My Paris Kitchen

Cooking from David Lebovitz’s  delightful cookbook, My Paris Kitchen, was only one of the joys;  it was well-written and the stories of his Parisian culinary adventures were nostalgic for several of our members who lived in Paris.  Lebovitz recalled experiences and adventures in the kitchen that we’ve all had, albeit, not always in Paris!

We opted for a brunch this time for our Parisian meal because of the drive to Brentwood.  It was actually closer that we had anticipated and for most of us a 1 hour, 15 minute drive.   Brentwood is home to many farms, most notably corn.  Brentwood corn is one of the best, often available in grocery stores as well as Farmer’s Markets.   It is easy to see why because of the sun and high heat that this part of our state enjoys.

We entered Sandi & Willie’s home on the notes of a beautiful grand piano, created by a re-engineered, computerized piano that will play music as if performed by a specific artist…all controlled by their computer!  Listen to Gershwin playing Gershwin.  How cool is that!

We started with two appetizers that David S. prepared that he said was extremely simple to make (I’m going to test that theory!).   The first was a Sardine Paté that was created using canned sardines, cream cheese, butter and some heat (maybe cayenne?).  Annie thought the canned sardines brought a more intense flavor that fresh sardines would but David’s going to try it with fresh sardines, which is what Lebovitz recommends.   I’m glad he prepared it for us because it was one of the recipes I had flagged to try.  It was delicious and not at all “fishy” like one would have thought.   The cream cheese softened the flavors.   

His second appetizer was a Green Olive, Basil and Almond Tapenade.  I would not have chosen to try this recipe thinking that green olives are so salty but after tasting it, this dish is one that I will have to try. Gebruder Simon 2010 Riesling Brut Sekt, Mosel, Germany.   I don’t think we’ve had a German sparkling wine before.  I liked it and thought it brought nice fruit to the two savory appetizers.  It was a bright, light and rich tapenade that had a crunch from the almonds but a lovely combination of tastes from the green olives, basil, capers with a hint of garlic and lemon.  I kept going back to it each time I passed by the bowl.   Bill selected an interesting sparkling wine to go with the two appetizers;

Our next appetizer was plated after we sat down for our Sunday feast.  Sandi W. made the Merguez Meatballs with Sriracha Mayonnaise.   These lamb meatballs used harissa for the heat and, obviously, sriracha for the heat in the mayo.  Sandi mentioned that she ground fresh spices herself for the meatballs and there were a lot of them:  fennel, coriander, cumin, garlic, cinnamon, allspice, and sumac.  She was worried that they had been overcooked but we all thought it was wonderful.  She also served a yogurt sauce with it to cool the heat from the meatballs and mayo.  It was perfectly paired with a wine from our own cookbook club cellar that Bill selected for us to enjoy.  We had a field trip several years ago and visited Quivera who boasts a biodynamic garden and several vineyards.  We had dinner in their wine cellar surrounded by huge barrels, emiting that wonderful aroma of aging wine.  As part of our agreement with the winery, we purchased a case of wine, some of which we had with our dinner there but the rest, has been carefully aging in our cellar.  This afternoon we enjoyed a 2000 Quivera Zinfandel, from the Anderson Valley, Dry Creek Valley area in Sonoma.  The zinfandel was fruity and perfectly balanced after aging for 15 years.  It also stood up to the spiciness of the meatballs and sriracha mayonnaise.  Well done, Bill!

I prepared the next dish that I chose because it seemed so very “French” to me.  The Leeks with Mustard-Bacon Vinaigrette was a very simple recipe that combines steamed and cooled leeks with a vinaigrette that was punctuated with Dijon mustard, bacon and parsley while softened with chopped hardboiled eggs.  The hardest part of this recipe was finding small leeks and getting them to cook to right “doneness.”   I noticed that some of the larger leeks were soft and sweet while the smaller ones were tougher.  I now think that larger leeks might be the better choice.  We all noted that Lebovitz’s recipes were simple, easy and produce results that successful.  This afternoon meal confirmed it!   Simple and delicious…what more can a cook ask for?!   While not many wines work well with vinaigrettes or mustard, I think that Bill’s choice for this dish worked.  The Sutter Home, nv, Gewürtztraminer was recommended by a friend of ours who is a wine judge for several events who told us it won a gold medal.  The fruitiness of the wine actually turned out to be a palate cleanser and did not clash with the mustard or the vinegar.  As a Gewürtraminer, however, it fell short of a gold medal, IMHO; no flaws but lacked depth.   Bill brought a back up wine for this dish and it was a better pairing:  Prinz, 2012, Riesling Troken Praditatswein, from the Rhiengau, Germany.

