WEEKEND PERFECTION

I'm happy to report we did quite a bit of cooking this weekend! I feel like with the last few weeks being insane in the office, we just haven't been chopping and roasting with frequency I'd like. But this weekend we made an effort. Partially because we're heading to LA this week and wanted to get rid of stuff in the fridge and partially because ... we like cooking.

We started off the weekend with a trip back to 40 Verandah to pick up some old mail Pam had saved for us. While we were way over there in our old stomping grounds, we figured the best course of action would be to hit Bocca Lupo. We couldn't remember the last time we'd been and that was a problem.

We started with their cheese plate and I have to say, this may be my favorite cheese plate on the planet. They really have some strong selections here and every time I try this thing I'm blown away by each and every offering. So good. And not terribly expensive.

Meena then had:
- shrimp diavalo
- pasta with boar sausage, green beans and pine nuts

Alec had:
- two truffled cheese and mushroom bruschetta
- one butternut squash bruschetta
- one olive and white bean bruschetta

I didn't order that last one but they brought it by accident. Bank error in Alec's favor!

We finished things off with the banana and nutella panini. Oh Bocca Lupo, I missed you so. I promise we won't go that long between visits again. I promise.

Saturday morning I continued the fridge purge. I did some brussels sprouts with:
- olive oil
- sea salt
- balsamic vinegar
- chili powder
- korean bbq
- chipotle chicken sausage
- onion

And then I did a little egg cup:
- chipotle hot sauce
- egg
- onion
- mushroom
- chipotle chicken sausage
- flour tortilla

Not bad. I forgot to spray my containers and the tortilla stuck. I just looked in the sink where they're soaking and it's STILL sticking. Mental note, spray them next time. PLEASE. But the sprouts were rad. Very rad.

Before dinner I made a little appetizer:
- smoked mussels
- organic ketchup
- korean bbq
- butter
- olive oil
- sea salt
- panko
- sriracha
- chipotle hot sauce

Not bad. We needed a little bread, but it ended up being very nice. Weird. A little. But nice.

For dinner, we did a bit of halibut. Very simple here:
- halibut
- bacon
- sea salt

And I did a bit of topping:
- mushroom
- peas
- white wine vinegar
- chili powder
- sea salt

Meena also made a salad:
- red pepper jelly
- olive oil
- white wine vinegar
- sea salt
- black pepper
- honey
- mixed greens

Lovely. The fish was cooked perfectly and we were really happy with the flavor the bacon gave to the fish when it cooked. I gave it a few turns on the stove then finished it under the broiler. Crisp bacon, perfectly cooked fish and a nice little bite from the mushroom and pea topping. Meena's salad was the perfect sweet companion to our salty bit of bacon and fish. Awesome dinner.

After a lovely brunch with Dan at Buttermilk Channel, we decided to close out the weekend with a truly rich dinner - RIBS!

Nothing special, just a quick bbq and an hour in the oven:
- brown sugar
- garlic
- soy sauce
- sambal oelek
- sesame oil
- water

Meena also made a little salad to go along with it. Came out perfect. Nice vinegar bite to go with the rich, sticky and salty ribs.

Perfect weekend.