Offal (Not Awful) & Nose To Tail Eating

My great-great grandmother Martha Cloud's husband, Sam Miller, circa 1941, Modoc County, California

'Offal is a culinary term used to refer to the entrails and internal organs of a butchered animal. The word does not refer to a particular list of organs other than muscles or bones. People in some cultures shy away from offal as food, while others use it as everyday food, or even in delicacies that command a high price.' -- from Wikipedia. 'Nose to Tail Eating,' a term seemingly coined by British chef and restaurateur, Fergus Anderson, involves food preparation using the entire animal (or plant) from nose to tail. Chef Anderson, author of the book, 'The Whole Beast: Nose to Tail Eating,' owns St. John, a restaurant in London where according to Amazon.com 'he serves up the inner organs of beasts and fowls in big exhilarating dishes that combine high sophistication with peasant roughness.'

I think I'm a pretty good eater; I don't shy away from too many things. But like most of us I have my likes and dislikes; more likes than dislikes. I abhor any kind of dried fruit; I simply don't eat it. And I don't like cooked apples so not a big apple pie eater. My dislike of dried fruit disallows a goodly number of cereals, granolas, trail mix, and some baked goods and desserts. I've learned to check first to avoid the interminable picking out of unwelcome items. The reason I don't like dried fruit is textural. I hate that it sticks to my teeth -- end of story. I can't get beyond that. I can't exactly explain my issue with cooked apples just that they're oddly, uhm, slimy. I hate apple sauce. Again, it's a textural thing; how it feels in my mouth affects how it tastes. Offal can and does fall into the textural issues category but I've still eaten my fair share of it. I wouldn't say I'm an avid consumer of it however. Living in and traveling often to France I've had many French offal preparations, liver and kidneys, among others that I've enjoyed. I do like sweetbreads, and blood sausage a lot and will order them in restaurants. However if there are offal dishes on a restaurant menu invariably I'll choose a non-offal dish. Recently I've noticed that there seems to be a much keener interest in offal here in the U.S. -- at least in restaurants, in food journalism and in foodie circles. It's almost as if offal is replacing pork this year as the favorite food item? This offal uptick has me wondering why I don't eat it as often as I eat other animal protein, and I've decided there are a few reasons.

The first is related to the dried fruit issue: textural. A lot of offal is gelatinous, sinewy, and chewy in ways a well-prepared steak is not. Depending on what gland or organ is being cooked the feel of the food is different too: liver, kidneys, tongue, brains, tripe and so on. It has a different texture, and often a different smell, than cuts of beef, pork, lamb or chicken. These differences have always given me pause. And then there's the cultural issue. I wasn't raised eating the stuff. It wasn't a part of my diet growing up in the '60s and '70s. It was a part of the diet of my relatives, a generation before my mother. My great-grandparents, my grandfather and great-uncle ate it. They had a ranch; they raised their own chickens and sheep. My great uncle hunted, butchered and prepared deer. My mother tells the story of watching my great-grandfather chop the heads off of chickens and how they ran around headless until they died. That was normal to them. I've never seen an animal killed let alone butchered. We bought our chicken already cut up, wrapped in plastic in a styrofoam tray. If we did buy a whole chicken the giblets were wrapped in a small sealed paper bag which was easy to just throw away. Fast food did not help my palate adjust to eating offal either. Just think of the textures in fast food: 'soft' comes to mind first; with flavors that are 'bland,' 'salty' and 'sweet.' We ate a lot of fast food when I was a kid and while it probably contained offal we didn't know it. My mother did cook us a fair amount of liver and we hated it; it wasn't until I left home and lived in France that I first understood that offal could be tasty and interesting. I ate my first blood sausage at a French friend's house: broiled blood sausage, couscous, a green salad and cheese. It was a revelation to me. I ate a few other offal dishes the year I lived there. After France when I was first back home in Sonoma County, a friend and I went to a 'fancy' restaurant and we both ordered sweetbreads, and they were delicious. Besides the liver I ate as a child and the dishes I ate in France those sweetbreads are the first offal food memory I have. I've eaten sweetbreads over and over ever since.

I hate to admit this but I think I'm a picky offal eater. I am not, I have come to realize, the type of 'I'll-eat-anything-put-before-me' eater that Anthony Bourdain is. I have foodie friends who are very adventurous who will eat almost anything. I admire heartily the enthusiasm of Bourdain and my food-obsessed friends. I fully appreciate the nose-to-tail movement as it is economically sound and environmentally conscious. It easily fits into the '100 miles' philosophy: when possible use all of whatever we take from nature. I have eaten pigs feet; they were good, I enjoyed them. I will eat them, and other offal and nose-to-tail dishes again. Many cultures use offal and nose-to-tail ingredients in their cuisines. What better hangover cure is there than menudo? I'll keep trying new things, new dishes, domestic and foreign. My point here is that if I'd lived during my great-grandparents,' and grandparents' time my palate and diet would have been more acculturated to eating the whole animal. More than likely I would have been involved in the slaughtering and butchering of the animals. For economical reasons we would have used the entire animal. Sadly, I grew up in the industrialized grocery store, frozen everything, fast food era. That's not to say that I won't eventually become more adventurous, and I do know plenty of people who grew up the way I did who are 'eat anything' eaters, but for me right now: I am a picky-less-adventurous-offal-eater that's willing to grow. I have friends who will lead the way. You know who you are!

