Has it really been 9 years?

As we began our annual Holiday Buffet, we talked about the 9 years we’ve been cooking together and how amazing it is that we are still doing it and how much we’ve learned!  We started with a pot luck dinner on March 10, 2006, brought a dish that we were most known for and proceeded to cook our way through Cindy Pawlcyn, Ina Garten, Jose Andrés, Jacque Pepín, Julia Child, Thomas Keller, Daniel Boulud, Jean Georges Vongerichten, David Kinch, Judy Rodgers and Joachim Ottolenghi, to name just a few that come to mind.

Our buffet changed course a little from past traditions and this year we cooked from any of book we’ve used in the past 9 years.  Several of us cooked from the three books from 2014 but we had tastes of Pawlcyn, and Olney as well.  As you can see from the menu, the appetizer/dessert format works well for our Annual Buffet.  We are all so versatile now that we fill in dishes where needed and always have a balanced dinner . . . although it would be fun to do an all dessert event!

 

Sharon’s Gougeres were a far cry from the traditional cheese gougéres that we’ve had in the past.   Hers were packed with crispy bacon, arugula and pickled onions.  It was a better alternative for a buffet.  I always think of the cheese gougéres as more of an amuse bouche.   I’ve been thinking about altering the recipe someday and use bulgogi style bacon with arugula and kim chee.

The Hardboiled Eggs with Olive Tapenade George prepared was a lesson is simplicity…easy to make and easy to eat!  I was expecting more of a deviled egg kind of dish but this was simply a hardboiled egg, cut in half and topped with an olive tapenade.  This is a good recipe to remember if you ever have to make something quickly from things you have in your refrigerator or pantry that results in a neat bite!   

David’s Onion Tart was one that I had marked in my Zuni cookbook to try sometime and even thought about making for our buffet.  The rough pastry crust was the highlight of this dish . . . it was flakey, light and baked to perfection…no soggy parts here!  The cherry tomatoes were a nice surprise from the usual onion tarts we’ve had in the past.  David made it even easier on himself by using a rough pastry that he’d made in the past and had in his freezer.  Another item to have in the freezer when a quick appetizer is needed.  

All of these dishes went well with the magnum of nv Piper-Heidsieck  Champagne that Bill brought to whet our taste buds as we waited for everyone to arrive, as well as drink with our savory dishes.  We also started opening other bottles that David shared from his cellar:  2011 Domaine Saumaize Michele La Roche Macon-Vergisson white Burgundy and a 2012 Savigny-les-Beaune 1er Cru Les Narbantons red Burgundy.  Bill opened another bottle in case anyone wanted a California red wine, 2008 The Sum (primarily cabernet sauvignon), from Tuck Beckstoffer Wines in Oakville.  For our buffets we don’t pair wines but bring an assortment that will go with a variety of dishes.  Between the cellars in our group, we never go thirsty!

Michelle made a Roasted Cauliflower and Hazelnut Salad after she noticed that no one was preparing a vegetable dish.  A great example of how we create a balanced menu!  It was the perfect salad for the mock porchetta sandwiches.  It was a hearty salad filled with roasted cauliflower that had been chopped up into small bites with Italian parsley, roasted hazelnuts, accented with pomegranate seeds and just a hint of sweetness from the maple syrup that was added to the sherry vinegar.  Good pick, Michelle!

The Mock Porchetta was the highlight of the buffet.  These roasts were rolled with the herbs and seasonings of a real porchetta.  The reason it’s called a “mock” porchetta is because it is not the whole pig but shoulder roasts that are rolled and tied into a roll with the seasonings sprinkled inside.  Annie said she doubled the seasonings and it’s a good tip to remember if you make this roast because the flavors were reminiscent of the porchetta sandwiches Bill & I have had in Italy.  She often serves it with polenta instead of inside sandwiches.  I’ve tried this recipe and it never disappoints.  Note:  Annie said there are some Roti Roli’s that prepare mock porchetta,(none in South Bay area---go to SF Ferry Blg., Thurs. & Sat.).

