Northern California Road Trip

Fried Egg Sandwich, The Fremont Diner

Back in April, we spent a week in the Sonoma/San Francisco area, marveling at the incredibly beautiful rocky coastline, enjoying the culinary offerings of the area, and relaxing at a lovely inn in Mendocino. Come along as I recount our tour!

We began by driving north from San Francisco airport, the GPS set on Healdsburg. Most of this drive is spent on Hwy 101, really not much to see here other than car dealerships, strip malls, etc. After leaving the cold and gray New Jersey winter behind us, I was really looking forward to the famous California sunshine…unfortunately, the weather gods were not smiling on us. It rained (I’m talking torrential downpours) the entire four days we spent in the Healdsburg area. We made the best of it and soldiered on.

Healdsburg boasts one of the prettiest town squares in California. Ringed by restaurants, coffee shops, wine tasting rooms, and boutique-y type shops, we easily forgot about our damp clothes. One morning, after eating a nondescript breakfast at the restaurant adjacent to the hotel, we roamed around looking for good coffee. Luckily, we found Flying Goat Coffee right off the main square. After a wonderful cappuccino for me and a pour over for Mr B, we meandered a couple of blocks to Shed. Picture a Williams-Sonoma store coupled with a cool restaurant/food shop and you’ve got Shed. This place was right up our alley. You can buy everything from hand-thrown pasta bowls, cookbooks, grains, sweets, oils and vinegars, to house made pickles, artisan cheeses, breads, and cured meats. 

Hazelnut Babka - Shed

We ambled around ogling the kitchenware, chatting with one of the friendly staff about some of the unique spices in the store, and then, of course, I had to try one of the luscious looking breakfast pastries. The mini-chocolate hazelnut babka caught my eye. I devoured it. Moist, flaky layers of buttered pastry intertwined with rich chocolate and chopped nuts, it was sublime.

The next day, on the suggestion of a chef friend we drove to Fulton for the food/wine pairing lunch at the Kendall-Jackson Winery. Admittedly, K-J would not have been on my list of wineries to visit due to its huge commercial output, but it came highly recommended. The K-J tasting room is beautiful (I’m sure the estate is too, but as I mentioned, it was raining), with a large circular tasting bar in the center and comfy chairs around the perimeter. 

First Course - K-J Estate

The first course was Estate Beets, Citrus Vinaigrette, Honey and Orange Roasted Almonds, with Nicosia Valley Foggy Morning Cheese, and Chrysanthemum. This was paired with a 2014 Grand Reserve Mendocino County Sauvignon Blanc. 

Our second course was a delicious Dungeness Crab Cake with a Carrot Radish Slaw, Meyer Lemon, and Carrot Ginger Dressing (paired with a crisp 2014 Santa Barbara County Jackson Estate Santa Maria Valley Chardonnay). 

Course three was a delicate Crispy Maitake Mushroom, Red Wine Tempura, Sweet Soy, Dashi, and Estate Radish, paired with a 2013 Outland Ridge Pinot Noir from the Anderson Valley.

The highlight for me was the Red Wine Braised Beef Short Ribs with Estate Grown Swiss Chard, Mole, and Currants. This was served with a luscious 2013 Trace Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon. The chef told us this wine is aged 20 months in 100 year old French oak.

Dessert - K-J Estate

Dessert rounded out our lunch with a 2015 Monterey County Late Harvest Riesling served alongside a Beet Mousse with Yogurt Cream, Honey Mustard Sable Breton, Pickled Mustards, with Orange-beet Sauce, and Lime Meringue. If you’re thinking honey mustard is a bit weird for dessert, you’d be right. Absolutely beautiful presentation, but this was my least favorite course. 

However, a post-dessert course, “Canneles de Bordeaux,” was spectacular, both in presentation and taste. Canneles are small French pastry flavored with rum and vanilla. They have a soft custard center and are covered with a thick caramelized coating. I had heard of these but never tried them. This must be a common practice in the area, though, because we also received them at Dry Creek Kitchen. If you’d like to read about the history of this little confection, see this comprehensive overview from Paula Wolfert.

