travelogue part 2

The roots...

Who was it, do you think, that first pulled a root out of the ground and said "I bet I could eat that"? They must have been ravenous.

There are some fruits and vegetables that are naturally appealing. Imagine the symmetrical pleasing shape and smooth texture of soybeans, for example. If you can't eat them, then I just might wear them for earrings. Berries, freshly picked, or even a tomato, bursting at the seams with summery moisture and acidic flavor - these seem to be natural sources of food. However, when you take something ugly and alien, and make it delicious, you have gone in another direction entirely.

There are plenty of seemingly odd foods in the grocery store now. But the practice of boiling, baking, or frying a potato is no longer pushing the envelope. Besides a double-dog dare, I don't know if there are many times where I have eaten something I wasn't quite sure about, before my trip. Before the pilgrimage, everything I have eaten resembled food. (Let's not talk about those chicken nuggets.)

As we all know, the first part of food that you experience is how it looks on the plate. That is why I prefaced my next anecdote with this nod to good looks. All the plates at Ubuntu were more than pleasing to the eye. They were artfully presented. They were also thoughtfully planned and masterfully executed. What may have looked like unfamiliar territory quickly flowed into a naturally progressing and complete meal.

The menu (with wines in italics)

amuse bouche
SHISO ice, regina olive oil, maldon salt
carta da musica, ROOTS, burrata

blackened MELON with BASIL & avocado
HOT PEPPER vinegar, sinskey’s kieffer lime, agua fresca
chateau lascaux rose, languedoc ,france, 2007

chickpeas a la catalan
red pepper tears, MINT, romesco, TOMATO toast
zaca mesa viognier, santa ynez valley, 2006

potato gnocchi with CIPPOLINI crème fraiche
GREY SHALLOTS roasted in their skin, LADY APPLE
havens albarino, carneros, 2007

SUMMER SQUASH scented with our vadouvan spice
FICOIDE GLACIALE, beer-battered BLOSSOMS
robert stemmler pinot noir, carneros, 2005

poached domaine de la chance egg with morels
porcini financier, NEW ZEALAND SPINACH, smoked corn
long meadow ranch cabernet sauvignon, napa, 2003

“o’ henry” peach poached with LEMON VERBENA
champagne sabayon, nectarine, wild fennel almonds
pope valley , late harvest chenin blanc, napa,2006

vegan carrot cupcakes with tiny candied CARROTS

baby lady apples with BAY LEAF caramel and our granola

I have never tasted shiso before, or baby lady apples. I have never thought to sample a leaf from the focoide glaciale plant, although that one I hadn't seen before. But it is really not about about what I didn't have before I got there, it is about what I carried away when I left. I tasted the hillsides in Napa through the innovative chefs at Ubuntu. The local farms that provide the ingredients also provided me with an unforgettable experience. I don't want to be shocked by my food, but I relish the rare experience of the new and different in an unforced environment. Naturally.

More dirt: Honorable mentions from the plant kingdom

1. The truly sumptuous truffle oil fries at Fog City Diner

2. The meatiness of the squash blossoms on the flatbread and balanced and crispy fried green beans at Coco 500 pleasantly surprised me

3. "I'm sorry this took so long, we had to pick some more mint from the garden" Southern Belle at Julia's Kitchen (vodka, lemonade, cucumber and MINT).

4. The briny and delicious olives from Oakville Grocery

5. The cucumber gimlet at Cortez

oh, travelogue - my culinary pilgrimage

Where do I even begin?

What was my latest journey, you ask?

Well, perhaps I have been distracted by the journey through the move. The journey into the boxes, and into the new house. The journey into fresh paint and sticky packing tape. The journey into a new kitchen... but that is another story. I am afraid to tell you... there has been little cooking in the new house. Just cooking up ideas and reading up on another journey.

San Fran. Frisco. What better place to begin a new chapter of the ravenous Texan? Arguably the culinary capital of the United States, San Fran is home to some of the best meals I have had all week (and all year!), so this is where I will begin this new portion of the blog. The part where I will tell you what I think of food that I did not cook.

Highlights from a culinary pilgrimage in descending order:

Hog Island Oyster Bar

Bouchon in Yountville

Ubuntu in Napa

Coco 500 in Soma

Delica in the Ferry Building

Fog City Diner

Rye

Julia's Kitchen at COPIA

The Ambassador

The Cortez Bar at the Adagio Hotel

Market Bar

The Clift Hotel (if I am cool enough)

the Sangria at Cha Cha Cha (skip the food)

How should I dissect this list? Shall I separate it into drink and food? They are both culinary journeys of course. Should I go through each meal in detail, recounting every taste and smell? Nah. I will tell you the parts that I savored.

The parts that made me close my eyes and say "remember this."

Those parts are here, and if you want more of them, you can look at them on this page where I have begun posting pictures.