On to our main course and sides prepared by Annie and George.  Chicken with Mustard is the dish pictured on the cover of Lebovitz's cookbook: chicken thighs sauteed in onions and bacon fat, then treated to a creamy mustard sauce. It's all but irresistible to the carnivores among us.   I had made his Chicken Lady’s Chicken and loved that one but now here’s yet another recipe for me to try.  I love chicken thighs, finding them so much more flavorful than chicken breasts!  Annie prepared them at the house, using those so very French ingredients:  bacon, Dijon mustard, thyme, parsley, white wine and heavy cream.  This was totally divine and the perfectly simple and delicious way to prepare chicken….sigh, so many recipes, so little time!   

George complemented the chicken with Pureed Celery Root and Sugar Pea Pods.  The puree had potatoes in it to give it texture and creaminess and was a silken transportation to that elusively light flavor of celery that gives one pause to think, “What is this?”  Because it is not celery root season (Late Fall), it was difficult to find large tender celery roots so George had to puree them in a food processor and then push it through a sieve to get the creamy consistency.  Well worth the effort, George!  The pea pods added a bright green color to the plate and a sweet foil to the savory chicken.   This was complemented by the addition of a wine from Jeffrey’s vineyards,  2014 Mount Eden Vineyard, Grenache Rosé, Santa Cruz Mountains.  The rosé is a great summer quaffing wine and we recommend it for the months ahead  however, it wasn’t a great a pairing as we had expected so Bill produced yet another bottle from our cellar for us to try.  A 2005 Merry Edwards Pinot Noir, Tobias Glen Vineyard, Russian River, Sonoma.   Ahh, a much better choice! 

Because we all had a drive ahead, we did not bring a dessert wine and Bill is of the opinion that no wine goes well with chocolate and there was definitely chocolate in one of our desserts!!  Janice made the Chocolate Dulce de Leche Tart with bittersweet chocolate and canned dulce de leche.  It had a wonderful chocolate crust with the dulce de leche covered with a layer of bittersweet chocolate.  Several people had seconds, it was so yummy!

We all lamented that David K. wasn’t here to join us since he’s the King of Duck Fat!  Sandi W. baked Duck Fat Cookies for us.  The recipe calls for butter as well duck fat and was accented with tiny currants.  This time she used Muscovy duck fat in the recipe. The first time she made it with Peking duck fat and the duck flavor was more pronounced and the cookies flatter and crispier.   I ate two, as did many others!  Shortbread cookie extraordinaire!

And, this ended our brunch in Brentwood!  (I found recipes for most of the dishes online so if you want to replicate this dinner, just click on the recipe titles)

Our next dinner will be on Saturday, September 5^th.   Jeffrey has graciously offered his home on top of the Santa Cruz mountains for that dinner.  The good news is that over half of the road up to his home is now paved!!  Jeffrey has yet to select a cookbook for this dinner so when he does, I will let everyone know what feast to cook next!  In the meantime, please mark your calendars to save this date.

Cook on!

HONORING CHARLIE TROTTER

It’s almost (note “almost”) getting passé for this group of gourmet home cooks to rise to the challenge of a world chef’s cookbook.   This dinner was no exception.  Charlie Trotter was a pioneer of gourmet creativity, blending cultural flavors way before it became a popular way of cooking, using exotic spices and organic ingredients.  Although it was rumored that he was a tyrant in the kitchen, yelling at his chefs and staff, there is no denying that he was a genius.

His cookbooks were lacking in specific directions and his recipes don’t turn out as intended, as do Thomas Keller’s books, for example.   Some outcomes were quite disappointing as some of us tried different recipes.   What I found weird was that in the dish I prepared, I ended up making 10 times the amount that is needed in the final assembly. . . What a waste!

BUT, did we have a fabulous dinner?  Absolutely!

We started with a non-Trotter appetizer that I threw together at the last minute to nosh on while we were waiting for everyone to arrive.   The Avocado Toasts with Oaxacan Sesame Sauce is a simple recipe to make and went really well with the Franck Bonville nv  Champagne Prestige Brut, Blanc de Blanc out of Bill’s cellar.  The slices of toasted baguette are topped with diced avocado that’s been marinated in lime juice and then sauced with a sesame seed, almond and peanut blend.  I sprinkled some chives and parsley because that’s what I had on hand but the recipe calls for cilantro.  It’s pretty yummy and can be addictive!

