The different faces of entertaining

When we entertain, the purpose many times sets the pace, menu and even the décor.

Sometimes we entertain to impress somebody about our culinary abilities, or we do it for ourselves to satisfy a craving or curiosity.

Sometimes we do it to get closer to our company, after all company comes from “con pane” or “with bread”, to eat together. Sometimes we do it for business purposes or for learning something. It is only Shakespeare who entertains for revenge (cf. Titus).

The purpose of entertaining sets the type of dish we will prepare. If we want to get closer to somebody we will choose a dish that can be ready before hand and served easily as to have time to converse and share the experience with them as we partake the food.

 

This is the approach I took when last week winemakers David Noyes  and Mark Lyon dropped by. We were to taste wonderful white wines, mostly Sauvignon Blanc and one Chardonnay. My choice was Trout “au” Roquefort. I also prepared a nice tomato and onion salad and we had a nice berries sorbet for dessert.

After that (if you can believe it), we walked the vineyards.

David Noyes was comign back from Mendocino County where he checked his personal label Tocai Friulano. Another great italian variety that has success in California. 

"At Kunde we keep improving our vineyard management and every year we are better" David Noyes  

Don Luis gave us onions! Notice how rich the soils is around here. The onion patch is very close to the Barbera lot, yet the soil is very different. Mark Lyon: The vines are planted according to the terroir. The Barbera plot is very gravely and close to the river controlling the growth and moderating the temperature. The result is a great Barbera! 

Checking the Barbera: This year we had some "spring fever" ( due to lack of sun and warm weather during growing segment) but is all gone now ...looking good! and larger crop too! 

Tomato Onion Salad with Killer Salad dressing. Simple enough? Read on for details! 

For this salad always cut the onion in sections and rinse them in lukewarm water. The shape makes them taste better with the tomato and the rinsing takes away that pesky onion aftermath. 

Tomato Onion Salad is great for summer time. These two little tricks make it much more enjoyable! 

The stuffing for the trouts is simple: grated bread, roquefort, gogonzola, chopped parsley, white wine, your fav spices and a bit of olive oil. While stuffing the trouts press to form a solid stuffing. 

Grilled trouts: High heat and baste with lemon juice. 

A simple menu: "Grilled trout au roquefort" and tomato onion salad. Looks good tastes better.  

Sauv Blanc is here!: Laughin Raven Sauv Blanc 2004 will be bottled in the next two weeks! At $13 per bottle is the best Bordeaux style Sauv Blanc you can buy. Elegant oak, a touch of Semillon and all the citrusy spirit of Alexander Valley!. And we can ship now, Thank you Supreme Court!. Taking orders at 707 894 2897 and at lravenwine@aol.com. 

"The killer salad dressing"

I was surprised this weekend when I received great compliments from friends Yvonne and Ken about the salad dressing.

Well, here it goes. In the blender put ½ cup of olive oil (make it your personal favorite olive oil), a clove of garlic, ¼ cup of wine vinegar, ½ cup of balsamic vinegar, some parsley,oregano, pepper salt, (at your taste level) and some of the tomato you were thinking of putting in the salad as well as one full tablespoon of apricot jam or jelly.

Shake it up to a smooth consistency and pour on the salad.   

Gira Polli in Mill Valley is a great place to dine. You can take out and stay home too, but with this parking lot and outdoor patio....it's the easy way and the great food that makes it a great place. Traditional dishes are great and the tiramisu is made with real mascarpone cheese! One of the best I've tried. 

Gira Polli is one of my favorite restaurants in the area. It is located at 590 Blithdale Avenue, in Mill Valley. The roasted chicken is cooked on almond wood flames and constantly smothered in citrus juices. You will not find a better chicken!. Michele, the owner, makes sure that every chicken is done just right. 

A favorite first dish: Polenta and Shallots. The shallots cooked in a wine sauce (note the leftover from previous week) and the polenta is brwoned in olive oil with a bit of ricotta cheese on top. It's quick, pretty, and light. 

peel and cook the shallots in a heavy pan. 

Slice the cold polenta tube in discs. 

Cook the shallots in a pan separate from teh polenta. First braise the shallots then add wine leftovers. Flip the polenta discs at least one and brown in both sides. If you like you can add garlic, pepper salt etc. 

I used some parsley sticks and tarragon leaves over the ricotta cheese to garnish. 

I shared the polenta and shallots with Bill and Ken. The main sich was roasted chicken and vegetables. 

A young plant for lateron this season and next. 

It's better to plant new parsley in late spring. The plants last two seasons, in the second season you will have flowers and stems but still quite a bit of leaves. If you cut the flowers it will last longer. 

My friend Bill visited me from DC. We went to Sebastiani. We had a simple turkey sandwich and a glass of Pinot. It was a Carneros 2002, dark, rich and full of blueberries. I highly recommend it. 

Weed and Grass Galore!

In Sonoma County the soils are very rich. The water is abundant in winter time. In February the sun rays arrive less oblique and more powerful. Then is when flora starts to awake and the light green of new growth is everywhere.

But [and there is always a but] a big portion of all that wonderful green comes from weeds and grass. Weeds do take over and they are everywhere. I do remember when I arrived for the first time (it was November) and I asked: “what do you do with all the grass?”

There are a few that are particularly obnoxious. And one should be very careful not to become obsessed with the compulsion of pulling them all. This time of the year is particularly bad because there is still quite a bit of moisture and the sun is strong. It’s weed time!

Let’s see ….in my short list of hated flora we find “crab grass” (Digitaria sanguinalis), wild oats (Avena fatua) and –my personal arch-nemesis Johnson grass (Sorghum halepense).

The previous owner of my property had planted bamboo in the field and for the moment I took over it was a mound of roots and canes covering a one hundred square yards. The war was merciless but I won that one. No more bamboo. With Johnson grass the situation is different: I will never win. The best I can do is to keep it down while I have the energy. I try to dig as much as possible to avoid using Roundup. Sometimes fury takes over and I spray some….

In comparison with Johnson grass wild oats and crab grass are a piece of cake, easy as pie, trivial.

Another war that I won was against blackberry (Rubus procerus). Yes, sounds delicious and wonderful until you realize that this plant has taken over the front lawn and killed most things in its path. The thing with blackberry is that not only spreads by root but also by branches. Wherever a branch touches the soil, it spreads roots. The discovery I made is that the best way to get rid of it is to cut it close to the soil and put a drop of Roundup on the cane itself. After a while the roots die and if they come back they are not as powerful as they used to be.

Johnson grass is different, if you try to pull it, it will brake leaving a rich bunch of rhizomes in the soil. It reminds me to the movie “Alien”. ARGH!

 

Feel free and volunteer in my quest: Pull some grass out!

Digitaria 

Grass Weed? 

Yours truly ...