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Yesterday I had @Sarah_Kirschbaum and Jonathan over for a long lunch with an Italian theme with a few of my own twists. I followed the basic 3 course Italian progression. All pics by Sarah because she is very good at it. They also brought the wine!
Starting with an Antipasti spread - Homemade ricotta, lactofermented strawberry and blueberry, sourdough focaccia (purchased) and a deli spread of prosciutto, mortadella and sweet sopressata (also purchased, wish I could make those!)
Shaved zucchini salad with fresh pecorino, hazelnuts and basil
Fritto miso with stuffed squash blossoms, snap peas and a garlic scape
For the pasta course I made an English pea risotto
I start by making a pea puree (blanch peas, blend with some the reserved liquid, add a tbsp or so of mascarpone and some butter while blending) and fold that into the risotto right before the final step (la mantecatura 
)
For the Secondo I did a play on Osso Buco with polenta and gremolata. Brasied beef shank with chive polenta and garlic scape gremolata
The beef was braised in the basic mixture for osso buco - tomato, beef stock, mirepoix, white wine, bay and thyme. The meat was then picked and pressed, then cut and seared for service. Same idea with the polenta which has chive and thyme along with a lot of parmesan. Also, I used some of the whey from the ricotta making process to make the polenta. I still have some left, trying to figure out what to do with it. The sauce is the reduced braising liquid and the oil is chive.
For Dessert Hayley made a cookie plate with Pignoli, Amaretti and some Biscotti
Wines were:
2008 Diebolt-Vallois Fluer de Passion for the Antipasto - first time with this cuvee and I thought it was excellent - I have drunk the NV a number of times and this clearly had another gear to it, more power and some savory notes on the back end that were both interesting and delicious.
2011 Raul Perez Rara Avis Albarin for the Primo - another first for me but again from a producer I already know and love, this is an albarino that was aged under flor and I was expecting something to be somewhat akin to sherry, but it really wasn’t. Yes there were some oxidative elements but they were balanced by outstanding freshness and acidity. Some orange fruit notes like tangerine or kumquat, and then this undertone of rich almond. A wonderful pairing and wine that was again, both interesting and delicious
1997 EDIT: 1996 Giacosa Barbaresco Asili Riserva for the Secondo - Obviously I’ve never tried this wine before (come on) and again, W O W. I am a budding NebHead and this wine is only furthering that. Lucky to have such generous friends willing to share wines like this with me!
Mangia!
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This wine was actually the 1996 Giacosa Barbaresco Asili Riserva - the Red Label, among friends.
Confusing because I also brought the 1997 white label of the same wine, which was very sadly corked. And because Giacosa says Falletto on the bottle, even when the wine isn’t a Barolo Falletto.
Thank you for the wonderful meal! The risotto and the fried peas were our favorite parts, and the cookies that Hayley made, which I scarfed down too fast for a picture.
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It’s a heartbreaker when a 29 year old wine is corked!
Swoon-worthy!
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Eh, it’s been taking up real estate it wasn’t entitled to for 20 years. Glad to clear it out.
But yes….
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Had lunch with a friend from high school. Dad came over for dinner. Lunch was blackened shrimp tacos and of course red beans and rice. (It is Monday)
Dinner chicken fajitas, corn salad and black beans.
Had a Negroni and the wine was the Stump Jump
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Is that Guacamole or Smashed Avocado? 
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As I already had a salsa of fire roasted corn, onion, tomato and peppers. This was NOT guacamole. It was avocado, cilantro, salt and lime juice. Smashed.
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Grilled red snapper, chickpea/onion/yellow pepper “masala”, and julienned zucchini/onion in a peanut sauce over rice.
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Back to our regularly scheduled program, on clean up duty before this week’s vegetable delivery arrives.
Basic S&J roast chicken with the usual rub and dry, sautéed local asparagus, salad of snap peas/radish/fennel/parsley/mint with a lemon vinaigrette and a bit of goat feta.
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One of our favorites for Sunday morning, anything can go into a frittata
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Jonathan won’t eat an omelet or fritatta for dinner, but put it in a crust and call it a quiche and it’s fine. 
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Brined a chicken in chili pepper water overnight and cooked on the grill with a bit of apple wood smoke.
Served with a cold orzo salad with dry cured olives and capers and some sautéed beet greens from the garden.
This might become my new way to cook chicken, the chili pepper water worked perfectly with it. Not bad for a weekday meal.
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Chili Pepper Water? Is that as simple as it sounds? Does it impart much spice?
It is extremely simple, just slice a few peppers and crush a few garlic cloves. You can make it as hot as you want depending on the chiles you use and how many. I used serrano and birds eye and it has some heat but this version is more about the chili flavor than heat. It makes almost anything more delicious. There are tons of different versions, I use this one.
https://www.saveur.com/hawaiian-chile-pepper-water-with-soy-and-fish-sauce-recipe/
If you make it you should at least double the recipe, I usually make enough for a quart container.
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Thanks for this, Rob. I will be making some of this tonight. I like that it can be “stored indefinitely.” 
You will probably go through it pretty quick, mine usually disappears in a week or two.