By now, everyone had arrived and met our newest member, another David!   Sandi W. prepared our next dish that was plated and served at the table.   Smoked Salmon Tartare with Horseradish Cream.  (note: if you click on the recipe title, if it exists on the internet, you can view it) She used a smoked salmon that was locally made and also made her own horseradish cream.  It was very delicious, combining shallots, capers, salmon, horseradish heaped onto a toasted slice of sourdough baguette bread.   I helped with the finally assembly and sparingly sprinkled some additional grated horseradish and upon sitting and eating them, realized that I should have sprinkled more.  We all discussed how we were expecting fresh horseradish to practically singe our eyebrows and it did while Sandi was grating it but after it’s added to the cream or sprinkled on, it’s surprisingly mild.  We concluded that repared horseradish has more of a kick than fresh.  Bottom line, regardless, really great appetizer!   Bill selected a 2010 J. Rochioli Sauvignon Blanc, Old Vines, Russian River, Sonoma.  It was bright, refreshing and complemented the salmon flavors perfectly.

Next was a great surprise!  Michelle made an Eggplant and Potato Cannelloni and I had images of a cannelloni pasta stuffed with eggplants and potatoes and couldn’t figure out how that was going to turn out but AHA!  the cannelloni is made from mandolin thin slices of potatoes wrapped around eggplants and caramelized onions.   She roasted them until the potatoes were crisped on the edges and served it over a bed of wilted spinach and laced with a sauce of cardamon-carrot juice.  It is designed to be a main entré and we each got two cannellonis and enjoyed every bite and drop.  I loved it and tried to find the recipe online but no such luck.  I’ll have to borrow the book and copy the recipe from her.  She and David couldn’t decide which wine would go best with her dish so they brought both!   A white burgundy, 2012 Albert Grivault Meursault Clos du Murger and a 2010 Domaine Barmes-Buecher Gewurztraminer from Pfersigberg.  We pretty much had consensus that the Gewurtz was the winner!

I couldn’t find the recipe online for the next dish either. . . darn!  David K made the Truffled Exotic Mushrooms Tart.  He made the rich buttery crust in individual tart pans and filled them with a variety of mushrooms AND THEN generously shaved fresh Himalayan Truffles over it all.  We started with half a tart, knowing we had several courses to go yet but I could have eaten a whole one (and regretted it 5 lbs later…).  It was an “over the top” entré that everyone devoured.  You can tell from the photo that the crust was perfectly made and the black trumpet and chanterelle mushrooms with carrots, onions and kernels of corn was a panopoly of flavors.  He selected a luscious 2009 Réyane et Pascal Bouley Volnay 1er Cru  Clos des Chênes to complement his dish and it did indeed!

We now moved on to the main event, David S.’s Cumin Coriander Lamb.  Medium rare slices of lamb tenderloin interwoven with pieces of mandarin oranges, served with mint marinated English peas, slivers of green olives nestled in a yogurt cream sauce with dots of parsley oil.  All of this, over a bed of pickled cucumbers.  What a lot of parts and separate recipes for a delicious combination that gave us savory, sour, sweet with crunchy, meaty, citrus accents.  Thank you, David, for going through all the pieces of this final gustatory delight!   When we read the ingredients, we couldn’t figure out what wine to serve that would enhance the various flavors and since I didn’t have the cookbook, we didn’t have the advantage of seeing what Charlie Trotter recommended which was a Viognier.   Who would have guessed?   Bill and I thought maybe a Rhone would do the trick and selected a very nice 1990 Crozes Hermitage La Guiraude   Alain Graillot    Rhone, France.   I thought it had the fruit, structure and balance that worked with the lamb.  

David K also made a very interesting Floriani Red Flint Polenta to go with the lamb.  He used  Floriani Red Flint corn meal and accented it with Rosemary and garlic.   It was a very different polenta, while creamy it still had bits of corn meal and had red bits (as you can see in the photo).   We all really liked it and several of us are going to go hunting for this special corn meal.  David said it was a heritage corn.

By now, we had quite a few dishes that were rich and filling so I asked Annie to bring a salad which she readily did.   It was the perfect salad to cleanse and brighten our palates.  Fennel and Apple Salad.   I’ve learned to love fennel in all of its preparations because of this group.    We’ve had it braised and raw and it’s now a regular part of my menu.   While a simple salad, the combination of the savory and sweet with a lemony vinaigrette was just amazing!  We did not serve a wine with this dish after learning from our Sbragia Family Winery tasting lesson that lemon and wines do not enhance each other.

