Santa Dad Will Have His Cookies

While at Safeway, I saw this transpire...

Child: "Mom! Dad! We need to make sure we leave out cookies for Santa this year!"

Mom: "Oh, I don't think so. Santa eats so many cookies, maybe we should leave out a carrot stick and some soy milk instead." *looks at her husband and smacks him on his slightly bigger than average belly*

Dad: "Son, do you think we should give Santa cookies or carrots?"

Son: "COOKIES!"

Dad: "Okay then."

The best part is he then just walked around her and grabbed the fudge covered mint oreos.

Sunday in Napa - Chapter 3: Deep in the Cellar

Read Chapter 2: Braised and Roasted
Our party was already running an hour behind schedule, so we made our goodbyes and sorrowfully left behind Pam, Carl, and Quixote winery. Soon, our cars winding down the infinite rows of picked vines, we arrived at the Quintessa Winery.

The winery blended well into the hillsides, as is the intent to make as little architectural impact on the land as possible when it was founded by the proprietors Agustin & Valeria Huneeus. We were met by Gwen, our guide at Quintessa, and as we all gathered, I took a moment to rest a spell in a crown style chair by a roaring fire place. About to fall into a catnap fueled by good food and wine, it was the definition of Napa. However my nap was joyfully put aside as Gwen began our tour.

We began with a nice little nature hike up the hill, the smell of smoke and dead leaves around us, and we came upon a wonderful vista as Gwen told us the history of the winery. Organic and very earth friendly principles are used in growing the grapes and in their care. For example they allow gravity based methods to move the grapes to avoid the bruising, and thus increased tannin content in the wine. They also only harvest at night to avoid the sun drying or burning the grapes.

We were led into a dark cellar and as we walked down the stone hallways lined with oak barrels, we were in awe at the volume of the wine that stood at attention before us. It culminated in a small center, which seemed almost holy. A well lit fountain in the center of the barrel lined halls stood and just let you take in the deeply romantic surroundings.Our group soon came to the end of our tour, which culminated in a wine and cheese tasting (our second that day). We tasted the 1996 Quintessa which was a bit tannic, and slightly oxidized, but still had a nice taste to it. The 2007 - I think that was the year, I'm sure someone will correct me int he comments if otherwise - was fantastic. It's been two weeks now, but I still remember it having a nice bold flavor, and slight spice.

It was served with some delicious Humboldt Fog cheese, a nice goat cheese made in California by Cypress Grove Chevre. It's nice soft rind, and declaratory line of ash in the center announced it's strong lemony and goaty flavors (you must try it to understand "goaty") perfectly balanced by the light gouda that sat beside it. Served with a small amount of quince paste, it was a perfect tray to accompany the bright wines.

After toasting Ashley, Elise, and Gwen for setting it all up we said our fond (and slightly tipsy in my case) goodbyes. Normally, I would end with some waxing poetics, but at this point there's nothing more to say. It was just too perfect of a day.

Inheriting My Family's Culinary History

So after reading this last post, mom decided that if she was going to come up and visit for Thanksgiving, that she was going to bequeath to me a little bit of culinary history. She went into the attic and after much treasure hunting recovered the object she wished to find.

My grandmother's recipe files. Yellowed with age, stained, marked and retooled with a pen after use, a bountiful plethora of homey, American recipes from the California Central Valley and the little hidden nest of Ojai. Each little note card contains one recipe, hand written or type via an old Remington Rand, or displays some various magazine or newspaper clipping perfectly adhered to the card.

And not just a few recipes... cookies, veal, crab meat, salads, cakes, BBQ, and every other little sub-category that any grandmother had in her veritable secret stockhouse of recipes was here.

Ojai Grandma was a very worldly person, as I've told you before. However, I never really experienced the full gambit of her cooking. I remember a vague chicken dish covered in cream of mushroom sauce which I don't doubt came from a can. I recall that every morning she served us a bowl of Lucky Charms and a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice. She would warn us in her scratchy smoker's voice to "Drink your o.j. first before the marshmallow cereal or your o.j. will taste bitter and sour." My brother and I wouldn't listen and we would of course be choking down the now bitter juice. She enjoyed her toast burnt black. She had a huge pomegranate tree which never was used. She cooked an awesome dish of hand shredded green beans with almonds and a bit of soy sauce. But never had I been served 95% of the dishes in this box, but my mom recalls them all. So now I have to discover them myself, and it'll only be some distorted mirror image of them, like the squatty self you see in a carnival house of mirrors, real, but not authentic. They'll never be as grandma made them, but they'll be as close as I can get. Still, cooking and recipes evolve and pay homage to our history. (Who sees a sociology paper topic here?).

In these long, steel boxes were my family's history and kitchen lore now passed down to me. I'll definitely try to go through a few of these, and post the results and recipes here because history doesn't mean anything if nobody knows about it.

