Lemon, Dropped

Tonight I tried to recreate a delicious dessert. I failed miserably, but let's not focus on that. I first had it in Lisbon, not that it's particularly Portuguese, that's just where I was at the time. It's not complicated, but it has to be done just so:

• Lemon gelato
• Vodka
• Lemon slice and cinnamon stick garnish
  

When done properly, it comes out tasting like a vodka tonic. When ice cream is foolishly substituted for sorbet, as I did, it's a wreck, as the alcohol curdles the cream. You just can't fool chemistry. The real deal is a treat: the sorbet is cool and refreshing after a meal, and it lets you keep the cocktail hour going a bit longer.

Chocolate Chili/Spicy and Sweet...Why Can't We All Be That Way?

Last week there was a lunchtime chili party in my office. Eight of my coworkers labored over their specialties, and while I wasn't an official judge, I still enjoyed the benefits. I'd been in a dietary slump for a few weeks, so it was easy to be tempted by the musical fruit of another. All the chilies were good, but here's my favorite:















Charissa Ramp's chocolate chili. Its entry card proudly declares 48 ingredients, which come together symphonically. The rich dark chocolate is present both aroma and taste; the heat slowly builds and enhances the bittersweetness without overpowering the flavor; finally, it glides away with a buttery finish. It reminded me of one of my favorite dishes, mole poblano, a specialty of a precious family friend, and each bite recalled dear memories to go with the broad-spectrum flavor.

Meat Me At The Crossroads

Consider the metaphor of the crossroads. Often it's seen as an area of uncertainty, where one must make a choice that can lead to an unforeseeable future. But while you may not know where you're going, where you are is perfectly clear: you're at the crossroads.

This certainty of the situation is embodied in the form of beef and beer as soon as you find Mike's At The Crossroads in Cotati, California. The mural behind the bar conveys the business proposition in no uncertain terms:

One Mean Burger. Don't say nobody warned you. The food is honest and to-the-point: burgers, for which all the ingredients were grown and raised in the area. Far a while the guy in charge of the place wouldn't serve fries, because they make things too much like McDonald's; even now they're only available Friday thru Sunday. All of the burgers include cheese by default. The philosophy is that they're not going to charge you extra for something they know you want; in fact they charge an extra five cents to take the cheese off.

Main Course:

The Krush Burger, side of potato salad, paired with a Lagunitas IPA. This 1/2-pound burger is topped with grilled mushrooms and onions in a Zinfandel glaze; tender, flavorful, and juicy, and well-met by the hoppy and lightly-sweet IPA. Excellent.

To let things settle, I strolled through the adjacent CD shop. That's one place where I can enjoy myself while having no idea where I'm going...

Any Port In The Storm/A Very Merry Unbirthday

A trip up to Humboldt this weekend gave me another opportunity to attend a liquor-tasting dinner arranged by Myrtlewood Liquors. They floored me with the last bourbon tasting, and I wasn't about to miss this night's big attraction: port wine. Port has always been a treat since I was first introduced to it by my stepmother-to-be, and during a month-long stay in Lisbon in 2008 I got to indulge in a few different varieties.

The opener, however, was something I'd never seen before:

White port, served as a spritzer with an equal measure of tonic water and a twist of lime. Apparently the stuff is very tart on its own. It's a bit less common than red ports, but if you find it you might give it a try. It smells faintly like tequila and lime, but it's very light and refreshing. It was a nice preamble to the menu.

First course:

Pasteis de bacalhau (codfish cakes) with red pepper coulis and basil chive oil. Scrumptious. The port here is the Fonseca Bin No.27, very smooth and fruity. Both of them a good way to whet the appitite for more.

Second Course:

Poached pear & herbed chevre tart with peach-jalapeno chutney. As you can see, my fork dove for the tart before I could get out my camera for the picture. The pears and soft quiche-like topping were perfect, and the crust was firm with just the right hint of char on the edges. Topped with the chutney, this was amazing! Seriously, you should consider a topping like this on your next pie; the added spice really opens up the taste buds and blooms the sweetness of the pear. It's met with Taylor's late-bottled vintage 2003, which is much less syrupy-sweet than port's reputation suggests; I'd feel confident to serve this port at dinner.

Third Course:


Grilled boar and rabbit sausages with cranberries, gorgonzola, baby lettuce, and sherry balsamic glaze. This was accompanied quite nicely with the Fonseca 10-year tawny. The tawny gave a full sweet & sour flavor that I wnated to linger on, and I loved the rusty color. It balanced well with the boar sausage: rich, rustic, peppery aroma - firm, full-bodied meat that slammed me onto the table when met with the crisp lettuce, tangy balsamic, and pungent gorgonzola. I took a moment to Tweet something vulgar about the experience, but this dish made me want to do bad things. I would have licked the plate until it begged me to stop.

Fourth Course:


Duck Foie Gras with local greens and black muscat vinaigrette. Tasty stuff, but exceedingly rich. The chef, bless him, was chastised from many of the diners for not offering any bread or crackers to bring the foie gras down a notch. He and everyone else recognized it was a foolish blunder, but that it did not reflect the dinner on the whole. No matter - it gave me the time I needed to reflect on the Taylor's 20-year tawny: a rich, raisiny dessert port with a bronzed color and, to me, a hint of orange and herb tea.

