Beautiful Birthday on the Bay

Saturday was absolutely gorgeous!  Could see out several miles into the Pacific Ocean, plus a clear view past the eastern bay area hills, north past San Francisco, and as far as the eye could see in the south bay area.

A dear friend wished to celebrate her 40th birthday riding a boat on the San Francisco Bay with many friends and her family.  With winning weather, we all had a wish-fulfilled time.

She ended her day with food, drinks and birthday cake at Blu Bungalow on Union Street in San Francisco.  Would guess she felt as good as the new Princess Catherine.

Royal Wedding

Some could stand not to watch the Royal Wedding, however I woke at midnight, unable to sleep.  Giddily began watching the live coverage PST in California at 2:15 a.m.  In past lives have wished to be a wedding coordinator (have done work in this capacity), and fashion designer (have only done personal work in this capacity).  When the engagement of Prince William of Wales to Kate Middleton was announced, immediately my wheels began turning about what she would wear.


Certainly she would not use her usual style for the wedding--this dress will be viewed hundreds of years from now.  Therefore it could not scream 2011.  Thought if she knew about the scope of history, and the part she might play, then she should go back to historical Royal Wedding dresses and modernize to suit her tastes (it could not be 100% her tastes alone).  A month before the wedding I sketched this dress (mixing some of today's fashion elements with vintage R.W. dresses).  Told my husband a few hours before the wedding, thought that Kate would wear ivory/off white (after all, the couple were together nine years before they were married).

When her dress was finally viewed just before 3 a.m., was happily surprised I had some of the elements correct.  Since Princess Grace of Monaco's wedding dress is widely considered the #1 Royal Wedding dress of all time, thought that Kate might try to do it better.  Again, good educated guess.  Catherine Middleton did a good job, and doubt that she could have done better--she looked beautiful.  Believe she is a close second, but did not knock Princess Grace from her #1 spot.

The Royal Wedding cake was pure perfection.  My South African boss said it is tradition to save the top layer of cake for the first-born's baptism, and the second to the top layer for the first wedding anniversary.  Thought those are sweet notions.

Worked Friday after watching the Royal Wedding followed by a couple of hours of sleep (though spent much of the day discussing the royal wedding with coworkers).

Groom's Chocolate Biscuit Cake

Sunset Magazine Tour

Via a charity auction we were lucky enough to visit the Sunset Magazine headquarters in Menlo Park, CA.  The President, Barbara Newton toured a group around the 7 acre grounds (there are 6 additional acres across the street).  She explained that Sunset Magazine began in the very late 1800's, was owned by two generations of the Lane family, and was finally sold to Time Warner.  Sunset encompasses everything great about the Western United States.

Publishing headquarters for Sunset magazine was built in the 1950's, and designed in a one-story Spanish Mission-style.  It is gorgeous!

The above photo was taken in the "test" garden, an area where a lot of photo sites are set-up, torn down and changed often.  Liked the concept of a rock garden with pretty plants interspersed--a good way to spice up our own rock garden.

In the back, back lot we saw the green house.  Liked the view of just how much work and organization goes into plants for the magazine.

For their "one block feast" book and idea, they began raising bees.  Here are the hives, with busy bees buzzing to and from the moated hives.

Here the outdoor kitchen with every imaginable outdoor kitchen want or need.  Under the market umbrella is the "wine counter," named such because the countertop is made of crushed wine bottles and concrete.  This area is featured in their upcoming June 4-5 Sunset Celebration Weekend.

A private wine cellar features reclaimed wood from a Mendocino barn.  Very much enjoyed seeing and hearing about this fantastic magazine.

NEW CSA Season!

First week of the 2011 Regular Season 4/6/11

Live Earth Farm CSA

What did we do with it?

Fish with fennel, sauteed greens with brown rice

toast, grilled cheese sandwiches

apple snacks

three meals worth of chicken salads (lettuce, beets, onion)

Second week CSA 4/13/11

What are we doing with it?

First night:  CSA broccoli (from last week), CSA onion and CSA mushroom with eggs and egg whites (left over from making creme brulee) frittata; buttered CSA toast and oranges from auntie's backyard.

Plans for a community vegetable soup for this coming Friday.

Some carrots and apples will be enjoyed as snacks.

Will definitely create some salads with the beautiful lettuce.

Festive (Italian) Easter Bread

My husband remembers these pretty, festive breads at Easter time, given to him by his Sicilian stepmom.  What child wouldn't enjoy?  

Good for the St. Joseph's Table as well.

Festive Easter Bread

recipe brought from Sicily by Lorenza G. in 1954

edited by Gourmet Girlfriend 2001

1 teaspoon (or 1 package) active dry yeast

1/4 cup warm water

1 stick butter

2/3 cup sugar, or more if desired

1/2 cup warm milk

3 eggs, plus 3 more (colored) raw eggs for decoration

1 tablespoon vanilla

zest of one lemon

4 1/2 to 5 cups flour

1 pinch salt

In a bowl sprinkle yeast in warm water and let it sit to proof until foamy.  Cream together butter and sugar.  Add milk, 3 eggs, vanilla and zest.  Mix well.  Stir in flour and salt.  Work the mixture with hands until it comes together and is soft and sticky.

