Jay came for dinner, but he brought a salad. I don’t blame him. This is one of Larry’s favorite dishes, but I like it less every time I make it. I think it’s the asparagus, which I hate. It’s not Jay’s favorite either. It’s a great dish for company, because it comes together quickly once all the prep is done.
I had all this fruit in the house, and decided to make a warm fruit gratin (bananas, blueberries, raspberries, plums, peaches). It’s not very often that I fail miserably at something new, but I certainly did this time. The pastry cream didn’t seem to thicken properly, and I’m going to need to move the oven rack much further away from the broiler next time – after three minutes in the oven, it was completely charred. Ugh. I’m going to try it again.
I’m noticing how much garlic bread we eat.

• Ginger Butter Pasta with Salmon (Hot Pasta, Hugh Carpenter, p. 58)
• Sourdough bread with Sauteed Garlic Butter (Fine Cooking #43, March 2001, p. 49)
• Warm Fruit Gratin (Fine Cooking #39, July 2000, p. 57)

Wine:David Bruce 2000 Sonoma Pinot Noir. Yummy. A wonderfully balanced Pinot. I’m disappointed that it was our last bottle.