Arcata, the hub of Humboldt County

My trip to Arcata was for two things; to hike in the redwoods and to have dinner at Folie Douce (http://www.holyfolie.com/) which my friend owns. I have been thinking about their salami, brie, and apricot jam wood fired pizza since i first tasted it over a year ago and it did not disappoint. There is no better way to finish off an eleven mile hike than with delicious house cava at 6 bucks a glass, a wonderful salad of greens, perfectly dressed and some bbq kumamotos touched with wasabi. Plus, my friend Marsha stopping by to share my table and bring on desserts.

New York City

I got to try the Magnolia Bakery's famous cupcakes. The cake is dry and the frosting is really great. My cousin was right that it's their banana pudding that takes the cake. It is so delicious and the portion so giant...I was happy I had my sister to share it with. Actually, I could have used all my sister's to share it with. The pudding manages to be light and creamy without coming off like a mousse, it just seems like the best pudding you've ever eaten.

I finally had lunch at the Tea Box at Takashimaya. The Bento Box wasa great. A bowl of rice with some sort of crab meat and scallion mixture on top, four bites that included a cube of tofu, a shrimp dumpling, something deep fried and delicious and a shot glass of cold red pepper soup. I love that they were all actually bite sized. I hate having to take two bites using chopsticks...then there was a beef dish that was lovely and a small salad. I got the French Verveine tea with butter cookies for dessert. I loved the tea it was subtle and flavorful, lemony without a hint of bitterness.

I tried so much in NYC. My favorite bagel (Absolute), a new deli (Katz's), the famous Mister Softie, and a street hot dog. I even came upon a Jaques Torres boutique on Amsterdam. The one thing the Frick Collection is missing is a cafe or tea room. Then the place would really be perfect.


I did manage a lunch at Bouchon with an old friend and only wished that I had the stomach space to try their take on the Fluffernutter! Since I make them at home and have had some food friends turn up their noses I was extremely happy to see the world's best french chef include them on his menu. Go team.

We made a stop at Dylan's candy bar which was fun. I brought home a peanut butter and jelly chocolate bar for my husband, it was as fun as it sounds. Now, if they'll only get on with the fluffernutter version.

Back in the Saddle

I spent a week backpacking recently and it's been a while. So, instead of gourmet trail dinners, i opted for light weight dehydrated beans and instant brown rice one night and too wet pasta the others. it seems i have lost my touch for draining pasta without a colander. That didn't seem to bother my husband, or myself, we were both hungry from so much hiking. the highlight of that trip was probably the cheeses i picked up at the Cowgirl Creamery. One with truffles and my personal backpacking favorite: Midnight Moon that Cypress Grove imports from Holland.

Basque-ing in the Wind

I live in South City, home to a single listing in the Slow Food guidebook: The Basque Cultural Center. I convinced some friends to join me there last night for a review before I book it for an awards banquet. Word is the place has good, relatively inexpensive food. The question I was left with was, "what's Basque food like?". If you live in the San Francisco Bay Area, it is most likely very French. Everything I know about Bay Area Basque culture I pretty much learned reading 2 articles and eating at the restaurant last night. Here it is largely French, in the rest of the American West, it is probably more Spanish.

The articles were right, you get lots of good food for not a lot of money. You also get quick, friendly service and free parking. Even if you don't opt for the nightly special family style meal with two entrees, you still get soup and salad with your meal. The soup was a hearty lentil that leaned towards split pea flavor. It was earthy and buttery. The quantities of butter were reminiscent of winter camping stews from my NOLS days. Although it was good, I wanted a small cup, not a giant bowl. Bring your apetite or offend the staff.

We all loved the salad and spent some time trying to figure out the flavoring components without luck. It's simply a generous portion of butter lettuce with dressing. My companions tried the fish specials, one salmon and the other a sea bass. Although both were good my favorite was the sea bass. The fish was cooked perfectly in all cases and came with a nice sauce and sides. I had the rabbit with requisite brown mushroomy carroty sauce, it was cooked well. Which is to say that it was not overcooked. I've paid much more for dry overcooked rabbit. Mine came with a tasty veg mix and rice.

