Holidays, 2011

It's been a good week. We took a few days off before the weekend and spent some time with the girls (our 8 and 11 year old nieces).  We played with the puppy, who is growing like a weed and is such a sweetheart we can hardly stand it.  I did a lot of baking.  Too much, it turns out. One can only eat so much peppermint bark.... (or should, anyway.)  To cap it off, on Friday we brought back the now bi-annual Posole party - complete with killer margaritas.  

Our Christmas celebration was low key.  I received some lovely gifts.  The tile is from a local artisan, and my friend Lisa gave me an autographed copy of the Chez Panisse book, and James got me the Clare Vivier tote I asked for. I also got the Milk Bar cookbook and the Chez Panisse menu book.  Planning a post on those soon.  The jars are Saba, a grape must product that is absolutely delicious, and a small bottle of fine balsamic vinegar - from my personal trainer, because she is a huge foodie. I gave her the Mozza cookbook.

I just harvested the first basket of tangerines the other day.  Usually they're ripe in time for Christmas, but not quite this year.  We also have Meyer lemons coming in.  I've been doing some dining out and need to write up a few new places, and have a year end post in the works so stay tuned...

I hope your holidays were filled with joy and peace and your new year is as well.  See you soon!

Holiday Treats!

Jora and I were busy little bees this weekend.  Have you ever done your holiday baking with a friend?  I highly recommend it!

Sweets:  clockwise from top -  Peppermint bark, mandelbrot (made by my mom), Mozza's chocolate hazelnut maltagliati, vanilla bean fleur de sel caramels, and caramel pecan shortbread.

Savories:  (not pictured)  cheddar cayenne crackers, blue cheese and walnut crackers, bourbon soaked cherries, and Nancy Silverton's roasted almonds with salt and olive oil.

Camp Honey Badger

First off, I just wanted to say thank you for all the warm and lovely expressions of sympathy about Lola.  They made a rough week a little more bearable.  Before we got the call that led to our early return, we were having a great time at Camp Honey Badger - the affectionate name given to this little annual Thanksgiving gathering at William Heise County Park in Julian.  It was a beautiful setting  - a little chilly but nothing a wool blanket, a camp fire and some ugg boots couldn't take care of.  We had this great tent to stay in courtesy of James' family - it's hand made, y'all.  Not as easy to put up and take down as a two man popup, but a great option for a trip of at least a few days.

 This is pretty much how we spent our time - sitting around the blazing fire (which we kept going from dawn to lights out at 10 PM) and drinking something. Coffee, champagne, scotch, you name it.

On the first night we had Japanese food. I fried up karaage (Japanese style fried chicken marinated in soy sauce, garlic and mirin and dusted with cornstarch) by head lamp in the dark in our turkey fryer, while Andrew made ramen with tofu in a dashi broth, and Shihomi - owner of Azuki Sushi in Bankers Hill, supplied a delicious traditional beef curry and rice.  Sake, Japanese scotch and at least a couple of kinds of wine rounded out the menu.  It was the best camp food I've ever eaten, bar none.   Afterwards there were Vosges s'mores - courtesy of Janice. That's right, Vosges s'mores bitches.  I said it.  Boom.

We had a great kitchen set up going - here's James frying up some bacon for breakfast  on Thanksgiving morning on our camp stove.

We had two other stoves, a small oven, a fryer and even a small portable dishwasher for the pots and pans and our dishware - and lots of coolers - though the temperature wasn't really a problem.

We took a nice little hike on Thanksgiving with Heidi's dogs - Ruby set a blistering pace.  The scenery still shows the unfortunate effects of the brush fires that roared through here a few years ago - but it's lovely in it's own sort of desolate, scrubby way.

For the Thanksgiving meal, Andrew cooked up Jidori chickens - first on a rotisserie over the fire, and then directly on a grill.  I had made cranberries and some pies, and we had dressing (which we rolled into balls and fried in the deep fryer - genius).

James had brought some lobster tails that he wanted to fry - so I whipped up a corn dog batter and fried those up as an appetizer with some champagne.

Janice and John prepared brussel sprouts with bacon and pecans...

And we feasted and drank rose in our cold weather gear.

My last photo from the trip, literally, is this box of Dallman chocolates that were passed around just after the meal - generously supplied by the owner Isabella, who had joined us that afternoon.

When we go back next year, we will seriously consider bringing the dogs with us.  Not just so we can keep an eye on them, but because their body heat will come in handy on those long, chilly winter nights!

