NAPA NOSHING

We rarely go to Napa because of the traffic and tourists but because Bill’s high school buddy and his wife were in NorCal for a few days, we all agreed to meet in Napa. The weather was perfect; sunny, some clouds and no rain!

Our first meal was in Napa at Angéle,a delightful bistro along the Napa River. I have listed what we had on the table and without a single exception, the entire lunch was delicious. Our “pour commencer” appetizers were Onion Soup, Oysters, Veal Sweetbreads and Beet Salad. We then moved on to Croque Monsieur, Tartin de Canard, and Tagliatelle Bolognese. Our dessert was, what else? A Tart Tatîn and 4 spoons. Our lunch was accompanied by a couple wonderful wines out of Bill’s cellar: Rochioli 2004 Pinot Noir Estate Grown, Russian River Valley. Angéle has always been one of our “go to” restaurants because the food is consistently delicious and if the weather is nice, eating on their patio next to the Napa River is a wonderful experience. Sorry, I forgot to take photos.

I did take a few photos of our meal at Terra in St. Helena. It’s probably been about 10 years since we’ve eaten here. . .mostly because it’s been 10 years since we’ve visited Napa. Hiro continues to create gourmet menus and Lisa brings warm hospitality to our experience. Where else can you have a fabulous meal and the executive chef and owner serve your dishes? They did not disappoint us at this dinner. Bill started our dinner with a wonderful bottle of Laurent Pierre nv Champagne Grand Siecle Grand Cru that had bubbles so small that we could hardly see them. It was one of the best Champagnes I've ever had. I started my dinner with Croquette of Pig Trotter with Lobster and Endive Salad with Sauce Remoulade; I had to ask what a “pig trotter” was and was happy to find that it’s pigs feet and not “Rocky Mountain Oysters!” It was a rich start but I had to try it, as you know my penchant for weird animal parts. . .and it didn’t stop as I also ordered the Sautéed Hokkaido Scallop on a Stew of Tripe with Rancho Gordo Beans. Lisa offered to give me the tripe stew over pasta but I decided to go with how Hiro chose to prepare it.

Bill ordered the Polenta Soup with Fontina Cheese, Slow Cooked Jidori Egg and Winter Truffles; and the Foie Gras Tortelloni in Game Sauce with Cipollini, Shimeji Mushrooms and Shaved Chestnuts. Bill’s Polenta soup was wonderfully rich and you can see from the photo, generously sprinkled with black truffles! Most of the time foie gras is served with something sweet but in this dish, the flavors were deliciously savory. Dave had sweetbreads again and compared the two restaurants’ presentations. Hiro’s Fricassee of Sweetbreads with Caramelized Salsify and Black Truffle Sauce was perfectly prepared and Dave said that he liked both presentations even tho' they were quite different. Maureen had the Grilled Lobster Tail on Pumpkin Ravioli with Chanterelles and Lobster Nage and she was in 7th heaven with her choice. Bill pulled another Rochioli from his cellar and shared a 2000 Pinot Noir from their West Block vineyard; given the variety in our menu choices, the pinot was the perfect choice.

Bill and Dave both ordered the Grilled Dry-Aged N.Y. Strip Steak with Roasted Root Vegetables and Foie Gras Sauce and what I liked best about this dish was how it was presented. See the round green leaf in the photo? That’s a wild lettuce called “Miner’s Lettuce.”

Maureen and I ordered the Broiled Sake Marinated Alaskan Black Cod and Shrimp Dumpling in Shiso Broth one of Hiro’s signature dishes. Lisa said they tried to take it off the menu and had such a big uproar that they had to return it, so now it’s a permanent part of their menu. Black cod is one of my favorite fish choices and I order it whenever it’s on the menu. This preparation of it is beyond comparison. Hiro’s Japanese influences on his menu are obvious throughout each course both in flavors as well as in the presentation, clean, fresh flavors and artful presentations.

For desserts, we ordered Apple Almond Tart with Caramel Ice Cream and Apple Cider Sauce and Chocolate Mousseline with Chocolate Bourbon Ice Cream and Huckleberry Sauce. I normally don’t order tarts made with filo because I prefer a short crust but this one was an exception and the cider sauce was better than the usual caramel that apple tarts use. The Chocolate Mousseline dish is a work of art and Bill said that it was definitely chocolate-y enough and ate every bit of it. We had a wonderful tenth of Quarts De Chaume 2003 Chenin Blanc Domain De Baumar with our desserts. I love this wine with the delicate fruit and clean finish!

