MENU FOR A QUIET CALIFORNIA MONDAY

The lovely produce we’d found at Ferry Plaza in SF, including this mix of greens and edible flowers, had all sorts of menu ideas bouncing around in my head. I spent Monday morning catching up on the internet and googling a few end-of-summer recipe ideas I hoped to make during the week.

In the afternoon we ventured into nearby downtown Placerville. Located halfway between Sacramento and Lake Tahoe in old Gold Rush territory, Placerville is doing its best to lure tourists with an interesting California mix of trendy and old-timey. Next to a general store filled with all sorts of useful items I wouldn't look for anywhere but on the internet these days were consignment shops, art galleries, restaurants, and a couple of places that really appealed to me. Dedrick’s Cheese is a small shop with a wide selection of cheeses, four of which were available for tasting that day. It also offers some fabulous breads and sweets. I easily succumbed to purchasing three cheeses and a loaf of sourdough, which would be perfect for the bruschetta I had in mind for our evening meal.

Next door is Zia's Gelato, offering a rotating array of intriguing gelato and sorbetto flavors, many of which showcase the local fruits they’re made with, including mango chili, concord grape, vanilla lavender, and honeydew melon. In a trend I would find throughout my visit to the area, again complimentary tastings were offered. After extensive sampling and much deliberation, I settled on a scoop of strawberry lemonade and another of chocolate mint. 

The chocolate mint was something that took me back to childhood. This wasn’t green-colored mint ice cream with chocolate chips. This was pure mint-infused chocolate through and through. When I was a wee thing, we used to get chocolate mint ice cream from a place on the Ag(riculture) campus at the University of Nebraska, and I’ve never been able to find a “real” chocolate mint frozen treat since. What’s better than a bowl of frozen deliciousness that satisfies not only the sweet tooth but also a long-missed food memory! We relished our treats in the “hidden” courtyard behind the two shops, a quiet little spot the afternoon we stopped, but one that packs in the crowds on the evenings they offer music. Zia’s also offers wine, beer, coffees, and small plates, so you could settle right in there for a few hours to enjoy music with all your favorite indulgences.

After checking out several more shops along the strip, including a gallery that also offered wine tastings (we focused on jewelry instead), we headed back to my aunt's and I got to work on dinner – a simple spread, although a fair amount of chopping was involved.

MY CHICKEN SALAD

OK, I cribbed this recipe from the caterer I worked for at Cincinnati’s Playhouse in the Park back in my college days, but my family has come to know it as my own. After my father’s bypass surgery, he said this was the dish that finally perked his appetite back up after the dreadful hospital food he’d endured. I included a recipe for it in the recipe calendar I put together as a family Christmas gift several years ago, and as it turns out, my Aunt Marilyn had finally gotten around to making it recently and pronounced it a hit.

I’m not a fan of mayonnaise-based chicken salad, but the vinaigrette in this one lightens it and lets the flavors of the ingredients come through. It’s endlessly adaptable (always a plus in my book) and refreshing in any season. So here’s one of my quasi-recipes.

Cooked chicken, cubed or shredded. Use what you have on hand and fits your preferences. We happened to have leftover breasts and thighs from the previous night’s grill-out. Want to use some boneless, skinless pieces from your freezer? Cook them in your preferred fashion, and they’ll work fine. Have some chunks or shreds off the carcass of a whole chicken you’ve prepared? They’ll work too.

Olives. I usually use green ones stuffed with pimento, but any kind you like or have on hand will add a little piquancy. If I have large olives, I tend to cut them in half or slice them for more color. Don’t like olives? Leave them out.

Grapes. Your choice, red or green. I usually cut them in half. If you’re not using seedless grapes, do your guests a favor and remove the seeds.

Almonds, or nuts of your choice. A tip: Toasting the nuts brings out their flavor and helps them retain their crunch, especially if you have leftovers. If dressing the salad ahead, add nuts at the end.

Veggies. To round out this salad, add what you like, what’s in season, and what adds color or crunch. For our meal, I used something new to me - lemon cucumbers I'd found at Ferry Plaza Farmers Market, along with tomatoes from the market and my aunt's garden. She reminded me that I’d mentioned celery in that recipe calendar version. A great addition, especially in winter, but not to worry if you don’t have any on hand. I usually include onions too - red, yellow, white, green - whatever.

Greens. I usually serve this over greens – and I especially wanted to this time, since I had that great mix with edible flowers from Ferry Plaza. But if it fits your purposes to slap some between slices of bread, stuff it inside a pita, or make a wrap out of it, go for it! This recipe works great for a picnic, or for a brown bag lunch you will actually look forward to eating.

