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This weekend we catered the annual Dry Creek Barrel Tasting for Dutcher Crossing Winery and Quivera Winery with a fabulous turn out for both wineries with well over 2,000 each. No doubt helped by the lovely weather and beautiful drive out Dry Creek Road, not to mention the wine and food!
At Dutcher we did a wonderful Risotto topped with Sausage Ragu and Roasted Rosemary Cherry Tomatoes. I actually had email requests for the recipe before the first day was even over!
Risotto
4 Tbs butter
1 small onion diced – approx ½ c
4 cloves garlic crushed
1 tsp thyme- dried
1 cup Arborio rice
1 cup white wine
4 cups broth chicken or veg
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
Saute onions, thyme and garlic in butter till tender. Add rice and sauté untill well coated, about 1 to 2 minutes. Add in 1 cup of wine, reduce to medium heat, stir till combined. Continue to add broth 1 cup at a time, allowing it to be absorbed between batches. This will take 15 to 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Finish with parmesan.
Sausage Ragu
1 lbs sweet Italian sausage
1 Tbs fennel seed
1 small onion diced – approx ½ c
4 cloves garlic crushed
1 Tbs Italian seasoning
¼ cup olive oil
15 oz can crushed tomatoes
Place first 6 ingredients in a heavy bottom sauté pan over medium heat. Cook till brown, you can choose the texture of the ragu by how much you macerate the meat. Add tomatoes; simmer 15-20 minutes till liquid evaporates.
Roasted Cherry Tomatoes
1 basket grape cherry tomatoes
1 Tbs olive oil
1-2” stem rosemary
Salt and pepper
Strip Rosemary from the stem. Place all ingredients on a baking sheet and mix to coat. Bake at 300 for 10 to 12 minutes, until the tomatoes burst.
To serve - Entrée portion
Place 1 cup of Risotto on a plate or bowl, top with ½ cup of Sausage Ragu. Finish with cherry tomatoes and fresh parmesan.
Enjoy,
A
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Friday, March 5, 2010
I love breakfast!
I have been reading about a new diner that opened just out side of Sonoma, out on Hwy 12 (or Hwy 121 or Fremont Dr, they're all the same road at that point). For years it was Babe’s, a great place to get burgers, but it had fallen into disrepair and was recently snatched up and renovated into the Fremont Diner. Styled as a diner / roadside stop with a definite southern flare.
We enjoyed their Smoked Brisket Hash and their Biscuits & Gravy. The brisket is smoked over oak with a rich flavor then grilled with Yukon Gold potatoes and onions; a nice sweet rich smoky flavor and topped with an egg done your way.
My biscuits and gravy were incredible. I love biscuits and gravy but usually plan to eat too much because they are so rich, these were perfect. They make their own cream biscuits and the grill them till toasted, then topped with not your ordinary biscuit gravy. You can actually see the sausage in nice large chunks that you can catch with each bite. The gravy was heavenly, perfect thickness to coat and not drip but not so thick as to weigh you down. Can you guess I loved the dish? I have an eccentric habit at breakfast; I like a nice light green salad. I was thrilled when they said no problem at all. Tender organic greens with paper thin sliced apple and beet dressed perfectly.
The diner shows a growing trend in dining. Many chefs are opting to do it their way. They are not opening big expensive restaurants but finding small quaint locations to work out of. These locations are often only 12 to 14 seats and the chefs are aiming for locavore menus. The fewer seats allow them to work directly with the growers and producers, to know their customers, and avoid the overhead of a grander establishment. It also allows more creativity and frequently changing menus.
We dined inside (given the weather) which had a nicely appointed homey feel, but in sunny weather the picnic tables with umbrellas provide a spectacular view of the surrounding vineyards.
Congratulations Fremont Diner – I’ll see you again, soon.
A
We enjoyed their Smoked Brisket Hash and their Biscuits & Gravy. The brisket is smoked over oak with a rich flavor then grilled with Yukon Gold potatoes and onions; a nice sweet rich smoky flavor and topped with an egg done your way.
My biscuits and gravy were incredible. I love biscuits and gravy but usually plan to eat too much because they are so rich, these were perfect. They make their own cream biscuits and the grill them till toasted, then topped with not your ordinary biscuit gravy. You can actually see the sausage in nice large chunks that you can catch with each bite. The gravy was heavenly, perfect thickness to coat and not drip but not so thick as to weigh you down. Can you guess I loved the dish? I have an eccentric habit at breakfast; I like a nice light green salad. I was thrilled when they said no problem at all. Tender organic greens with paper thin sliced apple and beet dressed perfectly.
