The Feral Pig beckons

Corporate hotels in the Hawaiian Islands do something really well…landscaping. Immaculate properties of flowering tropical plants and indoor/outdoor spaces call to you with their peaceful beauty. But when it is time for dinner it is time to get out of the resort. Despite Hawaii’s history of plantations…sugar, pineapple, beef…today nearly everything ships in from the mainland. The result is a high-priced, predictable menu based on frozen food (even the fish). On each island a handful of micro- farms and independent fisherman supply the type of creative, fresh kitchens we want to eat at and I have learned how to find them. Head for a mall.

We pop over to Kauai for a long weekend at a gorgeous property of creamy-colored sand and drinks with umbrellas in them. With our beach-side cocktail we order “grilled flat bread with white bean hummus and crudités”. It could be interesting and tasty, but isn’t. The hotel concierge gives a blank stare when I ask about nearby restaurants offering fresh fish and local produce. She suggests we stay at the resort. She can tell me, however, that there is a mall of small shops nearby. And it is here, just outside the resort gates, we spot The Feral Pig Pub and Diner.
 

The Feral Burger

This is just the kind of mall I look for….a clutch of two- storied wooden buildings of  Hawaiian theme stores for the visitors and boutiques and necessity shops for the locals. By the front door of The Feral Pig sits a small sandwich board listing close-by produce farmers, meat providers and a baker. The decor is minimal but the menu enticing. Dinner is a tough choice between smoked, roasted or slow braised cuts of pork, well executed and accented by unique produce. For lunch on another day we return for the feral burger: half ground beef and half ground smoked pork shoulder, locally cured bacon, caramelized Maui onions, cheddar cheese, with a spicy aioli on a bakery bun. And a Hawaiian microbrew.
 
The Feral Pig takes its name from a local delicacy. Of the four major islands, Kauai is the oldest at five million years. That’s a lot of time for volcanic peaks to erode into deep gorges and dramatically furrowed sea cliffs. Pigs and goats, escaped descendants of livestock that arrived in the nineteenth century, inhabit inaccessible wild areas. These feral pigs and wild goats are highly celebrated by hunters and chefs.
 
The next day we need a tasty breakfast before a hike above the magnificent Kalalau Valley. We head out for the Kukui’ula Shopping Mall in Koloa. Old Koloa Town is the home of Hawaii’s first active sugar mill, the birthplace of the state’s strongest industry for more than a century. Koloa lies just a few miles south of mountain peaks that gather some of the highest rain fall on earth. Yet these flat lands extending toward the sea are sunny and semi-arid.
 
Much of the former sugar lands of Koloa are reborn into upscale homes and golf courses. This is the clientele that supports Living Foods Market in the Kukui’ula Shopping Mall. The market offers line-caught seafood and naturally grown meat, 20 cheeses including small producers in Northern California and Washington, gorgeous produce, racks of jarred condiments made on the island and coffee from the plantation just up the road

Living Foods Display Kitchen

We sit by the display kitchen. Our breakfast pizza cooks in the open oven and we watch Jonathan form crepes on a griddle and fill them with aged gruyere, locally cured ham and poached island eggs. “Most places don’t do quality, don’t do fresh. They never expect to see you again. But most of our business comes from the folks who live just behind here”. I ask how long he has been on Kauai. “I came on vacation 8 years ago and just knew this was the place for me. When I first got here there was no healthy food, nothing very fresh. Today this market has the only bakery on the south coast and we buy just about everything that is grown or produced locally.”

Produce is particularly hard to come by and expensive on the Islands. California sends  hearty lettuces (iceburg, romaine), carrots, cucumbers, celery, potatoes but not delicate, perishable produce. I stop by the local Kauai Food Bank in Lihue to see what is available. Plenty of packaged and canned goods, mostly products donated with expired sell dates. I ask about produce and a volunteer points to one flat of wilting lettuce in a cooler. “We don’t really get anything fresh” she tells me.

