Ah … I’m so so so late in doing some updates. I’m writing this on May 1, but it actually reflects the first Top Chef back from Austria on April 7. Some names of dishes and descriptions are lost to memory. But photos exist (mostly). Deal with it.
For TC tonight, we didn’t really have a theme. Mitch and Eileen had leftover ingredients that weren’t used (ie they ditched cooking and brought chips) last week, so decided to make the prior week’s dish. I feel like I may be getting a recycled dish idea, but as it turns out they made a really outstanding tart with cheese, prosciutto, and asparagus. The crust was golden brown crispy and buttery and brought everything together really nicely. The picture says it all.
Joe (sorry, no Michael) brought a ratatouille stew with poached eggs (I think?). It was really great. The zucchini, tomatoes, and peppers really made me long for the fresh veg of summer. And I just love poached eggs, and think we don’t eat enough of them. The creamy richness of the yolks really took the stew to the next level. We ate it with a big slice of toasted cheesy bread. 
I made a Rick Bayless recipe for pork tacos. It was made in the slow cooker, which was part of the reason I chose it. Still tired from the trip, and really busy so no time to cook. I served it with avocado in corn tortillas, which all disintegrated. This probably means I didn’t reduce the sauce enough. I’ve seen this happen before with corn tortillas, but they taste so much better than flour, and are certainly more authentic. The recipe didn’t say anything about lime, but I served them with a squirt of lime juice, the brightness of which was a necessary addition. Overall a good dish.
Richard brought dessert, but I don’t seem to have photos. How embarrassing. I will never forget this shame.
March 18, 2021
Terrible food photos. But the friends are the best.
Dessert was often the subject of our desire and our disappointment over the years.
butterblogger 