Where There's Smoke...

On the way home from The French Laundry:

(anniversary lunch.  Yes it was fabulous - thanks for asking) where we had out favorites, Oysters and Pearls with cauliflower panna cotta...

...and Salmon cones with creme fraiche...

...we saw the mushroom cloud.  Smoke, being hot, rises 'til it hits cooler air, then it spreads.  We are becoming experts (albeit unwilling) in identifying the mushroom clouds that go with fires.

"How far away do you think that fire is?"  Wally asked.

"Thirty miles" I replied, and rolled over on the car seat and went back to sleep.

Nearly home, the smell of smoke woke me.  When the sun went down the sky looked angry, clouds of smoke glowed red and orange.

We sat by the pool and watched the fire grow.  By this morning the flames were lapping over the ridge.  Creepy.  Scary.

Grace called in a panic - should we grab the dogs and run?  Leslie stopped in the street.  Her kids were freaked out.  Friends from London and New York called.  The big question: "Are you alright?"

"Yes"  I replied.  "There are lots of very expensive houses between us and the fire.  They're not going to let all that pricey real estate burn."  And if it does?   We are more than the sum of our possessions.  As long as we have the dog and each other, the rest is unimportant.  Yup, even the jewelry.  And the books.

Late this morning when I took Mommy out for lunch we could barely breathe.  When we went to get in the car after lunch it was coated with ash.  Thought I would have to turn on the windshield wipers.

About 2 in the afternoon the Borate bombers arrived.  By 5 the smoke had cleared.  We had dinner in the garden under a blue sky.  And we are off to sleep under the stars.

It's one of the hazards of living in California, where it does not rain from April to October, sometimes later.  If you didn't grow up here it seems weird.  If you grew up here fire, heat, dry - it's all a part of the seasons, like snow in New England.   Which is rare here - when it does snow, about once every 20 years, we all run outside and act like little kids.  

What do you live with that freaks other people out?  Earthquakes, tornadoes?  Hurricanes?  Monsoons?  

The French Laundry and Garden Envy

I don't have a lot of sun. My garden slopes down, and faces north. It's damp and gloomy in the winter, in summer the ancient oak trees shade everything. Tomatoes struggle. The soil is thin, the water runs off, the oaks steal the sun. I try, but every year brings disappointments. I read about the Beekman Boys smacking seeds in the soil and harvesting bushels of yummy stuff, and I am green. With envy. Here seeds rot, seedlings wilt, there are leaves on the tomatoes and pumpkins but few fruits.

So a level garden in the sun? I covet it. In an old river bottom with deep rich soil? I drool. With raised beds, organic compost and a host of busy gardeners? Oh dear. And grass paths.

The French Laundry has such a garden. I would like to lie down in the compost and stay. I would like to adopt the garden - or have it adopt me. The well worked raised beds are lined with drip irrigation (or as we used to call it in Landscape Architecture school, irritation).

When planted you can't see the drip, just the lovely labels...

...and the gorgeous chard. Or peppers.

Or salsify...

or pumpkins

and chickens!!

they have a chicken tractor! Check out my old blog posting on Chicken Tractors

I should back up. The French Laundry in Yountville is one of the two best restaurants in the world. The other is Per Se in New York, and they are both the creation of Thomas Keller who has changed the way we all eat. And how we eat - from courses (many and small) to plates (many and stacked. All white sculpture with your food). 

In France people travel and stay in hotels (sometimes in unattractive towns) to eat splendiferous food. Not so here - until Thomas Keller. Altho the Napa Valley isn't ugly...

Thomas Keller has three other restaurants in Yountville: Bouchon, Bouchon Bakery, and Ad Hoc. Try all three - breakfast at Bouchon Bakery, lunch at Bouchon (oysters and shrimp and a glass of rose - quick before Indian Summer is over).  Ad Hoc for dinner (it's really hard to get a reservation at the Laundry) or get take-away at Ad Hoc Thursday thru Saturday. Fried chicken or barbecue. Get the chicken.

Bon Appetit and happy gardening. I will be in my shady garden shedding tears on the thin soil.

Tasting Things

Leslie brought me some Lucini olive oil that was too green and strong for her tastes. I gave her some McEvoy in exchange. We both have a new favorite olive oil, and they're not the same. I prefer the Lucini; she prefers the McEvoy. 