Chocolate Peppermint Drop-Cookies

Chocolate and peppermint are a classic combination, especially in cookie form as any Girl Scout or Keebler elf will let you know. Cool and refreshing, yet perfectly satisfying the coco-craving. This recipe is adapted from Jill Van Cleave’s book Big, Soft, Chewy Cookies, a classic bestseller that’s made for the cookie fanatic with zero extra time. The recipe is easy to throw together and requires little work for a nice amount of payoff. A simple chocolate drop cookie with a bit of peppermint extract is the perfect thing to nibble on while you put up the holiday decorations.

Chocolate Peppermint Drop-Cookies
Makes 18 cookies / 350 F

What You'll Need...
4 ounces of semisweet or bittersweet chocolate
1/2 cup of butter (one stick)
1 cup of lightly packed brown sugar
1 egg, room temperature
1/4 cup of whipping cream
1 teaspoon of mint extract
1 3/4 cup of flour
1/2 teaspoon of baking powder, plus an extra pinch
pinch of salt

What You'll Do...
1) Chop up the butter into small pieces. Melt the butter and the chocolate together in a bowl over simmering water.

2) Beat together the sugar and eggs until well combined. Add the cream and the mint extract and mix together well. Add the cooled chocolate/butter mixture.

3) Mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add to the wet ingredient mixture. Mix until just combined.

4) Take a generous spoonful of the dough and plop it on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, about 9 per baking sheet (they get big). Bake in a preheated oven at 350 F for 12 minutes. Allow to cool for a few minutes on the sheet then transfer to a wire rack.

Here are some other great cookies to try out for the coming holidays!
Pumpkin Biscotti
Brandied Cranberry, White Chocolate Cookies
Vegan Oatmeal Raisin Cookies (Gluten Free)
Viennese Chocolate Sables
Espresso Cookies

Sunday in Napa - Chapter 2: Braised and Roasted

For Chapter 1, click here. Special thanks to Fernanda for the pictures.
After the tasting we all meandered back to Quixote winery, albeit a momentary pause or two to admire and photograph the landscape. The fog had lifted and the winery in it's golden, verdant, and fiery hues demonstrated itself before us.

Still, soon the smell of wine and braising wafted past us, differentiating itself from the smell of ripe persimmons and dying leaves. Raul, a personal chef and his sous chef/day's organizer/buddy of mine Ashley were prepping a wonderful Napa style menu.Pam led us into a gorgeous dining room where we all sat down and ooh'd and ahh'd at our surroundings. We all began to converse about the Legend of Darrell Corti and locally grown eggs, while we sipped wine from blown wine glasses as big as your head.

We were first presented with some delicious eggs that had been grown locally down the street. Their yolks were bright sunset orange, a sign of real organic eggs at peak freshness.
Raul and Ashely presented us with a colorful & seasonal salad of mixed greens, gems of pomegranate, bright persimmons, and darkly hued sweet beets. It was so gorgeous you just wanted to admire it, not eat it. But since we took photos, we were able to look at our salad and eat it too with little worry.

The main course was even more amazing. Short Ribs braised for six hours in the Quixote Petit Syrah. The meat just fell apart and melted in your mouth with the most savory flavors. It was served alongside some pan roasted, slightly caramelized brussel sprouts. A side dish of barley salad, freshly roasted pumpkin, and morels exalted the bounty of Autumn. I may wax poetry about the meal, but it's only because I can't covey the true yumtasticness of the meal any other way.The apple crisp that followed was equally awe inspiring. The apples had come from Elise's garden, and the freshly whipped cream had been infused with some of the Madagascar vanilla I had brought for Raul, but it's was Raul's own culinary expertise that made it sing. Soft, crispy, busting with warm apples... *le sigh*
As we all reminisced over the meal, only to find out we were an hour late for our appointment at Quintessa Winery. We lugubriously gathered our very full selves, and gave profuse thanks to Pam for having us in her wonderful home and winery, and Raul for the amazing meal. We then piled into the cars and made our way out.

Read Sunday in Napa - Chapter 3: Deep in the Cellar.

She Who Eats Fire (a.k.a. Mom)

I enjoy a nice plate of spicy food that's got some kick to it. And I'm not just talkings spicy as in spicy hot being flavorful, I mean spicy hot being pure Scoville heat. Rob, not so much. Really, when it comes to spicy food, he's a bit of well... he's a spice pussy. When it comes to heat, be it a sweltering summer day, a mildly hot pan, or chile sauce, he's just a downright wuss.

I can't say I don't relate. I had to learn and build my heat tolerance and I like to think it's pretty damn formidable now. I can put away harissa or salsa you've got pretty well. Still though, I have my limits. There is a certain ethiopian dish, doro wot, that just burns me so bad I simply cannot eat it. I try, God knows, I try. Yet every time it just burns me so bad I just have to start swallowing bread to try to make the tongue-scorching go away.

My mom however, 'Ol Iron Belly, the Eater of Fire, can just put away the spice and make any heat submit. It's spooky and unnatural. I have seen this woman punish a bottle of tobasco sauce. Seriously, she should be dead, her stomach twisted into a Gordian knot and her little heart exploded. I dunno if it's genetic adaptation, acquired tolerance, or witchcraft but somehow she just can.