The Latke’s I made were a disaster in my kitchen.   I just could not get them to stick together following the recipe so I finally added an egg yolk to the 5 egg whites that the recipe called for and they finally clumped.  I divided my shredded potatoes with parsnips into two batches.  The first batch ended up in my kitchen scrap recycle bin…sad.  But I nibbled on the pieces of the savory latke’s before dumping them into the bin and, boy, were they yummy!  These latkes had Yukon Gold potatoes, parsnips and 4 bunches of chopped chives and were so crispy, savory and divine, I was disappointed not to be able to share them.  I’m thinking of a larger grate next time and adding 1-2 whole eggs to 3-4 egg whites to see how they come out.   The second batch was sans chives and salt and closer to a regular latke even though they did still have the parsnips.  Because I added the egg yolk to this batch, a few made it to the table, served with salmon roe, sour cream, apple sauce & casting sugar.   David said that they are never served with salmon roe on Jewish tables; smoked salmon but not salmon roe BUT, I liked the roe with them!

We had our usual break between savory and sweet and opened our white elephant gifts, which were hilariously similar this year.  There were a few fights but everyone ended up with pretty nice gifts.  A few of them were homemade goodies and others either followed the crowing coq theme and two of them were splatter screens!  There must have been a lot of frying going on this year.

We also selected our books for next year so mark your calendars.   On March 7, Bill & I will host the dinner and we’ll be cooking from any of Charlie Trotters books (David & Michelle have 4 of them and have offered to lend them out) and I am sure your local library has them as well.  And, many of his recipes are online.  On June 6, we are cooking from David Lebovitz’ My Paris Kitchen, and doing a bit of traveling to Brentwood, CA to dine at Sandi & Willie’s home.  Please note:  it will be a brunch so we won’t have to drive home after dark.  Details to follow.  The third dinner will be on September 5 and will either be at Janis’ or Sharon/Sukie’s home and they haven’t decided on a book yet.  Tartine Bakery’s book has been mentioned but they will let us know what they've decided at our June 6 brunch.  Our annual buffet will be again on December 12, at Annie & George’s.

After our business was concluded, we had two main dessert dishes.  Janis surprised us (because she usually makes a salad or vegetable dish) with a Walnut Gateau from Richard Olney that I loved!  I didn’t hear any complaints from anyone else either.  It was iced with crème fraiche, dotted with whole walnuts.  The recipe called for just a “dollop” of crème fraiche but she decided to spread it over the top.   The gateau was moist, not too sweet and filled with chopped walnuts, my favorite nut!    We were offered a choice of a 1983 Van Zellers Port for the Walnut Gateau or a 1999 Chateau Rieussec Sauternes with Mixed Berry Pavlova from the Barefoot Contessa.  The meringue suffered from the high humidity of the stormy weather we’ve been having but the pavlova was heavenly!  What’s not to like about whipped cream, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries and a sweetened meringue?  We continued with our catch-up chats while savoring our dinner and sipping on the Sauternes.

I made some ChocolateSandwich Cookies with Peppermint Buttercream Cookies and although they weren’t from any cookbook we’ve had, I felt so bad about my failed Latke’s I brought them to share.  I love them and they are easy to make.  If you click on the cookie name, it will take you to the recipe that I used.

Before we left for home, Michelle offered everyone a handful of Manresa’s Salted Caramels and Sandi gave everyone a decorated frosted Chocolate Star Cookie.  As we drove home, I am sure we all savored our meal and the friendships we’ve developed over the last 9 years. 

People who cook together, stay together!

Cook on!

JERUSALEM: A COOKBOOK by Yotam Ottolenghi & Sami Tamimi

Maybe world peace can happen if an Israeli and Palestinian can bring a wonderful cookbook to us!   Our dinner, hosted by Sharon and Suki, was an adventure in new spices, combinations, ingredients and tastes.

No one volunteered to make an appetizer so Sharon, being a gracious host, decided to fill in some gaps in the menu and made homemade Hummus that I really loved.  TBH, I’ve never eaten freshly made hummus and thought it was supposed to taste like the kind I’ve purchased at gourmet grocery stores, that I’ve never liked!  Sharon said it is so simple to make that she never eats store-bought hummus.   She just soaks the chickpeas overnight and then boils and purees them, add some tahini, lemon juice, garlic, a little cumin and water.  Drizzle some olive oil over it and serve.  Voila!  Creamy, super smooth hummus!