Canneles - K-J Estate

We were seated in the main tasting room and it can be very noisy if there are big groups doing tastings (as there were the day we visited), so I would suggest trying for a table upstairs where it appeared to be much quieter. The wine/food paired lunch is $55.00/person, and I think it was well worth it. They were generous on the pours and the food quality and presentation was very good.

After lunch, we visited chocolate makers, Jeff and Susan Mall of Volo Chocolate, at their workshop. We met Jeff and Susan a couple of years ago when they were the executive chefs at the dreamy Rancho Pescadero in Baja California. While living in Mexico, they fell hard for the traditional foods and ingredients of the area. Now they’ve returned to their California home and have embarked on a wonderful adventure of crafting authentic chocolate from Mexican cacao beans. They are turning out incredible chocolate bars with inventive flavors such as Dark Milk Chocolate with Brown Butter and Roasted Almonds, Dark Chocolate with Candied Orange Peel, Creamy Dark Mocha (made with Flying Goat Coffee, cream, and cinnamon), or Dark Chocolate Salted Caramel Crunch (I can hear the collective sighs).

Cacao beans

The day we visited, they were in the midst of turning out dozens of adorable and delicious bunnies for Easter. It was a real treat to have Jeff and Susan take us through their process (from bean to bar). If you have a serious chocolate addiction, check out Volo Chocolate, handmade in Sonoma County. You won’t be disappointed.

We are big fans of breakfast (you know, the most important meal of the day). However, if you wanted something more substantial than, say coffee and a muffin, there were not a lot of viable options in Healdsburg.  But an internet search revealed a promising-looking diner in the town of Sonoma. Now remember, we live in New Jersey, the land of diners, so I was curious. And since we had no particular place to go that morning, we figured we’d take a ride to the Fremont Diner and check it out. 

Well, after a forty-five minute drive in the (still) pouring rain, we arrived at a roadside ramshackle tin-like structure. Since it was a Friday, there was no wait and we sat right down. A pleasant server came right over to greet us and about two minutes later, we had a Thermos on our table filled  with great coffee from Four Barrel. 

French Toast - The Fremont Diner

Deciding on our breakfast took a bit longer because the menu looked fabulous! How about Buttermilk Biscuits with Ginger Rhubarb Jam? Or Brioche French Toast served with House made Vanilla Syrup? This was my selection on our “first” visit… the bread was super custardy and light. 

My husband raved about the Smoked Brisket Hash with Collard Greens and Sunny Egg. The brisket was tender and bursting with smoky flavor.

Or the Fried Egg Sandwich with House-smoked Ham, Spicy Mayo on Model Struan Wheat? This was my choice on our “second” visit to The Fremont Diner and it was out of this world! Yes, we went two days in a row! On our last day in the area, we were presented again with the age-old question “where are we going to eat breakfast?” and with the delicious memory of the wonderful experience we had just the day before still fresh in our minds, we hopped back in the car and drove there again! 

Words to live by at The Fremont Diner

Biscuit - The Fremont Diner

However, this time it was a Saturday and a bit later in the day, so we were met with a 30 minute wait. But the wait was worth it. My husband had his other favorite, Biscuits and Sausage Gravy. These biscuits could make a Southern grandma jealous.

What I loved about The Fremont Diner, was the fact that, like a traditional diner, you could get anything from Nashville Style Chicken (spicy, fried chicken with your choice of white bread and collards or waffle, “so hot it’ll set a cheatin’ man straight”), to their Hangtown Fry (scrambled eggs, fried oysters, arugula and potatoes with remoulade and bacon), at any time of day. This place has got it goin’ on and I would kill for a place like this close to home!

And now for something completely different. 

On our last evening in the Sonoma area, we had dinner at Charlie Palmer’s Dry Creek Kitchen.  Part of the complex right on Healdsburg Avenue that also houses Palmer’s Hotel Healdsburg, this restaurant is like an elegant oasis. Refined, yet comfortable and unpretentious. 

While perusing the menu, we enjoyed a non-rushed cocktail, all the while taking in the lovely surroundings. A large, beautiful flower arrangement dominates the dining room. Next to it, a sommelier’s table. There is a small bar with about 6 seats. Soft, warm candlelight glows on every table. The chairs are plush. Jazz plays in the background — just loud enough to hear but not so overbearing that you can’t have a conversation with your dining companions. I love it here. 