After all that we split three desserts. I had read the frozen nougat was not to be missed and we threw in the Gateau Basque out of curiosity and the chocolate mousse to compare this standard with others we'd tried. The frozen nougat is not to be missed and was a surprisingly light ending to a really great meal. The GB seemed to be what amounted to a custard tart with a lid. A double crusted wonder like so many pan dulce neither whose flavor can I describe, nor can I stop with the plate to mouth motion with my fork. Almonds? I'll have to bring my super taster sister next time, this place is right up her alley. The mousse was forgetable as chocolate mousses go. I found it rather cocoa-ey, neither unpleasant nor exciting. Also, most bottles of wine are under twenty bucks so bring your designated driver or take the walk from BART.

Hoighty Toighty places

I was in Petaluma this weekend visiting my dog and my family and I finally convinced my sister to go to a cafe I have been wanting to try. She said she didn't go to those "hoighty toighty" places, and by that I guess she means places with a ZAGAT rated sticker in the window? Or she means places that aren't chains. I really had wanted to go there for lunch or dinner, but we ended up getting breakfast on Sunday. I was enticed by the menu in the window but when we showed up the actual breakfast menu for the day had only a few items on it.

I got a croissant and lil' sis' ordered the pancakes. I was worried she was going to hate this place and i would never get back there for a glass of wine. But, after a few bites of pancakes she was still smiling and not complaining. A good sign. She let me have a bite or two of the cakes and they were the best I've ever had. Even Nina said they were fluffy and sweet enough, but still crispy, just a little bit. They were served the way she likes them, with a few strawberries, syrup, and a side of compote.

http://www.dellafattoria.com/della.htm

Osteria Stellina take two

Osteria Stellina is a new restaurant in Pt. Reyes Station that friends of mine own.
http://www.osteriastellina.com/
I love this restaurant. I have been there twice. It's the kind of place that I don't think I'll ever get to taste all the things I want to on the menu. I took my mom, dad, cousin, two aunts and an uncle on Saturday night. I told them it was an italian restaurant and when we got there I noticed their quizzical looks over the menu, there are lots of uncommon produce items. The food reminds me much more of food I've eaten in Italy rather than Italian food I've eaten in the U.S. My husband says the food reminds him of Chez Panisse. There are some standards on the menu, but they aren't what interest me the most. Although I could probably eat the bucatini and clams everday. And the beans and greens.

My dad suprised me by trying the goat which is served with polenta. It reminded me quite a bit of a nice piece of pork. I tried a pork terrine with pickled veggies as an appetizer which was really fun and tasty in a headcheese sort of way. We had a variety of salads from beats to chicory to fava leaves. Everyone raved. The pizza was fantastic, the asparagus with meyer lemon aioli delicious, and the two pasta dishes were also great. Black cod was the most commonly ordered item at our table, served with broccoli rabe and a mashed cauliflower dish that has a flavor reminiscent of something common to all of our younger days, thanks to my Noni.

I ordered carafes, one white one red of the wines the waiter recommended and although they were both really good, it's the white that really stood out for me. I would find it and buy a case if i could remember what it was. I guess I'll just have to call Jasmine and ask.

Green Waffles

Green waffles are not a St. Patrick's Day treat, they are pandan waffles. After having a green waffle for dinner Friday night, I'm still not sure what pandan is or how to explain the flavor. I wasn't paying enough attention. The flavor is subtle and it's tough for me to get beyond sweet to describe them. Maybe it was banana-y in the starchy sense? Perhaps a little nutty?

My sister asked me to pick some up at a bakery in San Jose, no where near the cube that I occasionally visit. She sent me this link: http://www.yelp.com/biz/century-bakery-san-jose so I would know where to go. I was glad the bakery had so many positive reviews. Especially because I went after work and it took me 45 minutes out of my way. These waffles were tasty, but only worth sitting in traffic for if you don't normally drive to work. Or, perhaps if they bring back some sort of childhood or vacation memory. Or if you owe your sister a favor. I go way out of my way for good foccacia or croissant, etc. But I have no reference point for these waffles. Tasty yes, but maybe for some people there is more backstory?

