Author: Lori Lynn

Do you remember the first food blog you ever read?

Julia Child Floribunda Rose

the color of different shades of butter

photo taken in my garden today 8/15/2010 at 5:23 PM


Do you remember the first food blog you ever read?

I do. It was Champaign Taste. I was about to host a Julia Child themed dinner party and decided to get inspiration from the internet. It was then I discovered Lisa’s Champaign Taste and her first annual Julia Child Birthday Celebration in 2006. I was especially excited to read her post as I had attended the University of Illinois and had lived in Lisa’s hometown – Champaign, Illinois for four years.

Dear Lisa:  Best wishes for continued success on your delightful long-running blog! Thank you for the initial inspiration and for holding your very special annual tributes to Julia Child for the last five years. It continues to be my absolute favorite event, big or small.

Julia Child writing about 1949:
“On August 15, I turned thirty-seven years old. Paul bought me the Larousse Gastronomique, a wonder-book of 1,087 pages of sheer cookery and foodery…By now I knew French food was “it” for me. I couldn’t get over how absolutely delicious it was.”

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heirloom tomato salad, burrata, pistachio relish

Sliced Green Zebra &  Orange Heirloom Tomatoes
Fresh Burrata Cheese
Pistachio, Caper, Shallot, Green Peppercorn Relish
Chiffonade of Fresh Basil

Pistachio Relish

Inspired by the July issue of Food & Wine magazine, this is one of many crazy good recipes we prepared on our recent vacation in Oregon. The issue featured “best new chefs & their simplest recipes.” Right up our vacation alley!

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“Mediterranean on the Pacific”

“Mediterranean on the Pacific”
Sunken City Supper Club
Summer Soirée

The Sunken City Supper Club is a fresh, local and secret place to seasonally mingle with friends and neighbors – to enjoy the camaraderie, great food, wine, and the awesome intimate jazz standards performed by local musicians Barry Anthony and Bill Ryan. We hold one event per season, and the menu always reflects seasonal ingredients. Our Sunken City Supper Club events feature a five course fixed menu plus our signature amuse bouche and unique sherry courses.

Supper Clubbers Sally & Al, with a great view!

The 24 guests are emailed the menu in advance so they can bring wines to complement the dinner. The Sunken City Supper Club is a “moveable feast” – the location varies. The Summer Soirée was held at the beautiful home of our friends Gina & Van overlooking the ocean in Rancho Palos Verdes, California. The summer menu features many seasonal summertime ingredients typically served along the Mediterranean Sea. The table setting, decor, and colors enhanced the Mediterranean theme.

We are especially proud of this recent dinner, as we have now completed a full year’s cycle of seasonal events:

Over the year we have learned how to run a “restaurant” out of a home kitchen, held many experimental test kitchen dinners, honed our timing skills, gained a new appreciation for that second refrigerator, made new foodie friends, and had a blast! We look forward to another year of Sunken City Supper Club seasonal events!

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Capture Summer in a Little Glass Jar


CAPRESE VERRINE
Tomato Water Gelée, Burrata Cheese
Olive Oil, Chiffonade of Basil

Fans of the ubiquitous Insalata Caprese made with fresh buffalo mozzarella, tomatoes, basil, and olive oil will go wild over our unique Caprese Verrine. Freshly extracted tomato water combined with sea salt and gelatin when chilled, creates a smooth gelée that melts on the tongue tasting of pure tomato flavor, and pure summer heaven! Layered with chopped burrata – fresh mozzarella stuffed with “rags” of mozzarella and heavy cream with all its wonderful delicate creamy, sweet, sour, and earthy flavors. Finished with fresh basil from the garden and our favorite fruity olive oil from California Olive Ranch – this little 2 oz. verrine is our new darling for summer entertaining.

We served the Caprese Verrine as the amuse bouche at our recent Sunken City Supper Club event, “Mediterranean on the Pacific.” It was a fabulous start to an amazing al fresco summer dinner…

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