Alphabet Dinners

There once was a girl from Seattle...

With apologies to Abby's elegant haiku, I present L Night in limerick:

Lamb is an oft forgot meat.
This week, it couldn't be beat.
Upon inspection,
Grilled to perfection!
So soft and easy to eat.

Lentils plus lardons plus leek,
Enough Ls to last the whole week!
(KAJ and her jargon...
they're bacon, not lardons.)
Add vinegar so it's not meek.

Today, Lo took the day off from work.
Hired help, revved his drill, went berserk.
He built a garage
And deserves our homage.
He made salad to boot! He's no jerk.

A pie, how hard can it be?
Simple. I'll try and we'll see.
The lemon was runny.
Meringue, kind of funny.
They ate it, though. Aren't they sweet?

And finally, two limericks for our lovely and generous L Night hosts:

There once was a girl from Seattle
Who ate bacon but did not eat cattle.
You may know her as Widge or
By the Veuve in her frigde or
....well, there's more, but her hubby won't tattle.

A landlord-type fellow with gumption
And a backyard for private consumption,
Says, "It's common, I swear!
They can look. Even stare!"
Oh Preston, that's some tax deduction.

Menu: L

Lemonade

Lamb chops
Lentils with Leeks and Lardons
Lettuce with Lime dressing

Lemon Meringue pie

Kool Kats and a K9

The Kleins and their K9 hosted K Night in Kween Anne, and it was perfect. We lingered on the back deck sipping Kir Royales -- thanks to the ever klassy Kuhrt and Jenny -- and enjoyed that rare sort of June evening when summer seems just around the korner and you haven't got a kare in the world.

Actually, Abby and I have a lot of karefree days, and we both chose to dedicate this one to the kreation of K Night koncoctions. (Unemployment has its benefits. Unfortunately, health care isn't one of them.) Abby's kurried kumquat chutney was beautiful, even jewel-like on it's own, but it was absolutely killer in kombination with ham and homemade biscuits.

Why even bother with dinner when you've got a beautiful evening, gourmet finger foods and champagne kocktails?

Because you have kugel in the oven and a kajillion kebabs cooking on the grill.

We had kefta (lamb meatball) kebabs, kielbasa kebabs, korean BBQ kebabs (tenderized with kiwi and served with kimchee), and krustacean kebabs. Did I mention I'm unemployed? And obsessed with Epicurious.com?

We also konversed with Kuhrt's wonderful friend, Jason; kompared red wines for Dan and Abby's impending wedding; and konsumed the most delicious, most perfectly sweet-tart key lime pie handmade by Holly and Lo. It really kouldn't have been any nicer.

Kir Royale, Kurried Kumquat chutney with ham and biscuits, Kasseri cheese

Just another night in Kween Anne

Kugel, Kefta Kebabs

Krustacean kebabs

Key Lime Pie

Another photo of pie, just because it was that delicious

Designs by Lo

Menu: K

Kir Royale

Kurried Kumquat chutney with ham on biscuits
Kasseri cheese
Kiwi guacamole

Kebabs: Kefta, Kielbasa, Korean BBQ with Kimchee, Krustacean
Kugel

Key Lime pie

Jam on it

Dear Readers,

We haven't been entirely forthcoming.

We taste tasted bacon and never mentioned it. (Fletcher's won, by the way. No contest.)

We thought we'd make these taste tests a habit, but so far it's only been Jam on J night -- and, if we're going to get all Wikipedia on it, what we actually taste tested were raspberry preserves. (Hero won, by the way, followed by Bonne Maman ("overly sweet") and Smuckers ("fake tasting," "doesn't go well with my IPA")).

We could give you a very detailed explanation of our rules and ranking system, but instead let us pass on this little piece of advice: Jarlsberg cheese, Jamaican Jerk chicken, Jasmine rice, Jicama salad, cherries Jubilee and Jello Jigglers are a little much after three jars of raspberry jam on toast. The Jello Jigglers are still ridiculously entertaining, though.

Love,
Your Alphabeteers

Taste Test: Bacon

Dan's verdict: Western Family

Dan's verdict: Cloverdale Meats

Dan's verdict: Fletcher's

Menu: J

Jarlsberg cheese

Jamaican Jerk chicken
Jasmine rice
Jicama and Jalapeno salad

Jello Jigglers
Jubilee of cherries with Kirsch

I, a first person account

I can't help but wonder if food namers intentionally ignore the letter I. I mean, I can name plenty of I-nations (India, Israel, Italy) whose culinary traditions make dinner worth eating and some I-methods (immersion, infusion, irradiation) that make cooking more interesting, but it takes more ingenuity than I've got to come up with anything beyond the most insipid inventory of I-ingredients (ice, iceberg lettuce, icing). Luckily, I can always count on my fellow alphabeteers for inventiveness....or, at least, persistence. (I'm still not sure how many stores Preston had to visit before he found that Irony chardonnay.)

I think it's indisputable that Kuhrt's father was the most distinguished guest of I night, but I'd vote for Kuhrt and Jenny's international appetizers as a close second: Involtini of smoked salmon and guacamole; Ikura (i.e. salmon roe) on endive with cream cheese. Personally, I hope these two keep it up with the Japanese food words -- I'm still dreaming about H-night hamachi -- especially if Dan and Abby continue to supply the Ichiban beer.

Dan and Abby did test me this week with their Iceberg Insalata. Don't get me wrong, I love lettuce. I love blue cheese. I love bacon. (Even our resident vegetarian loves bacon). It's mayonnaise that makes me queasy. I think about that weird, gelatinous yet lumpy texture and it makes me want to crawl out of my skin. I know, I know. It's ridiculous. Every self-respecting foodie eats mayonnaise (or "aioli," anyway). But I can't help it! And, therefore, I have to tolerate Steve's infuriating egg aversion. Why couldn't he hate liver like a normal person?!? In any case, mayonnaise or no, I have to agree that the Iceberg Insalata was a delicious wedge of crunchy, swiney goodness.

Now, I'm not afraid to experiment on dinner guests (Nash and Jorey, I'm still sorry about that pecorino ice cream...), but even I was a little nervous about serving a meal that might turn your teeth black. I also wasn't so sure about the directions for cleaning squid:

Holding the body firmly, grasp the head and pull it away from the body. The internal body and tentacles will come with it. Cut the tentacles from the head just below the eyes. At the center of the tentacles is a small beak. Squeeze to remove and discard.

Eeew. Thankfully, Ashleigh brought the third Iteration of my all-time favorite Alphabet Dinner vegetable (see Green beans, Haricots verts). I would have gladly have made a meal of those beans if the Italian risotto with squid Ink hadn't worked out.

Finally, I'd like to take credit for dessert, but I have to defer to my ice cream idol, David Lebovitz, who suggested pairing blood orange Italian Ice with anise ice cream. Inspired! If David Lebovitz jumped off a bridge, I'd do it too....just don't ask me to try his recipe for garlic mayonnaise.