Culinary Fool

Whistler: Cornucopia

16-Nov-2005

This last weekend R and I were in Whistler for the Cornucopia event and it was absolutely magical! It snowed nearly the entire time (look closely at the photo and you’ll see large flakes falling) even in the Village, although it was only sticking up on the mountains. The condo we stay in was warm and cozy and the perfect base for our weekend activities. Although we had actually come up from Seattle for Cornucopia (this was our third year) I got in a few hours of skiing on Friday morning, too! That was so much fun. I thought about going up the next few days but there was still quite a bit of rock and rough terrain so I decided to hold off – especially since we had other activities planned for the weekend.

This was Cornucopia’s tenth year and, although I had been trying to get up for several years, it was only three years ago that I finally made it. R has joined me all three years and the last two we had other accomplices with us but this year it was just the two of us. Each year we’ve gotten better at how we approach the event. The first year we really overdid it – partied a little too hearty – and the Sunday drive home was not a lot of fun…. Last year, we were much better in our planning and activities and this year we tweaked that just a bit more and had a really perfect weekend – fun, interesting, educational, relaxing.

Cornucopia is primarily a wine event, although food plays a strategic secondary role. Although there are a few events on Wednesday and Thursday – many just for the trade – the opening event is considered to be Crush! the Friday night wine tasting featuring around 75 wineries. One of the things I like about Crush is that they organize the wineries alphabetically so if you are looking for one in particular it’s easy to find. We decided to skip Crush! this year, as the food is only okay and we really wanted to attend one of the "after" parties and, while not impossible, it’s a little challenging to do both as there is only so much food and wine one can actually enjoy in an evening…

The first year we attended Cornucopia there was only one after party and it was at the Bearfoot Bistro, a high-end restaurant known for it’s amazing wine cellar. I don’t have the exact description of that party but it sounded perfect! It mentioned champagne, oysters, maybe caviar, the opportunity to mix and mingle with the winemakers. Between the description and knowing the restaurant it seemed like the perfect intimate gathering. Boy were we surprised! For the night of the party the Bearfoot Bistro expands it’s walls to include the entire first floor of the hotel that houses it. 2000 people later we realized this really wasn’t the event that we’d pictured.

Last year another after party was added to the line-up. This one at Araxi, one of my favorite Whistler restaurants. (The same people own Blue Water and CinCin in Vancouver, B.C..) We decided to give it another shot and we were so glad we did! This was the party we had been expecting! The number of attendees was limited to about 200 and the food and champagne were exceptional. This year we returned to Araxi and, although they had scaled back a bit, it was another wonderful party.

As you enter you’re handed a champagne glass to use at the many champagne stations throughout the restaurant. Directly in front of you is the sushi bar, where various rolls, oysters on the half shell and other Japanese treats are waiting for you. To your left, in the bar, is a glorious spread of desserts and, in addition to the champagne, you may order any drink of your choice from the friendly bartenders. To your right, in the main dining room, a jazz band plays and there’s a small area for dancing. Tables line each side of the room holding either bottles of champagne, the most beautiful small bites imaginable or more oysters, sweet shrimp and other seafood delicacies.

While there were many yummy choices, one of our very favorites this year was a half quail egg, topped with tobiko and placed on a small piece of toasted bread. There was a little dab of something between the egg and the bread but I’m not sure what. Simple, beautiful and a wonderful combination of tastes, textures and the pop! of the tobiko.

We had hoped to hit one of the lunches planned for Saturday but since we don’t buy package tickets, by the time the individual tickets went on sale the lunches were already sold out. There are tons of seminars on Saturday though, so instead of lunch we chose a wine tasting: A Tale of Pinot. This class led us through the different Pinot Noir regions of the world, starting with France and ending here in the Northwest with both an Oregon Pinot and one from B.C. In this tasting most people’s favorite was the Domaine Drouhin from Oregon, a winery I visited back in April.

I find these seminars to be a lot of fun. You learn a lot and the instructors they choose are always highly entertaining and funny, too.

