While I am watching the 49ers beat the Seahawks (only 3rd
quarter so still a very close game!), I am savoring my memory of the buffet
hosted by the Kings. Go Niners! Go Cooks!!
We had several appetizers this year to enjoy with two
champagnes.
Most everyone chose a
recipe from Guy Crosby’s book and found that, although the dishes were very
basic, they provide great results. And, of course, our cooks enhanced the recipes when the results are too basic or bland.
Michelle decided that since she had some garbanzo beans in
the house, she’d make the Hummus
that I think she said she enhanced with a Moroccan spice, I think it was Zhatar
(?) and olive oil. It was smooth,
satiny and very delicious. Sharon
had made some as well but we didn’t try it since Michelle had already presented
hers. Sandy brought the Bacon, Scallion and Caramelized Onion Dip
served in endive leaves as well as a dip with crackers. I don’t normally like dips
but this one was so rich and full of caramelized onions that I looked up the
recipe when I got home and put a post-it tab on the page to bookmark it.
Bill and David provided the champagnes: the French champagne from Bill’s cellar
was very dry and went really well with the first two dishes. It was a 2005 Elisabeth Gourtorbe
Champagne Brut, Premier Cru. David
provided a California sparkling that I didn’t get to taste but everyone else
enjoyed the J Vineyards Sparkling Brut Rosé. It was that lovely pink that is always so festive as well!David prepared a Tomato & Mozzarella Tart that was layered with prosciutto and slivers of basil...very delish! It's one of those simple but delicious and great-presentation-type dishes that we all need to have in our repetoire of recipes. It also went well with our champagnes, as David and Bill planned!
We served the next two courses at the dining table set for
11, thanks to the innovative seating by the Kings. Annie made the
Slow-roasted Pork Shoulder with Cherry Sauce and the Fennel Apple Chutney. The recipe calls for the bone-in
pork shoulder and although it makes the carving a bit more difficult, it makes
the roast more flavorful.
Because the seasoning on the surface caramelizes, it’s easier to carve
the roast with an electric knife that makes easy work of it (once the bone is removed, that is). Annie was going to just bring the Fennel
Apple Chutney but it wasn’t very complex so she also made the Cherry sauce
that is also pretty basic but added a nice punch of sweetness to the
roast. I agree that the
chutney just didn’t come together enough to enhance the roast, even though the imagined combination sounded fabulous. The roast was roasted to perfection, still juicy and tender. 
I asked Janice to prepare
something green since we were eating a lot of savory dishes so she was kind
enough to make a Haricot Vert &
Sugar Snap Pea Salad that added some balance to our “pot luck” and was the
healthy side to the roast.
Sugar snap peas are so wonderful in salads, adding just that nice green
touch of sweetness to the salad that brings out the other flavors in the dish.
The roast was further enhance by a 2004 Rochioli Pinot Noir,
Little Hill, Russian River Valley
and a 2001 Grans-Fassian Trittenheimer Apotheke Riesling Spåtlese. The Pinot was chosen for the Cherry Sauce
and the Spåtlese for the Chutney.
They were both great picks for our main course. We always love Rochioli pinots and everyone raved about the Spåtlese!
I was afraid that we weren’t going to have any desserts so I
changed my choice over to a dessert and when Michelle gave me a choice between
two dishes (one savory and one sweet), I asked her to bring the Ultimate Chocolate Cupcakes with Ganache
Filling. The cupcakes were
decorated by her daughter and arranged in a Christmas Tree formation for our
dinner. They were very moist and
had enough frosting to satisfy any chocolate cravings.
Since everyone chose a recipe from Crosby’s book, I decided
to use a recipe from the French Laundry cookbook. I made the Strawberry
Sorbet Shortcake with Crème Fraîche. It was a pretty easy recipe.
Because strawberries aren’t really in season right now, although always
available, I added some strawberry balsamic vinegar to ramp up the strawberry
flavor of the sorbet and chopped strawberries. I was disappointed in the shortcake biscuits. They were very tender but I think I was
expecting more of biscuit but his recipe called for bead sized pieces of butter
in the dough so I decided to do exactly as directed but in the future I think
I’ll get a more flakier biscuit with larger dime or nickel sized butter flakes
in the dough (as Guy Crosby recommends!). The sorbet was
perfect and David helped me with the quenelles. Keller’s instructions called for quenelles made with a
single spoon and I tried to follow his instructions (and he that clearly said it takes
practice) but couldn’t get nicely egg shaped quenelles with just one
spoon. It was the
perfect dessert to end with because, being a Keller dish, it was eaten in one
or two bites! (note: the plate in photo is only 3" in diameter).
We also came up with a list of cookbooks for 2014. In honor of Judy Rodgers (Zuni Cafe, SF restaurant)
and Charlie Trotter (3 different cookbooks, his Chicago restaurant is no longer in business) who passed away this year, we’ll cook from their books as well from a new cookbook by our own local star chef, David Kinch, Manresa. Several others books to chose from will be Jerusalem
(Israeli and Arab recipes), SPQR (Modern Italian, SF restaurant)
and Boulevard (Nancy Oakes, SF Restaurant).
As you can tell from the long list of cookbooks, there will be some
changes to our cookbook club. I am
not going to coordinate the group any longer. It’s gotten more difficult and is not as much fun for
me. The group was given some
options: 1) disband 2) someone else coordinate or 3) rotate the
coordination. Here is what the
group decided:
- Our dinners will be every 3 months on the first Saturday of that month. So now you can mark your calendars for the future. Our first dinner will be Saturday, March 1, 2014 and the Kings have volunteered to host. (2014 dinner dates: March 1, June 7, Sept. 6 and Dec. 6)
- The host will be able to select which cookbook (listed above) we will all cook from for their dinner.
- We will continue to select cookbooks at our Holiday Buffet and/or edit the above list.
- Sharon will now be the e-mailer who will send you reminders and keep us on track in terms of RSVP and entrés.
- You will now be expected to send Sharon your entré choice at least 1 week prior to the dinner.
- Sandi will continue to create the menus once Sharon sends them to her
- Bill, David and Jeffrey will continue to provide wines from their cellars. Sharon will send them the list of courses a week ahead of time so they have time to dig into their cellars and to coordinate the wines between them.
- For the time being, Sandi will continue to write the posts for our blog but hopes that others will pitch in for future dinners. Sandi, Sandi W or Willy can post what is written onto the blog for you.
- Until Willie returns to the group, Sandi or Sandy will take photos of our dishes.
- We didn’t discuss field trips but anyone can decide to coordinate one.
An aside: I have agreed to write a chapter for a
book that is being written by two local women, Cindy Roberts and Elizabeth Softky. Our chapter will be on cookbook
clubs. Sharon has committed to write a few paragraphs about her own
experience. I invite you to write
a paragraph or story about your own experience with the club and I will
incorporate it into our chapter.
You will get to review it before I submit it and as it gets edited by
the book’s editors. Please
let me know if you are willing to write something. I will submit our first draft by the end of January. It’s due to be completed by the end of
November, 2014.
We exchanged our kitchen gifts and found some innovative
gadgets and devices to share.
There is a new crowing rooster to keep our mascot company too…although
it may not return to get shared in the future.
A fun evening with a great group of cooks and friends! Thank you for 8 years of cooking and
growing!
Cook on!
Sandi
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