We spent a lovely afternoon as guests of our friends at The Claremont, and then we joined my Mr. and hers back here for dinner. Anticipating the after swim rush to get the meal cooked, I had bought a whole tri-tip "roast". This is a tough but very flavorful cut of beef that is hard to find on the East Coast whole (I have asked the butcher at Whole Foods in Bedford to find me one before, and although he did he also looked at me like I was "retaahded" for not wanting it cut into "steaks"). My friend from Brazil always served tri-tip marinated in nothing but Kosher salt for her cookouts, and wow it was always so amazingly tasty. I have tried many, many times to replicate her dish, but not having consistent results, decided to marinate this one overnight.
I liked the idea of a beer marinated tri-tip recipe found on line except that it requires pomegranate molasses which sounded, well, kind of stupid really, and so substituted away. Red wine and maple syrup, a big pinch of chili peppers, large grain sea salt and a small amount of homemade red wine vinegar (thank you So Cal Foodies for encouraging that little money saving culinary practice!). We caramelize the onions and mushrooms in butter and olive oil using the pre-sliced crimini from Trader Joe's to save time. While the steak seared on the grill we steamed asparagus, and sliced heirloom tomatoes and avocados to serve with our house default, balsamic vinaigrette. After a quick boil the marinade was ready to join crumbled blue cheese to serve as garnish for thin slices of the steak and it ended up a perfect balance of sweet, salt and heat. I should note that the potatoes were also prepared in advance so that they could just cook away at 375 for 30 or 40 minutes while the rest came together. Here is another Trader Joe's time saver - one bag of the very small golden potatoes sliced in half on the diagonal, tossed in decent quality olive oil and as many whole peeled garlic cloves as you like ( I used 10 or 12 and often the pre-peeled ones from TJ's - a practice I swore on my Chez Panisse Vegetables never to adopt, but wow what a time saver that one) a pinch of large grain sea salt, a couple sprigs of fresh rosemary and/or thyme if you have it, cover with foil for the first 20 minutes or so then cook until it is all roasted golden. If you ever end up with any left overs these potatoes cold tossed with hummus make an amazing side dish for lunch the next day. Just to be sure the littlest of the kids had something to eat, we cooked up a couple of the stand by chicken breast as well.
Did I mention that our Claremont Resort Membership owning friends "don't really drink"? It is always flat out amazing how lovely the wines are that the non drinkers manage to bring over for dinner! A list would follow at this point but unfortunately recycle went the next morning and for some reason my memory is foggy on the details. I'll ask her because the Barbera was awesome. We stayed up really late, kids in the hot tub until midnight, all of us talking and laughing loud enough to annoy Our Beloved Next Door Neighbors (who are tolerant to the extreme and for whom I might just make home made pierogi in order to show my gratitude that after all these years they never have once thrown a shoe over the fence). A wonderful night and a glorious mess which luckily for me I only had to mostly tackle as I had a sitter the next morning for my best day ever (BDE) .
The silver lining, or should I say silvering lining, of the dark dark cloud of middle age is a bimonthly pilgrimage to Tom's Beautiful Hair . There isn't a better place on earth for a girl to be than in a chair at "The Tom's". Located on a quiet street just off Washington Square in North Beach, Tom's is right around the corner from St. Peter and Paul Cathedral - so you have to blink twice and pinch yourself when you walk in to be certain you have entered one and not the other. It's like getting swaddled in a sunlit cocoon of Happy going to the Tom's, and after I fluttered out glistening in the San Francisco afternoon with a much revived attitude and a last minute dinner party to prepare! Luckily my son answered the home phone and could read me the ingredients for something I haven't made in a decade or more. Invented in the early 1990's by a cook at what's now called The Walden Grille in Concord, MA. (where I used to tend bar), and written on a paper napkin which preserved the memory appropriately, this is one of the best don't-even-come-over-if-you-don't-eat-carbs-or-cream recipes ever.
Fresh fettucini is imperative for Walden Station Chicken, so off to Molinari's we go. If you ever doubt the power of gleaming, perfect hair allow me to inform you that I was served immediately at the deli counter (try that in a post-workout pony tail and sweats and experience proves you won't have the same results). Even the older gentleman (the one who is always standing behind the counter up at the front, speaking Italian with a sermon like furry to another customer and peering suspicious daggers over his spectacles if you browse) actually acknowledged me! An almost almost imperceptible nod as my hand rested on a 2007 Villa Claudia Chianti began our brief, glorious relationship. Ever so slight the tilt of his head (all the while never taking his eyes off the man he was verbally skewering) guiding my innocence toward the better bottle of $15.99 Rosso Di Montepulciano. Apparently swept up in the tidal wave of graciousness flowing that day, the employee wrapping my pasta and cyphering my bill chose the best but not near the most expensive house made salami and their succulent house cured olives for the snack tray. Then as always, duty calls. One delicate sideways sweep of the older gentleman's hand silently dispatches the employee who swiftly returns to him with a beautiful, bubbly, cold bottle of Prosecco and two plastic cups. Then, our eyes meet. In the last act, the final shimmering moment of our brief, beautiful acquaintance, he hands me a cup. Just as we raise them to our lips, in that nanosecond when it is close enough for the tiny bubbles to so so gently tickle the nose but before the sweetness touches the tongue, he speaks to me. "Salute."
The Mr. was away so admittedly we went a tad later than a random Thursday night warranted, but when you can get those guys over you take 'em, so I called a couple three other friends and ran by Cost Plus Market to grab a couple replacement martini glasses. You'd think the Mr. and I have a penchant for throwing glasses into the fire after each drink by the way we go through them around here but we just don't know what happens!
Small thin slices of left over steak and blue cheese, Molinari Salami and olives, and manchego and figs made a nice starter. We made some martini's (low carb) to wet our appetites for the creamy, spicy dinner ahead. The guys brought all manner of lovely wine each one novel to me - and I'll bet they got them from Coit Tower Liquors near the Salon. The real stand outs are; Bordeaux Blanc Sec La Mouliniere 2008,Chateau Gaillard Touraine Sauvignon Blanc 2008, Pieropan Soave Classico 2007 (or did I buy this one?), and of course the delicious Villa Claudia Chianti, 2007, brought to my attention by a man I once knew. Dark Chocolate fondu with store bought shortbread cookies and fresh berries served as dessert and the Former Professional Pastry Chef stayed really late to help me clean up. The Snack Tray strongly suggest you make best friends with a Former Pastry Chef, and be certain to invite her to dinner before you cook, and also to stay after all the other guests have gone.
No one should cook, nor eat, nor clean up after a dinner party in total solitude, in my opinion. It is bad for the digestion and besides there is nothing quite like the laugh you have with your girlfriend or your Mr. in the kitchen, late at night when the kids and little doggies are all asleep, dish washer clunking away, tea light candles reluctantly giving up and just extinguishing themselves one at a time. Nothing like it. Salute.
It was divine!
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