Five Pies

You've heard of Five Guys? Well, this is Five Pies.  :)

We're off on our camping trip this morning. The truck is packed with the tourney pavilion (wait till you see this thing!) The pies and chicken liver mousse are waiting patiently in the fridge. Hot chocolate has been pre-blended so it can be re-heated on the stove, and the cranberries and other accoutrement are waiting to be loaded. It looks like we're moving to the mountains. I guess that's the dark side of glamping.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving and I will see you next week!

{p.s.  I need one of these!}

Glamping over Thanksgiving

We just got back from a weekend in Vegas, which I will tell you about in a minute, but I'm already super excited about our next trip.  We've been invited to join a few close friends to go camping in Julian over Thanksgiving.  Have you ever heard of "glamping"?   I think that's what it's going to be like.  We're borrowing a canvas tent from James' family and our friends are setting up a camp kitchen (that's last year's set up in the lower middle photo above.)  It will probably be cold (it could even snow!) but with enough bourbon, wool blankets and firewood, we should be able to hang.   We'll take a few long hikes too - to warm up and work off all that food!

Everyone is being asked to contribute to the feast.  I'm thinking about making a pate or terrine from the Piret's cookbook (finally, a chance to use the Le Creuset terrine I found at an antique store a while ago!) and a few pies.  Not sure what kind yet.   Will also pack some s'mores and hot chocolate makings, the aforementioned bourbon, and a few apples for snacking.

So how is everyone else celebrating Thanksgiving this year?   Any "must have" dishes?  C'mon, spill it!  Good or bad, high or low - I know serious foodies who can't cope without Pillsbury crescent rolls, and my own mother makes her turkey gravy with cornstarch and yellow food coloring.  There's no room for shame in holiday traditions!  Or if your feast is impeccably gourmet, we want to hear about that too!

photos - top left, via Bliss,  top right, found here, bottom left, found here.  All others by last year's campers.

What We Did on New Year's Eve

I'm having one of those moments/weeks/days where I'm paralyzed by all I have to say.  I realize I have to start somewhere though, and it feels like something time and date specific should be at least a little timely, so before the week completely passes me by - here goes.  On New Year's Eve, we hosted a dinner party for fourteen friends, and served lobster, caviar, and champagne. Here is the menu:   

New Year's Eve

December 31, 2010

Farm House Cafe Chicken Liver Moussse
with Pickled Onions and Toasted Acme Bakery Baguette

Blini with Osetra Caviar and Creme Fraiche
and

 Smoked Salmon, Creme Fraiche and Trout Roe

 Castelvetrano Olives

Marcona Almonds
***

Billecart Salmon NV Brut Rose Champagne

Endive and Frisee Salad with Shallot and Mustard Vinaigrette

Fuji Apples, Toasted Hazelnuts and Goat Cheese Crostini

Locke Ober "JFK" Lobster Stew
Acme Epi Bread

***

Simi Sauvignon Blanc

Lindsay Shere's Chez Panisse Almond Tart

Mignardises
***

Tokaji

coffee

The blini with caviar, smoked salmon, creme fraiche and trout roe were stellar - a complete and total delight. I ordered the smoked salmon from Barney Greengrass, and Andrew helped procure the caviar and trout roe through a wholesale connection.  I used the Barefoot Contessa's blini recipe (with whole wheat instead of buckwheat flour and a little more liquid than called for.)  Standing at the stove flipping blini, tossing back  Billecart Salmon and popping these little lovelies into my mouth is surely going to go down as one of the high points of 2010 - no doubt about it. Never mind the blistering burn I gave myself on my pinky during the process. I drank another glass of champagne, shoved it in a glass of ice water, and presto!  It didn't hurt at all anymore.

The chicken liver mousse, procured from one of my favorite restaurants in town - Farm House Cafe - was stellar as always.  It's on the menu every night, and it's one of my favorite things to eat in this town.  The salad was also pretty great - curly endive with mustard vinaigrette is one of my all time favorite flavor combination, and Jora helped me plate these individually with a couple of leaves of belgian endive, some matchsticks of fuji apple, toasted hazelnuts and a goat cheese smeared Acme baguette crostini. 

For the lobster stew, I used this recipe, with the addition of some finely chopped shallots, onions and garlic sauteed in a little onion and sherry.   I bought the lobsters - nice, big, healthy ones - for $13.95 a pound at Point Loma Seafoods.  I researched the best way to kill/cook them extensively, and what I saw seemed to indicate there was really no benefit to stabbing them in the head with a knife.  I couldn't bring myself to do what Andrew suggested though, and skewer them through the tails before cooking.  They were pissed off enough as it was.  Instead, I brought about five inches of water to a boil in a massive pot (from a turkey fryer) so that the water wouldn't cool down when I added them, and cooked them two at a time, dropping them into a sink full of ice water straight out of the pot. I put the lobster meat into the fridge, and the shells in a large pan with lots of cream, milk and butter. That mixture simmered for quite a while, and then went into the fridge overnight to steep.  Just before the party, I sauteed the lobster meat in butter and more sherry, and added it to the cream mixture to reheat.  The only problem was that by the time I was done ladeling it into all of the bowls and sprinkling them with chopped chives, it had cooled a bit too much.  I could have kicked myself, but I was so afraid of overheating it and making the lobster tough.

