Where does the time go? It seems the older I get, the quicker it goes and the more blurry it becomes (no, that's not just my deteriorating eyesight, thankyouverymuch). So, here we are at the end of another year. I'm trying not to make any hardcore "resolutions" because they will just be broken come, oh, January 15th. Instead, I thought I'd take a quick look back at this year in order to acknowledge its passing and in order to look forward to the coming year with excitement and anticipation.
I'm extremely grateful and thankful that this year has held such good experiences and that my loved ones are healthy. My daughter is growing up more and more with every passing second and is the joy (and exasperation) of my life. In the past year I have reconnected with two friends that I had lost touch with over the past decade. I have spent time with dear old friends and made a few new ones. I've spent a lot of time with my family, including two large, crazy and fun extended family get togethers. Here are some of my highights from a very good year:
Travel: Our summer vacation in France. We spent a week in the Loire Valley in a 200 year-old stone cottage. Jason's mother and father joined us there from England and we spent the week touring the Loire Valley, visiting chateaux, wine tasting and befriending the resident peacock. We spent the following week in Paris where, despite the torrential rain (every day), we had a wonderful time sightseeing and eating and drinking and visiting with friends and relatives.
Food: In a year filled with very good meals (in France and Mexico especially!) one experience stands out head and shoulders above the rest: dinner at the French Laundry. After maybe half a lifetime of dying to eat there, Jason finally made the dream come true. The entire experience (it was so much more than just a meal) was something I will always remember. If you'd like to read the details of our amazing dinner at the French Laundry, I blogged about it here. Friends: Social media isn't called that for nothing! Through the power of Twitter, I have met so many wonderful new people. They all share my passion for wine and food and fun - what a great way to meet new like-minded people! I have plans to meet several more of them in the coming months. How cool is that? Meanwhile, in real life, two of my dear friends are expecting a new baby girl. I can't wait to kiss those fingers and toes and smell that new baby smell. We met some great new friends at a wine dinner a few months ago and look forward to getting to know them better. I ran into an old friend I hadn't seen in about 10 years while on "Safari" in Santa Rosa, of all places, and we have had a great time reconnecting. And thanks to my girl's school and sports, we continue to get to know great people from our community. I am blessed! Wine: Where to start? This past year I have really explored and expanded my love of wine. Once again, Twitter has been instrumental in putting me in contact with amazing winos and winemakers alike (the two are not mutually exclusive). We made several visits to wine country (I'm thankful we live so close), have found some amazing new wines and wineries and continued to enjoy old favorites. We really stepped out of our comfort zone and have tried a ton of new wines this year - new varieties, new countries, etc. I absolutely feel like my tastes, and my knowledge, have grown exponentially this past year. In fact, I just received some great news for the end of the year: I passed (with distrinction, I'm told) my WSET certification exam. I took the 16 hour class in November (I highly recommend Discover Wine and Spirits of San Francisco). It was an intense, 2 day class, with 42 wines tasted. I had fun and learned so much. The thing is, I have the bug now! I'm wondering how soon I will take the WSET advanced course....being a wino is a slippery slope! This year I have rediscovered a love of white wines (which makes Jason very happy), although, alas, I have still not met a Chardonnay that I've loved. I have discovered some amazing new varieties of both red and white wines. And one of my favorite wine experiences of the year has got to be the incredibly fun Mollydooker winemaker's dinner in San Francisco. As you can see, I've had a great year and have so much to be thankful for. This year has been so good, I wouldn"t change a thing and I'm looking forward to more of the same in 2012. More time with family and friends, more travel, more good food and especially.....drinking more wine! Thank you so much for coming on this journey with me. So to my readers (all three of you), from my family to yours, we wish you peace, love, health, happiness and fine wine in 2012. Cheers!