Our final event for the weekend was the Sunday brunch at the Wildflower Restaurant in the Fairmont Château Whistler. This is event has morphed over the three years we’ve attended. The first year was a bit of a free-for-all. Last year they took reservations for specific times but not everyone got the message. This year the folks at the Wildflower were proactive and actually called all ticket holders to ensure reservations were made.

The offerings were also a bit scaled back this year, mainly in the seafood categories, but it was still a wonderful spread of all manner of breakfast and lunch items.

In between our Corncupia activities we enjoyed the comforts of our condo, strolling around the village and the snow. If you live in Washington or British Columbia I encourage you to think about attending next year. The road improvements between Vancouver and Whistler (for the 2010 Winter Olympics) are well under way and have already made a difference in the ease of the drive. (I’m not really sure this is a good thing – now it will be too easy for people to get up there!) For those of you outside those areas, you have the option to fly into Vancouver and then take a bus or limo or rental car the final leg.

Official Site of Cornucopia

A few more photos of this year’s activities

Whistler: Earls

15-Nov-2005

Earls is a Canadian chain of restaurants and, I see by checking their site, that they also have a few locations in the U.S. The only Earl’s I’ve ever been to is the one in Whistler and it has become a standard stop on our itinerary when there.

We go to Earls for one main reason: Dry Ribs! Specifically, "Leroy’s Crispy Dry Ribs". Now, don’t get me wrong they serve all kinds of other good food but we love the ribs. And, as luck would have it, my photo of the ribs was so out of focus that I can’t even come close to making it presentable. :-( So you’ll only get to see some of their other items. Earls was our first stop after we arrived in Whistler on Thursday night.

This style of ribs is popular in Canada, at least in British Columbia, but they don’t seem to have caught on in the U.S. so anytime we can we order lots of them! This trip alone we had one order at Earls and another at Milestones, another Canadian chain! These are little tiny ribs, bones really, lightly fried and then tossed with lots and lots of salt and cracked black pepper. If you’ve never had them you can’t believe how good these little bits of meat on a bone can be!

Every time I leave Canada, I think I really need to figure out how to make these at home. Well, maybe I’ll do that soon. In the meantime, I highly recommend the dry ribs at Earls. And actually they do a pretty good job at everything they do and portions are huge – it’s a great place to plan on splitting your orders.

Earls in Whistler
220/221-4295 Blackcomb Way (basically in the heart of the Village, just above Starbucks)
Whistler
604.935.3222

Birthday Dinner Summary

14-Nov-2005

continued from "Birthday Dinner"…

This was such a fun dinner – at least for me and I hope for my friends. As people entered I took their coats and then sent them in to the "bar" where R poured them something from the offerings.

I kept this very simple to minimize the complexity, the work for R and the cost. Basically, people had a choice of a Martini, Vodka Martini or some non-alcoholic beverages. At least one person chose to have their vodka on the rocks, which was fine, too. I also limited this to one drink per person so that R didn’t get stuck behind the bar and, as soon as everyone had something, she could join the group. There was going to be plenty to drink throughout the evening! Once they had their cocktail people moved back to the living room where a dish of Gougére – hot from the oven – and a few bowls of mixed nuts were placed around the room. The focus was the fire. It had been a fairly rainy day and it was nice to sit around the warmth and cheer a fire provides.

Most people knew each other but there were a couple dates who had not met everyone before, so they were introduced around. For me, an important part of this dinner was keeping everyone on equal ground. I always hate when a core group of people know each other and have a history and they start talking about things that exclude the people who are newer to the group. It’s a natural occurrence but something you want to minimize, especially in a small group, I think. I’ll talk more about that a bit later.

While everyone finished their cocktails and chatted in the living room, S and I snuck off to the kitchen to shuck oysters. I had two types: Kumamotos and Kusshi. I thought Kumamotos were small but Kusshis have them beat! They are adorable and tasty! On one of my past trips to Cornucopia I learned in an Oyster Class that Kumamotos are best served with orange slices instead of lemon. Their delicate flavor can be overpowered by the lemon. I figured this would be true of the Kusshis, too, so each platter of oysters held a bowl of orange slices and Frozen Champagne Mignonette.

