St. Joseph's Table Preparation II

Spent today baking for the St. Joseph's Table next Saturday.  Friday after work shopped for the baking items.  Funnily enough, Whole Foods was completely out of bread flour--not in bags, not in bulk foods.  They must have underestimated the number of people wishing to bake bread from scratch this weekend.
The Sicilians began St. Joseph's Table in the middle ages to honor St. Joseph whom they believe interceded on their behalf.  They were having a terrible drought and no crops would grow, but they prayed and vowed if rain came to help their crops they would give a feast in celebration to honor God and St. Joseph.  Rains came, so they gave thanks by helping the poor with items from the harvest.
Followed the same game plan as last Sunday, however today took half as long.  Began by making Lemon Cookies.

While the Lemon Cookies cooled, mixed the dough for Calabrian Easter Bread.  Easter Bread was set aside to rise, and then mixed the dough for St. Joseph's Table Bread.  By then the Easter Bread was ready to form and bake.  Today the green colored raw eggs were put into a basket shape.

As the Easter Bread baked, iced the Lemon Cookies.  As last Sunday; red, white and green; the color of the Italian flag.  Except the icing was darker, so it reminded me of the Mexican flag colors instead.  

The Lemon Cookies with icing dried, the Calabrian Easter Bread cooled, then the SJT Bread was formed, went for a second rising and then baked.  This time the shapes were a pineapple for hospitality, a fish for lent/disciples, and a Sacred Heart of Jesus.  Could not decide what shape to make the last loaf, and so settled on the Sacred Heart of Jesus.  Think it came out well, and taught me that the bread can really be put into any shape one wishes.

Pineapple

raw fish

baked fish

Sacred Heart of Jesus in St. Joseph's Table Bread

On Friday the fourth of March made chicken noodle soup for charity.  To cover the next few days of soup, on Tuesday the eighth of March shopped for, and cut up four zip-lock bags worth of vegetables.  On Wednesday the ninth of March made vegetable rice soup for coworkers and a church group for Ash Wednesday.  On Friday repeated the process for Lenten soup supper with Stations of the Cross.  It will be a while before feel like making soup again, so we had croque madame sandwiches for dinner tonight with CSA broccoli (still good from two weeks ago!)

Community Supported Agriculture Week 8

Hubby picked up the Community Supported Agriculture for week 8.  It looked delicious with the smallest head of cauliflower.

Saturday we took Mike and Kara Dunn's newest venture:  2007 Retro Petite Sirah from Napa Valley grapes, to the California coast.  Walked past a low-rise rock covered with seals.

A roast of pork was put in the oven for 6 hours, slow cooking a sweet-and-spicy "pulled" pork.  Using the CSA vegetables (and an everything but the kitchen sink mentality) created a surprisingly delicious "barbeque."

The liquid from the braise made a wonderful sauce.  I looked around to see what I could use up in the refrigerator and cupboards (it worked!):

1 1/2, 750ml bottles of Retro Petite Sirah Napa Valley

3/4, 375ml bottle of Vista Del Rey Vineyard Barbera Dessert Wine (leftover from many weeks ago)

10 oz Heinz Organic Tomato Ketchup

1/2, 730ml bottle Mae Ploy sauce

16 oz homemade Pepper Jelly

1 tbsp CSA Apricot Jam

6 oz honey-like homemade Apricot Jam

4 medium CSA leeks, cleaned and rough chopped

12 small CSA Fuji apples

1 bn CSA kale

1/2 bn CSA celery

1 large full pork butt roast

1 cup homemade Mexican Mole sauce

liberal amounts of salt and pepper

Three Day Weekend

To begin the three day weekend, Martin Luther King, Jr's birthday is Federally celebrated on Monday; my goal was to relax, get some chores done (that I'd been putting off), use the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA), and spend time with friends.  Toward relaxing I picked up some groceries, including whole crab, and some DVD movie rentals.


"The Last Station" was an interesting film about love, economic equality among people, and ideals (peaceful protest) at the end of Leo Tolstoy's life.  Had no idea that Tolstoy was such an interesting figure, and made the movie my tribute to MLK, Jr. for the weekend.  The movie was much, much more enjoyable than our second movie called "Cyrus" (comedians playing serious rolls?).  Later note:  Cyrus received critical acclaim, I like my comedians funny.


Finished most of the chores I set out mentally on Friday's drive home.  After eating the crab, I sliced the beautiful Poilane-like bread (really enjoy the CSA Companion Baker's Bread), and topped it with the strawberry-ginger apple sauce from Happy Girl Kitchen, Co. through our CSA, for dessert.  Felt good about putting a small dent into the weekly CSA.

A Happy Ad Hoc New Year's Eve to You!

The real reason we were in Napa around the end of 2010 and the beginning of 2011 was to dine at my favorite Ad Hoc restaurant with long-time friends.  Originally mother-in-law was to join, so brother-in-law generously donated his timeshare Thursday night for the cause.  The indecisive weather covered us with a cap of clouds, a strong sun trying to shine through, and a band of clear sky along the horizon.  It added to the mystery of the last day of 2010.

Hubby needed a drink thirty minutes before our reservation so we took a seat at the bar in Ad Hoc.  He gulped down champagne to start his New Year's Eve, inhaling immediate relaxation.  Then our glamorous friends and their traveling stuffed turtle joined us for dinner.

TJ the Turtle browsing the night's menu

endive, watercress, pear, candied walnut, blue cheese and bacon bit salad

a pile of beef wellington, just foraged chanterelle mushrooms and truffled mashed potatoes

broccolini with hollandaise sauce

Tomme de Recollets, 12 lucky grapes, and pistachio butter on toast 

coconut brittle, tangerine sorbet, fudge brownie on something creamy

Visited some surprised friends on Howell Mountain and drank mapley-sweet chocolaty rum.  At Summit Lake Vineyards joined friends for a game of Wit and Wagers with the adults, then gathered the teenagers to watch the New Year's 2011 ball and large snowflakes fall.

