by bookmarcus

Fatted Calf Foray

I couldn’t resist emailing this to Brian, Eric, Carol, Sarah and Paula.

“These guys know how to throw a book signing. If I were still in SF…”
Marcus

Fatted Calf Newsletter September 19, 2013
At The Table

What better way to celebrate the publication of our book, In The Charcuterie, then to join at the table with friends and colleagues for a leisurely lunch? And what better table than the one under the arbor at Robert Sinskey Vineyards in Napa! Rob and Maria Sinskey, huge supporters of The Fatted Calf, generously offered up their stunning digs.

stunning digs

Sinskey Chef, Erin Ramsey, laid out quite a feast for us, including some Fatted Calf favorites. There were pork rillettes toasts topped with nectarine mostarda, thin slices of finocchiona accompanied by marinated olives and green tomato chutney, and the pièce de resistance, plump sausage and fig stuffed quail roasted in the wood oven. Tasting Room Manager, Jennifer Gallagher, poured glass after glass of perfectly matched vintages of organic and biodynamic Sinskey wine (while professing her love of liverwurst). Good food, great wine and good people made for a memorable day.
Come make some happy memories of your own. Join us this coming Sunday, September 22, at Robert Sinskey Vineyards from 11 am to 3 pm. We’ll be preparing some meaty bites, enjoying a glass of one of our favorite wines and signing copies of In The Charcuterie. Reservations can be made through Robert Sinskey Vineyards.

Brian fired back:
Why don’t we go? Leave yer place at 8-ish, get there as the thing’s getting started, good food & wine, good-looking book, chance to chat with FC folk, stroll around the grounds a bit, and be home in time for a light supper (after what should be a rich FC spread). It’s $50 each with the book, $35 without. On normal days, it’s $25 just for wine-tasting with nibbles.

I checked with Carol… She doesn’t want to spend Sunday car-riding. Said she will babysit Tuzik. I called the Sinskey Winery and made reservations for me and Brian, hoping they wouldn’t be sold out.

The newsletter went on…

Want to skip the read and head straight to the table? Visit The Fatted Calf table at the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market this Saturday and pick up some rillettes, finocchiona and fig and sausage stuffed quail for a feast of your very own.

Anytime I’m in San Francisco, I stock up on stuff from Fatted Calf… Just can’t get that stuff in Reno. So after the event, Brian and I did just that… not at Ferry Plaza but at the Fatted Calf shop at Oxbow Market in Napa. I got me some duck crepinettes, fennel sausages, sausage and fig stuffed quail, greens sausages, a slice of Terrine Forestiere and packs of Sugo di Carne. Brian did similar.

colonnade bordering parking lot

We got there minutes before noon and I was surprised to find empty parking spaces near the door. Inside, the tasting bar was packed. We passed by that to the open kitchen and back garden with a white marble bar. Tables under the arbor were provided a stunning view of a massive stone wall and vineyards above and behind.

the view from my table

Several folks milled around the bar laden with delectable food. Brian and I were still getting our bearings when the woman behind the bar offered a glass of Abraxas, a white wine blend of Riesling, Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc and Gewürztraminer. Yum. I took a plate and a meaty item or two and found a nice seat.

one of my many samplings of food and wine

Again, I was surprised that there were only about 20 people there, but glad that we were uncrowded and unhurried. The day was a spectacular late summer Napa day; they hardly get better than that. We easily fell into a routine of going for the next wine, picking up some foodie goodies, and sitting to enjoy. Four wines were being poured, a Vin Gris of Pinot Noir, a Pinot Noir and POV (Point of View), a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot; the classic Bordeaux blend. My favorite was the Vin Gris of Pinot Noir and I bought a bottle to enjoy with my own food at home.

no caption needed

just in from the kitchen

From time to time, a young woman would come out of the kitchen with a plate of hors d’oeuvresy things — duck sausage skewered on a stalk of lemongrass, a cube of lamb skewered with a shiny green blistered padron pepper… good ol’ Brian knows how to pick an event.

raison d’etre

As Taylor and Toponia were signing my book, I said, “Fatted Calf goodies are good enough to buy and eat at home, but to have them served, perfectly prepared, in such a place as this, is a heavenly experience.”

Back on I-80, our Sunday afternoon eastbound lanes were lightly occupied while the westbound lanes to the Bay Area were packed. Brian and I agreed that the Food and Wine experience was well worth the drive. We were home about six, in time to watch Football Night in America on a slight tape delay and eat some Terrine Forestiere.

09.20.13

by bookmarcus

Whiskey Piggy

One dinner, three more meals…

From time to time, Sierra Canyon has a dinner and show deal. The show in this case was GREASE at the El Dorado Showroom. Bus picks us up, Tuesday at 5pm, takes us to the El Dorado, we eat at our choice of the Buffet, La Scala or the Roxy Steakhouse. Fixed price for dinner and show plus drinks. The Roxy was only $10 per person more than the Buffet, so we chose that. We had eaten at La Scala a couple of times.