Part 1

The icy cold and slippery saltiness of the oysters consumed on my trip may cause me to start looking for more coastal employment. What is brine anyway? Did you know that most oysters actually call more brackish water their home? Why do some grow to be so large and fatty, and some stay so neat and tidy in their shell? These are not the things I think about when I think about an oyster. I think about being a mermaid.

In another lifetime, if you believe in all that, I was a mermaid. I was not one of those animated mermaids that made friends with all the fish. I was a mermaid who went looking through all the oyster beds for every last one. No pearls, tabasco, cocktail sauce, or crackers, thanks. Just Kumamotos, Sweetwaters, maybe some Malpeques. Just make sure its cold and that there is a slice of lemon lying around somewhere. I have not always been a purist. I have also not always written about the food I eat. You learn when you dissect.

Plenty of peeps that came before me have given their shout out to the oyster:

I don't know if he was an aficionado, but Lewis Carroll made an impression on me as a young oyster pursuer. Perhaps it was the anthropomorphic oysters that pleaded for their life with no success against such foes as the walrus and the carpenter. What a sad and happy tale all at the same time.

"An oyster leads a dreadful but exciting life..." - MFK Fisher

"Secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster." - Charles Dickens (from A Christmas Carol)

"He was a bold man that first eat an oyster." - Johnathan Swift (coming from him!)

So, I will not be so bold as to say that I am one of the founders of the Oyster Fan Club. I know there are many who have come before. I am just standing in line, waiting for my membership card.

Perhaps it is all the sea that we cannot drink that is filtered through this perfect specimen of

muscle. Perhaps it is the noble life it leads to get us there, pumping and pumping...filtering and syphoning to get us to that sweet and salty kiss, so creamy and crisp all at the same time. Maybe that is why I adore them so.

The perfect marriage

Souffles are a lot like marriage... They are difficult at times. They require patience and preparation. They are very rewarding. They can be sweet or savory. They can be dramatic and exciting. They can be light and fluffy. They can be crusty around the edges. They are fragile and should be treated delicately at times. They can even fail or fall.

But a good souffle is the perfect marriage between two lucky ingredients: (1) Eggs, beaten like the dickens, and (2) A thick, well-seasoned base. The perfect marriage can be achieved, and especially when your inspiration is cheese, oh, is it lovely...


The Perfect Marriage of Eggs and Cheese
(Otherwise known as a Gruyere cheese souffle)

- butter, room temperature for greasing container
- grated Parmesan, about 1/4 cup or less
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 1 teaspoon mustard
- pinch of salt
- 1 1/3 cup of milk
(Alton Brown says the milk should be hot, and I suppose it helps).
- 4 large egg yolks
- LOTS of shredded Gruyere cheese (about 6-8 ounces)
- 5 egg whites
- 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar (if you are using a copper bowl to beat your eggs, you do not need this.)

First, most chefs recommend that with a cheese souffle, you generously butter the inside of your chosen souffle dish and coat it with dry breadcrumbs or grated Parmesan cheese. Uh... I chose cheese.

Cover this souffle dish with plastic wrap, or my favorite, press and seal, and stick it in the refrigerator or freezer for about 5 minutes (to help set the cheese and butter in place).

Turn your oven on to preheat to 375 degrees. (350 if you are making individual ones).

Okay, so some would say that your flavorful base is a bechamel sauce. I don't know if it always qualifies for other souffles, especially dessert souffles, but it seems to fit the bill here. It also makes me feel oh so Frenchy to make a bechamel and souffle at the same time. Thank you very much.

So, the bechamel... it starts by heating the butter in a saucepan whisking constantly so it does not start to brown or burn. Add the flour, dry mustard, and salt and whisk well. Turn the heat up and let this cook for about 2 minutes. Continue to whisk while the mixture simmers, and until it is thick and smooth. These seem like vague terms, but you can tell when you bechamel takes on a new identity. It is subtle, but it is there...

Take this off the heat and add in Gruyere. The mixture will become very stiff. Beat in the egg yolks one at a time. Set this aside.

Using a handy hand-mixer (to allow for maximum froth and flexibility) whip the egg whites and cream of tarter. Beat, whisk, and generally whip the eggs until they no longer resemble eggs. They will become frothy and form peaks when you pull out the whisk. See left.

Now, move quickly here, but do not get too crazy with your eggs. Treat them delicately (see marriage comparison above) as they are infused with air, and you do not want to burst their bubble.

Slowly combine the cheesey base to the egg mixture. Gently fold the mixture together in a bowl and then pour the mixture into the souffle pan. For drama, fill it closer the top. I left about a 1/2 inch. Place the souffle pan on a baking sheet and cross your fingers for about 35 minutes.

For the life cycle of a souffle, see below.

For the life cycle of a marriage, well, that one is another story...