Once the oysters were all shucked everyone took their seats at the table. Each person was presented with a customized menu as a few substitutions were made for those with allergies or food issues. The menu was tucked inside a small bag which also held a small pack of Richart Chocolates. The outside of the bag had the person’s name, which served as their placecard. That’s a little picture of me at 7 months old – I mean it was my birthday, after all! :-) After everyone was seated I removed the dinner plates, as each course would be plated and served. I wanted the plates on the table to start just to keep the table from looking too sparse!

I have a few rules about guest placement around the table. I never place people next to their significant other/date and I try to place guests near others they have something in common with. In this case there were so few of us at the table that really wasn’t a real issue although I still kept that in mind. Sometimes I use that common piece as an ice breaker between people and sometimes I just hope they stumble across it on their own! :-) On this night most of the discussion involved the entire table.

As we started on our oysters, B and N were charged with filling champagne glasses and making sure that everyone’s glass stayed full throughout the evening. They would be switching wines as appropriate for the various courses, as indicated on the menus. The oysters were really great! This was my first time trying Kusshis, I think, and they are really wonderful. As we finished up the oysters, M helped me clear the table and I presented those remaining at the table with a "topic of conversation" a la Linda Richman. This was geared towards keeping the conversation on something that all could participate in. I repeated this at several intervals throughout the evening and involved the guests even more by assigning different people to read different topics and start the conversation. (I had printed them all out on little strips of paper beforehand.) Overall, this worked well, although one of my topics actually caused several people to reminisce about things that a few of them had shared together – not quite the right outcome that time! :-)

The next course was a caviar sampler. Buckwheat blini were smeared with a bit of creme fraiche, then sprinkled with a few chives and, finally, topped with one of three kinds of caviar. I knew a couple of my guests did not care for caviar so instead their blini was topped with three types of smoked fish: salmon, trout and an albacore tuna.

Following the caviar I presented each guest with a little palate cleanser: Vodka-Lemon Sorbet. Just a little something to reset their tastebuds for the next round of the meal. I love serving these little dishes of sorbet! Unfortunately, I didn’t take a photo of either this course or the one that comes later. But I can tell you that I just place a small scoop in these little dishes that are actually prep bowls and serve them along with a demitasse spoon. They are so adorable!

Next, C helped me serve up the Chestnut Soup with Cognac Cream. This is such a hearty soup and perfect for a chilly day! Although I make it with chicken stock, you could make it with vegetable stock and it would be a really hearty tasting vegetarian dish. The cognac cream swirl on top just adds a nice little contrast – both in color and in taste. Following the soup, E helped me assemble the salads. Although I had billed it as Kicked up Waldorf Salad, while actually making it I decided to keep it fairly conventional only adding dried cranberries for a bit more color. A piece of red radicchio was placed on each salad plate, forming a little cup for the Waldorf Salad. These two courses were accompanied by a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc.

Finally we arrive at the main course! This was the only course that actually required any

cooking during the dinner. Venison medallions are very quick cooking – in fact you really need to make sure you don’t overcook them as they become tough and dry very quickly. They only need about 2 minutes per side over a medium high heat. After the medallions were cooked, they were placed on a platter and held while the mushrooms were sautéed and then the sauce reduced. I think the entire process only took about 15 to 20 minutes and actually provided a nice little break in the eating process! While the sauce was reducing down, K helped me plate grilled asparagus, and Gnocchi with Roquefort Cream. Then we finished the plates with the venison and Shiitake mushrooms. Yum, yum, yum! (If I do say so myself!) A hearty Merlot was the perfect beverage for the rich flavors on this plate.

Following the entrée, it was time for another palate cleanser! Okay, I admit I just like the idea of these and wanted to squeeze another one in. The second sorbet of the day was a Poire William sorbet, made with hard pear cider and Poire William. Very fall-ish.