Dessert:


Espresso creme brulee with Taylor's Quinta de Vargellas 1998 vintage. This port epitomized what I expect from the style: full-bodied sweetness and a deep velvety tint. It blankets the tongue, and was the best pairing of the night with the espresso creme brulee. This dessert recognizes the need for coffee to counter a normally rich, sweet, eggy creme brulee, and just cuts out the extra steps. Delicious.

That same family friend was treating me to this dinner, as an early celebration of my 28th birthday. Thanks to getting a lucky draw in the raffle, I even got a present:


A very merry Unbirthday indeed...

Petaluma Farmers Market/Eats on the street

Every Wednesday, the city of Petaluma hosts a Farmer's Market. Tonight was the first time I dropped by, and I was quickly overwhelmed by all of the available food. Fresh, organic produce notwithstanding, there were at least a dozen food and drink stands, more than I could handle in one visit. These sorts of unexpected treats are the essence of low-hanging fruit. Picking a main course was an obvious choice, but since it wouldn't be ready for 30 minutes I got to pass the time with other selections. Caught in the carefree atmosphere, I started with dessert and coffee:

Peanut butter sandwich cookie from Baker Girl. Two mouth-melting peanut butter cookies are held in concert with a sweet peanut butter creme filling; the elements of this cookie collide in a way that opens a tiny portal to a peanut butter dimension, both beautiful and frightening in its deliciousness. Now, I love and respect chocolate-dipping as a natural evolution of the peanut butter cookie medium, but this sandwich is a hardcore option for PB enthusiasts.

First Course:
Crepe with tomato, brie, and pesto from Brittany Crepes and Galettes. Their savory selections are served in a sturdy buckwheat crepe, free of dairy and gluten. The hot tomatoes and gooey brie took me back to Paris. I had a tough choice between this and a salmon crepe (but there's always next week.) The simplicity and unpretentious construction is really the best thing about a dish like this, and I put it in a category similar to sub sandwiches, pizza, or ramen: it's everything that you love to eat, wrapped in a pancake. I should have them cater my shooting-fish-in-a-barrel party next week.

Main Course:

Paella from Bro's Bar-B-Que. The gargantuan pan drew a crowd hungry for aromatic spices and saffron-infused rice. The shrimp and chicken each came out flavorful and juicy. Barbeque is a street market staple, but this was an especially welcome offering.

Had I the stomach, I would have happily stacked my plate higher with polish sausage, carnitas, brisket, and a pizza. There's always next week...

Pranqster beer isn't fooling around

Can I drop a bad line to start? Pranqster is no joke. While I wait for more permanent housing in California, I am currently shacked up in a low-rent hotel attached to a bar and pizza restaurant. As an occasional Dungeons & Dragons player, it's actually quite entertaining to tell people that I'm "staying at the inn." The advantage is that I'm mere yards away from an excellent selection of beer and liquor. Tonight's experiment is the aforementioned Belgian-style ale from the North Coast Brewing Company (bless their souls!)
I'll admit, I didn't exactly balance this beer well with my meal, as it completely outclassed the cold sausage-and-veggie pizza I had (which, to be fair, was pretty good hot.) I knew by the Pranqster's golden-brown color I was in for something good. It starts with a sweet, citrusy aroma. The beer is very smooth, with a mild bubble. It tastes like honey, and I pick up an aftertaste like wild blackberries. It's a beer to be enjoyed on the porch on a Summer afternoon, a refreshment before dinner with some fruits and cheese. Lovely.

Bourbon in Eureka's Old Town

A week ago, at the beginning of this visit to Humboldt, my stepmother notified me of a bourbon-tasting dinner in Eureka's Old Town district. Tonight was the big night, and I'm still reeling from it all. Considering the food and the booze served, this would have made for a damn good Saturday, if it weren't Monday. These two gentlemen were running the show and pouring the shots:


They made sure to mention at the beginning of the night that bourbon is officially classified as being made from at least fifty per cent corn (besides other grains such as rye or barley.) It was good info for the uninitiated such as myself. But the real education came in the eight-bottle taste test that followed. It's a good thing they served dinner:

Onion soup with a Parmesan crouton

Barbecued chicken and beans

Beef fajita with tomato, onion, and guacamole (well-seasoned with salt and lime, but the tortilla could use a little grilling)

Finishing with a flavorful peach pie and vanilla ice cream. You might have noticed that at each course there is a shot of rich, golden bourbon. Despite the photos, I don't want to under emphasize that as the main attraction at this dinner. We were allowed to sample each of the eight bottles in turn, giving due time and attention to their unique attributes. I'd especially like to point out a few outstanding examples:

• The Eagle Rare single barrel - spicy and aggressive, heavy on the rye and barley
• The Four Roses Small Batch - seventy per cent corn with a delightful sweetness, it had a rich and lasting fruity flavor, one of the night's best - I could have it on pancakes
• The Elmer T Lee - nice and smooth, creamy, it's gentle but not weak, sweet but not syrupy
• Blanton's -The first single-barrel made in the US, it starts with a mellow sweetness, and slowly builds into a surprisingly spicy finishing punch. They rye comes out well, and it lingers nicely on the tongue.

My father and I enjoyed it all quite well...