Take last night for example. She's visiting for Turkey Day so on her first day in we had a delicious little dish with andouille sausage as a main component. This was however, no ordinary sausage. It was made by de' devil. El Diablo Andouille! This thing could burn down Chicago. Rob only did a piece or two after which he threw in the towel. After which I mocked him as I happily shoveled the sausage into my mouth (take a moment and make your jokes). A moment or two later, I was out of the running as well. You know the feeling, the one where you feel the heat and spice swell your belly, and all further ideas of food are wholly unappealing.

Mom just smiled and happily ate like nothing ever happened.

Sunday in Napa - Chapter 1: The Colors and Shapes of Tiles and Cheese

This is going to be a three part story (seems to be happening a lot on this blog recently). It revolves around good friends, good wine, and good food. Hope you enjoy!Driving into Napa, my party and I marveled at Northern California Fall in it's full bloom. We were in awe at the undulating hills covered in infinite paralleled rows of grape vines harvested weeks before, now showing off their autumnal vestments. Geese flew overhead and hundreds of hidden birds held who knows how many conversations about whatever birds converse about (acorns and nests, perhaps?).

Elise had organized for some of the local food bloggers to go on a tour of wineries in Napa, so we all carpooled together and gathered for what would be an educational and entertaining day. For me this was going to be small vacation in a way. A chance to escape work and class and the grind. A chance to enjoy a crisp fall day outside, food and blog conversation with friends who actually had interest in the subjects. A chance to enjoy some truly good food and some well aged wine.Our first stop was the geometric, olive tree laden, and colorful Quixote winery. We were met by Carl Doumani and Pam Hunter, the proprietors of the Seussian grape press we were all beguiled by. They founded the winery in Stags' Leap back in 1996 and have since produced fantastic cabernets and petit syrahs, which I will describe in my most limited wine-speak later.

(Architecture Photograph by Fernanda)

Carl began out tour with a description of the architecture and short history. The design of the winery, and consequently Quixote label, was done in part by famous Austrian architect Friedensreich Hundertwasser. Known for his keen attention to local tiles, movement, color, and geometry (encouraging a lack of straight lines) the building is interactive and participatory member of the Quixote family in a way. It really wouldn't be the same without it. And plus, what winery is complete without a giant gold turret in order to encourage success in even the most karmic sense?

Carl then took us down to the vineyard and lessoned us on the worm horn used to help give the land nutrients and the use of various organic methods used to grow the berries such as powdered dead moths sprayed over the plants as a deterrent to other moths. Think of it as eco-friendly heads on a pike. Tea, worm compost, and a bit of video surveillance to keep an eye on the grape gobbling turkeys are all important to production.Carl then retired for the rest of the day, and left our party in the intelligent and friendly hands of Pam as she led us to her home for a wine tasting and cheese pairing. Their home is, for the lack of a better word, jaw dropping. Well designed, warm earthy tones, and a subtle Asian influence.

We gathered around the table where a trio of tasty cheeses awaited us for a wine pairing using the Quixote wines. We were then met by Janet Fletcher, the two time James Beard Award winning cookbook author and food columnist for the S.F. Chronicle (and whose job I covet). She guided us through samples of Pecorino di Grotta, erhaki, and zamorano cheeses. All of the paired well with the Petit Syrah and Cab, my fave was the erhaki with it's slight nuttiness, and slightly creamy texture. The petit syrah was delightfully fruity, with very low tannins. A nice relaxing, drinkable wine. Janet also kindly provided all of us with copies of her book Cheese & Wine, a delightful guide I had actually on my Amazon.com wishlist.It was a thoroughly relaxing event, we all chatted about food media, and sipped wine. Deliciously decadent and perfectly relaxing, something we all needed as a respite away from life. Good wine, good cheese, good conversation. How could it get any better?

Read Chapter 2 of the Sunday in Napa posts; Braised & Roasted.

Favorite Christmas Cookies?

Just taking a small poll here (READ: cop-out post). As you may or may not know, I've been doing some of the baking over at Simply Recipes, the latest being my family recipe for Brandied Cranberry, White Chocolate Chip Cookies. That's right, I can do more than cupcakes.

Come the Christmas season, we made lots of chocolate chip cookies. And on Christmas Eve, after ignoring the Church sermon and listening for Santa's sleigh flying outside over choir music (yep, as a child I knew where my priorities were) we would leave out a plate of them for him, with some carrots for the reindeer too.

So out of curiosity, what are the traditional cookies (Christmas or otherwise) your family makes? For me it's always these and the traditional chocolate chip cookie. I'm always wondering what other people make for their cookies, and always eager to try new recipes. Feel more than free to write links to the recipes, assuming you have them online, in the comments or just write the recipe in your comment if you so wish.

Cupcakes will be resuming sooner or later, promise!

A Night at Paul's - Part II (Paul Martin's American Bistro)

Read Part I of the review.