She also made some Labneh that uses 3 different types of yogurt:  goat, cow and sheep yogurt that was wonderful as well.   She served these two creamy appetizers with spicy pita chips and sliced flatbread.   She served two condiments on the side.  Pickled Lemons that only take a week to make vs the months it takes to make salted lemons and it had a very different taste…not salty and, actually not vinegary either.  It’s hard to describe what it tastes like other than lemony, tart goodness!   The other side was a collection of nuts and seeds and spices….crunchy, spicy, addictive collection that we could sprinkle on anything to add a punch to the dish.  Bill selected a bottle of Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin nv Champagne  Brut  from France for us to drink while waiting for everyone to arrive and to go with the appetizers.   Jeffrey offered a magnum from his cellar as a general contribution and we had some of his 10-year old Mount Eden Vineyards Estate Chardonnay, aged to a wonderful golden color, to go with Sharon’s hummus and Labneh.

 

I must add here that Sharon also made two dishes that we did not have on the menu but could take home to try later.  Roasted Butternut Squash and Red Onion with Tahini and Za’atar and an Herb Pie.   This woman was cooking up a storm for several days!!   The squash dish was very simple and complex at the same time, I think because of the Za’atar spice.  We experimented with Za’atar and Sumac a lot with this cookbook.  Two spices that I don’t normally use.   Her Herb Pie used filo pastry for the crust and was filled with  mint, dill, parsley, arugula, celery, onion, swiss chard, green onions, cheddar, and feta and other than S&P, no additional spices!   A tasty and very pretty presentation.  Thank you, Sharon!

Our first course for the evening was an Arab dish called Na’Ama’s Fattoush that Sandi made that, as you can see from the photograph, is a plateful of radishes, cucumbers, mint, parsley, tomatoes, garlic, yogurt and lemon juice, mixed with torn  flatbread or naan.  It was a very tart and creamy salad that was a wonderful mixture of textures and very memorable.  The recipe said to wait 10 min. before serving but Sandi thought that the naan would dissolve after 10 minute so she served it within minutes of being added to the salad.   It was very soft but still kept it’s shape so I think she made a good call.  Another good call was the Sauvignon Blanc from the 2005 Murrieta's Well Vineyard of the Tesoros Winery in Livermore.  This was a very dry Sauvignon Blanc that complemented the tartness of the salad.

We then moved to a seafood dish that Jeffrey prepared.  Prawns, Scallops and Clams with Tomato and Feta.  The tomato was very subtle in this dish.  From just looking at the title of the dish, I thought it was going to be a very tomato-y sauce but it just has a few pieces of diced tomatoes floating in watery broth that allowed the delicate seafood flavors to shine through.  What we all noticed about this cookbook’s recipes is that they are all pretty easy to prepare, once the spices were purchased.  It is a collection of home-cooking recipes that they remember from their childhoods or have embellished with new ingredients or flavors.   Our Eveready Cook, Sharon, prepared a simple couscous to go with the dish so we could soak up the leftover juices on our plates. . . slurp!   Bill selected a Domaine de la Madone  2009  Beaujolais  Jean Bererd  from France to go with this dish.  I think it was a wonderful Beaujolais that was both fruity and dry.   Some people continued to drink the Mount Eden Vineyards Chardonnay that also went well with the shellfish.

Janis, our supreme salad and vegetable queen, made Spinach Salad.  Now, to see the title of this dish, you could imagine a very simple salad that we’ve all seen at potluck lunches.  NOT so!  This Spinach Salad had chopped dates, our intrepid spice--Sumac, red onions, torn pita bread, unsalted almonds and chili flakes.   Oh yes, and spinach!   It used a very simple dressing of red wine vinegar, lemon juice, butter and olive oil, but the combination of ingredients created a very sublime salad  that had tart, sweet, earthy, crunchy, and leafy tastes and textures.  I don’t know how she does it but she always chooses the right salad or vegetable dish that just knocks my socks off!   What also made this dish “over the top” was the Sori' Del Re  2007  Moscato D'Asti  Degiorgis Sergio from Italy that Bill served from his cellar.  Who would have guessed that a Moscato would be the perfect wine for spinach salad but it was absolutely the best pairing for the course.

