Mains:
– Palak paneer (quite good)
– Paneer makhani (I found the sauce too sour, but others liked it)
– Lamb rogan josh (ditto, and the incongruous addition of cream)
– Dal fry (homemade)
– Jeera rice (homemade)
– Boondi raita (homemade)
– Naan
Desserts: there were a LOT of desserts!
– Rasmalai (homemade)
– Flan (homemade by a friend)
– Sticky rice with mango (homemade by a friend)
– Assorted fruit
– Assorted pistachio baklava
– Chocolate ganache cake
– Chocolate cream cake
– Assorted non-Baklava middle eastern sweets
– Assorted Indian sweets: laddoos and barfis
– More that I don’t remember
There was WAY too much food, and ALL the extra went home with the guests, because we have a birthday dinner tonight and family Diwali dinner tomorrow. The only things we ran out of were samosas and rice, some of the kids doubled up on the former, and some people surprisingly seemed to like the latter more than the naan.
(Good thing someone had the foresight to order takeout containers – same someone who ordered 2x the quantity of food needed )
BF is out of state visiting college buddies. So a solo dinner tonight of sourdough toast with brie and sheet pan roasted mushrooms and shallots. Sauvignon Blanc out of shot. I am accompanying all of this with a marathon of The French Chef on YouTube. Currently she is making lamb curry (with what appears to be a jug of Almaden Mountain Burgundy), saffron rice, pappadum, and Bombay Duck (fried fish from a prepared package - I had no idea that would have been available in Cambridge back when this was filmed in 1972!).
Another meal of I’m not really hungry, but I am: sautéed spinach with Aleppo pepper and ground sumac, with a Wegmans sockeye salmon filet with char siu sauce.
Levain Bakery recently opened a branch in CC, so naturally my PIC requested we make the trek for a free cookie — for the rare few of you not familiar, ONE cookie is enough to feed a small family for a couple of days
The weather was spectacular again (rain? who needs rain? ) & I didn’t need much convincing. We splurged on a lunch at the Oyster House, a Philly institution we usually visit at least once when in town and for some reason hadn’t as of yet, then made our way back to 9th street to check out the Día de Muertos festivities.
I picked up oyster & king oyster shrooms at the Viet market for “my” mushroom pappardelle tonight, and a bunch more Sungold kiwis (my latest breakfast obsession).
I’d brought a bag of Molisanto pappardelle from home & was initially worried that 7 nests might not be enough, but it turned out to be plenty. Pasta was lovely — I sautéed a shallot and a few garlic cloves in a mix of olive oil & butter, then added the mushrooms. A generous splash of Primitivo, a nub of ‘nduja for a lil kick, a few drops of soy sauce, a healthy squeeze of lemon, and a glug of heavy cream. Fresh parsley to finish. Arugula with lemon dressing & parm on the side. Simple and satisfying.
Really nice Diwali family gathering at ROOH https://www.roohrestaurants.com/ with an excellent spread of many of their modernized interpretations of Indian dishes. First time at their SoMa location instead of their Palo Alto site - similar menu but the ambience at the SoMa one is much better (not just one big, loud room).
The same chef opened Baar Baar in nyc with a virtually identical menu and it was lovely for a year, until he left to open another Rooh in Chicago and then in New Delhi.
My homage to Dia de Muertos. Chicken enchiladas from the freezer with a salsa verde and Manchego cheese. Cilantro rice, avocado and radishes. There were Margaritas. The tortillas disintegrated so it was more like enchilada mush but it still tasted good.
We enjoyed another excellent dinner at Drew’s Bayshore Bistro in Keyport, NJ, including pork belly cracklins with fried Brussels Sprouts, in a tabasco gastrique; fig, gorgonzola, and bacon toast; Cajun Shrimp; fried calamari; BBQ pork chop with jambalaya; crab cakes. It all went great with an excellent cabernet and red blend.
Pizza Saturday. I pulled one more pizza off . Now the weather is turning quickly. Will have to bring the oven inside. Will be turning to braises , stews , and soups . I will be making pizzas. Not as much between the dark and cold times.
Base of tomato and mozzarella. Topped with chicken Boudin sausage, pre cooked and crumbled , sautéed prawn with a spicy dry rub. Topping it all out with oregano and a drizzle of hot honey. Cheers.
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) & I didn’t need much convincing. We splurged on a 