We had a lot of indecision about what to order, as everything seemed so tempting. The menu consisted of traditional American bistro food, but what set it apart from everyday was the care in preparation and the selection and careful use of local, seasonal ingredients.

As we slowly muddled over the our options I tried to covertly guide the table to selecting the manila clams, because damn it, I dig clams (get it? dig clams?). Anyways, we selected them and a plate of grilled castroville artichoke.

The manila clams were amazing. I mean, they were absolutely fantastic. They were served in a suace of garlic, white wine, chili flakes and herbs and as we ate the clams we sopped up every delicious, ambrosial drop with the bread. Personally, I never use herbs and usually flavor my clams by throwing in some chopped chorizo in with the wine and garlic, but now I want to try re-creating this at home.

The artichokes were delicious as well. They were lightly boiled (or was it marinated... the waiters and us had a good 10 minute discussion on artichoke preparation, which ended with us asking the chef for the recipe, but sadly we were denied our request; regardless...) with lemon and herbs then grilled over a mesquite charcoal grill, imbuing them with that tangy rustic smoke flavor. Served with some pesto and tarragon aiolis, why we were in heaven. I grew up with artichoke always being served with tarragon butter by my mom, so this was a twist on a childhood classic for me and made me so happy.

These were the small dishes, which were still quite descent; good portions, well prepared, very tasty. Not sure one of these could be a whole meal, but if you plan to eat lite then perfect. The larger plates are a bit more hearty.

As we waited for the larger dishes to arrive, we all sipped down a smoky and full Kelly Flemming Cab Sauv. There was another wine, but whatever it was it's gone from my head. I do suggest you try the cocktails. The vodkas are cured in house and are mixed very well. Like candy. We had a delicious pear based cocktail. They did have one called The Hemmingway which I refused to drink as I hate his writing *insert all the other English Grad students collective gasp* but again this is a personal thing.

I ordered the skirt steak with roasted maple-bourbon sweet potatoes and arugula. Deliciously and well prepared steaky-bits, perfectly medium-rare. The potatoes were delicious and sweet. The arugula... not peppery enough but then again if it were too peppery, it might have taken from the steak.

The mushroom burger Elise had was tasty. Three kinds of mushrooms pressed delicately into a patty and served on a tasty burger with pesto mayo. Very earthy and had a nice taste of mushrooms with their musky odor. The fries were string cut and salted. You've had them before, but still yummy.

Ashley had the salmon with some caramelized onions. The salmon had been cooked on a cedar plant and had taken on a nice subtle, woody taste. Nothing I would order, but I prefer a stronger flavoring to my fish if I'm going to flavor it at all.The desserts were fantastic as well. The sorbet and ice cream are made in house. I had a delicious pear sorbet served with some homemade shortbread cookies. The sorbet was sweet and resounded of pear. The banana cream pie was a delicious with layers of bananas and vanilla bean pastry cream though had a very hard crust, lined with chocolate, which proved difficult to cut through with a fork sending a piece flying off the table. Still, it was like a party in your mouth and everyone's invited. =)

Overall, a delicious and fantastic experience. I look forward to going back again and again and again. Be sure to check out Paul Martin's, it's just too damn fabulous not too.

A Night at Paul's - Part I (Paul Martin's American Bistro)

(One note about this review – this was a fully comped meal. It was in part since I missed the first mock service a few weeks ago. It was a fabulous experience, and from what I saw the service and food was consistent at all other tables. Of course this is all from my own personal experience and taste, I always encourage you as a restaurant patron to seek other opinions.)

Waiting outside Paul Martin’s for the rest of my party, I plopped myself on the lounge chair and watched the waiters pull one last drag from their cigarettes as waiters are wont to do before the Friday night rush arrived. Ashley had finally pulled Elise and me together for a meal over at the new Roseville restaurant that had been receiving so many online accolades.

I met up with the two lovely ladies and after an exchange of kisses, hugs, and pleasantries we meandered inside. The décor is, in HGTV speak, very prohibition-era steakhouse via Chicago/SF with a contemporary twist. The dim light inside prevented me from taking my own pictures (all food pics here come from Ashley), but it’s all very warm, softly lit, and very romantic. A lot of soft woods, pinpoint colorful lighting along with large jaunty drum chandeliers, and a long bar paralleled by dimensional mirrors and an astounding wine display welcome you in.

The seating is wide and open, designed to allow people to hang out and relax. Brian Bennett, one of the managers, pointed out to us a deliberate absence of two-top tables so that people would feel free to just throw their stuff down on the table and enjoy themselves. The seating is laid back, wide, and comfortable. Like napping comfortable.

One negative, and this a complete personal note, is it reminded me of the Laguna Beach area of Orange County, CA where I grew up. Very posh, very Here and Now, designed to be the new cool place where all the people who sat at the cool table in high school and the socialites come to be seen. It's a personal irk when I see this much name brand clothing and botox, but the food rocks my socks and the design really is quite shibby so just learn to ignore it.

