There is a lot of wine at the end… and start… and middle… of that rainbow! J. and I just returned from five days in the Napa Valley, and we loved every minute of it.
Wine-wise, we did a cave tour and tasting at Schramsberg Vineyards, which uses méthode champenoise (the French way of making champagne) to make its line of sparkling wine; a tour of the bottling line at Francis Coppola Winery, which makes our favorite claret; and a great tasting at St. Supéry (so good we shipped a mixed case of wine back home), a winery recommended by an old camp friend of mine. We also spent a day on a Platypus Wine Tour, and our guide Scott took us and four other couples to Ballentine, Tudal, Madrigal, and Summers Estate. By the time we hit the third winery, I’d hit a wall on being able to notice much of a difference in the wines, other than “like” or “don’t like.” Thankfully, J. kept tasting for us both and found a nice muscat that we liked at our final stop.
Everything we ate on this trip was fresh and fantastic. Whether it was grabbing burgers outside at Gott’s Roadside in St. Helena (I had the most moist, flavorful turkey burger ever), or sitting down to a three-hour tasting menu with a wine pairing at the Restaurant at Meadowood (and we got a kitchen tour, and met super-chef Christopher Kostow!), the food almost universally made us murmur through a full mouth, “this is sooo good.” We also had a chance to eat at Redd (foie gras meatballs? yes, please!), Mustards Grill (which has a sign outside apologizing, “Sorry everything is delicious”), Brix (where we drank a cabernet made from the vines we were looking at), Rustic (a side of Asian-style slaw was the real stand out), and Michael Chiarello’s Bottega (“polenta under glass” set my heart aflutter).
Now that we’re back, I’m shell-shocked that there’s no menu to order from at each meal. Wait, I have to plan the meal, cook it, and clean up? I want to go back on vacation.
May 6, 2012
If you Like Chick in the Kitchen on Facebook (go head, click Like, I’ll wait…), you know I was in Maui on vacation for a week. My sister, who is living in Australia, met me and my parents there to celebrate my dad’s birthday. Believe it or not, Hawaii is pretty much a half-way point between New York and Brisbane. It was a heck of a long flight, but even if Maui wasn’t enough of a draw, spending a week with my sister was! It was fun to have my nuclear family together again — we laugh a lot.
“Practice Aloha” is a slogan created by Mark Ellman, a Maui chef. We ate at one of his restaurants, Mala Ocean Tavern, and in terms of creativity and flavor it was by far our favorite restaurant on the island. Our waiter, Jeremiah, definitely had the aloha vibe down. Practicing aloha is open to interpretation, but it essentially means putting a positive vibe out into the world by treating everything around you with love and respect. That includes people, animals, and our environment. Mala’s menu reflects this, and we especially loved the Stir Fried Brussels Sprouts with Sesame Seeds, Fresh Mint & Crispy Wontons.
We also had a chance to eat at Aloha Mixed Plate (my favorite for laid-back island vibe, great drinks, and delicious chicken, all on an outdoor patio overlooking the ocean); Cane & Taro (my dad had some rockin’ huevos rancheros); Leilani’s On The Beach (we had coupons for free Hula Pie — “This is what the sailors swam to shore for in Lahaina” — Oreo cookie crust, macadamia nut ice cream, fudge topping, macadamia nuts sprinkled on top, and whipped cream FTW!). Hula Grill and Roy’s – Kahana Bar & Grill were just OK.
We did spend a full day driving the Road to Hana, which is a 1.5-lane wide road traversing the north side of Maui in a series of blind curves and switchbacks. It is not a drive for the faint of heart, and my dad did a fantastic job keeping us safe. The Twin Falls farm stand photo above is taken just at the start of the trip. We’d packed a picnic lunch from Safeway the night before, as there is not much in the way gas stations or food along the drive. And as far as waterfalls, well, the four of us are a little jaded. We’ve spent a lot of time in Ithaca, NY after all, and there are some spectacular waterfalls there too.
At the end of that day trip we stopped in a cool little town called Paia, where Mama’s Fish House is an institution. We had our second chance to sample poi here, which is a traditional, bland porridge made of pounded taro root. This version was thicker, described as “one-finger: by our waiter because you eat it by dipping just one finger inside. We’re previously eaten a much looser version at Aloha Mixed Plate. Really, there is nothing offensive about poi, since it barely has a flavor. My sister didn’t mind this second version though, and was the only one of us to finish the small sample they gave us. Here’s the poi, looking as pretty as it can look:
There were two more fun food highlights. First, we had an opportunity to tour the kitchen of the Sherton Maui, where we stayed. I love a good behind the scenes tour, plus I am fascinated by how restuarants can cook for such huge amounts of people. Conrad Aquino is the executive sous chef there, and he definitely exudes the idea of practicing aloha. He was incredibly good-natured, always with a smile on his face, and seemed really excited to show me, my mom, my sister, and one other guest around the inner workings of the kitchen. Look at the size of those whisks and dough hooks in the back corner! They dwarf my own KitchenAid many many times over. (They actually use an industrial-sized Hobart mixer.)