Local fish isn’t easy to find either. Most is commercially taken and exported, and one evening we set out for a recommended restaurant in Kapa’a. From the 1300s, Kauai’s kings thrived amid coconut groves and fish farming ponds around Kapa’a on the eastern flank of Kauai. During the nineteenth century Hawaiians lost control of Kauai and the coconut groves were expanded for export. Under the gentle sway of 100 foot tall coconut palms, the remnants of the once flourishing grove, we search Kauai Village Shopping Center for the Pacific Island Bistro.

We find the bistro tucked between a Subway Sandwich shop and a Starbucks. It is early and the place is already full of diners enjoying dishes like Kailua pork lettuce wraps, opakapaka fish in red Thai curry and Pacific seafood chowder. I ask Richard Liang, the owner, which fish are fresh today and he gives me a straight answer. “None of them. All frozen. When the boats do not go out, there is no fresh fish.” Liang was the manager of a restaurant that perennially was voted the best Chinese on Kauai so we figure his signature Peking Duck should be good and it is. Mid way through our meal a shaggy-haired young man in flip flops rushes in, headed for the kitchen with two shining Mahi Mahi in a bus tub. Our guess is his boat just got in and he is delivering as quickly as he can, and later tonight there will be very fresh fish on the menu.

Chili Ginger Shrimp at Pacific Bistro

When fresh fish isn’t available you can always opt for shrimp. Almost all shrimp served in restaurants or available in fish markets have been previously frozen. Because shrimp meat does not degrade like fish when frozen and thawed it is more reliable than taking a chance on questionable fish. Scallops also freeze well, but crab does not, so skip the crab cakes and go for the seared scallops.

When the owner of Pacific Bistro in Kauai told us none of his fish were fresh that evening Chili Ginger Shrimp was an easy choice. It is also an easy recipe to make at home.

1 egg white, lightly beaten
1 tablespoons cornstarch
1 tablespoons rice wine or white wine
1 pound raw large shrimp, peeled and deveined

Whisk together the first three ingredients and toss with the shrimp to coat. Spread on a plate and let rest in refrigerator for 30 minutes. The coasting protects the shrimp from drying as they cook, keeping them moist.

1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 tablespoon chopped fresh ginger
1 scallion, cut into thin 11/2-inch strips
¼ carrot, cut into thin strips
½ teaspoon dried red chili pepper flakes
2 ½ tablespoons vegetable or peanut oil

Blend the salt, sugar, garlic and ginger in a small bowl.

Heat a large wok or flat bottom skillet over high. When hot swirl in 1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil. Fry half of the shrimp for about 3 minutes, turning several times. Remove to a plate. Repeat with the rest of the shrimp, adding more oil if needed.

Add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil to the wok. Add the scallions, carrots and peppers and stir fry 20 seconds. Stir in the salt mixture, let fry until the garlic starts to brown, about 1 minute. Return the shrimp to the wok, toss to coat and cook for about 1 minute to heat through. Serve at once with steamed rice.

Serves 2 as a main dish

Leslie of Beringer Winery greets us at the door

I can not get a photo of Rico. He bobs and swishes, turning toward each outstretched hand that he clearly expects from the gathering crowd. Just behind Enrico Bacio il Tartufaio (Rico for short) his guy holds the leash and explains that Rico is a descendant of an ancient breed, Lagotto Romagnolo. These curly-haired water dogs from central Italy have been used since Etruscan times to locate truffles. Rico works his sensitive nose with enthusiasm in Northern California and Oregon, locating native varieties of fungi.

I am at the Napa Truffle Festival in the Oxbow Public Market with three friends from the local wine and food industry. We all wonder if Rico is going crazy with all the truffle scent he must be tuning into. Half of the two dozen food merchants in the marketplace are offering truffle-infused tastes.

C Casa hands out mini tostadas of white beans with truffle goat-cheese, topped with orange-cumin dressed greens. Oxbow Cheese Merchant has inserted truffle slices into wheels of Mt. Tam cheese and let them rest for three days to absorb the aromatics. Pica Pica Maize hands us a plate of hot yucca fries with a truffle aioli dipping sauce.

At 10:30 we gather around the Kitchen Door’s elegant expanse of marble and learn the technique to make a creamy truffle vinaigrette (see Cook’s Note below) for their mixed chicory salad with pickled walnuts and persimmons. It is a cold morning and we head for the comfort of The Model Bakery’s mushroom-truffle bread pudding, buying an extra portion to share. The Fatted Calf, a retailer of meats and house made charcuterie, has a classic offering of rough-textured truffle duck pate nestled in warm lentils.