In this season of excess, I have discovered a food and wine pairing that gives new meaning to the word "indulgence" - Tokaji Aszu and caramel oatmeal chocolate chip bars, otherwise known as "crack". These caramel oatmeal chocolate chip bars are a favorite in our house and my girl requests them often. I try not to make them too frequently, as they are ooey, gooey slices of evil that demand to be eaten whenever they are around. But I succumbed this past weekend and made some. Jason and I had an unopened bottle of 2001 Hetzsolo Tokaji Aszu in te refrigerator, so we decided to celebrate the season and open it. And, of course, eat the evil cookie bars. Tokaji Aszu is a sweet wine from Hungary, made from grapes affected by noble rot, or Botrytis cinerea. The aszu berries are individually picked and then stomped into a pasty consistency called aszu dough. The must or wine is then poured onto the aszu dough and then left for 24 to 48 hours. The wine is then put into wooden casks or vats to complete fermentation and to mature, which usually takes several years. Puttonyos is a unit used to indicate the sugar content – or sweetness – of the wines. Aszu wines range from 3 puttonyos to 6 puttonyos, with 6 being the
sweetest. Since discovering Tokaji Aszu earlier this year, I've been a bit obsessed. I love everything about these wines, from the gorgeous rich color to the smooth, sweet, honeyed flavors. This particular Tokaji Aszu has flavors of orange peel
and dried apricots, but also has a slightly salty finish - which I think is what made it such a delicious pairing with the caramel. And the dark choocolate that we used wasn't so sweet as to overpower the wine. The combination was
incredible, but I did have to have a second glass and a second bar just to make sure. Verdict: I was not wrong. If you would like to try this at home, below is the recipe for Crack, or caramel oatmeal chocolate chip bars. We've been making these for so long now, I no longer remember where the recipe originally came from, so my apologies to the creator for not giving recognition where it is due. These cookie bars are evil, addicting and downright delicious. Don't say I didn't warn you! P.S. It is tradtion in my family that at Christmas time I make homemade English Toffee, which is also a bit like crack. I foresee the rich buttery toffee, with its sprinking of sea salt, being another good pairing with Tokaji Aszu. I will consider it research and will report back. Happy holidays! Caramel Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies (or Crack, as they are known in our house)
1 cup plus 3 Tbs all-purpose flour
1 cup quick-cooking oats
¾ cup firmly packed brown sugar
¼ tsp salt
½ tsp baking soda
¾ cup butter, melted and cooled
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
½ cup chopped pecans (optional)
¾ cup caramel ice cream topping
Preheat oven to 350 F.
1. In large mixing bowl, combine 1 cup flour, oats, brown sugar, salt, baking soda and melted butter. Blend at low speed to form crumbs.
2. Press half the crumbs into bottom of an 11” x 9” pan; bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle with chips and pecans (if using).
3. In small bowl, blend caramel topping with remaining 3 Tbs flour. Drizzle over the chips and nuts to cover.
4. Sprinkle remaining crumbs over caramel and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until golden brown. Allow to cool.
Chill covered for 1 to 2 hours and then cut into bars. Store in airtight container.
Since our dinner at The French Laundry last Friday night, the second question (after “how was it?”) has invariably been “was it worth it?” I’ve given that some serious thought in the past few days.
Was it worth it? In a word, yes. Was it the most money we have ever spent on a meal? Yes. But we knew that would be the case long before we got there. We wouldn’t have gone through the hoops of making a reservation at the French Laundry if we weren’t willing to pay the piper. Then, we had the two months between making the reservation and our actual meal to get used to the fact that yes, it was going to cost a bloody fortune. In fact, by the time we saw the bill, we were able to giggle a little at the absurd number written at the bottom. (Of course, the liquid lubricant throughout the meal helped in that area!) Was the cost of every bite of food put in front of us that evening equal to the amount we paid? Probably not. But it’s not about the price of the ingredients. The better question is: was the amount of thought and care put into each dish, the artistry, the quality, the service, the EXPERIENCE, worth the price? Hell yes.
As I’ve said before, a great meal is about so much more than just the food. Or the wine. It is the convergence of time, place, company, food, wine. An alignment of the planets. In a word, the experience. Chef Keller says that “a great meal is an emotional experience”. I couldn’t agree more. The French Laundry followed through and provided an incredible emotional experience, an experience that was greater than the sum of its parts, one that we will remember for a long time. After years of wanting to eat there, years of hearing how great it is, the French Laundry not only lived up to our expectations, it exceeded them.
If you care to geek out about the details of our evening, please read on.
Our reservation was for 9:00pm. That was a bit worrisome at first as 9:00pm is pretty darn close to my usual bedtime. Luckily, after an early evening snack and some wine tasting at Maisonry before dinner, we managed to rally. I have to confess that I was actually a little nervous as we walked into the esteemed French Laundry. We were welcomed and asked to wait just a moment. When we were seated (only a few minutes past our reservation time – impressive), a gentleman took my coat and led us to a very nice table in the salon. The space was very warm and welcoming. Fireplace, low lights, carpet, candlelight. There was no artwork on the walls but (unlike at Benu) it actually worked and still managed to feel cozy.
The wait staff here are amazing. I lost count as to how many there actually were (a lot) but they all worked together like a well-oiled machine. It was pretty incredible. While they were very professional the entire evening, after some time and conversation our waiter loosened up and was very friendly. It’s all about how you, the customer, treat them, really.
