A Little Crostini

I was looking for an easy, tasty recipe for an appetizer for my chicken marsala class I led yesterday. Looking through my La Cucina Italiana magazines, whose demise I am still mourning, and I will never throw them away, I found something wonderful. It was a red pepper salad which I decided to turn into something between a caponata and a tapenade by chopping up the red peppers and olives. It’s wonderful on little toasts and can be heated by adding some hot peppers. Once you have roasted your peppers and chopped them up it goes pretty fast.

Grilled Peppers with Capers, Olives and Herbs

About 40 minutes, 4 to 6 servings

2 large red bell peppers
1 lemon
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/3 cup kalamata olves, coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons capers, preferably salt-packed, rinsed, soaked in cold water for 10 minutes, then rinsed again. If you use the non-pareil, just rinse off the brine
5 leafy thyme sprigs
2 tablespoons torn fresh basil leaves
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
sea salt

You can grill your peppers, but I use the broiler, turning the peppers as they blacken and get soft. Put in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap for 15 minutes. If you wish, you can use canned red peppers.

Pull skin off peppers, discard cores and seeds. Slice peppers into ¼” wide stripes and chop into smaller pieces.

For the lemon I use a zester to cut zest curls from the peel, avoiding the white pith. Put in a bowl with 1 tablespoon lemon juice, chopped peppers, oil, olives, capers, thyme, basil, and garlic. You can use less oil if you want, at your discretion. Let stand at room temperature or refrigerate overnight (serve at room temperature.) Season with salt just before serving on crostini or even crackers. Yum! Did I mention this is a pretty healthy snack?

Apricot Pie-Oh

A few years ago my friend Diane and I were roaming around in the nursery at Target and she found apricot trees just lying down (really) looking sad and were priced at $2! She insisted on buying one for each of us (I feebly protested); I planted it, it grew, and this year it really got busy. My tree is a Blenheim, which produces small apricots that are mighty in flavor.  Paul helped me make 2 batches of pineapple apricot jam, we have given fruit to our neighbors, and I made a pie. I found a recipe online, upgraded it with tapioca, and it really was a stellar pie.

I hadn’t made pie crust in a long time, because I don’t like shortening, but, dang it, it does make the best crust. My grandmother made amazing pies, using all shortening. I modified her recipe, using half butter, half shortening, and it was easy to work with and had good texture. If you’re up for it, give it a try. Apricots don’t have a long window of opportunity, so don’t delay; that’s why I didn’t dither about typing this up.

Fresh Apricot Pie

This apricot pie recipe is made with fresh apricots, butter, nutmeg, and sugar, along with other ingredients. You can use a commercially prepared package of pie dough, but homemade tastes much butter. Tapioca thickens the juices that run out of the fruit, making a much better pie.

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoons flour
• 2 tablespoons Kraft Minute Tapioca
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• pastry for double crust 9-inch pie
• 3 ¾ cups fresh apricot halves
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon butter, cut in small pieces

Preparation:

· Line a 9-inch pie pan with half of the pie crust. Combine apricots, sugar, flour, tapioca, lemon juice and nutmeg and let sit for 15 minutes. Fill pie crust with apricot mixture and dot with the butter. Cover with top crust, trim and flute edges and make several small slits in top to vent. Sprinkle with sugar. Bake at 425° for about 45 minutes, turning pie once halfway through bake time. Be sure to put pie pan in a sheet pan, as I promise you will have overflowing juices. Let cool completely before digging in!

Just in Case – Pie Crust Recipe

2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1/3 cup cold butter
1/3 cup cold shortening (I used Crisco butter flavored)
4-6 tablespoons ice water

I use a food processor: pulse the flour and salt to mix. Add shortening and big pieces of butter and pulse until fats resemble small peas. Add water while pulsing until dough just starts to come together. Press the dough into a disk and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate for an hour if possible. This will relax the gluten and cool the butter back down. Be sure to roll it out thin; it just barely makes a double crust.

All-butter crusts are just too hard to roll out. For me, they are only good for pressing into tart pans, and they aren’t really nice and flaky. This recipe is for serious pie making. Enjoy!

Oregon Coast Pleasures

I’ve written it before and I will again, we love road trips. And one of our very favorites is the road up to and on the Oregon Coast. We do have some favorite towns that are a must, for me, anyway, but we really made an effort to try some new restaurants. I thought I would share them with you.

For a change we took off Friday afternoon after I got off work, and headed for Petaluma, our entrance to Hwy 101. We have a favorite restaurant there, Giacomo’s, which serves great Italian food and has a nice wine list. We tucked ourselves in for the night in Petaluma, ready to head on up to Eureka.

I love to stop in Ferndale, just a bit off the highway. It’s an old Victorian town; you periodically hear about earthquakes in Ferndale, and there are tsunami warning signs everywhere. There are fun stores plus now there’s a pie shop! We had a classic slice of cherry pie right smack in the middle of the afternoon and it was fun to just sit down and share some pie. Not everyone knows I’ve always loved pie more than cake. Shhh.

In Eureka, there’s a seafood restaurant we have eaten at several times, and it’s good, but it’s that old style, soup, salad, main course and stuff yourself silly type of place. If that sounds good to you, go to the Sea Grill, on 316 E St. I wanted to try something new and found the Bless My Soul Café in the Dining Guide. It’s a Creole Café with great food and it’s clean and comfortable. I tried chicken and waffles for the first time ever – don’t know why it took me so long – and I have to say I liked it. The chicken breast meat was hot with a crispy, not greasy coating. Sweet Mama Janisse is the owner and she runs it with her daughter, who made me a delicious tropical cocktail made with fermented, not distilled vodka. Sweet Mama Janisse is a wonderful lady who knows how to work a room. She sat down and regaled us with stories about catering her style of cooking for the rich and famous in Los Angeles for many years. Please go and see her when you go to Eureka.

Just a bit north of Eureka is Trinidad, an extremely tiny but pretty place up on the cliffs overlooking the Pacific. Amazingly, we bypassed Katy’s Smokehouse (smoked salmon), but we tried The Trinidad Bay Eatery for breakfast, and we gave it both thumbs up. Typical breakfast fare, cooked well, accompanied by Hawaiian music. Yum.

After crossing the Oregon border, you soon reach Brookings, a sweet little town with two must do’s for me: stay at the Best Western in the harbor where every room faces the beach and eat at the Superfly Martini Bar and Grill. Superfly has their own vodka distillery and it’s good stuff. They make delicious seasonal martinis with real fruit – I had the watermelon martini and the raspberry. Oh my. Their food menu consists of small plates, nothing over $10 I think. Their wedge salad so far has no equal for me. Great blue cheese dressing with lots of chunks of blue, balsamic reduction drizzle, bacon, cherry tomatoes and I think walnuts.

We motored on to Florence, with pit stops I won’t bore you with. We found a nice place to stay, the River Inn right in Old Town so we were able to walk to dinner. After looking around we decided on Spice, global but also distinctly Asian. We had a few small plates and loved them. The bartender considers himself a scientist and explained that to me in some detail. I did have the chocolate martini, made with Crown Royal, not vodka and I must say it was delicious. On our way out of town we stopped at Nature’s Café on the main drag. They’re really a gluten, and I think, everything-free place. We ordered biscuits and gravy with an egg and sausage. The biscuits were gummy and awful but the gravy was good, the egg was cooked perfectly and the sausage was good too. The menu didn’t say the biscuits were gf, but I’m suspicious! Need I say, if you go, don’t order biscuits!

