Dinner at Home

 Of course the joy of returning home is not in seeing my lovely family but also sharing in the fruits of my family's labor over food. For our final dinner together we shared in a - wait for it, long name ahead - truffle oil, pureed cauliflower, macaroni and cheese casserole with lobster. Whew! It turned out a little drier then we wanted but the flavor was amazing. As it cooked in the over the smell of truffle oil wafted throughout the kitchen almost to the point of too much.

My contribution to the meal was a side dish that I saw in my dad's new cookbook, Thomas Keller's Ad Hoc At Home . It is asparagus, prosciutto and a poached egg. Keller gives a great recommendation for preparing the egg and that is to stir the water prior to cracking the egg in the pot so that all of the bits of the egg stay together. The prosciutto was then warmed up unknowingly by my father which I did not appreciate. It became to tough in texture. But I love the

excitement of splitting open the egg and letting the yellow yolk run all over the crispy asparagus.

Lastly, we picked fresh tomatoes from our garden along with fresh basil which we cut the basil in a chiffonade then made a balsamic vinegar dressing, threw in some pepper and sea salt and we had a salad! The freshness of the tomatoes really came through.

All and all it was a great trip home. I miss the fresh food and the availability of a garden. Perhaps next summer I will start a window sill herb garden and grow some tomatoes on the porch? Eh we'll see in 8 months.