As we walked to our seating we were intercepted by Mr. Paul Martin Fleming, the man who put the P.F. in the P.F. Chang’s, and owner of Paul Martin’s. He was snacking on a charcruterie board with his dining companions. Paul filled us in on some of the workings of the restaurant and his philosophy and practice of using local products (which in turn led to a vibrant discussion of nearby wineries and local persimmon farms). We then turned to the widespread utilization of blogs as an ever growing source of information, which of course I was vocally agreeing with thankyouverymuch.

Personally I found the fact that the staff and given three full meals astounded me. Since prep work begins in the early morning and produce and bread are coming in fresh daily (the bread that day came just as the first lunch guests sat down, the bread having only been baked a few hours earlier) the staff need to be fed. The staff eat the same things served to the guests and thus have first hand knowledge of all of the products and their sources and can accurately describe and recommend the various dishes. It also ensures that not a single piece of food goes to waste, so props.

As a former coffee house slave I'm very happy to see a manager who so firmly believes in the economic algebraic equation of Happy Workers = Good/Productive/Eager to Learn Workers. Snaps to the management. I have had more than enough bad waiters ruins my nights before, and any time a waiter/waitress is efficient and intelligent it just makes the whole dining out experience so much more pleasurable.
Back to the meal, once we were seated we ordered the butcher's board to begin, a fine tray of local artisan salume and cheeses with some coarse grain mustard, olives brined and cured by the restaurant, and caper berries. The caper berries were delicious salty and well brined. The olives were flavored with parsley, lemon, and rosemary and we all were snatching them up as fast as possible.

The Point Reyes bleu cheese was tepid and perfect, without too much bite so that you could enjoy it and the other cheeses afterwards and not only taste BLEU. The Laurel Chanel goat cheese shmeared perfectly over the bread, then the creamy Winchester Farms gouda followed up well, though I prefer gouda to be smoked and have a creamier taste.

The salume were just... my god... amazing. The boccalone salame had delicious fatty bits, with fennel and orange zest, which was delicious when paired with a smokey Sangiovese. We all had our favorite and they were devoured with the utmost refined carnage you might have ever witnessed at a dining table. Duels were fought over the remaining translucent slivers of meat. My personal fave was a delicious Lonzo boccalone that was mild and salty, with a bit of smoke.

Then the small dishes came and the eating really began...

Read part II.

Spiced Cranberry Applesauce

I'm starting to figure out what I want to do for my 3-Top Thanksgiving (my mom, Rob, and me). One of the things I decided to do was completely out of the blue; having just acquired some home grown apples from a friend and with a big bag of cranberries awaiting inspiration in the fridge I decided to throw together an applesauce. I had never made the stuff before but figured it couldn't be that hard, and in truth it was a snap. This recipe is a rough translation of what I did, but it's applesauce (i.e. boiled, mashed apples with water and sugar) so you can easily adjust it to your own liking.

It's sweet and deliciously tart. The cinnamon and ginger add a nice bit of spice in the background. I originally ate it warm, but it was a perfect little dish for a snack the next day out of the fridge. Plus the striking color just incites drama in the dish.

It's a perfect fall recipe, and I think would be great if you are planning to step outside the Thanksgiving staples and do a few different seasonal dishes.

Cranberry Applesauce
What You'll Need...
6 large apples (I used some monster sized Granny Smith)
1 12 oz bag of cranberries
1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon of ground ginger
1/2 cup of sugar

What You'll Do...
1) Bring 5 cups of water to a boil. Add the cranberries and let them cook for 10-15 minutes, stirring once or twice. I always giggle when the cranberries start to pop for some reason. I just always find it humorous and amusing as food often can be.

2) While they boil, peel and shop the apples into bite sized pieces. Add them to the boiling water and let cook for about 10 minutes until a fork can easily pierce them.

3) Add the sugar. Add the cinnamon and ginger. Stir together.

4) Puree with a stick blender, or process in batches in a standing blender. Let cool a bit and serve. Feel free to pop it in the fridge as it's great cold too.

"I don't work here."

"Excuse me, can you help me?" A tiny lady in a hot pink sweat suit and sunglasses bigger than a head is facing my friend while I peruse the Asian goods aisle for soba noodles.

"Um, I don't work here," my friend turns around and looks at the lady. Why she asked us I don't know. We're both looking a little unkempt right now; unshaven, wearing tattered clothes, looking like we just came off the bad end of a hard night of drinking (I really just don't bother with making myself pretty on the weekends). Oh, and the lack of the slacks, white shirts, name tags and aprons weren't a giveaway either.

"Well can you help me anyways?"

"Uh, can I ask with what?" my friend replied. We figure, what the hell, maybe it's something simple? I doubt it but at least it's the universe asking him for the small favor which will most likely result in a kick to his karmic groin. I attract The Stupids way too easily, apparently being around me is contagious and attracts them to any carriers I happen to infect. Tough luck for any of you out there who know me on a personal level.