I made the Mejadra dish that Sandy P was going to bring.  I thought it was going to be very similar to a rice and lentil with caramelized onions dish that we made from the Zov cookbook, one of our very early cookbooks from 8 years ago.   This Mejadra was very, very spicy and I think, had too many lentils in ratio to the rice.  It also came out very dry.   It could be that I made it on Friday and reheated it for our dinner because I spent the day at Stanford tailgating and watched us lose to USC (boo-o-o!) and just barely made it to our dinner.   I added water to the dish before nuking it to warm it up but it didn’t help with the dryness so it maybe that if I make this again, I’ll add more water to the dish initially.   It was too spicy for me and I actually prefer the Zov version that is simpler and allows the tastes of the rice, lentil and caramelized onions show through.  This dish fries the onions before adding it to the rice.  I may have also over-fried the onions too so how it turned out could have been “operator error.”

I also prepared the Clementine Chicken with Arak.  I loved this dish when I first made it and knew that it was the one I wanted to share with my fellow cooks.  I did learn from my first attempt to double the marinade because I didn’t think there was enough sauce and I think that made the dish even more delicious.  Another simple dish that just requires chicken, Clementine oranges, fennel, thyme and fennel seeds.  It also used grainy mustard, orange & lemon juice for the marinade/sauce.  All are ingredients in most pantries.  I used Pernod instead of Arak since it only called for a few tablespoons of it and I didn’t want to buy a whole bottle just for a few tablespoons.  I could have also used Ouzo but Pernod was in our liquor cabinet.  I hope everyone enjoyed this dish as much as I did.   I made a simple Basmati Rice dish to complement the chicken.  The orange/fennel combination was a surprise and my tastebuds just exploded when I tasted it.   We enjoyed a Merry Edwards  2004  Pinot Noir Klopp Ranch in the Russian River Valley of  Sonoma County.   All in all, this was probably one of our most difficult dinners to pair wine with and Bill did tons of online research to determine what wines might go best with the various spices and tastes.  We all agreed that he did a yeoman’s job!!  Thank you, Bill, for your generosity and knowledgeable selections.

We were all pretty full at this point so the two dishes that Sharon was thinking of serving (the squash and herb pie) went into take-home containers. 

Our two desserts were also made by Sharon and were actually her original choices for the dinner.   She made a Clementine Almond Cake and Spice Cookies.   Her cake was made using ground almonds, and sweetened with simple syrup flavored with Clementine zest and juice is poured over the cake while still warm so it soaks up the syrup that not only moistens the cake but adds another layer of citrusy flavor to it.   Bill ingeniously selected a very old Sutter Home NV Triple Crème Aperitif wine from the 1970’s to go with both this cake and the Spice Cookies.   What a spectacular pairing for the desserts.  The Triple Crème enhanced the citrus tones of the cake and stood up to the spicy cookies.   The cookies were to be topped with candied fruits and a sugar glaze but Sharon couldn’t find any candied fruits that are typically only available during the holidays so she topped the cookies with candied ginger.  Very clever substitution, Sharon!

I think we all staggered home from this meal, fully sated and filled with wonderful memories of yet another feast prepared by a group of gourmet cooks!

Our next event, our 9^th Annual Holiday Buffet, will be held at Annie & George’s home on Saturday, December 13.   Please mark your calendars!  Time TBA so stay tuned!

Cook on!

Honoring Judy Rodgers

Because Judy passed away last year, Janis chose her Zuni Café Cookbook for our June dinner.  It was the best way to honor this pioneer of fresh California cooking.   We haven’t eaten at Zuni in many years but this dinner made us want more so a visit to the city may be in the making!

Sandi & Willie had a family funeral to attend so we weren’t able to enjoy her assorted Crostini’s, their wonderful company or Willie's professional photography of our dishes.  Bill stepped up to the plate to be the evening’s photographer as well as our Cellarmaster.

