05.04.12
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MOVIN’ ON

When Carol’s Retirement story was published, so many asked, “Now what will Carol do?”

“I’m going to RENO !” she said.

That’s not news. Since Brian moved there, we go to Reno three or four times a year to visit Brian and Natasza — or just to go. We like Reno. The difference this time — we’re not coming back… we bought a house in Reno.

Here’s the deal:

A freshly minted Ensign in the Navy in 1962, I was stationed in San Diego. Anticipating a transfer “back east,” that summer Carol and I took a driving trip to Disneyland, San Francisco, Reno, Las Vegas. That was our first visit to Reno. I remember getting a flat tire on the long causeway across the flats leading to Sacramento. When we left our Reno motel, I backed the car into a tree. Why return to that wretched place?

But the years rolled off the clock and in May, 2009. Carol and I went to Reno to meet a real estate agent and scout houses for son Brian. We stayed at Peppermill. WOW.

Brian was being transferred from his job as an research entomologist for the Exotic and Invasive Weeds Research Unit of the USDA in Montpellier, France to a similar position in Reno, NV, USA. Brian bought a house and moved in that August. Since, we’ve visited many times and grew to like the place.

Reno has seasons. It can be darned cold in the winter, but when it snows, the snow goes quickly as there’s often some welcome warming sun during the day. Summer days can be hot — it’s a dry heat, as they say — but since it’s high desert, it cools off at night. I experienced a similar climate during my nearly two years in Jerusalem.

This year, we went to visit Brian for Christmas. Driving into Reno, we saw a billboard by I-80, “Sierra Canyon, A Del Webb +55 Community.” Carol said, “That might be worth a look.” We looked on Christmas Day, went back three days straight and made an offer on a house before we left Reno. WOW, again.

9135 Spruce Creek Court

We’ve lived in San Francisco, in the same perfect flat, for almost exactly 20 years. In April 1992, I moved — along with some furniture — and started work in SF. Carol joined me with the balance of our furniture in August, after finishing up at her school in Newton MA.

Our flat on Union Street, Russian Hill, San Francisco is fabulous. It’s so convenient for all the things we like to do. We can walk to Polk Street, Cow Hollow, the Marina and North Beach. The 45 bus passes through Chinatown and Union Square and goes on to ATT Park and the Giants. We love living in the City. But Union Street is steep, and there are 14 terrazzo steps to our flat. Hey, it’s good exercise, but we are 20 years older. If one of us should fall or just get a joint out of joint, we’d be in a fine pickle.

We like the way we can easily use inside/outside at Brian’s house. Our new house is on one level with no steps, our back patio faces North for the shade. Our front porch faces South for the sun and a swell view of the Sierras. I’ll be able to cook a lot more on the grill. Maybe get a Big Green Egg just like Mark and Jannie’s.

back yard

front porch

We won’t have our beloved Giants at ATT Park — though we can get all their games on the TV. We will have the Reno Aces, a AAA team in their own new and swell ballpark. We’re already members of the Great Basin Food Coop.

Aces "cap day" on the "club level" (actually a restaurant overlooking the ball park)

after some eats, we moved to our seats

Our move date is not until the first week of June, so I’ll be around here packing and cooking and trying to work in some writing. Sure, we’ll miss the action and activity of the city, but as I said to Carol when we looked at “The Tahoe” Model Home at Sierra Canyon, “Hey, this is like being on vacation.”

04.18.12
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Fabulous Broccoli

I’ve been thinking about broccoli since a meal at the El Paisano hotel in Marfa TX. The restaurant wasn’t great and the meal wasn’t great but the broccoli was fabulous. I bought some broccoli at the first Market after we got back.

First off, buy (or grow) fabulous broccoli, so fabulous that when you separate the buds, they will look great.

Make your favorite vinaigrette. For this one, I used 1 tablespoon Navarro Vineyards Gewurztraminer Vinegar, 3 tablespoons Stonehouse Sevillano XV Olive Oil, 1 clove garlic, sliced very thin, and shook it up in a used up Mustard Mistress Sassy Sensation mustard jar, a scant amount of mustard clinging to the sides and bottom of the jar.

Steam the broccoli until it is just right to the bite. For me, four minutes. I cool mine on a “cooling rack” I put over the sink; or you can plunge it in cold water then drain well.

Lay down your vinaigrette on a plate.

Arrange your broccoli on the plate.

Beautiful, no?

I warmed plates on top of the oven while potatoes baked.

Serve your broccoli. This is with a Fatted Calf Lamb Crepinette (with greens and pine nuts), plus a small baked potato and half of a peeled, raw tomato.

