’ve done it again!

Not really being much of a chip man, I was a little surprised at my response to the recent Remi discovery (see Remi Snacks #7: SunChips Garden Salsa). I hit the SunChips hard this weekend—and have never felt better (theoretically that is, once you subtract the beer, etc. from the equation). I usually feel a little queasy after chips, not this time, I just couldn’t get enough, I mean, you could live on this stuff-throw in a boiled hot dog now and then and you’ve got the food pyramid pretty much covered.

Garage sale frenzy

Another garage sale hit! I racked up quite a few cookbooks-each for $1.00 or less!!! That’s a lot cheaper than buying a cooking magazine at the store. I still buy them, who can resist those tempting glossy covers just begging you to make that impulse purchase at the checkout stand.

Red Rooster Pasta

I really like the “Fire Pasta” at Picabu Bistro, so I wanted to try and make it at home. I came up with this recipe after getting a few hints from their kitchen. It is different than theirs, but I was happy with my results.

2 T. extra virgin olive oil
4 –5 slices pepper bacon, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
3-4 T. Red Rooster Hot Sauce
½ C. heavy cream
8 oz. pasta
fresh parmesan to taste

Sauté bacon in olive oil until almost crisp, add garlic, as soon as the garlic begins to sizzle, add rooster sauce, then stir in heavy cream, and allow to thicken slightly. Serve over your favorite pasta. Top with parmesan cheese.

Chillin' and Grillin'

Fathers Day. On the menu Grilled Missouri Chicken (from the cookbook New York Times More 60 Minute Gourmet), Yukon Gold Potato Salad, Baked Beans, Green Salad with Nana’s special vinaigrette.

Saketini

I love garage sales, you never know what you will find and you don’t need to spend a lot of money. Last weekend was a total garage sale score! –Lamp in the shape of a purse, T.V., old Polish cookbook, dip and chip bowl and 2 sake sets!

That got me thinking about Jennifer’s post on saketinis, so last night we tried a saketini at the blue fish. The one we tried had Cointreau orange liqueur, cranberry juice, lime and of course sake. It was a bit sweet for me. I think I will head down to Vino to get some sake to try out in my $2 sake set!! Now if only that new cheese shop was open, I could get some Limburger cheese, like Tom was talking about, to go with it.

Entourage

I am a big fan of the show Entourage and this weeks opening of season 3 was off to a great start!

Aquaman premiere night is coming up and Vince needs a date. James Woods’ guest stars -looks like he may have had a bit of cosmetic surgery.

My favorite character is ”Drama” played By Kevin Dillon; he sure looks like his brother Matt Dillon.

Pesto

On my weekly lunch outing to Fred Meyer, I was looking for the ingredients for crab pasta. I found everything except they were out of the 6 oz. containers of fresh crab. I guess I could have bought the crab legs and shelled them but I was too lazy. What else could I make with some of the ingredients in my cart? Pesto!

Pesto:

2 cups packed fresh basil leaves
4 cloves garlic
1/4 cup pine nuts
2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1/2 cup freshly grated Pecorino cheese

Combine the basil, garlic, and pine nuts in a food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped. Add the 1/2 cup of the oil and process until fully incorporated and smooth. Season with salt and pepper. If freezing, transfer to an airtight container and drizzle remaining oil over the top. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw and stir in cheese.

I added a bit of heavy cream.

Adapted from food network Kitchens

UPS Guy

I like it when I get home from work and there is a box waiting on the doorstep. My friendly UPS guy has made a delivery, and even better it’s a box of new and used cookbooks. Here are my latest treasures to add to my cookbook collection.

Vancouver

I spent this last week in Vancouver. What a fun city. Beluga whales, and downtown bears just like in spokane!

Vancouver is the largest city in the province of British Columbia and the third largest city in Canada. It's surrounded by water on three sides and is nestled alongside the Coast Mountain Range. Vancouver is home to spectacular natural scenery and a bustling metropolitan core, and boasts one of the mildest climates in Canada.

The City of Vancouver supports a wide range of destination sites — from more than 190 parks to three different civic theatres — that are interesting places to visit for tourists and residents alike. Vancouver is also home to many other sights and is networked by a comprehensive transportation system.

Dinner with Hello Kitty and Napoleon

Le Cafe

It’s getting towards lunchtime.
You might be thinking –I’m tired of the same old restaurants.
Well, I have just the place for you- Le Café at the Heart, as in Sacred Heart medical Center.

The prices are right, menus change daily, and there is always a salad bar if nothing grabs you on the menu. Today the special is a “Made to Order Smoked Beef-Flat bread Taco”$4.50.

Where else can you eat lunch, fill a prescription, maybe see people running around during a code, possibly hear the bells ringing when a baby is born, attend mass or pick up that perfect little gift or fresh flowers for your sweetie in the gift shop.