We had originally thought that Michelle and David were going to be an hour late so although the menu started off with no appetizers, I decided that we needed something to nosh on while waiting for the Kings.   I happened to have all the ingredients for this dish so, voila!   Rosemary-Grilled Chicken Livers & Bacon with Balsamic-Onion Marmalade Toasts.  Since this was the beginning of a big dinner, I only made two toasts per person AND, I wasn’t sure if some people would like chicken livers.  This recipe turned out to be the big surprise to me and several others, some of whom don’t especially like chicken livers.    The bacon wrapped livers are skewered on rosemary stems and then served on an onion marmalade covered grilled baguette slices were reminiscent of savory, sweet, smoky and totally yummy.   It’s a recipe I will make again!  Bill chose a 2012 Mount Eden Vineyards Cabernet Franc Rosé, Santa Cruz Mountains  to go with the chicken livers.  David thought it had Brettanomyces, a wine spoilage yeast, but I didn’t detect it.  I’ve had Jeffrey’s Rosé’s before and this one was more lean that the ones I’ve had in the past.

BTW, David and Michelle arrived on time so we started at 6 p.m. as planned.

Because of the Brett, David poured his 2012 Domaine Huet Vouvray LeMont Sec, Loire, France that was a wonderful wine for a warm afternoon.  It didn’t necessarily go with the chicken livers but it certainly had no Brett!

This dinner was also special because I had invited the editor of an upcoming book that is an anthology of writings related to home cooking.   Elizabeth is a delightful woman with a very charismatic personality who explained that this anthology is about home cooking that includes community, health, cost efficiency and family.  She invited everyone to write a chapter or contribute to the Cookbook Club chapter with a paragraph about your “story:” your misadventures, values, enjoyment, cooking experiences during the past 8 years.   We wanted she and Cindy Roberts, the anthology editor, to experience the club and see first-hand how it works as well as communicate their invitation to write for the book.

Our first course was Mixed Lettuces with Roasted Cherries.  Janis had to hand pick the cherries at a famer’s market to find good Bings.  It’s not a good cherry year because we had such a warm winter and they need a good freeze to create a plentiful, juicy crop.  She thought the salad dressing needed some umami because it was somewhat bland.  The dressing had a few drops of grappa (that I was able to provide for her) but it probably would taste better if she had used kirsch, but neither of us had any of that.  Next time!   It was a beautifully arranged salad, finished with some lovely warmed Saint-Marcellin cheese and roasted hazelnuts.  Because of the cherry flavors Bill chose a 2011 Plumed Blanc, Testarossa Winery, a gift from the Plumed Horse restaurant in Saratoga.   This was a fruity sauvignon blanc that many of us really liked.  Testarossa is a local winery that has produced some very nice wines throughout the years, on and off.

Zuni Café is known for Judy’s Roasted Chicken and Bread Salad so we couldn’t have a dinner in her honor without this special dish.  Judy’s Roast Chicken is the way many people roast their chickens after she shared her recipe.  It takes 3 days to prepare the chicken for roasting so plan ahead.   The trick is to not cover the chicken so the skin dries out and creates a crispy skin when roasted.  David stepped up to the plate to treat us to this iconic dish and the chicken was moist and tender, as expected.  Because it wasn’t served right out of the oven, we lost the crispy skin but it was a wonderful dish that brought up fond memories of her restaurant.  To enhance this evening, even though he couldn’t make the dinner, Jeffrey sent a 2009 Zuni Pinot Noir, Mount Eden Vineyards, Santa Cruz Mountains to the dinner.  He makes wine for the Zuni Café’s label and is the restaurant’s most popular wine.  We all understand and know why!  Thank you Jeffrey!!

 

The next dish was a combination of dishes from Annie and George and myself.