For dessert, I made Lindsay Shere's legendary almond tart - served after the first dinner at Chez Panisse. It's actually a little underbaked here - I slipped it back in the oven to toast a bit more until it was nice and brown. This was a  hit with the guests, and fairly simple to make.  It's made with a cookie crust, filled with sugar and cream cooked to a caramel and baked until thickened and browned.  The only tricky thing is that you have to continuously poke the sliced almonds down into the caramel as the tart bakes, since they have a tendency to float to the top.  I also did little trays with Italian nougats and chocolates from Mast Brothers and L.A. Burdick. 
 
I've said before that you can never have too much champagne, but I think we actually might have had a little too much this time.   We went through twenty four bottles (including a few bottles of wine) for fourteen guests.  The plan had been for everyone to either sleep over or come back the next morning for brunch - but not everyone made it.  Let's just leave it at that.  :)

I was glad at least a few people were there to share in the smoked salmon and bagels.  There were also  cinnamon rolls from Con Pane and fresh squeezed tangerine juice. We've done this before and I can vouch that it is a great way to spend the first day of the new year, or any day for that matter.  Russ and Daughters wasn't taking mail orders the week before New Years, but Barney Greengrass came through in spades, snowstorm or no.  If the shipping didn't cost as much as the goods, we'd eat this a whole lot more often! 

To the Continuing Journey...

left to right - Top to Bottom:
//
desserts at Chez Panisse: gelato at Otto in Vegas: Birthday Party Poms: Brunch at Out the Door in SF: Salumi at Otto in Vegas: Camp Confab: Craftting Community in Palm Springs: Clothes at Sunhee Moon in SF: Oysters at Hog Island in SF: Fish tacos at Mariscos El Pescador truck, Chula Vista
//
Candy Store Collective Boutique in SF: Momofuku Milk Bar Midtown, NYC: Homemade caramels: Emma's kitty cat cake: Momofuku wall, NYC: Juju's Craft Party: Heath Ceramics Factory Store: Zuni in SF: Meatballs at Delfina Pizzeria, SF: Russ and Daughters, NYC
//
Birthday Party at Boulette's Larder: The Grand Canyon, North Rim: Corn at our Summer BBQ: Cooks Confab Egg: Esalen Farm, Big Sur: Cakes at the Madonna Inn: The Standard Hotel, NYC: La Super Rica, Santa Barbara: Caelan and Emma at Disneyland: Viva Pops in North Park
//
Juju and her cake: South Point House at Esalen in Big Sur: The Bell Jar Boutique, SF: Cannoli at Pizzeria Delfina in SF: Rajas at Super Rica in Santa Barbara: Crafts at Juju's party: Dinner at DOC in Portland: Mozza in LA: Crafting Community in Palm Springs: Crafting in Palm Springs
//
Me with my Birthday Croquembouche: Pizzeria Mozza in LA: Camp Confab: Lobster Roll at the Standard Grill, NYC: Stumptown Coffee in Portland: Mast Bros. Chocolate in NYC: Emma in Vegas: Emma with her cake: The Grand Canyon Lodge, North Rim: Nepenthe in Big Sur
//
The Tabor cart in Portland: Me with my Grandmother: MIHO Gastrotruck: DOC in Portland: Dale Chihuly exhibit at the Salk: The Standard Hotel in NYC: Eataly: Gobo salad at Okan: Santa Barbara Spot Prawns at Mozza in LA: Zuni in SF.

Without question, this year was filled with good things for us - lots of travel, amazing meals, parties, quality time with friends and family. On the other hand though, I have a feeling as this year comes to a close, that things have changed across the landscape in some sort of permanent - or at least very long term - way. The full brunt of the economic downturn seems apparent now, and it's pretty sobering. There are more homeless people on the street, local businesses and stores have closed, people who should be succeeding are treading water, and those who were treading water are having a hard time staying afloat. It feels a bit Marie Antoinette to discuss this year without acknowledging that reality.

