Pasta Bolognese

I make a lot of this and freeze it. Then you just have to make your pasta in the future. The sauce is Beef, Veal (free-range) and Pork. Onion, carrot, tomato paste, cream and white wine.

Best Restaurant in North America

We just had dinner at Downey's for our third wedding anniversary:
• Ojai, 2004 Santa Rita Hills, Clos Pepe Vineyard, Pinot Noir
• Fresh Local Crab Toasts with Curried Fruits & Arugula
• Endive Salad with watercress, organic strawberry, hazelnuts and vinaigrette
• Halibut with Meyer lemon and Sorrel sauce, red potatoes
• Lobster, sun-dried tomatoes, Kalamata olives, asparagus, angel hair pasta salad
• Cheese plate: two double cream cheeses from France - one mushroomy, other buttery; triple cream from France - rich, creamy; Manchego; Stilton from England with red grapes, Fuji apples, water crackers, raisin bread and walnuts.

Lemon Thyme Chicken with Spring Vegetables

Whole roasted chicken with lemon, thyme and white wine. Local vegetables from Ken's garden.

Fish Enchiladas

Tilapia, grilled corn and tomatoes with a tomatillo salsa.

Avocado Sandwich

Jamie made these. Perfect summer sandwich. Avocado, red onion, sprouts, cucumbers, mayo, mustard.

Chicken Parmesan

My number one comfort food. Boxed noodles are good for this one. Broil the cheese on at the end.

Hamburger

Summer! Get those grills going. A mix of beef and lamb is nice. Hit of Worcestershire.

Fried Sage

Great on pizza.

Chicken and Couscous

Pan seared chicken with couscous and tomatoes.

Soup Sampler

Potato Leek and Vegetable. Make the base stock from scratch. It makes all the difference.

Chicken Noodle. I ran out of noodles, so I just chopped up some lasagna noodles.

Easter Cookies

Easily enough sugar in the frosting to kill you.

Summer Salad

Outdoor food. Grilled chicken on a mixed green salad with, apples, blueberry and a raspberry vinaigrette.

Deep Garden

It is always a nice feeling to see the herbs coming in strong in the Spring, knowing that there will be plenty to cook with.

Pasta in Cream Sauce with Parsley

This dish will not kill you. It doesn't have that much cream, maybe 3/4 of a cup. Start with shallots, deglaze with white whine, then add the cream. Cook it down a bit and add (fresh) pasta.

Egg On Toast

Egg on toast, for two. My wife is nuts for eggs. The problem is getting the egg not to stick to the pan. I think it is the difference in temperature between the egg and the pan. Most of the eggs that hit a pan come straight from the fridge. I try to let mine come up to room temp (few minutes) before they hit the hot pan (preferably cast-iron, to hold as much heat as possible). Less scrubbing in the clean up phase.

Tuna with Wasabi Pistachio Crust

Fast dish. The wasabi is not hot. I do a quick marinade that helps the pistachios stick to the fish. They protect the fish from burning.

Ravioli

Make a ton, then freeze them. I like to boil them in chicken or vegetable stock, then use the stock as a sauce.

Cocktail Party

Easy way to entertain. Cocktail party.

Hardwood Charcoal

Lodge makes a great little cast iron grill. It is small, so you don't have to use a lot of charcoal to get it going. I pre-heat mine on my gas grill to give the coals a head start. Grilled lemon chicken with asparagus and potatoes anna.

Dry Run

I like doing a dry run for Thanksgiving, to try new things. Rolled and stuffed turkey breasts with pecan cornbread stuffing. Pound out and brine the breasts overnight and add milk to the stuffing so the breasts don't dry out.

Herbs

A nice thing about the South is that, if you remember to cover them up a couple of times, herbs make it through the winter. Fresh herbs year round.

Trout

Good, cheap, fast. The whole thing takes 11 minutes, bag to table.

Now and Again

Gin, and Vermouth... so you can taste the Vermouth.

The Big Breakfast

Saturday or Sunday. Potatoes, bacon, eggs, tomato, parsley, thyme.

Meyer Lemons

Springtime. At least here in Austin. This is the very beginning of Lemon Confit.

Chicken Sandwich

My new quick lunch. The thighs have more flavor. A little hit of Dijon mustard.

Mussels

Easy dish to make and fun to eat. We eat this right out of the pan, with some crusty bread.

Cast Iron

Not a thing wrong with it. The pan would have cost $12, but I got it for free from my mother. Best pan I have. Steak. Eggs. Potatoes. Cobbler. You name it. It cooks it.

Walnut Orchard

My grandparents house in Napa has the most wonderful walnut orchard in the back of the property. We have a pecan tree, but there is something special in having a dozen, purposefully grafted, fully mature trees at the ready. Your own army.

Tuesday Night Dinner

I get the impression that sitting down to a meal is slowly becoming extinct. I think that is a shame. Especially if you put some good work in the kitchen. If nothing else you have a captured audience to tell you how much they enjoy your food. Turn off the TV, get out the good silver.

Duck

I wish more people ate duck. I love it. Here it is with a dried cherry port sauce.

$32.51

I know it tastes good, but seriously. After 45 minutes of killing and dismantling a live lobster, this is what I have to show for it. No wonder I prefer scallops.

Lobster Risotto with Peas and Asparagus.

Naked Chef

One of the Naked Chef (Food Network) shows had him preparing simple braised chicken. Slow cooked in a pan with olives, garlic, tomatoes, rosemary and white wine to deglaze. I like that each simple ingredient adds a component (olive = salty, tomato = acid, rosemary = spice). Here is a variation with arugula and red onion rings.

Homemade Pizza

The dough. Cheap, quick, comforting. The trick is to give it the time to rise and roll it out thin.

Unfortunate Photography

I think I learn something from every cookbook I buy. Unfortunately, I didn't see this picture when I bought this book (Crave). For some reason this book is useless to me now.

The Power of Eggs and Flour