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Buongiorno,
Thank you for your enthusiasm! All our slots are full.
If
your name is not listed in the comments section of the previous post,
please stay tuned -- we'd love to have you next time: our group dinner will be on March 22nd. If
you wish to be on the waiting list, please leave your email address and
name as a comment to this post. I'll contact you if anyone cancels.
Ciao e grazie mille,
Marco Flavio
Buongiorno - I'm delighted to announce a new CH&N Pairings event: Northern California wine and homemade chocolate treats.
When and where
Sunday, March 8th, 4-7 pm at my apartment in San Francisco
The plan
The winners of the San Francisco Chronicle wine competition have been announced, but which Northern California red wine is your personal winner? Agree with the choices, disagree? Show us.
18
participants will each bring a personal favorite Northern California red wine or make a chocolate dessert using organic and fair-trade chocolate (like Dagoba or Equal Exchange). Alison and I are attending the competition tasting on Saturday, and we'll be plotting our pairing.
To attend, post a comment on this blog. (Don't email me directly.)
Every person coming (including any guest you bring) will need to sign up for a slot, and contribute a NorCal wine or homemade chocolate treat.
Since participation is extremely limited, please let us
know at least four days before the tasting if you're not going to be
able to make it so we can invite someone else to join. Emailing me
on shorter notice (or not at all) is unfair to the people who
wanted to participate but couldn't because all the slots were taken.
8 slots for people bringing their favorite Northern California wine. (This should be a nice vintage, with some thought to chocolate pairings.)
8 slots for people making their favorite chocolate dessert -- enough for 16 people to sample.
(Location details will be emailed to participants only)
To participate, please post a comment here letting me know the following:
First and last name
Email address
What you'll be bringing (wine or chocolate)
See you soon!
Marco Flavio
Buongiorno. This week one of the highlights from my farmers market visit was finding a locally-harvested couple of pounds of local Manila clams from the Point Reyes Oyster Company. Usually the clams you get here on the West Coast are width of a plum: you buy a pound and you get about 12-15. When making most Italian dishes that call for clams, we use our small vongole that are the size of a quarter: there are about 60 to a pound. That way, you get one or two meaty morsels with every bite, instead of having to rely exclusively upon the sauce to carry the flavor.
Once I got them home, I made a quick soffritto with garlic and red pepper...
... and our lunch was ready in about 20 minutes. Point Reyes Oyster Co also carries mussels this time of year, but they were sold out by the time I got there (9:20am).
The first fresh asparagus of the season are here from my favorite producer: Couture Farms from Kettleman City. These are tender, grassy and juicy with that crunchy snap that only comes from the freshest asparagus - not the droopy supermarket kind. Try them in stir-fries and soups, and in this seasonal recipe with lemongrass and a shallot vinagrette.
Fresh lemongrass is plentiful and works well with asparagus. Remember: either take out the stalk after you cook it or mince it, because it's too hard to chew otherwise. Here's a great visual tutorial on proper prep for lemongrass.
Since Lisa's sprouted beans recipe was so popular at our last event, I wanted to pass along this hot tip: At the Ferry Plaza farmers market you can find a broad selection of sprouted legumes costing $2-$3.50/lb. They're excellent in salads, sandwiches, and starters for breads. If you want to sprout your own beans, supplies and directions can be found at Sprout People.
The most tender, small-leaved dino kale I've had in a while can be found on the Tomatero Farms stand. It's important to eat kale as fresh as possible, otherwise it develops a cabbagey flavor that many people dislike. I really enjoyed this recipe that combines sweet pork tenderloin marinated in a stone-ground mustard and sherry vinegar with dino kale's delicate chard-like flavor.
There are some pungent leeks that are just waiting to be added to pancetta (or bacon) and Capay Farms Yukon Gold organic potatoes in the ultimate rainy-day soup.
Sugarcane is here. Since our next event will feature all poultry except chicken, who's making us a dish with this marinade?
Longans are here. A cousin of lychees, this Chinese fruit is sweet, meaty, and makes an excellent snack. Try them in desserts and Thai-style stir fries.
