10. Cooking for those we love.

Me and Matt got together recently with our friends, Mario and Ananda, for a relaxed afternoon of cooking followed by a long, leisurely evening gathered around the table eating, talking, drinking and appreciating good food and lasting friendships. Our friends have recently moved to a city about an hour away from us, so we decided that this would be a good way for us to reconnect and spend a good amount of time together enjoying what we enjoy most. The plan was that each couple would be responsible for a course and then we would discuss the merits of the dishes and the wine we had chosen to pair with them. We arranged for them to spend the night so we could talk into the late evening without worrying about Mario having to drive home tired after a few glasses of wine.



I made the cioppino from Pino Posteraro's book and Mario prepared Mario Batali's osso bucco with saffron risotto.



With the cioppino we served Oyster Bay Sauvignon Blanc and with the osso bucco Mario served a Masi Campofiorin.

Dessert was tirimisu with espresso.

For comparison, here is a photograph of my mother's osso bucco which she made for Matt and I the week before the competition:

On Sunday my mother and stepfather came over for dinner. Since they love fish as much as we do, Matt and I decided to serve local, fresh seafood. We started the meal with a dozen oysters with freshly squeezed lime and finely chopped jalapeno pepper. Along with this we served vodka straight from the freezer. Next was a salad made with baby greens from my parents' garden with a light lemon honey dressing. The second course was linguine with mussels fra Diavolo - a spicy tomato sauce with capers and kalamata olives. For the main I made a sablefish cassoulet (also from the Posterero cookbook) and served it with an Australian Chardonnay. Dessert was a locally made light and clean mango sorbet. Everything turned out great, but the sablefish (or black cod) was a little rich for my liking.

For me the oysters with vodka stood out from the rest with a taste I can't forget: fresh, clean, mineral. Matt preferred the linguine with mussels. After dinner my mother complimented me so soundly that I was reminded where I came by my great ability to appreciate others cooking. There is nothing quite like serving food to a cook. They ask the right questions, know what techniques were required and can truly appreciate something that requires passion and time and is served with love.

Something else my mother gave me.
Something else her mother gave her.
Another reason to silently toast my grandmother when I untie my apron strings, slip into my seat, and raise my glass to the loved ones around me.