A HOLIDAY CAKE STORY

I hope you are all getting ready for 2011 and more cooking challenges! I am hoping that the cold weather with a few cold snaps will bring us wonderful stone fruit this summer! And, all that lovely rain will ward off a drought and my plants will have lots of water this year.
I mentioned in my last email that I was going to try to make the Peppermint Ice Cream Candyland Cake from a Bon Appetit recipe in 2007. I saved the recipe because I thought the cake was a showstopper, visually. I can honestly say that this is not a recipe for a beginner. I did not have a pan that was exactly 15”x10”x1” so I used my jelly roll pan and doubled the cake recipe. While it “worked” it wasn’t the best solution. It made the cake too high. I tried Baskin Robbin's Peppermint Ice Cream that turned out to be an unappetizing bubblegum pink color. Good flavor but yucky visually and very expensive to buy 3.5 qts. I then tried Dreyer’s Peppermint Ice Cream and its color was a little better but not great. If I ever do this again, I think I’ll make my own ice cream to control the color.

Also, icing a cake with melting ice cream is not easy or fun. The online recipe had a reviewer who suggested putting the ice cream into the same cake pan and cutting it into thirds after it hardened, the same size as the cake layers. I tried this method and while still a bit cumbersome, was way easier than trying to ice the cake. So I then froze the layers again and then did the final icing with the softened ice cream. Refroze the cake again before adding the candy brittle.

The above two photos show the BR 31 Flavors ice cream and the two photos below are of the Dreyers ice cream version. There's not a big difference in the photos but believe me, the BR color is not pretty! I even tried to lighten it with some vanilla ice cream.

The Candyland brittle was difficult but not impossible. I threw out the first batch because at 300º the sugar carmellized. I took the candy off the stove at 375º and had Bill pour it onto the tin foil (pre-marked to 10x16’…don’t’ use a marking pen because it comes off on the brittle!) and then I immediately smeared it into the marked space and quickly sprinkled pre-chopped and mixed candies onto the hot sugar. In 2 minutes it was hard already so I had to work very fast. I waited 10 minutes and then started breaking off pieces to add to the ice cream frosting layer.

Eating a frozen cake was not good so it worked better to serve the cake slices a few minutes after plating them so the cake part could thaw a bit to make it more tender.

The combination of the dense, moist chocolate cake and peppermint ice cream was delicious & a perfect combo. A definite WOW factor is the candy brittle. Not so wow is making this cake…a 2-day process AND make sure you have enough space in your freezer AND the right size pan. If you don’t care about the color, buy Dreyers Peppermint Ice Cream, only sold at Christmas time (cheaper and better color). Otherwise, add another day to make your own peppermint ice cream. You will have a lot of leftover candy so make sure you buy candy that you like to eat….or are willing to toss so the leftovers “don’t go to waist!”

I’m too pooped now to write anymore! I’m not even sure the cake was worth the effort although other reviewers would make it again without the candy brittle.

BTW, Tina sent an article about Jacques Pepin that she wanted to share with you since we are using one of his cookbooks this year. The Long View: French Gourmand Jacques Pepin (NPR Dec. 29, 2010) It’s an interesting article that I think you’ll enjoy reading. Thanks, Tina!

Cook on with Julia! Date to be announced as soon as I hear from everyone.

Until February,

Sandi

COOKING CHALLENGE

We were taking holiday gifts to all of our neighbors and spent a few minutes talking with Mary and Ken who belong to more of a supper club than a cookbook club. What they and their friends have been doing for 33+ years is pick a theme for the dinner. The host gets to choose the menu and put together the recipes. They have often decorated their homes to reflect the theme: ie. medieval castle for a medieval dinner. Over the top!

Mary shared their last dinner menu. It had a Spanish theme because they had just returned from a trip to Barcelona, Spain. She borrowed our Made in Spain cookbook for some of the entré choices. Because I wasn’t invited to partake in the fabulous dinner, I can’t describe the dishes to you but I thought you’d enjoy seeing what they prepared and the cookbooks they used. The photos on the menu are ones that Mary took while in Spain as well as some she downloaded from the internet. Here’s the menu:





And here are some photos of the dishes they prepared. As you can see, they are beautifully presented and look pretty mouth watering to me!
This dish is the Almond Soup that Sandy prepared for our Spanish dinner and this one looks just a delicious. I wonder if she had to wring out the almond milk as often?