Things aren't perfect for us by any means, but I feel very lucky to have what I have, to do what I do, and to know the absolutely fantastic people in my life. This was the year I turned 40, and as I said in May - I viewed it as sort of a halfway point - maybe even a high point. We can always hope that things continue to get better, but there is definitely something to be said for being grateful for what you have in the moment, and I truly am.

Here's to the continuing journey, friends. I hope 2010 has been kind to you, and wish you all the best for a warm, happy and peaceful 2011.

(p.s. - click on the photo and view in Flickr for a key to all of the pictures.)

Some Things I Got and Gave

 

We are back from our holiday roadtrip!  Big Sur was magical, and it was great to spend the holiday with friends in San Francisco, but it's also good to be home.  (Isn't it always?)  We kept it pretty low key this year with gifts, given the traveling and all, but here are a few things that stick out in my mind.  :)

1. Color study vintage locket, from Verabel  (got)
2. and 4. The Open Daybook - A beautiful perpetual calendar illustrated by 365 artists, including our friend Rick Baker. (got)
3.  Shanna Murray "Hello Friend" cup for Pigeon Toe Ceramics. (gave)
5.  4505 Chicharrones  (got - and holyOMG these were good.  They didn't make it home from SF in the car.)
6. Holiday edition red Salad bowl from Heath Ceramics. (got)
7. Champagne Truffles from Poco Dolce (got)
8. Kitchen Aid 6 Quart Stand Mixer  (got- yeeay!)

9. Stephen Sondheim's new book, Finishing the Hat. (gave)

Hope your holiday was merry and bright!

Holiday Road Trip

We're hitting the highway tomorrow for a road trip up to Santa Barbara, Big Sur and eventually on up to the Big City (San Francisco) for Christmas Day. It's probably not the best timing with the rain and all, but it should be nice and cozy once we get where we're going.  Maybe we'll throw a Scrabble game or a chess board in the car with our rain boots. (On the plus side, I'm looking forward to a chance to wear my wellies!)

If all goes as planned, we'll be dining at some of my favorite restaurants, including the Big Sur Bakery (above), The Hungry Cat in Santa Barbara - and Pizzeria Delfina in San Francisco.  (Zuni and Chez Panisse are closed, dang it.)   The Big Sur Bakery is doing a multi-course seafood dinner on Christmas Eve - a sort of riff on La Vigilia. I hope to provide a full report.

If we're lucky, the rain will let up enough for us to go for a hike or two in Big Sur. This photo was taken in 2007, from the beach at Andrew Molera State Park. 

We're also planning to spend one night at Esalen in one of these Point Houses, and log some serious time in their cliffside baths.


I will be back soon with more New York posts (on Milk Bar, Locanda Verde and the Mast Bros. Chocolate Factory,) some updates to my favorite local restaurant list, and much, much more.

My best wishes to all for a peaceful, relaxing and delighful holiday, and hope to see you back here soon!  xxxooo

Vanilla Bean Fleur de Sel Caramels {A Recipe}

I cannot tell you how long I've been meaning to do this. Four, maybe five years?   Since I decided to scale back on my baking this year, I finally had time to try homemade caramels again.  I attempted these once several years ago - but I overcooked the caramel and ended up with a hardened mass once it had cooled.  This time I might have been a little overly cautious - these are an eensy bit soft and could be just a smidge darker, but they are still dangerously delicious. As it turns out - as long as you don't burn the sugar, and don't cook the caramel to the point you can't chew it, there is a pretty good-sized range wherein success can be achieved here.  I know this recipe will scare some of you - it scared me for the longest time, but honestly, the hardest part has been keeping my hands off of them long enough to get them to their recipients.

There are a few things you will need before you start.  An accurate digital thermometer and cellophane or wax paper caramel wrappers are essential.  You also need a large heavy pot and a wooden spoon, and one more thing - patience.  The sugar can take a long time to turn the right shade of brown, and if you turn up the heat too high to get it moving, it can burn.  If you overcook it, it will turn inedibly bitter - you'll know it's gone too far if it turns the slightest bit reddish.  The good news is it's pretty hard to overcook the sugar in this recipe because it's tempered with some water and corn syrup. This helps it cook more evenly, and prevents crystallization.  (If you object to corn syrup you can use brown rice syrup or Lyles Golden Syrup - they will  serve the same purpose.)  When you add the hot cream to the sugar mixture, it will take a few minutes to come to temperature, but when it starts moving, it will move fast - so definitely keep an eye on the thermometer as you stir.  This recipe makes a lot, but certainly not a ton.  I'm having absolutely no trouble giving them all away - and if I had the time, I'd make another batch!