The great thing about Terra is the price for a fabulous four course meal, $67!! It’s hard to believe because in Silicon Valley we are used to paying over $80-120 for 4 courses of this elegance. We tottered home happy and sated to start all over again the following morning.

We visited several wineries and the three that were memorable were Peju Province Winery where we enjoyed every single variety of wines that they poured. Pretty unusual to find every wine not only drinkable but enjoyable and affordable. If you have a chance, go in the spring because they plant 1000's of huge tulips! We also visited Pine Ridge Winery where the wines were more expensive but very delicious! The very knowledgeable tasting room lead, Jeff Butler, took us on a tour of their caves, private tasting room and dining areas in the cave and a mini-vineyard that demonstrated the different varieties that they grow on their estate. If our cookbook club goes to Napa at some future date, this would be a great winery to visit and have either lunch or dinner! We also visited a very small vineyard that specializes in creating ports. Bill had some very fond memories of Prager Port Works from staying overnight there over 20 years ago, philosophizing about Catholicism with the founder, Jim Prager. Last weekend we talked with two of sons, John & Jeff, and tasted (and bought) some very fine ports. They reported that their dad was still in his bathrobe at home, watching TV! This is NOT a fancy tasting room. The walls are covered with one-dollar bills and there are real cobwebs dusting the bottles and window sills. They are getting ready to release a Tawny Port in September that will be worth watching for. They don’t sell it in stores so give them a call in the Fall if you like Tawny’s.

Because Bill is so knowledgeable, we spent over an hour at each winery and got to taste wines not on their tasting lists, so you can understand why we didn’t visit very many before heading off for our next meal.

We had lunch at the Wine Spectator Restaurant, CIA Greystone because it’s a fun meal and we got to meet students! If you ever go there, be sure to ask for a table by the kitchen. Their lunch and dinner menus are identical and the entire menu changes weekly. The 5-course special is always created by the students so it’s usually a great choice but we ordered a la carte knowing that we were having dinner at Cindy’s Backstreet Kitchen later. I ordered Monterey Bay Sardines rémoulade, with crisp fingerling potatoes, frisée, sauce verde. I love sardines and go fishing for them when they come into the Monterey Bay and prepare them that evening….yum! These were perfectly prepared with a absolutely wonderful sauce that was made with Dijon mustard and parsley over fingerling potatoes that were braised in duck fat and then seared for a crispy exterior. Bill ordered one of his favorite soups, Foraged Mushroom Soup with Horseradish Froth & Porcini Dust. This soup was rich without any cream and Bill was a happy gourmand! Maureen ordered the Prince Edward Island Mussels steamed in Greystone Cellars Sauvignon Blanc, house‐made Chorizo, harissa broth, and preserved lemon butter. After our Mourad dinner, this dish was a great reminder of those Moroccan flavors. I can tell you that if it’s on the menu when you eat there, order it! Bill had the Assortment of Savory Bites that was five amuse bouche’s; each bite a wonderful array of flavors and textures. He brought a bottle of Jeffrey's Mount Eden Vineyards 2003 Estate Chardonnay and as always, the perfect choice for our first courses. He also brought a bottle for the main course, a 1992 Fanucchi Vineyards Alicante Bouschet, Russian River Valley that was a bit over the hill but a very interesting wine with the ugliest label you've ever seen! It stood up to the dishes however and ended up being a very good choice because it wasn't as fruity as it was when it was younger.

I ordered the Seared Breast of Sonoma Duck with confit potatoes, winter squash, spinach, fig‐red wine jus. To be honest, I had to take most of it home because I was so full from the Sardines and tasting everyone else’s food. The breast was perfectly medium rare and the potatoes must have been braised in duck fat too because they were pretty yummy. They shared a dessert of Chocolate Lava cake with caramel and Vanilla Ice Cream and the restaurant was kind enough to give me a plate their cookies: ginger snap, macaroon, chocolate chip and a chocolate short bread cookie. My cookie monster was sated and we were off to wineries again!

Our dinner was at Cindy’s Backstreet Kitchen. Need I say more? I was told that she is publishing a new cookbook based on their special dinners soon. Yippeee! Because this was our last dinner, we celebrated our NorCal reunion with a bottle of Non vintage, Fleury Champagne Rose Brut, Rose de Laignee from France. Maureen and I loved the rose color and the subtle fruit on this champagne. We ordered Oysters Bingo that I've eaten before at the Buckeye Roadhouse just off Hwy 101 near Mill Valley. At one time, Cindy owned this restaurant and created this luscious addictive oyster preparation! Our server, Michael, told us that the recipe is in her Big Small Plates cookbook, but it’s called Oysters Pablo (p. 278). Now if I can only learn how to shuck oysters….