In fact, the atmosphere was so nice that I didn't want to disrupt it by taking a bunch of pictures so there are just two.

What did we eat? The smooth and fragrant Sweet Pea Soup with Goat Cheese Tortellini for Mr B, and the nutty Risotto with Parmesan Trio (parmesan broth, parmesan foam, and parmesan snow) for me. The perfect start. 

Scallops - Dry Creek Kitchen

Pork Tenderloin - Dry Creek Kitchen

I luxuriated in the Carmelized Scallops and Spring Succotash with house-cured Pancetta, while Mr B got lost in the tender Niman Ranch Bacon Wrapped Pork Tenderloin with Yukon Gold Potato Veloute, Swiss Chard, and Fennel.

Dry Creek Kitchen also has it goin’ on,  just in a different way.

New Friends in Mendocino

That’s all for the first leg of our California trip. Next time: up the coast to Mendocino and back down to San Francisco.

Wishing you a lovely weekend!

Lessons from "Baking Fails"

A few weeks ago, I came upon a recipe for a cookie that caught my eye. It’s called “torcetti,” a type of old-school Italian sugar cookie. It’s a bit unusual as it is made with yeast, which most cookies do not have. Besides yeast, the recipe called for European-style butter which I had never used so this intrigued me. I gathered up the ingredients and went to work.

But first a little history. According to the website, Turin Epicurian Capital, these cookies date back to around 1700. An article supposes that during around that time, while waiting for bread to bake in community ovens, some of the bakers took leftover dough, shaped it into a type of breadstick, coated them with sugar or honey, formed them into little “twists,” and baked them. Voila - torcetti! 

There are a zillion recipes for torcetti out there. I used one from Food52, one of my trusted sites, and I liked the fact that it recommended an overnight rise.

Torcetti from Food52

Off I went to work! Followed the recipe to the letter - used a thermometer to test the water temperature to dissolve the yeast; placed the dough in the oven for the first rise; creamed the softened butter and added it to the dough. You get the idea…

My first pangs of fear that this was turning into a “baking fail,” was trying to incorporate the butter into the dough. It took forever and a lot more flour than called for to get a non-sticky, manageable dough. Finally, it came together! Since I was utilizing the overnight rise, I covered the dough with plastic wrap and placed the bowl in the fridge.  

The next morning, giddy with anticipation, I pulled the dough from its’ chilly slumber, and stared at the bowl in disbelief. It had not risen at all. At all. My first thought was, “well, that was a big waste of expensive European butter, four cups of flour, wah, wah, wah.” 

But I really didn’t want to toss the whole thing out, so I preheated the oven to 250 degrees, turned it off, shoved the covered bowl in, and waited. I figured I had nothing to lose at this point. In about an hour, the dough had magically doubled in size. I was thrilled! Maybe this wasn’t going to be a wasted effort after all. 

after the oven-rise

Again, I went back to the directions: rolled out the dough to the stated dimensions, cut the strips, rolled in sugar, and baked them. 

ready for the oven

Twelve minutes later, I had the saddest looking cookies on my baking trays. But, I thought, even if they don’t look great, if they taste good, I’ll be happy. Let me cut right to the chase here and not keep you in suspense (although I'm sure you've guessed the outcome): they were terrible! Heavy, dense, tasteless. I was so disappointed!I threw them all out.

finished cookies

So what did I learn from this? I rediscovered how much I LOVE working with yeast dough! The last yeasty-type recipe I made (a few years ago) was the fabulous brioche from Joanne Chang of Flour Bakery in Boston. The smell as I worked the dough was intoxicating. And kneading it put me in an almost zen-like state. There is  definitely something to be said for how baking can be relaxing and reduce stress. 

