California

SATURDAY, 11 AUGUST 2012

Souffle Souffle

I am sharing my soufflé here as well.   

It was a tiny one.  A warm Edam cheese soufflé with crispy bacon on top, paired with fromage blanc sorbet and a white sesame tuile to end my dinner at La Folie in San Francisco when we visited that city in late June.

It was a good dinner.  Mrs. A ate frog legs, escargots bone marrow gratin, seared foie gras, and foie gras torchon.  Mr. A had goat cheese tatin, a pig feet sweetbread and lobster terrine, seared foie gras before his soufflé.   

Our friend’s dessert was a huckleberry Baked Alaska, basil ice creams, served with lemon biscuit and huckleberry panna cotta.  It looked good, didn’t it?

SATURDAY, 11 AUGUST 2012

Souffle!

One of the culinary delights on our California trip was a perfect souffle served with Gran Marnier cream.  This was dessert at the Beausejour Restaurant in "downtown" Los Altos.  

Souffle is one of those things like profiteroles - there is no 100% guarantee that they will turn out the right way.  I've had souffle at a four star restaurant before; it looked great on the outside but I had to return it to the kitchen because it was watery inside.  In this case, it was perfect inside and out - a repeat performance too!   We were there two years ago and already decided then that we will return if only just for this dessert.  

The rest of the meal was okay, reasonably priced, attractively served but mediocre.  The souffle, however, is priceless!  Worth the trip!

SUNDAY, 5 AUGUST 2012

Love Apple Farms

Since we're on the theme of tomatoes, I have to tell you about my visit to Love Apple Farms when I was in California recently.  "Love apple" is apparently an old French name for tomato so it is obvious that this is the star crop at the farm, which specializes in heirloom tomatoes, producing more than 100 varieties.  This is a biodynamic farm using an organic farming method that emphasizes the holistic interrelationships between soil, plant and animals.  It would be interesting to hear Akujiki's opinion on these tomatoes when he gets a chance to visit.

The farm is also the kitchen garden for the Michelin star restaurant Manresa in Los Gatos nearby.  We were at Manresa for a pre-wedding dinner several years ago.  It was one of the most refreshingly tasty meals we have had and obviously a focus on fresh organic ingredients was an important factor.

I was pleasantly surprised when these "Golden purses" were served as an appetizer at the dinner.  It was clearly an import from Chinese cuisine.  These were exquisitely done with mushrooms inside.

Roast suckling pig at Manresa, not quite Chinese style but certainly Chinese themed

This time around, we were at Love Apple Farms for a post-wedding brunch which was supplemented by a Chinese style roast pig.  The meal was delicious.  We were eating food right at the source.  I can literally taste the freshness in the fruit and vegetable salads; the berry scones were melt in your mouth.  

Fresh fruit and flowers from the farm

Melt in your mouth scones

Bring your own roast pig and get a discount!

After the brunch, the owner, Cynthia Sandberg, took us on a tour of the terraced farm sitting on the slopes of the Santa Cruz mountains.

View from the entrance

Farm tour with owner, Cynthia Sandberg

This is stevia, which can be used as a sweetener.  We were told to break off a part of a leave to taste it - it was like eating candy!

WEDNESDAY, 1 AUGUST 2012

Early Girl is Here

Last week I received a phone call from the produce lady of Bi-Rite Market.  She said that Early Girltomatoes would be in the store for a month or so. That was happy news.  I had been asking grocers at my favorite markets for weeks about Early Girl, and all they could say was “they are coming soon”.  Early Girl ripens early in the tomato season, but weird weather in recent years makes it difficult to forecast its availability.  Last year I missed it altogether; I checked every week in early summer to no avail, then one day a junior grocer at the Co-op rolled her eyes and said impatiently, “Early Girl was an early tomato.  This is already August.”  Bitch!

Why am I so crazy about Early Girl?  Because it is the only sweet tomato that I can find in markets these days.  Okay, I have exaggerated a little: there are some orange colored cherry tomatoes that are sweet too.  Interestingly, red and yellow cherry tomatoes, even those from the same source as the orange ones, are not tasty at all.  I have no idea why that is the case.

Back in the late 1990s and early 2000s, when heirloom tomatoes from small local producers were sold at some farmers’ markets and special stores, they were expensive but delicious.  Starting in mid-2000, with big producers entering the market, heirloom tomatoes were available everywhere. When I saw them in supermarkets, I knew that the end had come.  While the price dropped by half or more, and the look was the same as before, their taste was bland.  Even the ones at farmers’ markets (where not all vendors were farmers) did not guarantee taste any more.  My conclusion is that heirloom or not is not important; what matters are the production and distribution processes.  Only your local small farmers, or yourself if you are a gardener, can supply fresh vine ripe tasty tomatoes in season.

