fidfam good eats

michael launched the week of good eats by making his slow cooker (aka good old fashioned crock pot) tuscan pot roast spooned over parpadelle noodles and topped with some shaved p-r cheese. dinner was preceded by a tasty bruschetta i made by mixing up some heirloom tomatoes (including a deeply flavorful purple tomato and surprisingly sweet green cherry tomatoes) with the usual suspects: balsamic vinegar, EVOO, kosher salt, fresh ground peper and a chiffonade of some fresh basil from our patio. i added ciglinii mozerella balls and let the mixture marinade before spooning on some garlic-rubbed and toasted rosemary cibatta bread. the entire experience was even tastier as we shared it with friends tomoko & matty (and baby sakura smiled and cooed and aahed--but more on her later) and plenty of wine.

last night i made a roasted barbecue apricot chicken which had a nice savory tangy flavor to it--i tossed in some dried apricots which married well with the tomatoes during the roasting process. but ultimately it wasn't that exciting as michael said, "well, it's chicken." however, for lunch today i sliced some of the leftover chicken and spooned some of the tomato/apricot concentrate on top which had turned into a great chutney along with some crisp romaine and some avocado. so i'd make the recipe again just for the day-later sandwich.

tonight we're going out to our favorite local sushi bar to enjoy their speciality--the kanpai roll which features spicy tuna and seared albacore with ponsu and roasted onions. owen no longer wants his kid's meal chicken and veggie bowl but demands sushi and can eat at least four california rolls in a sitting--as well as pop a dozen edamamme and an endless chopstick-fest of sushi rice.

and here's a sneak peek at what's on the menu next week: michael's banana curry (photos taken from our curry fest in july) which is just an amazing excursion into nutty and pungent spices married with fresh cilantro and mellowed by sweet bananas. as with most things michael approaches cooking very systematically--he has been working his way through a fun curry book we have and i've enjoyed sampling his vegetable kashmiri as well as an eggplant curry. he uses whole spices and grinds them all per recipe and then demonstrates model mise-en-place. this week we're trying it over tj's thai lime rice and a dollop of greek yoghurt. mmmm. can't wait!