Strawberry Sorbet
I love strawberries and since they are abundant this time of year it is hard to resist buying a flat at the farmer’s market to feed my habit. This week I had a craving for strawberry ice cream but there was no milk in the house and I wasn’t going to the store so sorbet was made instead! It is so easy, just needs to be planned in advance. To dress up and serve for guests drizzle a little reduced aged balsimico over the top and garnish with a lime wedge, strawberry slice, and shortbread cookie on the side.
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
4 cups strawberries
¼ cup freshly squeezed lime juice
Combine the sugar and water in a sauce pan and bring to a boil until sugar dissolves, then simmer for 5 minutes. Pour into a bowl and place in the refrigerator to cool completely.
Puree the strawberries and add lime juice. Combine with the simple syrup and blend until thoroughly mixed.
Pour into an ice cream maker and follow manufacturer’s instructions. Freeze for at least 4 hours before serving.
mkmtCOOK | Comment (0)Invasion of the Crabgrass
Everything was going so well with the plot. I have been visiting every few days, watering – especially during the heat wave and watching things grow. It’s remarkable how much has happened in three weeks. The cosmos have several blooms and are filling out and getting tall, the tomatoes expanding in their cages, strawberries blooming – soon fruit will be on the way… even the lettuce seeds were popping up through the soil. The worms are also thriving. This morning I saw three long, fat, pinkish-brownish ones doing their worm thing.
I was picking around the lettuce, starting to think about thinning some of it out when I realized that not everything popping of the soil was lettuce, and upon further review, noticed that not only was it mixed in the lettuce but entwined around the cosmos, coming up from under the perimeter and springing up amongst the strawberries, lavender, and even around the base of the tomatoes.
Scratching my head with a bewildered look on my face one of the fellow gardeners walked by and said, “uhoh, looks like you have the crabgrass.” I thought oh no, who invited the crabgrass? As it turns out, before the plot was built, the ground it inhabits was full of crabgrass. In addition to the hedge of roses, the grass grew thick. When the space was cleared, borders laid, and soil spread, little did I know what lay underneath would thrive once my garden had been planted.
Now I am on a mission to control the crabgrass. I spent several hours digging out what had sprung up, following its roots that zigged and zagged all over the place. After what was in the plot was removed I attacked the surrounding path that was overrun with the stuff.
It is by no means gone but progress has been made and now I can stay on top of it although it is going to require constant battle. Later. I did some research and have learned that the best way to organically control the crabgrass is with corn gluten and of course, copious weeding. Nobody ever said this gardening was going to be easy and the crabgrass is just part of the adventure. In the meantime, the chives, parsley and thyme are also growing like weeds and the halibut marinating in the refrigerator has fresh herbs from my garden!
mkmtDIG | Comments (2)Wine Country Cooking Cookbook Review
Everyone was excited to cook from Wine Country Cooking. As people started buying their books I began receiving emails with a common theme of “it all looks so good I’m going to have a hard time deciding what to make”. This is truly a cookbook for all seasons, and how lucky are we to live close to the wine country and have so many amazing ingredients readily available.
During the time we were cooking from the book, several serendipitous things happened around Joanne Weir. The first was an invitation from a friend to attend a dinner at the Left Bank in Larkspur. Joanne had provided a menu that Chef Sean Canavan and his crew expertly prepared. All recipes were from Wine Country Cooking and ironically, I had prepared the entrée for dinner with the parents the week before. It would be interesting to compare. The rest of the menu included:
Amuse Bouche ~ Asparagus Cheese Puffs (p.79)
First Course ~ Asparagus Soup with Lemon Crème Fraîche ( p.15)
Entrée ~ Pork Tenderloin with Onion, Orange Marmalade (p. 155) and Grain Pilaf with Nuts and Dried Fruit (p. 178)
Dessert ~ Warm Chocolate-Walnut Tart (p.195)
It was all quite delicious with the stand out dish being the Asparagus Soup. It was the most brilliant shade of green, (Chef Canavan shared his trick for that with the group who ate up every word), But it was really the addition of lemon to the crème fraîche that gave everyone pause after putting the first spoonful in their mouths. The lemon was so subtle but noticeable and turned the soup from good to “wow, that’s really delicious”.
The second came from a friend who I like sharing recipes with. She sent me a couple that she had been making lately and really enjoyed. Guess whose they were; yep, Joanne Weir.
As for the cookbook, the net was that while all of the recipes looked great, there were several that had liquid ingredients that were off, instructions that were unclear or cooking times that were off. We decided that the recipes were better used as guidelines and that if the book had been gifted to a novice who didn’t have the intuition of someone who cooks a lot, there would be trouble in the kitchen. Some of us also found that certain recipes required a lot of active time.