"Can you help me take my groceries to my car?" she queried.

We were puzzled; not from the request but from the fact that she only has a carton of orange juice in her hand. It didn't seem like she was having a problem. "Are your groceries out front?"

"Well I just started shopping, can you just stand by the front and wait for me to finish and then help me to my car?"

"Just wait for you at the front for you to finish?"

"Yes."

I decide to step aside and out of this one, for once it's not me suffering at the hands of The Stupids. I smile and enjoy every minute of it.

My friend however is starting to get annoyed, "Well, I don't work here. They can have a bag boy help you with that."

"But I asked you."

"But I don't work here."

"I don't see what that has to do with it. You said you would help."

This all ended with the lady saying something about today's youth not respecting their elders, or walking to school barefoot up the razor blade streets uphill both ways in the snow. Or something. I dunno. We rolled our eyes and grabbed what we came for. I'm happy that I dodged the bullet for once.

Then I dropped a can of cannellini beans on my sandaled food. Natch.

Vosges Sampler III - Exotic Candy Bar Tasting

Lastly we have the candy bars. A mini box set that allows you to taste a few different flavors. The best thing is that you get to try a wide variety. The bad thing is you can't try them all, so now I plan to go out and taste the other flavors.

Naga (Milk Chocolate + Sweet Curry + Coconut Flakes) - "No words... They should have sent... a poet." -Contact

Warm. Sweet. Exotic. Best piece of chocolate I have ever had. Ever. EVER.
Try it and you can see why I made my own cupcake interpretation a year or so ago.

Woolloomooloo (Roasted and Salted Macadamia + Indonesian Coconut + Hemp Seed + Milk Chocolate) - Light and airy. The hemp seed leaves a (pardon the pun) herbiness lingering in the back of your mouth that quite enjoyable, in a right way. Salted macadamia nuts are slight, but not inconsequential. They have that slight butter flavor the macadamias are wont to have and lend a nice crunch to the candy bar. Sadly, I couldn't taste the coconut, no matter how hard I tried.

Gianduja (Almonds + Hazelnuts + Milk Chocolate) - Gianduja is a chocolate candy filled with a sweet almond and hazelnut paste. A popular confection in Italy. This candy bar twist tasted like a very silky Nutella, but with a hint of almond. Loved it. I wonder if I can translate this into a biscotti...

Matcha (Matcha + Milk Chocolate) - The matcha was nicely bitter and sweet, and matched well with the chocolate. I love the combination of chocolate and green tea matcha, so I came into the candy bar having a clear idea of what to expect and I do so love it when my expectations are so clearly met.

Barcelona (Hickory Smoked Almonds + Grey Sea Salt + Milk Chocolate) - The salt was nicely subtle and the smoked almonds have gave nutty hints and smoky whisps of flavor. A very common combination given a bit of airy elegance.

Black Pearl (Ginger + Wasabi + Black Sesame Seeds + Dark Chocolate) - Very gingery to begin with, then the black sesame slowly reveals it's flavor all around your mouth and the warming wasabi just floats in at the end and then just as you grasp it, it vanishes. Fantastic. Really, a bar I could eat every day.

Oaxaca (Gjuaillo and Pasilla Chillies + Tanzanian Bittersweet Chocolate) - Dark chocolate that seems sweet and bitter and regular. Then a minute or two later a warm and intense spice just hits you in the back of your mouth. Very fun to eat.

Red Fire (Mexican Ancho and Chipotle Peppers + Ceylon Cinnamon + Dark Chocolate) - A candy bar version of the now famous Mexican hot chocolate. Historical, the flavors are steeped in tradition and in turn are very flavorful, they're reason for permanence speaking for themselves. If you want a tasty cupcake version try this cupcake!

I plan to check out a few of their other candy bar flavors in the future. The Calindia, Goji (of which Cheryl made a cupcake version), and d'Oliva especially piquing my interest as well as the bacon bar. Cause we know I love bacon, especially in a cupcake!

For other opinions and reviews, I highly suggest checking out Chocolate Obsession. This link is to a word search using the key term "Vosges" so you'll pull up reviews of other goodies I never tried and reviews of ones I did. The person behind it is very thorough and clear in their analysis.

Vosges Sampler II - Chocolate Truffles

Simple truffles. Smooth and creamy dark chocolate ganache. Paper thin dark chocolate shell. Cocoa powder. Three forms of chocolate in one delicious little bite. Rob makes truffles this way too, and they're pretty on par with his (Rob will add Chinese 5 spice or mint sometimes, yums!). This however was a dedication to tasting pure chocolate on a variety of levels. Resonant and clear.
Tasty Links!
Matcha Chocolate Truffles
White Chocolate Truffles
Dark Chocolate Truffle Cupcakes

The above are some delicious links, but feel free to post your own truffle recipes in the comments.

Chocolatey Surprise from Vosges - Exotic Caramel Tasting

This is going to be the first in a set of posts that will incite the jealousy of all the other food bloggers out there. Now it's no big shock to most of the readers of this blog that I'm an avid fan of the Vosges chocolate company and have developed a few cupcakes based on their very haut couture chocolate.

