BRUNCH FOR EIGHT
Calexico Carne Asada | Chef Peter Oleyer
The Menu
• Fruit salad with vanilla, mint, and cayenne pepper
• Maple-lime yogurt with pumpkinseed granola
• Caramelized onion, mushroom, and goat-cheese frittata with cherry-tomato pico de gallo
• Jalapeño-cheddar scones
• Vampiro cocktails
“I made a pumpkinseed granola (1), which will keep in an airtight container for a week. The day ahead, prepare the maple-and-lime yogurt (2) and the frittata with caramelized onion, roasted mushroom, and goat cheese (3). I wanted a breakfast bread—jalapeño-Cheddar scones (4) just sounded tasty. Keep them in Tupperware overnight. Take the frittata out several hours before guests arrive, so it’s room temperature. Then prepare the pico de gallo (5) for the eggs, and the fruit salad with vanilla, mint, and cayenne pepper (6). That recipe calls for apple, melon, and pineapple, but it’s more about the dressing; you can buy precut fruit to save time. Serve pitchers of Vampiro cocktails (7), a tequila-based Bloody Mary. For beer, Modelo Especial is my favorite lager.”
DINNER FOR SIX
Dovetail | Chef-owner John Fraser and pastry chef Vera Tong
The Menu
• Cucumber vichyssoise
• Roasted leg of lamb with marinated artichokes and lavender mustard
• Strawberry shortcake
“We serve cucumber vichyssoise with smoked trout (1) when it’s warm outside. The cucumber’s acid component balances the heaviness of the soup. Make it a day ahead. We smoke our own fish, but I would recommend Russ & Daughters for the trout. Roasted leg of lamb with marinated artichokes and lavender mustard (2) is quite traditional, and it’s very affordable. Ask for a boned cut and have the butcher tie it so it cooks evenly and is easily sliceable. The cake portion of Vera’s strawberry shortcake (3) is soaked in syrup, so you can refrigerate the whole thing a day or two in advance. I would probably do a rosé for wine; we serve a 2008 Mas de Gourgonnier with delicious summery flavors from Provence.”
HORS D’OEUVRE FOR A DOZEN
Elettaria | Chef-owner Akhtar Nawab
The Menu
• Baby artichokes with capers, sumac, and pine nuts
• Chilled cavatelli salad with roasted tomatoes and fava-bean pesto
• Shaved bresaola with thyme honey, almonds, and arugula
• Chilled crab salad with mango, basil seeds, and tamarind vinaigrette
• Watermelon slide cocktail
“We came up with baby artichokes, capers, sumac, and pine nuts (1); sumac has great acidity but doesn’t add a lemon or lime taste. Clean the artichokes a couple of days ahead and keep them in lemon water. The chilled cavatelli salad with fava-bean pesto (2) calls for roasted tomatoes, but you could chop up heirloom or cherry tomatoes and toss them in raw. Ten to twelve passes with a knife will pulverize the pesto if you don’t have a food processor, but store-bought basil or walnut pesto works, too. Salumeria Biellese is the best in town for the bresaola (3). Any good lump crab (4) will work in the salad, but you can substitute shrimp, too. To drink, my partner Noel Cruz picked the Watermelon Slide (5) with light rum, lime, and black-mint syrup. Take everything out of the fridge a couple of hours before guests arrive.”