Upcoming Trips: Napa Valley - 2/27-3/1 - Cochon 555 ~ 5 Chefs, 5 Pigs, 5 Winemakers ~ 2010 US Tour. Big Sur - 3/5-/38 ~ Dinner at Big Sur Bakery.

Upcoming Posts: An Interview with Chefs John Stewart & Duskie Estes, owners of Zazu & Bovolo restaurants in Sonoma County. Reviews: Venezia: Food & Dreams by Tessa Kiros, My Nepenthe: Bohemian Tales of Food, Family and Big Sur by Romney Steele, The Spirit Kitchen: Everyday Cooking with Organic Spices by Sara Engram and Katie Luber and Kimberly Toqe.

25th Annual Chefs' Holidays at The Ahwahnee

Chef Suzanne Goin of Lucques, A.O.C. and Tavern at her cooking demo at the 'Chefs' Holidays at the Ahwahnee' in Yosemite.

Uhm, let's see: three days of celebrity chefs cooking amazing food at The Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite in the middle of winter?! Okay, I'm in. I'll splurge to watch Suzanne Goin of Lucques, A.O.C. and Tavern give cooking demos and cook the final meal served in the Ahwahnee's magnificent dining room. Sure I will -- and I did. Last week Robert and I spent three glorious days and nights in Yosemite Valley eating our way through food prepared by four chefs: Suzanne Goin; John Stewart and Duskie Estes of Zazu Restaurant + Farm, Bovolo and Black Pig Meat Co. in Sonoma County; and Jody Adams of Rialto Restaurant + Bar in Cambridge, Massachusetts. On a previous trip to Yosemite I'd picked up information on the Chefs' Holidays events and was more than intrigued. And I was reminded of them often as I get regular e-mails from Delaware North, the company that runs all accommodations, concessions and special events at Yosemite. As you can see by the title of this post the Chefs' Holidays have been happening at The Ahwahnee for the last twenty-five years. There are a total of eight sessions that take place during January and February. I chose Session 5 for a reason: two of my current favorite chefs were going to be there. I've already written about my passion for what husband and wife chefs John Stewart and Duskie Estes do at their two restaurants Zazu and Bovolo in Sonoma County. They live their loves locally; easily within one hundred miles of where they live and work. Their two restaurants embody the local lifestyle and their food is amazing. When I saw that they would be participating I decided to splurge and attend. The extra added bonus of Suzanne Goin as the headline chef was more than I could ask for. And while I didn't know much about the third chef, Jody Adams, I do now and I am now a fan of hers too.

Mirror Lake, Yosemite Valley, Yosemite National Park

All of this taking place in Yosemite. I love Yosemite in the winter. There's no one there. It's as beautiful as it is any other time of the year. We were very lucky on this trip. We arrived on a Sunday and left on a Wednesday; the Thursday before our trip a huge storm dumped a lot of snow. By the time we arrived on Sunday the storm was over and the roads had been cleared. What was left was stunningly beautiful. A nice amount of pristine snow covered everything making for a true winter wonderland. The outside daytime temperature hovered around thirty-five degrees -- not too cold at all with our layers of sweaters, scarves and winter coats. When we weren't at the Ahwahnee eating we were out exploring this amazing place. This was a trip I could easily do over and over and over...

*Chef Suzanne Goin, Lucques, A.O.C., Tavern in Los Angeles, Californa. Author, 'Sunday Suppers at Lucques'

The event took place over three days and nights. On Sunday night there was a reception to meet the chefs and we did. We chatted with Suzanne, John and Duskie, and Jody while eating hors d'oeuvres and drinking wine. It was a good way to start off the event. All the chefs were very approachable and quite friendly. On Monday at ten o'clock in the morning we met back at the Great Hall of the Ahwahnee for the first cooking demo: Suzanne Goin. Chef Goin prepared 'Pan-Roasted Quail with Pancetta, Baked Ricotta and Sicilian Breadcrumbs' followed by 'Roasted Pear Salad with Endive, Hazelnuts and St. Agur.' Watching her cook I noticed that Chef Goin was very precise in everything she did. She new her next move; her mise en place at hand. I understood; she'd been trained in restaurant kitchens in France. Most chefs I've known exhibit this type of precision. It works, and is necessary, for what they have to do. She was also very giving in how she showed us to prepare the two dishes; answering questions, offering suggestions and making apt comments. Her two dishes were nicely refined, and beautiful to look at. After the demo we tasted the pear salad and it was really delicious. I've always loved endive and blue cheese together; the addition of the roasted pears added another layer of flavor and texture.

Roasted Pear Salad with Endive, Hazelnuts and St. Agur, Chef Suzanne Goin



Pan-Roasted Quail with Pancetta, Baked Ricotta and Sicilian Breadcrumbs, Chef Suzanne Goin

Chefs John Stewart and Duskie Estes starting their cooking demo at the 'Chefs' Holidays at The Ahwahnee' in Yosemite.