Maureen ordered the beautiful Avocado & Papaya Salad with baby mâche, arugula, hazelnuts & papaya seed dressing. Aren’t those colors wonderful? Mexican papayas give them that brilliant orange color. Bill had the Hail Caesar, the classic Caesar with egg, garlic & anchovies. He really liked it but I don’t especially care for the creamy style Caesar dressings. It had tons of anchovies after Michael overheard Bill say that he loves anchovies. He also ordered the Rabbit Tostada, with red chile salsa, black beans & feta that Sharon prepared for our dinner. And, Sharon, it tasted exactly like the ones you prepared! Bill brought a wine that was a surprise to him but we drank it anyway and it turned out to be fine. It was a 2003 Rochioli Late Harvest Zinfandel Estate Grown, Russian River Valley. He hadn't realized that he pulled a late harvest zin but because it was a dry late harvest (I know, it sounds like an oxymoron), it was actually very nice!

The menu had a special this evening of Butterfish sautéed with arugula, grilled asparagus and potatoes that Maureen and I ordered after much deliberation and in deference to my desire not to go home 5 lbs heavier! It was a wholesome healthy choice but needed some soy sauce that gave it an earthy touch, for me anyway. We also passed on desserts, deciding that we were “fooded out!”

Our last meal in Napa Valley was in lunch the next day in Yountville at Bistro Jeanty, an old favorite. If you love genuine French bistros, you’ll love this restaurant. I ordered Langue D'agneau, Warm lamb tongue and potato salad. Not many people like tongue but the French and Mexicans prepare it many different ways and I order it whenever I see it on a menu (like tripe, sardines and black cod!) Bill and Dave ordered French Onion Soup and the special of Braised Short Ribs with Carrots, peas and potatoes. Maureen ordered Croûtons de Foie Blond with a Port Poached Pear and savored every bite as I noshed on Steak Tartare & Frîtes. We really do feel like we are sitting at a traditional bistro in France and I can't think of another restaurant that serves this type of French cuisine. Again, we passed on desserts. AND, can you imagine, we didn't drink any wine with our lunch!! We all had long drives ahead of us!

As you might have guessed by now, I did not include a photo of every single dish that we ordered because of the space in the blog. I'll load them all into a picasa album tomorrow so if you are interested, let me know and I'll send you the url.

Three lunches and two dinners, not including the breakfasts that were complimentary at the Spring Hill Suites Hotel in Napa, should have put at least five more pounds on me but the good news is that when I got home, I had only gained 1/2 pound! I'm not quite sure how that happened. . .

Mourad New Moroccan Dinner

After our recent Moroccan dinner, using Mourad Lahlou’s cookbook, Mourad, New Moroccan, I think Bill and I need to make dinner reservations at his restaurant in San Francisco, Aziza! Let me know if you want to join us! I’m not very familiar, well, actually totally unfamiliar with Moroccan food. I thought it was going to be spicy, as in spicy hot. It IS spicy but not really that hot. It’s more of smoky hot and I really loved the spices in all the dishes we prepared.

While everyone was settling into the kitchen, Bill served a champagne that I really liked. Philippe Gonet nv Champagne Brut Reserve Le Mesnil-sur-Oger France, a subtly rich, dry champagne with a nice touch of fruit and a tiny bit of yeasty flavors.

We started the dinner with Annie’s Corona Beans with Tomato Sauce and Feta. Everyone raved about the Corona beans. They are very large pink beans, like Gigante beans, that are soft and creamy. If I hadn’t known we were eating Moroccan food, I would have guessed this was an Italian dish. The tomato sauce had oregano, olive oil, and onions along with the more traditional Moroccan spices: sweet paprika, cumin, coriander, cilantro, parsley.

Her dish was served along side George’s first course, Grilled Kefta with Cilantro Dressing and Grapes. The Keftas are made of both ground lamb and beef mixed with Moroccan spices. The grapes are a very nice sweet contrast to the spicy keftas. You’ll notice in the photo that there is a “salad” next to the Keftas that is composed of julienned cucumbers, bell peppers and pickled onions with a cilantro dressing. This salad would taste great along side any kind of spicy meat dish. There is a dollop of Harissa paste into which I dipped my kefta and grape bites . . .yum-m-m-m! Apparently everyone’s Harissa tastes differently because it is a staple in Moroccan homes, and, like Indian curries, every cook has his/her own version. Bill chose a Dehlinger 2004 Pinot Noir from Russian River to go with these two starters and surprisingly, the pinot stood up to the spices and bit of heat in these two dishes.