Before I get to the food, let me tell you about the wine. If you know me at all, you know I am not a white wine drinker. Until recently, I couldn’t even recall the last time I drank a glass of white wine. But I recently decided it was time to give the white wines another chance and expand my horizons a bit. I’m so glad I did. I asked the waiter for a recommendation for a glass of white wine to start off with. The only parameters I gave were that it not be champagne or chardonnay. He recommended a 2009 Nigl Gruner Veltliner “Seftenberger Piri”. It was really different – full-bodied like a chardonnay but cleaner and crisper in flavor, more like a sauvignon blanc. It paired wonderfully with the first few seafood courses. (Note to self: try more Gruner Veltliners.)
Next, we had a bottle of Chateauneuf du Pape. It was good but I cannot for the life of me remember which one we ended up ordering. Guess it wasn’t really that important in the grand scheme of things, as the courses we drank it with were the best of the evening and outshone the wine anyway.
Finally, with the dessert, our waiter recommended a Hungarian dessert wine called Tokaji Aszú. Oh my, was this good! And I’m not a fan of dessert wines typically. The color was beautiful – kind of a peachy gold. The nose was apricots and honey and lemon, with a really intense, but not too sweet, palate - apricotty and elegant. The pairing with my dessert – a chocolate soufflé – was mind blowingly good. I loved this wine and am determined to find some to buy!
Okay, so, the food. The FL menu is a nine course chef's tasting menu. Before we even got started, they set three amuse-bouche type dishes on the table. There was a bite of a salmon terrine, two gougeres, and the famous salmon cone. All delicious (and much needed by 9:00pm!). We then made our way through the perfectly paced courses: (1) “oysters and pearls”, a dish of oysters and caviar in a sabayon; (2) hearts of palm salad; (3) halibut fillet with wild nettles, sunchokes, pine nuts and green garlic; (4) butter poached lobster mitts with peas and carrots; (5) Tete de Cochon (pigs head) with shitake mushrooms, green asparagus, hen egg emulsion and Dungeness crab; (6) lamb rib-eye with globe artichokes, piperade, barbajuan and capers; (7) Cavatina cheese with dried apricot, cauliflower, cilantro and peppercorns; (8) Gros Michel banana sorbet with French Laundry muesli and toasted oak milk; and (9) dessert, which for me was an incredible Valrhona Guanaja chocolate soufflé with salted caramel ice cream, cookie crumbs and a warm caramel sauce. To die for! Now, on top of those nine menu courses, we also received FL’s famous “coffee and doughnuts” – delicious little doughnut holes covered in sugar and cinnamon accompanied by an espresso semifreddo served in an espresso cup and topped with cream. So good. And, while we were making our way through our desserts (and slowing down, I might add), they put a tray of beautiful handmade truffles on the table. I regret to say that I did not try a single one of the truffles. I’m very sad about that. (They took the tray away before I had a chance to slip them into my purse.) So, we’re at what, 10 and ½ courses? Or if you count the amuse-bouche, 11 courses? Whichever way you count, it was a whole lot of absolutely incredible food. In fact, it was so good that I have a hard time picking my favorite course. The tete de cochon is definitely up there. As is the soufflé. However, the cheese course was one that made me stop, moan a bit and say to my husband, “this is the most perfect bite I think I’ve ever eaten.” So, there’s a good argument for the cheese course.
By this time it was close to 1:00am. When our waiter brought us the check, I asked him if we could have a tour of the kitchen. He said yes and I mentioned that we needed to call for a taxi first, and could we then see the kitchen while we waited. He came back to the table a moment later and said, “We’re going to take you back to your hotel.” I was so shocked that I think I may have actually uttered a “Huh?” Long story short, after seeing the kitchen and meeting Chef Timothy Hollingsworth, a member of the French Laundry staff drove us (in one of the BMW Hybrids at the disposal of the French Laundry) the 8 miles back to our hotel in Napa. Seriously? That alone went so far above and beyond the duty of any restaurant that we are still talking about it in amazement. I cannot begin to tell you how big an impression that simple act of kindness and courtesy, so wholly unexpected, made on me. It’s easy to understand why Chef Keller is so revered. And while I may not become a regular (ah, if only!), they have certainly gained my loyalty and appreciation.
So, more than four hours after we started, the evening was over. When we woke up the next morning one of the first things I said to Jason was, “I can’t believe they drove us home!” Of course, the second was, “Wow, that was good!” And, actually, the third thing, once I managed to get up and find the cute bag of shortbread cookies they sent us home with, was, “Oh my dog, these cookies are f*#%ing awesome!” (In addition to being melt-in-your-mouth buttery good, they also seemed to have some magical hangover cure qualities!)
Now the cookies are gone but we have the memory of a wonderful evening - and the famous French Laundry clothespin - to tide us over until our next visit.
Was it worth it? Yes. Yes. Yes.
(Huge thanks to my husband for an unforgetable Christmas present!)
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