*Chefs John Stewart and Duskie Estes, Zazu Restaurant & Farm, BOVOLO, Black Pig Meat Co., Sonoma County, California

That afternoon we all met back at the Great Hall at two o'clock for John and Duskie's cooking demonstration. They made 'Hazelnut Crepes with Nutella and Blood Orange Syrup' followed by 'Brussels Sprouts, Local Apple, and Black Pig Bacon Salad.' John and Duskie are a little more country to Suzanne's city. Duskie chose the crepes recipe with Nutella because Nutella is something she likes and because she likes to combine high and low food together. The idea is to use easy to get products with those that are harder to get in the same dish. There's also a nice playfulness to Duskie and John, evident in this dish. One of the main reasons I like these two chefs is because as mentioned above they live locally, and because one of their credos is 'no waste.' They use every part of the animal; any organic waste from the food preparation process is either fed to their pigs or composted for their garden. In their restaurants many of the vegetables for the day's menus are harvested in the garden outside the kitchen's back door just before service. At their farm-home they raise pigs, have chickens for eggs and a garden. It's a full circle lifestyle. During their demo they were relaxed and easy-going; they worked well together but it was also evident that they knew what they were doing. These are seasoned professionals. While the crepes were Duskie's dish, the Brussels sprouts dish offered John his moment to work with his black pig bacon. Bacon that he cures himself along with other salumi that he makes. We tasted the Brussels sprouts after the demo and they were earthy and wonderful; the bacon, apples and sprouts working together perfectly.

Hazelnut Crepes with Nutella and Blood Orange Syrup, Chefs John Stewart and Duskie Estes

Brussels Sprouts, Local Apple and Black Pig Bacon Salad, Chefs John Stewart and Duskie Estes



Chef Jody Adams starts her cooking demonstration at 'Chefs' Holidays at the Ahwahnee' in Yosemite.

*Chef Jody Adams, Rialto, Boston, Massachusetts. Author, 'In The Hands of a Chef: Cooking with Jody Adams of Rialto Restaurant'

Our final cooking demonstration was by Chef Jody Adams of Rialto Restaurant + Bar in Boston on Tuesday afternoon. Chef Adams also made two dishes: 'Orange Dusted Scallops with Sunchokes, Harissa and Olives,' followed by 'Scallop Ravioli with Pistachios, Pomegranate and Mushrooms.' Chef Adams was such a joy to watch; she was funny, smart and also really knows what she is doing. There was a bit of Julia Child's zaniness to her but she was actually in absolute control. When questions were thrown at her she surprised by breaking down the chemical process in certain cooking scenarios. Both recipes had long ingredient lists and many steps but she made it all seem effortless. She was very open to substituting ingredients; she taught interesting yet useful techniques - like how to cut parchment exactly to the size of your sauté pan. It felt a bit like we were in her home kitchen all around a cooking island pitching in. Chef Adams was unknown to me before this event but she has a new West Coast fan now. If I ever get to Boston I'll be stopping in to Rialto. We tasted the the orange dusted scallops after the demo and they were among my favorite dishes we ate.

Scallop Ravioli with Pistachios, Pomegranate and Mushrooms, Chef Jody Adams



Orange Dusted Scallops with Sunchokes, Harissa and Olives, Chef Jody Adams



The dining room at the Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite National Park

*Behind the Scenes Kitchen Tour

On Tuesday morning there was an optional tour of the Ahwahnee hotel kitchens. Robert and I were curious to see the behind-the-scenes of such a huge operation. There's the beautiful public side but behind closed doors is where all the action takes place to keep the operation going. Sous-chef Beth Brown took us through the huge kitchens, storerooms and baking areas. I've been in a lot of professional kitchens, and I've seen other hotel kitchens but the size of this one was XXXL. The fact sheet handed out says that the kitchen is 6,500 square feet; the ceiling is 38 feet high at its highest point. The kitchen prepares 1500 meals per day for the dining room not including room service, weddings or special events. The bakeshop produces 400 loaves of bread per day. This is cooking on a massive scale. It was interesting to see what goes on behind-the-scenes in an operation this big.

The line in the Ahwahnee Hotel kitchen.

Bread baked daily in the kitchen of the Ahwahnee Hotel kitchen.



Sous-chef Beth Brown in the Ahwahnee Hotel pastry shop where chocolate truffles for the hotel sweet shop are being made.

*Chefs' Holidays Gala Dinner, Chef Suzanne Goin

The final event of the three day food extravaganza was a gala dinner served in the Ahwahnee Hotel dining room. As Suzanne Goin was the headline chef she created and prepared the menu for the evening: Arugula Salad with Blood Oranges, Roasted Dates, Almonds and Parmesan; Maine Diver Scallops with Green Garlic Soubise, Chanterelles and Meyer Lemon; Alaskan Black Cod with Kabocha Squash, Golden Raisins, Pancetta and Pedro Jimenez; Braised Veal Cheek with Risotto Carbonara, Pea Shoots and Black Truffle Butter; Bittersweet Chocolate Tart with Mascarpone and Pistachio Ice Cream. It was all incredible, wonderful, amazing -- nothing more needs be said.

Chef Suzanne Goin and me. She's holding her book: 'Sunday Dinners at Lucques' which she autographed for me.



Chefs John Stewart and Duskie Estes and me. I interviewed them for an upcoming blog post.



Chef Jody Adams and me.



Snow-covered Half Dome, Yosemite Valley, Yosemite National Park

I love Yosemite but you know that already. Attending this event was truly an experience I won't soon forget. The setting, the chefs, the food, and the company. Will I go again next year? Possibly. I will give it serious consideration. It was that good.

