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Hello friends and family,
We have received lots of rain in the Valley and the vineyards surrounding Mustards Grill are dotted with bright yellow mustard flowers. The rain is a relief after many consecutive years of drought.
For "Meatless Mondays", I've had fun with the chapter on India in my
Supper Club cookbook. An eggplant raita and a spicy but simple lentil dal made for a flavorful vegetarian dinner. I was amazed at how many meatless recipes are in the cookbook. Meatless Mondays got its start during World War I to reduce the consumption of key staples. It has certainly evolved since them.
Be sure to buy and eat fruits and vegetables that are in season. For example citrus is at its peak now so look for grapefruit, lemons, limes and oranges. I like to shop for cara cara and blood oranges and pummelo grapefruits when they are available. Asparagus and artichokes are also arriving in the market now.
I am excited to celebrate Valentine's Day on February 14. At
Cindy's Backstreet Kitchen Jim is opening with Shigoku oysters-my favorite followed by a choice of crispy red snapper with sweet chili sauce, slow braised beef short ribs with mole Colorado or uovo in raviolo (ravioli with creamy ricotta and runny egg yolk). For dessert it's a Coeur a la Crème. The Valentine menu at
Mustards Grill features lobster, scallops and filet mignon. Be sure to make your reservation at either restaurant for this romantic night.
Mustards
Pour Off Pair Off Friday's features foods "out of the shell" like mussels, clams, oysters, crab and English peas. At Cindy's it's the very popular "
Month of Pork." Check out the menus by clicking on the links.
Heavy rains and road closures forced me to stay home for a few days last month. I did what any self-respecting chef would do and started reading cookbooks.
Raymond Sokolov's, Fading Feast: A Compendium of Disappearing American Foods searches out traditional regional cuisines and provides long forgotten recipes. One Midwest recipe, Wilma Priebees Grand Champion Apple Pie charmed me. The crust was made from lard since Wilma's husband was a hog farmer. I had apples and no lard, but butter and Crisco came to my rescue. Earlier in the week I had read about rye crusts so I offer you my version of the
Grand Champion Apple Pie as the recipe of the month.
My tip for February comes from my friend Matt at
Kitchen Arts and Letters, the wonderful cookbook store in New York City. Since winter is a perfect time to make French onion soup he suggests the easiest way to caramelize onions is to prepare them in a slow cooker. Forget about standing over a sauté pan as they cook. Just throw them in the slow cooker, set the timer and voilà.
I just returned from a visit to New York city. I was impressed at the high level of cooking, hospitality and service. Here are the highlights of the different restaurants I visited, be sure to put them on your list if you are planning a trip to NYC.
The Bar Room at the
Museum of Modern Art with a à la carte menu was a fun choice over their more formal adjacent restaurant. For dessert we were invited to sit at the chef's table in the spacious kitchen where the pastry chef went wild and spoiled us.
There were many superb dishes but three come to mind. The "tuna tartare with crispy potatoes and truffles" at Flora Bar was heavenly. The "ricotta gnocchi and broccoli pesto with basil and pistachios" at Lilia sublime and the "Hattie" platter at Russ & Daughters delectable.
Happy Valentine's Day!
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