First time I've seen them at the market in California: fresh pecans. When they're this fresh their flavor is concentrated and buttery. Try them in these tarts: I could die happy after one of those.
Couture Farms also brought raw, unsalted pistachios. They're the perfect in dishes with seasonal Lisbon lemons and limes, not to mention this lime and pistachio tart recipe.
Pomelos are a must for winter salads. Here's a terrific spicy salad that combines its tangy, aromatic flavor with buttery smoked salmon ... you know you want some.
Let's not forget: getting your citrus at farmers markets means you get to sample before you buy, so you get no bland or sour surprises once you get home.
Enjoy!
Marco Flavio
Buongiorno - our dinner is a few days away and I've been looking for maximum-flavor legumes to cook at our dinner. To accompany the sesame-seed bread I'm making, I'm making two pâtés from these sexy Yellow Eye beans ($4.95/lb, above) from Napa's Rancho Gordo, and intensely nutty, locally sourced organic Du Puy french green lentils ($1.85/lb, below). I may also case some free-range Berkshire pork sausages if I find a little extra time this week. Can't wait...
A presto,
Marco Flavio
What I found this week:
Several kinds of nutty, pungent winter cabbages: Napa, Savoy and more. Perfect for a potato soup, a beef stir-fry or that ultimate wrapper for your Mu Shu pork.
The most grassy, sweet pea greens ... think snow-pea pod meets field green. Don't pass these up!
They're ideal in a salad or quickly stir-fried with a few slivers of garlic and Sriracha hot sauce.
A few heads of radicchio di Treviso are available from Capay Farms. These are properly bitter but robust, like walnuts. Try them grilled and drizzled with extra-virgin olive oil and a little Lisbon lemon juice (a few stands down from Bernard Family Ranch), and sprinkled with fleur de sel.
Organic walnuts in the shell for $1.50/lb from Ferrari Farms: just right in breads, cereal, trail mix or your very own walnut gelato.
Blood oranges: the dream team with chocolate or coffee desserts. Who's using them this Sunday?
I can't pass up kiwifruit when they're as ripe and ready to eat as they are now ... they always remind me of home, since Italy's the world's top producer. Take that, New Zealand.
Enjoy!
Marco Flavio
Buongiorno -- the ZAP event in Fort Mason, San Francisco was exceptional this year: over 275 wineries spread out over two pavilions, and a very happy, slightly soused crowd numbering in the thousands. If you think of Zin as a one-note, berry-forward, monodimensional wine, you missed a major educational opportunity this past weekend. The range of Zins hit the extremes, ranging from Central Coast jam in a bottle to Amador County and Dry Creek Valley Zins featuring subtle fruit, some flinty attitudes, and long-distance tannins that could make certain Napa Cabs eat their Rutherford dust. There really is a Zin to match every Californian character, and that's saying something.
Many thanks to all of the producers who brought us such wildly imaginative interpretations of this classic Californian wine, and bravo to those who enthusiastically explained what makes their Zin exceptional. Choosing a small selection from the multitude of Zins wasn't easy, but a few really stood out for me.
For starters: Truett-Hurst's 2006 Red Rooster Zin from Dry Creek Valley. This spicy, crisp Zin is the pride of a brave new biodynamic winery, featuring light strawberry and raspberry notes, a hint of white pepper, and long, feathery tannins to tickle the palate. This is an obvious winner with strong vegetarian dishes or juicy Muscovy duck breast seared in a cast-iron skillet.
Stryker Vineyards 2006 Alexander Valley Estate Old Vine Zinfandel is a robust (15.2% alcohol) sweetheart of a Zin with vanilla and caramel ramping up to a pumpkin pie-spice finish. There were only 198 cases produced, and still it's only $26 a bottle - a great value.
Montevina Terra d'Oro 2006 Zinfandel from Amador County is a newly-released, well-balanced Zin with molasses, plum and caramel notes that could hold its own against a chipotle-based dish or mu shu pork with plum sauce.