Mourad’s recipes generally have several “parts” to them so they tend to be time consuming but not difficult. You have to shop a bit to find all the spices or ingredients but once that’s done, it’s a matter of just following his recipe and giving yourself a day or two to prepare them. The spice mixtures can be done ahead of time as can the condiments.

Although these two first courses could be a whole dinner, we had several courses in front of us! Jeffrey prepared Mourad's Carrot Soup with Citrus Salad. It takes a pound of carrots to make a cup of carrot juice and this recipe calls for 8 cups! It was a creamy soup that had a very subtle blend of spices: mint, thyme, curry powder (Aziza’s own recipe) and, interestingly, a vanilla bean. It was served with a simple citrus salad of Grapefruit, Blood Oranges, Meyer Lemons(Mourad preferes Myer Lemons in his recipes) & Mint Leaves and touched with a tiny bit of orange blossom water that makes it very Moroccan! Everyone loved this dish as well. The 2003 Sauvignon Blanc from Sauvignon Republic Cellars, also from Russian River Valley was a little too dry for this sweet soup. Bill was disappointed in this choice but I thought it was fine. It was more a contrast to the sweetness that I liked.

We had a second soup that was very Moroccan. I prepared a Lentil Soup with Date Balls and Celery Salad. It was somewhat of a deconstructed Lentil soup and took several hours to make. The soup used Moroccan spices: cumin, coriander, sweet paprika, ginger, tumeric and saffron. It was made with a lot of cilantro, parsley leaves, onions and celery and tomato paste. He had me cook various components of the soup separately for an hour or longer and unites them at two points in the preparation. The date balls were fascinating to me. After I rolled small strips into a cylinders, I then put olive oil on my hands. The olive oil soaks into the dates and makes them more pliable and they roll into these perfect little balls! They were wonderful little taste surprises to the rich lentil soup. Bill selected a Rochioli 2005 Chardonnay, again from Russian River Valley. It was a rich Chardonnay that enhanced the rich flavors from the lentil soup.

We served the next three courses together. I made the Grilled Poussin with Orange Cumin Glaze. Sharon prepared the Rainbow Chard with Ras El Hanout & Preserved Lemons and the Cous Cous with Fried Garbanzo Beans. YUM-M-M-M, again! I used Cornish Game Hens and would make this dish again. The Orange Cumin sauce is one that can be used on any fowl and is pretty easy to make.

We discussed making spice blends from scratch, using his recipes, or purchasing the Ras El Hanout, Harissa or Curries. They don’t last very long, only 3 months or so. I think that making the blends from scratch, if you have most of the spice ingredients, is the best because you can adjust the seasonings to your own taste. The most unusual spices that require some hunting are the peppers: Urfa pepper, Aleppo Pepper and various dried peppers.

Sharon made the Preserved Lemons a month ahead of time. It’s an acquired taste of a salty-lemon and is a very Moroccan flavor used in several of Mourad’s recipes. The cous cous was a challenge in that no one could find regular cous cous. What is found in most stores is the “quick cooking” cous cous. Sharon adapted his recipe and used the quick cooking cous cous and we all thought the dish was delicious. The fried garbanzos used harissa powder and added a nice spark to the cous cous. Bill chose a fabulous wine to accompany this main course and sides. Scharshofberger 2000 Riesling Spatleses, Egon Muller, Saar, Germany. This turned out the one of the best wines of the evening!

We completed the dinner with Tina’s Almond Cake with Cardamon Yogurt. She couldn’t find plums to make the plum sorbet so she sliced some pluots she discovered and served them along side the cake slice. Bill found a Kikkoman Plum Wine to pour with dessert. A very unusual choice since fruit wines are not generally accepted as “real” wines; but it went really well with the dessert and that’s the goal, right? Tina said this dish was very easy to make and it was the perfect end to another fabulous meal!

Well, sort of an end of our meal. I had made a Pineapple Macadamia Nut Tart the day before for some friends who came over to watch our dvd of Secretariat. I had almost all of the tart left and offered a small slice to anyone who wanted to try it. I would make some changes the next time I make it but everyone liked it. It makes a very pretty presentation, as you can see from the photo. If you want the recipe, just click on the name of the dish.


