Vincent Lardo

“If Maria Sanchez did report that I would be dining at home tonight, Ursi feted me as if I were the prodigal son. For starters, fresh crab meat, white as snow, heaped over a bed of cold, crisp iceberg lettuce and garnished with toast points and capers. The fatted calf was a fatted poussin (baby chicken to you), roasted to a golden brown and accompanied with a sauce derived from a mix of minced shallots and onions blended in the bird’s roasting juices and a dash of port wine. The three birds were presented with an X, fashioned by strips of grilled bacon, atop their succulent breasts. Pommes Anna, baby peas with pearl onions and Ursi’s home-baked petite cheddar biscuits completed the feast. Father decanted a bottle of Rosso de Montalcino, a pretentious Tuscan delight, for the repast, which ended with a lemon sorbet to clean the palate and a plate of sugar cookies to go with a cup of demitasse derived from Ursi’s original blend of Colombian beans.”
― Vincent Lardo, McNally's Dare