This sardine dish is so yummy that even Ken, who doesn't like sardines, liked it...alot! I love sardines so I am going to have to get this recipe from Mary. Whenever I go to a Spanish restaurant, I always order the sardine dish, no matter how it's prepared. I fish for them in Monterey Bay when they are in season too because there is nothing like fresh sardines.

And the last photo is of the paella that Mary & Ken prepared. I was tempted to show you the photos of the two of them slaving over the paella pan grilled over the barbeque but decided that you'd all rather see the finished product.

Mary and I talked about getting the group together but couldn’t figure out the logistics of such a large group…obviously going to have to be a buffet. Maybe we’ll make it a ‘extra’ dinner and whomever wants to cook and come will come. I always appreciate and learn from other good cooks and I bet some of you would like to be exposed to this group too!

Mary and I will come up with a date and venue and see who wants to come! And, since they are a couples group, this dinner will be a couple’s dinner for us too.

Sounds like fun to me!

2010 HOLIDAY BUFFET

Sunday, December 12, 2010

If you need something to get you into the holiday mood, I’ve found that good food and warm friends will do it. . .with the help of some bubbly! What has become an annual tradition for our Crowing Coq Cookbook Club is our “Holiday Buffet.” It’s the only dinner that we don’t plate and is more informal. We prepare only appetizers and desserts. This year, we could prepare anything from any of the books we’ve ever used over the past 4 years. As a result, a yummy menu! I usually don’t print out the menu because it takes so much space but it’s a good way to see what was prepared at a glance for our blog. I’ve left off last names but did include the cookbook from which the recipe was used.

ken hom's pork riblets big small plates (prepared by janis)
buckwheat blinis with caviar big small plates (prepared by sharon)
fried chicken (wings) ad hoc (prepared by sandi u.)
fritters surprise made in spain (prepared by tina)
coquilles st. jacques a la parisienne mastering the art of french cooking (prepared by george)
orange current walnut cake deborah madison (prepared by annie)
mint chocolate chip ice cream sandwiches ad hoc (prepared by willie)
chocolate pots de crème zuni café cookbook (prepared by lisa)
chocolate marscapone torte bay wolf cookbook (prepared by marianne)
chocolate ruffle cake baking with julia (prepared by sandi w.)

Wines for the evening from bill’s cellar:
nv graham beck sparkling wine, brut, south africa
nv graham beck sparkling wine, brut rose, south Africa
2007 landmark overlook chardonnay, sonoma valley
2007 cantina zaccagnini montepulciano riserva, italy
2008 quady orange muscat, madera, ca.
2005 meeker vineyards zinfandel frozin, geyserville, sonoma valley


We were all surprised by Janis’s choice of Ken Hom’s pork riblets from Cindy Pawlcyn’s Big Small Plates because she usually brings vegetables or salads. This entré proves that Janis is as good with meat as she has been with vegetables. The riblets were marinated overnight in a soy marinade that was delicious.
Sharon passed her Buckwheat Blinis with Crème Fraiche & Caviar on a tray and they were simply deee-vine! Of course, anything with caviar is okay in my book…I just love decadence when it comes to eating. This was another dish from Cindy Pawlcyn’s book. I, too, find that it’s a book I’ve gone to several times after that memorable dinner in 2008. Her recipes are not only delicious but easy to follow.

I made the Fried Chicken (wings) with the help of Thomas Keller’s Ad Hoc cookbook. A whole chicken is brined for 10 hours but I only brined the drumettes for 3 hours and fried them just before bringing to the hosts’ home. Keller says to pop them into a 400º oven for 5 minutes to re-crisp them but it didn’t bring them back to their former glory right out of the frying oil. They were still good but not great…IMHO.
Tina made two kinds of Fritters with chicken and cheese and fried them in oil right before we ate them and they were hot and crispy! This recipe was an adaptation of the fritter recipe from Jose André’s book, Made in Spain. This is another cookbook that I have used over and over. It’s actually turned me into a Spanish food fan and I’m always looking for restaurants that serve tapas or Spanish dishes.
George went over the top with his Coquilles St. Jacques a la Pariesienne from Julia Child’s very famous book: Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Assembled earlier and then just popped into a broiler just before serving is the smart dish to bring to a buffet. They were decadent, rich, creamy, and, delicious…as they should be!

