When life gives you lemons

When Alex came by my desk and dropped off a large plastic bag I was worried. Alex is an art coordinator. She has so much energy; she makes the Energizer Bunny look like a slug. Normally her presence signifies a need for my services. As it turns out her friend has prolific lemon tree. A Meyer Lemon tree! They charge a fortune for Meyers at the farmers market. Alex knows what a foodie I am. She kindly shared the wealth. As the old adage says,” If life gives you lemons, make lemonade”. No I’ll make salad dressing, Meyer Lemon and shallot salad dressing. One part lemon juice, three or four parts olive oil, chopped shallots, salt and pepper to taste. Add a little Dijon mustard and stir to emulsify. Voila! I swear this dressing helped me cinch an A grade in my Art of Plate Presentation Class. In class I used it on roasted beets, avocado, and yuppie chow (mixed spring greens). It also tastes great on roasted or grilled asparagus. My wife April took on the Meyer Lemon challenge with her own dressing. One part lemon juice, three or four parts olive oil, lots of chopped fresh parsley, chopped garlic and salt and pepper. She used it to finish her marinated flank steak and mashed potato plate. Just drizzle a little around the edge of the plate or, like me, pour it all over everything. The fancy restaurants would put the dressing in a squeeze bottle and make little artsy swirls. That will be $32 please.
Share the bounty when you can. Free is always the best price. Enjoy!

Davis Roadtrip

Davis is one of my favorite California towns. We arrived on Saturday morning. It was farmers market day. First things first. Pilars tamales cart. I had the pork tamale and the wife had the cheese. Not mostly absent pieces of pork,but big chunks! Two types of salsa were offered. The chunky tomato salsa fresca had just a little heat, but the darker salsa really lit my fire. Nothing like a little burn early in the morning.
We walked the downtown area. It seems that people are not(except for the market) early risers. Decided to try to check into our hotel( Hallmark Inn) but were denied. It was really early.
Next stop was the Amtrak station. We thought we would take the train to Old Town Sacramento. Does the train stop near old town? No one knew, so we elected to drive. The drive was not fun. So many sport uts heading to Tahoe at a 95 mph. Trying to push each other out of the way. We made it only to find that yes the train does stop near old town. Next time the train. It was lovely in old town and we walked, enjoying the stores that were trying to separate us from our money.
It was time again to eat. We ended up at the embassy Suites Hotel. Lunch at the bar consisted of a split order of fish and chips and a draft beer. Chips most excellent, fish OK. Tried the Fat tire ale. Yummy. After wandering the State Capitol and hitting the nearby mall to replace wife's oh so stylish , but uncomfortable shoes we returned to Davis.
We checked into the hotel ($89 internet rate) and began to scope our dinner options. The hotel includes a Managers Reception. The generous barman provided needed vodka martini for me and chardonnay for wife, along with dinner suggestions. We decided on Season's. It is attached to the hotel and used to be a Lyons. The food and the ambiance sure are not on par with Lyons anymore. Crab cakes with aolli and fried calamari with kafir lime dressing started the meal. The crab was excellent, but the calamari was supreme. Tried to boost the recipe, but the staff was sworn to secrecy. We shared a entree of flatbread (pizza) that excelled as well. Shared apple crisp, caffe latte and port for me. Half bottle of Bonny Doon Le Cigare Volant ($28). Total bill before tax $82. Not bad.
Next morning we enjoyed the included breakfast. The standard continental stuff plus ham,cheese and hard boiled eggs. Enjoyed the trip.