The last cupcake apparently caught the eye of the good people at Vosges and to help give me some future inspiration they sent a nice little sampler package of their truffles, candy bars, and caramels. Rob and I were to say the least dancing naked on the table super awesome fun time happy. A large thanks goes out to Paige over at Vosges.

Being able to try all of these tasty treats was a real, well, treat. Personally, I always felt such trouble when I tried to pick just one of the bars. I even did one or two Google searches for candy bar reviews when I made an order on-line a year ago to try and figure out which one I wanted. So as Rob and I painstakingly sample and taste each one, we'll try to give you a nice rundown of their flavors in the next few posts.

This one is on the Vosges Exotic Caramels.

Mexican Guajillo Chilies, Licorice Root, Dark Chocolate, Organic Pumpkin Seed - Not too dark, not too sweet. It's delicious. The licorice root, like many of the flavors, is subtle but present though you may have to try to block outside noise so you can focus on it for the full effect. The chili kicks in pleasantly at the back with a bit of mild heat that stays with you for quite some time. It licks and caresses you; it's warming and I must admit, acts as a bit of an aphrodisiac (no exaggeration). As I type this I'm literally and actually feeling quite frisky right now after eating it.

*off screen pause to pounce on Rob*Canadian Maple Sugar, Maple Syrup, Walnuts, Dark Chocolate - I loved this one. Surely one of my faves (nothing beat the frisky caramel). It was familiar and what I expected it to be, but better. Very wintery. Very homey. Very relaxing with grandma over freshly made breakfast caramel. The walnuts and maple syrup were both defined and well balanced.

Pink Peppercorn, Rose Water, Dark Chocolate, Red Rose Petal - Pros: Very distinct pink peppercorn taste making the caramel peppery and fruity. Cons: Much as we tried, could not taste the rose water, and the red rose petal was more for show than anything.

Brazil Nuts, South American Cocoa Nibs, Dark Chocolate - Nice. I like brazil nuts. Very nutty. Nothing to out of the ordinary in my opinion.

Campari, Blood Orange, Dark Chocolate, Hibiscus Powder - "Pretty!" Yes, my first reaction. I like sparkle. I also like the dark flavors in this one. Slightly citric, slightly tart, very fun. Perfect to match with cocktails. The hibiscus powder is deliciously sour. Totally yummy.

Argentine Dulce de Leche, Costa Rican Cashews, Milk Chocolate - Milk and sweet. Caramel had a slight and pleasantly burnt taste. Very cashew-y.

Aboriginal Anise Myrtle, Dark Chocolate - Very subtle anise flavor. Undercurrents the chocolate well, but you forget you're eating a caramel, which isn't bad, but not sure if that's good either. Regardless, I enjoyed it very much.

Hawaiian Red Sea Salt, Milk Chocolate, Li Hing Powder - Red sea salt makes this caramel pop, and when backed up by the li hing (a product of dried plums that has a powerful salty/sweet/sour flavor) creates a very flavorful effect that makes your mouth water. Would love to work with li hing powder myself soon.

Tupelo Honey, Milk Chocolate, Bee Pollen - Meh. I am not the biggest honey fan in the world, and it competes too much with the caramel in my opinion. Rob loved it. The bee pollen, while pretty and offering a slight soft-resistant textural counterpoint, offers no flavor (though I don't know if it really was supposed too).

In Conclusion: All of these caramels do a fantastic job at balance. Nothing really overpowers other flavors. Some are a bit more subtle than others (some lost all together) but as a whole, I can't really fault any of these. At no point do the caramel or chocolate really ever step off stage, each flavor profile is there only to enhance them. The supporting cast make the stars of the show truly shine. All and all, they're superb and still live up to all my expectations.

Also, damn, that chili one goes to your head. Seriously.

Jade. Salt. Pepper. Flavoring food and a reminder of Ojai Grandma.

My grandmother on my mother's side was quite the world traveler, it wasn't uncommon to be getting postcards from Thailand, Germany, or the Arctic from her. Her home was a literal museum of maps carved from ivory, abalone jewelry, paintings from the Middle East, and books from antique book shops from who knows what corner of Europe.

She was one of the first American's let into China in order to explore it after it had securely cut out Americans for nearly 60 years. She was able to see a country that had not prepared itself for the tourist droves that grow larger with every passing year.

There she found a small jade bowl. A trinket that sat on a display shelf for years. Eventually it passed down to me where I kept it on a display shelf for years myself in my bedroom where no one ever really saw it.

Finally though, I've given it use and a place where it can display itself. I keep it in the kitchen.
It contains a good amount of kosher salt mixed with ground Tasmanian pepper and pink pepper. The earthy, pungent flavor of the Tasmanian pepper, and the subtle fruitiness of the pink pepper give a nice balance of flavor. So any dish that needs just a quick pinch of salt and pepper, I just pop the lid off the jar and grab what I need, without fussing into the cabinets.