Volante Vineyards' 2006 Bay Point of View Zin from McCoy Vineyards in Sonoma County was decisive, bold, an exclamation point on your meal. Chuck McCoy's vineyards rise from the fog above the Bay to yield a smoky, peppery wine where berries are almost an afterthought. A long finish suits strong meat dishes (hello, venison) or those blue cheeses that make the faint-of-nose recoil.
Klinker Brick 2006 Old Vine Zinfandel from Lodi is a more traditional Zin, ollalieberry- and plum-forward yet still meticulously balanced with a long, tapering finish. When you use strong pancetta to flavor your legumes, let this bottle round out the dish for you.
Fanucchi Vineyards 2005 Old Vine Zinfandel is high in alcohol but still nuanced, with cherry undertones and moderate tannins. This one makes a killer gift for a Zin snob: you can only get it through the winery or its website.
EOS Estate Winery Zinfandel Port from Paso Robles is a rich, moderately sweet Port that begs to be paired with chocolates: think plums first, mocha next, and cinnamon on the finish. A promising candidate for our next NorCal chocolate and wines pairing event ...
Cin-cin - enjoy!
Marco Flavio
Buongiorno,
Thank you for your enthusiasm: All our slots are full.
If your name is not listed in the comments section of the previous post, please stay tuned -- we'd love to have you next time. If
you wish to be on the waiting list, please leave your email address and
name as a comment to this post. I'll contact you if anyone cancels.
Ciao e grazie mille,
Marco Flavio
Buongiorno.
We're ready for our February dinner -- and the seasonal theme is winter savory!
We'll be featuring legumes (Napa's Rancho Gordo, anyone?) and home-preserved foods (jams, cheese, chutneys, pickles, cured meats: if you made it with local ingredients, go for it).
Feel free to add sustainably-produced local meat or seafood to your dishes.
Seasonal vegetables will be cauliflower, leeks, brussels sprouts, and all root vegetables.
Seasonal fruit will be citrus of all kinds: they're perfect this time of year.
A presto,
Marco Flavio
The plan
45 of us will cook and eat together on February 15th, starting at around 2:30 (we finish at around 7.30).
The dinner will be in San Francisco. Jeremy has kindly offered his company's very large, multiple-range kitchen for our gathering at the last event. There will be enough space for us to use the stoves and ovens in a couple of shifts.
I'm letting only 45 people register for this event, so act quickly, but please reed what's already been taken. Every person coming (including any guest you bring, or your other half in a couple) will have to sign up for a slot and either cook something or provide local wine and beer (if beverages slots are available, see below).
Since
participation is limited, please let us know at least four days before
the dinner if you're not going to be able to make it, so we can invite
someone else to join us. If
you cancel closer to 4 days to the event, you can't join us for the
following 2 events. If you didn't show at all, you can't join us for
the next 3. Canceling
on short notice (or not at all) is unfair to everyone, especially the
people who wanted to participate and couldn't because all the slots
were taken.
16 participants will make main courses for 3-4 people each ALL SLOTS FULL
7 participants will make appetizers for 8 participants each ALL SLOTS FULL
5 participants will make salads for 8 people each ALL SLOTS FULL
7 participants will make dessert for 8-10 people each ALL SLOTS FULL
8 participants will bring at least 2 bottles of good *Northern California*
wine per person (not per couple) and some *locally-brewed* beer. Consider that most cooks spend $25-50 (and up!) just on their ingredients. If you're not cooking, you should be prepared to spend at least this much on beverages, out of respect for your chefs.
2 participants will bring non-alcoholic beverages for 20 (sparkling water and juices, locally produced when possible) ALL SLOTS FULL
Please let me know who is coming by name. Once we reach 40 people confirmed, I will close the event and start another post for the waiting list. If the slots are full for what you'd like to bring, please choose something else instead. (Don't worry: There will always be another event to showcase your skills.)
So post a comment on the blog (do NOT email me directly) under the call-for-participation post letting me know the following:
First and last name
Email address
What you'll be bringing (appetizer, main course, etc.)
If you brought wine last time, you should now cook something (unless you cooked as part of a couple and made a large entree).
If too many people pick the same course, I'll have to assign a different course to the last entrant.
This is going to be great! So sign up before the spaces are gone.
A presto,
Marco Flavio