We served the buffet in two flights to give our appetites a chance to recover and prepare for desserts. Our intermezzo was our traditional white elephant gift exchange…and a chance for our crowing coq to have a new foster parent for a year. What was totally cool this year is that his parent for 2010, Janis, took him to a jeweler to have repaired so he now crows again when his timer goes off. Thanks Janis, you were the perfect foster mother. There was a lot of stealing and great gifts this year.

After our gift exchange we started on the desserts. With the exception of Annie’s very moist Orange Current Walnut Cake from Deborah Madison’s book, the desserts were all chocolate. Annie’s cake was both simple and complex in that it was a moist and light orange bread and also a complex blend of orange, walnuts and currants without being like a fruit cake. It’s a dessert I want to try soon.

The chocolate desserts, while all chocolate were so different in their textures, execution and presentation. Willie made Thomas Keller’s Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Cookies from his Ad Hoc book. This is like taking an ice cream sandwich to it’s ultimate level. This rich ice cream was sandwiched between two buttery and chocolatey cookies. I am a big fan of Keller’s ice cream although if I made it very often, Bill & I would be as wide as barns!

Lisa made the Chocolate Pots De Crème, also from Keller’s book, that were topped with a dollop of Chantilly cream and even though chocolate is not my favorite flavor (I know, I’m weird…), I thought this dessert was what chocolate pudding should taste like! Bravo, Lisa!

Marianne made a Chocolate Marscapone Torte from the Bay Wolf Cookbook. It too had a dollop of Chantilly cream and was a light chocolate torte. I loved it because of the fact that it wasn’t a dense chocolate but for the chocoholics in the group, it probably wasn’t chocolatey enough…of course, for the chocolate addicts, very few dishes have enough chocolate!

However, the last dessert fit that need to a “T,” er, "C". Sandi’s Chocolate Ruffle Cake from Baking with Julia, was not only a beautiful presentation but tasted as good as it looked AND had enough chocolate for the addicted. As you can see from the photo, it was a fabulous presentation. The crème fraiche fillings (there was a chocolate crème fraiche layer and a vanilla & fresh raspberries layer and then a topping of plain crème fraiche) complemented the dense Valhrona chocolate cake. These desserts were all perfect endings to a festive evening.

After desserts we sat down to select our books for 2011 and here are the choices:
Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child (both Vol. I & II)
It will interesting to see who does the beef bourguignon and the deboned duck dishes...

We also decided to try Mexican cooking this year with any book by Rick Bayless, including his TV website. We had a brief introduction to Mexican food with Cindy Pawlcyn's book and everyone really liked it so it will be fun to go totally Mexican with one of our dinners this year. Mexican food is typically seen as "fast food" or "cheap food" and I love that it's moved into the "gourmet food" category. The flavors are complex, not overly hot as many people think and brings out the tastes of fresh ingredients.

And, last but certainly not least, we are going to try Fast Food My Way by Jacques Pépin. I think we decided to start with a Rick Bayless'book and then move on to Julia and Jacques? Or did I lose another marble? UPDATE, 12/16/10: Darn, there went another marble! Sandi emailed me to remind me that we decided to start the year off with a Julia dinner so get your Mastering the Art of French Cooking book out and start cooking! Either Volume I or II.

I am also going to arrange another “educational field trip” for us. I am thinking of a cooking demonstration with dinner afterwards by a local chef. There will be a second field trip to Sharon’s home near Grass Valley that she is going to organize for the group. 2011 is going to be another year of fine wining and dining!

Thank you everyone for being adventurous and willing to try challenging recipes. Your efforts have given me courage to try more difficult recipes and as a result, I am a better cook and have learned new skills. Bill appreciates what you’ve all done too since he gets to eat all of my trials (as well as errors)!

Holiday wishes to you and a year of no kitchen mishaps for 2011.

Cook on!

Sandi

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

DRY RUB VS BRINING

This year I decided to try a dry rub that Fine Cooking Magazine featured in last year’s Thanksgiving issue. I’ve tried Trader Joe’s pre-brined turkey as well as brined a turkey myself in the past. TJ’s brined turkeys are great…no fuss, no mess, convenient. BUT their turkeys are not very large and this year I needed a 24 lb. turkey. . . . waaay too big to brine easily! So I ordered a Distel Turkey from Whole Foods and picked it up 5 days before Thanksgiving.