Our next dinner will be using any cookbook from the Barefoot Contessa, Ina Garten. The date is May 19. Please mark your calendar! Also, please let me know if any of you wants to host this dinner.

Our last cookbook dinner after that will be from one of the cookbooks we’ve used in the past. I will be sending out a list of all of our past cookbooks for your votes soon. It will most likely be an Aug-Sept. time frame for the dinner.

I'll start working on our field trip for the year as well. Sharon has extended an invitation to have an event at her home in Penn Valley again this year. She'll let us know more later.

Cook on!

NEVER A BAD MEAL!

We are now ending our 6th year of our Crowing Coq Cookbook Club and I must say that in the 6 years of eating everyone’s contributions to each meal, I have never had a bad one. Even when the cookbook wasn’t a stellar book, our group of cooks are able to do their tweaking and correcting to make sure the final result is stellar.

Our annual Holiday Buffet was no exception. It’s difficult to make only appetizers and desserts that come together as a cohesive eating experience. On top of that, everyone cooks from different cookbooks. This year we had a mixture of French, Mexican and an olio of our own creations. Between us, Julia, Jacques and Rick Bayless, we celebrated the holiday with a wonderful array of dishes.

Janis created her own Artichoke and Tomato Miniature Frittatas. They were bite sized frittatas that so easily popped in our mouths…it was hard to control how many we “popped!” She used the last of her garden tomatoes and marinated artichoke hearts.
Her dish was complemented by Willie’s creamy and warm Artichoke Dip that he served with crackers. His too was his own creation and again, difficult to resist dipping into repeatedly. Bill opened a bottle of Elisabeth Goutorby NV Champagne, Brut, Premier Cru that was dry and added to the festive holiday season. We toasted to another successful year of cooking!

Our group of cooks, while focused on healthy and fresh foods, are not vegetarians. So of course we had meat on the menu! Chicken Satay with Gado-gado Sauce and Crispy Flank Steak Shreds with Golden Onions & Red Chile Salsa. Annie prepared the Chicken Satay on bamboo sticks that made it the perfect appetizer since we could pick it up with our hands. The Gado-gado sauce was thick and creamy with a bit of heat and lots of flavors! I had to look it up to see what it was when Bill was trying to decide what wines to serve with it. It is a peanut sauce that is typically used with vegetables in Indonesian countries but it was perfect sauce for the chicken breast strips. Bill decided on 2 wines: Beaujolais Nouveau 2011 Gamay Beaujolais, Georges Duboeuf and a French Cerius 2010 Red Rhone, Cotes du Rhone. He chose the Rhone to go with the Flank steak dish. When typing up the menu, I hadn’t realized that this dish was essentially a taco. . .but what a taco!
The presentation of the flank steak shredded into a fine threads of crispy beef topped with crispy circles of fried onions was beautiful. A light airy mound of glistening beef threads. It must have taken her hours to shred the flank steak into such thin threads of beef. It is eaten as a soft taco with an avocado guacamole and a bright red salsa spread over the taco and then a small mound of beef placed into the taco. The beef was a bit chewy so I was surprised. I thought it was going to be so crispy that it was going to sort of dissolve in my mouth but it was like a softer version of beef jerky. The flavors were delicious and many went back for seconds.
And to top off all of these tastes, Annie prepared as an extra dish, her grandmother's liver paté dish. It was served with sliced baguettes. Grandmothers definitely knew how to cook and hers was no exception. The paté was flavorful without being too "liver-like" is the only way I can explain it. I loved every bite!

We all knew that it is a good idea to save room for desserts with our group of cooks. We were rewarded with 3 desserts. One of which came without it’s baker who wasn’t feeling well and sent on her cake without her. Sandy created an upside down type cake of cranberries, oranges and walnuts and called it Cranberry Orange Cake. The cake was a rich buttery pound cake and the topping was tart and sweet and nutty. I love the combination of oranges and cranberries as a Turkey side dish so I knew I’d like her cake! Bill brought an Essencia, Orange Muscat, from Quady winery in Madera. The orange muscat was a perfect choice to go with Sandy’s cake.
Annie and George made Julia Child’s Dacquoise, a hazelnut meringue layered affair with buttercream in between the meringues. And topped with a chocolate buttercream. Quite an ambitious dessert and to do it as a couple says a lot for Annie and George’s marriage!
I made the Yucatan Style Fresh Coconut Tart. Rick Bayless called it a pie but it’s made in a tart pan so go figure... I’ve learned the secret to cracking open and peeling a coconut and it’s pretty easy. Rick says to put it in a 325º oven for 15 minutes after taking the liquids out of the center. Voila! It actually starts cracking open on its own. Easy to take a hammer and hit if a few times and shell just falls off! I got the coconut meat in one whole piece doing it this way so it was easy to use a potato peeler and remove the brown skin on the coconut. Since I wrote about the coconut pie earlier in the blog (April 2011), I won’t bore you with the details of the tart.