After the tour Conrad cut up several fruits for us to sample. We tried rambutan, guava (I didn’t care for it), and an apple banana (I wrote in my notes this was a “vanilla banana,” but I think I got it wrong). We also had a jambong, which is like a less-tart, enormous grapefruit:
My favorite new fruit, though, was the chiamito, or star apple. The flesh was lightly sweet and very soft, but not slimy (though I think it looks that way):
Conrad also made us a delicious upside-down tart in a pan. He layered the supremed (sliced) jambong and Granny Smith slices in a skillet, then sprinkled them with sugar and dotted them with butter (and not with a light hand, I must add!). The prepared puff pastry cut to size was placed on top, and allowed to cook. The finished dish was flipped out of the pan upside down, so the fruit — beautifully arranged — was on top and caramelized. Just to gild the lily, it was served with a scoop of vanilla and macadamia nut ice cream. Wow. It was delicious, and Conrad graciously gave us leftovers to bring out to my dad since it was his birthday that day. Although we never got a chance to eat in the resort’s dinner restaurant, we found both of their bar menus to be generously portioned, with plenty of lighter and vegetarian options. It was easy and pleasant to eat lunch at the resort — we didn’t even have to get out of our lounge chairs if we didn’t want to.
On one of our last days in Maui, we hit a local farmer’s market nearby. I have to use the term “local” loosely, since there were bananas from Ecuador for sale amongst the Hawaii coconuts. I did treat myself to a young coconut for $4. The gentleman you see here cut a hole in the top so I could stick a straw inside and drink the coconut water (it’s not cream at this point). Then when I was done he chopped the whole thing open so we could scrape out the meat. It was more fun than delicious — my sister says the coconuts she gets in Brisbane are infinitely better. We also bought a couple of coconut bagels (does that mean I can no longer call myself a New Yorker?), which were barely sweet plain bagels with a sprinkle of dessicated coconut on top. Not bad, actually. We also bought some local cheddar and made a breakfast out of all that, along with coffee and chai from the Bad Ass Coffee Co.
I used the word “paradise” a mind-numbingly large amount of times on this vacation. It was truly a vacation of a lifetime, and I’m thankful to my parents for helping my sister and I get out there with them. They deserve an enormous Hawaiian “mahalo” — thank you. There are so many pictures that could sum up the aloha I felt on the trip, but this one is a favorite. I’m going to keep trying to practice aloha, even now that I’m far from that island paradise.
February 7, 2012
The snowy nor’easter that raged through much of the east coast at the end of last week knocked out our power from about 1 pm on Saturday until 2 pm yesterday, Tuesday. The first two nights without power, and therefore without heat, J. kept a fire going in our living room and the four of us slept huddled around it, with lots of blankets. By the third night, we’d packed it in and stayed with my sister- and brother-in-law who live nearby. Thankfully, last night was spent back at home in our toasty, well-lit house.
I was able to pack most of the contents of my freezer off to Lauren (thank you!), so we didn’t have a large financial loss from losing power to our fridge. Still, it’s bare and I need to get to the store today and figure out what we’ll be eating the rest of the week. We are also picking up our final farm share of the season, which will dictate some of my cooking.
Hope you had easier weather where you are.
November 2, 2011
On Monday, Merrie and I celebrated our birthdays, many months late. We’d planned to take a cooking course together instead of exchanging gifts, but the first class we registered for, at a local Indian restaurant, was cancelled at the last minute. That loss wound up being our gain, and it’s how we found ourselves at Rainbeau Ridge this week.
Rainbeau Ridge is a farm in northern Westchester (Bedford Hills, NY) that has a small-scale egg operation, organic vegetables, an orchard, and various farm animals (I loved petting the baby goats). They are also a goat’s milk cheese producer. The farm has a presence at local farmers’ markets, and they host lots of cooking classes too.
Nicki Sizemore taught our class on “Vegetarian Side Dishes that Make a Meal.” I’ve taken cooking classes here and there (in college, at the CIA, and elsewhere), but Nicki was the most memorable teacher of all them. I found her to be down to earth, well-organized, smart, and engaging. She was totally comfortable in the kitchen, and made the preparation of five dishes (including one with two sauces) in just an hour and a half seem effortless. Really, it was like you were hanging out with a friend showing you how to make her favorite recipes. She had lots of suggestions for modifying the recipes, and was only stumped when one woman asked about making very low sodium versions.
Nicki made Pea & Goat Cheese Spread with Crostini (using Rainbeau Ridge goat cheese, natch — this was my favorite dish and can also be used as a pasta topping or ravioli filling); Artichokes with Bagna Cauda and Garlic Herb Aioli (I’d never had bagna cauda before, and it was delicious… even though I knew it was chock-full of anchovies); Green Salad with Peas & Creamy Mint & Basil Dressing (she included strawberries and toasted sliced almonds); Tabouli with Chickpeas & Feta (very similar to the types of grain salads I’ve been making lately, like Greek Quinoa Salad); and No-Stir Risotto with Asparagus & Peas (my least favorite; my feeling is if you’re going to make risotto, do it the long way). We all had a chance to sample the food at the end, of course, but we were not given anything (other than the recipes) to take home. In most other classes I’ve taken, you do bring some of the product you make home with you.
My only disappointment with the class was that it was a demo, not a hands-on course. Though Merrie did get to quarter the cooked artichokes, and another participant rubbed garlic on the toasted baguette slices, both Merrie and I mistakenly thought we’d be doing the actual cooking ourselves. Since we both belong to CSAs and do lots of cooking with vegetables regularly, there’s probably nothing more we would have gained from actually doing instead of watching, but it definitely would have been fun! Still, we were both in agreement that it was an afternoon well-spent, and that we’d both be eager to take a class with Nicki and at Rainbeau Ridge again.
June 7, 2011
I'm Dara, the Chick in the Kitchen. Living in the suburbs of Manhattan with my two school-aged boys and husband. Feeding my family something more diverse than a different shape of pasta each night. Read more 
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