Beautiful, practical, and a wonderful and constant reminder of my Ojai Grandma - A woman who explored the world, made me fresh orange juice and Lucky Charms in the morning, and was a beautiful, stubborn, loving person who loved her toast burnt to a crisp.

Floral Prints, Frat Boys, and Gum

From the archives...

I wanted to share with you an incident that happened a few days ago...

A young guy, probably about 20 with a frat boy "I'm the king of my universe" look and air about him, was in front of me and opened the door to the restaurant. He then spit his gum out onto the walk to his side. Now this was also directly in the path of a small group of little old lunching ladies who were just leaving, and would now have to maneuver and step over the offending gum wad. I was disgusted by this, but said nothing to the frat boy, deciding to conjure up an image of punching him in the back of the head instead. I was about to warn the ladies when something curious, no... enthralling, happened.

The first little old lady, a timid woman I would surmise was in her 80's and dressed in a simple floral print and cardigan turned to the frat boy and said in a kindly voice, "Excuse me young man, you dropped your gum."

The frat boy stopped and looked at her. Now I only caught her gaze from the side, but you could see that while her face had a soft smile, her eyes said, "You pick up that gum. Now." I can only imagine what the full brunt of that gaze was like for the frat boy. I would assume it was akin to being struck in the chest with a sledgehammer.

"Oh... uh, sorry," he mumbled and bent down to retrieve the wad of gum in front of his floral print and cardigan conqueror. He wanted to tell her no, the annoyance and befuddlement was in his eyes, but what was he going to do? Tell a little old woman to shut up in front of a crowd of people and the restaurant staff for telling him to pick up the gum he had so disgustingly spit out? I think not.

"And with a stomp of her foot, she had vanquished them." The line from Faulkner's A Rose for Emily popped into my head and I smiled. Everyone, except the frat boy, smiled at his defeat. A victory for good manners and respect.

We need more little floral print ladies like this.

Tuesday Eating Calendar

Tuesdays are my suck days. The days I leave at 7 a.m. and get home at 10 p.m. It's a supersonic spiral into gustatory hell basically. Monday nights I get home around 10 pm as well so I can't prepare something the night before for lunch or dinner. It's a day where I just scrounge up whatever food I can possibly find and it's not exactly a balanced diet.

The following is a typical Tuesday:

6:30 am - Bowl of cereal. Maybe. Did I sleep in? What day is this? Goddamn it Rob, if you don't shut up and close the blinds I swear to holy hell I will make sure the sun don't shine anywhere for you ever again.

7:30 am - Apologize to Rob for threatening his life again.

7:45 am - Walk into work and make tea. Healthy wake up food for Garrett. Can now be social and talk to people, and am no longer at risk of going totally bat shit and verbally eviscerating the first person I see.

9:00 am - Desk candy. This candy jar on my Lead's desk is always tempting everyone. It's full. It's delicious. It's got to go.

10:00 am - Get Cheeze-its from the snack machine. Cheesy crackers are my crack, I heart their salty deliciousness. They love me and I need them.

10: 03 am -Warned co-worker that if she sneaks another one of my Cheez-its that I'll stab her in the freaking hand.

10:05 am - Stabbed co-worker in the hand.

12:30 pm - Someone placed bagels and cream cheese in the break room again. I race everyone else there after we learn of these tasty treats and throw myself upon the greasy cheese bagel, and drown it in whipped cream cheese. To balance out a healthy meal, I pour a glass of orange juice to go with it. Go me!

1:00 pm - Two hard boiled eggs with some salt. I did have time to prepare something last night and I'm glad I did. I choose to view it as diet conscious rather than sparse.

3:00 pm - Like Kate Moss, I need to eat a freaking sammich. I find a Soup-at-Hand thing from Campbell's. It tastes horrid. Not from age, but from just nastiness. I throw it away.

4:00 pm - Desk candy one more time. Curse you Satan and your tasty tootsie roll temptations!

5:00 pm - Sit with friends before class. I mooch a small bit of pizza and a slice of cucumber from a salad. Follow up with a short cat nap in a Quiet Room with bean bags. Dunno who thought to put those bean bags and Quiet Rooms there, but give the man a fucking medal.

10:30 pm - Get home. Stress has built again to epic proportions. Thinking of cleaning the dishes in the sink but collapse on couch instead to watch bad reality television. America's Most Smartest Model is on. Yayness, I can look at pretty people wearing few bits of clothes and being totally stupid and validate my own intelligence after listening to classmates who are probably way smarter than me. Rob makes me some fries and a black cherry smoothie. All is good with the world.

11:00 pm - Get into bed. I remember there's a potluck tomorrow at work. Will pick up some bread or something somewhere. People expect cupcakes from me, but too bad. Who wants to bet that there'll be a healthy selection of weight conscious choices designed to fight fat and salt and boost energy? Yeah, don't think so. Bring on the KFC and brownies. I'll make sure to jog home.