I’m not sure why my torcetti did not come out as they should (I don't think it was the recipe); perhaps the yeast was old (even though the expiration date was months away), maybe I overworked the dough? Who knows? Will I attempt them again? Definitely. 

sad cookies

I know a lot of people may not feel that baking is relaxing, but if you focus on the physical activity of rolling or kneading the dough, enjoy the smell of the yeast or the spices in your recipe, you’ll most likely forget about what else is going on in other parts of your life - the daily stresses - at least for awhile. Making these torcetti reminded me of the pleasures of baking. 

Have you had a baking fail that you’ve learned from? Leave a comment below.

Gluten-free Quinoa Apple Snack Cake

Happy Saturday!

I have been testing gluten-free baking recipes like mad lately in preparation for a class I’ll be giving in September (more on that exciting news another time). The latest in my testing lineup is this delicious little number. 

While I’m pretty familiar with using almond flour (or almond meal) in GF baking, I wanted to expand my GF flour repertoire and this recipe, which uses quinoa flour, sounded perfect.

Besides the quinoa flour, it uses all-purpose gluten-free flour, but it’s the quinoa flour that gives it an interesting nutty flavor. And even though there is one cup of brown sugar, the cake is definitely not sweet. The apples provide moisture, and the chopped walnuts give it a nice crunch.

Another ingredient I had not used before is xantham gum, which helps with the body and texture of GF items. If you use all-purpose “cup for cup” GF flour, it already has xantham gum in it, so you don’t need to add it. I prefer to add individual ingredients myself rather than an “all in one” type flour. 

While the cake was really good on it’s own (with a simple dusting of confectioners' sugar), I felt like it was missing something, so the next day I whipped up a small batch of cream cheese frosting (thank you, Martha Stewart, for this not overly sweet version). Bingo - now I really liked this cake! It all just worked - grated apples, walnuts, dried cranberries, cinnamon, nutmeg - you get the idea. Perfect for an after school snack or afternoon tea. 

Do you do a lot of GF baking? Tell us about your successes (and challenges) with this type of baking. Let’s help each other create really fabulous GF desserts. Leave a comment below.

Here’s hoping you have a wonderful weekend!

Print apple cake recipe here.

Cream cheese frosting recipe.

Baked Quinoa with Roasted Butternut Squash and Gruyere

Happy Spring! It’s here at last and I, for one, am thrilled! Even though the winter here in NJ wasn’t as bad as it could have been, I absolutely detest the cold, gray days. So I say, onto brighter, warmer, sunnier days!

And now that we've rounded the bend from winter, you may want to start thinking about options for the upcoming Easter holiday, or Spring dinner parties, and I've got a great suggestion for you. The recipe, as it stands, doesn’t work for Passover due to the breadcrumbs, but you could substitute matzoh meal and it would probably succeed nicely.

We eat a lot of quinoa in my home, and although we usually jazz it up by making it with chicken stock (rather than water) and adding in diced veggies and fragrant herbs, it’s still not all that exciting. But last week I found a recipe on food52 that piqued my interest: Baked Quinoa with Roasted Butternut Squash and Gruyere. Sounds good, no? Indeed!

The recipe calls for fresh breadcrumbs and I urge you to follow the recipe rather than using store bought crumbs. It really does make a difference and it’s so easy to make your own. You can either use a leftover baguette, or buy a couple of rolls. Simply pulse the bread (torn into pieces) in the food processor, and voila, fresh breadcrumbs! Any crumbs you may have left over can be frozen for a future use. It really couldn’t be easier and the result is worth it. 

Besides being delicious, this bake with a golden crunchy topping is versatile. It can stand alone as a hearty non-meat main course, or it can shine as a lovely side dish to say, a crisp roast chicken or oven-baked pork chops. It’s good for a crowd - it bakes in a large 9x13 baking dish - but it also keeps well several days in the refrigerator. 

Here’s wishing you a lovely Spring! 

Print recipe.

Valentine's Day: Nutella Brownies!

Nutella Brownies

Need a last-minute dessert for your Valentine's Day lunch or dinner? I think these Nutella Brownies from my February 2014 post are the answer! 

Wishing you all a delicious Valentine's Day!

http://www.cookstour.net/2014/02/nutella-brownies.html

Eating in Sarasota

Venice Beach

Greetings, dear readers!