This is about my meal(s). I ordered the pork chop called Whiskey Piggy.

Bourbon Whole Grain Mustard Marinated Center Cut Pork Chop — Pork Belly Greens — White Cheddar Bacon Mac & Cheese — Whiskey Glazed Pink Lady Apples (menu description)

Unstacked, so I could get at the food. The ball of Mac & Cheese on the right is breaded, deep fried and wrapped with the aforementioned greens.

The dinner was way good, served with bacon cheese bread to die for, but somehow, I didn’t manage to finish.

This is dinner at home the next day. All that we added to the Roxy meal was yellow beans. I made an identical plate for Carol. Not quite as pretty, but quite as tasty.

I didn’t take a picture, but today (Friday) I had the leftovers of that for lunch. Still good. All gone.

09.19.13

by bookmarcus

EGG Grilling

Wings and Fish on the Big Green Egg

I bought the Big Green Egg Cookbook, but it doesn’t seem to have recipes for things we like to cook and eat. By including my adapted recipes here, I can share them and know where to find them.

Seems like I’ve done nothing but grilling, lately. That’s not a bad thing. We’ve fallen into a cycle: Shop for food to grill, adapt recipes to the Big Green Egg, grill food, eat leftover grilled food, pull something out of the freezer to grill, go shopping.

This is about three recent meals; foods we love and with which we are familiar, but for various reasons we’ve never cooked them on the grill. Now is the time.

Chicken Wings
Cajun Catfish
Whole Petrale Sole

CHICKEN WINGS
Love chicken wings. Of course, they are a sports bar staple and I eat plenty of them there, but I rarely cook them at home. I don’t deep fry. When I do wings at home, I bake them, but that’s barely satisfactory.

So, I was delighted to see “The Key to a Truly Great Chicken Wing: Grill It.” by Mark Bittman in the September 1, 2013 NY Times Magazine.

He starts the way many grilling recipes start:

“Heat a charcoal or gas grill; the fire should be moderately hot and the rack 4 to 6 inches from the heat. Leave one side of the grill cooler for indirect cooking.
Put the wings on the cool side of the grill. Cover the grill, and cook, checking and turning once or twice, until most of the fat has been rendered and the wings are cooked through, 15 to 20 minutes.

While the wings cook, make your sauce.

When the wings are cooked, put them in a large bowl with the sauce, and toss to coat. Now put the wings on the hot part of the grill, and cook, uncovered, turning as necessary, until they’re nicely browned on both sides.”

That’s fine, but in my Big Green Egg, the fire is nine inches from the rack and I can’t build a 2 level fire, but I can control the temperature in the EGG.

What to do? Fool the wings into behaving the way MB wants. Continue reading →

09.03.13

by bookmarcus

TROUT

We ate the best meal served in Reno last night.

I popped into Raley’s to get some Kind Bars on sale and use the bank machine. I always go by the fish counter to see if anything looks great and the swordfish didn’t look great, but good enough to light the EGG.

swordfish

As the guy was wrapping the swordfish, I saw a couple of whole fish at the back of the case, unmarked. They were pretty big, big as the snapper I grilled whole. “What are the whole fish?” I asked. “Trout, $5.99 a pound. Farm raised, but with a really beautiful red flesh. They’re called Sierra Bow Red Trout. This one’s almost 1 3/4 pounds (1.73), cleaned.” I looked at the inside; beautiful.

Knowing the trout was safely resting in my fridge, while shopping at the Farmers Market I dreamed up a swell meal… some Romano beans to grill with the fish, carrots to braise and glaze in an orange juice and sugar and vinegar mixture. Carol said she read where avocados were really good grilled for five minutes — changes their taste and texture… got a couple of those. I got some lovely golden beets to roast and pickle, as well. Sounds like a plan.

Pickled golden beets over chopped endive, Romano beans and that trout, ready to go.

We stopped at World Market on the way to water Brian and Natasza’s plants — they’re in Kyiv at the moment — and they had everything BBQ on sale. I got a round vegetable thingy and some Wine Barrel Staves to use for smoke. Hot damn. Just soak a stave in water for an hour and throw it on the hot coals.

The EGG is smokin’.

I cooked it the same way I did the snapper: rinse, dry, stuff with salt and pepper and lemon slices, slash skin, oil it up and grill for six minutes a side.

You can see the wine barrel stave burning in the back.

I like my Romano beans — or any green beans — tender and cooked, so before grilling, I steamed them for 10 minutes.

So here we are… best damn meal hereabouts.

The golden beets are dressed with ranch dressing. The grilled avocado is filled with a vinaigrette, Romano beans and glazed carrots. The wine is 2010 Champalou Vouvray. All in all, just yummy.

But wait… that’s not all ! ! ! (as they say on late night TV)

That trout produced a generous amount of leftover fish.

trout. left. over.

What better way to get started on it, than warming a piece in the countertop convection oven, dressing it with a bit of sauce from last evening (Greek yogurt, mayonnaise, pickle relish, and lemon juice) and serving it alongside Fallon melon and an O’Henry peach? No better way.