Upcoming Posts: Interview with Chefs John Stewart & Duskie Estes owners of Zazu & Bovolo restaurants in Sonoma County. Reviews: Venezia: Food & Dreams by Tessa Kiros, My Nepenthe: Bohemian Tales of Food, Family and Big Sur by Romney Steele, The Spirit Kitchen: Everyday Cooking with Organic Spices by Sara Engram and Katie Luber and Kimberly Toqe.

Guest Blog: 'That's The Ticket' by Lori Berhon

First of all, I can't believe it's been a month since my last blog post. How did that happen? It's been a very busy time for me. At the beginning of September I celebrated a milestone birthday. Mid-September was the big bash with family and friends from near and far (Paris even!) to celebrate said birthday. I am in the midst of a major overhaul and redesign of my blog. And I started back to my full-time job as a movie marketing consultant. Ack! Just. Not. Enough. Time. Hopefully, that much time between posts will not happen again. I aim to be sure it does not. In any case apologies for being away. I think I am back.

I have always been interested in both food and film; I have been lucky enough to work in both with some degree of success in each. I started my professional life learning to cook in France; upon my return to the U.S. I worked in the food and restaurant industry for many years. One of the jobs was working for the Italian film producer Dino de Laurentiis (Giada's grandfather) when he opened his Italian-esque food emporium, DDL Foodshow, in New York City. The job started off with many of the Foodshow personnel working out of Dino's film production offices in the Gulf & Western Building on Columbus Circle. It was there that I met my friend Lori Berhon. She was a receptionist at Dino De Laurentiis Productions before coming to work with us at the Foodshow. That was in 1982; we're still friends. Lori loves to cook, try new restaurants, and eat well which we did, and do, often in New York, and whenever she makes it out to California.

As mentioned above I recently had a milestone birthday. Lori came out to Los Angeles from New York to help me celebrate. While she was here she mentioned a food and film piece she recently wrote for her company newsletter. I asked her to send it to me and she did. I so enjoyed reading it, and it is full of such good information on foodie films that I asked her to guest blog it on 100 Miles.

So take it away, Lori...

That's The Ticket!

With summer blockbuster season coming to an end (and where were all the blockbusters this year anyway?), I was planning to take another recession-beating look at rentable substitutes for hot flicks. I began considering Julie/Julia, and I quickly found myself entirely diverted by the subject of food films. There are a lot of them.

A La Cuisine!

Nora Ephron's new film shows how the lives of Julia Child and Julie Powell are changed by French cooking, but this is hardly the first time that particular catalyst has been portrayed on film. Babette's Feast, the 1987 film version of an Isak Dinesen story, shows how French food revitalizes the souls of an elderly Lutheran congregation in Denmark and the refugee they have sheltered. If you heard what Julie Powell was able to accomplish in a kitchen closet in Queens and you think that's impressive, wait 'til you see what Babette Hersant (Stéphane Audran) achieves in an isolated 19th century village.

Lasse Halstrom's whimsical Chocolat (2000), based on the novel by Joanne Harris, implies that sometimes even the French need a little gustatory shakeup. Boasting a rich and delicious cast, this counts as Johhny Depp's first 'chocolate' film.

The eponymous Vatel (Gérard Depardieu) of 2000, an historic French chef, is ordered to achieve the impossible in a 17th century castle. While unusually downbeat for a foodie film, this well-researched, opulent biopic provides a setting of spectacle and intrigue for a truly mind-boggling feast.

International Buffet

France certainly doesn't hold a monopoly on cinematic cuisine. The mouth-watering food in The Big Night (1996) is Italian. Like "Julie/Julia," this film features dramatic kitchen action, period glamour and the always wonderful Stanley Tucci (who also co-directed). The piece de resistance, the Timpano, had audiences drooling and the Tucci family recipe for this baked dome of dough, filled with more layers of deliciousness than a 6 foot Italian sub, was published everywhere. If you find yourself with nothing to do one weekend, here's a link: The Timpano Recipe (from 'Big Night')

In the 1993 version of Laura Esquivel's cult novel Like Water For Chocolate (directed by Alfonso Arau), a Mexican woman's hidden passion magically infuses the food she prepares, conveying a galaxy of emotions to those who eat it. For a kind of kitchen magic you're likely to have experienced in your own life, in Eat Drink Man Woman (1994), a beautiful and quietly funny film by the masterful Ang Lee, food is the medium through which a Taiwanese chef and his daughters communicate love. A few of the many other films that linger memorably over family meals: Pieces of April (2003, before Katie Holmes was half of TomKat) takes on Thanksgiving; George Tilman Jr.'s 1997 Soul Food looks at Sunday dinner; and of course there's My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002).

The chef-protagonist of Sandra Nettlebeck's 2001 German comedy/romance Mostly Martha (aka "Bella Martha") has distanced herself from family and freinds, and form all emotions but anger, until the guardianship of a suddenly orphaned niece forces her to think outside the icebox. Forced to share her restaurant kitchen and to experience life (and food) beyond her control, Martha opens herself up to the possibilities of being human. If the plot sounds familiar, it's because this is the original upon which Hollywood based the 2007 Catherine Zeta-Jones RomCom vehicle, No Reservations.

