And now, Bottega in pretty pictures

My dear friend Danielle, whom you may recall from the origins of this very blog, flew all the way from Vermont to visit me last week. We had such an epic adventure, I don't even know where to begin. We started with touristy San Francisco stuff, and finished with an absolutely amazing weekend in Napa. I'm sure I'll be back with all the details and play-by-play, but for now, here are some pretty pictures of dinner at Bottega. Enjoy!

Pasta Fritta -- basically a deconstructed salad of figs wrapped in prosciutto (the undisputed king of meats), Parmesan puffs, and wine foam.

Ricotta gnocchi

Duck! And roasted grapes...

A finale of olive oil cake with macerated raspberries and fig gelato.

An Evening at Baker and Banker

I’m not sure why it took me so long to churn this post out (its already two weeks overdue). I’m sure there’s an excuse of how busy I am, I’m still not over this cold, blah blah blah. Regardless, here (finally) is the recount of dinner at Baker and Banker (http://www.bakerandbanker.com).

And what a dinner it was! I forget where I first heard about Baker and Banker – Tasting Table? Food and Wine? The SF Inside Scoop? All plausible possibilities. Anyway, the restaurant had been hanging out on my “places to go” list for months when the opportunity to eat there finally presented itself a couple weekends ago. Some friends and I – the roommate among them – were going shopping to the city, and naturally, dinner plans fell to me. I actually tried to get a table at a couple other places first, and then when one at Baker and Banker was available, I snatched it up – and I’m so glad I did!

I may never stop talking about last Sunday

Let me apologize in advance for the length of this post, but I just had so many exciting things to talk about.

No exaggeration – this past Sunday was one of the best days of my life! Alex and I spent the day in Napa before heading to a John Hiatt concert, and the whole day was epic. Here’s the rundown:

We left Berkeley around 11, and didn’t arrive in Calistoga (the very northern part of the Napa region) until almost 1:30. Unfortunately, this is pretty typical – its only a 50 miles drive or so, but traffic tends to suck. Thankfully we swung through Starbucks on the way (side note: fall drinks and treats are back! I got a salted caramel mocha and it was to die for. This also means that its pumpkin cream cheese muffin time! I’ll let you know how that goes as soon as I get my hands on one). It was a gorgeous day and we had good tunes in the car, so the drive was pleasant.

Finally we arrived at a tasting room in Calistoga. I had spent some time on Google and Yelp looking for some inexpensive wine tastings for two reasons – 1, I was trying to save some money (duh) and 2, this isn’t really Alex’s thing – he was mostly doing it to humor me – so I didn’t want him to spend a ton either. It turns out that there are a TON on inexpensive tastings available throughout Napa, you just have to do your research. So anyway, we went to this place (and now I’ve totally forgotten the name, but I did buy a bottle there). While we were there, we got a coupon for two complimentary tastings at Markham (www.markhamvineyards.com/) – where it turns out they also had a free gallery full of photos from Rolling Stone’s original photographer – think Jerry Garcia, Hendrix, Janis Joplin, all in their prime, paired with the original Rolling Stones covers. Alex was ecstatic – this is definitely more his scene, and I was pleased because while the day was rather me-oriented, I wanted him to enjoy it too. So we drank some more free wine and checked out some very cool art. Then we had a delicious packed lunch in the parking lot (cheese, summer sausage, crackers). That concluded our wine tasting for the day – and ringing in at $6 each, it was not bad at all.

Next we headed over to the CIA Greystone, which is practically across the street from Markham. The woman at the first tasting room had recommended that we stop by. Honestly, I hadn’t realized that it was open to the public, and that there was an awesome campus store. The building is beautiful, like a castle, and there are also some neat displays inside – the antique corkscrew collection, for example. I wanted to drop everything and enroll and never leave…but I managed to contain myself (I have been looking for a part-time culinary program to enroll in, something I’ve wanted to do for a long time, but they are so dang expensive and I guess just not a very practical option right now). I did buy a cute bamboo salt box with the CIA logo on it and a postcard for my grandparents. I saw the cutest pink chef’s coat, too (hint, hint, mom and dad).

Next stop was Dean and DeLuca. I’d been surprised to see the shop last time I was in Napa; I’d always thought Dean and DeLuca was more of an East Coast thing. Regardless, I’d never actually been in one (just heard Julie talk about in Julie and Julia, and of course, Felicity worked there…). Paradise. I walked away with a very cool burlap tote bag, and Alex got some licorice, so everyone was happy. We drooled over the meats and cheese cases, and the homemade marshmallows, but managed to resist. But  I wanted one of everything in the store (of course, I felt the same way back at the CIA shop…I’m incorrigible, I know).

A Cooking Class at Central Market

First of all, merry belated Christmas and early happy New Year! I hope you’re all having a wonderful holiday season.