My dish was so very disappointing.  I made the ChocolateBanana Tart with Caramel and Chocolate Sauce.    It was one of those 7-recipes-in-one kind of recipe.  I had to make Cashew Milk, Date Paste, Chocolate Almond Fudge, Mexican Chocolate sauce, Tart Shells, Honeyed Walnuts and a Cashew Caramel Sauce.  It took a week to do them since several of them could be made ahead of time and took anywhere from 8-36 hours to make.  It required a dehydrator that I don’t have so I used my warming drawer to the temperature of 105º or so.   It wasn’t very sweet which was a good thing but it was really dry so I added a quenelle of Homemade Banana & Walnut Ice Cream (another non-Trotter recipe) I had made already--that turned out to be the best part of the dessert, IMHO.   The chocolate was very thick, the caramel wasn’t very tasty or sweet.  The honeyed walnuts were good, though.  Sigh!  I tossed the recipe since I’m positive I won’t be making it again!   Bill chose a

2003 Chateau Coutet Sauternes to counter the heavy flavors of my dessert.  I didn’t think it went well with the dessert but it was a wonderful sauternes;  a well-balanced, rich and fruity, rounded with good acidity and clean, lingering finish.  AND, the best way to end an evening of great food, conversation and comraderie.

What’s up next?   David Lebovitz’ cookbook, My Paris Kitchen, a book that has become the latest “go to” cookbook for several cooks in our group.

Our next dinner is a 1:00 p.m. Sunday afternoon dinner on June 6 and will be at Sandi & Willie’s home in Brentwood.  Mark your calendars and stay tuned for details.

Cook on!

Manresa Is Back!

Manresa has reopened after the tragic fire that destroyed the restaurant’s roof and a small part of the kitchen.  David’s fabulous stove was untouched though!  The dinner we enjoyed with Michelle and David showed that a 6 months hiatus did not damage David Kinch’s kitchen creativity or Esteban Garibay’s excellent service staff’s attention to detail.  All but 3 of their original employees have returned.  We met their new sommelier, Jim Watson (was the som at Cyrus in Healdsburg), who did a fabulous job of sorting through the 14 bottles of wine that Bill and David brought to the restaurant.  We asked him to choose from the bottles to which wine went best with each dish and he rose to the occasion with perfection!  Welcome to Manresa Jim!

FYI:  there is no longer a menu to choose from at Manresa.  You walk in, sit down and prepare to be amazed.  The daily chef’s tasting menu truly changes daily and the theme for Saturday’s menu was “The Winter Garden.”   They provide a menu for you to take home so you don’t have to remember each scrumptious dish.  BTW be prepared to spend money.  Dinner, before corkage ($75 corkage), tax and tip is $200 per person!  I suspect the restaurant limits how many bottles you can bring in but Chef Kinch and Esteban are very kind and generous with us and allowed us to bring in as many bottles as we wanted.   It will definitely remain our “special occasion” dinner destination.

Some of the 15 courses were signature dishes that we’ve grown to expect from Manresa and ones we enjoyed at our Manresa cookbook dinner.  We started with the savory Petit fours = black olive Madeleines and red pepper jellies (one each per person), and a new recipe called a Granola Crisp.  Very crisp, thin nut crusted wafer that will break in your hand if you don’t handle it gently, as David quickly discovered. 

Another new concept was the “Green panisse, Meyer lemon curd.”  It’s a fried chickpea rectangular log that was topped with dots of lemon and curry curds.  I must admit, I’ve not had a panisse before but this one was a complex mix of  savory, tart and spice.  Served with the panisse was a savory, stuffed nasturtum beignet served atop a nasturtium leaf.  Very beautifully presented.  Jim selected David’s 2004 Roland Champion Brut Blanc de Blancs  that had hints of apple, was dry and a perfect choice for the rich amuse bouches.  

The next dish, one of my many favs, was “Seafood with fermented

plum, caviar.”  It was a bowl with a bit of uncious uni (sea urchin), a mousse of monkfish, spiked with the fermented plum (a Japanese condiment called umboshi), and topped with caviar.   David and I are uni fans and could have just had a bowl of it but the mousse added a meatier foundation for it and was reminiscent of the fresh tastes and smells of the ocean.  