At Newport we headed east to Portland. Our first night there we headed downtown to Saucebox, a recommendation from our server at Superfly. This is a nice, kind of hipper than thou, place with really great food. We had 3 marvelous small plates at the recommendation of our server, Raylan: Thai Cucumber Salad, Pork Sarong (noodle wrapped pork balls) with tamarind dipping sauce, and Softshell Crab Steam Buns. The food was so good we didn’t want to stop eating so we ordered the SBX chicken wings, which were just average. Serves us right for being greedy. So if you go, skip the wings and ask Raylan what to have. I just can’t believe he will steer you wrong.

We did a little driving tour of the hipster streets in Portland and happened on Little Big Burger on 2032 NE Alberta. The menu is on the outside wall and it’s very simple. We decided to share a cheeseburger and fries since we were going to the great and magnificent Toro Bravo for dinner. Let me say this: the cheeseburger was served on a brioche bun and the fries were drizzled with white truffle oil. Do I really need to I say more? Regarding the hipster spots, not on the list (in AAA’s Via mag) is the Mississippi district. Go forth and indulge in that!

Ah, Toro Bravo, our last transcendent dining experience. It’s a tapas place which gets very busy, they realistically don’t take reservations unless you have a big party, so get there early. Our prized spot is at the cook’s bar so we can watch them do their magic. Go look at the menu: we had Harira Lamb Osso Bucco, Grilled Flat Bread, Fried Spanish Anchovies, Fava Beans, and Steve’s Cheese Board for dessert. They have a nice wine list too, with Spanish wines too of course. They really do deserve their reputation for quality. This was our last great meal of the trip and it left me yearning for another experience. I did buy the owner’s new cookbook, so perhaps I can conjure up some Toro Bravo magic myself. Meanwhile, when can we go back, I whine.

Butter and Eggs Ville

Petaluma, as known by Peanuts fans, was the birthplace of Snoopy. But more importantly, for me, it’s in the beautiful Sonoma County. Sonoma County is known for wine making and olive oil pressing, but at one time Petaluma was the egg producer in California. Alas, that went away a few decades ago, but cheese making is very big in that area, hence the Artisan Cheese Festival held at the Sheraton this recently.

Some fellow-foodie friends told me about it, thankfully, so I signed up Paul and myself for the grand tasting Saturday night. There were 20-something restaurants represented, all offering a bite of deliciousness incorporating cheese. Our faves were the appetizer with melted raclette and the goat cheese ice cream with cherries. Little tiny scoops on little tiny cones! We snagged 3 each over the course of the evening. I also learned that I like hard cider, at least the ones I tried.

There is a restaurant in Petaluma where we always stop: Giacomo’s. It’s on the southeast end of town, on Lakeville Rd. Paul claims their food is as good as any he’s had in Italy. Seems like an extravagant claim, but it really is wonderful. We shared the fried calamari steak and an appetizer and were stuffed and happy. I highly recommend Giacomo’s.

This was our first time spending the night in Petaluma, as we’re usually on the way to someplace else, and based on my online research for price and quality (equals value) I settled on Quality Inn. Paul is a highly veteran traveler and he doesn’t like Quality Inn but the reviews for this property were really good so we booked it. It was comfortable and clean with big rooms. And the breakfast – I always turn up my nose at motel breakfasts and insist that we go out. Well, you know why. It was actually decent, with scrambled eggs and sausage. So we saved some serious money there and I wasn’t pitching a fit! The coffee was awful but there are 2 Peet’s Coffee in Petaluma, so no harm, no foul.

We decided to do a drive around the area and visit some cheese places. We only managed to go to the Marin French Cheese Company outside of Petaluma, but it was a pretty place. They make soft cheeses like brie, and I love their Rouge et Noir brand of camembert. Paul bought one of their t-shirts only after going into the Cowgirl Creamery (love their cheese) in Point Arena and discovering their t-shirts are boring.

Our last day there we were looking for a great place for lunch. The Wild Goat Bistro popped up on our gps while downtown. We parked (parking in old downtown is a little challenging) and started walking. Well, we didn’t find it but had panini at the Corkscrew Wine Bar. That was really nice and we enjoyed the owner. He highly recommended the Wild Goat Bistro! After finding out exactly where it was, we walked over and it was busy. The menu looked really good, my kind of place. Go there and tell me what you think.

We accidentally found the Cottage Gardens of Petaluma; Paul saw a sign that said “vegetable starts” so I made a u-turn and drove up a little hill. And there was this lovely nursery. We bought a couple plants and I nabbed a gorgeous planter. Very happy we stopped in. Be sure you do too when you visit Petaluma.

A Case of the Clams

Paul and I were watching You Gotta Eat Here on the Biography Channel and caught a little place in New Brunswick Canada that serves clam pies, as well as other delights. It seems it’s an east coast thing, as I saw the Barefoot Contessa enjoying clam pizza in New York City on her show as well. It looked so interesting that I wrote down the instructions and gave it a whirl. It turned out pretty good so I’m sharing it with you. This recipe makes 2 each 12” pizzas.

Clam Pizza

Serves 2 or 3

2 or 3 cans chopped clams (6.5 oz cans)
3 cloves minced garlic
pinches red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2-4 oz diced pancetta (optional)
about 8 oz shredded mozzarella
about 2 oz or more shredded grana padano cheese
lemon slices for squeezing

Pizza dough for 2 each 12” pizzas. You can get my thin crust recipe here.

I used 2 cans of clams, if you want to really bury your pie with clams, use 3 cans and add extra garlic, etc. Drain claims and mixed with garlic, red pepper flakes, parsley, and olive oil. Refrigerate for 2 hours.

Brown your pancetta, if using, and set aside on paper towels.

Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Roll out half the dough in a 12” circle. If desired dust the outside edge with a little cornmeal. Layer with mozzarella and some grana padano (a type of parmesan), then top with half the clam mixture and some more grana padano. Bake in the oven, preferably on a baking stone, for about 10 minutes, until crust is brown and cheese is melted and bubbly. Top with pancetta, if using, before serving. Be sure to liberally squeeze lemon on your slice before eating. It really enhances the flavor.

Crema de la Crema

In Italy there is a favored after dinner drink called Limoncello. It’s distilled alcohol infused with lemon rind and sweetened up with simple syrup, basically. You can buy it or make your own. I’ve always found limoncello to be a little harsh tasting so when my neighbors poured me a little Crema di Limoncello last summer I was wowed. They bought it at Bev Mo, but when my lemons started ripening with a vengeance I decided to try my hand at making it. I found a recipe online which looked easy but also looked a little sweet – I didn’t want to drink a creamsicle! So I made the milk and sugar as instructed but didn’t add it all at once, tasting as I went, and I ended up using about 25% less sweet milk than called for. The result was delicious, sweet but not too sweet, a little lemony, you can taste the vodka but not overpowering. Serve in shot glasses. Note: classically it’s made with high octane Everclear, but I used Tito’s, a good quality, reasonably priced vodka. Don’t drink the cheap stuff. Just sayin’.

Crema di Limoncello

Makes 1 ½ quarts. Doubles just fine.

