Good Friends

Last week we had friends visiting from Chicago by way of Los Angeles, prior to this visit it had been six years since our friends visited us in San Francisco. Before they arrived a lot of my time was happily spent planning activities and the welcome menu for dinner on their arrival night, most importantly the dessert. The entrée ‘Boeuf Bourguignon” and for dessert I baked an Almond Citrus Olive Cake recipe courtesy of Giada De Laurentis. I used a mild Spanish Extra Virgin Olive Oil, the cake was wonderful and I can’t wait to make this cake again.

Almond Citrus Olive Oil Cake
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons orange zest
2 teaspoons lemon zest
1/4 cup whole milk
3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2/3 cup sliced almonds, toasted, coarsely crumbled
Powdered sugar, for sifting

To make the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly oil an 8-inch-diameter cake pan. Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl to blend. Using an electric mixer, beat the sugar, eggs, and zests in a large bowl until pale and fluffy. Beat in the milk. Gradually beat in the oil. Add the flour mixture and stir just until blended. Stir in the almonds. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan. Place cake pan on baking pan to collect any possible spills. Bake until a tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out with moist crumbs attached, about 35 minutes. Transfer to a rack and cool for 15 minutes. Remove cake and place on serving platter, top side up. Sift powdered sugar over the cake.

We had a ball with our friends; we took them to Sutro Towers the highest peak in San Francisco, Stinson Beach, Point Reyes Station to name a few places. We introduced them to the best ice cream in the world at Bi-Rite Creamery and after their first taste we had to visit the Creamery every day. We had a lovely dinner at Chez Papa and we saw a really bad movie but mostly we just visited with each other and had a good time. We are so fortunate to have such good friends and to live in one of the best cities in the country, life is good!

The End of a Chapter - Not the Book!

Verse 2 – lyrics Nine to Five…..
“They let you dream just to watch them shatter;
You're just a step on the boss man's ladder,
But you've got dreams he'll never take away.”

It’s dream time for me, Wednesday, March 31; I officially became a lady of leisure no more nine-to-five five days a week for me anymore! It is the end of an exciting chapter in my book of life, the next chapter is in the concept stage but it is sure to be fun filled and exciting. Occasions like these have to be marked in a special way so on that monumental day I hosted a small party. It was an intimate gathering with a few very special people; the party was mostly to show my appreciation to three amazing women for their support and strength of character.

The girls love good food and all know their way around the kitchen so the pressure was on to prepare something fitting their culinary agility. The party was early evening so a few appetizers were in order;

The Menu

Salume Platter
Tapenade
Gougeres
Stuffed Mushrooms
Ceviche

Chocolate Covered Strawberries & Walnuts
Lavendar Shortbread

The meats on the platter came from Boccalone http://www.boccalone.com/ in the Ferry Building; I love this place and shop there almost every week, the pancetta is to die for, so is everything else for that matter. I think the girls particularly enjoyed the orange fennel salumi.

Alton Brown is credited for the Tapendade recipe http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/tapenade-recipe/index.html . The recipe called for 2 Tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil, I made a mistake and added 2 Tablespoons of blood orange olive oil. What a happy mistake, everyone seemed to like it and I will make the same mistake again!

The recipe for the Gougeres I picked up in Burgandy a couple of years ago but it is really quite simple, see the April 4, 2010 Food Section of the San Francisco Chronicle for a very similar recipe.

Stuffed Mushrooms recipe was courtesy of Giada De Laurentis http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/stuffed-mushrooms-recipe/index.html
They were great and the mint really married well with the other ingredients. I made my own bread crumbs other than that I followed the recipe to the letter.

I used Emeril Lagasse recipe for Ceviche http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/ceviche-recipe2/index.html. I substituted Italian flat parsley for cilantro because my husband was the wine server for the party and he doesn't care for cilantro to much.

Lavender Shortbread came from Miette http://www.miettecakes.com/ in the Ferry Building. I also love their chocolate wafers, I often make ice cream sandwiches with them – yum.

For the chocolate covered strawberries, I bought two or three types of really good chocolate, melted the chocolate in a double boiler and dipped.

My husband was a gem, he stayed with us girls all night and kept the wine flowing – it was nice to have our very own personal garcon!

It was a wonderful evening of laughter, good food and friends; I’m ready for the next chapter and adventure!