Baking Cake Love

Cake Love is Warren Brown's Washington D.C. bakery. He had a show on the Food Network called Sugar Rush. He used to be a lawyer. I first remember him from Ace of Cakes. Then I saw his cookbook in my local bookstore almost a year ago, hot pink and yellow with his photo on the cover.

One recipe in I was hooked. I decided to go front to back through the entire book. There are between 30-40 cakes in this thing, that's a lot of muscavado. I have baked 6 of them.

He is picky. I spent hours oven drying mint for the Mojito Cake my husband requested. I searched all over Santa Cruz for vanilla powder. I went to Safeway for the superfine sugar when I could have just picked it up at Shopper's Corner. So far it has all been worth it. In general I'm not a fan of cake batter, but with these batters I can't keep my face out of the bowl. I used to decorate cakes as a teenager and I had no idea italian merengue buttercream existed. I can tell you, it tastes like clouds, the ones you sculpt into familar shapes lying on your back in the grass on those perfect weather days. Rum or orange flavored depending upon what you are frosting.

I have baked:
LCD Vanilla Pound Cake
Chocolate Pound Cake
Sassy
Espresso Pound Cake
Chocolate Pecan Bundt
Mojito Pound Cake

So far my favorite is Sassy. The heat from the chile wins me over. You don't taste it, you just feel it. It brings another sense to cake that is unexpected, in a good way. Plus the orange italian merengue buttercream can't be beat.

Speaking of Frites

My husband Javier and I are trying to make french fries at home. The kind that make you want to throw your diet straight out the window. The kind they serve at Sel de la Terre in Boston or at Les Halles in NYC or DC. You know, those kind. With one bite they explain the mayonaise dipping that repulsed me in a previous life.

So I folded and finally bought a deep fryer. I had been putting it off. Javier has wanted one so that he could make donuts out of store bought pop-can biscuit dough. I remember when he used to, when he lived with his brother, before we moved in together. It was before my low-cholesterol diet endeavors, before I lost 40lbs. I have been afraid of the deep fryer and what it might do to my efforts to fit into the clothes that currently reside in my closet, as opposed to those 40lbs. ago that are hanging in a Goodwill in Massachusetts.

It just seemed like it would be easier to make fries with a deep fryer than trying to mess with a thermometer and gauge the color of the potatoes, etc. With a quick drive to Target it was on.

The first attempt wasn't bad. However, in my effort to follow the recipe instructions (yes, i used a recipe for this, it was a good move) I made the fries too big. I don't know quarters and half inches as well as I should. Too big fries=local diner french fries, not the succulent rosemary scented frites of my dreams. The second try was much better. Thinner potatoes=a better fry. As long as you don't burn them, and we did not. We are on our way. And so to not waste all that oil, I scanned my Joy of Cooking and whipped up a quick batch of beignets I served with the Passion Fruit jam i brought back from Paris. Bonus.

Tony Bordaine is right about the blanching. i couldn't beleive the pre-fry is what makes it seem less greasy and so tasty.

The deep fryer is clean and currently stored in its original box in the garage. Once a month is enough with the fries, if not for my taste buds, at least for my pants.

Book Review: Clementine in the Kitchen

I do not remember why I added this book to my Amazon wishlist a few years ago, but someone gave it to me for Christmas a few years ago. I think it was my mother-in-law. I finally picked it up having read through every other book I had, and two I bought that were set in or referenced France. I just have not been able to let go since my recent trip...the obsession is lingering.

So far, i love this book about Clementine the house cook of an expat American family living in France prior to WWII. I love the descriptions of the food and the markets, especially they way andouillette was mentioned, I can only laugh to myself and nod my head in agreement, it was not my favorite experience. but it was interesting.