Vinaigrette. If using a bottled vinaigrette or Italian dressing suits your purposes and schedule best, don’t NOT make this salad just because you don’t want to tackle a homemade dressing. However, this is a pretty simple version to throw together – and if you have leftover dressing, you can keep it refrigerated and use on whatever your next salad(s) may be. Here's the recipe I jotted down from one of my mom's cookbooks long ago and now make without it, depending on what I have on hand (my notes in parens).

Fines Herbes Dressing 

1/2 t. dry mustard (or use a dollop of whatever dijon-esque mustard you have on hand - it will help emulsify the dressing)

1 t. paprika (adds color; don't worry if you don't have any; smoked paprika adds more flavor)

1-2 cloves garlic, split (I smash them and leave them semi-intact, without the peel, the easier to fish them out without someone ending up with a huge hunk of garlic in their salad. The garlic is there mainly to infuse the dressing.)

2 c. salad oil : 1/2 c. tarragon vinegar : 1/4 c. dry red wine (That's what the original recipe calls for, if you want to make 3 cups of dressing. These days I usually use olive oil rather than "salad oil." In place of tarragon vinegar, I often use red wine vinegar, sherry vinegar, or champagne vinegar. Good thing I reread this recipe, because I'd forgotten about the addition of wine - red, or white, or vermouth will work, or you can leave it out altogether. Vary the ratio of oil to vinegar/wine according to your taste.)

1/2 t. dried basil and 1/2 c. fresh parsley (So says the original recipe. Depending on the time of year and what I have available, I vary the herbage all over the map. In winter I use dried herbs. This time I was lucky to have fresh basil, rosemary, and thyme from my aunt's garden, so that's what I went with.)

Place ingredients in a jar or plastic container with a tight-fitting lid and shake until combined.

TOMATOES A LA PROVENCALE

Like the fines herbes dressing recipe, this is one that harkens back to the days when I handwrote on index cards and placed them in my recipe box. You can find many variations on this classic - and I have certainly tried my hand at a few myself, using various herbs, and sometimes adding cheese or nuts. But I've decided my favorite is to keep it simple, sticking to what for me are the quintessential flavors of this dish - thyme, garlic, and fresh tomatoes. Somehow I hadn't made this dish all summer, but now I had really great ingredients to work with, including heirloom tomatoes from Ferry Plaza and fresh thyme from the garden, and I figured this would go over well as a hot side for the cold chicken salad main.

4 ripe tomatoes
1/3 fresh bread crumbs
1 clove garlic, minced
2 T. finely chopped green onions
3 T. fresh parsley
1/8 t. dried thyme (or closer to 1 t. fresh thyme)
3 T. olive oil
salt & pepper
butter (optional)

Cut tomatoes in half horizontally and gently press out pulp and seeds. (I find it handy to use a serrated grapefruit spoon to remove the pulp and seeds without overly squishing ripe tomatoes.)

Sprinkle de-seeded tomato halves with salt and pepper and invert on cake rack to drain (in sink or over paper towel). Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. (hmm, I usually stick with about 350; that probably evolved from baking them with another dish whose temp I was more worried about). Combine bread crumbs, garlic, green onions, parsley, thyme, olive oil and more salt and pepper to taste. Fill each tomato half with mixture. Place tomatoes in an oiled pan and dot with butter (these days, I usually skip the dot of butter, unless I end up with a mixture that is heavily weighted to dry-ish bread crumbs rather than fresh herbs). This time I tossed a few pine nuts on top.

The original recipe says, "place in upper third of oven and bake 10-15 minutes, or until bread crumbs are golden brown." I find it helps to keep an eye on them, especially if you have really fresh tomatoes. Less important than judging by how golden brown the bread crumbs are (the herby bread crumb filling will be tasty no matter what - especially if you've moistened it well with olive oil) is to make sure the tomatoes are cooked but don't lose all their firmness. Darn, here I was trying to share my tips from years of making this dish, but I fear I'm making it sound too complicated. Try them, you'll like them. If you like them well enough, you'll make them again and figure out what I'm talking about.

To round out our meal, I threw together some minced garlic, basil from the garden, and more fresh tomatoes (including the delectable innards I'd extracted from the tomatoes I'd stuffed) as a topping for slices of the sourdough I'd bought that afternoon.

Marilyn was so impressed, she thought we ought to eat in the dining room that evening. But really, all these dishes are easy to make and casual. A little attention to presentation never hurts, though. I made sure everyone had some of those edible flowers and greens on their plates before topping them with my chicken salad. And Marilyn set a lovely table.

It was a very satisfying end of summer meal, if I do say so myself. And one of the most satisfying things about it for me was having other people to cook for!

I'll be back with more cooking, tasting, and traveling tidbits from my California trip soon. And yes, wineries will be involved!