Annie volunteered to make the Roasted Polenta triangles upon which my

Roasted Quail with Bay Leaves, Madeira & Dates sat along the sides of Creamed Corn and Sugar Snap Boats.   Judy recommends roasting the quail whole and letting diners pick through the bones but it’s such a small bird that it seems like too much work for so little meat, so I partially de-boned the bird just leaving the legs and breast cartilage.   The quail sauce, made from roasting the back bones, wings and two whole quails, creating a reduced stock, adding Madeira to it to make a lusciously thick and silky sauce that makes this dish outstanding. . . .to which I added 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter that the recipe did not call for but really made the sauce over the top, following Julia Child’s adage that one cannot have too much butter!  I only served one quail per person since this dinner had three desserts on the way.  The wine Bill chose to complement all four dishes was a 1998 Côte Rôtie Red Rhone Brune Et Blonde E. Guigal, France.   It definitely did exactly that.  It was a lovely rhone that paired with each of the dishes, standing up to the rich sauce of the quail while not overpowering the corn or the sugar snap peas.

Everyone crowed about the Creamed Corn that did not resemble the mushy Del Monte canned creamed corn that we grew up on.   The scraped corn kernels were whole and simply enhanced with butter and a little marscapone.  So simple and so fresh and, um, creamy!  The Sugar Snap Boats were also very simply sautéed in butter enhanced with fresh herbs and the perfect accompaniment to the quail by adding the sweet, crunchy announcement of spring to our main entré.

Following the belief that there is never enough desserts, this dinner had three of them to offer our taste buds.  We started with the lightest of them and enjoyed Sandy’s Toasted Almond Panna Cotta with Saba while Elizabeth talked to us about her project.  The almond flavor is very light and we all asked Sandy how she achieved that.  It is toasted chopped almonds that is steeped in milk and cream.  The saba was the crowning touch to this dessert.  Saba is a syrupy balsamic vinegar that was a surprising contrast to the panna cotta.  The detail of this dish was the sugar frosted raspberries that she must have frosted before she placed them in the dishes.  The original recipe calls for unmolded ramikins but it is more work than it’s worth so Sandy chose to serve hers in these beautiful dishes, placed on unique hand painted saucers.   A portrait of delicious.  Bill selected a 1998 Chateau Rieussec Sauternes, France to serve with the panna cotta and the next dessert, the Apricot Crostata.  What is there not to like about a sauterne?  Especially a Rieussec!  I just love this chateau’s wines, one of my favorites because it’s not an overly sweet cloying sauternes like many others.

Our next dessert was an Apricot Crostata  that Annie made.  The difficult part of this dessert is the crust that Annie discovered to be the only way she can successfully make a pie crust.  She, like I, find making pie crusts very difficult.   This one is basically a rough pastry that bakes into flakey, buttery goodness that was tough to resist.  She tasted all the apricots at the Farmers Market before choosing these for her dessert.  That is the level of cooking that this group is known for. . . . knowing that the best entré starts out with the best ingredients and shopping around until we find it.   It’s like David’s Tartine Bakery Bread that he used for his Roast Chicken and Bread Salad.   He drove to San Francisco to get the bread because it is the best batard around!  This crostada was baked long enough to for the crust to become flakey while the apricots still retained their shape and fresh flavors.  The sauternes really worked well with Annie’s apricots and buttery crust.

And, finally, we come to our last dessert served in pots de crème pots…so very special!   Michelle wanted to make the Chocolate Pots de Crème  so she could use her little pots and it was worth the wait to spoon up this unctuous pudding/mousse.  She used 72% cacao chocolate for this dessert and, as a result, created a small pot of creamy, chocolate dream that was the perfect finish to our dinner, complete with a 1927 Alvear Pedro Ximenez Solera Sherry, from David’s cellar.   No, that is not a typo.  This sherry is made from a sherry that originated in 1927, using the solera process that adds younger wines to the aged sherry each year.

To top off the evening, Bill offered anyone a taste of a Avery of Bristol NV Madiera  that he had to open because I needed it for my quail dish.  He’s been cellaring this bottle since 1970!!  He talked about, in the past, how Madeira was used as ballasts in ships traveling to and from India.  This fortified wine is also made using the solera process.

Another memorable dinner and Judy Rodgers would be proud of us!   A toast to a grand dame of the kitchen.

Our next dinner is on September 6, 2014.  Sharon will be the host and use Sukie’s home in the Bay Area since we can’t get anyone to drive up to her home in Penn Valley!   