Caulifower creme tops bites of wellington

The manageable crowd allows us to move at a relaxed pace without waiting more than a minute in any line. In between bites we sashay between tables of local wineries, matching food to wine. There are some big names like Beringer. Mid-sized wineries such as Raymond (a lovely 2009 Chardonnay with just a kiss of oak) and Robert Sinskey (pouring their balanced POV Bordeaux blend) are represented. And some tiny wineries, such as Bialla Vineyards. This winery, the epitome of hand processing (de-stemming the fruit by hand, crushing with their palms), is handing out tastes of their lush, non-tannic Cabernet that sells for $125.

“Hot pan coming through” rings out behind us and a tall man in kitchen whites slides by. He carries a sheet pan of diminutive rolls of pastry enclosed fillet. I keep hearing passing remarks about beef wellington so we follow him. Five Dot Ranch meat shop is topping one-bite portions of beef wellington with a slice of truffle and a foam of cauliflower crème. The crème gently catches the aroma of the truffle slice and smoothes its texture. Something I heard during the cooking demonstration stuck with me. “Try not to complicate the dish, let the delicate aroma of the truffle shine.” This simple recipe, rich with the flavors of beef, pastry and truffle, works particularly well.

Christina of Re dei Funghi (King of Mushrooms)

The final taste is a surprise and a delight. La Crepe offers a petite rollup crepe filled with truffle pastry cream topped with a wafer thin slice of truffle. Wonderful…earthy, sweet, unusual. There is one last thing to do…head to the King of Mushrooms table and buy my own rare “black diamond” (see the following Truffle Risotto recipe). I ask Christina and Todd to choose one for me as they are the top truffle experts in the market…after Rico.

Cook’s Note: Truffle can be used in multiple ways to accent a salad. Shavings of truffle are pureed with a few tablespoons of a neutral oil to toss with baby beets, diced cooked potatoes or fruit. To make creamy vinaigrette for greens whisk 2 tablespoons of the truffle-oil puree with 3 tablespoons lightly flavored vinegar, 3 tablespoons lightly whipped heavy cream, sea salt and a dash of sugar. Use a micro plane or fine cheese grater to add truffle shavings to the greens, or for an extravagant touch shave whole slices onto each salad.

Truffle slices on Risotto

I did a little homework before shelling out $54 for a walnut sized knob of what looks like compressed black sawdust. “Italian and French are coveted and most fragrant in winter. Buy them as soon as they get off the plane. Select for the best aroma. Be sure of your source as tasteless ones from China, doctored with lab generated compounds, are on the market”.

Standing before baskets of gorgeous black Italian truffles I was pretty sure these were the real deal. After hours of tasting and talking truffles at Napa’s Truffle Festival we lean in to inhale the aroma of the day’s star ingredient. Todd Spanier, aka Re Dei Funghi (King of Mushrooms) sniffs, weighs, declares the price and slips my truffle into a small paper bag. “How are you going to use it? Try this recipe… it is wonderful!” He enthusiastically shoves a paper into my hand titled King of Mushrooms Black and White Truffle Cheese Fondue.

On the way home I keep sniffing the bag. Not really mushroom-like or forest floor, the aroma is more sweet onion and baked garlic, black olives, caramel and vanilla. In fact, it is really the aromatics, rather than the taste or texture that is the draw of a truffle. It is a sexy smell. Scientists claim it is close to the pheromones given of by certain animals, such as pigs. This is why pigs are sometimes employed to locate the well hidden fungi.

A few other things I found out before cooking with my treasure: truffle stands out well against bland foods such as pasta, rice or potatoes. Cut open a truffle and it begins to loose its unique aromatics, but by pureeing truffle in a processer with mild oil you catch the aroma/flavor. Black winter truffles should be grated (using a micro plane or fine cheese grater) or sliced very thinly (using a mandolin or truffle slicer) directly onto warm food to release aroma/flavor at the moment of serving.

