Thursday Club 08/23/07

So we've finally gotten back into the swing of things & this week it was the man like Adam's turn to fill our bellies with some Mediterranean fare.



- Grilled Fennel and Tomato Soup.
- Cannellini Bean Cake on Salad Greens w/Red Pepper Puree .
- Veal “I Don’t Know What to Call It” (veal cutlet topped with sausage meat, spinach, bocconcini, tomatoes, etc. then broiled) w/Romano Cheese and Herb Polenta with Balsamic Cream Sauce.
- Chocolate Biscotti w/ Coffee.

The meal began with the soup, which was extremely good. I loved the fennel which added real depth. The 3 of us eagerly dunked bread into our bowls.





Then it was onto the Cannellini Bean Cake which I was very excited about as I've never thought to make a cake out of veggies. Set atop a mound of greens & drizzled with a tasty red pepper puree it was pure delight. I'll have to try to make these myself!


The 'Veal Whatchamacallit', Adam's nameless yet delicious meat concoction. We all know that Adam likes meat, so veal topped with pork is pretty much par for the course for our man Adam. The cheese & veggie topping went well & helped to soften the meat overload. I especially liked the Polenta, something that I don't cook enough. Adding the Romano was an excellent idea.

Coffee & Biscotti were up next. An excellent end to the night. Well done sir, well done!

André-Pascal throws down.

To most families, Father's Day means taking Dad out & pampering him, but in the Casséus household, in means Dad in the kitchen, feeding the flock. Sous Chef Stef & I made the lengthy trip to the upper east side for some awesome food yesterday.

When we were growing up & still living with the 'rents, we were pretty much the only people among our circle of friends who HAD to be home for dinner. No matter where we were or what we were doing, everything stopped around dinner time & we would be home, on time, for the family meal. Meals were normally very formal, very European & very good. André switched the game up a bit by serving up an informal Mediterranean buffet of sorts, hold your breath, there are a lot of dishes here...

- Grape leaves filled with spicy rice and pinola
- Hummus twice mixed with tahini plus a touch of paprika
- Egg plant caviar with suptle dashes of crushed dried mint
- Confit of eggplant with capers and dried tomatoes blended with a touch of harisa
- A thick offering of greek yogurt topped with crushed garlic, lime juice (a competitor to hummus)
- A beautifully arranged plate of crisp leaves and legumes
- A "white and black plate" of demi sel feta and oil cured black olives.
- An offering of falafel and kibbe.

We ate for hours, talked about old times & told dirty jokes. A great night.