My Hot Date with Tyler

I was going through some old photos and saw this one with me and Tyler Florence. He did a book signing at the Super Target in Mooresville just a few months after I moved here.

San Francisco – Part 1: The Food

I love San Francisco -- it is my favorite city in the US. There’s so much to do in the city and within a couple of hours you can be in some of the most beautiful (and palette pleasing) places in the world … some of my favorites are Napa/Sonoma, Monterey/Carmel/Pebble Beach and Big Sur. Back in the day when I was a travelling consultant I would “have” to be there at least once a month for work, now I ‘m lucky if I can get out there every few years for “research”.

In my four days, I did a little bit of everything. I spent an afternoon in Walnut Creek walking around the quaint town and window shopping at my holy trinity of stores: Pottery Barn, Restoration Hardware and Crate and Barrel. I spent another afternoon in Sausalito, having lunch at a sidewalk café and browsing the local shops and art galleries. I laid out at the hotel pool drinking cold Coronas (yes I drink other beverages not just wine) for the good part of a day and spent an entire day in Napa!

In the 4 days I was there, I gained 3 pounds! Here are some of the food highlights from my trip.

My first meal was lunch at Artisan Bistro in Lafayette (a small town between the city and Napa that I like to use as home base). I started with an organic heirloom tomato salad with feta cheese on a bed of arugula that was dressed with pesto and balsamic vinegar. The main part of my meal was a croque monsieur (a grown up French grilled cheese sandwich) which was filled with gooey Gruyere cheese and salty ham in between perfectly crisp and golden pieces of bread. I decided to skip dessert since I nibbled on the shoestring fries on my plate.

Believe it or not, I was hungry a few hours later and ate at Il Fornaio in Walnut Creek. I am not sure how I got away with this but at most of the restaurants I went to I was able to get tasting portions of the dishes I ordered. Given that its summer I couldn’t resist the caprese salad with vine ripened tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, basil and as a bonus, olives. My next course was ravioli (made at the restaurant) stuffed with butternut squash and walnuts and served in a tomato sauce with brown butter, parmesan cheese and crispy sage. This was so fantastic that my next course seemed just okay: thinly pounded veal sautéed with sliced artichokes and lemon which was served with potatoes and sautéed vegetables. I continued my feast with dessert: chilled zabaione with fresh berries and peach sorbet which was topped with fresh whipped cream and a cherry! I slept good that night.

Day two was spent mostly in Sausalito. I had a late lunch at Poggio Trattoria. I had plans for a big dinner in the city so I went with a light lunch, a Margherita pizza (tomato, fresh mozzarella and basil) with prosciutto di parma and arugula. The arugula was amazing … it was crisp with a nice peppery bite. It added a nice touch to the pizza which I had with a glass of petite syrah.

After some sightseeing in the city, I had worked up an appetite and was ready for dinner at Epic Roast House on the Embarcadero. The restaurant was right on the water overlooking the San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge. I got there a bit before the sun went down was took this picture. This is pretty much the view from my table. Again I had tasting portions … I started with a warm spinach salad with bacon and a poached duck egg. For dinner I had the wood oven roasted halibut which was delicious. The fish was light yet firm and was served with fennel on a gratin of potatoes and onions and topped with crispy mushrooms. The highlight of the meal was beignets and coffee. What an amazing presentation. First they brought a latte bowl which they poured in caramel. Then coffee from a French Press was added to the caramel and topped with fresh whipped cream. The beignets were delivered to the table in a paper bag, warm and dusted with powdered sugar. These beignets put Café du Monde to shame. A nice Merry Edwards Pinot Noir from the Russian River Valley helped with digestion.

Day three was focused on wine more than food. However, I did start the day with a latte and glazed donut from the Oakville Grocery … I needed a solid base for all the wine I would be tasting. Four wineries later I had to get real food in me and stopped for lunch at Go Fish on Main Street in St. Helena. I went for quantity (and quality) starting with the shrimp cocktail, then a taste of the crispy calamari that was served with a lime aioli and finished with a half of the citrus chipotle chicken breast sandwich. No dessert and just water.

