Spring Break-Napa

We arrived in Napa, California earlier this week. Napa sits about 1 1/2 hours west of San Francisco. It is a farming area known for its wines and food. You will find ranches with sheeps and cows and the best produce in the world. Everyone in the valley is either in the wine, agricultural business or somehow tied to it. It's a beautiful place that has to be seen to be appreciated.

Bruce and Melanie's Backyard in Napa

My brother Bruce is President of Nickel and Nickel Wine which is a division of Far Niente Wine.

http://www.nickelandnickel.com/

Nickel and Nickel produces single vineyard wines. This means that a particular vineyard produces only the label that you are drinking. Within the Nickel and Nickel line there are several different labels from multiple vineyards throughout Napa Valley. Each label exhibits unique characteristics and offers complex flavors created by diverse soil conditions and the unique micro climate of each vineyard. I am certainly not a wine expert but I am able to recognize that these are exceptional and unique wines. They elevate your dinner beyond the simplicity of a meal to an experience worth remembering. To me, Nickel and Nickel is emblematic of why people flock to Napa Valley.

Last night Bruce and Melanie served local pork chops stuffed with italian sausages and a pilaf. We enjoyed several bottles of En Route Pinot Noir and some protype Pinots from the winery. En Route is an amazing Pinot and is also one of Bruce's brands. You can click through to the site from the Nickel and Nickel link I provided. The wine complemented the dinner perfectly. After dinner we smoked cigars outside under the stars. It was a chilly night but we were warmed by their outdoor fireplace.



The farm behind Bruce and Melanie's house is home to several hundred head of cattle. Every afternoon they wander by the fence and peek into the yard.



Carson, Trent, Cullen, Brody and Taylor


                                                                         

Taylor in the Car Museum



Bruce gave us a private tour of Far Niente Winery. The property is absolutely spectacular and the vineyards are perfectly groomed. It really is not possible to say enough about the wine and property. Gil Nickel, the founder of Far Niente was a passionate car collector and racer. There is an amazing museum on the property that houses his collection. One of the cars included in the museum is Bruce's old Land Rover Defender.

Inside the Wine Caves at Far Niente

Far Niente

Before entering the wine business, Mr. Nickel owned a Nursery. You can see his drive for perfection on the grounds of Far Niente and in the vineyards. As a result, Far Niente and its brands are some of the most sought after California Wines.





Carson and Taylor with the Easter Bunny

 On Easter Sunday, Bruce and Melanie brought us out for a late lunch at the Silverado Country Club in Napa Valley. This was not your typical country club fare. The meal was not that uniform shade of brown that you typically find around town.  The Chef served up salmon, sushi, prime rib, fresh vegetables and countless desserts worthy of the best Napa has to offer. We ate and then ate some more.

I should note that we also had a great meal at Bistro Don Giovanni in Napa. Naturally, we drank a bottle of Far Niente Chardonnay and Nickel and Nickel Sullenger Cabernet. Both were amazing.

Here is a link to Don Giovanni's page:  

http://www.bistrodongiovanni.com/

Posers On the Veranda at Silverado

We had an absolutely wonderful week in Napa with my brother Bruce, his wife Melanie and their lovely family. Their boys are energetic, sweet and fun.  As most of you know, I grew up in a family of six kids. We did everything together and when you were friends with one of us you were friends with all of us.  Spending the week with Cullen, Trent, Carson and Brody brought back so many amazing memories of my own youth. They are such good boys and I am so happy for Bruce and Melanie.

We spent our summers in S. Bethany Beach and I particularly remember the 3 hour ride each spring from Potomac to New Castle Drive. In the back of the car we were having a big time and in the process we drove my parents nuts. But I think we all remember the fun.

This is the post-Easter scene in the back of Bruce's car. We had a lot of laughs that day and I thank the Mooers family for bringing back a lot of fond memories of growing up in a big family!

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LY9X8VILTx8

Spring Break - San Francisco

Taylor outside of the Drake Hotel in San Francisco.

The Drake is located on Powell Street next to Union Square. This is where you will find most of the great shopping in San Francisco. It's also only a few blocks from China Town. The Drake has a nice atmosphere and the lobby is beautiful.











Taylor and I wandered over to China Town this afternoon. We found a great little organic tea house called Blest Tea. Taylor had a Chamomile Tea called "Bella" that was fragrant and sweet. She said the tea made her feel like spring on a cold day! lol.  I had a cup of "Mango a Go-Go" which was a very strong mango infused tea. On my second trip I had the Peach Oolong. This was a light and fragrant tea. They offer a tasting of several different teas if you are curious and have the time. It's a cute little shop and worth the trip. Here is a link to their site:

http://www.blesttea.com/index.html

Blest Tea on a chilly day

China Town here is a full-on kook show with blocks of shops selling really cheap chinese tourist stuff.  I am fascinated by the herbal remedy shops that sell shark fins and the penis' of at least a dozen animals.  Good stuff.

Taylor enjoying the internet in our room at the Drake.