It made me wonder… at the dinner, Joanne said that she writes recipes on her computer without actually making them. She is clearly a professional and has been cooking for decades with her PBS show, teaching classes and running tours near and abroad so of course, she naturally knows what she’s doing in a kitchen, it just seemed that something got lost in translation or perhaps only some of the recipes were tested in the kitchen.
Two things I learned from meeting her – she has a hell of a devoted following of people who watch her on television and attend her classes. In fact, she knew or recognized most of the guests and the man sitting next to me had almost all seventeen of her cookbooks and could actually recall which recipes were in which book and he even threw out a few page numbers as well. I was more frightened than impressed by this knowledge. The second is that Joanne Weir is a shameless self-promoter. I think that every sentence she spoke had a mention of her PBS show, her upcoming culinary tour in Provence, one of her seventeen cookbooks, or the weekend cooking classes she teaches in her house in SF. I wonder how she has a permit for those weekend classes? But I digress and must go back to the book and our cookbook club.
The quote of the night from the table “Damn Joanne, it would have been nice to have better instructions”. We all would have liked more pictures and a couple of us had issues with the cover coming unglued.
Here is a partial list of some of the dishes we made and comments:
Asparagus, Blood Orange, and Proscuitto Salad p.33 ~ it was labor intensive to segment and peel the oranges and what does “curl the proscuitto like a ribbon” mean? It would have been nice to have a picture. The depth of flavor was good.
Risotto with Lemon Shrimp p.129 ~ a huge hit, although one person ran out of stock before the rice was “chalky” it was really creamy and flavorful.
Little Lemon Cakes p.197 ~ both people who made these said the yield was 10 servings vs. 8 as stated in the book ~ at least the yield wasn’t less! Both cooks also stated it took longer to cook than what the recipe said.
Olive Oil and Orange Essence Cake p.196 ~ orange essence can be difficult to find. It was also unclear when to take the parchment paper off, and as a result, the top of the cake stuck to the parchment and came off in pieces. This was a problem for presentation.
Wine Country Flatbread with Grapes and Walnuts p.98 ~ Easy to make, delicious, and the house smelled great.
Fennel Gratin p.171 ~ Just make sure your guests like fennel!
Gratin of Tomatoes, Zucchini, and Eggplant p.172 ~ The cook said “This is a disaster as far as I’m concerned, there was way too much liquid”.
Roasted Cauliflower Soup p.17 ~ it’s good with a little cheese on top.
White Bean and Ham Soup p.23 ~ Yum!
Polenta with Mushrooms p.88
Citrus Salad with Mint and Red Onions p.44
Gorgonzola and Tomato Pizza p.144 ~ easy and straightforward recipe.
Crostini with Fennel Sausage p.63 ~ (Joann said this is one of her favorite recipes in the book) – and it was delicious but required more cooking time than in the recipe. Definitely a good idea to double the recipe and have on hand.
Italian Mac & Cheese p.124 ~ this needed more time in the oven but what’s not to love about penne + 3 cheeses in a béchamel sauce with toasted breadcrumbs?!
Pineapple Sorbet with Olive Oil & Fleur de Sel p.209 ~ another recipe that Joanne said was a favorite. I guarantee your guests have never had this before. Be sure to use a good olive oil and with a sprinkle of salt your guests are in for a big surprise!
Goat Cheese and Green Onion Galette p.82 ~ Easy to make and yummy
Cool Mint Chocolate Cookies p.202 ~ substituted orange extract for the mint. I think they may be some of the best chocolate cookies I have ever made.
One thing that we all noticed and would have liked to make but lacked the time was the Lemoncello on the last page. It requires a minimum of 80 days of advance timing. If I make some now it will be ready for a hot August night – and how refreshing to sip some Lemoncello on ice! I won’t mention the big typo in the head note – Amalti Coast?!? That’s pretty bad.
In the end, we were all glad that we had cooked from the book and are likely to return to its recipes as the seasons change. Now we know to consider the recipes as guidelines and use our best judgment and intuition when cooking.
mkmtCOOK | Comments (7)Apple-Buttermilk Sherbet
This is the second part of a recipe for Apple Crisp with Apple-Buttermilk Sherbet from Home Cooking with Charlie Trotter. I decided to forgo the crisp and make the sherbet. It stood up on its own and stole the show for dessert. Serve with a nip of Calvados or drizzle some caramel over the top to make extra decadent. I made my own simple syrup and got fresh pressed cider from Apple Farm at the farmer’s market.
¾ cup buttermilk
1 cup apple juice
½ cup simple syrup
1 ½ tablespoons corn syrup
Combine all of the ingredients in a medium bowl and refrigerate until chilled. Follow the directions on your ice cream maker and serve.