By the time I got to the last winery, I was so excited by their cheese plate I had to get it … it was three cheese (a sharp cheddar, brie and goat cheese), roasted almonds, dried apricots and dried pears and cashews served with melba toast. What a nice pairing with the champagnes I was drinking. By the end of the day, I dragged myself back to the hotel and had a Reuben and a beer and called it a night.

Most of my last day was spent at the pool with beer and salty snacks. For dinner I went back to Walnut Creek and ate at Lark Creek. I was intrigued with the blue cheese soufflé so I ordered that in the name of research. Note to self: must reverse engineer the recipe for that. It was fantastic. While it had the texture of a traditional soufflé, it was brought to the table in about 10 minutes and was delicious ... not overly blue cheesey … plus it was served with baby arugula dressed with a cherry-balsamic vinaigrette. I opted for the half portion of the bacon wrapped meatloaf which came with horseradish mashed potatoes and sautéed wax beans. Beans, schmeans. I left those on the plate to save room for dessert. Since they did minis … I tried both the butterscotch pudding and chocolate cream pie. While both of them were delicious, the butterscotch pudding won hands down. Another note to self: perfect butterscotch pudding. I was on a merlot kick from the day before so I drank the Twenty Rows Merlot with dinner. I slept good that night too.

Then I got on a plane the next day and came home 3 pounds heavier. I can see why now.

Stay tuned for the wines I tasted in Napa.

Cooking Catalog Humor

While most women flip through clothing catalogs filled with the latest styles, I get my giggles from thumbing through cooking catalogs. As I was flipping through the Spring 2009 issue of The Good Cook catalog, I noticed something about the inside cover had changed. Was it the editor’s hairdo? No. She’s had that for a while. Glasses? Don’t think so … but I never really looked that close before. Then I took a closer look at her opening message. It was written in verse … she had rewritten the words to the song “My Favorite Things” from The Sound of Music. Here’s what she(Beth Goehring, Editor-in-Chief) had to say (hum along ... it works):

Bubbly lasagna and hot, buttered bread,
Peppery T-bone and pimento spread,
Fresh guacamole and salsa and chips,
This is the comfort I put to my lips.

Spicy shrimp gumbo and clove-studded ham,
Buttermilk biscuits and blueberry jam,
Choc’late chip cookies and homemade ice-cream,
These are the calories of which I dream.

When it’s raining, when the kids fight, when the bills are due,
I put on my apron and open the wine and make up a big beef stew!

While that alone was worth reading, I continued to scan the pages of cookbooks. Most of them I had seen before, except for the gem on page 9 titled “The Cracker Kitchen”. I did a double take and then skimmed the description to see if it was an experiment with Ritz, Saltines and the like. No siree bob. It was “A Cookbook in Celebration of Cornbread-Fed, Down Home Family Stories and Cuisine” by Janis Owens. Alrighthy then. Moving on.

By page 19, I learned that according to the Washington Post, Corinne Trang, author of Noodles Every Day is “the Julia Child of Asian cuisine”. Good to know. I wonder what the Asian version of Julia’s vanilla pound cake tastes like? Probably not the same. A few pages later, I discovered there’s a cookbook titled “365: Dish a Day” and the authors were thorough enough to add an extra recipe for leap years.

My final bit of entertainment was towards the end of the catalog. The cookbook is titled “The Pleasure Is All Mine: Selfish Food for Modern Life”. Here’s the image of the cover. Check out the dress, stilettos and wine bottle.

This gal knows how to have a good time … by herself … as the title says.

Todd-isms

If you haven't attended a wine tasting at our shop then you've missed out on some great wines and yummy nibbles (in my humble opinion). If you haven't attended a wine tasting hosted by Todd from The Country Vintner then you've missed some great unscripted one-liners we like to call Toddisms.

Todd hosted our very first wine tasting back in November of 2007. We were featuring the wines of Catena Zapata of Argentina who produces the Alamos labels. We were on our first wine, the Alamos Viognier, which Todd described as "a melange of fruit cocktail" and compared it to "Fruity Pebbles". Once we stopped laughing, we commented that it should be illegal to use a sophisticated word like melange in the same sentence as fruit cocktail. I think we bring that up every time we see him.

His next gem came during the Old World New World tasting we did last year in which he stated "the dollar is in the crapper" as we tried to justify the pricing on some of the French wines we were tasting compared to their counterparts from around the world.