A different kind of female chef is the downtrodden widow who, while trying to establish the ultimate noodle shop, provides the through-line for the comedy bento box of food motifs that is Juzo Itami's 1985 Tampopo. For the pregnant Southern Waitress of Adrienne Shelly's 2007 indie gem, food - or at least pie - is a metaphor for practically everything.

And for a window into what the landscape was like in the world before The Food Network, check out Who Is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe? Based on the novel by Nan and Ivan Lyons, this 1978 comic mystery is a dated, slightly hokey, guilty pleasure. Each of the string of victims is found in his kitchen, and the grisly manner of death is related in some way to the chef's signature dish.

NONE of the films mentioned above should be watched on an empty stomach!

Discomfort Food

On the other hand, there is some foodie fare that might benefit from running on empty: cannibal movies.

Are you imagining Anthony Hopkins relishing "fava beans and a nice Chianti" (slurp slurp)? Or maybe remembering your favorite zombie flick? Sure those have their cannibal elements, but what I'm thinking of is the kind of story that turns tables on the foodie genre.

Eating Raoul, Paul Bartel's spoof of contemporary (1982) L.A. swingers features himself and Mary Woronov as a nice conservative couple who only want to be together and would kill to be able to open a restaurant. Literally. In the end, cannibalism is the only way to dispose of a most inconvenient corpse.

A different type of necessity drives the butcher of a Delicatessen (1991, France) on the ground floor of an apartment building. In this future dystopia, meat is incredibly scarce and people mysteriously disappear. Do the math. Then add the star-crossed love of the butcher's and the Chaplinesque outsider hired as a handyman (and future roast) to the complications of this darkly comic tale of survival.

Love and cannibalism figure again in Tim Burton's 2007 film of Stephen Sondheim's opéra bouffe Sweeney Todd. In 19th century London, Man is ground up by Machine (both industrial and political). Haunted and thirsting for vengeance, Mr. Todd slashes out. The adoring, but always practical, baker Mrs. Lovett observes that it "seems an awful waste" to just chuck the body out when she's got a dusty shop full of meatless meat pies. If injustice begets rage and hunger, which in turn beget a psychopathic spree of mass murder and recycling, "It's man devouring man, my dear, and who are we to deny it here?"

Peter Greenaway turns a lush eye on just about every human appetite in his gorgeous and very nasty 1990 fantasia The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover. The fabulous cast is lead by Michael Gambon (yes, there was life before "Dumbledore") as The Thief and Helen Mirren as His Wife, and includes appearances by both Tim Roth and Gary Oldman. Greed rules.

T.V. Dinner

I don't care about Michael Pollan's recent N.Y. Times condemnation of televised cooking as the spectator-sport-of-choice for a super sized population - I love foodie television. Pollan's demographic wisdom states that "how to" watchers are stay-at-home moms: while the rest of us kick back at night with our frozen pizza to watch other people eat what we wish was in front of us. Personally, I find it beyond boring to watch Guy Fieri chomp blissfully down on another huge portion of grease and/or carbs, and more boring still to hear his litany of empty catch phrases ("now that's what I'm talking about!" doesn't tell me a thing about the food other than, gee, he really likes it).

What I tune in to see is chefs, pâtissiers, etc. doing what they do best. The more they know what they're doing, the more I want to watch, and the more I'm running to hit the kitchen. No, I'm not likely to pit myself against another cook to see how many different things I can make out of an artichoke or to make a fabulous meal out of a basket of incompatible mystery ingredients. But I do love to cook and starting back with (yes), Julia Child, television chefs exposed me to new ingredients and unfamiliar cuisines. I learned new techniques (no one ever taught me to cut a "chiffonade" of basil - I saw it on T.V.), and continue to learn better ways to do the things I've been doing for years. I may be too tired to cook every night, but when I see Bobbie Flay do a mac-&-cheese "throw down," I may spend the next couple of months of weekends trying out a bunch of mac-&-cheese recipes to see which one I liked best.

To me, foodie T.V. is not only entertainment but education. I'm not the only one who thinks that - after all, PBS was arguably the first food network and they continue to produce some great shows. Today, several networks offer shows that literally cater to every taste. And don't forget that episodes of Julia's original television show, The French Chef, are now available on DVD. Learn a few tricks and, more importantly, learn to embrace the excitement of trying new things in the kitchen.

Bon Appétit!

Lori Berhon is a New York writer who once or twice a month plays hookey from working on her new novel to blog. Her occasional musings can be found @ Light Up The Cave. Her most recently completed novel, The Breast of Everything (which has nothing to do with food) is represented by Roger S. Williams of Publish or Perish Agency.

My Status: September was beyond busy. I hope October is less so. Fall is slowly coming to Southern California; cooler temperatures. Time to think about heartier food. More eating, writing, blogging coming soon.

Upcoming Posts: 'gleaning,' or the act of gathering public produce, or leftover farmer's market produce, and giving it to the poor, needy and hungry. A history of the movement, and those that are involved with it. Reviews: The Berghoff Cafe Cookbook and Cooking Light, a review of the redesign of the Time Inc. magazine.

