A much-needed rainy happy hour at #vanaprastha. Burrata with artichokes and sautéed lemons, fresh baked baguette, Italian cold cuts with mustard and cornichons. Stories - and yes, there are stories - and the burrata recipe tomorrow on Substack.
Last night was one of those nights. You know, when despite your best efforts, a bunch of little things go haywire at the same time.
First, I’d received email and phone notifications of the basement smoke alarm’s low battery and replaced the two yesterday morning. But while I was trying to follow the new recipe’s step-by-step directions, the security system beeped, again messaging “basement smoke alarm low battery.” Five loud beeps, and the control panel “okay” acknowledge did not cancel the alerts. Of course. It’s Friday late afternoon before a long holiday weekend.
I turned the burner off, set the pan aside, and contacted the security team via phone to the answering service then email then phone to the technician. While on email, an alert popped up for an install update of a new operating system. Of course. X-out! Cancel! You get the picture.
The Security Team technician said: could be that I didn’t wait the required five minutes between taking the old batteries out and installing the new (who can remember that from the last time?) or could be the unit has timed out. I hate it when things don’t last forever. When I tried to reinstall the blasted thing after the proper wait-time, the unit wouldn’t re-engage the brackets. Of course. The technician said he’d disable the alarm if I couldn’t get it to work so I went back to cooking.
As soon as I turned the burner on again, Lark nudged my arm, his signal for needing to go outside to relieve himself. Of course, Mac wanted his turn, too. Dogs can be like children, knowing instinctively that the best time to ask for what they want is when parents are busy with something else. In the process of letting Lark in and Mac out, they got away from me and took off up the mountain despite the cold drizzle.
I managed to rescue the lemon slices from burned destruction, finish making the dip, and set everything up for happy hour. Of course, right after we sat down to eat, the dogs came back—their cabin fever more than satisfied—jumping at the front and kitchen doors in the now pouring rain. They were soaked and in need of major toweling off. And SO happy.
That was our happy hour.
Addendum: The security technician must have disabled the alarm because the beep alerts stopped. This morning, I emailed our thanks and requested an appointment to replace the old unit. Because nothing lasts forever, not even happiness.
Now for the recipe. Good, well received, interesting flavors, though a bit messy as a dip.
Burrata with Artichokes and Sautéed Lemons: appetizer serves 2-4 (adapted from a newspaper recipe) Note: Burrata is a fresh Italian cheese made from cow’s milk, with a solid mozzarella shell encasing creamy, shredded mozzarella curds and cream.
Ingredients:
· 6 Tbsp. olive oil
· 1 small lemon, thin sliced and seeded - adds to the flavor
· 8 oz. container burrata balls, drained – 4 medium balls; I could only find 2 big
· 1 large clove of garlic, finely chopped
· 1 tsp. coriander seeds (optional) – recommend… gives the dip a good if unusual flavor
· 14 oz. can, quartered artichoke hearts, drained well
· ¼ cup fresh cilantro leaves, thin sliced – adds to the good, unusual flavor
· ¼ tsp. salt
· ½ tsp. red pepper flakes or to taste - adds to the good, unusual flavor
· French bread sliced for serving
Heat oil in a medium skillet over medium heat until it shimmers; add lemon slices and cover. Fry lemon slices, turning once, until edges are crisp – about 5 minutes. Remove pan from heat.
Use tongs to arrange slices on a serving plate. Place burrata balls on top of the lemon; let stand at room temperature.
With remaining olive oil, place pan over low heat. Add garlic and coriander seeds; cook until seeds pop – about 1 minutes. They didn’t pop, but never mind. Add drained artichoke hearts; cook 2 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in cilantro, salt, and pepper flakes.
Spoon mixture over the burrata and lemons. Use a fork to break open the burrata balls. Mop up (more like spoon over) cheese and artichoke mixture with sliced bread.
That’s it for today. Thanks be to God for more rain, despite wet dogs. See you next week! -C.D.
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