it's over

The long weekend is over... sigh. But I have a few memories.

Eating muhammara on the deck at Joe and Laurie's.

Indulging in a little crèmant in the middle of the day; there's nothing wrong with some fine, delicate mousse that's biscuity-tinged and sharply refreshing. It leads to induging in A LOT of crèmant in the middle of the day.

Some nicely chilled white to wash down all the nibblies: a silky, smooth drink with loads of peach on the nose along with some floral notes and a backdrop of minerality. A citrus-based crispness lightens everything up on the palate making for a pleasant limey finish.

And now it's back to work, but that's okay. Summer in this part of the world is so short that it feels festive pretty much all the week long. And I know there is a cottage weekend somewhere in my near future.

Muhammara: a Lebanese-style spread
-adapted from Epicurious

2 red peppers
1 large onion, finely diced
1 cup walnuts
1/2 cup bread crumbs
2 pomegranates
2 tbsps sugar
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp chili flakes
1 lemon, juiced
1/2 cup olive oil

-clean and roast the red peppers in the oven, or on the barbecue
-meanwhile, sautèe the onion in a dash of olive oil until it has become transluscent, add the garlic and spices and toast for a minute or so
-remove the onion mixture to a blender
-toast the walnuts in the pan for about five minutes and toss in the blender
-squeeze the juice out of the two pomegranates into the pan and heat through until bubbling with the two tbsps of sugar (you could use pomegranate syrup instead, but this is cheaper and just as good)
-put the pomegranate juice and the rest of the ingredients in the blender with the onions and walnuts and mix until smooth
-season with salt and pepper (and more lemon if you like)
-serve with pita wedges