The next cookbook is Jerusalem: A Cookbook by Yotam Ottolengh, about $20 from Amazon or $16 on Kindle.   There are also several copies in the Santa Clara Library.   Switch culinary countries and start exploring the Middle Eastern cuisines in this cookbook!

Cook on!

Fine Dining in Japan

Konichiwa!   

We have just returned from our Japan tour and I just have to share some of our culinary adventures with you.   We ate everything from Japanese street food like takoyaki, a delicious small eggy ball with a piece of octopus in it (you can get it locally from Nijiya Market, freshly made or frozen) served with a sauce, different kinds of noodles, all kinds of sweets (like “Manju,” a rice flour with sweet bean paste and  sweet or savory “sen bei” a crispy rice cakes of all sizes and shapes), yakitori, yakinori, etc. to a $180 pp Kaiseki dinner in Kyoto.

The photos are from our kaiseki dinner at the Kikunoi restaurant in the Roan district of Kyoto.   We met with executive chef who was very accommodating and spoke English, to our relief!  And, they gave us an English version of the menu, printed in rice paper, of course.  Some kaiseki dinners require that you know someone who has an “in” with the restaurant in order to get a reservation.   Our tour company made the reservations for us.  The dress is surprisingly pretty casual, considering how formal the Japanese are (they still all wear suits & ties to work).  This dinner had 16 courses that were split into sections.   Kaiseki dinners serve their courses by the way they are prepared so this dinner had Hassuu (appetizers), Sashimi, Soup, Grilled, Fresh, Fried, Rice and Dessert.  Rice in Japan is not always a  side dish but course by itself and generally served last, just before the dessert.  Each table has it’s own chef who prepares each course.

Because the attention to detail is to the nth degree, I tried to take photos of the presentation and dishes, bowls, etc. because it was half of the pleasure of dining.

The amuse bouche was a small crystal bowl of “Sake with the fragrance of Iris leaf.“  If you look closely at the photo you can see the symbol of the restaurant etched into the crystal.  The napkins also had this symbol printed on them and were given to us as a gift when we left the restaurant

We ordered a bottle of the restaurant’s cold sake, a dry sake that had herbal notes that we all enjoyed.  We ordered sake at several restaurants and lounges to do our own tastings and found them very palatable and amazingly as different as chardonnays are in California.  This was one of our favorites.  I took a photo of the sake carafe that had been frozen before the sake was added and stayed cold throughout the dinner.  It was made of very heavy metal that was able to maintain the cold temperatures.  I was very enchanted with it’s shape as well as it’s function.   Had I thought of it at the time, I should have checked to see if I could buy one from them. . . darn!

We were first presented with my favorite dish of the evening, an amuse bouche of  “Chinese yam jelly, sea urchin, Shiso flower, light soy sauce gel with Wasabi”.     The square of  jelly was infused with minced “nagaimo,” a crispy, crunchy yam that is rinsed several times to eliminate the slime before it is added to the jelly.  It was topped with Uni (sea urchin) and then bathed in a light soy sauced infused with wasabi.  What an unimaginable combination of crispy, creamy, salty, spicy, light and rich flavors topped with the unforgettable taste of a shiso flower.  Very umami!

The next dish was a wooden box, topped with a live iris, reflecting the theme of the evening.   Once the lid was removed, we were presented with an array of a  Aburame (Greenling, a fish) marinated in rice vinegar, Chimaki-Sushi, ginger wrapped eel in Kanpyo (dried gourd shavings), Tai (red sea bream fish) roe cake, Edamame (green soybeans), Japanese Taro with fermented soy beans, salted Tai (sea bream) and Hana-Sansho (Japanese pepper flowers).   Better than a box of chocolates!  You never know what you are going to get.   And so beautifully presented, don’t you think?

ppetizers:

Then comes our sushi course of Tai (Red sea bream), Shimaazi (yellow Jack fish), yellow leek, Udo (very nutritious omega 3 fish oil) and carrot, wasabi and Bonito (fish from tuna family), with ponzu (citrus based sauce) gel.  They were too generous with their servings because we were starting to get full and we had 14 entre’s to go.

