Saturday, February 11, 2023

Serenity Now! Gather for game night, but no double dipping

 


The show about nothing turned into a fun trivia game night when a friend brought over a “Seinfeld trivia game. I was on team Festivus and game answers included catch phrases from marble rye to airing of grievances. We thought about serving a big salad and pretzels that make you thirsty, but ended up with hummus and cheeses for a good old time. Our friend’s hummus recipe included turmeric for a lovely golden hue. Grab your friends and remind yourself of how much fun an old-fashioned game night can be. No double dipping!

 

Tea from what? – Olive leaf tea sounds exotic. The concept is ancient and I didn’t think I’d get the chance to try it. Steep Echo of Santa Barbara is a family olive oil and tea business with videos that make you imagine the very olive they’ve harvested into the nets they hold went into you salad for dinner. I enjoyed tea of such fragrance I thought about putting some bags in my linen drawer. Curated boxes in blue and gold paper look as luxurious as the teas they hold. Offerings include Repose with passionflower, rose petal, chamomile and linden, for “stolen moments.” Other combinations are Tend with mango and Ascent with monk fruit and vanilla. All feature olive leaves. Cut 1886 is the family’s “oil bizness,” www.steepecho.com  

 

Here’s the beef – I love how sandwiches become regional favorites. I just learned Chicago Italian Beef is a thing and Buona, a local pick, is so famous now that they can ship you a package to make some at home. A thick French roll soaks up the gravy from thin-sliced beef. An “optional” that is a must for me is gobs of Hot and Spicy Giardiniera olive salad. Does this put you in mind of a NOLA muffuletta? Not quite. Seems like the Italians of Chicago went a different way. The olive salad is the link. If you want to try how they do it up north, go to www.buona.com 

Darragh Doiron is a Port Arthur area foodie who would never double dip. #culinarythrillseeking darraghcastillo@icloud.com

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