Hope your January is treating you well. For me, I get through the winter with mentally focusing on how many days to Spring (as of today, 48!). But since that didn’t work so well for me this year, we escaped to Florida for a few days! 

Our base of operations for the week was Sarasota on the beautiful Gulf of Mexico. My previous trips to Florida’s west coast were for work so truthfully I never saw much besides airports and whatever hotel I was sequestered in. But this time, we saw a lot of this gorgeous coast, and had a lot of great food (which is really why I travel). 

Dinner night one was at Shore. A trendy spot smack in the middle of St Armand’s Circle on Longboat Key. Shore has a beautiful open air dining area overlooking the street, dotted with candles and heaters (for chilly evenings). I loved the soft glow created by the dimmed lights but I saw many guests pulling out their phones and powering up the flashlight to read the menu. I continue to be amazed at how many restaurants plan the dining environment without taking into account actually being able to read a menu in the near-dark! 

We dined at Shore on a Thursday evening and the place was hopping (it is the season in Florida), but that did not damper the enthusiasm or level of service from the wait staff. 

Martinis at Shore

Crab Cake - Shore

We began with a Tito’s Cosmo (for me) and a Tito’s martini with bleu cheese-stuffed olives (for my husband) - both done very well. From there, we enjoyed the Maryland lump crab cake with a jicama slaw and Old Bay aioli. 

I chose the Key West shrimp and scallops with lemon risotto, local greens, and tomato confit, which was a delicious combination. The shrimp and scallops were cooked perfectly but the risotto was slightly gummy. My husband, unfortunately, chose the St Louis “Jenga” Ribs with Mongolian glaze, chopped Chinese salad, and crushed peanuts. He is constantly searching for good ribs, but once you’ve had ribs in BBQ capitals like Austin, North Carolina, and Memphis, most restaurants can’t live up to that, and sadly these did not. They were overcooked. Enough said. 

Shore’s atmosphere struck me to be more about people watching than food. And that’s perfectly OK.

Sarasota hosts a terrific farmer’s market every Saturday and we spent some time enjoying the warm morning air checking out the vendors. Everything from fresh seafood to baked goods to gorgeous produce, were available. If I lived in Sarasota, I’d be there every week.

If you know anything about me, you know that breakfast is my favorite meal so I was anxious to visit some of the breakfast restaurants in the area. They ran the gamut from “eh” to “very good.” I won’t bore you with the “eh” options because I’m not in the business of bashing restaurants, so here are the two best venues we found:

Pancakes - Sun Garden Cafe

Sun Garden Cafe in Siesta Key - this cafe is located in a pretty little beach town and they have a nice outdoor courtyard. We loved the fluffy pancakes and very good sausage gravy. 

Perfect Biscuit - Buttermilk

Biscuit Egg Bake - Buttermilk

Buttermilk in Sarasota - for me, Buttermilk was the standout. They specialize in biscuits and man, were they good. I had the delectable egg bake biscuit with Benton’s perfect bacon - I was making yummy noises all the while! My hubby loved the biscuit with sausage gravy (so flavorful with nice chunks of sausage). 

Pastries at Buttermilk

While ordering, of course I had to peruse the baked goods case, which looked fabulous. I made a mental note to come back to try one of the pastries. And the day before we left Sarasota, I did. It was hard to choose only one item, but I restrained myself (fearing even more pounds to lose when I came home!) and picked the fabulous brown sugar-cinnamon coffee cake. OMG. This cake had a terrific light crumb and a crunchy buttery topping that was almost candy-like. Another place that would be on my weekly visit list if I lived here. 

Coffee Cake - Buttermilk

The next night we had dinner with friends at the somewhat touristy, but still good, long-time Sarasota venue — Columbia. Founded in 1905, and according to their web site, the oldest restaurant in Florida, it is now managed by the fifth generation of the founding family. Columbia features authentic Cuban cuisine at several locations around Florida. We ate at the Longboat Key site and it’s a good thing we had a reservation because this place was mobbed! It’s a huge restaurant with tables spilling out onto the sidewalks full of customers enjoying signature mojitos and daiquiris (yours truly enjoyed the Tango Mango Daiquiri). 

