eating as a fine art: april fools day dinner at tom & dougs, no foolin'

Monday, April 13, 2009

april fools day dinner at tom & dougs, no foolin'

we had another stunning dinner at tom & doug's. i can't think of anyone else who so fervently embraces the good life.
we started with chilled tomato soup with lime, cheddar cheese puffs and ice cold lime gimlets.

the handsome bearded man on the left is troy, about to enjoy i believe his third helping of that fantastic soup.

then into the dining room for dinner: shaved celery salad and pasta with roast chicken, pine nuts, currants, rosemary & parsley. utterly delicious; hauntingly good in fact. i think i'll be making that pasta real soon here.

we brought along an oregon rose, which was lovely alongside.

our gracious and generous hosts.

following dinner, we retired to the lounge for rose sparkley followed by tangerine ice cream floats, a sort of grown-up dreamsicle, which were always my summertime favorite.

at this point i was getting loopy and i believe some vodka went into mine. then there may have been another cocktail.
and things went from elegant to rollicking, which i believe is the point of the swanky lounge... and all the booze.

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Recipes

David’s mac & cheese, as re-interpreted over the years

Preheat oven to 350*

Boil in salted water (should be like sea water) until just before al dente: 1 lb pasta (like macaroni shaped or penne or whatever you like)

Grate 1 lb+. cheese of choice. I like to use some jack, as it melts well, and is a good medium for the other highly flavored cheeses you should consider using like: sharp cheddar, gruyere, pecorino, goat cheese etc.

Meanwhile, sauté a small diced onion in a few TBSP butter until soft over medium heat. Add a couple cloves of garlic, smashed, and sauté another minute. Add another TBSP butter and four TBSP flour, sauté to lightly toast the flour, about a minute (should be the consistency of wet sand). Add, oh, 1 cup milk slowly and whisk to break up clumps. Slowly add milk until you get a sauce with the consistency of heavy cream or campbell’s tomato soup, just out of the can (should be about 3 cups total). Add salt; I like to add some smoked paprika and woscheshire sauce. Taste for seasoning (should be highly seasoned). Add oh, ½ the cheese.

Now, layer in a buttered casserole (I actually make this recipe in 2 dishes and freeze one): pasta, roux (milk/cheese sauce) and cheese in about 2-3 layers.

In David’s version, you’d put some pats of butter over your pasta layers, then sprinkle on wheat germ. That’s good—the germ is kind of sweet, and yummy. What I do is sauté some breadcrumbs very lightly in butter and garlic and toss in some wheat germ at the end and sprinkle this (liberally) over the pasta.

Bake for about 40-45 minutes or until lightly browned and bubbly. If you’ve made two casseroles (you smart thing), take the one you’ll freeze out of the oven after about a half hour, let cool, wrap in foil then in plastic, label and freeze.

eating as a fine art

Monday, April 13, 2009

april fools day dinner at tom & dougs, no foolin'

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