The dry rub has an herbal rub that is tucked underneath the turkey’s skin, breasts and thighs/legs. It’s just a combination of a little EEVO, thyme, sage, rosemary and parsley…or maybe I should sing “Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme?” The salt is then rubbed inside and on the skin. It is then twice bagged into plastic bags and refrigerated for 3 days, turning the turkey once a day. On the night of the third day, take the turkey out of the bags, pat dry and let it air dry in the refrigerator. The recipe did not say to rinse the bird of all the salt but I did, inside and out. And then thoroughly dried it, using paper towels.

I took the bird out of the refrigerator 5 hours before roasting it to allow it to get to room temperature AND to stuff it. YES, I stuffed the bird…something that we aren’t supposed to do with brined turkeys.

Roast the turkey at 425º for 30 minutes and then lower the temp to 325º and cook for the defined time according to the number of pounds. The roasting chart said 6 hours for a 24 lb turkey but it only took 3.5 hours because I brought the turkey to room temperature before putting it into the oven. Interior temperature was 160º.

The Verdict? Well, I must admit, it is all hearsay since I came down with a cold and sent the turkey to my uncle’s home with Bill. BUT, even my mother loved the turkey and my cousins’ all said it was the best tasting turkey they’ve ever eaten. I can tell you that you will get the best, browned & crispy skinned turkey you will ever roast! The skin was not only crispy but NO FAT…just thin, crispy evenly browned skin. The herb rub gave the turkey wonderful flavors and the salt rub created juicy, tender and soft meat. I did use a roasting rack but put the rack on top of a jellyroll pan instead of the roasting pan that may have contributed to the overall browning. I used the basting bulb to siphon off the juices after the turkey roasted for about 2-3 hours. One of my cousin's took these photos of the turkey, both while being sliced and the platter of turkey meat so you can get an idea of how dark the skin gets when prepared this way.

Given the hassle with brining (huge bucket and finding space in the refrigerator for it), the dry rub is 10 times easier. And, it got RAVE reviews…something my brined turkeys did not get in previous 2 years.

I also made a very simple herb stuffing using “Wonderbread”…no gourmet breads for this traditional stuffing! I tore the bread into small pieces (2 loaves fill the cavities of the turkey; 3 loaves will give you more to bake in a separate baking dish). I sautéed finely chopped onions, celery, parsley, turkey giblets and heart in butter. I chopped fresh sage leaves and added some freshly ground pepper and golden raisins to the pan and then added it all to the bread pieces. I did not salt the stuffing at all assuming that the salt from the dry rub was enough to season it. Some years I add chestnuts but this year, I did not. I used the neck from the turkey to make a broth to use in the gravy.

The down side to this was that everyone liked it so much that I’ve been elected to roast the turkey every year! I hope your thanksgiving feast was as memorable and delicious.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

ZUNI CAFE COOKBOOK DINNER

Happy Halloween! On Halloween Eve we shared a delightful evening high above Santa Clara Valley, on top of Mount Eden, appropriately named. With the glittering lights of Silicon Valley as the backdrop, we feasted on food prepared by avid home chefs from Judy Rodgers’ , The Zuni Café Cookbook. There were 9 courses in front of us so keeping the servings small was the key to surviving another gourmet meal.

We started with Sandi W.’s Gougeres with Arugula, Bacon and Pickled Onions. It was the perfect start with the contrasting flavors of a rich Gruyer flavored gougeres, the crunchy arugula, salty bacon and sour/sweet pickled onions. We only ate one each but I could have devoured several more! The magnum of 2002 Estate Chardonnay from Mount Eden Vineyard’s library was paired perfectly, standing up the rich gougeres while enhancing the salty/sour flavors. A tough job for any wine but this one championed that combination without overwhelming it. Sandi recommended that we grate or shred the cheese instead of using the prescribed cube of cheese because the weight of the cube deflated the gougeres.

We then had Sandy’s Baked Artichokes with Onions, Lemon, Black Olives and Mint. This was not a recipe that I had earmarked as I thumbed through the cookbook to try but now I HAVE to have this recipe! It was fabulous, to say the least. I’m used to the standard boiled artichokes eaten with drawn butter or mayonnaise but this version adds the word “gourmet” to artichokes. Sandy had to quarter the artichokes because they were so large and, for our dinner, turned out the be the perfect portion. The artichokes are roasted in a broth so long that they were infused with the flavors of the onions, lemons, olive oil, and hint of mint. As you can see from the photo, they are served with onions and a few olives and although the leaves look kind of dry from the roasting, it is only the outside leaves, and the roasting adds a smoky flavor to the artichokes. Another over-the-top dish! We continued with the magnum of chardonnay that contributed to the creaminess of this dish.