5 lemons
½ bottle (750ml bottle) good vodka
3 cups whole milk
1 3/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar
½ tsp vanilla

Zest lemons using zester or microplane. Use lemons for juice or some other delicacy. Place the zest and vodka in a covered container in a cool dark place for at least a week. Strain the vodka through a double mesh strainer into another non reactive container.

In a sauce pan warm the milk, sugar and vanilla over medium heat, stirring until dissolved. No boiling! This doesn’t take long. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature, which takes about an hour or so.

Combine the infused vodka with the sweet milk. I didn’t have any curdling but if you do just strain it out. Keep in the freezer, leaving room in the bottle for expansion. Mine freezes solid so take it out a while before you plan to serve. It tastes best very cold. Cheers!

Warm Your Cockles With Soup

Butternut Squash Soup with honey and Sage

I don’t buy cookbooks too often these days, they take up room and I subscribe to cooking magazines! But I was at a museum bookstore open house recently and instantly fell in love with Long Nights and Log Fires, a book packed with winter time recipes. Aah, I couldn’t resist!

So I made a butternut squash soup (it was billed as pumpkin soup but butternut is more accessible) and tweaked it a bit. If you can really blend it well into a puree you really don’t need the cream. But go ahead and add it if you wish. This is delicious and will warm your cockles.

1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 small-medium onion, roughly chopped
1 carrot, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, chopped
dash red pepper flakes (optional)
2 ¼ lbs butternut squash, seeded, peeled and cut into cubes
2 heaping tablespoons clear honey
3 sprigs sage, plus extra crisp-fried leaves (optional) to serve
3 cups chicken broth
1/3 cup heavy cream (optional)
freshly squeezed lemon juice, to taste
sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Gently melt the butter in a large lidded saucepan. Add the onion, carrot and garlic. Stir, cover and cook, over low heat for about 4-5 minutes. Add the squash, honey, and sage, stir, replace the lid and continue to cook very gently for about 10 minutes. Pour in the stock, bring to a boil and cook for a further 10 minutes until the vegetables are soft. Turn off the heat and allow the soup to cool slightly, then remove the sage and strain the soup, retaining the liquid. Put half the cooked vegetables in a food processor with just enough of the reserved cooking liquid to blend into a smooth puree. (If, like me, you have an excellent blender, just blend veg and liquid into a puree. No straining needed.)

Transfer to a clean saucepan and repeat with the remaining vegetables, adding the puree to the first batch. Bring the soup slowly to a boil, then stir in the cream if using, off heat. Season to taste with lemon juice, salt and pepper.

If desired, fry some sage leaves in a neutral oil like grapeseed until crisp. Use to garnish bowls of soup. Serve with crusty bread.

I added a little heat to the recipe because that’s the way I like it.

I have some upcoming projects I am wanting to try: chiles en nogada – stuffed poblano chiles with walnut sauce. I had it last year in a Mexican restaurant in Santa Fe, NM and just can’t forget about it. So I randomly decided I had to read Like Water for Chocolate, found it in a used book store, and googled “are the recipes in Like Water for Chocolate any good?” and found a great looking recipe in Melissa Guerra’s Latin Kitchen Market blog. I’m going to try it soon. (I saw the movie of Like Water… years ago and finally decided I had to read it. Just so you know, I really disliked Mama Elena.)

For the first time ever, I have a more than decent crop of Meyer lemons. I have been giving lemons away, but I am really wanting to make Crema di Limoncello. Limoncello is a lemon liqueur from Italy. It’s nice but a little harsh tasting for me. Last summer our neighbors served us crema di limoncello (with milk in it) and it was amazing. I found a great looking recipe and I’m going to get some good Vodka (Tito’s – it’s reasonably priced and has been distilled 6 times) and go for it. Wish me luck!

A Day Without Kale is a Day Without Sunshine

I know kale is a big nutritional fad right now, and I’ve been eating it off and on for years. Reluctantly, I might add, because it’s so tough. However, I found a recipe that improves on the texture by freezing the greens before cooking them; it breaks down the cellulose. I wonder if that would work on leathery collard greens? Try it and let me know. I amped up the flavor by switching up some ingredients. It’s a good veg dish, fit for company, with a Mediterranean flavor. Use Tuscan, also called lacinato kale, if available; otherwise use the normal grocery store kale.

Tuscan Kale with Pancetta

3 lb Tuscan kale, washed, stemmed and frozen for at least a few hours
couple shakes red pepper flakes
1 tb olive oil
6 oz pancetta or smoked bacon, cut into lardons (1/4” crosswise strips)
1 ½ cups thinly sliced red onion (about 1 medium)
6 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 ½ cups low sodium chicken broth
red wine vinegar

Fill an 8 qt pot with 2 inches of water and bring to a boil over high heat. Add big pinch of salt and dump in the frozen, straight-from-the-freezer kale. Mostly cover the pan cook on high heat for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tender but not mushy. Drain in a colander (save the cooking water if you like) and press out excess liquid. When cool enough to handle, chop up kale.

Warm up the pot with olive oil over medium high heat and add pancetta, cooking until starting to brown, about 3 minutes. Add the onion, garlic and pinch salt and sweat until tender. Don’t worry about a little color on your aromatics, it will add flavor. Add the broth, bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer for 5 minutes. Add the kale and black pepper. Cook gently for 7 minutes, adjust seasonings.

Transfer to a serving bowl and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil. Offer red-wine vinegar, it really adds great flavor.

I’ve been working on my love-hate relationship with making fresh pasta. I watched Giuliano Hazan, evidently a renowned cookbook author make tortelloni online. I did make a tasty batch so I may try some more.

A stop at Lockeford Meats yesterday inspired me to try my hand at sausage making. They make incredible sausage; the Hawaiian luau is amazing. Just a little sweet, with a hint of pineapple. My mom bought some Italian sausage but it didn’t have any fennel in it!!!! What the heck!? So she and I are going to make Italian sausage soon. I have a pork shoulder in the freezer, a recipe from Top Chef University and she has the grinder and stuffer attachment. I just need to track down the casings. No nasty nitrates/nitrites are added; the sausage will go in the freezer. AND THEN, I am going to make Sunday gravy this fall, with my own sausage in it! Maybe I will make pasta to go with it. Or not. Probably not. Ciao!

Pasta and a Central Coast Drift

I periodically watch the Barefoot Contessa and recently recorded a program from 3 years ago on Italian cooking. This recipe originally came from Florence, Italy and she swore it was her favorite. So I made it and it was delicious but a little too spicy for Paul so I cut the crushed red pepper flakes in half in the recipe below. If you want to warm up your boca a little more just use the ½ teaspoon crushed red peppers originally called for. I also added pancetta at the end for texture and color, buying a package of diced pancetta at Trader Joe’s. However, next time I will buy pancetta at the deli counter, slice it into ¼” strips (lardons) and brown them. I think it would look nicer. Smoked bacon would be good too, I think.

Yes, the recipe calls for penne which will be excellent but Paul and I were 1 block away from the Genova Bakery in Stockton and I took him in there. It’s about 100 years old, in a dicey part of town and well known for their bread. Their foccaccia is divine! When we walked in I was hit by the heavenly aromas of freshly baked bread and aged cheese. They sell pasta making tools and bottled peppers and thingies and I picked up a package of cavatelli from Italy for our dish. (It worked out well.) So use this recipe as a guide, swerving as you may. (I used Manchego because I had it on hand.) It is really delicious. I might use half and half next time instead of cream. Maybe.