The next course was meant to provide a little break and to be enjoyed at a leisurely pace, as we approached the end of the meal. A selection of cheeses, some grapes and a basket of bread were passed around for people to select what appealed to them. Also at this time, a bottle of port was added to the mix.

Finally, B accompanied me to the kitchen where he took care of coffee and tea requests while I sliced the L’Orange tart. This is an amazingly fragrant and moist tart. It was the only new dish I made for the night and it held one little surprise for me. I had imagined a chocolate tart with a hint of orange enhancing the taste. Instead this torte is amazingly orange flavored, crunchy with almonds and brought together with the, almost background flavor, of semi-sweet chocolate. Very, very good. We lingered around the table for a while longer, sharing conversation, enjoying the cake and our final beverages. We were warm and cozy inside around the table, no matter that the fall weather and darkness were waiting outside the door.

This was really a perfect evening for me and everything turned out as I had hoped, maybe even better! Although, it sounds like a lot of food it really wasn’t as each portion was really rather small. And the meal lasted about four hours so it’s not like it was all being shoveled in as fast as can be! I think people were definitely full at the end of the evening but not stuffed. The evening turned out to be stress free for me as so much of the work was done prior and what needed to be done during the meal was shared with others. I had asked everyone ahead of time for help with a specific task and I found that to be a great way to go. Every time I entertain, as people arrive they offer to help but that always feels too unorganized and awkward for me so that I normally decline or only accept a little help. I know that people like to help out – at least I do – and I think this way was great!

If this dinner is any indication, I’m going to have a very good year!

The Red Cup

14-Nov-2005

Starbucks is hosting a series of online holiday games, puzzles, movies, tips and tricks. There’s something new everyday! Check it out at The Red Cup.

Cornucopia at Whistler

10-Nov-2005

The Fool is taking another little break. This time I’m heading north to Whistler, British Columbia. R and I will be attending a few Cornucopia events over the next couple days – I’ll have more information on them when we return.

And, as an added bonus, it looks like we’ll be able to get in a day or two of skiing, too! (Skiing Magazine just rated Whistler-Blackcomb as the Number 1 ski resort in North America!) This is turning out to be even better than we had first planned!

Birthday Dinner

10-Nov-2005

Just about two weeks ago I had a few friends over to celebrate my birthday. The hard part of this dinner was not being able to invite everyone I would have liked to have there. I wanted to keep the group on the small side so that we’d all fit at the table. And, because I was planning a multi-course meal, it would have been out of control if the number of guests was too large. However, everyone had been invited to the celebration at Daniel’s so I really wasn’t leaving anyone out altogether.

I have always wanted to do a multi-course dinner but had refrained since I actually try to attend my own parties, not just serve at them! :-) But I came up with a perfect plan for this one. First, nearly all of the meal was made in advance and just needed to be plated as we moved through the courses. Second, I asked each of the guests to assist me with a specific task – this gave me both the chance to spend a little time with each of them and made the serving that much faster and more efficient. And, contrary to my usual way of doing things, I’d actually made everything in the past, except for the cake, so there would be no surprises in how things actually turned out!

Next year is a big milestone year for me and I want to hit that milestone running, so this year was my "kick-off". I plan to rev up the adventure level and do things I’ve always wanted to do but just hadn’t quite gotten around to doing. That was one of the reasons for choosing this particular format.

Here was the menu:

Brenda’s Forty Niner

aka

First Stop on the Road to Fifty

Gougére and Mixed Nuts

Martinis

—–

Oysters on the Half-Shell with Champagne Mignonette

Buckwheat Blini, Crème Fraiche & Caviar

Osetra, White Sturgeon (American), Ikura

Veuve Cliquot Ponsardin Brut – NV

—- Lemon Vodka Sorbet —-

Chestnut Soup with Cognac Cream

Jazzed up Waldorf Salad

Nobilo Icon Sauvignon Blanc – 2004

Venison Medallions with Shiitake Port Sauce

Oven-Roasted Asparagus

Gnocchi with Roquefort Cream

Apex Columbia Valley Merlot – 1995

—- Poire Williams Sorbet —-

Selection of Cheese

L’Orange

Hedges Red Mountain Port (Fortified) – NV

Coffee or Tea

I’ll post more about the party next week. In the meantime, here are a couple more photos.

