 I had leftover eggplant antipasto, so Big Guy and I did our homage to our go-to starter meal @charliegittosonthehill. We are delighted to begin our meal with a simple charcuterie board of meat and cheese along with their eggplant antipasto. In fact, it was this antipasto that led me to find a similar recipe to make at home. The board was simple and highlighted our end of season vegetables from @carondeletgarden. The eggplants, onions, tomatoes, peppers, and basil were all used to make up the board. The meat and cheese were courtesy of our friends @legrandsmarket with wine from our new friends @winemerchantltd. It was a fantastic way to celebrate our garden successes! 
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 I would say it was like Christmas around here, as what to our “wondering eyes what did appear?”- a second crop of patio eggplants. I missed the window on the first crop, so I made sure I jumped on making eggplant antipasto as written by @stanleytucci in his Tucci Cookbook. The recipe is not too complicated, and I had the majority of the ingredients in my pantry. I diced the eggplant and sauteed them for five minutes. Once I set that aside, I sauteed my onions, celery, and tomatoes. I added capers and pumpkin seeds at the end before adding everything together in the pot with the eggplant. I love the added flavor of red wine vinegar and sugar to give the mix sweetness to offset the salt and pepper. I did @carondeletkitchen this recipe since I did not have pine nuts or canned Roma tomatoes. I also made the mixture and refrigerated it overnight to allow the flavors to meld in the perfect topping for toasted bread. It was a perfect summer meal along with a lovely bottle of wine.  I noticed that our sage was starting to look like it was running a marathon and was quickly losing the battle to survive, so it inspired me to pull out my recipe for brown butter and sage sauce. The sauce is simply eight tablespoons of butter cooked evenly until it turns a golden tan color. Once you get to the right color, you add approximately fifteen sage leaves until they begin to crisp up giving a beautiful aroma to your kitchen. I had already boiled butternut squash ravioli thanks to @digregoriosmarket and poured the sauce over the top of the pasta. You can add salt and pepper to taste and even parmesan cheese if you wish to enrich the dish. Serve it immediately and make sure to pair it with a lovely bottle of wine. It is a quick and delicious meal to end a busy day.  Big Guy walked into the house with an armload of snackable peppers from @carondeletgarden. The plants love the hot temperature, and I suspect this will be one of many trips from the garden with a harvest. Since I mentioned the heat, I wanted to use the peppers in a dish that did not require turning on the oven. I went to a summer @inagarten classic recipe and decided to make roasted red pepper hummus. It truly is an easy recipe as the ingredients go into the food processor together and within minutes are ready to serve. I usually make my hummus the day prior to using it so the flavors of the garbanzo beans, garlic, roasted red pepper, lemon, hot sauce, salt, and pepper meld into the perfect dip. We just happened to have a couple of bottles of @ponzivineyards 2023 Pinot Gris that we picked up from the amazing folks @winemerchantltd. The wine was the perfect accompaniment to the hummus with bright acidity and notes of citrus and fresh pears, and the finish was perfect with tastes of mango and caramelized vanilla. What a lovely addition to a wonderful meal.  Big Guy and I took a “flutter” and decided to plant poblano peppers this season. As the other crops are dying away in this heat, the peppers are starting to grow with the look of a decent harvest. I remembered that poblanos are a mild chili pepper, but I did not realize it comes from Puebla, Mexico where a dear friend of ours was born. I also learned, but it was too obvious, that dried poblanos are known as ancho or chile ancho. I am already planning to try my hand at chiles rellenos or even add them to my chili for the upcoming football season. Any other ideas?   We love a good breakfast, and we finally went to @southwestdinerstl based on recommendations from friends. I suspect we have been missing out on great meals judging by the crowd. I will begin by saying I expected typical diner décor. To my delight, while the restaurant is located on Southwest, it is also a playful homage to THE southwest. It was fun to see pictures of jackalopes, hanging chilis, and memorabilia on every wall giving you the whimsy feel of another place. The food and service were also a delightful surprise. The food was outstanding and the service spot on moving the crowd in and out efficiently without rushing anyone through their meal. We will certainly come back to this great place soon! |
AuthorJust a super cool old couple who love to cook and eat and drink in their Carondelet Kitchen in South Saint Louis, Missouri! Archives
December 2025
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