An Antipasto Feast

Having attended a great BBQ on Sunday night, Gabe and I opted to cook up something different for Labor Day.  And by that I mean Gabe did everything.  I just wash the dishes.  I did however come up with the suggestion that we compile a meat and cheese tray accompanied by some wine.  You can never go wrong with the right combination of meats and cheeses!  

Our trip began at the local Trader Joe's in Costa Mesa.  Upon walking into the store Gabe spotted some beautiful red bell peppers and suggested we incorporate vegetables for an antipasto array, also picking up some fresh asparagus.  Then we sauntered over to the meat section where Gabe selected a packaged assortment of Spanish meats including chorizo, salami, and serrano.  For cheese we selected four options - Trader Joe's Brie Log, Trader Joe's Fresh Goat Cheese with honey, a mild white cheddar cheese, and a Blue Castello.  

As we made our way to the wine selection Gabe realized that the tasting was still in effect (and apparently this Trader Joe's is the only one in Orange County to do wine tasting).  We were presented with a red and white from Bogle Vineyards in California and chose the Chardonnay along with a Shiraz from Benefactor Cellars, a South Eastern Australia wine.  

Finishing up we also purchased some white peaches, marcona almonds, one artisan baguette, organic apricot preserves, one cantaloupe, and 72% cacao dark chocolate bars (for dessert of course!).  
Back home, Gabe started by grilling the asparagus, bell peppers, and peaches.  

Meanwhile he toasted the marcona almonds in lemon zest and olive oil for approximately 10 minutes on the stove (pictured below) and also heated about 1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar on medium heat for 20 minutes.

The final product - French baguette slices, grilled peaches with balsamic reduction and goat cheese, marcona almonds toasted in lemon zest and olive oil,  grilled red peppers drizzled with olive oil, organic apricot preserves, mild white cheddar cheese, brie, cantaloupe, grilled asparagus, serrano, salami, and chorizo.

The tray on which this was placed had a quote which I didn't notice until after we were done - "Too much of a good thing is wonderful."  Fitting indeed as we left no trace of evidence of this delectable feast.


_Peace and Love

Glorious Gumbo!

For those of you who haven't had a chance to watch Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations on the Travel channel, you're in luck because this Labor Day the network is repeating past episodes during a special marathon (noon to 4 am the next day).  I personally never watched the show until Gabe swore by it and insisted that we watch in early January.  Since then I've tuned in to almost every new episode, and in celebration of this last season's final episode, "Cajun Country," Gabe decided to make Chicken and Andouille Sausage Gumbo!

Using a recipe for "Easy Chicken Gumbo" (from the website My Recipe's) as a skeleton, Gabe modified accordingly for a glorious gumbo.  First, he cooked the chicken thighs in a large pot until browned and then removed them from the stove.  Using the same pot (without washing it), he added olive oil, butter, and flour creating a roux for the gumbo.

At this point things were beginning to smell delicious so I snapped a quick shot of Gabe in action.  Check out those whisking skills!  After creating the base, he added sweet onion, green bell pepper, celery, and Old Bay seasoning and then gradually stirred in the chicken meat (chopped up) and andouille sausage.  The ingredients were left to simmer on the stove for roughly 20 minutes and then Okra was added toward the end.  Gabe also cooked some white rice and served it with the gumbo for the final product!

I can still taste the delectable mixture of spices, chicken, and sausage - AMAZING!  A hearty meal indeed and in Gabe's words, "the welcoming of fall."

_Peace and Love