The next dish drew raves and reminiscences from the table. A version of comfort food, the Sage Grilled Cheese Sandwiches that Willie prepared drew groans of delight from everyone. We all remembered our first grilled cheese sandwiches made with either Kraft’s American yellow cheese (I’m not really sure that American is a “flavor”) or worse yet, Velveeta on Wonder Bread and how much we liked them and never eat them anymore. Sandy remembered as a bride, trying to make them as a request from her husband and hunting for Velveeta in the cheese section of the grocery store only to find that it wasn’t even refrigerated! This rendition of our fond memory is a grown-up version. Willie created a sage infused olive oil and then brushed the bread (he used Grace Bakery bread for the size of the loaf but prefers Acme if he could have made full servings of the sandwiches) and layered the cheese between the slices. Easy Peasy he says! This appetizer was complemented by a serving of Dry Creek Vineyard, 2009 Chenin Blanc. The acidity of this wine actually accented the richness of the Gruyer cheese while toning down the heaviness of the sandwiches.

The dish that I made was the Tomato Summer Pudding that I had raved about in a previous post. I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to find enough Heirloom tomatoes this late in the season and in enough colors but Imahara’s Market and Cupertino’s Farmer’s Market provided all the heirlooms I needed. I used Acme Bread’s Sweet Batard for the bread that is broiled on one side then rubbed with raw garlic and then steamed in a bag. Although she doesn’t explicitly say to to do this, I also parboiled the tomatoes for 10 seconds to peel them and layered different colors to make a colorful dish. What I like the most about this dish is the simple salad vinaigrette that is created with the juice from the shoulders of the tomatoes and run-off from the cutting board. It is simply EVOO, sherry vinaigrette, S&P and tomato juice. It makes such pretty presentation that I am beginning to discover it is half the reason I select certain recipes and why I love to make desserts! This dish was served with a 2009 Riesling from The Honorable winery from Washington. Judy Rodgers recommends a Riesling for this dish and she is totally right on with this combo!

Finally, we come to our first “main” course for the evening. Annie prepared the Mock Porchetta with Root Vegetables. She also prepared a simple polenta to go with her dish. The real Porchetta (as contrasted to the “mock”) is made with a whole pig that is flavored with fennel seeds and other herbs and then spit roasted to create crispy skin. The chef slices it right off the pig to give you a simple panini of bread and pork. It was one of my favorite meats in Italy and found everywhere even in trucks that travel from place to place, kind of like our local “roach coaches,” that, BTW, are becoming gourmet and worth a try! The meat was pink and tender and very flavorful from the fennel, pepper, herbs, capers, lemons and salt rub. Annie was worried that it wouldn’t be tender because this pork shoulder didn’t have a lot of fat in it but it turned out to be very tender so it’s the long slow cooking that does it. If you want a blow by blow with photos for this dish, I found one at cookingzuni.blogspot.com/2008/07/mock-porchetta.html

The wine for this dish deserves a little story because it was the 2009 Zuni Café Pinot Noir! It turns out that Jeffrey makes a special cuvee for the Zuni Café to sell under its own label. It doesn’t taste like a Mount Eden Pinot because the co-owner of Zuni selected with blend for his restaurant bottling. This wine was made to go with this dish even though Judy Rodgers recommends a Barolo or Cabernet Sauvignon. In keeping with Judy’s recommendation, Bill selected a 1997 Joseph Phelps Cabernet Sauvignon to go with the pork as well as the beef dish to follow.

As an intermezzo between our two meat dishes, Janis prepared Lamb’s Lettuce with Raw Asparagus, Pistachios, & Parmigiano-Reggiano. This was another recipe that most of us did not earmark in our cookbooks but now want to try on our own. It was a wonderful contrast of flavors and textures; the soft mache leaves against the crisp asparagus slices and crunchy pistachios. We also learned from Judy, via Janis, that it’s the stems of the asparagus that has all the sweet flavors and that the tips add a bitterness to this vegetable, so no tips in this salad! For those smart diners who kept a bit of the chardonnay in their glass, Jeffrey’s chardonnay is the wine that could have complemented most of this meal, including this fabulous salad.