Serves 2

1 small fresh black truffle
1 1/2 c. raw Arborio rice
1-2 tablespoons neutral oil such as grape seed or canola

Cut your truffle into halves and bury half in the Arborio rice so the aroma is absorbed as you make the puree. In a processer, puree the other half truffle with the oil. This can be done several hours ahead. Cover both well with plastic wrap.

2 tablespoon butter
3 large shallots, peeled and sliced as thinly as you can
8 brown mushrooms, thinly sliced
4 cups chicken stock
Salt and white pepper to taste

Heat a medium sized pot over medium heat. Add the butter, shallots and mushrooms. Cook, stirring occasionally until softened, about 3 minutes. Meanwhile, heat the chicken stock in another pot or microwave. Wrap the truffle half, set aside and add the risotto to the mushrooms. Stir well to coat the grains. Add a ladle of hot chicken stock and stir. Every few minutes stir the risotto adding another ladle of hot stock as the last is absorbed. Keep doing this until the rice exudes a starchy creaminess and is just tender. Heat 2 bowls. Taste the risotto and correct for salt and pepper. Stir the truffle oil into the risotto and split between the bowls. At the table grate or slice some of the remaining truffle onto each risotto.

Truffle that is not used can be chopped finely and combined with butter. Truffle butter is excellent on popcorn or mashed potatoes. Cover well and refrigerate up to a week.

Filbert Steps

San Francisco has 300 stairways connecting streets and alcoves on its steepest hills. Most were built as neighborhoods were laid out 100 or so years ago. There is a surprising number of homes anchored to slopes where no streets can be built, accessible only by public staircases. Some stairways are hidden shortcuts connecting busy boulevards, giving pedestrians a moment of quiet with stunning vistas. The longest and most famous stairways climb Telegraph Hill from the Embarcadero to Coit Tower. On a recent sun-filled morning I set out with a map and 2 hours free to stair-step up and down Telegraph Hill then go find lunch.

 Telegraph Hill was inhabited during the 1850’s by Irish and Italian immigrants whose livelihoods depended on the nearby wharves. They were longshoremen, fishermen and warehouse workers of low wages and built modest dwellings along dirt paths on the hill. The eastern flank was made into a sheer cliff by local contractors who, in the 1880’s, began dynamiting the hill to use it as a rock quarry. During the early 20th century Telegraph Hill were largely by- passed by city transit lines and the area remained under developed, attracting artists and providing grazing for goats until 1928.

Greenwhich Street Stairs

That wild, natural look still exists along much of the Greenwhich Street Stairs. This series of staircases rises from the base of Telegraph Hill on Sansome Street, several blocks back from the waterfront. At about 400 steps it is the longest staircase, but has convenient rest stops for enjoying excellent views and catching your breath as you climb.  The steps meander like a path under the shade of thick-trunked cypress and eucalyptus. Secluded clearings offer benches and works of art provided by the neighbors. Homes with front doors along the stairway still have the feel of Bohemian hideaways.

The stairway zigzags past the crenulated structure of Julius’ Castle, a restaurant known more for its views then its food. It was built in 1922 when this part of Montgomery Street was still a dirt road. Keep ascending and you arrive at one of San Francisco’s best known sites, Coit Tower. Vertically fluted sides of the tower capture light and shadow making the tower distinct and lovely. The first floor contains murals telling stories of The City. With a popular 360 degree view, the Coit Tower approach and parking lot can be congested with cars, while arriving on foot feels like a well earned reward.

Vallejo Street Stairway

Just one block from the Greenwhich Street Stairs, the Filbert Steps have a totally different feel. Street paving during the Depression years increased accessibility on this side of Telegraph Hill. Art deco apartment houses show off their details and elegant sculpted gardens border immaculate European-styled homes. This is a well known stairway. Walkers stopped me to take their picture surrounded by the elegant houses with panoramic views of The Bay in background. There is less shade, fewer rest stops and unrelentingly steep stairways on the Filbert Steps, making the decent from Coit Tower to Sansome Street a good choice.

