when i wake up i have two things on my mind: coffee and dinner. the first i address urgently with joyful anticipation. in fact, i go to bed smiling knowing i will be drinking coffee when i rise. and as for dinner, i'm nearly always in a state of daydream concerning it. when the day begins, i ask what is required to make dinner magic happen. this question is most fun to consider in the company of my best friend, dot, and her best friend, pickle.
the best dinner missions are daring and ridiculous quests. we drove through the hills of monterey like we were on the autobahn! we popped wheelies in a prius but kept our brussels sprouts intact! we had transcendental moments with rainbow chard at the pacific grove farmers market! we sampled cheeses tagged as "funky" by in-the-know cheesemongers! we sponsored a dairy cow in a remote village in spain like it was a cabbage patch kid!
we bought a boatload of fava beans! i've been making dinner with dot a lot lately, you may have noticed. this fantastic fact is no small feat considering we live a seven hour drive from each other (and that's if you don't take the pretty route). so when we get down to the dinner part, things get serious. seriously ecstatic.
dot saluted spring in salad. the fava beans joined tender raw asparagus, watercress, parmesan shards, radish wheels, and meyer lemon dressing, inspiring everyone gathered around the table to say things like "hallelujah!" the verdant tangle was piled atop toast and a melting sliver of culatello, a.k.a. the prize of parma, a.k.a. prosciutto with an even smoother voice and beaucoup bucks in the bank.
the porcine theme expanded with dot's rosemary & honey glazed pork chops, a simple dish with limitless variations and a super idea for weeknight eating. dot seared organic pork chops until they achieved a golden crust, then turned the heat down a bit until they just cooked through (145 degrees internally with a 5 minute rest before serving). the pan was deglazed with a splash of stock, a fat sprig of rosemary, and a tablespoon or so of honey. so easy, no recipe required.
if you try dot's method, i encourage you to serve your chops alongside sliced pear, roasted brussel sprouts, a baked yam mashed with vanilla bean and butter, and spoon the pan sauce over everything. some nights incite a double hallelujah.
but, wait. there was still PEANUT BUTTER PIE (i am a lowercase kind of woman but those words deserve CAPS when listed together like that). from the pages of melissa clark's new book, in the kitchen with a good appetite (yes, i'm totally obsessed) comes a recipe for "karen's peanut butter pie," a chocolate cookie pie crust filled with the easiest ever peanut butter mousse and topped with chocolate chips and honey roasted nuts (and some whipped cream, if you fancy) you can find recipe here.
dot and i watched the meal go down at the dining room table from a perch on her sofa, pretty much marveling over how lucky we were to to be sharing things like pork chops and peanut butter pie in the same city. we meant to squeeze a cheese course between the entree and the pie, but it was late and her fiance's boys had school the next day. dot sent me a snapshot of the cheese a few days later, when i'd returned to san diego. with it came hints of dinner with dot, part four. hallelujah.
notes from dot:
the salad was dressed with a meyer lemon vinaigrette. juice from half a lemon, zest from the whole thing! shallots, minced (small shallot, a scant tbsp). white wine vinegar--a splash, emulsify with a light but fragrant olive oil (not Spanish, too strong) and salt and pepper to taste. flat leaf parsley to round it out. the meat was culatello. it's a center cut of the prosciutto which is silky and has less of the fat than the outer sections. people really into meat and curing think of culatello as a gem...those i know do.
other notes:
* the pacific grove farmers market takes place on fridays from 4 pm - 7 pm (summer hours) on grand avenue and central avenue in pacific grove.
* i like my brussel sprouts split in half, tossed with olive oil, salt, and pepper and roasted at 400 for 20-25 minutes
* disclaimer: do not try popping wheelies in a prius at home. first, i'm pretty sure it is impossible. second, you might hurt yourself if you tried. make peanut butter pie instead.