The second meat dish was a Brasato that Jeffrey made at a much lower temperature (225º) than Judy recommended. The result of his decision was a braised chuck that was still a bit pink inside but as tender as could be. This full flavored brasato was served with a heavenly Braised Fennel that Marianne prepared to go with Jeffrey’s dish. The fennel was braised in a broth of vermouth and wine and so soft that it just melted in my mouth. I have always avoided fennel and won’t even order a dish at a restaurant if it is served with fennel on the side but this dish has changed my mind about fennel. I never liked the licorice flavors in this vegetable but didn’t know that once it’s braised for a long time that flavor is so muted that it almost disappears. The Brasato and Braised Fennel were well paired. The Phelps Cabernet Sauvignon actually went better with this entré than the porchetta, adding a bit of soft fruit to the flavors in the beef. Ahh, what a dinner we are savoring while gazing over the entire South Bay lights!

Our last serving was Shortcake with Summer Fruit, prepared by Sharon who was the only one spunky enough to come to this dinner in costume! The fruits, strawberries, red and white raspberries, are macerated in a fruity Riesling and served with a scone-like shortcake and Chantilly cream. A very light dessert that ended our heavenly evening high in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Bill selected a Beerenaulese to drink with Sharon’s dessert. The Weingut Sankt-Urbans-Hof ,1976 Riesling Beerenauslese had enough acid as well as sweetness to go with the berries. It was a rich dessert wine that was the perfect choice for this ending. I’d have to say, in fact, that the wine pairings for this dinner, throughout each course, was at a sommelier level! Thanks, Bill, for sharing your deep cellar and thanks Jeffrey for sharing Mount Eden’s bounty with our group.

Our next event is our Annual Holiday Buffet: Sunday, December 12, 2010 at 4 p.m. at Annie and George’s home. Spouses/guests are invited to join us. Appetizers or desserts from any of the cookbooks we’ve used since 2006. And, don’t forget to bring a kitchen white elephant that no kitchen should be without or, perhaps ALL kitchens should be without! This tradition actually brought us our Crowing Coq, a chicken timer that crowed spontaneously in Bob and Diane’s kitchen, enough for them to want to give it away. It currently resides with Janis and Bill, it’s 4th set of foster parents!

In the meantime, enjoy your thanksgiving dinner. I’ve found that this meal is not the time to be creative because it’s not Thanksgiving without the traditional dishes that we all remember from our childhoods. Like stuffing made with Wonderbread....

Random Culinary Adventures

I have been distracted from my cooking lately. We had our house painted, tented for termites and are still not done with the entire project. I did however add a small freestanding fishpond (with just goldfish to start) to our breezeway and am working on creating a small little tropical space there. It’s been fun but time consuming and creates a chaos that is not conducive to cooking for me.

I did, however, use my newly honed fried chicken skills to host a b’day dinner for my cousin, Mary. (that's us, stuffing our faces!) It is getting easier and more efficient for me each time I try Keller’s recipe. We had Fried Chicken, Green Bean with Blue Cheese salad, Red & Green Coleslaw, Garlic Bread, AND I tested the Zuni Café recipe for Tomato Summer Pudding on them! It got rave reviews!

My tomatoes are ripening and may not make it to October 30 when we have our Zuni Café Dinner. Speaking of tomatoes, those darn squirrels or rats or something is eating my tomatoes one day before I pick them! I’m having to pick the tomatoes a day or two early and that means I don’t really get “vine ripened” tomatoes! I am sooo mad and bummed! I’ve lost about 8 large tomatoes so far this year. I think next year, I’m going to net the tomatoes and see if that helps to keep those critters off my tomatoes! I notice that heirlooms don’t give me the “bounty” that the regular Ace, Early Girl or Beefeater tomatoes do. I don’t mind getting fewer tomatoes because the heirlooms are so sweet and delicious…they taste more “tomato-y” to me…. but I DO mind losing them to critters! My cat, who is the consummate hunter, does not hunt squirrels for some reason. She’s brought home rats, mice, rabbits, lizards, birds, moles and gophers but never any squirrels….darn!

I baked a birthday cake for Mary’s dinner that I hadn’t made in years but I knew that she likes citrus desserts so this one was the perfect choice. It’s called a Lemon Mirror Cake and it used to be an intimidating dessert for me to prepare but I must be becoming a better cook because it was pretty easy this time. It’s a beautiful presentation as you can see and it tastes like a light dessert (even if it’s not really “lite”). I’ll have to make this dessert more often since it’s now an easy one to make! If you click on the dessert name, you can get the recipe which is now online.