Yum.

So fabulous that I had the leftover broccoli with a sliced leftover baked potato for breakfast.

04.10.12
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The Root of a Stew

…or is it a Stew of Root

I’m so full of stories — there’s plenty of Texas left and some Reno to come — but they’re not strictly about food and I thought I’d better squeeze one in about food. It’s not for lack of cooking or eating — we’ve been doing that — it’s just that there’s all that other stuff, unfinished.

Whatever… I took my own advice and revisited the Bi-Rite Cookbook.

Standing in Books, Inc, I was browsing that cookbook and came across Wine-Braised Chicken Legs with Root Vegetables. I gave it close inspection and decided that I must make that recipe. And so I did. Along the way, I modified and adapted a lot, but stuck to the idea of braising chicken legs and root vegetables in wine and chicken broth.

3 whole chicken legs and about 2 1/2 pounds of vegetables, not peeled or trimmed. (I used turnip, rutabaga, potato, fennel, carrots). The onions are cooked separately and don’t count with the vegetables.

Before we got to that point, I put the whole chicken legs (about 2 1/2 pounds) on parchment paper on a large baking sheet seasoned them generously with salt and pepper. I put them in the refrigerator about 9am (recipe says uncovered overnight, but I figured 7 hours or so would be just fine to dry them and soak in the seasoning).

When you’re nearly ready to cook, rinse the chicken well, pat dry and let come to room temperature. Preheat oven to 300°F.

Dredge the chicken legs in about 1/3 cup flour, shaking off the excess. I took my biggest Le Creuset Dutch oven to brown the legs in plenty of olive oil over medium heat, they need to be in one layer, otherwise they’ll steam, not brown. If you don’t have a big enough pot, work in batches. Continue reading →

03.28.12
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Texas Two-Step

Texas Two-Step
THE IDEA

June 2006, Carol and I were in San Antonio for one of Carol’s education for young children conferences.

San Antonio is pretty interesting, and the Riverwalk is swell, but while Carol was at her meetings, I wanted to go somewhere in Texas.

I had heard and read about Donald Judd and the Chinati Foundation in Marfa, Texas, so I looked it up on the map and internet. Hmmmm, not just a day trip. So I dropped that and went to Bandera in the hill country for breakfast (look for “Thursday Breakfast near the end).

Sometime later, I mentioned Donald Judd and Marfa to Alison, our artist daughter-in-law. Oh, yes. She would love to go there sometime. After many mentions and dreams and then serious planning, mid-March of 2012 became the time

As it turned out, son Brian and Natasza would be vacationing in Texas around that time, as well. Hey, a family gathering!

OK then, we would fly from San Francisco to Midland TX, Eric and Alison would fly from Maine to Midland TX and Brian and Natasza would be able to meet us in Big Bend National Park. As it turned out both the Maine and SF flights would arrive in Midland about 9:30pm. We would spend the night in Midland and drive to Big Bend — in separate cars — and meet Brian there. Spend a couple days in Big Bend and drive to Marfa to visit Chinati, while Brian goes home through San Antonio. Sounds like a plan.

NOTE: Normally eats is about food. On this trip, I found the food, art, architecture and the trip itself intertwined to the point of being inseparable. I’m still cooking and eating, so there will be more recipes.

Texas Two-Step:
MARFA and CHINATI

Sweeping in on US-90 from the northwest, we found Marfa and met Eric and Alison in the lobby of the El Paisano Hotel. Eric handed me my much missed bag (see the plight of my bag in “getting there”) and I checked into the hotel.

We went with them to see El Cosmico, an “alt lifestyle kind of place” where they are staying in a robins-egg-blue knock-off Airstream trailer. The next night they would stay in a tent. TeePees and Yurts are on the grounds, as well.

Eric and Alison's home for the night

here are some tee pees where they won't stay

here are some tents where they will stay tomorrow

El Paisano is the class historic hotel in Marfa. Built in 1930 it operated for many years as a Cattleman’s hotel.

The hotel was also the prime location for social events within a 100 mile radius of Marfa. In 1955 Warner Brothers chose Marfa as the location for the filming of the epic movie Giant. In June of that year the cast and crew including James Dean, Elizabeth Taylor and Rock Hudson made the hotel their headquarters.

The lobby is large and comfortable, with clay tile in rustic tones enhancing the floors and fireplace. Jett’s Grill at the El Paisano, the dining room, is to the rear left, sharing courtyard frontage with the lobby.

Carol and I are not campers, this is where we'll stay

Continue reading →