Good Friends and Lokal Eats

Despite us having two birthdays and two anniversaries among us (literally within a span of nine days), my crew of besties always takes me out for a celebratory birthday dinner at the beginning of May.

Okay, I'm not going to argue. I love these guys! And they - quite clearly - know how to make me happy. This year, we headed to Carmel Valley to check out Lokal; we haven't been since they opened. We were due.

This ceviche was my favorite from the evening! There were so many flavors on this plate: scallops, avocado, grapefruit, and crisp mole chips.

We all ordered dishes and shared. I don't remember who ordered the Prawn Mac'N'Cheese Balls, but we all took turns saying it. Mac'N'Cheese Balls. Mac'N'Cheese Balls. Mac'N'Cheese Balls. And I know that Brian ordered the Bones, roasted bone marrow with mushrooms on the top.

We tried the halibut over parsnip puree topped with arugula.

And, when it came time for dessert, we pointed at the chalkboard and said, "We'll take one of each." I'm not kidding. We had a chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandwich.

The Burnt Jack Daniels Bread Pudding was comprised of sourdough breadcubes, burnt caramel, cranberries, Jack Daniels cream, and burnt milk ice cream. I think they used 'burnt' too many times in the description, but it was tasty.

White Chocolate Crème Anglaise with Fresh Seasonal Berries...

New York Cheesecake with Caramel Sauce and Fresh Fruits...

Homemade Olive Oil and Crème Fraîche Donuts with Hot Chocolate and Cinnamon Sugar...

And, for the first time, we each brought a bottle of wine to share! Jenn brought a Berghold FootStomp Zinfandel. Brian shared a 2009 Italian red. And I brought the newly released Big Daddy - a fortified Pinot Noir - from Holman Ranch Vineyards. I think we'll have to do this again soon.

Thanks, Jenn, Mike, Pia, and Brian, for the fabulous dinner. I felt celebrated...and stuffed!

Comments

Connecticut Lobster Rolls, Canned Lobster Bisque, and a 2019 Henry Fessy 'Maître Bonhome' Viré-Clessé #Winophiles

This month the French Winophiles group is looking at affordable wines from Burgundy. Host Cindy of Grape Experiences wrote: "Burgundy, or Bourgogne, is known for its wines of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir... as well as Aligote, Gamay, Sauvignon, César, Pinot Beurot, Sacy, Melon in lesser quantities. Many of the well-known wines are quite expensive, but there are plenty of values to be found." Read her invitation here. And there won't be a Twitter chat for this event, so you will have to dive into the articles themselves to read about our pairings and findings. Here's the line-up... Wendy Klik from A Day in the Life on the Farm enjoys Domaine Chevillon Chezeaux Bourgogne Hautes Cotes de Nuits, 2018 Paired with a Maple Pecan Chicken . Camilla Mann from Culinary Adventures with Camilla shares her love of Connecticut Lobster Rolls, Canned Lobster Bisque, and a 2019 Henry Fessy 'Maître Bonhome' Viré-Clessé. Jeff Burrows of FoodWineClick! explains why we should Look t...

Homemade Lorna Doone Cookies #SundayFunday

Today the Sunday Funday group is celebrating childhood favorites. Thanks to Stacy of Food Lust People Love , Sue of Palatable Pastime , Rebekah of Making Miracles , and Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm for coordinating this low-stress group. Today Stacy is hosting and she's given us the following prompt: "Childhood favorites. Did you have a favorite dish growing up? It could be something your family cooked or a restaurant dish, even a Chef Boyardee canned good or packaged ingredients like Rice-a Roni or mac and cheese. Recreate THAT dish from SCRATCH for this event." Here's the #SundayFunday childhood favorites line-up... Chili Mac from A Day in the Life on the Farm Ham and Mushroom Breakfast Burritos from Making Miracles Homemade Lorna Doone Cookies from Culinary Adventures with Camilla Homemade Wonder Bread from Karen's Kitchen Stories K-Mart Sub Sandwiches from Palatable Pastime Kempakki Dosa from Sizzling Tastebuds Meat Chilly Fry...

Quick Pickled Red Onions and Radishes

If you've been reading my blog for even a short amount of time, you probably know how much I love to pickle things. I was just telling a friend you can pickle - with vinegar - or you can ferment - with salt - for similar delicious effect. The latter has digestive benefits and I love to do that, but when I need that pop of sour flavor quickly, I whip up quick pickles that are ready in as little as a day or two. I've Pickled Blueberries , Pickled Asparagus , Pickled Cranberries , Pickled Pumpkin , and even Pickled Chard Stems ! This I did last night for an upcoming recipe challenge that requires I include radishes. Ummmm...of course I'm pickling them! Ingredients makes 1 quart jar radishes, trimmed and sliced organic red onions, peeled and thinly sliced (I used a mandolin slicer) 3/4 C vinegar (I used white distilled vinegar) 3/4 C water 3 T organic granulated sugar 1 T salt (I used some grey sea salt) 6 to 8 grinds of black pepper Proce...

Culinary Adventures with Camilla

Search This Blog