A Three-Course Dinner At Home

Didn't intend to cook. But when we were at Tekka Market and strolled by Chia's Vegetables to say hi to Victor, he grinned and said, "I've got kale and Lebanese cucumbers!" That sealed the evening's plans. The man was convinced to cook. Dinner this weekend would be all taken at home. Pesto pasta and kale for one night, and hummus and guacamole for the next.

Went home to google for recipes. The man doesn't even bother writing anything down nowadays. We're too dependent on the easy access to the internet. He might flip a couple of cookbooks now and then, but for easy stuff, the internet's still the best. He simply scans through, lock them in his head and somehow translates them into the pots and pans with the flavors quite perfectly balanced.

We don't always cook at home because it takes a lot of effort to clean-up. Even the maid doesn't do it either. Each time we cook, we scrub down the stove and oven, soak the grills in the exhaust vents, and mop the floors till they're squeaky shiny. Not a spot of grease allowed. So whatever we place on the dining table, must be worth the 2 hours spent washing after the meal. 

You know when the man steps into a kitchen, a sandwich is never really simple, and it won't be a one-dish meal. He's the sort that I can't turn loose in a supermarket because he'll take more than the agreed-upon 30 minutes, and come out with 25 additional items that don't appear on the original shopping list of needed groceries. So it was unsurprising when the man decided on a three-course dinner that included two sides. No dessert necessary.  

Here's our rather delicious menu for the evening:

Appetizer

Oven-baked stuffed portobello mushrooms

Stuffed with crushed almonds, breadcrumbs, black Kalamata olives, a ton of onions, anchovies, tomatoes, and cheese of parmigiano-reggiano.

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Main

Pesto spaghetti

with freshly plucked basil from the pot and pine nuts

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Sides

Sauteed kale

with garlic and sea salt

Roasted peppers

with garlic

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