I started thinking about tasting notes. I cancelled my subscription to Cook's Magazine when they said they tasted no difference between real vanilla and the fake stuff made with vanillin. I taste a bitterness in the fake stuff, and it is a simpler composition. It lacks the deep notes, the grace notes, the unfolding fleeting flavors that are almost identifiable then gone. No difference? We differ. My friend Des makes vanilla and it is heavenly. Even the gossip girls notice the difference in the fragrance, and ask about it. They'd like to drink it. Maybe Des will teach us to make it. 

Wine tasters make judgements - wine drinkers slavishly follow them. If you know anything about wine you know who Robert Parker is - a good rating from Robert Parker can make a wine; a bad rating can be devastating. 

Years ago I belonged to the San Francisco Professional Food Society and we tasted things (before tasting was the rage) - tomatoes, coffee, caviar, vodka, champagne...and salt. Salt has changed a lot since then. The French Laundry and Per Se have served plates with 8 or 9 little piles of salt served with a history and geography lesson for each, and pairing recommendations. Eye opening.

 I have more than a dozen kinds of salt in my cupboard. Some of my favorites...

are from Williams Sonoma. Their red salt is great on pork, I love the black on grilled steak, and the chardonnay smoked salt means I can do ribs in the oven and they taste like they've been smoked. I plan to try it on pork chops next.

Some were gifts and I have no idea what's in them...besides salt. 

One of my favorites is the Herb Rub (with lots of salt)  from David Lebovitz. If you don't follow his blog you are in for a treat - he is funny, dry, wry, and doesn't take anything too seriously. I've never met him but he's on the list of people I'd like to have dinner with. Along with Winston Churchill and Eleanor of Acquitaine.

But my favorite - the one I reach for again and again - is this.

If you've been reading my blog for a while you know I went to the Ile de Re this summer and fell in love with the place. I get this salt at WIlliams Sonoma. I brought some back from the Ile de Re - if you come for dinner we can taste it. And you do know to sprinkle it over the finished dish, right? Don't waste it in the soup, you will lose the big flakes and the subtle flavor. Sprinkle a few grains on a finished dish and dig in.

Ad Hoc

I hate Ad Hoc committees. My garden club is forming one for strategic planning. Seriously? it's a Garden Club, for Pete's sake, not a multi national corporation. I have started two successful companies. The biggest waste of time? Strategic planning. Makes my teeth hurt just thinking about it.

On a brighter note - it's my favorite cookbook. Ad Hoc at Home. After Thomas Keller's Ad Hoc restaurant,  in Yountville. Simpler, faster and less expensive than The French Laundry, the best restaurant in the world. With a really cool web site.

After the fried chicken I wanted something simpler. So I made the Cauliflower Soup. 

 His photo, not mine. I didn't make the crispy florets or the beet chips. I didn't use a vita-mix I used a stick blender. And it was fabulous. And not very complicated. 

I will make it again soon. I may even make the beet chips. Or maybe I'll just make the beet chips...no, that soup was too good. It's a cool rainy day; I'm going to the store for cauliflower and cream.

French Laundry

It is arguably (isn't everything?) the best restaurant in the world, and the hardest reservation to get. It has changed the way we all dine. We went for our anniversary - we were married there fifteen years ago.

Thomas Keller, the creative genius who created this incarnation of the French Laundry (there was a restaurant there before but nothing like the one that's there now) says you don't really taste after a few bites, so that is what he serves, just a few bites.

But what delicious bites!

He has changes the way food is served. Have you noticed the beautiful stacks of diminishing plates turning up in the most elegant restaurants? This is where it started, and where it has been perfected.

Kampachi with White Sesame and Jacobsen's Farm Plums is served in a spoon. Check out the plate that holds the spoon.

This place has changed the way waiters move. Laura Cunningham had been trained in ballet. The wait staff has been trained now too. How to move with grace and style, how to float, how to be attentive and yet preserve the diners' privacy. It sounds impossible but it works. I know a few people who walk like they're stomping snakes. Wish I could sign them up for Camp French Laundry.

The salad of Hawaiian Hearts of Palm with Mangosteen, Red Radish, Cashews, Young Ginger and Mizuna is served on a stick. Sort of.

All those flavors in one bite. Tiny amounts, yet the dish would not sing, would not bring that silly smile of delight without them all.

We had thirteen courses. And a whole lot of wine. Thank goodness we walked home. A night of incredible food and incredible memories. Magic. Maybe the last reason I know to dress up. Bliss.