Moving on to another one of my fav’s, was “Sweet turnip consommé, crab and Matsutake,” a small bowl that had a layer of turnips fanned out over a sweet turnip consummé, that contained bits of crab and Matsutake mushrooms with a tiny, tiny piece of lemon that provided the finishing touch to a mouthful of true foodie heaven.  I LOVED this dish, as you can tell.  (My apologies for forgetting to take a photo...I was so bummed when I realized that I had forgotten since this was such an outstanding dish.)  Jim selected another of David’s bottles  (do you see a pattern here?) for this course.  Jim selected a rich bottle of Chablis 2008 Chablis Grand Cru "Bougros" Domaine William Fèvre from the King’s cellar to drink with this course.   The Chablis just kept getting better and better as the evening wore on.  I came back to it in future courses and was just amazed.   Jim also treated us a to taste of Ichinokura Sake from Japan to see which one we liked more with this dish.   It was rich with tones of cedar that stood up to the earthiness of this course.  We all had a hard time choosing which one went better .

“Scallop and carrot with flowering coriander” was 3 small scallops combined with a pickled carrot, foam that I couldn’t identify (Michelle, David?) and a couple of sprigs of a coriander that I have never tasted before nor does it look like any kind of coriander I’ve seen.  It looked more like a fern but had a mild coriander taste.  It was topped with an edible bright orange flower that I think was a miniature pomegranate flower . . . but maybe not.   See if you can identify the flower in this photo (if you click on the photo you’ll see an enlarged photo).   The pickled carrot required a wine with good acid and this one filled that bill.  And, guess whose cellar this one came from?  A wonderful, perfume-y, dry  2001 Maximin Grunhauser, Riesling Herrenberg Kabinett.   I kept coming back to this glass too as I sampled more of Chef Kinch’s creations. 

Another of Chef Kinch’s signature dish, “Into the vegetable garden” served in an amusing plate that shows a photo of two hands in a position of offering the salad that is piled onto the palms.  My apologies for forgetting to take a photo of this spectacular way of serving this eponymous dish that IS David Kinch. As was throughout the dinner, Brussel sprouts and other brassica vegetables were featured in this dish with the signature “dirt” made of chicory.  Chateau Haut-Bergey 2005 Sauvignon Blanc Pessac Leognan Grand Vin was the bottle selected for his course.  Our cellar, however, was batting zero at this point!

We ate black cod next, served with black truffles shaved over them…what’s not to like?  Black cod swim very, very deep in the ocean and are difficult to catch.   The fact that they swim so deep demonstrates why the fish is more “fatty” than other white-fleshed fish.  This dish was called “Black cod “noirande” and winter truffle.”   As you can see from the various photos, each dish is served in unique bowls and containers, and artfully arranged.   The Japanese in me loves this part of cooking and also why I like making desserts.    All of the wooden trays, containers are created and made by Loy Martin, a local artisan, who is a true master of his craft and a big fan of Manresa’s.  Bill & I have known Loy for many years and his furniture is worthy of castles and palaces!  He made the various serving pieces for Manresa and if you eat there, take a moment to look at them as they arrive at your table. We moved into a white burgundy at this point.  Again, another wine from David’s cellar, Puligny-Montrachet 2007 Domaine Henri Boillot  Cote de Mouchere.  As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, white burgundy, is one of my favorite wines and this one did not disappoint.  Rich, creamy, and complex. 

BTW, our reservations were for 5:30 and we are now moving into 9 p.m. and are only two thirds the way through the menu!   We finally leave at midnight and to give a tribute to the timing of the service staff, we are not “stuffed” and very contented by then.

Another favorite dish, (so many dishes, so hard to choose an absolute favorite!) was the “Abalone porridge, morels, black vinegar” dish.  This is sort of a risotto but made with premium Japanese short grain rice (have you seen the documentary Jiro Loves Sushi?  Rent it from Netflix if you haven’t!) that was flecked with pieces of abalone, crispy sesame seeds, that were more like miniature pretzels, and enriched with morels.  The piece de resistance was the fried rice, like tiny bits of puffed rice crispies but white.   The flavors, mouth-feel, umami, and complete experience was encompassed in this single dish for me.    Ingenious!   Again, another bottle from David and Michelle’s cellar, a red burgundy, Clos de Vougeot 2005 Musigni Grand Cru Domaine Gros Frere et Soeur, had the nice acid and dry fruit that complemented the smoky flavors of the abalone and sesame crisps.   Jim was batting .300 so far in wine pairings!