Fog Hill Market

A block further up turn right onto Union Street and pass the two oldest structures on Telegraph Hill.  Irish immigrant John Cooney built number 291 in 1851 with a store on the bottom floor and his family home above. Two years later he erected number 287 as two rental units. Go another block up Union, past the “No Outlet” sign and find the less-than-a-block-long Calhoun Terrace. Calhoun Street used to be longer and wider, until the late 1800’s when the rock quarrying undermined the east side of the street and sent all seven homes crashing down. The residences lining the west side of the street face an unobstructed view of the Embarcadero, Bay Bridge, Treasure Island and the East Bay.
Search around and you will find another neighborhood tended stairway… this one ends part of the way down the hill.
 
It was now time for lunch and there are plenty of fine options nearby. Follow the flow of the hill downward using the Montgomery Street Staircase to Broadway and turn right. Within a few steps you come to Naked Lunch: a trendy kitchen in the old Enrico’s facing Kearny Street. Stop here for menu items such as foie gras and duck prosciutto sandwich, roasted Japanese eggplant sandwich with chevre and melted onions, and butternut squash, apple and chive soup.

Gold Mountain Dim Sum

I chose to cross Columbus Avenue and go one block to the massive Gold Mountain dim sum restaurant. Always packed with locals, I hope to be directed to a seat in the back near the kitchen door to catch the circulating carts of they emerge loaded with fresh small plates. I chose roasted duck and pork filled sticky balls. I felt I earned these delights after all that stair stepping.

A good reference for stairways in San Francisco: http://www.sisterbetty.org/stairways/index.htm

A good reference book for historic walks: Historic Walks of San Francisco by Rand Richards

http://www.nakedlunchsf.com/

Pickled Pear Salad

For years, I had this hand written recipe in a spiral binder. When a friend gave me tiny Seckle pears that wouldn’t ripen in time to eat, I dug the recipe out. The original called for Merlot. As I work at a wine shop, there are always left over bottles from tastings. I combined whatever fruit-driven, non-tannic wines I found.

You can serve the pears filled with a smooth tangy goat cheese as a dessert. Reduce some of the poaching liquid, add a little more sugar and use this syrup drizzled over the pear. You can also present the pears stuffed with blue cheese on a salad (as in the photo).The liquid can be used instead of vinegar in a complimentary vinaigrette (see Cooks Note 2 at bottom of the recipe).

Pears store well in the liquid for several weeks refrigerated.

1 fifth red wine
3 cups red wine vinegar
6 cups sugar
1 tbl. chopped fresh rosemary
3 cinnamon sticks
3 whole cloves
10 whole firm small pears, whole and unpeeled (see Cooks Note)

In a large stainless steel pot, combine all ingredients (except the pears). Bring to a boil and reduce until a thin syrup is formed (about 5 minutes). Slip in the pears. Reduce the heat and simmer until the pears are barely crisp, just becoming soft throughout.

Pack pears gently into glass jars or other holding containers and cover completely with the poaching liquid. Cool completely. Refrigerate. Enjoy within 3 weeks of making.
Cooks Note: I prefer unpeeled pears for the added texture of the skins. Also, If you mistakenly overcook the pears the skins will keep the fruit from disintegrating..

Cooks Note 2: A wonderful vinaigrette can be made by sautéing 2 sliced shallots with 2 ounces chopped pancetta in a small sauté pan, until lightly browned. To the pan add 4 Tbl. pear  poaching liquid, 2 Tbl. olive oil or nut oil, salt and pepper to taste. Let cool slightly. Toss warm vinaigrette with greens, toasted pecans and chopped pickled pears and blue cheese (or top a bed of dressed lettuce with one half pear stuffed with the blue cheese). Yield depends on how much lettuce you use, but will serve 2-4.

the new MLK memorial in D.C.

Our nation’s capitol packs in so many celebrated museums, inspiring monuments and architectural classics that a visitor has the pleasant dilemma of deciding which to see first. Earlier this month, Bruce and I began each day at The National Mall, the 2 mile long park at the heart of D.C.  One day we start at the east end of The Mall and the ornate Library of Congress, where our most significant national documents are displayed. Multiple Smithsonian Museums line the park and absorb many of our hours. At the far end we pause one evening to contemplate the new Martin Luther King memorial, set to be dedicated three days later.

