Meeting the Mahoneys:
We celebrated Andrew's and Sally's engagement on March 21. In the larger photo, on the left is Fran, then Suzanne, Andrew, Sally and Reeves, then Fran, Tim, Sally and Molly. In between Fran and Tim was Aunt Jane, pictured with the red jacket above. Behind Suzanne are the desserts. You can see the pear clafouti, and you can't see the torte knockoff I did from Jody's recipe, forgetting to separate and whip the eggs. Andrew painted it with raspberry jam and lemon juice. We cut it into squares and it was really good. For appetizers we had guacamole (Suzanne's suggestion of added cayenne was very helpful), pecan tapenade from the Santa Fe cookbook that Jody gave me for Christmas, date/almond spread, and stuffed heirloom tomatoes, all on bruscetta or the pepper crackers I've been eating of late. Pictured here is the first course, halibut with last summer's black raspberries made into a salsa with mango, pepper, onion, etc, and my usual eggplant/tahini/yogurt slop served on a parmesan and almond crisp. Suzanne made up the salad, consisting of maché layered with cantaloupe and watermelon and topped with parmesan curls and lemon vinaigrette.

I whine/wine

First the wine: As you all know I have developed quite a taste for syrahs and zinfindels living out here in CA. Last fall I tasted some truly exceptional zinfindel from a dry creek are winery. I'm thinking about having Andrew sent some for his birthday, but I wanted your feedback on whether or not its a good idea, since he randomly hates getting stuff in the mail. Its expensive and its amazing wine, so if there's any chance it just might tick him off and he might not pick up the package then I'll skip it. Or maybe have it sent to Mom and Dad and we can have it with him around the time of Suzanne's wedding. I dunno.
Now the whine: Mom, you said you would post something about the dinner on Saturday! A picture maybe? I know you are busy, but you said you would and I was only person who wasn't there so I want a picture darn it :(.

Random Food News

Last night I had a friend over for dinner and Oliver and I made a feast. We made sweet potato casserole, greens, and pork loin with a mustard sage sauce. It all turned out fabulously. We also had blue cornbread. I don't know if I've mentioned this, but I bought a bag of blue cornmeal (made from blue corn) on a whim at the berkeley bowl and I've been working my way through it. It tastes pretty much like regular cornmeal, perhaps a bit nuttier, but its blue, which keeps me entertained. The highlight of the meal was a berry peach crisp that Oliver made. He used frozen berries and peaches, since nothing is quite in season, and it turned out really well. And the frozen fruit was easy to use. This technique definitely bears repeating. Unfortunately our dinner guest had to pass out on the couch before he could finish (booze + fatigue). This has happened to me with dinner guests before, but usually they make it further into the meal and then go into food coma. This guy is an awesome cook, though. He makes the best mashed sweet potatoes I've ever had.

Sweet Potato Gnocci

I made this delicious dish from a wa-po article that I've been carrying around for a very long time. The dough itself is really easy and quick. It's sort of a pain to form the dumplings, but if you're lazy like me, you can just make half of them one night and freeze or refrigerate the dough to make more another night:

Cook and cool 1.5 lbs sweet potatoes (~2c) (I chopped them up and then microwaved them)
In a large bowl, combine sweet 'taters and 2t salt. Mash until no lumps remain.
Slowly add 3c flour, kneading to form the mixture into a ball of dough (the article says to do this all by hand, but I used a mixer. Shhhh.)
On a lightly floured work surface, roll hunks of the dough into ropes about 3/4" in diameter. Cut or pinch into 3/4" segments to form gnocci.
Cook gnocci in boiling water in batches (they don't need to be too small--just make sure that the gnocci have some wiggle room and the more aggressive ones won't hold the meeker ones under the water). They take ~3min to cook. They will float to the surface when done. Remove with slotted spoon.

They're a little bland on their own. I made a snazzy, simple sauce to go along with them. Regular tomato sauce or cream sauce would taste good, too:

Saute 1.5 onion, chopt, in 1T olive oil
Add 2 cloves garlic, minced and a generous handful of sunflower seeds
Once these ingredients are all cooked, add a couple handfuls of frozen spinach.
Once the spinach has melted, add a can of chopt tomatoes.
Season with oregano, rosemary, basil, salt, and pepper (and, of course, hot sauce.)
Add gnocci and allow to simmer.
Serves 5-6

Chocolate Torte

This is delicious. Words fail.

Ingredients:
1 stick butter softened
3/4 cups sugar
2 eggs
3 oz baking chocolate
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 c flour (I used a gluten free mix)
1 c nut meal or very finely chopped nuts (I banged out walnut pieces with a rolling pin. It might be nice to toast the nuts before hand, but I didn't.)
1/8 teaspoon salt
~ 1/2 cup jam and half a lemon, for glaze

Preheat the oven to 325.

Melt the chocolate and let it cool.
Cream the butter and sugar. Add the egg yolks and beat well. Add the chocolate and vanilla. Mix well. Add the flour and mix to just enough to incorporate. Repeat with the nuts.
Beat the egg whites and salt until stiff but not dry peaks form. Gently fold into the batter.
Pour into a cake pan or a springform pan and bake 30 - 35 minutes. It should still be a bit moist on the inside. Let cool.
For the glaze, heat the jam and lemon in a skillet. Run through a sieve to remove the skins. Generously brush glaze onto the top of the torte. I used homemade oaktown plum jam. Yum!

Peanut Sauce

A delicious recipe (adapted) from the top of a Smucker's peanut butter jar:

Whisk:
1/3 c pb (I used crunchy)
2T soy sauce
2T lime juice
1/3 c water
1t sugar
1/4t cayenne pepper
1 clove minced garlic
salt to taste
Microwave 30 s
add:
sauteed/chopt: 1 small onion, handful green peppers, 2 carrot (or other veggies)
enjoy over pasta and/or chicken
serves 3 (with pasta)