George added a wine from his collection that was very yummy! It’s called “Difficult Child” wine but I can’t remember the winery...it’s somewhere in Paso Robles, I think. If you know the winery, please add your info into the “comments” area of this post. Thanks!

We did our annual white elephant gift exchange and Bill got the crowing coq timer!!! It’s the first time we’ve had custody of our little mascot. I’ve got to figure out a way to add the sound it makes when anyone opens our blog website! It is wa-a-ay too cool...it actually sounds pretty authentic after Janis took it to a jeweler to get it fixed. It will be fun to have it for a year.

We also decided on our venue for next year.
February: Mourad Lahlou's Mourad: New Moroccan. Lahlou's Aziza in San Francisco is the only Michelin-starred Moroccan restaurant in the country, and Mourad focuses on both the modern plated dishes of the restaurant as well as updates on his childhood memories. This will be a fun dinner!

Late April/early May (whenever Janis and George are in the country): Brunch. No special cookbook but a Sunday brunch meal. We will all bring our favorite brunch entré's.

July/August: Barefoot Contessa dinner from any one of her myriad of cookbooks.

October: “Retro dinner.” The club members will choose from one of the cookbooks we’ve used in the past 6 years and do another dinner from it. If we can’t come to consensus in terms of which book, I’ll probably make an executive decision based on everyone’s choices. (Survey Monkey will come later for you to make your choice)

December: Annual Holiday Buffet

2012 Field Trip: Members thought it would be fun to do an overnight field trip to either Paso Robles, Amador County or Sonoma to do some wine tasting and dining. We are targeting a 2-day, 1-weeknight trip. Any suggestions would be welcome. We may have to Survey Monkey this one too or make it a topic of discussion for our first dinner.

Let me know if you want to host any one of these dinners.

All in all, 2012 promises to be a good year, of cooking anyway . . . no promises on our political climate or economy though.

Cook on!

Sandi

Get Creative!

We had a fascinating Create-A-Recipe Dinner, listening to why/how everyone selected the dish they wanted to create and how they went about experimenting. One thing was clear. . .each dish was made several times before coming up with what was prepared for the dinner. It is how it’s done in professional kitchens as well. In this month’s Bon Appetít issue, several pages were dedicated to the BA test kitchen and for one dish, a Chess Pie, they tested the recipe for 3 days, made 6 pies, 4 revisions and used 16 cups of buttermilk and 12 lbs of butter. In our test kitchens, families benefited from all the trials and revisions. I think it was fun for everyone and the input from our family tasters added to the final result.

Janis created & prepared Gazpacho with Cheese Straws. She made the soup with Green Zebra tomatoes, red onions, cucumbers, mangoes, ancho chilies and thai chilies, and except for the mangoes, all from her back yard vegetable garden. She added the mangoes as a result of a suggestion from her husband and it was a perfect addition to the tart Zebras. It was a fantastic gazpacho. Her Cheese Straws were rich and crispy and a creamy contrast to the cool soup. They had a white cheddar and herb filling intertwined with puff pastry. Yum! Bill chose a blended wine from David Caffaro winery in the Dry Creek area of Sonoma, called Fesco. David is known for growing very esoteric grape varieties and making unique blends. His 2009 Fresco is a blend of 22% Alvarelhao, 21% Tempranillo, 21% Tinto Cao, 20% Peloursin, and 16% Carmine. It’s appearance is a deep rosé and it tasted like a light raspberry, strawberry, pomegranate, and cherries. It did not stand up to the soup but boy did I enjoy it as a wine!

