I recently asked a frequent customer to describe our Fig Mascarpone Armagnac Torte: “It’s irresistible … it’s got one of those flavor combinations that I can’t stop eating! Quite stunning …” It is one of our most popular appetizer items; we usually serve it on our Artisan Cheese Display. Guests track me down, often with a glazed look in their eyes, demanding the secret. The rich, caramel butterscotch layers bisected with a spread of Armagnac-soaked figs; heavenly decadent! If you’re lucky enough to have some leftover, it makes a killer spread on a bagel and lightly broiled in a toaster oven. Yummy!

This is a lovely main dish salad. The original recipe came from a Natures newsletter many years ago. Lentils du pays, often called “poor man’s caviar,” are small, dark green (almost black) lentils that hold their shape if not overcooked. They cook quickly and absorb the nutmeg-tarragon-rosemary scented vinaigrette. Sundried tomatoes, artichoke hearts, toasted walnuts and gorgonzola cheese add texture and depth. We often serve this salad along with one or two other salads for an afternoon luncheon.

In the Enchanted Table Catering outback, we’re lucky to have a big grill with hefty grates (great heat conduction and grill marks); we love to grill veggies for our Seasonal Grilled Vegetable Platter, our Antipasto Platter, Grilled Eggplant Caponata or Citrus Thyme Asparagus. We’re even luckier that it sits on a covered patio since we use it all year long! Grilling adds zing to so many of our dishes; it adds a nuanced smokiness to our Stacked Enchiladas with Grilled Chicken and Tomatillo Sauce. Our Grilled Argentinian Flank Steak with Chimichurri Sauce is a favorite at our regular BIAMP Systems dinners. It’s a really hot grill, too; a long set of tongs and a heat-resistant glove are de rigeur!

A quick blanch in salt water is the key to these beauties! We then cover them in a shallot, fresh thyme mustard and orange juice marinade. They get a quick trip on a hot grill to caramelize the shallots and VOILA!!! Spring Love! Thank you Caprial Pance!

I’ve made friends with the Roasted Red Pepper and Hazelnut Sauce! Several years ago I brought it, along with some Gorgonzola Pears, to a potluck, a wanna-get-to-know-you type of event for Portland Symphonic Girlchoir. “Who made this? Who made this!?!” demanded the energetic Italian dynamo organizing the event and soon-to-become-my-good-friend, Jean Malnati (now the Executive Director of PSGC). Its rosemary garlicy goodness had her hooked! Boy, am I glad because years later she scored front row tickets to the Rob Thomas concert at the Schnitz and I’m the lucky girl she called! We pair this sauce with a Draper Valley Pork Loin that we marinate with Dijon mustard then roll in a Indian-inspired spice mixture. We roast it in a high temperature oven until the crust is toasty and the inside is juicy. A great entrée for a lunch or dinner buffet.

I just got back from seeing Julie & Julia. What a fantastic movie for a foodie! In fact, the theater was packed; full of Portland foodies on a Friday afternoon, opening day for this movie here. I went with a posse of Portland foodies, organized by one of my fave foodies, Halle.

Halle knows everyone. We sit down with our gaggle of five female foodies and, WHAM! She knows someone in the row in front of us. She knows someone in the row behind us! As the movie started, I could feel excitement in the air. Was it because I’d succumbed to my junk food guilty-pleasure (Choco Raisins and a diet Coke)? Well, that and the fact that everyone in our group was rooting for the film, anticipating the imaginary tastes and smells to come.

There was a real love present for both Julia Child and Meryl Streep. We marveled at Meryl’s craft, her transformation from 5’6 to 6’2, and  the way she nailed Julia’s infectious enthusiasm. We were charmed by Julia; her escapades at the Cordon Bleu in Paris (only female student and an American… sacre bleu!). We laughed at her butchering of the French language (but hey, she tried).

I grew up in the 60s, watching Julia Child on TV, but not really knowing what an icon she was. I now have a greater appreciation for her pioneering spirit. She blazed the path for the chef I’ve become and how I eat today. I take for granted the ease of ingredients and plethora of cookbooks that I benefit from everyday.

I graduated with a BSEE from USC in 1981. There were 5 female Electrical Engineering students out of my graduating class of 200. I had 6 job offers that year, female double-Es were pretty rare.  I was on top of the world, enjoying the fruits of my hard work. It was years later that I learned of the women who came before me in the high-tech field; the ceiling-smashing, early engineering female pioneers and the barriers they overcame. I’m grateful to them, to Julia, and to my foodie friends.

I’m also grateful to the Red Star Tavern (SW 5^th & Alder)… their Happy Hour goes late every evening… until 8! After our downtown movie, we drank nice wine, ate fun food (the jalepeno poppers wrapped in bacon were AWESOME). I really enjoyed the company of these accomplished women in the afterglow of a great foodie movie!