It was around that time that I found Early Girl.  It is a hybrid developed in France.  Its seeds were sold in the U.S. since 1975.  It is usually dry farmed, meaning that the vine is planted deep and it is not irrigated after planting.  The process results in small tomatoes with a concentrated flavor.   

Anyway, the day after I got the call from Bi-Rite, I drove there for the long awaited tomatoes.  On my way, I stopped at Monterey Market.  They had Early Girl too, and Odoriko as well (Odoriko 踊り子卜マト is a Japanese hybrid similar to Momotaro 桃太郎卜マト, a tomato that is very popular in Japan).  There were also Turkish figs, Washington Rainier cherries and Santa Rosa plums.  I got some of each.  At Bi-Rite, I bought more Early Girl tomatoes.  They filled up two bowls at home.

The Early Girl tomatoes from Bi-Rite were sweet and tasty though the skin was a bit on the thick side.  I ate some as is, and also make my usual tomato corn basil salad.  I need to go to Bi-Rite again for more. 

Those from Monterey Market, and the Odoriko, were not as sweet.  I cooked them to make a tomato broth for now (I cut the tomatoes into halves and cooked them in a covered pot over low heat.  There was no need to add water.  Toward the end, I added a little bit of sugar and black vinegar for flavor and complexity).  I may turn it into a tomato jam later. 

FRIDAY, 27 JULY 2012

Saving grace

We all felt sorry for Akujiki when we saw his reaction to the unexpectedly cold tofu and veggies on his entree.  I love tofu, but cold?   However, the compassion for a fellow diner was short-lived as my own entree came up - the lightly floured pan roasted flounder served with tasty trumpet mushrooms was delicious! Crispy on the outside and tender inside, it was perfectly done.  Everything else on the plate - the slightly chewy mushrooms, the fava beans, tiny pieces of lardon, all provided contrasts in textures and tastes that helped enhance the typically plain flounder.  It is a perfect example of how to dress up a plain main.

This had been preceded by two excellent appetizers - fresh rock shrimp tempura and local artisan cured meats served with grilled bread (my low carb diet tossed out the window when I encountered this last item).  But the rock shrimp must have been the highlight for us all.   The tempura was light and really brought out the shrimp flavour.  It was also an unusually large serving for an appetizer.  I could happily have had this for an entree.  

FRIDAY, 29 JUNE 2012

The Last of the Californian Foie Gras Dinners

The ban of production and sales of foie gras in the State of California, U.S.A., will come into effect on the First of July, 2012.  It is not exactly news as the ban became state law seven years ago.  Still, foie gras lovers react to the doomsday emotionally.  They have been scrambling for their last foie gras dinners since May this year.  

Below is a six-course Foie Gras tasting menu at a San Francisco restaurant:

Amuse Bouche

Foie Gras Soup

Truffled Crackers, Seared Foie Gras, Glazed Baby Turnips

Hudson Valley Foie Gras Torchon

Smoked Apple Barbeque Glazed Squab, Caramelized Onion and Strawberry Compote

Seared Day Boat Scallop and Foie Gras

on Seared Yukon Gold Potatoes with Sherry Vinegar, Truffle Sauce

Foie Gras Stuffed Quail

Wild Mushroom Salad, Quail Garlic Jus

Tournedos Rossini

with Truffle Madeira Sauce

Bittersweet Chocolat and Foie Gras Mousses

on Crunchy Feuilletine, Hazelnut Praline Sponge Cake, Cassis Gelee, Bacon Ice Cream

Petit Fours

This traditional French restaurant is known for its good food and its generous portion.  The chef does not believe in the trendy two-bites-per-plate nonsense.  So, how much foie gras does one consume in these six courses?  Answer: 16-18 ounces.  In other words, a pound or more of fatty duck liver.  Absolutely delicious, decadent, and artery blocking.

Foie gras aficionados are stocking up before the ban begins; many shops have sold out.  Restaurants inform diners that they can buy foie gras from them and take it home (storing it at the restaurants would be illegal).  When the diners bring it back anytime after June 30th, the restaurants will cook it for them.  It works because there will be no sales involved at dinner time.

There are talks of black market, free private dinners with "donations" and other creative ways to get around the law.  When all fails, Californians can always go to Las Vegas in the neighboring state of Nevada where fine dining establishments will continue to dish out foie gras.