Sea Foam Margarita - Fins

We ventured a bit outside the Sarasota area to meet friends for lunch on different occasions. One day, we soaked up the warmth in Venice Beach at Fins - a waterfront restaurant with a million dollar view. Loved the sea foam Margarita!

Another day while in the North Port area, we had a fabulous lunch at Nan’s Thai Noodle. The pork with Thai spicy noodles was killer! It’s in a nondescript strip mall and the restaurant has no atmosphere at all, but the food was outstanding.

Back to “serious” dining: all the top restaurant lists mention Indigenous. Owned by Chef Steve Phelps, he opened this restaurant in a beautifully restored home in 2011. The atmosphere is warm and comfortable, like having dinner in a friend's home. It’s a rather rambling house (again, with almost no lighting), and we were seated in the wine bar dining room, where our server also happened to be the bartender. Even though the bar and the other tables in this room were full, we never felt neglected. He answered questions about the menu and the evening’s specials, and guided us to a great wine choice. 

Cheese Crackers - Indigenous

Our waiter brought us a small basket with delicious cheese crackers as we pondered the menu (these reminded me of traditional Southern cheese straws). We both chose one of the soups for the first course and switched halfway through so we could try each of them. My favorite was the thick and creamy wild mushroom bisque with truffled rye croutons. Not far behind though, was the gazpacho with crunchy chickpeas, basil yogurt, and garam masala. This was so refreshing on a warm evening.

Pork Belly - Indigenous

For the main course, after much debate, my husband settled on the pork belly with white cheddar drop biscuit, tomato jam, Everglades hollandaise, and pickles. Tender, juicy, flavorful - probably the best pork belly we’ve had.

Thai Lamb Meatballs - Indigenous

My choice was the Thai lamb meatballs. Practically shouting with the bright flavors of lemongrass and ginger, subtly painted with garlic yogurt, and surrounded by marinated cucumbers, carrots, shallots, and basil, these were absolutely delicious. We enjoyed the dinner with a wonderful Italian red that complemented both dishes perfectly.

Our last dinner in Sarasota took us to Veronica Fish and Oyster - a very cool place in the Southside Village section of town. Their tagline is “a modern oyster bar with a nod to classic supper clubs of past.” From the warm greeting when you enter, to the attentive service from our wait person, it was a delightful evening. Of course, great drinks and delicious food must figure into that equation for a restaurant to be somewhere I would return to, and they did. 

Since we were in a  supper club of sorts, I thought I’d take a step back in time and try their whiskey sour. I’ve never been a whiskey drinker, but this one made with Templeton rye and citrus and served over ice, could make me a convert. This was a perfect sipping cocktail. 

Potato rolls - Veronica's

Dinner was a home run all the way through, beginning with the warm house made potato rolls served with sea salt butter. Think about the standard-issue potato rolls you might buy at the supermarket and ramp up their fluffy texture and yeasty flavor by about 100%. Slather on the perfectly spreadable sea salt butter. Then try not to eat all of them before your dinner comes. Good luck with that!

Fried Shrimp - Veronica's

Well, I didn’t eat ALL the potato rolls so I had room for my dinner, which was fabulous. Starting with the Szechuan fried shrimp with snow pea slaw and pickled pineapple. Light, crisp shrimp with a delightfully refreshing slaw and just-enough-tart pineapple to bring all the flavors together. A winner!

Gumbo - Veronica's

Given my (some would say) overeating of the aforementioned rolls, I opted for a smaller entree. The Chef’s Momma’s Chicken Gumbo with Andouille Sausage and Jasmine Rice had caught my eye weeks earlier when I was deep into restaurant planning. This rich, spicy soup brought me right back to traditional gumbos from the New Orleans area that I love.

Even though the desserts proffered sounded wonderful, and you know I am all about dessert, there was no way I could manage it. Next time!

This is owned by the Shore Diner team, but for my money and time, Veronica’s would be my choice between the two. 

All in all, a delicious, sunny week on Florida’s Gulf Coast! If you’ve been to the Sarasota area lately and want to share your restaurant finds, please leave a comment below. Until next time: eat well, stay warm, be happy.

Siesta Beach