Sonoma County

Sonoma County reminds me of France. I mean look at the above picture of Dry Creek Valley. It could easily have been taken in the south of France. The Languedoc maybe. Or Burgundy to the west even. It also has a lot of what makes France special. Great food, amazing wine, beautiful countryside. Sonoma County, the step-sister to the more well-liked, more popular Napa Valley, is my preference of the two. Slower, rougher, less populated but just as interesting in the areas of food and wine -- and it also has the stunning Sonoma Coast. So take that Napa Valley!

On a recent vacation to the area I was reminded how much folks in the Bay Area like to eat. I'd always known this; from living in San Francisco during the early 80s through the early 90s, and from working in the food and restaurant business. I sold cheese at Oakville Grocery -- the S.F. food emporium; I cooked at Jeremiah Tower's Santa Fe Bar & Grill in Berkeley; I helped Chef Tower open Stars restaurant in San Francisco; I met all the chefs and foodies in town; I ate at all the great restaurants in the area: Stars, Zuni Cafe, Chez Panisse, Square One, Masa's, Mustard's in Napa, on and on. It was a great time to eat in San Francisco. The food scene during that period was phenomenal. Once I'd left it and moved on, I missed it terribly.

Thankfully I was able to experience it again. Robert and I ate very well during our week's stay in Gureneville on the Russian River. I'd read about Zazu Restaurant & Farm, and Bovolo somewhere on the Internet and knew I wanted to try both. Both places are owned by married Chefs Duskie Estes and John Stewart; they also own the Black Pig Meat Co. where they make their own bacon and salumi from pigs that come from a sustainable hog operation, Pure Country Pork, in the Northwest. John is the salumist, studied with Mario Battali, and is responsible for the Black Pig meats, bacon and salumi that Zazu and Bovolo serve. Bovolo is a cafe inside a bookstore in Healdsburg, and Zazu is located on the edge of Santa Rosa and has a kitchen garden.

We ate at Zazu on a Wednesday night. The place was packed. The food was bliss. They describe themselves as a roadhouse restaurant serving playful Americana and Northern Italian inspired food. That is apt and I love the idea of an old-fashioned roadhouse. The place absolutely had that feel. Long and narrow; set just off the two-lane road; a dirt parking lot; and a counter with stools when you first walk in. We started with the Black Pig Salumi - 'Butcher's Plate'; four 'flavors' of salumi: backyard thyme, lomo, harissa, and felino served with pickled grapes. The salumi was rough and coarse and nicely fatty. The four preparations each distinctively different from the other without dwarfing the cured pork flavor of the meat. The pickled grapes? Really interesting -- little grape explosions in the mouth. We shared a "Caesar" -- romaine leaves with Vella dry jack and boccorones, or sardines. Robert had Seared Day Boat Scallops, Orzo Stuffed Squash Blossoms, Fennel Pollen, Backyard Tomatoes and Herbs. I had the Grilled Flat Iron Steak with Little Point Reyes Blue Cheese Ravioli, Ruby Chard. We ended with a house-made Chocolate Gelato with Scharfenberger Chocolate Sauce. I love cooking like this. Using local ingredients (as close as the kitchen garden); earthy and big in flavor and style. Somehow the food is exactly what should be served in the middle of wine country. European country cooking without being in Europe.

Bovolo was as good. The menu more simplified. The menu cover says 'Pizza, Gelato, Salumi.' They refer to the food as 'Slow Food... Fast.' Note the snail on their sign. I ate the World Famous Pork Cheek Sandwich with Roasted Peppers, Salsa Verde. The picture explains it better than I can. I'm still at a loss for words weeks later. The sandwich was served hot; the pork, the peppers and salsa verde all melded together into one crazily delicious taste sensation. These cooks know what they're doing. I also had the White Bean Salad -- spinach leaves, white beans, red onion in a green goddess-type dressing. Robert had the Farfalline Pasta Carbonara, Housemade Bacon, Farm Egg, Parmesan. It was the perfect wine country lunch. We'd spent an hour or so wandering around Healdsburg's town square and finished up sitting in Bovolo's garden eating this food. Napa Valley? Never heard of it.

The rest of the vacation wasn't quite as food-filled as described above. We had our moments of swimming and kayaking on the Russian River; bicycling around Gureneville, and just relaxing. But there is one other food related experience I do want to share. Guerneville, a very small resort town, happens to have a used bookstore. We were at the coffee place next door one day and wandered in. I asked the owner if he had any cookbooks and boy did he. Several shelves full and more coming. A local man who had a huge cookbook collection had died recently; the store owner bought the whole collection at the estate sale. I snatched these books up: 'Craig Claiborne's Kitchen Primer,' 'Beard on Pasta,' 'Food In Good Season' by Betty Fussell, 'James Beard's Treasury of Outdoor Cooking,' and probably my favorite 'La Cuisine de France - The Modern French Cookbook' by Mapie, the Countess de Toulouse-Lautrec! It's over 700 pages long. The copyright is 1964. She was only three years after Julia and 'Mastering The Art of French Cooking'. It's written in English; each recipe has the title in both English and French.