I don't remember which tasting this next classic comes from but it maybe his best so far. As he's pondering the back label of the wine bottle, he calmly announces that the wine has 14.5% alcohol which he then follows up with "a good date wine". The room gets quiet ... all eyes are focused on him ... he looks up ... he realizes what we're thinking ... and the backpedaling begins. "That's not what I meant ..." Right. What did you mean? Now at every tasting he does, we ask what the alcohol percentage is and make sure we put a star next to all the date wines.

This last Toddism comes from the Spain and Portugal tasting we did a couple weeks ago. We were tasting a fantastic Spanish red which he declared " ... was so good it was wrong". I think that too was a date wine!

And if you're wondering if there are any Lindaisms, there is just one. When asked how come my grilled sausages were so moist, I answered (without thinking obviously) that "I never poke the sausage". Really.

Torn between two …. Waiters?

To say that I have a lot of quirks is an understatement. I want certain things done a certain way … especially when it comes to food and wine. While I can control quality, timing, presentation and (to some degree) service in my own home, it is harder to do at a restaurant. I’m finding the consistency I look for in all these areas at Positano at Birkdale. I absolutely love the place. The food is delicious, the meal is never rushed, the presentation is flawless and the service is the best I’ve experienced in a while.

I’ve eaten there about 4 or 5 times in the past couple of months (rare for me who likes to try new places) and all of the times except Monday night Michael was our waiter. He served us the first time and we keep asking for him when we return. Michael is knowledgeable, patient and efficient. He knows the menu, knows what’s fresh and knows what goes with the wine we’ve selected. He’s good. He won’t rush us and will even take care of us at an inside table when his tables are outside. This plus he tolerates John’s corny jokes about Italian sea bass goes a long way.

Well Michael had the night off last night. The nerve of him – needing time off. We wanted to try the Chef’s Dinner (4 course for $20 Monday to Thursday) and had Andrea (think Bocelli) as our waiter. He’s a bit younger than Michael and a whole lot sassier … which we liked! He too had a good command of the menu and the wine list. But he scored brownie points by offering a wine that was not on the list … Poggio ai Ginepri … a awesome combination of cabernet, merlot and syrah … attractively priced at $46 a bottle (which was half off since it was Monday night … SWEET!). Also in his favor, he speaks Italian (he’s from Sicily but I would not have guessed). Of course we tried out the few Italian words and phrases we knew and he corrected our pronunciation. I think he even smirked when we started referring to John as Giovanni.

The food was delicious as usual … we opted not to go for the Chef’s Menu (mista salad, rigatoni in a cream sauce, salmon piccata and crème caramel) and tried new things on the menu. The food flowed with the conversation and Andreas anticipated every need. Another great meal. So here’s the dilemma … who should I ask for the next time I eat at Positano? Michael or Andrea? We mentioned to Andreas that we felt like cheated on Michael and was torn. His response was sassy and not entirely appropriate for a family blog like this!

If you’re interested in the Chef’s Dinner, the menu choices change every night. Call after 5:30 for what’s being served. The number is 704-896-2979 (I think I’m embarrassed that I have it memorized).

My First Time ... Gnocchi

DISCLAIMER: Barf Story Ahead!

I've been wondering what to write about lately... having a bit of writer's block (if you can call this writing). So last night as I'm recounting each of the few times I've eaten gnocchi to my friend John, he suggests I share the story so here goes.

My first time eating gnocchi (pronunced NYOH-kee or NOH-kee) was at small Italian restaurant on Lincoln Road Mall in South Beach with my friend Susan who was visting from Houston. I had eaten there many times and was looking to try something new on the menu ... so I choose gnocchi ... Italian "dumplings," usually made from potatoes and flour. It was served in a light basil sauce that tasted okay enough at the restuarant. My stomach was a bit queasy that night but I didn't think too much of it. Susan and I were going diving in the Florida Keys the next day.

So off we went to Keys, got on the dive boat and went diving. Let me tell you, it is possible to throw up underwater and I did during the first dive ... the regulator came out of my mouth like a torpedo. Luckily, I'd been diving enough times not to panic and not to make the rookie mistake of putting the regulator right back into my mouth. Calmly, I caught the regulator with my right hand, waved it about the water a couple of times, put it back in my mouth, exhaled and then took my first breath. I finished that first dive, figured I'd feel better underwater than on the boat and did the second dive. I haven't been diving since.