The Birthday Dinner

So, after the chocolate salon there was dinner. i was surprised when i got hungry again. i thought the chocolate would keep me full up for a while. but i got hungry for regular food, food that largely lacked refined sugar and perhaps had some protein and fiber.

I knew what I wanted to make because I had been waiting for the chance to recreate a menu I had put together with my friend Elena who lives in Vicoria, British Columbia. Her and I spent many a Santa Cruz weekend and week night in college cooking up all manners of tempeh enchiladas and vegetarian coconut thai soup. Neither her nor I are still vegetarians. I think she was influenced by moving to France and after a trip to France with my sisters I had started to eat meat again too. My former self would probably more than cringe at the idea of foie gras which at the time I had never heard of. But I love it now. I think about going back to France this year and I literally have foie gras visions in my head.

Chicken Cacciatore
Baked Polenta with Gorgonzola
Glazed Carrots
Roasted Asparagus with Parmesan
Radichio and Endive Salad
Light Cheesecake (homemade, thank you Cook's Illustrated)

The only change I made was to omit a kale and carrot dish that was prep intensive and replace it with simple glazed carrots. I love kale, and was having a kale moment earlier this year, but the recipe called for boiling kale, as it seems many do, and somehow I hate the idea of boiling kale, so I moved on. The carrots love me for it.

Thanks to Caren for all her prep help, this menu was on the table in under two hours. It's great for a crowd because while the chicken cooks you can make the polenta and set it aside while you prep the veggies. then you just pop it in the oven with the asparagus and everything comes together seamlessly at the same time. that is my biggest problem as a cook: getting many good dishes on the table at the same time so that I can enjoy my friends. This menu is perfect for it. While I was cooking we all had some St. Andre with a bottle of Deutz. It brings the honey right out of the champagne, in the best way possible.

The International Chocolate Salon in San Francisco

It was my friend's 40th birthday this weekend. We celebrated with a trip to the International Chocolate Salon and then I made dinner at my apartment in South City.

I feel like I should have more to say about the chocolate salon, but pretty freshly off a trip to Paris, this event in San Francisco had a few standouts, and a few items I would have put into a trashcan after a small bite if convenience allowed. I couldn't help feeling like it wasn't all that international, and that there could have been more representation from around the U.S. Why not just a local chocolate salon? My pedantic tendancies aside, those little thoughts lived in direct opposition to time spent at the Poco Dolce table scarfing up 3 or 4 toffee squares. It was easy to lose count. The buttery, salty toffee, and perfectly dark, but not too bitter, chocolate was my favorite thing at the salon. It was in close competition with the passion fruit truffles at Cocoa Bella, but not everyone is as obsessed with passion fruit as I am. Not that all the chocolates weren't good, it's just that I am too well-fed to go wasting calories on anything less than "take these away or "move these". Whatever it is i'm yelling at my sister or husband when there is something i just can't stop eating. My husband, who is sick of my belly-aching after just too much Liguria foccacia or my friend's chocolate cake, lovingly obliges.

I have to admit that I discovered Poco Dolce in Cambridge, Massachusetts at the Formaggio Kitchen. My husband and I lived there for a few/several years recently. I miss Formaggio dearly now that I do not live within a ten minute drive or 30 minute walk of a gourmet emporium that but for it's size could rival Le Grande Epicerie Paris. When I miss Boston, that is often what I miss, my old special occasion food routines: Formaggio, Dave's Fresh Pasta, L.A. Burdick's in Harvard Square. Deep, dark, hot chocolate that brings on a sugar high that possesses qualities that seem to be unique to the compounds specifically found in chocolate. Too much seratonin activity? It's much more than sugar, the science is there, no? More than an entire salon of chocolate, I just want one Burdick's, but with more tables. This is San Francisco, there has to be something like that here, even if the snow and freezing rain of winter don't drive people from the Harvard-Yale game in in droves.

I bought enough Poco to last me through my next few real and imagined chocolate cravings, but the Cocoa Bella is gone. My sister told me they have an outlet on Union Street near where she works, so I guess I'll be stopping by to meet her for lunch as soon as I find the time, and the parking space.