And I'm still not sure if there's any connection to the French painter Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec but there must be. I haven't had time to read through it yet. I'll report back. I couldn't leave without this book. The crowning moment in the used bookstore came when I noticed that the owner had a copy of 'Mastering The Art of French Cooking - Volume One' on a shelf behind the register. I asked about it. He said he hadn't had time yet to inventory, price and shelve it; he pulled it out and put it down on the counter in front of me. I opened it: there on the title page were three signatures, Julia Child, Simone Beck and Paul Child. The book was in pristine condition. He was asking $2,000 for it. I left without it. So that's it for my Sonoma County based food adventures for the moment. It's a magical place and I love it there. I can't wait to go again next year. Or sooner even.

In This Post: Zazu Restaurant & Farm, Bovolo, Black Pig Meat Co., Pure Country Pork

My Status: trying to get back on track after a wonderful vacation. More cooking, eating, dining out, writing and blogging. Thinking ahead to cooler fall weather and praying that the fires in Los Angeles end soon, and that there are not more of them.

Upcoming Posts: 'gleaning,' or the act of gathering public produce, or leftover farmer's market produce, and giving it to the poor, needy and hungry. A history of the movement, and those that are involved with it. Reviews: 'The Berghoff Cafe Cookbook' and 'Cooking Light,' a review of the redesign of the Time Inc. magazine.

Recipe: Ratatouille

I recently picked up Julia Child's cookbook 'Mastering The Art of French Cooking' again after a very long time. Fond, fond memories poured forth from the stained pages. The spine has come loose; the book is worse for wear. I could replace it with a fresh copy, one of the recent editions, but I probably won't. It's like a comfortable pair of jeans. Like an old friend. I looked at the copyright and was shocked to see that the edition I have is the twenty-ninth, and was published in 1977 -- the year I graduated from high school, and the year that I left home and family to go live with and cook for a French family in France. I actually used a copy of 'Mastering' that Madame Zundel, an American woman married to a Frenchman, had in her kitchen when I did the family's cooking. I wonder how many other Americans were introduced to French cooking in France while using Julia's cooking bible? I bought the book when I returned from France in 1978 so I have had it for thirty-one years. An old friend indeed.

Since I started the Auntie Em's produce delivery - where I get a nice selection of farmers market produce delivered to me once a week - I have been trying very hard to eat it all. To not throw anything out. And now in week five I have for the most part succeeded. The amount of fruits and vegetables I receive is more than enough for myself. If I didn't have Robert coming over a few times a week I probably wouldn't be able to eat it all. Between the two of us we manage to get through it. However, this last week I did have more than I knew we could handle. So I decided to make something that would use up all the vegetables I had: tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, zucchini and onions. Ratatouille has all those vegetables in it. It would also be a perfect summer dish as it can be eaten either hot or cold. I grabbed 'Mastering The Art,' flipped to the recipe for ratatouille, and spent an afternoon in the warm embrace of Julia. What could be more appropriate in what has seemingly become the unofficial month of Julia Child?

Here's the recipe:

RATATOUILLE
From 'Mastering The Art of French Cooking'

Serves 6-8

Preparation Time: 3-4 hours

Ingredients

1/2 lb. of eggplant
1/2 lb. of zucchini
7 Tb of olive oil, more if needed, as directed
1/2 lb. of yellow onions, thinly sliced
2 (about 1 cup) green bell peppers, sliced
2 cloves garlic, mashed
1 lb. firm, ripe, red tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and juiced
3 Tb parsley, minced
Salt and pepper, as directed

Peel the eggplant and cut into lengthwise slices 3/8-inch thick, about 3 inches long, and 1 inch wide. Scrub the zucchini, slice off the two ends, and cut the zucchini into slices about the same size as the eggplant slices. Place the vegetables in a 3-quart, porcelain or stainless steel mixing bowl and toss with 1 tsp. salt. Let stand for 3o minutes. Drain. Dry each slice in a towel.

In a 10- to 12-inch enameled skillet sauté, one layer at a time, the eggplant, and then the zucchini in hot olive oil for about a minute on each side to brown lightly. Remove to a side dish.

In the same skillet, cook the onions and peppers slowly in olive oil for about 10 minutes, or until tender but not browned. Stir in the garlic and season to taste.

Slice the tomato pulp into 3/8-inch strips. Lay them over the onions and peppers. Season with salt and pepper. Cover the skillet and cook over low heat for 5 minutes, or until the tomatoes have begun to render juice. Uncover, baste the tomatoes with the juices, raise the heat and boil for several minutes, until juice has almost entirely evaporated.

Place a third of the tomato mixture in the bottom of 2 1/2 quart fireproof casserole and sprinkle over it 1 tablespoon of parsley. Arrange half of the eggplant and zucchini on top, the half the remaining tomatoes and parsley. Put in the rest of the eggplant and zucchini, and finish with the remaining tomatoes and parsley.

Cover the casserole and simmer over low heat for 10 minutes. Uncover, tip casserole and baste with the rendered juices. Correct seasoning, if necessary. Raise heat slightly and cook uncovered for about 15 minutes more, basting several more times, until the juices have evaporated leaving a spoonful of flavored olive oil. Be careful of your heat; do not let the vegetables scorch in the bottom of the casserole.

Set aside uncovered. Reheat slowly at serving time, or serve cold.

Here's to Julia and, as she would say: Bon Appétit!

My Status: enjoying all the summer produce; writing, cooking, blogging and eating!

Upcoming Posts: The Wedge Salad: a recipe, the origins of the salad and of Iceberg lettuce. Review: 'The Barcelona Cookbook'.