Sharon created a Bountiful Potato Gratin [recipe following] to replace the Candied Yams that we always have for Thanksgiving. She started with the yellow sweet potato, then added the Garnet yam, Russet and Yukon potatoes. After making this version with half & half, she added caramelized onions and sliced Granny Smith apples for some sweetness and then added bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese sprinkled with extra virgin olive oil on the top. Her spices were nutmeg, cinnamon and salt. Her family enjoyed her trials and also made suggestions each time. The end result was a delicious gratin that was more flavorful than a traditional potato gratin and less sweeter than the traditional candied yam.

Sandy’s Asparagus with Mixed Mushrooms and Parmesan and Asparagus Jus was a big hit. Just click on the recipe title to get to the website with the recipe. Sandy defined herself as a recipe-kind-of-cook and brought a dish from Jean Georges Vongerichten’s cookbook, Cooking at Home with a Four Star Chef. She found a recipe that uses the lower stem part of the asparagus that all of us find inedible but hate to throw away. After removing all the asparagus trimmings, she chopped the bottoms and boiled them in salted water, drained then puréed it all with little of the poaching liquid. What she found interesting is that the asparagus got cooked twice, first blanched and then sautéed in olive oil. Bill served a special Austrian wine that is especially nice with asaparagus; Gruner 2009 Gruner Veltimer, Austria. It is considered to be the only wine to serve with asparagus and for once “they” are right!

Willie prepared an old favorite that he’s been making for years, Fettuccini Alfredo Carbonara He makes his own fettuccini to begin with. He never measures the ingredients but tastes as he goes. It has the traditional ingredients of cream, pasta, butter and cheese, to which he added the carbonera component, fried pancetta, that added a nice crunch and salty accents. We served his dish along with Sandy’s asparagus and the combination was perfect! Bill chose a very rich and delicious, 2005 Chardonnay from Rochioli, South River Vineyard, Sonoma. It stood up to the creamy fettuccini and was delicious all by itself!

Sandi chose to “redo” a Midwest favorite of her family. Frozen Fruit Salad Dessert. The original version uses iceberg lettuce, green Jello, Cool Whip, canned fruit cocktail and marshmallows. She first made homemade marshmallows and then tried to make a pistachio pudding but the color was olive drab and the texture too gritty. She decided to stick with the Jello pudding but made the rest of the ingredients using real whipping cream, fresh fruits, and her homemade marshmallows. Everyone loved her resulting dish and prompted a lengthy stroll down memory lane, recalling all those dishes our mothers took to pot lucks.

My Sort-of-Crispy Doughnuts [recipe follows] & Miso Ice Cream, did not come out as I had planned. First let me describe the ice cream. I was going to make an unusually flavored ice cream and use miso as a flavoring but my cousin sent me an ice cream recipe with miso in it so it wasn’t an original recipe but it sure was delicious. It tastes like salted caramel and cream. Sharon picked out the brown sugar but no one picked up on the miso. Do try this recipe because it’s a good one! Just click on the recipe title to get to the website with the recipe.

My doughnuts did not come out well As my doughnut dough was rising, I decided to have a light lunch and was getting some avocados and tomatoes sliced and stabbed myself in the hand. Not normally a big deal but that cut wouldn’t stop bleeding after an hour so Bill drove me over to the nearby Clinic to get some stitches.

During this intermittent activity, my doughnut dough wasn’t rising for some reason but I didn’t have time to make another batch so I cut them out to rise in their shapes and left for the clinic. After getting stitched up, I arrived at the dinner. . I decided to just make doughnut holes since we had a pretty rich dinner and one dessert/salad already. The irritating thing about doughnut holes is that not all of them will turn over in the hot oil so I always end up tossing several out because I can’t get them browned on both sides. The doughnuts had a strange almost bitter taste (and, no, I did NOT bleed into the dough!) so I wasn’t happy with the results but it may be because they only got one rising. Sigh….I may never figure out how to make crispy doughnuts.

Bill served a Tokay wine as an after dinner drink, a 2000 Royal Tokaji, 5 Puttonyos from Hungary. A fine ending to a creative evening!

I, for one, have decided to leave the creative recipe tasks to others and return to cookbooks and recipes….wa-a-a-y easier!

Over our dinner conversations, several great ideas emerged for our cookbooks for next year:
1. Each of us choose one of our own cookbooks to use in depth for the entire year
2. Barefoot Contessa books
3. Regional cooking in the US
4. Family favorites

Start thinking about next year and we’ll discuss and decide at our Annual Holiday Buffet at Annie & George’s home in December. Date to be determined.

Cook on!

Here are the homemade recipes:

Sharon’s Bountiful Potato Bake

Caramelize 4 large yellow onions and line bottom of a 13x9 casserole.