Making Simple Syrup is simple. Simply combine 1 cup of water with 1 cup of sugar in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and cool. Keep the extra that you don’t use for this recipe in the refrigerator and use it for something else.
mkmtCOOK | Comment (0)Orchid
My Mom gave me this orchid for Valentine’s Day. At the time, it was heavy with blooms; only one or two flowers were actually open. Within the first week a couple of buds shriveled and fell off. I was afraid she wasn’t adapting to my environment. Slowly she settled in and what a difference two months makes! Look at her now, full of blooms and going strong! I admire her before I leave for work in the morning and when I return at night. Each time I look at her I smile. Thanks Mom!
mkmtDIG, mkmtLIVE | Comment (0)Bardessono – No?
Yountville is the perfect place in the Napa Valley. It is more precious than Napa and not as far as Saint Helena so the heinous traffic doesn’t apply, and hands down, per block is home to many of the best restaurants in the wine country. In fact with so many great places to eat – including the new Michael Chiarello restaurant, Bottega, deciding where to eat is overwhelming. The eating is one vote to stay for the weekend vs. the day, but either way, Yountville is the perfect day trip or weekend escape.
Part of the reason for this visit was to check out Bardessono, the new luxury resort and spa. Touting itself as the “most anticipated opening in years” and open since February, Bardessono also claims to be the greenest hotel in America. Hats off to that! But starting at six-bills a night for the spa-suite (entry level room) in low-season, I had to wonder… if these are recessionary times, has the recession not come to the wine country? Can the Napa Valley support yet another resort with these price points?
After walking around the property I was underwhelmed. There was a lot of stone and wood (or as Paul said “they used the Home Depot bricks to make the walls”… I’m sure they were something other than that, but they did look a little Home Depot). I felt that any type of lush landscaping in the form of trees and plants was missing; perhaps it is still going in.
Unlike other resorts in the area, I didn’t get that feeling that I was in a special place. Granted, I didn’t stay overnight so can’t comment on the service and guest experience, but the walk through didn’t fire me up to convince Paul that I’d found the most fabulous place and we needed to return to spend a weekend.
I love the fact that it is green and sustainable by design and can’t deny that the pool cabanas looked like an inviting place to spend a hot summer day but I left feeling that something was missing and I can’t place what that something is. Did it feel empty, during my look around, I saw only three people – all in the pool. Or maybe it was the sparseness. I am upset. I wanted to love it; I wanted it to be my weekend retreat from the foggy city in the summertime. I wanted to feel compelled to sign up for their email list to receive exclusive offers, but I’m not.
So for now, I wish the Bardessono well. Who knows, maybe they’re close to fully booked for the summer and I have it all wrong. The next time I’m in Yountville, I’ll check it out again and maybe then I’ll get that special feeling.
mkmtGO, mkmtLIVE | Comment (0)Seven Years of Waiting
After seven years of waiting, I finally have a plot in a community garden where I can dig in the dirt and grow things. There are several community gardens in San Francisco and seven years ago I entered my name on a wait list for the one in Fort Mason. Located in the heart of Fort Mason with gorgeous bay views, she is the Queen of all community gardens, coveted by many and it also happened to be walking distance from home. My neighbor had a plot there and would let me live vicariously through her as a volunteer to tend it when she was on holiday.
When I signed up I was deep on the second column of the wait list, number 64 I believe, and told that it would likely be upwards of five years until my name was called. Would you believe that five years later and 3 weeks after moving out of the city I got the phone call…?
Flash forward 3 years; I move back to the city to a different neighborhood with it’s own community garden. One of the first things I do upon my return is put my name on the wait list. I was number FIVE! Certainly, the wait would be mere weeks. Oh no, at this garden, it takes 18 months to 2 years to turn over five people. Last week, about 22 months later, I got the call. So there it is, seven years of waiting to be called to claim a small patch of dirt… my time had come.
The plot is located in one of the sunniest areas of the garden and the part of the city where I live is one of the warmest and least foggy. I have high hopes that I’ll be able to yield enough vegetables to feed me and Paul this summer. The plot is small, about 4’x10’ so I need to be strategic about what and where to plant. I plan to grow a combo of flowers and vegetables, mostly vegetables, and today the first went in.
In the row that boarders my neighbor to the north, I planted Cosmos. They’ll grow tall so I won’t have to see the dozens of marigolds that she is planting. In the next row is a Red Bell Pepper, and two types of Sweet Cherry Tomatoes. The third row has Arugula and Butter Lettuce which I planted from seed – we’ll see how that goes. The fourth row is flanked on one side with a Japanese Cucumber and Chives on the other with Little Gem Lettuce seeds in the middle. The south end has two types of Lavender and a Fuchsia.
There is a gap in the middle where strawberries, fingerling potatoes, thyme, tarragon and basil will go next week. Several people are growing strawberries including my neighbor to the west (he has an irrigation system too; I may need friend him). They seem to be hearty and thriving so I’m going to give them a go. Yum – fresh strawberries!!
Once the rest is in, I will nurture the garden and let nature take its course and see what she yields!
mkmtLIVE | Comment (1)