Last week, I organized a dinner with the women who live on our block. We just ate at the Country Gourmet on the corner of Mary and Fremont in Sunnyvale. If you haven’t tried it, it’s a perfect place for a casual dinner where you order & pay at the counter and they bring the food to you. Everything is fresh and delicious AND inexpensive…main entrees’ run between $13-16. Anyway, one of the women has a “supper club” and their members have been having potluck, themed dinners for over 20 years. One person organizes the menu and tells the cooks which dish they are to bring. The hosts must decorate their home to reflect the theme…our neighbor even made her house look like a castle one time! And, to get the point here, we were talking about getting our two groups together sometime next year to have a feast! Sound interesting?

Our Crowing Coq Cookbook Club’s Zuni Café Dinner is coming up on October 30. Do you think we ought to come in costume too? Seriously though, the recipes that the members are choosing to bring promises a delicious gourmet evening so stay tuned and I’ll regale you with descriptions, wines and Willie’s fabulous photos. It should inspire you to start cooking something new!

Bon appétit!

Sandi

Picnic at Mount Eden Vineyards

Friday Group Annual Picnic at Mount Eden Vineyards, 2010: an annual affair that always brings great food, wine and friendships together. Even though we were missing a few members and spouses, this year brought together some haute cuisine and special wines.

We started with Einar’s Gravlax and who better to make it than a Norwegian! It was delicious--moist, flavorful and sensual! It was served with 2007 Mount Eden Chardonnay, Saratoga Cuvée…needless to say, a perfect accompaniment.

We then had a Chilled Asparagus Soup that Martin prepared using leeks, spinach and asparagus….the dish was so good that I asked for a recipe and you’re curious, click on the soup to get the recipe. He didn’t create the “timbale” part but the soup alone was divine! What enhanced this dish was the wine he served with it. There is a perception that no wine goes well with asparagus EXCEPT this little known wine from Austria: Grüner Veltliner. I had never heard of this wine variety (it’s NOT “varie-tal”) but it does pair perfectly with asparagus! K&L sells it for around $10 so that part is nice too!

Next was a totally decadent dish prepared by JP (also a guest blogger), Scallops with Uni Hollendaise and Salmon Roe. The photo does not do this dish justice! If you love uni (from sea urchins), you’ll love this dish because the sauce just shouts out fresh ocean flavors, silkened by the buttery hollandaise. He placed a small piece of the uni on top with a sprinkling of jeweled salmon roe. He then served it with 1996 AND 1990 Louis Latour Corton Charlemagnes (my favorite white burgundies!)….

In addition to the wines that people brought to go with their dishes, Jeffrey and Ellie graciously shared some of Mount Eden's wines with us: Mount Eden 2006 Chardonnay Estate, and Mount Eden 2002 Chardonnay Estate in magnum. We drank it all, of course!

We then had our main course which was Wild Duck Legs Confit. I provided the wild duck legs (which were very small!) I received from a hunter friend of ours and Jeffrey prepared them over two days. The leg was served over some chopped greens direct from Jeffrey and Ellie’s garden with a side of Rice and Lentils with Caramelized Onions, topped with crispy onions. The Rice and Lentil dish was from the cookbook, Zov, that our cookbook club used two years ago. With the wild duck we had a Caymus 1982 Pinot Noir Special Selection, Santa Cruz Mountains Vineyard 1982 Pinot Noir, and the Mount Eden 2002 Pinot Noir Estate in magnum. The older pinots were interesting, still had some flavor, and were of lower alcohol with the Caymus at 12.5.

We had a cheese plate that had an assortment of French, Italian and California cheeses (sorry, I can’t remember what they were called! If you remember, please add the info in the "comments" section below) served with 1990 Chateau Baron de Pichon-Longueville and 1990 Chateau Pichon Longueville, Comtesse De Lalande. What great pedigrees in cheeses and wines!

We than had the dessert that I described in a previous post. Orange Layer Cake with Orange Caramel Crème Cheese. I served it the Thomas Kellar’s Vanilla Ice Cream that I enhanced with orange zest…sort of a frozen crème anglaise. It was a hit with everyone but me...I just didn’t like the cake part of it. The dessert Bordeaux wine was a delicious Chateau Clos Haut-Peyraguey 2001 Sauterne


I think we have just raised the bar on our picnics!