It all started with onions.

It was an innocent beginning. A sweet Texas onion... we Texas ladies know what that means. A Vidalia onion is not a mean onion. If you invited a Vidalia onion to tea it would behave. I mean, really.

If I were a Vidalia onion, I would talk like Juuuulia Roberts in Steel Magnolias. If I were a Vidalia onion, I would be gentile. But somehow I got a wild one.

But, really, let's be serious. I can't chop a shallot or a chive without this kind of reaction. My eyes are tearing up as I type this. It's the sulfur. That is what they tell me anyway.

That's why I am not sure I am cut out for this recipe. I am not cut out for the pain. I really can't take it. I frequently have to leave the kitchen. I do this great maneuver where I press the backs of my hands against my closed eyelids in search of relief and let out a little gasp... Is it worth it? Really? Yes, if you are making the all-time tastiest turkey meatloaf, it is worth it.

My favorite meatloaf

- Olive oil (let's eyeball it, but about a tablespoon)
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 1/2 cups minced onions (oh, the pain!)
- minced garlic (a tablespoon? eh, try two)
- 1 tspn dried oregano
- 1 tspn dried thyme
- 1/2 tspn ground allspice
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
- 1 1/2 - 1 3/4 pounds of ground turkey
- 1 cup fine bread crumbs
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- 1/4 cup minced fresh italian parsley (this means the flat-leaf kind)
- 3 tbspn ketchup
- 1-2 tbspn salt
- 1-2 tbspn pepper


Put the olive oil and butter in a skillet and let butter melt on medium to low heat. When it is all melty and yummy, add the onions and garlic and stir... when the onions look clear or translucent, you are ready for the next step. Add the dried herbs and the allspice, plus the heavy cream. Let this simmer a little, but keep stirring. This picture to the left is where we started...


Step 1 in the picture right below here is where we go next... Let it simmer until it looks like oatmeal and most of the liquid has been reduced out. When the consistency is right, set it aside and let it cool. When it is cool, add the ground turkey, bread crumbs, eggs, parsley, ketchup, salt and pepper. Mix well. Go ahead, get your hands dirty.

Preheat the oven to the old faithful 350 degrees.

Bake this in a loaf pan until an hour has passed. I was able to make it stretch to two pans...
It doesn't sound or look that exciting. But this, my friend, is the holy grail of meatloaf. You try it, and let me know.
















Why or why would you serve meatloaf without mashed potatoes as a side? While you are at it, what about a shitake mushroom gravy? It's easy. Combine 1/2 cup stemmed and thinly sliced shitake mushrooms, 2 cups of chicken stock and 2 beef bouillon cubes crumbled in hot water. Let this simmer for a long while until it resembles au jus or gravy. mmmmmmm.

Keep it simple, stupid.

I love to cook. I love to add a dash of this, and a little of that. I like to be spontaneous. I like to "eyeball it" as my mother says. Who doesn't? What is fun about being a slave to other people's recipes? Nothing.

But you know what is nice sometimes? Simple and sweet. There is nothing as splendid as a simple vanilla, vanilla cupcake.

There are many cupcake recipes out there. There are uber chic new cupcake bakeries popping up everywhere. Sprinkles. Sugarbabies. The Cookie Jar. There are countless cupcake recipes and new cupcake cookbooks. There is one bakery in New York that made the original crazy good, uber chic cupcake. This recipe is from there.



Magnolia Bakery Vanilla Cupcakes

- 1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- 2 cups sugar
- 4 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Line two 12-cup muffin tins with cupcake papers.

In a small bowl, combine the flours. Set aside.

In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugar gradually and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Add the dry ingredients in three parts, alternating with the milk and vanilla. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated but do not overbeat. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the batter in the bowl to make sure the ingredients are well blended. Carefully spoon the batter into the cupcake liners, filling them about three-quarters full.

Bake for 20–25 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center of the cupcake comes out clean. Cool the cupcakes in the tins for 15 minutes. Remove from the tins and cool completely on a wire rack before icing.

Makes about 2 dozen cupcakes

Vanilla Buttercream Icing

- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- 6 to 8 cups confectioners’ sugar
- 1/2 cup milk 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Place the butter in a large mixing bowl. Add 4 cups of the sugar and then the milk and vanilla. On the medium speed of an electric mixer, beat until smooth and creamy, about 3-5 minutes. Gradually add the remaining sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating well after each addition (about 2 minutes), until the icing is thick enough to be of good spreading consistency. You may not need to add all of the sugar, but it sure is good if you do. (This is the bakery's recipe and I have to say, I added a bit of flour in the end so I could add some thickness. You can't have the icing too runny... that's not cute.)

The resulting cupcakes are so dense and moist, that it almost makes you want to quit your day job and bake all day. Almost... if you like that kind of thing.