Penne Alla Vecchia Bettola

Serves: 4 to 6 servings

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup good olive oil
• 1 medium red onion, chopped
• 3 cloves of garlic, diced
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1 cup vodka
• 2 (28-ounce) cans peeled plum tomatoes
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 pound penne pasta
• 4 tablespoons fresh oregano
• 3/4 to 1 cup heavy cream
• Grated Parmesan or Manchego or other hard aged cheese
• 4 oz pancetta, cut crosswise ¼” thick, optional

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Heat the olive oil in a large oven proof saute pan over medium heat, add the onions and garlic and cook for about 5 minutes until translucent. Add the red pepper flakes and dried oregano and cook for 1 minute more. Add the vodka and continue cooking until the mixture is reduced by half.

Meanwhile, drain the tomatoes through a sieve and crush them into the pan with your hands. Add 2 teaspoons salt and a pinch of black pepper. Cover the pan with a tight fitting lid and place it in the oven for 1 1/2 hours. Remove the pan from the oven and let cool for 15 minutes.

While the tomatoes are roasting brown the pancetta strips if using and set aside on a paper towel.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta al dente. Drain and set aside.

Place the tomato mixture in a blender and puree in batches until the sauce is a smooth consistency. Return to the pan.

Reheat the sauce, add 2 tablespoons fresh oregano and enough heavy cream to make the sauce a creamy consistency. Add salt and pepper, to taste, and simmer for 10 minutes. Toss the pasta into the sauce and cook for 2 minutes more. Stir in 1/2 cup Parmesan. Top with pancetta and serve with an additional sprinkle of Parmesan and a sprinkle of fresh oregano on each plate.

I love to tell you about restaurants I’ve tried (the good ones) and Paul and I went away to the Central California Coast this weekend. We started in San Luis Obispo (SLO) and hit the Thursday night farmer’s market. It’s a big social event in SLO and there’s entertainment as well as street food. I had Mamma Mia’s lasagna and it was pretty great street food. We did eat breakfast at the Apple Farm, and it was wonderful. They served a buttery scone that was almost like shortbread with their own boysenberry jam. Yum.

At coffee we ran into some people I knew, and they suggested Giuseppe’s in Pismo Beach for dinner. I was wondering if it was going to be one of those Olive Garden type places, but I was happily wrong. It’s white table cloth with fun décor and a great wine list. I don’t normally drink Syrah but this Syrah made for Giuseppe was smooth, medium on the way to full bodied and delicious. Two glasses and nary a headache later. Huzzah! The osso bucco with saffron risotto was cooked perfectly, I think in white wine. Paul’s bacon wrapped large prawns were slightly overcooked but still delicious. The service was excellent. A little expensive but so worth it. Go to Pismo and eat at Giuseppe’s. It’s on Price St. as is everything else of note in Pismo.

We drifted on up to Cambria, a very pretty town on the ocean with nice shops and galleries and great restaurants. Have breakfast at Linn’s on Main St and try the olallieberrie jam. Dinner at the Black Cat Bistro is pretty important. It’s an old house so the dining is all over the place. They were fully booked but the bar was empty at that moment so there we landed. We have eaten there in the past and I knew good wine was important to them but I was surprised to learn they serve wine in Riedel glasses. They are designed in such a way as to bring out the best in the flavors of the wine. Heck if I know how that works, but it does. Paul and I decided to share some plates and had a risotto, a gnocchi appetizer and a goat cheese plate with a short bread cookie with a couple of jammy things that was delicious. The smoothest chevre I’ve ever had. The wine she was good too. So, yes I recommend the Black Cat. You might want to make reservations. It’s popular.

P.S. if you love succulents there is a wonderful nursery called the Garden Shed in Cambria that sells rare and exotic succulents. A really great selection; Paul and I went gaga. We also bought some plants. We have a new plant addiction for Paul.

We drifted further north to Monterey on the hairpin ride of Hwy 1. I was reminded why it is such a pain to drive but filled with beautiful sights. We returned to the scene of the crime (we ate there a year ago) at Esteban, a mediterranean/tapas restaurant in the Casa Munras hotel. I wanted to try the bacalao, salt cod mixed with mashed potatoes. It’s fishy, but I decided I liked it without the bread, as did Paul. The lamb burgers were juicy, the pickled onions added a nice brightness to contrast the lamb. The butter lettuce salad with blue cheese and candied pecans was nice and fresh and delicious. Our server Ernesto was very helpful and friendly. And yes, the wine was good.

Wild Plum café is a block away and a great place to have breakfast. They really know how to cook breakfast potatoes – actually cooked through and well seasoned. I had a wonderful frittata with feta and other delights. Their bread and pastries are house made.

One last place to stop: we had agreed to stop in at Andy’s Orchard in Morgan Hill on the way home. I had read about it in Sunset Magazine, mooning over the apricots picked ripe instead of green, the wonderful cherries. You get my drift. Well his little country store had extremely sweet and delicious Rainier cherries and the apricots I brought home are juicy and flavorful. I will be sad when we have eaten them all, as you would be.

Chicken Cacciatore Story

My first adventure with preparing chicken cacciatore was with a recipe on a package of Golden Grain rotelle. That was years ago and it was decent tasting. But I have evolved. The other day I got an irresistible urge to make something cacciatore-ish, so I looked up a recipe on the La Cucina Italiana site. There wasn’t enough liquid to suit me so I sort of did whatever I wanted, as I am inclined to do. I wanted plenty of sauce for pasta, or polenta, or whatever. Of course authentic cacciatore is made with rabbit, and as I didn’t want to chase down a cottontail I went with chicken thighs.

6 chicken thighs, skinned, salted and peppered
1 tbs oil
½ cup dry red wine
1 cup chopped onions
1 diced carrot
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tbs flour
pinch red pepper flakes
1 or more cups low sodium chicken broth
8 oz pasta of your choice boiled in salted water

Brown thighs in oil, remove from pan. Pour off most of fat. Cook onions and carrots until tender, no problem if there is caramelization. Add garlic and red pepper flakes and cook until fragrant. Stir in flour and cook for a minute or two. Add wine and cook down a bit (I actually poured in a big glug without measuring). Put chicken back in the pan with all accumulated juices and add chicken broth as needed to partially cover and make plenty of sauce. Bring to a boil and then cover tightly. You can finish cooking as per your preference, on top of the stove on low or in the oven at 350° for about 45 minutes or until tender. I like the meet falling off the bone. In the last 15 minutes of cooking add fresh herbs like oregano or rosemary. Not too much, just a couple of sprigs.

Serve with freshly cooked pasta. You can goose up the flavor with porcini powder cooked in the sauce if you have it. Or add some diced and cooked pancetta.How about some sliced mushrooms? Go wild. Pretend you’re a mighty hunter; after all, cacciatore is a hunter’s dish.

Let Us Braise

I absolutely love to braise tough cuts of meat. The connective tissue and collagen melt over low heat and turn into tender deliciousness. And I absolutely love pork shoulder; it is essential for carnitas, pulled pork, and here, braised in marsala wine. I originally found the recipe in La Cucina Italiana, a wonderful magazine which has made buying Italian cookbooks unnecessary. The recipe originally called for a pork loin roast, which I don’t like because it’s a thick, dry cut of meat. I’ve had pork loin roast which ranged from awful to just edible so I wasn’t going to go there.