Place in a greased bowl; cover tightly with plastic wrap and place in a warm place to rise. When double in size, turn it out onto a floured surface.  Roll out the dough into 1/4" thickness.  

Cut out dove shapes (or basket shapes, etc.) and place a 'whole uncooked egg in the shell' (may be dyed like an Easter egg) onto the dove.  Place a strip of dough (or braid) over the egg to ensure the egg will stay in place (again, dough strip may be done in a decorative fashion).  Optionally have seen three long strips braided around 3-5 raw eggs and formed into a wreath, or a straight braid with 3 raw decorated eggs placed in a 'loaf' fashion.

Bake 35 to 40 minutes in a 350 degree Fahrenheit oven.

Optional:  When cool, brush on a smooth, thin icing (1 pound of powder sugar and 1/4 cup of milk) and shake on candy sprinkles.

Bread of St. Joseph "Vuccidrato Pane di San Guisseppe"

2011 St. Joseph's Table
Looked all over the internet and did not see this particular recipe, some close, but none for this quantity.  This recipe makes enough dough for 3 large loaves (the size of at-home cookie sheets).

Bread of St. Joseph
brought to California by Lorenza G. from Sicily in 1954
edited by Gourmet Girlfriend ~2001


1 quart (4 cups) warm water
2 packages dry yeast
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons salt
3 eggs, plus 2 beaten eggs for the egg wash to brush bread
1/2 cup light-colored oil (like canola oil)
16 cups bread flour (almost a 5 pound bag)


Pour yeast into warm water to proof for 7-10 minutes in a large bowl.  Add into the large bowl and mix well:  sugar, salt, 3 beaten eggs, and oil.  Slowly mix in the flour by hand.  Knead dough until smooth.  In a large oiled bowl, place the dough, cover and let rise in a warm place until twice the volume.


Preheat the oven to 400 degrees fahrenheit.  Cut the dough into thirds.  Shape each piece into a rope, then twist like a braid.  Bring the ends together and secure, shaping a braid ring (or any shape).  Make shallow cuts 1 1/2" apart around the outside of the ring (easy to do with scissors).  Place on a greased baking sheet and let it rise in a warm spot (like on top of the preheated oven) until double in size.


With 2 beaten eggs (mixed with 2 tablespoons of water), brush egg wash all over the bread and place the bread in the oven.  Twice more during baking, brush the bread again with the beaten egg.  Bake a total of 30 to 40 minutes until golden brown.

St. Joseph's staff, hammer and a cross

St. Joseph's Table

Doing a St. Joseph's Table has a purpose.  It is most basically, the Italian version of the American Thanksgiving.  The Table is rich in meaning and has significance for those who create one.  A nun once told me, “There is no such thing as a coincidence.”  Another said, “only 'God-incidences.'”  Traditional Sicilians and Sicilian-Italian-Americans create meaning-laden St. Joseph's Tables to give thanks for blessings granted.  Having received many blessings, I volunteered to create one at a church.

St. Joseph's Table was introduced to me almost a decade ago by my husband's Sicilian stepmother.  This was the first year I've helped, or put one together.  When I offered to do one, had very little notion about it.  We were in hubby's hometown twice to see my stepmother-in-law put one on, and that was it.  She said each had taken her three months' of work.  Now her heath prevents her from creating her own, and she passed the tradition on to me.

Did a lot of online research, called and visited many bakeries asking if they could make the shaped-breads and colorful cookies I'd seen.  My favorite Italian cookie that my stepmother-in-law makes is a lemon/orange cookie--knew that was the one item I would bake for the table.

Stepmother-in-law had piles of handwritten recipes.  Nine years ago, I agreed to type and organize the recipes.  A cookbook was presented to stepmother-in-law for Christmas shortly thereafter.  Mistake in her name on the cover, resulted in an extra kept cookbook.  Leafing through it for the citrus cookie recipe came across the Calabrian Easter Bread and St. Joseph's Bread recipes.  (Earlier posts detail the baking.)

By chance, did not feel well on Friday and rested.  Saturday morning rolled around with me doubling over every so often with intestinal pain.  Held off leaving as late as possible, but kept in mind the Table needed to get done!

As the Sicilians believe, "St. Joseph will provide."  Arrived and began with my sweet husband's help, to put the room and table together.  Many small mishaps, though the Table came together.  At every turn, someone offered help (seemingly out of the woodwork).  Planned to have this year be a solo table, but it really turned into a community effort (as they are suppose to).

Throughout the process of making the St. Joseph's Table, had help and backing.  When the table finally came together, it was relatively small, and quietly sensational.  Seeing the happy honored faces; eating good food; seeing the community support; meeting a number of parishioners and hearing their stories added to the beauty of the event.  Many people left happy.

This whole experience of community, through the temporary St. Joseph's Table immersion, has colored my world with a different type of blessing.  Grazie San Giuseppe!

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.