Onto our soup course of Guji (tilefish), a thin egg omelet, Cha-soba (green tea noodles) in a Tsuyu (a stock made of bonito flakes, soy and mirin, a flavored sake) served with Matcha  (tea made from freshly ground tea leaves ground into a powder).  Again, served in beautiful bowls and artfully arranged.

The “Grill” course was two dishes.  We had a choice of either Ayu, Tade-zu (a water pepper vinegar sauce) or a Miso-marinated flatfish with sweet pepper.  I chose the flatfish that was grilled from a ceramic grill set on our table.   I was told to eat the whole fish.  It looked fearsome but it was such a small fish and so crispy and very delicious.   Bill and my cousin ordered the Ayu, a fresh water small fish, marinated in the water pepper vinegar, served in beautiful antique hand-painted dishes.  

After we ate our grilled fish, we were served a tiny, tiny, tiny eggplant.  It was the size of the end of your thumb!!   Very cute but besides that, very savory, vinegary with just  taste of sweet.
 

Our salad course composed of two dishes.  The first one was my next favorite dish of Junsai (water shield, a member of the water lily family), cucumber and Umeboshi (a pickled plum).   Served in a lidded bowl that belied what it contained.  Imagine our surprise when we removed the lid!   I’ve never eaten a junsai before…it’s sort of a green crunchy root surrounded by a gel that it creates to protect it.If you google “junsai water shield” you’ll see photos of it.   Very fascinating ingredient! 

The second part of our salad course was very strange and none of us liked it that much.  It was a tofu dish with the milt of the tai fish (milt is the seminal fluid of fish…think sperm), broad beans, wheat gluten and Myouga, (a Japanese ginger that is a cross between fresh ginger shoots and a mild pickling onion, but without any strong onion-y flavor. They look like slender shallots not like the ginger root that we are used to). . . so-o-o, moving on to our next course which is “Fried.”

We ate fried Abalone with rice cracker, bamboo shoot, sweet pepper with a sauce made from the liver of the abalone.   The abalone was rather tough, which really surprised us since we’ve eaten very tender abalone from Manresa as well as other restaurants.   But since we were getting pretty full by now, it was a good excuse to skip a course.   Again, served very artfully and tantalizing which added to our disappointment.

Our last savory course was a steamed rice made with grilled Tai, napa cabbage, and assorted Japanese pickles.   It was made just for our table as you can see from the photo of our private chef with it.  This rice was absolutely delicious!  The Tai fish pieces along with the cabbage and pickles was fabulous combination of tastes, textures and umami.   The sad part was that we were so full by this time, that we could only eat a few bites and wish that we could create space for it in our tummies.

Sigh, so many great dishes and so little space in our bodies. . .

We finally come to our dessert choices:  either a Champagne sorbet with pineapple and aloe that Bill and my cousin ordered, because they had no more space to eat another bite so I had to sacrifice myself and order the Strawberries with strawberry sauce and milk ice cream.   Both entre’s were refreshing and the perfect ending to a memorable Japanese meal.  

If you have a chance to travel to Japan, save your quarters and try to make a reservation at a Kaiseki restaurant.  They usually have price range choices from $100-200 (including tax and tip) and are found in major cities, like Tokyo, Kyoto, Hiroshima or Osaka.  Each region of Japan serves similar dishes in different ways but you are sure to have a wonderful meal!

But for cheaper, fun AND delicious fare, go to the Nishiki Market in Kyoto.  It is a 3-block long, covered market filled with tiny stalls that sell different foods, desserts and gifts.  I even found tofu donuts!!  And, if you are looking for a great Japanese knife or knives, look for the knife stall…whoa!   Great knives that are made right there.  I wish we had such a place here.  There was a man who was sharpening knives on a whetstone wheel; made me wish I had brought some knives for him but he only sharpens soft steel knives, not stainless steel.   In Osaka, there is a food district that sells street food as well as restaurants too.

Where have you been traveling for food?  Sharon, send us a post from Paris with photos!

See most of you in June for our Zuni Café, Judy Rodgers, dinner!

Sayonara!

Sandi