NY: Blue Water Grill

09-Nov-2005

I finally made it to the Blue Water Grill this trip to NY and now I wonder why I tried for so long. Perhaps when I first heard about this place it was better than it is today but after my meal there on the Monday of my trip I have no idea why, in past years, the place has been packed to the gills (including the bar) with a one and a half to two hour wait. The food was okay but that’s about all I can say about it. I had a spinach salad that was nice but the balance of "stuff" to spinach was off – there were way too many nuts and chunks of blue cheese. The lobster bisque was tasty but was served barely, barely warm.

The Blue Water Grill is one of a group of restaurants owned by B.R. Guest. My last trip to NY I ate at another of their places, Blue Fin, located in the Times Square W Hotel. It was great! And, in fact, Barça 18 is one of their partnerships, so this lunch was a real disappointment. Maybe my expectations were too high. I’m not sure. All I know is that I won’t make a point of eating here again. If I was in the area and it was the only place open I might drop in.

Blue Water Grill
31 Union Square West at 16th St.
New York
212.675.9500

Subway: N, R, Q, W, 4, 5, 6, L to Union Square

NY: Chinatown and Little Italy

08-Nov-2005

Monday morning in New York found me wandering around two neighborhoods that I associate with food. What? You think I associate all neighborhoods with food?? Well, yes that’s true on many levels but in this case it’s even more pronounced.

Unfortunately this was pretty early in the morning so for this visit I would be looking and not partaking – at least not too much. Wandering up and down the blocks of Chinatown I am constantly amazed and intrigued by the types of produce, the amount of it and the number of people buying it. I think that here in Seattle we have a fairly rich Asian culture but still I see things here that I don’t see at home. In addition to the produce there are the fish markets, dried goods and all manner of exotic ingredients that make me want to sample and experiment. Chinatown, for me, is all about ingredients. Sure you can actually eat here, too but I always think of the markets. I love walking through this colorful and inspirational part of town!

Little Italy, on the other hand, is all about the restaurants and sitting on the sidewalk enjoying the show of people passing by. Over the years I’ve had salads and pastas and seafood and chicken or other Parmesans at many of the places. One of my favorites is Il Cortile, a place recommended to me by a transplanted New Yorker who was living in Seattle at the time. What is especially great is that I’m not sure I would have picked it out on my own but on his recommendation I tried it. This was the first place I ever had carpaccio and it now defines what I think great carpaccio should be!

One of my favorite memories is of a meal I shared with my friend E here. We ran into each other at the airport – neither one of us knew the other was traveling to NY at that time – and we were on the same flight! Although business would take us in opposite directions soon after we arrived, our first night in town we made our way to Little Italy. It just happened to be the Feast of San Gennaro celebration so we first wandered though the street festival and then made our way to Il Cortile to finish off the evening.

This trip there would be no eating a real meal in Little Italy, so instead I settled for another tradition – cookies and mini cannoli from Ferrara Bakery! I love this place. I guess I have a special affinity for it since my Grandmother was a Ferrara. This is no relation – at least not a close one – but still I imagine there is some connection if I go back far enough.

I absolutely love the little butter cookies they make here. Hazelnut plays a large role in their flavoring and many are sandwiched with apricot, raspberry or another jam. Many are dipped or drizzled with chocolate. Looking in the cookie and pastry cases is like looking through a treasure chest! It was too early and too chilly out for gelato but I did take a few minutes just to enjoy the bins of brightly colored concoctions in the outside stand, too.

