Amy is here from Austin, so we had fun cooking dinner for Larry, Jay and Martin.
– Amy and I loved the chicken. Larry thought it was just okay. It was really easy to make.
– I think I like pureéd yukons with some celery root in there better than without. These were really nice.
– This is my favorite fennel recipe. The arugula with it is really nice.
– The consensus on the carrot cake was that my other version from Cook’s Illustrated is better. I was leaning towards leaving the walnuts and dried currants out, but decided to go ahead and put them in at the last minute. Jay was the only one that liked the walnuts in the cake. I don’t like carrot cake that much so I was so-so on it anyway.

• Chicken with Tarragon & Vermouth (Fine Cooking #63, March 2004, p. 42)
• Pureé of Yukon Gold Potatoes & Celery Root
• Fennel & Red Onion with Arugula (Fine Cooking 62, January 2004, p. 48)
• Ultimate Carrot Cake (Fine Cooking #63, March 2004, p. 42)

Wine:
– Ridge 2001 Llewelyn Zinfandel (Sonoma County, California). Yum! Big and juicy.
– David Bruce 2000 Windsor Gardens Pinot Noir (Russian RIver Valley, California). Good, but a poor follow-up after the Ridge.