You can cook the meat in one piece or cut it up into one inch chunks, as I did for a recent cooking class I taught. Regarding the chestnuts you can go one of three ways: leave them out, buy canned ones and use those, or boil and peel them as I describe below. I am going to try the canned ones next time.

This dish is delicious. I haven’t heard a single discouraging word when it is served - only happy sounds.

Marsala Braised Pork Shoulder

Serves 6

½ pound chestnuts
2 ½ pound boneless pork shoulder
Fine sea salt
2 ounces diced pancetta
4 bay leaves
½ cup unbleached all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 3/4 cups dry Marsala wine
1 3/4 cups whole milk
1 ¼ cup beef broth
freshly ground black pepper

Heat oven to 325° with rack in middle of oven.

Bring a saucepan to a boil, add chestnuts. Boil 5 minutes, drain. Peel and set aside.

Season pork all over with ¼ teaspoon salt. Place ¼ cup flour on a baking sheet; roll pork in flour to coat.

Heat oil in a 5 to 7 quart Dutchen oven or wide heavy pot with lid over medium heat until hot but not smoking. Brown pork on all sides, 10 to 15 minutes total. Remove pork. Add pancetta and lightly brown.

In a large saucepan, whisk together remaining ¼ cup flour and wine over medium heat. Bring to a boil and cook, whisking often, until mixture thickens, about 5 minutes. Add milk, broth, ¼ teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper. Gently simmer, whisking occasionally, until sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, 5 to 7 minutes.

Transfer sauce to pan with pork. Add chestnuts and bay leaves. Cover pan tightly with aluminum foil and lid. Roast, turning pork two separate times, replacing foil and lid, until meat is tender.

Remove pan from oven and let meat rest in pan 15 minutes before serving.

Minne Marm Me

I’ve been dithering about making orange marmalade for some time now. I made a lemon ginger marmalade a few years ago, which was delicious but a nightmare of endlessly emerging seeds. But now I have made the plunge, using the Minneola tangerines from my backyard tree. That tree has been a real trooper over the years, providing plenty of fruit for donating to our neighbors by the bag full. Now the fruit has peaked in flavor and juiciness and I figured I had better get cracking before it’s late.

The recipe below is from the Food TV site and is by Alton Brown. It worked great except for a little something – my mandoline isn’t sharp enough to slice citrus without mangling them, so I had to switch to my 8” chef knife. Even after simmering the minneolas for 40 minutes, effectively tenderizing them, cooking them in sugar seemed to toughen the strips back up. The flavor was great but Paul was picking the strips out of his marmalade.

It occurred to me during the process that I may wish I had pulsed them in the food processor, and lo, my foodie next door neighbor told me about the marmalade he had that was made in Sweden or some other Arctic country. It was finely chopped and he swore it was the best orange marmalade evah. Feeling emboldened, I got out my food processor and turned out another batch. The result  addictively good, sweet, citrusy, with a mild bitterness that marmalade is known for, and yet a little chewy, which is normal. If you can’t get minneolas, wait until the thin skinned Valencias are in season. There is too much rind on the navel orange, which is for eating anyway. Sometime when I can get my hands on blood oranges for a reasonable price I will give them a whirl.

Minne Marm
yields 8-9 cups

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 pounds oranges, minneolas or other thin-skinned citrus, 4 to 5 medium
• 1 lemon, zest finely grated and juiced
• 6 cups water
• 3 pounds plus 12 ounces sugar
• Special Equipment: 8-9 (8-ounce) canning jars with rings and lids, funnel, tongs, ladle, and 12-quart pot

Directions

Wash the oranges and lemon thoroughly. Cut the oranges into 1/8-inch slices using a mandoline, removing the seeds as you go. Stack the orange slices and cut them into quarters. (Alternatively, use your food processor to finally chop the goods. Don’t turn into a paste.) Place the oranges into an 8-quart stainless steel pot. Add the lemon zest and juice and the water to the pot, set over high heat and bring to a boil, approximately 10 minutes. Once boiling, reduce the heat to maintain a rapid simmer and cook, stirring frequently, for 40 minutes or until the fruit is very soft.

While the fruit is cooking, fill a large pot (at least 12-quart) 3/4 full with water, set over high heat and bring to a boil. Place the (8-ounce) jars and rings, canning funnel, ladle, and tongs into the boiling water and make sure the water covers the jars by at least an inch. Boil for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat, add the lids and leave everything in the pot until the marmalade is ready.

Meanwhile, place a small plate in the freezer. Increase the heat under the orange mixture to return to full boil. Add the sugar and stir the mixture continually, until it reaches 222 to 223 degrees F on a deep-fry or candy thermometer, and darkens in color, approximately 15 to 20 minutes. You may need to adjust the heat in order to prevent boil over. Test the readiness of the marmalade by placing a teaspoon of the mixture onto the chilled plate and allowing it to sit for 30 seconds. Tilt the plate. The mixture should be a soft gel that moves slightly. If mixture is thin and runs easily, it is not ready.

Remove jars from the water and drain on a clean towel. Place a canning funnel onto the top of 1 of the jars and ladle in the marmalade just to below the bottom of the threads of the jar. Repeat until all of the mixture has been used. The amount of marmalade may vary by 1 to 2 jars. Wipe the rims and threads of the jars with a moist paper towel and top each with a lid. Place a ring on each jar and tighten.

Return the jars to the pot with boiling water, being certain that they don't touch the bottom of the pot or each other. (If you don't have a jar rack, try a round cake rack, or metal mesh basket. Even a folded kitchen towel on the pot bottom will do in a pinch.) Add additional water if necessary to cover the jars by at least an inch. Boil for 10 minutes. Using canning tongs, carefully remove the jars from the water, place in a cool dry place and allow to sit at room temperature for at least 24 hours before opening. Once open, store in the refrigerator. Unopened marmalade will last for up to 6 months.

Brussels Sprouts For Me and You

I grew up hating brussels sprouts! The texture of those mushy, boiled, smelly little cabbagey orbs was unendurable. Thank goodness we seldom had them. My revelation that they could be delicious happened in a restaurant in Berkeley (the name escapes me). The sprouts were shredded, sauteed in brown butter and anointed with lemon juice. Salt and pepper to taste, of course. On the way out I stuck my head in the kitchen and talked to the cooks, as I am prone to do. They cheerfully gave me the above rundown.

So I had this great idea for Christmas dinner this year: brussels sprouts shredded, cooked in rendered pancetta fat and not only anointed with lemon juice but bejeweled with coarsely chopped hazelnuts. Oops, I forgot the L.J., as I was stressing over the fact that my hand made puff pastry sank into my beef pot pie (it was still delicious). Please don’t forget the L.J., the acidity will help cut the richness of your main dish. Anyway, here’s how I did it. Ingredient amounts are loosey goosey. Cook with your eyes as well as your taste buds!

Serves 4-6 as a side dish

About 1 ½ lbs brussels sprouts, stem ends sliced off
2-3 ounces pancetta, cut across into ¼” lardons (slices)
¼-ish cup toasted hazelnuts, coarsely chopped with a knife
salt and pepper to taste
fresh lemon juice

In a large saute pan over medium heat, brown your pancetta. Remove pancetta, reserving rendered fat in pan. Meanwhile If you have a food processor, using the slicing disc, drop sprouts into the feed tube, and push through (while running of course).

