What Up Cuz!

No, this site is not being changed to report on the wonders of gangsta gastronomy. Don't be silly! I wouldn't dream of gracing this fine blog with Cristal and caviar, that's way out of my league. Plus, I'd lose my foodie street-cred, and we wouldn't want that would we?

Last time I posted there was a promise made. I declared to try one at least one new food item per week. The only conditions being they must be either foods I've previously disliked, or that have never made their way to my mouth before. Well, I'm happy to report that week 1 is over and I'm 'par for the course' as the golfers say.

I had such an opportunity to further educate my palate during a most pleasant evening visiting with our cousins from the Bay area. It's always a great time with those two! It usually breaks down like this: Food/wine, laughs, good conversation, and follow that up with more food and wine. I know, I know, very descriptive.


I always struggle with what to prepare when they come over. I wanted to do something a little different, but simple and tasty. In the end, lamb cutlets with Romesco fit the bill. To be perfectly honest, I've only had lamb a couple of times. The thought of making it at home always seemed a smidge daunting. Well not this time I tell you! Romesco is also new to me. For those of you that are unfamiliar with it as well, let's get you better acquainted. Romesco is a sauce of tomato, garlic, roasted red peppers, almonds, a pinch of sugar, and olive oil. It's sort of Spain's version of pesto, only not as herbacious and certainly not green. Romesco is a tangy, creamy sauce with a nice roasty nutty flavor. It worked really nice with the crispy pan fried lamb cutlets. Siege's roasted garlic-manchego Mashed patatoes weren't bad either. Actually, they were killer! I had 3 helpings and it was worth it despite what my cardiologist says. Kidding, eat responsibly people. As you can see it was a pretty hefty supper, so I attempted to lighten it up with sauteed green beans with shallots and lemon. It proved to be futile since we threw down bread pudding for dessert. Yum.

My philosophy is this: always go big when you have company over. So cheers to the New Year and here's to keeping New Year Resolutions!