Vanilla Bean Fleur de Sel Caramels (Edited 12.19.11)
adapted from the Barefoot Contessa

Ingredients:
3 cups sugar
1/3 cup light corn syrup
1/3 cup water
2 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 sticks good quality unsalted butter
1 heaping teaspoon Maldon or other good quality sea salt, plus fine fleur de sel for sprinkling.  (I used Fleur de Sel de Guerande)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract or half a vanilla bean (note they are added at different stages of the recipe)  .
neutral vegetable oil

special materials: candy or caramel wrappers , a probe thermometer, a large, heavy pot, parchment paper.

Method:
Line a 9x17 inch baking pan with parchment paper and very lightly coat the paper with vegetable oil or butter.

In a large, heavy pot with high sides (a stock pot is good for this), cook sugar, corn syrup and water over medium/high heat until the mixture turns a deep golden brown.  Do not stir, just swirl the pot and tip it to see the color. 

In the meantime, melt the butter in a small saucepan and add the cream, the seeds of half a vanilla bean (if using)  and 2 tsp. sea salt.  Bring just to a simmer.

When the sugar is cooked to the desired degree of doneness (based on the color) pour the cream mixture  into the pot.  The mixture will bubble up and steam vigorously.  Cook, stirring continuously with a wooden spoon, until the mixture registers 245 on a candy thermometer.  Stir in the vanilla extract (if using) and generous teaspoon of salt.

Immediately pour the hot caramel into your parchment lined pan.  Sprinkle evenly with the fine fleur de sel, and allow to cool until set.   (It can also be refrigerated - coat it with lightly oiled saran wrap to prevent it from getting sticky.)

When the caramel has set, score and cut it into little pieces just a little bit larger than 1 inch square (don't worry about making them perfect - they'll squish in the wrappers)  and wrap them in cellophane or wax paper squares.  twisting the ends closed.  (If you have a friend or two to help with this, it could be a great little coffee-klatsch activity.) 

Store them in the fridge to extend their longevity - then give them as gifts and wow your friends with your homemade candy prowess!   

p.s. - I also made Peppermint Bark.  This recipe is the best on the planet.  The contrast of the harder white chocolate against the slightly soft ganache filling is delightful.   I use Peppermint Oil instead of extract (just because that is what I had) one drop in the white chocolate and 2 in the dark (per batch).  I always at least double the recipe and recommend you do too - it disappears fast!

*EDIT* I've made these a few times since this post was written, and I have made a few edits to the recipe based on my experience.  For one thing, I recommended vanilla paste for an addition - but I think vanilla extract and vanilla bean are more common and easier to use, so I've modified the recipe to use those.  I also recommend cooking the sugar to a darker color, and adding a little less salt to the caramel mixture, since they will also be sprinkled with salt.

The First Thanksgiving

They say to always put your best foot forward, so I'm leading with this picture of the chocolate pecan pie I made the other day. I find it hard to juggle a camera and every dish/spatula/pot/pan in my kitchen at the same time, so I don't have very many good photos of the big feast. Ultimately, for my first time hosting, I think it all went off ok. (*whew!*)

There are a few things I might do differently next time, but I have NO regrets about frying two of our three turkeys (or cooking three turkeys, for that matter.) They came out fantastic - especially the Womach Ranch bird, above. The skin was crisp, the meat was moist, it was quick, you can easily do more than one - I think we have a new family tradition. (I did the other one in an electric roaster, and it came out great too.)

The rest of the meal was traditional as well. I made our family dressing with sage, buttermilk biscuits and cornbread, sweet potato casserole, brussel sprouts, cranberries and gravy. I made homemade dinner rolls, but the first batch of dough didn't rise, and the second didn't rise in time to be baked with the meal, so we had to run out to get some. Next time I'll make those earlier. I'll also start the gravy earlier, so it can develop more flavor, hash the brussel sprouts, so they'll cook faster, and make the sweet potatoes a little lighter and fluffier. I'd also like to try a different dressing recipe - maybe sourdough with oysters or sausage - something a little more savory.

I wouldn't change a thing though, about the last part of the meal. The pies. I made two this year, a chocolate pecan and a lemon meringue, and Connie made four - two pumpkin and two apple cranberry - one of each with walnuts & one without. (I guess there is one thing I'd change, I'd have her make them all with nuts!) There was also a spice cake - made by Eleanor and Elizabeth - which meant we had seven desserts for eleven guests. I ate all I could last night and more for breakfast this morning, with fresh whipped cream and coffee. I'm giving away most of the rest. That kind of goodness must be shared - both for my benefit and theirs!

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday, and hope you enjoy a peaceful and bright long weekend!