We moved on to meat dishes at this point and had slices of “Roast duck with hoshigaki mostarda and sweet potato.”  The duck was dry aged, with dried whole persimmons that had a kick from mustard and the Japanese sweet potatoes were fried (they weren’t French fries but small wedges).    The aged duck was so tender and, as expected, perfectly prepared to rare slices.  It was an unexpected but delicious combination of flavors and textures.   We finally had a wine from our cellar, a lovely Rhone wine,  1989  Hermitage, Rhone la Chapelle, Paul Jaboulet aine, France.  

Our last dish was a detour from the menu and a special treat from the chef.   It was a simple dish of a slice of “Wagyu beef with Porcini mushroom,” a slice of beef with a half of a locally foraged Porcini mushroom.  I don’t know if it was Japanese wagyu or American but it was unbelievable!  We’ve had wagyu beef before in California as well as Japan and this one was beyond the pale!    It was well marbled so it was tender and rare.  But what was amazing was the paper-thin crispy exterior.  It wasn’t crispy like I think of a seared steak but “crispy.”  I asked David Kinch about the preparation and he said it takes a lot of attention to cook it because it’s 10 seconds on a very hot surface, take it off the heat for a while and repeat the process over and over.  OMG!   It was served with a half of a porcini mushroom that was so soft and tender, even the stem!  It was partially caramelized and the porcine jus/sauce was so simple but really “made” the dish complete.  Isn’t it a perfect picture too?  We drank another wine from our cellar, a 1990 Mayacamas Vineyards, Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley.  I expected it to be tannic and young but because it was a tenth, this evening was the perfect time to drink it.  It was the perfect pairing with the beef and we all thought it was the classical California cabernet sauvignon.

Finally, we are onto desserts!   These desserts are photo ops, so artfully arranged.  Michelle and I were served the “Quince with yogurt and hibiscus.” The yogurt was more of a panna cotta made with yogurt that had a top layer that was red and tart because of the hibiscus.  The quince are the four little flower buds arranged on the top of the yogurt.   It was creative, delicious with the juxtaposed tart, creamy and sweet.  Along side the bowl of yogurt and hibiscus was a beignet that rivals Du Mondes that was dusted with a tart sugar.  Some of you may remember my search for the perfect doughnut recipe and this one comes pretty close. 

David and Bill had the “Apple and celery with green tea.”  Although in the photo it looks like lettuce leaves, I think it was actually delicately fried green tea (think of shrimp chips) crisps or maybe celery?  It had little green ice balls that were sweetened apple sorbet.    Bill brought a St. Urbans-Hof 1998 Riesling Eiswein Ockener Bockstein from the Mosel region of Germany that Jim paired with the first desserts.  This was an amazing ice wine that harkens the flavors of sauternes and even was dark golden in color and only 6.5% alcohol.

Our next dessert was “Winter squash, chocolate and sherry vinegar” which may not sound like a dessert to you but it was aningenious combination of a Kabocha squash caramel, alongside a small rectangle of buttery dark chocolate and a dollop of ice cream.  It looked very architectural and tasted absolutely yummy.  And, this from a person who doesn’t especially like chocolate!   We drank a wine from Australia that David believes is the only wine that goes well with chocolate, a NV Campbells Isabella Muscadelle Rare Rutherglen Topaque, Australia.  This wine is reminscient of a good port and does, indeed, pair well with chocolate…or at least THIS chocolate!

And, if you think this was the end of the meal, it was NOT.   They ended the feast with the same beginning, switching from the savory red pepper jellies and black olive madeleines to sweet strawberry jellies and chocolate madeleines.  And a charming Loy Martin box alongside filled with almond clusters and chocolate mints.   And the ever-present French Macaroons, this time Meyer Lemon, sesame seed and pistachio…Ahh, what a fine ending to a fine evening. 

We left Manresa with out traditional take-out bag of a Chocolate Brioche to eat the following morning and a handful of sea salted caramels:  all to help us savor the evening for days to come.

Hope you will save your pennies, well, maybe dollar bills, to dine at Manresa.  You’ll enjoy your evening, your dinner and a wonderfully restored restaurant ambiance.  And, if you don’t have a wine cellar, the restaurant will pair each course with a glass of wine from their fine cellar for an additional fee.

Welcome back into our lives, Manresa!  

p.s. David made some corrections via email and I've made those changes.

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!