The next time I ate gnocchi, I made it myself in cooking school. It was fairly easy to make -- we had some left over baked potatoes which we put through a potato ricer, added some egg, flour, parmesan cheese and other seasonings to make a dough. We rolled the dough into long thin strips and then used a fork to cut and roll them into what looked like one inch pillows. They cooked quickly and then we sauteed them with olive oil and garlic. It was ok but nothing to brag about.

My next experience with gnocchi was at Dolce in Dilworth. They only make it on Tuesday nights and I could never really understand the big fuss ... until last night. John and I were at Positano (again) and were looking to share a pasta. They just updated their menu and offered gnocchi flavored with spinach. It was fantastic ... each gnocco was light and tender ... almost cloudlike. It was served with cherry tomato sauce with soft sauteed onions. Delicious. I can't wait to go back and have it again ... and they offer it every night!

Dinner at Positano (Birkdale Village)

When I decided to move to Miami I had three criteria for my new home. First, it had to be close to an international airport in case I wanted a quick getaway. Second, the beach had to be no more than three hours away for when I got homesick for the beach. And third, there had to be good restaurants.

I made in the move in 2002 and have not been disappointed so far. Back then, fine dining was limited to Charlotte and South Park. Chain restaurants were the only options between exits 18 and 25 and the choices in Mooresville were Big Daddy's (for fried seafood), Midway Marina for breakfast (still on plastic plates) and Applebees (for a Ricky Bobby family night experience).

The choices are getting better in Mooresville (Soiree and Carusos) but even better at Birkdale. Not able to get seated at Dresslers this past Saturday night, my friend John and I ended up at Positano across the street. The 40 minute at the bar flew by as we sipped on a glass of Italian Chardonnay (should've gone with the Pinot Grigio) and munched on the (complimentary) crispy potato chips that called out to us from it's big silver bowl. The menu was simple, broken down into three main sections: appetizers and salads, pastas and mare e terra (sea and land). John is a great dining companion who doesn't mind sharing. This is a good trait to have in a friend for a couple of reasons. First, if you don't like what you ordered you could always eat theirs and second, by sharing you can try more new things. And that's what we did (and always do).

Before we ordered, the waiter (a patient man named Michael) brought us crusty bread with a white bean tapenade that was quite yummy. The crust of the bread was perfect for scooping up the beans and the softer inside of the bread was handy for soaking up the remaining olive oil on our plates. With that out of the way, we moved on to beef carpaccio, thin slices of raw beef with a heap of arugula piled on top dressed in what they called truffle aioli and finished with shaved parmesan. The beef was good, but the pepperiness of arugula combined with the sweet yet lemony taste of the aioli was heavenly.

We then shared the bucatini with pancetta, caramelized onions and pecorino cheese. They were kind enough to bring out two separate bowls of pasta so we didn't have to fight on who got more. The pasta is a thick noodle with hole in the middle (like a skinny macaroni). It was cooked al dente and the sauce was the right consistency to cling to the pasta. The tomato sauce was a balance of salty (from the cheese and pancetta) and sweet from the tomatoes and onions. I almost licked my plate clean (but we were in a nice restaurant). Veal Saltimbocca was next ... which is thin slices of beef, covered with a thin slice of prosciutto which hides the single sage leaf that adds tons of flavor. This was good but we were more impressed by the side of potatoes and caramelized onions. After all this, we still had room for dessert. Two ... bread pudding (which was flavored with figs and other dried fruit but was too dense for my liking) and toasted almond gelato. It was not too sweet and not too soft and had a little bit of texture (most likely from the ground almonds).

In addition to the great food, we had excellent service. Michael as I mentioned was very patient (despite our jokes about the daily special of Italian flounder) and did not rush us through the meal. Since we were going to Dresslers we brought our own wine which we were able to enjoy at Positano (no fuss, no roll of the eyes, nothing). And throughout our meal, Micheal and someone named David (he must be important) came by a couple times to see how we liked things and chit chat for a couple of minutes.

This was a great way to wind down to week especially without breaking the bank.