The Dinner Series

Dear Friends,

Please consider joining us Sunday, September 10th, 6:30PM at Moonwater Farm, as we pay tribute to my mother. Narrowing down the menu was difficult as there were few foods she did not like (eggplant, very dark chocolate, tofu, and calamari come to mind but little else). We’ll begin with cocktails and Choros a la Chalaca. When Pablo and I were asked to develop six recipes for Bon Appétit, my mother was my taste tester and soon fell hard for mussels, served cold with tomato, aji amarillo, red onion, and lots of lime. To honor her near comical love of beets, we’ll be putting them in a causa. She-crab soup was another favorite of hers, lovingly prepared by Pablo twice when he came to visit us in Louisville.

Her signature dish was Cornish hen stuffed with rice, mushrooms, and Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom Soup. As a child I felt very sophisticated eating the little bird—we’d each be served our own—and, to this day, associate it with decadence and mild novelty. Other mothers fried, smothered, or barbecued their chicken where we lived, they did not fill them with “Spanish rice” that came in a shiny yellow bag.

“Who says you can’t teach an old dog a new trick?” she once began a Facebook post that showed off an updated version of her classic, that time seasoned with fresh herbs, garlic, lemon, rubbed in an olive oil I’d mailed her, and served with wild rice. That was Grace Bell, content with tradition while always hungry for something new.

What about dessert? It took weeks to make up my mind. Wouldn’t our guests expect “Grace’s Caramel Poundcake”? Perhaps. The truth is I didn’t bake her cake for her. Didn’t need to when she could do a better job herself. To impress her I’d make crepes, citrus olive oil cake, and various ice creams. With her, my pâte brisée lost its biggest fan. And so, we’ll close with blackberry cobbler with vanilla and black walnut bourbon ice creams. Maybe some sweet wine since that's what she liked. 

As always, the pleasure will be ours.

Danielle