We took a Cable Car down to the Wharf this morning. That was a thrill. Of course we had to see the seals at Pier 39 and check out the tourist shops. I would not recommend that part of the City unless you are down there to catch a ferry to Sausolito or Alcatraz. There is just no much there to see.

Lombard Street by the crooked street overlooking the Wharf and Alcatraz.

If you ever get to San Franisco put the Golden Gate Park on the top of the list. We loved the Tea Garden, the Museum of Art and of course the Museum of Science. We must have spent four hours in the Muesum of Science checking out sharks, plants, bones and of course the Planetarium. There was an area where the kids could touch live starfish and urchins. As a D.C. guy who has done the whole museum thing a million times, I can assure you it one of the better museum for kids you will see.

Taylor made a travel video with her flip at the museum:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypeeuRHVyiE

We had a terriffic dinner tonight at Empress of China. It's a chinese restaurant in China Town. It's a cool spot because it's on the sixth floor overlooking Mission Hill. The views are terriffic. The food was pretty good and the ingredients were fresh. Tomorrow we are off to Napa.

Ratatouille

This evening I watched Jamie Oliver do his all to convince the LA Public Schools to eat some healthy food. I chuckled because I have been to Britain many times and I would not characterize the food over there as healthy. But I am open minded.

At one point, Jamie was showing how really gross leftover meat parts can be spun in a centrifuge and then cleaned up with bleach, ground and served on a bun. I kept wondering if one could avoid E-Coli by putting some bleach in the food he mixes with his filthy hands on his other cooking shows!

Speaking of healthy, I have mentioned in past blogs that I like to do the vegetarian thing every once in a while. I typically cook vegetarian if I have had a Martini before I realize there are no meat products in the fridge. So when I sat down this weekend with a freezing cold Martini and a cigar to watch the Masters I was thinking Osso Bucco for dinner Saturday night.

As fate would have it, when I turned on the TV my daughter's DVD of Ratatouille was still cued up. The fog of martinis and cigars allowed me to become distracted and for a time I forgot about the Masters and my Osso Bucco plan. Before returning to golf I concluded that if a cartoon rat could cook this dish, it can't be very difficult.

Ratatouille is a classic French dish made with summer ingredients. Done correctly and the flavors are soft and complex. Done incorrectly and it can be a mushy mess. This recipe is very good.

Pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees.

Ingredients

1 cup good extra virgin olive oil
2 medium egg plants cut into 1-2" cubes
2 teaspoon sea salt
2 medium white onions chopped.
4 medium zuchini, washed and cut into 2" strips
1 medium sized red bell pepper and 1 medium sized green pepper, stemmed, seeded and cut into strips.
3 garlic cloves minced
1 28 ounce can of of Italian plum tomatoes, drained. (Regular canned tomatoes will do if you can't find Italian plum).
1/2 can (3 ounces) tomato paste.
1/8 cup chopped fresh Italian Parsley
1/8 cup chopped fresh dill
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano
Cracked pepper

Pour 1/2 cup of olive oil into a roasting pan or an oven proof skillet. Add the eggplant and add just over half of your sea salt. Toss the eggplant in the pan, Jamie Oliver style, in order to coat your eggplant with the oil and salt. Cover the pan tightly with aluminum file. Roast in the oven for about 30 minutes.
Remove from the oven uncover and set aside.

In a large skillet heat 1/2 cup of olive oil over medium heat.  Saute the onions, garlic, peppers and zuchinni until lightly colored.  (About 20 minutes). Chop your canned tomotoes and add them to the pan. Add your tomato paste, parsley, dill, oregano, basil and cracked pepper. Cook about 12 minutes. Be careful to adjust your heat to allow it simmer uncovered.

Now add your eggplant with the oil and simmer for another 12 minutes.  Double check and season appropriately.

Allow it to cool for about five minutes before serving. Serve with French Bread and a nice red wine.

Is It Just Me Or Is Jamie Oliver Disgusting?

Seriously, there is something about Jamie Oliver that just makes me feel ill. I think it must be a natural defense mechanism that tells me that I am likely to get a severe case of dissentary if eat his food.

Maybe it's the put-on cockney accent or the way he spits when he talks. Sometimes when he speaks you can see saliva collecting on the sides of his mouth. And who cooks sitting down?

I don't understand why he has to mix everything by hand. Seriously, cake batter does not need your dirty fingers in it. I once saw him lick his fingers and then toss the salad.  I could feel the urge to dash to the bathroom for a bowel driven explosion just watching it.

And, by the way Chef Oliver, if you want to mix everything you cook by hand, could you at least clean the dirt out from underneath your finger nails? I can't help wondering if the Producer is zooming in on his grubby fingers as he works the food just to see how far he can push the audience.

Here is something funny. I told Taylor about how it disgusted me. Now we tune in just to be grossed out and laugh together at the various recipes he insists on mixing by hand!

Not that I have anything against Chef Oliver. I think the work he is doing to convince Americans that fat is not cool is worthwhile. I just feel that a cooking show should make you hungy. I am just saying.