Cook the shredded sprouts until you are getting caramelized spots and you like the texture. You will probably have to add olive oil to the pan, as for some reason pancetta, which is unsmoked bacon, doesn’t release that much fat. This will take just a few minutes.

Add the pancetta back in along with the hazelnuts, salt and pepper to taste. Squeeze in some lemon juice, just enough for brightness. Enjoy the deliciousness.

Note: be sure to have your vent hood running to help minimize permeating your house with brussels sprout smell.

A Potato of Another Color

I have been working on my Christmas dinner menu and am continuing my rebellion against turkey. You see, growing up we always had turkey for Thanksgiving and Christmas as well. My father loved it so there we were. I only liked to gnaw on the wing, although I admit the smell of a turkey roasting in the oven is heavenly. And that golden crispy skin is delightful. However, I am all grown up and recently realized I can cook whatever I want, within reason. Last year I made Beef Wellington Pot Pie, which was a big hit (it’s on my blog) and I am going to make it again. This year, though I’m skipping the mashed potatoes and making potato galettes, thinly sliced potatoes layered with two cheeses and baked until tender and dark golden. I tried it out yesterday and it was a hit, so it’s a go! So just in case you want to try something new, you can cook these potato galettes.

You will need a 9 inch tart pan with a removable bottom, as well as a mandolin or equivalent for thinly slicing the potatoes. I used Manchego because it has a little more flavor than parmesan, and Comte because I don’t like gruyere, but you can use gruyere if you prefer. Heck, go wild and use any cheese you want!

Cheesy Potato Galettes

Serves 6 as a side dish

1/3 cup finely chopped shallots
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil, plus extra
1 ½ lbs Yukon gold potatoes, scrubbed, unpeeled
2 tsps fresh thyme
Kosher salt
2/3 cup finely grated Manchego or other hard cheese
1 ¼ cup finely grated Comte cheese

Gently cook shallots and oil in a small sauce pan over medium heat. Soften, don’t brown the shallots (about 2 minutes). Let cool.

Heat oven to 400° and rub inside tart pan with oil.

Slice potatoes 1/16 inch thick with the mandolin and toss potatoes with the shallots, thyme and oil in a bowl to thoroughly coat.

Cover the bottom of the tart pan with potatoes, overlapping slightly. Lay them down in concentric rings, starting from the outer edge of pan. Salt the first layer, then sprinkle ¼ of the cheeses evenly over the potatoes. Repeat to make 4 layers, ending with salt and cheese.

Bake galette for up to 50 minutes, until potatoes are tender and cheese is reddish golden brown. Let the galette cool in the tart pan for 10 or 15 minutes; gently remove from ring. Cut into wedges and serve, gently removing with a thin metal spatula (a fish spatula works great).

You can also make in a square tart pan and cut into squares to serve as appetizers.

Do You Know The Way to Santa Fe?

Every year Paul and I like to go on a trip if possible to celebrate our birthdays, which are two days apart. Since he’s limited to taking only one week off at a time in his current job we can’t go too far. I have made noises over the years that I’d like to go to Santa Fe, NM and even though he isn’t enthused about New Mexico he offered to take me. I accepted; how many chances will I get? The entry point is the Albuquerque airport, from their all adventures abound.

I had planned for us to spend the night in Albuquerque and head for Santa Fe in the morning. I love to ask the locals where to go and how to get there and a really nice lady in Trader Joe’s gave us some tips. We settled on taking the Turquoise Trail to Santa Fe rather than sticking to the freeway. There’s a little town named Madrid on the trail; turns out that is where part of the movie Wild Hawgs with John Travolta et al was filmed. It is cute with plenty of cool shops but I have a sanitation issue with that burg. We went in a shop where they also serve hot food and decided to order some green chile stew, which was more than edible. When ordering I noticed a gigante bottle of hand sanitizer on the counter. I should have been suspicious. When I asked about a bathroom they pointed to a porta potty out the side door. And there was no running water for washing hands! I declined and decided to wait to use the public restroom I had seen earlier, which, it turns out was a hole in the ground with no running water! Ugh! Considering there are homes and businesses in Madrid is it too much to ask for sanitary facilities??? I think the laws must be different in NM, yes?

 

I had reserved what I hoped was a nice B&B in the historic district of Santa Fe and we weren’t disappointed. Las Palomas is a wonderful spot; I had reserved a studio and they upgraded us to a one bedroom casita with a fireplace and kitchenette. The room was spacious and the bed comfortable. The breakfast was delicious, with a choice of omelet or waffles and other goodies at the buffet. Not only was coffee available but lattes and cappuccinos! Heaven!

I’m sure there are many great restaurants in Santa Fe but we only experienced one really exceptional one: La Boca, a Spanish tapas place. We love small plates and are becoming hooked on Spanish dishes. The Marcona almonds (from Spain) fried and rolled in smoked pimentón (paprika) were wonderful but I would have liked them served hot. The chef is Italian American, not Spanish, but he seems to have mastered Spanish cooking. I bought his first cookbook, El Farol, and there is some great looking food I intend to cook pretty soon.

We moved on to Taos and I was really wanting to eat my birthday dinner at Byzantium, a restaurant with a fabulous looking menu, but boo hoo, they weren’t open on Wednesday. So we went to Lambert’s, one of those fancy restaurants that has been around for decades. Sometimes venerability is not a great thing, but in this case it was a-okay. My fillet mignon was tender and delicious and Paul’s halibut was perfectly cooked. I must say I’ve heard a lot of rumors about how great Taos was but I wasn’t impressed. That being said, there is a pretty drive, the Enchanted Circle that starts in and circles back to Taos.

On my bucket list since childhood was a visit to Carlsbad Caverns, and we had to go despite the incredibly long drive from northern New Mexico all the way to Carlsbad in the south. So we went. We stopped in Santa Fe on our way south for lunch. We wanted to eat fast and go and thought Taco Bell (the only fast food place I can abide) would do the trick. Unfortunately my gps sent us in circles with no Taco Bell to be found. We spotted Los Potrillos, an actual Mexican restaurant, and decided to try it. I spied a dish I had never heard of – Chiles Nogada – and ordered it. What heaven! It was large poblano chiles, stuffed with ground beef, raisins and walnuts, and smothered with a sweet creamy gravy. Eating the two tastes together was a revelation; I wish I knew how to make it. Paul had a plate of enchiladas and said they were exceptional. Don’t hesitate to try Los Potrillos!

Not surprisingly, we didn’t find any great food in Roswell or Carlsbad, but I really was there for the Cavern. I took the self guided tour after riding the elevator 750 feet down into the bowels of the earth. I was a little anxious at first but settled in and enjoyed myself. It was absolutely beautiful and am grateful I got to see it. I bought a dvd about the caves and a pair of bat socks to commemorate my visit.

We headed back to Santa Fe after leaving the cavern (you have no idea, I’m sure, what a long boring drive it is – think Interstate 5 to Southern Cal. It’s worse) and had one day left to visit some museums. May I recommend the International Folk Art Museum on Museum Hill. It was great fun, and the Café on Museum Hill was very nice with a great view. The Governor’s Palace and Museum in historic downtown is fascinating and the rich history of NM was a surprise. There are lots of cool art galleries on Canyon Rd and Caffe Greco is a nice stop. I had a fruit filled empanada which left me wanting more. All in all I really fell a little bit in love with Santa Fe and left a piece of my heart there.