Now, before I get into babbling on about today’s subject, I feel the need to make a brief comment on the therapeutic powers of cooking. I am having a particularly shitty week (sorry about the rough language, but its true). It’s a long story and I won’t bore you all with it, but needless to say, I am feeling rather depressed. However, each night this week I have come home after a long day at work and spent some time in the kitchen. Last night I made a mushroom lo mein; tonight it was a carrot frittata with fried potatoes. I don’t think I mentioned that I joined a winter CSA – Pete’s Greens, based out of Craftsbury, VT. Every Wednesday I get a great share of veggies and other local products, so I have been coming up with a lot of different ways to use them. I have kind of a routine when it comes to cooking. First, I always have music playing. I usually let iTunes create a playlist based on my mood – tonight was Norah Jones and James Morrison, a nice jazzy, mellow feel. Next, I don my apron (I got a really cute one for Christmas that makes me feel like Audrey Hepburn). I review my recipe, if I am using one, and finally start prepping. I listen to the music and do not have too much time to think about whatever is bothering me, because I need to concentrate on what I am doing so I do not burn/slice myself. After all is said and done, I then get to enjoy the “fruits” of my labor (sorry, bad pun). There is something soothing and comforting about the whole ordeal, and I feel a lot better afterwards.

On with the subject at hand…You may recall that a few weeks ago I mentioned a cooking class that my father and I were going to be taking while I visited my family in Texas for Christmas. Well, we took it and it was awesome! The food we learned to prepare was fabulous, the class was structured really well, and I came away from the experience with a lot of new tips and techniques. The theme of the three hour course was “A Night in Paris,” which was based on a meal the head of the cooking school had enjoyed while in, you guessed it, Paris (and no, NOT Paris, TX). There were a total of about 20 participants, which were then divided into two groups of five or six pairs. Each group was led by one of the staff. Our teacher, Rebecca, was great. She was friendly and really knowledgeable about all sorts of foodie things. I enjoyed her company and her instruction. The class was structured so that each pair in the group focused on one main component of the meal, while still being able to watch and learn from everyone else. My dad and I worked on the warm shallot dressing for the duck salad, and got some great pointers regarding knife skills.

At the end of the class, once everything was all set, we got to sit down and enjoy a full three course meal – and it was excellent. Oh, did I mention that wine was included, too? The food was served to us on china and it was like being at a restaurant, except we’d had a hand in preparing everything! The first course consisted of the previously mentioned duck salad with warm shallot dressing, as well as a chicken and pistachio mousse with traditional accoutrement. The duck breast was prepared in a stovetop smoker and was some of the best I have ever had – seriously. Plus, now I have to get one of those smokers, because it was super neat. And the mousse. Oh my god, was it delicious. I have to admit, I had only had chicken liver mousse/pate one time before, and I did not care for it…it was a little too chickeny, you know? That was not the case the other night. This pate was more a mix of chicken breast and livers, then studded with whole pistachios and wrapped in bacon. They served it was these really yummy garlic toasts, sweet pickles, and Dijon mustard. I was full after the first course, and there was still so much more to come!

The second course was a seared rib eye topped with a chive compound butter, sautéed veggies, and duck fat roasted potatoes. Yes, you read that correctly. Did you know that you can buy rendered duck fat, the same as you can get a stick of butter? What a revelation! That one ingredient added so much flavor to the simple dish – and then the potatoes were drizzled with truffle oil. Does it get more decadent than that? This course was also served with baguette slices and French butter to smear on them. Let me tell you, that butter was THE BEST butter I have ever tasted. It was President brand, made in France with big crystals of sea salt. I kind of wanted to just eat a big spoonful of the butter alone, it was that good. It reminds me of one of the early scenes in the movie version of Julie and Julia, when Julia Child is served her first French meal – fish in a beurre blanc sauce, and she leans over and simply exclaims, “Butter!” It was that good.

Finally came dessert, a vanilla soufflé with crème anglaise sauce. Need I even say more? I did learn about vanilla bean paste, which is just the inside of the vanilla beans that you usually have to scrape out, mixed with a little water and sugar and bottled. So good, and so convenient. The neat thing about the class is that it took place over the Central Market grocery store, so after I was able to go buy the garlic toasts, the butter, and the vanilla bean paste. A quick comment of the soufflé – now, it was delicious, there is no denying that. However, to me it tasted an awful lot like a Dutch baby, which I have mentioned in previous blogs. Plus, Dutch babies are much less labor intensive – I do not see why I couldn’t just make a Dutch baby, top it was crème anglaise, and call it a night. In fact, I plan to do exactly that this weekend. Yum.

The whole class was a great experience, and I hope I get to do something like it again. My dad and I both really enjoyed ourselves and learned a lot in the process. Overall, a success!