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Valentine's Day is near, time to make your plans to celebrate the ones you love. February 14th is only two weeks away. Make
your reservations HERE:
Check out the special menus right now....
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Meet our sweet bakers!
Since February is the month for sweethearts, I want to introduce you to Isaura and Marcia, our wonderful and talented pastry cooks at Mustards and Cindy's Backstreet Kitchen.
Isaura (photo above) has been making delicious desserts at Mustards for 12 years. She is the talent behind Our Famous Lemon-Lime Tart, the Butterscotch Pot de Crème, the Warm Chocolate Hazelnut Truffle Tart and the Ever-Changing daily specials. Isaura has taken classes at the CIA and at the Napa Valley College baking program. She loves cakes and breads and is one of the most motivated people I have worked with.
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Marcia has been baking at Cindy's Backstreet for 2 years. She is the creative force behind the Campfire Pie and the Buttermilk Cheesecake. She loves making cookies but her favorite thing to eat is the cheesecake. Marcia loves the fun and professional ambience of working in the Cindy's Kitchen. Her tip for home bakers is "nothing is impossible!"
I am so lucky to have both Isaura and Marcia working with us, they are truly sweethearts.
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CBK February happenings...
This month
Cindy's Backstreet Kitchen (CBK) features winter mushrooms. We source the mushrooms from Connie Green at Wineforest Wild Foods in Napa. Connie has been one of my long-term suppliers, I started buying from her in 1979. Look for dishes starring chanterelles, black trumpet and my favorite named species, hedgehogs.
We have made some delicious updates to the dessert menu at CBK.
The yummy cheesecake is now served with a citrus caramel sauce and a perfect winter Key Lime Pie. Jim worked in Florida and fell in love with this tangy pastry. And back by popular demand is the Pineapple Upside Down Cake, so get in here!
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Cookbooks, cookbooks & more cookbooks!
You might know that I have a library that contains more than 3,000 cookbooks. The library is organized by regional cuisine like American, French, Italian, Japanese; and specific subjects, Desserts, Seafood, Vegetables, Cheese and so forth. Often I'll be in the restaurant kitchen and need a recipe. I'll call John, tell him which cookbook, which shelf it's on and have him scan and email the recipe. How's that for an obsession!
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With the cookbook library in mind, Michael Foster and I thought it would be fun to create Mustards Pour Off Pair Off Friday menus based upon a culinary tour of the library. In the coming months we will get inspiration from different sections of the library and develop menus from it. Keep in mind we never follow a recipe verbatim. We adapt recipes making changes based upon the availability of ingredients, portion size, quantity and by adding our own creativity and taste.
We do love reading the historical footnotes to a recipe. For example, the French prefer their eels in red wine, canned and aged for 10 years, according to the food writer Paula Wolfert. However, don't expect eels in red wine on the Mustards menu-at least anytime soon. Expect dishes from France in February with recipes from Paula, Elizabeth David and Paul Bocuse. On Friday the 16th we celebrate Chinese New Year with a special menu.
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Recipes
Yes, it's two recipes for you this month!
Golden Milk is my adaptation of a healthy beverage I tasted at the Hanalei Bakery on Kauai. It is based on fresh turmeric, fresh ginger, coconut milk and spices. Heated or cold it makes for an invigorating morning or evening liquid refreshment.
The second recipe uses winter citrus and is in honor of Valentine's Day, a
key lime pie - it's also on the menu at CBK. I make it with the Rangpur limes from my garden, although you can use Key or Persian limes if you prefer.
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