The weekend was for the most part off the potato diet (note: Mark Sisson gave me some Weekend Link Love yesterday about it…and it’s great to be inimitable). It was some leftover potato stuff Saturday morning, sensible eating the rest of the day, through brunch Sunday morning and back to potatoes Sunday evening.
I’ll have some of my latest potato creations in another post.
First, Robert & Julie headed over Saturday around noon and we headed up the hill to the David Bruce Winery. They were having heavy hors d’oeuvres, with three wine tasting tables. I’ve been at a number of these sorts of things and to their credit, they didn’t skimp on the food. They even had meat, plentiful.
We headed back, hit the market, and after sitting around a fire pit in the backyard for a while, we proceeded to cook. I did mashed potatoes, Robert pan fried filets to a perfect medium rare, deglazed with red wine and did a reduction that included apples.
Sunday morning Beatrice & I headed up to The Mountain Winery in the hills above Saratoga, CA, just a few minutes from home. She’s a member there and far more than the wine itself, it’s such a fabulous setting with great views of the Silicon Valley from north to south.
They’re always having something or else going on, including events such as concerts. A few years back we saw Heart, and more recently this summer, Bea saw Foreigner with her sis-in-law.
…So yesterday they had brunch deal with a jazz band playing. Not potato, not particularly paleo but nonetheless done with care.
Lobster Crêpes with sautéed mushrooms and asparagus (Bea)
Roasted Vegetable Frittata with sautéed mushrooms and marinara sauce (me)
So there you go. Not potato, not completely paleo, but sane, sensible, elegant.
Richard – do you deglaze with red wine in a cast iron skillet? Some do, some don’t because of the acid and the seasoning on the skillet. I have not yet tried because I would hate to ruin all the work that went into building up my cast iron seasoning.
I do, and that dish was actually deglazed in the cast iron.
All I do is just never do anything but rinse and scrape or scour with water. Soap or detergent never touches it, just like my skin.
Thanks – you should try making your own stock. It is real easy and freezes well. It really takes dishes to a whole new level.
EF
Did it for a long while and this has come up.
I dare you to do a taste test, considering your pain in ass factor, with Kitchen Basics. It’s quality, shot ingredient list, 5g of animal protein per cup.
I use it all the time. I do save bones and will simmer it with bones now & then, but it’s nice to have it available all the time in unsalted beef & chicken.
It’s kind of funny that Mark Sisson sent people to you for the Potato Hack…apparently he doesn’t read his own forum.
I had a couple overweight ladies tell me they were going to go on a “Potato Diet”. I asked them what that was, and they started explaining in lurid detail about eating potatoes with just a little fat for two weeks. Made big thing of describing how you are not supposed to get hungry and how you burn your own fat really fast.
The one said she read about it “on the internet” and “everybody’s doing it”.
Next stop: Dr. Oz
“Mark Sisson sent people to you for the Potato Hack…apparently he doesn’t read his own forum.”
He must be an anarchist.
Re the potato thing, two words:
Spicy Brown Mustard
I had forgotten how good it is at making things palatable.