 But we can’t live on culture alone and come meal time good choices are less transparent. Government and not culinary artistry is the main industry in D.C.  Over-sized martinis are everywhere…micro greens are not. Starting with cocktails is logical, therefore. Comparing recommendations for top cocktail lounges we find a few names repeatedly popping up.

Just steps from the White House, we grab a seat at the bar of Old Ebbitt Grill. Nineteenth-century gas lamps flicker over head and Justin, one of their famously amiable bartenders, brings us cocktails made with small batch bourbons and fruit-infused syrups. The atmosphere is my idea of a traditional D.C. power bar, complete with a menu designed (and executed) not to compete for anyone’s attention. Except, that is, for the oyster bar menu. D.C. rightly claims wonderful seafood and the selection and freshness of oysters, clams, prawns and lobster on our huge iced tray is made even sweeter by the half-off price during happy hour.

Maine Avenue open air fish market

The next day we are hoping to lunch like a local and head for the Potomac River, looking for the oldest continually operating fish market in the country. The Maine Avenue Fish Market is a collection of floating barges under an overpass of Interstate 395. An awe-inspiring selection of fish and shellfish is on display in the open air. Many sellers will cook your purchase right there. This morning it is lightly raining and we huddle under an awning to munch fried clam sandwiches and to-go cups of spicy Maryland blue crab chowder. 

As the quote goes “What happens in California gets to Washington 20 years later”. Founding Farmers Restaurant, which opened in 2008, has its own quotes: “farm-inspired American true food and drink” and “scratch-made traditional American classics inspired by the heartland”. All this to explain to Washingtonians the concept of a sustainable-product driven menu.

On our way to a dinner reservation elsewhere we stop by Founding Farmers, the winner of numerous mixology awards. From the extensive menu of fresh ingredient cocktails we order The Clementine: Clementine and chili-infused Reposado Tequila, Benedictine, lime and pineapple juices, agave nectar. Sitting next to us is a young San Diego law student, in Washington to try and win an internship in a politically well-placed law firm. He talks about his father who is head of an agricultural union in Southern California while at the same time exclaiming over the pan-fried chicken and waffles he is clearly enjoying.

Clementine and chili-infused tequila at Founding Farmers

We still are not sure that D.C. rates as a culinary tourism destination. But there is one more place on our list. Bourbon Steak, at the Four Seasons Hotel, gets top ratings for inventive cocktails and well executed small plates in its lounge. The menu suggests expressive adaptations of traditional bar items: Trio of Duck Fat Fries with different Truffle Salts. Potato Skins with Braised Oxtail, Caramelized Onions and Maytag Blue Cheese. Lobster Corn Dog. Apple and Sharp Greens Salad and White Cheddar Gougeres.

We order my favorite cocktail of the trip, a Lion’s Tale: Bulleit Bourbon, Allspice Dram, lime juice, cane syrup, Angostura Bitters. Small plates begin to arrive at our table and they are whimsical, perfectly executed and delicious. As we leave the lounge, utterly satisfied, I see a stack of Michael Mina cookbooks on a table. Of Course! San Francisco’s own Mina heads 4 restaurants in The City and one, in the St. Francis Hotel, is also called Bourbon Steak! Mina is regarded as one of the top San Francisco chefs.  I am pleased to see that his culinary vision is so well represented in our nation’s capitol.

http://www.ebbitt.com/main/home.cfm?Section=Main&Category=About_the_Ebbitt

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maine_Avenue_Fish_Market

http://www.wearefoundingfarmers.com/

http://michaelmina.net/restaurants/locations/bsdc.php

Apple Salad with Maple Vinaigrette and Cheddar Gougeres

Inspiration for this recipe comes from Michael Mina’s Bourbon Steak restaurant in D.C.. This salad reflects flavors from the Northeast. Thick slices of apple are briefly browned in butter and stacked with sharp tasting greens dressed in maple syrup vinaigrette. Vermont white cheddar, baked into gougeres puffs (or served on the side in slices), reminds me of the classic apple pie with cheddar cheese pairing you see in New England.

Choose a good quality eating apple such as Braeburn, Fuji, Winesap or Jonathan. They are picked in October. Firm-textured greens such as radicchio, Belgian endive and arugula not only add assertive taste to the dish but stand up in a stacked presentation. Gougeres take some time, about 15 minutes prep and 40 to cook, so make a whole batch and freeze extras for ready hors d’oeuvres. They refresh well in the oven, can be served whole as puffs or opened and filled.

