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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. 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 just came back from Italy, so sorry for cutting it closer than usual. We're ready for our April dinner! We'll be featuring lamb and goat.
Please cook responsibly and choose local, organic and free-range meat: You can get it at Whole Foods, at the Prather Meat Company or Golden Gate Meat in the Ferry Building, for starters.
Featured seasonal vegetables will be asparagus, artichokes, all peas, fava beans, fresh herbs and rhubarb.
Featured seasonal fruit will be strawberries (please get creative with those desserts, I'd like to avoid three strawberry tarts!).
A presto,
Marco Flavio
The plan
45 of us will cook and eat together on April 26th, 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 read 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.
15 participants will make main courses for 3-4 people each ALL SLOTS TAKEN
7 participants will make appetizers for 8 participants each ALL SLOTS TAKEN
5 participants will make salads for 8 people each ALL SLOTS TAKEN
7 participants will make dessert for 8-10 people each ALL SLOTS TAKEN
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. ALL SLOTS TAKEN
1 participant will bring non-alcoholic beverages for 20 (sparkling water
and juices, locally produced when possible)
1
participant will bring us a bottle of wine and do the final mopping of the
floors and wipe clean all tables and counters. We will still do the
group cleanup, but after that this person will finish the job and make
sure the space is as we found it.
Please let me know who is coming by name. Once we reach 45 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
Buongiorno. Some days I feel extremely lucky to live in Northern California - usually when I'm eating local food. When something is truly extraordinary, I can't keep it to myself, because great food is even better when it's shared. The Marin French Cheese Company in Petaluma has been producing some very exciting cheeses: at the United States Championship Cheese Contest 10 days ago their Rouge et Noir Le Petite Chevre Bleu won Best of Class in Mold-Ripened Goat Cheese, and the Second Place Runner up was their Le Petit Chevre, so I promptly sent in my congratulations and organized a small group tasting.
I served eight cheeses, and these four were the runaway hits. See what you think - just remember to leave your cheeses out of the fridge for at least six hours before serving, because they need to be at room temperature for their flavors to bloom and soften up to the right creamy texture.
Rouge et Noir — Le Petite Chevre Bleu
An earthy, creamy blue goat's milk cheese with Roquefort blue veins. Essence of white truffle immediately sent me back for more, but everyone else had the same idea: it disappeared quickly. Pair it with that good bottle of Dry Creek Syrah you've been saving a special occasion: this is it.
Rouge et Noir — Le Petite Chevre
This Second Place Runner up is a milder goat's milk cheese for Brie eaters ready to make the transition but but fearing the jump. No blue veins here, but still the flavor hangs around in the nose a while, with just a light tang of goat's milk. The right cheese for a night in front of a fireplace, with comfortable slippers and a sleeping pet.
Rouge et Noir — Mélange Brie
No punches are held back for this goat and cow's milk multi-award winner: extremely ripe, bold, and slightly tangy, bang on the nose. The woodsy finish hangs around awhile too, like rain in the forest. Slather a thin slice of bread with a hefty slab, insert in mouth, narrow the eyes, and exhale slowly through the nose. Whooo, watery eyes, great flavor.
Rouge et Noir — Mélange Camembert
This one's the mild-mannered, bookwormish sibling of the Mélange Brie - a Pinot Noir to the Brie's Cabernet. But don't be fooled: great rewards await those who take the time to discover its subtler walnut notes, very light tang, and a buttery texture that will have you wonder why anybody would badmouth fats. Shocking.
Enjoy! How could you not?
Marco Flavio