Peel and thinly slice a variety of potatoes. I used 2 medium russets, 2 yams, 2 sweet potatoes and 2 Yukon golds.

Peel and thinly slice 2 granny smith apples.

Soak potatoes and apples in 4 cups half and half.
Add 2 teaspoons nutmeg, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper.

Arrange potatoes and apples in overlapping rows. Add leftover half and half to casserole. Cover and bake at 375º for 50 minutes.

Combine 2 cups of breadcrumbs with 1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese. Cover potatoes. Drizzle with olive oil. Bake at 450 for 8-10 minutes until breadcrumbs are golden brown.

Sandi’s Sort-of-Crispy Doughnuts
A
• 1-1/3 C Bread Flour
• 1/3 C Cake Flour
• 1/3 High Gluten Flour
• 3 t Instant Yeast (1 pkg of Red Star rapid rise)
B
• 5 T sugar
• 2½ t salt
C
• 1 egg, room temp.
• ½ C bottled water, room temp.
D
• 5 T unsalted Butter, room temperature

Directions
1. Mix all ingredients A, and B together in mixer bowl.
2. Mix eggs with water in small bowl until well blended.
3. Add to dry ingredients and beat using k-beater (regular Kitchenaid paddle) at #2 speed for 5 minutes.
4. Using the paddle attachment knead for 5 to 8 minutes on #2 speed, adding sprinkles of flour if the dough is too sticky (It should not look like bread dough though)
5. Add in butter and beat additional 10 minutes until smooth and elastic.
6. Leave the dough aside on floured surface and let the dough rise for another 30-60 minutes till double in size.
7. Roll the dough properly into ¾” thickness.
8. Let the dough rise for 10 minutes
9. Dip cutters in flour and cut out in doughnut shapes or holes.
10. Transfer cut-out doughnuts to a tray sprinkled with flour,
11. Leave aside for another 30 min. or more to allow the dough to proof further.
12. Heat the oil to 325º - 350º
13. Fry the donut dough until very light golden brown. Keep oil temperature constant. It just takes a 2± minutes per side.
14. Place fried doughnuts on rack to drain.
15. Return oil to 325º - 350º and refry the doughnuts. Do quickly to not burn the doughnuts.
16. Dust with powdered sugar or dip in glaze (that I haven’t created yet)

5 POUNDS OF FLOUR LATER…

As you all know, I’ve been on the search for the doughnut of my childhood memories for 40 years. It’s a yeast doughnut that has large air holes, crispy, with a clear sugar glaze. I’ve searched in every country we have traveled to, every city, town and village in the USA we’ve gone to with no luck. Doughnuts vary but most places don’t even make their own doughnut dough anymore. And they call them DOnuts!

So for our next cookbook club dinner I have been experimenting with different flours, yeasts, eggs/no eggs, water vs milk, etc. I’ve changed the ratios, followed advice from everyone I’ve talked to (and no, I am not interested in re-creating the Krispy Kreme donut…).

So far, I’ve gone through about 5 pounds of flours (bread flour, gluten flour, cake flour, all-purpose flour), 3 kinds and brands of yeasts, AND a new KitchenAid Mixer!! This is turning into a $500 doughnut! Now I understand why desserts at restaurants are $7-12 each!

If you own an old “Classic” Professional KitchenAid, the motor is only 325 volts and the gears are nylon. Kneading dough in just not possible on this machine. I stripped the gears on it twice…fixed it the first time but the second time, I decided to upgrade and buy the Professional model with 575 Volt motor. Definitely LOOKS more hefty! Like my old one on sterioids. FYI: KitchenAid’s email customer service is fabulous and I got answers to all my questions.

So on to what I’ve been trying. I’ve got the taste and the crispy exterior part finally figured out after trying 5 different ratios, ingredients, frying temperatures, etc. Now I am trying to get the air holes in the inside and working on the glaze.

• I am learning about yeast and how it depends upon what kind of weather we are having because the same recipe comes out differently on different days.
• I have found that chop sticks work best to turn the doughnuts over in the oil.
• Important not to overfry them to keep the crust thin but crispy.
• 225º-350º is the best temperature for the oil because any higher and the dough turns dark brown too fast and the interior stays goopy.
• I now know why there’s a hole in the middle of the doughnut…

Whether I will create the right recipe by the time we have our dinner is another question but you WILL get doughnuts…they just may not be the doughnut of my childhood. Maybe I just remember a doughnut that never was?