Serve this salad before a braised meat dish, such as Coq au Vin, on a cool autumn evening.

Serves two

1 large apple
1 ½ teaspoons butter
2 shallots, peeled and thinly sliced
3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons maple syrup
4 tablespoons walnut oil (or other)
Salt and pepper to taste
2 cups firm-textured greens, shredded
White cheddar gougeres, see below (or thin slices of cheddar)

Using an apple corer, remove the core and seeds from the apple, but do not peel. Trim the ends a little and slice the apple into four ½ inch thick rounds. Heat a nonstick pan over medium. Add the butter and when it sizzles add the apple slices. Cook 1 minutes and turn over. Cook 1 minute longer, just until softened and remove to a plate. Add the sliced shallot to the pan and cook for 2 minutes, until wilted.

Remove the pan from the heat. Add the vinegar and syrup to the pan and whisk to combine. Remove mixture to a medium sized bowl and whisk in the oil. Taste and season well with salt and pepper.

To serve, place one apple slice on each plate, toss the greens with the dressing in the bowl and stack on top the apple. Top the greens with the second apple slice. Garnish with crisp gougeres or slices of cheddar.

Gougeres (pate a choux)

1 cup water
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons butter, cut in pieces
¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons flour
4 eggs, beaten
1 cup cheddar or gruyere, grated
½ cup parmesan, grated
Black pepper
1 egg beaten (optional egg wash for deeper color and shine)

In a small saucepan over high heat, bring the water, salt, and butter to a boil, until the butter is completely melted. Off the heat, add the flour all at once and beat vigorously with a wooden spoon. Return to the heat and continue beating until the dough forms a solid, smooth mass and pulls away from the sides of the saucepan. Continue cooking and stirring for 1 minute more to steam out some moisture. Take off the heat and empty the dough into a clean mixing bowl. Little by little add the beaten eggs, beating vigorously in between each addition, until the dough forms a smooth, supple mass. Mix in the grated cheeses and plenty of freshly cracked black pepper.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Drop rounded tablespoons of dough onto a parchment or baking silicon lined sheet pan, spacing them 1 inch apart. Or, for a more uniform finished look, use a rubber spatula to scoop the dough into a pastry bag and pipe out approximately 25 (1-inch) balls. Brush lightly with the beaten egg wash, if using, and place in the oven. Cook until golden and puffed, about 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool briefly on a baking rack. Serve hot, at room temperature or cool and freeze. Refresh frozen gougeres in a 350 degree oven for several minutes, just until crisped.

Country lane in Pescadero

It is late summer, perfectly clear and warm on the coast, and we head to Pescadero, 17 miles south of Half Moon Bay, 34 miles north of Santa Cruz . Each autumn we drive to Phipps Country Store, several miles up the road from Pescadero, to buy the new harvest of unusual beans. But today we are looking for lunch in this tiny 2 block coastal town (population 643 in 2010).

On the main street we find a 117 year old tavern designated as an “American Classic” by the James Beard Foundation, a general store recently remodeled to include wood-burning oven and a striking modern blue glass bar, a New England style church built by Yankee settlers in 1867 and a wooden statue of a goat and girl pointing down a country lane.

This way to goat cheese

We follow the point down North Street for about a mile and arrive at Harley Farms Goat Dairy. Signs (they are very good with signs at Harley Farms) designate the milking shed and welcome us to the pastures where we spot a doe, udder heavy with milk, trying to evade the single-minded advances and grunts of an imposing buck. Leaving them to their adventure we follow the sign to the Goat Shop.

Adrianna greats us and answers questions as we sample cheeses around the shop. We start inventing occasions for using these beautifully hand crafted cheese. The ricotta is exceptionally fresh and sweet… perhaps wild mushroom lasagna? There is goat feta to match the heritage tomatoes in every store now. A selection of topped and flavored chevres could begin a dinner we have planned later in the week.