Il Cortile

125 Mulberry St (between Hester and Canal)
New York

212.226.6060

Ferrara Bakery and Cafe
195 Grand Street (between Mulberry & Mott Sts.)
(212) 226-6150

NY: Zoë

07-Nov-2005

I’ve been stopping by Zoë Restaurant in Soho for 8 or 9 years. I first discovered it when I had been wandering around SoHo for several hours and my Northwest stomach suddenly decided it was time to eat. Now! But I was on East coast time and I couldn’t really find anywhere still serving lunch. And then I came upon Zoë and I knew I’d found my refuge.

From its welcoming wood and stone exterior to its slightly dark and cozy interior it called my name. The open kitchen with counter in the back of the room, the smallish bar upfront, the cozy booths – all the elements are welcoming. I’ve always eaten at the little bar upfront. It’s usually hectic as the bartender fills all of the table orders as well as handles the bar. But the bartenders are always friendly. I’ve generally had the same one or two guys over the time I’ve spent here, although I’m not in often enough to be a familiar face. The bartender working this last time had been at Zoë for 14 years – since it opened – and I’m sure he’s been there at least half, if not more, of the times I’ve visited.

One year while sitting at my normal spot at the bar, I was watching all the activity in the open kitchen. Suddenly I noticed that the chef looked familiar! It was Tim Kelley, formerly chef at the now closed Painted Table in the Alexis Hotel here in Seattle! I asked the bartender to make sure and he confirmed my guess, mentioning that Tim liked to have those from Seattle stop by and say hello. So I did. We had a quick chat and then I left so that he could get back to the frantic level of activity that is the Zoë kitchen on a weekend afternoon.

They have an extensive wine list and a lot of nice wines by the glass. Over the years I’ve tried several menu items – mostly the various soups, salads, pizzas and sandwiches. Everything has been great but my favorite is the very basic Mozzarella, Basil and Tomato Pizza cooked in the wood-burning oven, the heart and soul of Zoë. Oh and the cheese straws pictured above. I could make a meal of those alone. A little garlicky, a little cheesy, very crispy – perfection in a long and skinny piece of dough! This time, as in the past, I had a glass of wine, my pizza, some interesting conversation and then left, renewed and ready to take on a few more streets and shops in SoHo.

Zoë
90 Prince Street (between Broadway & Mercer in SoHo)
New York
212.966.6722

Subway: B, D, F, Q at Broadway-Lafayette; 6 at Bleecker St

Cranberry-Orange Nut Bread

07-Nov-2005

Fresh cranberries are now available in the stores! This is one thing that is still very seasonal, you can only get them fresh in the fall/early winter right after the harvest. For those of us in the Northern Hemisphere – that’s now!

I picked up a bag of them at Costco a couple days ago and, since it was from Costco, it was a 3 pound bag. That’s a lot of cranberries! Although they freeze beautifully, I wanted to use as many as possible so I decided to make several loaves of one of my favorites breads: Cranberry-Orange Nut Bread. This bread has a lovely tart bite to it. It’s so moist that you can eat as is. As it gets to be a few days old, it’s also great toasted with a little butter. This loaf freezes well and several of my loaves went into the freezer as soon as they were cool. I made six loaves: one I’m eating now; one will go to Whistler in a couple days; one or two will be used over Thanksgiving holiday; and the others will be gone in no time. Hmmm. Maybe I’d better make a couple more loaves!

This recipe is from the First Printing of the Betty Crocker Christmas Book, published in 1982. It may appear in other versions but is not in the current printing.

Cranberry-Orange Nut Bread

2 cups flour
¾ cup sugar
1½ tsp baking powder
¾ tsp salt
½ tsp baking soda
¼ cup softened butter
1 Tbsp grated orange rind
¾ cup orange juice
1 egg
1 cup cranberries chopped
½ cup chopped nuts

Heat oven to 350°.

Grease bottom only of 9x5x3 inches loaf pan.

Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda. Add butter and blend until mixture is crumbly.

Stir in orange rind, orange juice and egg just until flour mixture is moistened.

Stir in cranberries and nuts.

Pour into pan and evenly spread.

Bake until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, 55 to 65 minutes.

Loosen sides from pan; remove from pan and cool completely before slicing.