The diner shows a growing trend in dining. Many chefs are opting to do it their way. They are not opening big expensive restaurants but finding small quaint locations to work out of. These locations are often only 12 to 14 seats and the chefs are aiming for locavore menus. The fewer seats allow them to work directly with the growers and producers, to know their customers, and avoid the overhead of a grander establishment. It also allows more creativity and frequently changing menus.
We dined inside (given the weather) which had a nicely appointed homey feel, but in sunny weather the picnic tables with umbrellas provide a spectacular view of the surrounding vineyards.
Congratulations Fremont Diner – I’ll see you again, soon.
A
Sunday, February 28, 2010
February Blues
February is always such an odd month in the catering calendar. It seems that people like to hunker down, the slowest month of the year. The farmer’s market is looking a bit dull, I love my root vegetables but only so many. You know that the spring is so close you can feel it, that things are just yearning to pop up or bloom out. My days are filled with planning for the Summer season, meeting with many (many) Brides and Grooms, planning menus, doing tastings and site visits... This is looking to be a really fun year with several new venues that we'll be catering at, and some interesting menus.
The highlight of these cool days have been tacos. I have just had the want for tacos. From Asian inspired with Thai grilled chicken to pork chili verde or just classic carne asada, I can’t get enough. I have discovered that the local Mexican markets have these adorable 4” corn tortillas that are just perfect size. Just like little taco sliders.
For the Asian inspired I grilled chicken thighs with our Bali BBQ sauce (sweet and slightly spice) then warmed the tortillas and topped with shredded cabbage and cilantro. Very simple, very good.
The Chili Verde came from an over cooked pork tender loin. I diced the pork and onion then sautéed them, simmered in a bit of green chili enchilada sauce – sometimes mistakes turn out great!
Spring will be here soon…I hope :)
A
The highlight of these cool days have been tacos. I have just had the want for tacos. From Asian inspired with Thai grilled chicken to pork chili verde or just classic carne asada, I can’t get enough. I have discovered that the local Mexican markets have these adorable 4” corn tortillas that are just perfect size. Just like little taco sliders.
For the Asian inspired I grilled chicken thighs with our Bali BBQ sauce (sweet and slightly spice) then warmed the tortillas and topped with shredded cabbage and cilantro. Very simple, very good.
The Chili Verde came from an over cooked pork tender loin. I diced the pork and onion then sautéed them, simmered in a bit of green chili enchilada sauce – sometimes mistakes turn out great!
Spring will be here soon…I hope :)
A
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Nice thoughts
Got a nice compliment today from an online business to busness newsletter. Always nice to hear.
A
A
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Happy Valentine’s Day
Chocolates vs. Bonbons? If you ask most people they will say chocolate, well I guess that I'm on the other side. My favorite candy is the Maple Pecan Bonbon from See’s. This all started many years ago, when we were kids my mom would buy us the candy egg assortment from See’s. To be fair she would always give us each three chocolate and three bonbon. We would immediately swap to have 6 of our favorites; my sister Chocolate and me Bonbon.
So what is a Bonbon you may ask. In much of the world a bonbon is synonomous with candy, but in a more culinary sense a bonbon is a bite size sweet (not chocolate) that is covered with a thin shell of fondant (sugar) or chocolate. The more traditional bonbon is a fruit filling with a fondant covering (mmm fondant). As opposed to a truffle which has a thick chocolate covering and a soft center which may also be chocolate.
See’s no longer does the egg assortment, but they still have a number of handmade bonbons to choose from, including my favorite.
My valentine was a trail of my favorite bonbons to get me through the day. Thank you love.
A
So what is a Bonbon you may ask. In much of the world a bonbon is synonomous with candy, but in a more culinary sense a bonbon is a bite size sweet (not chocolate) that is covered with a thin shell of fondant (sugar) or chocolate. The more traditional bonbon is a fruit filling with a fondant covering (mmm fondant). As opposed to a truffle which has a thick chocolate covering and a soft center which may also be chocolate.
See’s no longer does the egg assortment, but they still have a number of handmade bonbons to choose from, including my favorite.
My valentine was a trail of my favorite bonbons to get me through the day. Thank you love.
A
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