 

All Jammed Up With Tomatoes

I’ve been interested in making tomato jam for a while now and I recently overcame my inertia and actually looked for a recipe. I found one in the Food In Jars blog and it intrigued me, but looked awfully sweet and hot so I rejiggered it and I must say, it turned out great. It is a wonderful condiment for chicken, fish and pork and a great substitute for catsup on your oven fried potatoes. It’s a little sweet and pretty spicy yet not burning hot, with the exotic flavors of cinnamon and cloves. Please use good home grown tomatoes or tomatoes from the farmer’s market. Tomatoes like Romas or my homegrown San Marzanos are meaty and best for jam and sauces. Don’t use juicy tomatoes, they will take longer to cook down.

Yield: about 5 cups

5 pounds tomatoes, finely chopped (I pulsed them in my food processor)
2 cups organic sugar
½ cup lime juice, about 6 ½ limes
2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground cloves
1 tablespoon salt
1 ½ teaspoon red chili flakes

Combine all ingredients in a large, non-reactive pot. Bring to a boil and then reduce to just a simmer. Stir occasionally until it is greatly reduced and thick. This took me 2 to 2 ½ hours.

When jam has cooked down, fill canning jars that have been washed in hot soapy water and boiled for a few minutes. Leave ¼ inch head space. Wipe rims, apply lids and twist on rings. Process in boiling water canner for 20 minutes. I use a steam canner.

When time is up, remove jars from canner and let them cool on a rack or a kitchen towel. Listen for the happy “pop” of sealing lids. Make sure all lids are sucked down in the sealed position and store in a cool dark place.

Let Them Eat Greek Cake

When I was a kid we ate Greek food occasionally, with lamb and feta cheese being favorites. My grandma Kaloutsis was well known for being a first class cook – I can still taste her garlicky, tomatoey clams and rice. I need the recipe stat! Besides baklava, the standout dessert was a sour cream cake with walnuts, soaked in simple syrup. My mother actually found this recipe in a Greek cookbook years ago and it was always a hit. Oh man, it’s moist, rich and delicious and easy to make. I’d kind of forgotten about it, but I’ve been asked to make a dessert for a posthumous birthday party and we’re going kind of Greek. Guess what I’m bringing?

Sour Cream Cake

2 cubes unsalted butter
2 cups sugar
6 eggs, well beaten
1 cup walnuts chopped fine
1 tsp cinnamon
1 cup sour cream
2 tsp baking soda mixed in ¼ cup wine, whiskey, brandy, or orange juice
2 cups flour

Melt butter and allow to cool slightly. Beat butter and add sugar gradually, beating thoroughly. Add eggs slowly while continuing to beat. Add walnuts, sour cream, soda, wine, flour, and cinnamon and beat well. Pour into greased 9 x 13 pan. Bake in 350° degree oven for 1 hour.

While cake is cooling make a simple syrup: boil 2 cups sugar with 1 1/3 cups water to form a syrup. Pour slowly over cake while warm. Feel free to poke holes in the cake with a toothpick to facilitate syrup soakage. Serves 15-20.

I think this time I’m going to throw a cinnamon stick in the syrup while it’s boiling and then cooling. This cake is really rich; resist the impulse to top with whipped cream. You don’t want to gild the lily with wretched excess.

Yummy Lowfat Eggplant Lasagna

In addition to growing tomatoes in the summer, Paul insists on planting eggplant. He loves it and his favorite dish is a panang curry dish that I concocted. As much as I love coconut milk, I can’t justify making it too often for obvious fatty reasons. However, I was inspired by Hungry Girl’s eggplant lasagna recipe. I’m not a fan, exactly, as I don’t use fat free cheese or fake food items of that ilk (except I Can’t Believe it’s Not Butter spray), but she did give me an idea to run with. So this morning I picked our Asian eggplants (the globes aren’t producing yet) and made a delicious, low-fat, rich-tasting eggplant lasagna. I may be on Weight Watchers, but I insist on eating really good food.

If you have read my recipes before you may have noticed I cook a little loosey goosey. A recipe is a guideline and I often change ingredients a little bit, based on my mood and what’s in my pantry. The only time you need to goose-step is when you are making pastries. I use lite provolone here for the rich flavor but if you must have mozzarella, by all means do. This time I’m using Trader Joe’s Turkey Bolognese, which is delicious, but you can use your favorite bottled meat sauce or make your own (I often make my own). This recipe serves 4-ish in my house as we are light eaters, but realistically it will serve 2, maybe 3. You can easily double or triple the recipe.

Eggplant Lasagna

½ tsp oil
1 lb eggplant, sliced ½ inch thick
12 oz package Trader Joe’s Turkey Bolognese
4 oz sliced reduced fat provolone cheese
1 oz grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350°. Brush oil in a baking dish about 9 1/2x8” and set aside. Using a silpat or parchment paper in a half sheet pan, brush on a little oil. Bake eggplant until tender, about 40 minutes.

Meanwhile, gently heat the turkey bolognese in a covered saucepan until it has thawed and is hot. Place a layer of eggplant in the baking dish and cover with half the sauce and provolone. Add another layer and top with grated Parmesan. Bake for 20 minutes or more until cheese is melted and bubbly. Lowfat cheese doesn’t brown as well as full fat, so don’t look for it.

Really delicious!

A Few of My Favorite Spots on the Oregon Coast

Paul and I decided to travel up the Oregon Coast to celebrate our 25^th anniversary. We hadn’t made that trip in a few years and we were excited. The route taken was highway 12, working our way to Petaluma, birthplace of Snoopy. There is an Italian restaurant in Petluma, Giacomo’s, which Paul loves, so we decided to have dinner there. But first, since it was a little early we decided to cruise downtown Petaluma, where we made a fab discovery: The Seed Bank! We just had to go in, and we found an old bank building stocked with heirloom seeds. Paul is going to plant a winter garden this fall and he bought lettuce as well as root vegetable seeds. I found an Italian pepper I’d never heard of; in fact I tried planting 6 seeds when we got home. I couldn’t resist! I highly recommend going in The Seed Bank if you are in the area and are interested in Non-GMO, better tasting produce. They also have a website: www.rareseeds.com.

On to Giacomo’s: Paul had been swearing that their chicken saltimbocca (pounded breast with cheese and prosciutto) was incredible so we decided to split a dinner. (We split dinners frequently; it saves calories as well as money. The trick is reaching an agreement.) So, the upshot was, the whole dinner was delish, the salad, the bread, the saltimbocca. I can’t speak to the rest of the menu, but in general I have to recommend it. Giacomo’s is right on the road entering Petaluma, just google it!

The next day we jetted on up to Eureka, with a few side trips. There are many small towns up the 101 corridor, and it’s kind of a shame that so many have been bypassed, though 101 frequently stops being a freeway and worms through towns like Willits and Crescent City. There is a historic downtown area in Eureka that is full of shops and cafes and it just so happened that the monthly art walk was happening that Saturday night! The shops were open and bands were playing everywhere; our favorite was Funk Pilot, playing an R&B mix, and funking very well at that. There are lots of good looking restaurants in Eureka; we went back to the Sea Grill, one of those old establishments that serve good food and plenty of it, so we split our clam dinner. They were very generous and gave us extra clams. Despite sharing we were pretty full when we left. Someday we must try the Ethiopian restaurant on the main drag. I promise.