Happy New Year 2011 !

Omakase Morimoto Napa

Met up with my husband when he finished work on Thursday.  A zippy trip through San Francisco and up to Napa landed us on-time for dinner reservations at Morimoto Napa.  This is the only one of Masaharu Morimoto's restaurants that he owns without investors.  Perhaps the chef will retire to Napa--not a bad idea.

Being our first time there (the restaurant opened back in August 2010), went with the variety of the Omakase.  Omakase is Japanese for telling the chef "it's up to you"--i.e. chef's choice.  Morimoto is a great chef with whom to leave your Japanese meal decision.

Started with the bluefin tuna tartare (toro).  Using the metal spatula scooped the toro and added one of the six accompaniments, deliciously sustainable and beautiful.

Greater Amberjack

Greater Amberjack (kanpachi) came next.  It was ever so slightly cooked, virtually raw and very edible (this means something coming from someone not initially adventurous with sushi).

A temperately hot (melted butter with garlic over a candle) sauce served fondue-style called bagna cauda (an idea from northern Italy) arrived.

Based on the premise of being "steamed in a teacup," a chawan mushi egg custard with duck went down smoothly on the cold night.

We spoke with three tables on either side of us.  One couple visited from San Diego, another from Seattle, the third from Oakland.  The San Diego couple offered us free tasting coupons to Bounty Hunter.  The Seattle couple swapped "good eats" stories.  He strongly suggested the next time I visit my brother in Seattle to go to Paseo and order the pork sandwich.  Really, all were simply adding to the boisterous atmosphere of Morimoto.

The palate cleanser of kombu green tea did very little but salt my palate a bit, though the presentation was cute.

Artistically, carefully created sushi laid out was the best tasting and formed sushi consumed.  Next time at Morimoto I'll order simply the superb sushi.  The soy sauce is made in-house.

Our main course of surf, turf and turf included lobster balanced with cream, beef and pork belly.  The cream sauce for the lobster made something already wonderful over-the-top appetizing.

Dessert of frozen Japanese apricot ume and toasted rice mousse came with pomegranate sorbet and toasted rice bran shortbread.  With the calorie count ratcheting up, didn't think it necessary to finish the half-spheres of frozen mousse.  The restaurant mills their own rice, so instead of throwing out the rice bran, they use it well in the crisp shortbread.

Not sure when we'll be back to dine at Morimoto, so we ordered the donuts for dessert, too.  They were quite a treat.  

Our neighboring table couldn't finish their ice cream sandwiches, and offered us a taste.  The trio included (left to right) dark chocolate with tangerine, peanut butter milk chocolate, and the girls' favorite kaffir lime with white chocolate sandwich.

Morimoto opening a restaurant in Napa saved us a flight to Philadelphia, PA.  We've admired him from afar on Iron Chef Japan.  It will be lovely to see him in his Napa restaurant in the future.

Advent Afternoon Tea

Drove Friday night to my hometown to host a table at the Eighth Annual United Methodist Womens' Advent Tea where 100% of the proceeds go toward charitable endeavors.  It takes 45 volunteers to serve up to 150 guests.  Though I was a little fuzzy on what I was suppose to do (it was my first time hosting a table for this event), I learned quite a bit about serving a huge group of people a wonderful tea.

At 8 a.m. I showed up ready to set-up my 8' long table for 8 people.  Knowing that my tablecloth was dusty rose, it was interesting to walk into a room filled with red and green.  My consolation was that one of the Advent candles is pink:  my table was not necessarily Christmas-y, though it was a nice afternoon tea table.  

The room looked so beautiful; and reflected the time, effort, energy and love that came from all the volunteers.  It is a wonderful event, and an unbelievable amount of work.

1.)  Tables are set-up (by helpful husbands) and set (by assigned table hosts) on Thursday.

2.)  A volunteer made recipe cards of items served at the tea for every guest, and every volunteer, to keep as take-home gifts (with color-coordinated decorative bands).

3.)  Two women cleaned and prepared fruit and then hand-placed fruit salad into table-specific bowls/plates for the first course.

4.)  A team of volunteers cleaned dishes all day long.  Another team of volunteers helped prepare and plate tea sandwiches and desserts.  Each sandwich-making volunteer brought 175 tea sandwiches; and each dessert maker brought 175 of their individual dessert.  (bright idea:  assemble desserts onsite to prevent marring cute treats)

5.)  Second course was four tea sandwiches per person.

6.)  Third, a blueberry orange scone (4 volunteer scone makers) with cream and lemon/orange curd.

7.)  Finally four small desserts delighted guests.  Decaffeinated Earl Grey tea was served before, during and after every course.

8.)  After guests from the 11 a.m. first seating vacated, the table hosts reset their tables for the 2 p.m. second seating, and the process started again!

9.)  The Grace of "Silent Night" was sung by the entire gathering to begin each tea.

I paid attention to the proceedings as I wished to recreate this event where I live, however it's too large an undertaking.  Mom's under the impression it might not be as successful in the Bay Area.  It's too bad, because it's a lovely way to begin the Advent season.  Our version apparently is the "Ladies' Christmas Dinner," which is a dinner for over 100 women in a restaurant.

CLEAN UP

This large community event will likely morph into an intimate afternoon tea for a dozen as a fundraiser.  We'll have to keep going home to enjoy the largest afternoon tea I've experienced.