Recipes from the Languedoc

Fourth of July weekend is the 'official-official' start of summer for a lot of Americans. Memorial Day sneaks up and, if you live on the East Coast, always seems to be either still wet, cold or both. The fourth is far enough into the summer to actually be summer. So let the summer eating and celebrating begin. Now it's really time to fire up the grill and to eat outdoors.

As promised in the last post, here are two recipes from our 'Menu for a Friday Evening at Soustres'; these spare ribs are a perfect summer dish. And there's nothing wrong with making a printanier of summer vegetables to go with them. The spare ribs, or coustillous, are part of the meat for the mixed grill we ate in France. They can be eaten alone, or you may do as we did and add chicken and sausage. The coustillous recipe is provided by Anne de Ravel of Saveur Languedoc and can also be found on her blog and website. The recipe includes harissa, a wonderful hot chili sauce of North African origins that I adore. It is the go-to hot sauce for the French, and quite different from most other hot sauces I have tasted. If you can locate some, you should give it a try. Most specialty food stores should carry it. If you are really adventurous, make a batch yourself! (Try a Google search for a recipe.)

Spare Ribs, or Coustillous

Provided by Anne de Ravel, Saveur Languedoc

Serves 6

Preparation time - 2-1/2 hours

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup white wine
  
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
• 4 scallions, green and white part, minced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 Tbsp. cilantro, minced
• 3 Tbsp. lemon balm, minced, or 1 stalk lemon grass, minced
• 1 Tbsp. fresh rosemary, chopped coarsely
• 1-2 tsp. harissa paste, or to taste (see note)
• 3 Lbs. slab spare ribs, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

Combine all the ingredients for the marinade in a mixing bowl. Wisk together. Place the spare ribs in a shallow glass baking dish. Pour the marinade over the meat, and turn to coat all sides evenly. Cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for about 2 hours.

When to ready to cook, preheat grill to medium hot, or check to be sure coals on a barbecue are medium hot (coals white in color). Remove the ribs from the refigerator, uncover and shake each piece gently to allow excess liquid to drain off. Grill for 5 to 6 minutes on each side, depending on thickness of the ribs. They should be fully cooked yet still juicy. Remove from the grill, and let rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Note: harissa is a Morrocan chili paste made from hot peppers and spices. If unavailable, you may use your favorite hot sauce to taste.

Printanier of Artichokes, Fava Beans and Peas

A printanier is a braise of vegetables. The vegetables used can vary; the one we made in France included artichokes, fava beans and peas. This was due in part to the fact that these vegetables were in abundant supply at the open air market when we went shopping for our meal. Artichoke season is just ending so be careful when buying fresh artichokes. The recipe can easily be altered using other seasonally available vegetables.

Adapted from 'Mastering The Art of French Cooking'

Serves 6 to 8

Preparation time - 2 to 2-1/2 hours

Ingredients

• 6 large artichokes
• 1 1/2 lbs. of fresh peas
• 2 lbs. of fava beans
• 1 cup diced onions
  
• 6 Tbsp. of olive oil
• 2 large cloves of garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup wine vinegar
• 1/2 cup dry white wine or dry white vermouth
• 1 1/2 cups water
• Fresh herbs; thyme, rosemary, or parsely, chopped fine
  
• Chives, chopped
  
• Salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

Rinse the artichokes. You will only be using the hearts of the plant; using a sharp knife cut 3/4 of an inch off the leaves thus removing the sharp stickers from the tips. Peel away most of the outer leaves until you expose the inner white parts. Cut the stem off completely at the base then cut each artichoke in half. Remove the fuzzy parts at the center with a knife. Peel down any remaining leaves. The goal is to end of up with the hard inner part, the heart, only. Cut the halves into about three lengthwise pieces each (see photo for size needed). Put all the pieces into a bowl with lemon juice and water. The acid keeps the artichokes from turning brown. Set aside.

Remove the fava beans from their outer pod. Blanch the beans in boiling water for a few minutes. Rinse with cold water, once cool enough to handle remove the peas from their outer shell by slitting the skin with a knife, or your finger nail, and gently squeezing the bean out. Set aside.

Shell the peas and set aside.

Using a large casserole, cook the onions slowly for 5 minutes in the olive oil without letting them color. Stir in the garlic. Arrange the artichokes in the casserole and baste with the onions and garlic. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cover the casserole and cook slowly for 10 minutes not allowing the artichokes to brown.

Pour in the vinegar and wine. Raise heat and boil until liquid is reduced by half. Next pour in the water. Add the herbs. Bring to a simmer. Cover the casserole and place in the middle of a preheated oven. Casserole should simmer for 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 hours, or until liquid has almost entirely evaporated. To prevent over cooking, half way through the baking process add the fava beans and peas to the casserole and stir gently together. Before removing from the oven poke an artichoke with a knife; it should give easily. If it doesn't let bake a little longer.

Before serving sprinkle the dish with the chopped chives.

Happy 4th and bon appétit!

My Status: home, blogging, cooking, missing Paris, eating, blogging, missing the Languedoc, dreaming of Barcelona... (yes, still!)

Upcoming Posts: Spain: yes, finally blog posts about Spain. The Wedge Salad: a recipe, the origins of the salad and of Iceberg lettuce. Review: 'The Barcelona Cookbook'.