SAN FRANCISCO IN 30 HOURS, PART II

Last Saturday we awoke to a clear, crisp morning and hopped the trolley bus (which is different, and less expensive, than a trolley car) to the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market. Our tight schedule didn't lend itself to a meal at any of San Francisco's legendary restaurants, but this magnificent market was definitely a culinary high point of the trip for me.

The variety and abundance were mesmerizing. There were so many things I simply had to buy, and try, because I'd never had the opportunity to come across them before, like these pawpaws.

 

My aunts joined in my glee, making some purchases of their own, and shoving greenbacks at me in anticipation of the meals I would prepare the rest of the week at Marilyn's house (or attempting to to equalize who paid for what). They really didn't need to do that. I'm not one to spend many vacation dollars on souvenirs, but I was definitely ready to spend here. When I found this heirloom tomato stand, I couldn't resist picking up one (or more) of each.

In addition to the arts and crafts area across the street, which we ran out of time to see, there were meats, and fish, and cheeses, and so much more I didn't photograph, getting swept up in the moment. Although I did snap these lovely flowers, which made me think of my visits to Pike Place market in Seattle when visiting my sister, who always bought fresh flowers.

We had gotten an early start that morning and planned on eating breakfast from some of the many vendors cooking at the market.

But after surveying a number of the options, my foodie heart could not resist . . . porchetta for breakfast. To be more specific, porchetta with onion marmalade, crispy pork skin, and herb-y greens on a San Francisco sourdough baguette!

When I saw a food truck tricked out in full rotisserie regalia and smelled the aromas wafting from it, I was smitten. I would love to have tried some of those potatoes bathing in the juices of the roasting pork, chicken, and sausage at the bottom of the contraption, but didn't want to fill up too early in the day.

 

There were long lines for some of the food trucks at Ferry Plaza. (Cincinnatians, just sharing a little perspective about our local food truck scene - if the food is good, it's worth waiting for. Just plan accordingly.) This line moved pretty quickly, and was convinced I'd the right personal choice as I got closer to my porchetta sandwich. (Hmm, where can I find an "I Heart Crispy Pork Skin" T-shirt like the one this staffer was wearing?)

We were lucky to get a seat, near a trio of street performers singing their youngster hearts out, then moved on to check out more of the market. We never did see it all. And by the time we went inside and discovered all the great vendors who operate on a more permanent basis there, including Cow Girl Creamery and an awesome-looking salumeria, the crowds had thickened and sadly we had to catch our trolley bus back to check out of the hotel and retrieve our car by noon.

But we had a terrific afternoon, taking in the Calder to Warhol exhibit at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. After we'd been through most of it, I was surprised to realize they don't seem to prohibit photographing most places inside the museum, so snapped this pic of the huge Calder mobile from the second floor looking down into the lobby, along with a few shots of SFMoMa's lovely rooftop sculpture garden.

After touring SFMoMA, we went across the street to Yerba Buena Gardens, a multi-faceted public facility that had that afternoon hosted a salsa-dancing event we heard from a balcony at SFMoMa. Too bad it was over by the time we emerged from the museum. I'd love to check out more of what Yerba Buena Gardens has to offer next time I'm in SF, and it was a great vantage point from which to see the facade of the SFMoMA (sorry I'm venturing into extracurricular territory for a food blog, but these are things you think about when you're an architect's kid).

Our Saturday that had dawned cool and crisp had warmed up significantly. Before we embarked on our three-hour drive to Marilyn's house, we were ready for some air-conditioning, a place to sit, and food! Setting the grazing trend that would continue through the week, we opted for the Thirsty Bear Brewing Company. No Chez Panisse, of course, but its Spanish tapas, home brews, and proximity half a block away were a much-appreciated respite before we headed up to the Sierra foothills. It took a little bit of explaining to convince my aunts to go with the three dishes we ordered (and the restaurant has now changed its online menu, so I may not be getting this quite right). But we started with a cheese plate accompanied by the house currant-rye bread, dots of concentrated green olives, and a fabulous preserved lemon rind.

Next up, a crisp flatbread with serrano ham, manchego, and figs.

And finally, prawns with garlic in pinot gris.

We SO lucked out on the weather in SF for our brief time there. An indelibly blue sky over the cityscape is etched in my memory after this visit. But as we crossed over the Bay Bridge leaving the city and looked across at the Golden Gate bridge, we could also see the fog SF is noted for. Only the very tips of the GGB were visible atop an amazing cloud of fog in the distance. My dear aunt Marilyn kept trying to find a place to pull off so I could take a photo, but in the traffic, we urged her on and talked her out of it. That's a sight that will remain in my memory for years to come, photographic evidence or not.

I'll be back with more food, photos, and maybe even some recipes from the rest of my California trip. Oh, yes, wine was also involved. Thanks to Marilyn and Jeanette and the rest of the family for a great vacation, and to my readers for your patience as I get these posts up.

eggy