I have included some photos of the members of the Friday Group because they are all so photogenic and everyone was so happy and full of fun on this "perfect-day-for-a-picnic" event!






If you'd like to see more photos (unedited) you can view them on Shutterfly. Just click on the word "Shutterfly." Shutterfly photos were taken by Einar.

Dining in the Wine Country

It’s been too long since I’ve written any posts to the blog. It’s not that I haven’t been cooking, or dining out…. I have been busy, honest! It started out innocently enough…we decided to paint our house. In the process of painting, termite damage was found, house was tented and fumigated, (we had to move out for 3 days) termite damage is being repaired, and you know how one thing leads to another? New paint cries out for a new front door…and then the fence in the breezeway doesn’t look good there anymore…and then we might as well replace our gutters since they are leaking…hmmm, now the brick doesn’t look good with the new door…

We have been dining out and returned to a restaurant in Windsor (near Healdsburg, CA) in Sonoma County, Mirepoix.

This meal was fabulous! It was reasonably priced and the chef’s menu was innovative, well prepared and served with grace and humor. We were there with Bill’s childhood friends from So Cal. The four of us had difficulty choosing which dishes to try. Not one dish was a disappointment and while some were more delicious than others, all of them made us want to return for another meal! The menu merely lists the ingredients for each dish so you have to ask your server to tell you how the ingredients are prepared OR just go for the gusto and be pleasantly surprised!

The restaurant is very small and has only 8 tables so make reservations! Because it’s small, the setting is intimate and we talked with other patrons at nearby tables…we compared what we all ordered and raved in unison. Four-course dinner (you choose what your 4 courses will be) is $55 and there is also a tasting menu for $80.

The photos were taken with our iphones so they aren’t of the "Willie" quality but enough to give you an idea of the beautiful presentations that Matthew Bousquet created. Here is a sampling of what we ordered:



Onion Tart, with Goat Cheese, Bull’s Blood Beets and Caramelized Balsamic sauce that was served deconstructed & deliciously!




Albacore, Fennel, Grapefruit, Arugula, Toast, Olive.





Scallop, Oyster, Cauliflower, Caviar, Chive, Crème Fraiche, Champagne Foam. (photo, right)







Black Cod, Frites, Tarragon, Cashew, Lemon, Celery.







Sweetbreads, Horseradish, Potato and Brussel Sprouts.






Foie Gras, Peach, Prosciutto, Hazelnut, Yogurt, Black Pepper.








Duck, Plum, Edamame, Peanut, Scallion.








Pork, Brown Butter, Mushroom, Lentils, Garlic. This was the dish that was over the top! The Brown Butter was prepared like a Hollandaise. And, of course, we had “over the top” wines out of Bill’s cellar that complimented each dish!

I don't have photos of the following dishes but let your imaginations soar because they were wonderful!
Risotto with Asparagus, Peas, Pistachios and Parmigianino Reggiano.
Beef Tongue, Tomato, Horseradish.

I also went to a potluck picnic with our Friday Wine Group at Mt. Eden Vineyards and decided to take Zov’s Rice and Lentil Pilaf with Caramelized Onions as a side dish to Jeffrey’s Duck Legs Confit. I had 10 left over wild duck legs and decided to share them with this group and Jeffrey offered to “confit” them.

For dessert, I made a 3-layer Orange Cake with Caramel Orange Cream Cheese Frosting and an Orange Crème Anglaise filling. IMO, it looked prettier than it tasted but everyone else raved about it. I didn’t like the cake and thought it was too dry. Others like the crumb texture. It did have caramelized orange syrup that I was to soak the cake in but I thought it might make it too sweet. The reviews of this recipe complained that the cake was too sweet so I cut back on the sugar in the cake and didn’t soak as much of the syrup as the recipe required. The filling and frosting, however, is a killer combination so I just need to find a more moist cake recipe.

I served it with Thomas Kellar’s Vanilla Ice Cream that I flavored with orange zest. It was a big hit too! Well, with 10 egg yolks, 2 cups of cream and 2 cups of whole milk, how can anyone miss?

I am now trying dishes out of the Zuni Café cookbook. Some of the recipes are as detailed as Kellar’s and some of them are so vague that each ingredient is “to taste.”
I did not buy the cookbook but checked it out of the library and do not plan to purchase it because there were very few recipes that I want to try. I think I know what I want to prepare for our dinner. I’m going to try it out this week so I’ll let you know if I liked it or not!

Bon Appétit!