On the way into Eureka we stopped in Ferndale, an historic town loaded with Victorian buildings. One of my favorite stops was the Blacksmith Shop. They had forged knives made from recycled, high-carbon Swedish saw steel (I suspect from the sawmills of Humboldt County). I was salivating over those knives, but there were so big I wasn’t sure they fit in my knife block. I have since learned that high-carbon steel rusts unless you immediately clean and dry your knife. Whoops, better not!

The first town across the Oregon border on 101 is Brookings. We absolutely have to stay at the Best Western Motel in the harbor. Brookings is up on the cliffs, the harbor is down below. The motel is on the beach and every room looks out over the beach. Absolute heaven.

We were told about a new restaurant in town, Superfly Distillery. The biz started out as a boutique vodka distillery (distilled three times) and a small restaurant followed. I must confess I had two cocktails, both made with fresh fruit; a watermelon as well as a kiwi martini. Both were delicious, and the vodka was very clean tasting. I didn’t feel a thing the next day. Yippee! The food offerings are small plates, nothing over $10. We shared a dish of mussels in broth. I wish they had grilled the bread and I told them so, but the mussels were very good. The wedge salad was amazing with lots of blue cheese and bacon. Please go there if you miraculously end up in Brookings.

On up the coast is Bandon. They used to make cheese there but that’s all gone now. We did have a nice little lunch at the Port O’ Call in the historic downtown area, but the surprise was Coastal Mist. This place had really gorgeous chocolate truffles and drinking chocolate. We tried a couple of delicious truffles, comparable to the ones you would find at Recchiutti Confections in the Ferry Building in San Francisco. In other words, pretty bitchen! They also sold big hunks of Callebaut, a high end Belgian chocolate, but I passed.

I was really looking forward to having a bite at The Blue Hen in Florence. They had great fried chicken, wonderful omelets for breakfast. Everything about that place was blue, with chickens. I was disappointed to learn that it was closed!!! Years ago!!! So we motored into historic Florence and had a great lunch at ICM, right by the water. At this point I am still trying to do minimal damage to myself and had a bowl of delicious clams for lunch. Really great food, Paul had really good clam chowder – yes I tasted it! There were, count’em, two kitchen stores, had to hit both. I needed a new garlic slicer and found a really nice one. Mission accomplished.

After spending the night in Coos Bay, with unremarkable food, we motored on to Tillamook. Actually, I must mention that an Italian place was highly recommended, which I wanted to try, but there was also a German place, the Blue Heron, and I compromised with Paul, who wanted schnitzel or some such thing. At the risk of slandering a whole cuisine, German cooking is so bland I really don’t care to eat it again. Paul did allow that this was subpar cooking, but I am not mollified. If you have resources for tasty German cooking I trust you will let me know.

So, on to Tillamook, a small farm town, with again, unremarkable restaurants, but the attraction is the Tillamook Cheese Factory, which is way cool. We took the self guided tour – absolutely fascinated by the worker bees packaging the cheese down below. I kept filming clips of the machines whirling around. We tasted cheese – why can’t we get Habanero Jack here? It’s heavenly. I had a bite of Paul’s chocolate ice cream - addictive. Why didn’t I know there was Tillamook ice cream?

After a great morning at the cheese factory and a visit to the Blue Heron Cheese place we decided to make our way to Portland. Did I mention that western Oregon is unrelentingly beautiful? It’s so green it’s like being in the land of Oz. So we blissfully drove on to Portland, stopping in Beaverton for lunch. Beaverton appears to be bustling and is probably a nice city to live in. We had delicious soup and sandwiches at Fresh Thyme. That is one popular place and we really enjoyed ourselves. I particularly enjoyed the sight of the tall white guy with braided dreads down to his calves. I wish I had thought to snap a picture.

We fooled around in Portland a bit and when I used my GPS to get us back to Interstate 5 and therefore our hotel, it meandered us through the historic Mississippi district, which reminded me of a combo of midtown Sacramento and a clean, non druggy Berkeley. We swore we would come back the next day for further exploration the next day, which we did.

But first, tapas at Toro Bravo for our anniversary dinner! Our foodie neighbor suggested it and since we love small plates we went for it. They don’t take reservations for small parties so it’s a good thing we got there by 6. We got to sit at the bar in front of the kitchen and watch the cooks work their magic. We had fried anchovies with aioli (a first for me) – delicious! Don’t forget to dip those little fishies in the flavorfulness that is aioli. We also had grilled asparagus with fried jamon and other delights, sauteed spinach with pine nuts and golden raisins and grilled flat bread with black truffle cheese and arugula. They treated us to salt cod fritters with aioli. It was all wonderful; oh did I mentioned the delicious cocktails – don’t remember what was in them except they had Tangueray gin in them and I felt perfectly fine the next day. (Notice a pattern here? I don’t drink cheap alcohol because I don’t like feeling like hell the next day. Plus I don’t drink often so when I do I want the good stuff. I don’t normally drink gin, but I’ve been told Bombay Sapphire is amazing so I will have to try it one day.) I got to watch my churros being freshly fried and man were they good, dipped in chocolate sauce. What a wonderful dinner. If you go to Portland – do not pass go, do not collect any moola, go directly to Toro Bravo. When we left at about 7:30 there was a crowd outside waiting to get seated, and sipping cocktails. So go early, unless you want to stand outside and sip cocktails, possibly in the rain.

The next morning we headed back to the Mississippi District, looking for a great breakfast. I had found Muddy’s online so we headed there. I found out Muddy was the owner’s dog, and that he went along on a trip to see the Pope back in 1983, so I figure Muddy is no longer with this. However, is spirit is in evidence – just look at the entrance. Muddy’s is in an old Victorian house and definitely has a homey feel. I had a flavorful bagel and lox and was in heaven with all the capers and onions and the toastiness of the bagel. Yum. Paul went traditional and was happy too. Go to Muddy’s.

We walked up and down Mississippi and found Pistils, a nursery with its own chicken run. I was lured in by the sound of clucking and cackling. Evidently at certain times they have the run of the place, after plants are placed out of reach of their busy beaks and claws. Our favorite spot was The Meadow, a small shop that sells finishing salts and and at least 30 kinds of bitters. I had heard of Angostura bitters and knew they were used in some cocktails, but I didn’t know they were used for cooking too. So we bought the Angostura bitters, which smell citrusy and spicy, and some lemon infused finishing salt and called it good.

One more place to try for breakfast is Zells, where we stopped before leaving Portland. It was popular and good and in an old part of town, just google it. Thanks goodness for google! We did have to start heading south and didn’t have time to meander as before so we had decided to head down Interstate 5 to Ashland, with visits to towns along the way. Ashland is the last town before the California border, and is home to the Shakespeare Festival. It’s a pretty town, high in the hills by the freeway, and has a really pretty downtown. Be sure to walk through Lithia Park, and if you dare, taste the Lithia water. It is full of dissolved minerals like sulphur and it tastes god-awful. I didn’t drink it this time, all those times tasting it as a kid was plenty! Parking is challenging, but it’s worth the effort to go. There are fun shops and lots of restaurants to try. Thai Pepper was good and I would eat there again.

We had to jet on down I5 to get home after two nights in Ashland. I really didn’t want to go home, but that’s how you feel after a great trip. Let me know if you go!