Mom, Cousin Jeanine and Great Aunt Al were here for dinner tonight. I wanted Zuni chicken (mainly for the bread salad), but I didn’t want to make two chickens. Instead, Larry chose the pork recipe and I found another recipe for a bread salad. I made up my mind early in the week to make the tart this weekend.

– Neither one of us liked the bean dip very much. It’s okay, but not as good as fresh hummus.
– The pork tenderloin is very good this way, and very easy to make. Larry grilled it perfectly.
– I used heirloom cannellini beans that I got at the Ferry Plaza farmer’s market. They were excellent – meaty and delicious. They needed a lot of time to cook and some could have cooked a bit more by the time dinner came around.
– I loved this bread salad. I could have eaten the entire bowl. Larry really liked it too, but thinks the Zuni one is slightly better.
– I liked the tart, too. The filling is a chocolate-raspberry ganache. I used golden raspberries for part of the top – they’re really yummy. Larry wasn’t crazy about it, but everyone else seemed to like it.

• White Bean and Artichoke Dip with Pita Chips (Fine Cooking #51, July 2002, p. 86)
• Pork Tenderloin Grilled in Rosemary Leaves (Fine Cooking #28, September 1998, p. 90)
• Grilled Bread Salad with Tomatoes & Spicy Greens (Fine Cooking #58, July 2003, p. 38)
• White Beans with Rosemary & Olive Oil (Fine Cooking #19, March 1997, p. 37)
• Chocolate-Raspberry Tart with a Gingersnap Crust (Fine Cooking #52, September 2002, p. 66)

Wine: Ridge 2001 Del Carlo Zinfandel (Dry Creek Valley, California). Another lovely Ridge Zin. The second bottle will benefit from some more time in the bottle.