Eric Ripert’s Seared Cod with Spicy Mussel Aioli is a pricey dish with the cost of mussels…. My sauce also thickened a bit too much, but it still tasted wonderful.  I don’t, however, agree that this is a fast meal like the recipe says. Roasting your own red pepper and removing mussels from their shells can be time consuming.

A few tips to remember: Don’t eat mussels that stay closed!  Don’t return the sauce to heat like I did, unless you want a thick sauce.  Also, do yourself a favor and roast your own red pepper — you’ll be glad you did. It’s not hard to do, and the flavor is very important to the balance of the dish.

Decided to a tasting of Chimay White and Blue. While we didn’t have tulip glasses, wine glasses worked out — Chimay says never drink their beer in a pilsner glass!

Paired with Chicken Masala w/ peas….

Mark Peel’s recipe for Chicken Smothered in Gravy didn’t disappoint. This isn’t a traditional dark gravy but more of a creamy tomato (which I was a huge fan of).

From the TG photo archives…

On May 14, 2009, we had a 1-day cooking class and tour of the Capezzana Estate, which produces both wine and olive oil… For more photos, view the full gallery

Lettuce wraps are very popular as an appetizer, but also work well as a light dinner. I added cabbage, carrots and cucumber.

Thai Ground Pork Salad