Double Chocolate Cookies 99%

I was getting a little burned out from sorting for the move to New York and needed to switch gears for a bit. I decided to do a little comfort baking, plus I need to use up stuff in the pantry. I whipped out the Scharffen-Berger bar I'd been saving and made Double Chocolate Cookies 99%, with a twist. Instead of finely ground coffee, I used 1 tsp of espresso we got in Vienna. Then instead of just unsweetened chocolate broken into small chunks, I used half that and half peanut butter chips. I didn't put any nuts in. Oh boy were these yummy. I will be making them again!

Thanksgiving Feast at home with a Chef

Our host was chef Rodelio Aglibot, a friend of CC's. There were about 10 people for dinner at his home in Santa Monica, along with a few people who stopped by afterwards for karaoke and dessert.

Starters
-Steamed mussels
-Dungeness crab
-Albacore & cucumber salad
-Fresh farmer's market figs with goat cheese

Main Courses
-Mango mustard ham
-Kobe beef loin
-Free range turkey
-Rosemary leg of lamb
-Roasted pork shank
-Brussel sprouts with chanterelles & sweet corn
-Curry roasted cauliflower
-Cranberry stuffing
-Potatoes
-Sweet potato & yams with cinnamon béchamel
-2 kinds of gravy (turkey & brown giblet)
-Fois gras
-I baked bread my no knead with a 14 hour rise

-Champagne, wine, and Muscato from around the world.

Desserts
-Chocolate cream cheese bundt cake
-Pumpkin pie with ginger-honey whipped cream
-Blueberry pie
-chocolate pecan pie (I brought this)
-apple-cranberry-currant-blueberry cobbler (I brought this)
-chocolate bread pudding (from chef Oratzio, Akwa Resaurant)

The company was wonderful and the conversations were about food, music, and film. We began our meal by going around the table and saying what we were thankful for. Plus, we got to bring Bean! He was on his best behavior and a complete clown. He socialized with everyone, didn’t jump up and even danced with a couple who was salsa dancing. It was hilarious (he barked and jumped around on his hind legs).