Harley Farms goat cheeses

The shop has been open about 7 years, although this dairy has been in operation 20 in a restored dairy farm from 1910. A long timeframe is not unusual for Pescadero, we learn. Our lunch is in Duarte’s Tavern, a fourth-generation-run establishment opened in 1894. The menu is based on vegetables from the valley and locally caught fish, so the specials reflect seasonal availability. We sit at the lunch counter and order the house specialties: artichoke soup and olallieberry pie, pleased that we have found Duarte’s. The dining room is simple and welcoming. The adjoining aged wood bar is where great-granddad Frank started the business by selling shots from a whiskey barrel brought up from Santa Cruz.

 The original land grant for this fertile valley was given by Mission Santa Cruz in 1833. By the 1860s Pescadero was a thriving farming and lumber town. In 1853 the sailing ship Carrier Pigeon wrecked on the rocky coast nearby. A stage coach was salvaged and used by Wells Fargo Co. for the next forty years, bringing freight and passengers to the coastal town. A few of the 19th century homes on Stage Road, the main drag, still sport their traditional white paint, another bounty claimed from a 19th century ship wreck.

Duarte's Tavern Artichoke Soup

If you are in town for only one meal it is hard to choose. The Pescadero Country Store has re-invented itself since I was last here with stylish indoor and outdoor seating, wood burning oven featuring regional products and a great looking bar. They serve beef from the local company Leftcoast Grassfed. There is also a touted taqueria in a gas station, the Thursday afternoon certified local farmers market and a fine food and wine shop for assembling picnics on the beach. And don’t leave town without visiting the quirky Phipps Country Store a mile or two up Pescadero Creek Road (see the article http://acooksca.com/2009/04/02/the-bean-of-the-decade/ .) The farm-grown gigante beans are, for me, worth the drive.

 
Local connection for what’s happening:  http://www.pescadero-california.com/

Harley Farms Goat Dairy:   http://www.harleyfarms.com/  

Duarte’s Tavern:  http://www.duartestavern.com/

Pescadero General Store:   http://pescaderocountrystore.com/

Phipps Country Store:   http://www.phippscountry.com/

Leftcoast Grassfed (the TomKat cattle ranch) will ship product:  http://www.leftcoastgrassfed.com/about/

Phipps fresh Madeira Cranberry beans

Many varieties of fresh beans are harvested in late summer and autumn. It is the season to find long fresh pods of unshelled beans in farmer’s markets or country vegetable stands. Fresh beans don’t need presoaking, they take a fraction of the cooking time of dried beans and the texture of fresh beans remains gently firm. Where dried beans add mass to soups and slow cooked dishes, fresh beans have the textural integrity to stand as individuals in salads and pastas.

1 pound fresh or dried runner, cannelini or other beans
2 cups finely chopped onion
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 teaspoon dried sage, crumbled
2 teaspoons dried rosemary, chopped
2 teaspoons dried thyme, crumbled
1/2 teaspoon dried hot red pepper flakes
1/4 cup olive oil
6 cups packed coarsely shredded young kale (1 large bunch)
1 cup dry white wine
1 28-ounce can Italian tomatoes, drained, reserving the juice, and chopped
1 pound fusilli (corkscrew-shaped pasta)
Freshly grated Parmesan

If using dried beans, soak over night in enough cold water to cover by 2 inches.

In a large pot combine the beans with enough salted cold water to cover them by 2-inches and simmer covered until tender, about 15 minutes for fresh beans or 1 to 1-1/2 hours for dried. Drain the beans in a colander set over a bowl and reserve the cooking liquid.

In a large deep skillet cook the onion, garlic, sage, rosemary, thyme and red pepper flakes in the oil over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until the onion is softened. Add the kale in batches, and cook until the kale is wilted. Add the wine and simmer the mixture for 5 minutes.

In a blender or food processor purée 1-1/2 cups of the cooked beans with 2 cups of the reserved cooking liquid. Add to the skillet with the remaining beans, tomatoes and the reserved tomato juice. Simmer the sauce, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes, or until it is thickened slightly. Adjust for salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, in a large pot of boiling salted water cook the fusilli until it is al dente, drain it well. In a large bowl toss it with the sauce and the Parmesan.

 adapted from a recipe in: Gourmet, March 1991