The simplest of decisions

After quite a few months of completely unchecked eating, I was told by my brother that I resembled famed movie villain Jabba the Hut perhaps more strongly than was my intention. Thus began deprivation cycle followed by little, probably poorly chosen treats. For the week after Thanksgiving I would eschew things like bread or fat or any of the things that make life good for the reward of tucking into a slice of mom's pumpkin pie at the end of the day.

The main problem has been that I have had little time to prepare food. The past couple of months have been busy and I'm just exhausted at the end of the day and far more prone to order a quesadilla from the corner and wash it down with half a box of Entemmann's chocolate chip cookies than make sure I had anything resembling real food.

So last week I stopped by the Whole Foods, picked up some boneless chicken, and vowed I would cook it before it went bad. At 7:30 last night I put up my brown rice on the stove flavored with a little bouillon. I took out my chicken breasts, got some olive oil and a small pat of butter going in the pan, and sauteed them with a little pepper. The problem was that the breasts were very thick and I could tell that they would not be cooking through in time to save the consistency of the exteriors. Not wishing for my only full meal of the day to be disgusting, and not wishing to poach the chicken in heavy cream (though that is the only liquid guaranteed to be in my fridge), I did what any sensible person would do:

I decided we'd be having wine for dinner.

I opened a bottle from the fridge, a really nice white burgundy that had been served at a friend's wedding, and dumped a cup into the pot, put the lid on, and let it cook in the wine until the pink parts were no longer festering pools of salmonella.

And you know what? I'm never forgetting to add wine again. It was just the little kick that the chicken needed to go from mandatory protein consumption to actual meal.

For years I was of the opinion that the wine I cooked with should be cheap and not something I would ever drink until the obvious struck me: if I didn't want to drink it, why would I want my food to? For in reality, the two of us weren't going to drink a full bottle of win on a school night, and the cup I used in the chicken transformed the meal. Plus, when we drank the same wine while eating, everything tasted better. I have been overly liberal with my wine expenditures as of late and the house is more full of wine than it ever has been before. I have to remind myself that at $20 a bottle, I'm not looking to preserve these wines for my grandchildren and that I should be drinking them - and cooking with them.

Putting the Prius Through its Paces - A California Story

The other weekend we were in Sonoma for a family wedding. I have my reservations about California in general (being a stuck-up New Yorker), but am not immune to the charms of beautiful countryside and delicious wine. Spending time with pseudo-in-laws was the price to be paid, but I figured the bounteous goodness of Northern California would ameliorate that nicely.

Oooh, there's just one thing: I know nothing about California wines.

I wanted a day of wine tasting and I hadn't done any research. The Man of the House just wanted to keep everyone happy and out of his hair. So I sat down with ye olde trusty laptop and went to work albeit belatedly. I decided to cheat, figuring if some of the best sommeliers in New York were selecting Sonoma County wines for their restaurants, they'd be good enough for me to do some casual tasting.

This was a mistake. The best sommeliers selected a great number of, no doubt, wonderful wines from wonderful wineries that...didn't have tastings. Only one stood out from the list of thousands and that was Martinelli. Helen Turley, of the can't be missed Turley vineyards, has now devoted her ample talent to this single vineyard.

I regret to say I didn't taste a single wine I would buy - not even the one the woman pouring suggested I pick up for pizza (are there people who buy cases of $25 wine for pizza night?). Dejected we toured around the towns and stopped for hard cider (in the midst of wine country this must be some sort of blasphemy) before taking our scenic drive.

Which, surprisingly, involved four loaves of bread. Nearly causing some sort of accident, we veered onto a road delineated by a sign that said Organic Brick Oven French Bread and ended up at the ohmygodunbelievable Wild Flour Bread. The smell was overpowering and as a self-avowed bread addict I was in a little bit of nirvana. I'm surprised me managed to only buy four loaves (more on that later). We bought basic wheat and white, a goat cheese and herb bread that became lunch, and a walnut cinnamon raising sticky bun concoction that was maybe a million times better than Cinnabon and was still warm hours later.



We made it to the coast literally each day we were there for no particular reason save if was so frickin' beautiful.

The food I ate (as it was all planned for me) was not so good. I resisted the urge to see if the French Laundry had a last minute cancellation as I am well aware it is bad form to skip a wedding for even Thomas Keller.

The morning of the wedding, seeing as within ten minutes of our house there were only fifty or so wineries, I dragged all the pseudo-in-laws to Mendocino County to visit a winery from which I had enjoyed an amazing Sauvignon Blanc two years earlier and could not find anywhere in New York.

Yorkville Cellars is an organic winery up a beautiful, but fraught with switchbacks Americans hardly ever encounter, road and for me, at least did not disappoint. They had yet to finish their harvest which I found unusual (it being October), but afforded us the chance to see grapes on vines whose colors were already turning.



The Sauvignon Blanc was as I remembered it and I eagerly tasted the rest of the offerings. Surprisingly, I was bowled over by two of the red wines on offer. It has been my limited experience that if a vineyard makes a white I adore, I generally think less of its reds and vice versa. The Cabernet Sauvignon was excellent and, in the mid 20-s, a terrific value. But the crown jewel had to be a wine they call Richard the Lion-Hearted, a cab-blend that uses a but from their other red plantings. It was rich and complex and even had the Man of the House, a notorious sticker-up-of-his-nose at things like "rich and complex" wines pulling out his wallet. I was so enthused I signed up for their thrice-annual shipments. My first one arrives next week!

Grossly misjudging actual distances between points, and traveling without aid of a map, we managed to see Point Reyes



but got back to change for the wedding 34 minutes before the wedding started.

Our rental, a lovely earth-friendly Prius was not speaking to us at this point. We had pushed her a little much around the single-lane backroads we navigated to and from, seemingly, everything.

The following day it was off to San Francisco for some quality time with cousins from the other side of the family - need I mention we took the scenic route?



And that's a story for tomorrow. We ate at a just-opened restaurant and took many pictures.

For someone who's iffy on tagging

I surely seem to do it a lot.

Nectarine Upside-Down Cake: So much stone fruit, so little time. I might wait until I have yellow nectarines. The white ones I bought this week are a little too sweet without enough tang to sustain a good cake.

Mirabelle Plum and Pistachio Tart: I haven't seen Mirabelles at the market, but I think greengage plums would work just as well.

Spicy Corn Fritters: Mmm...with grilled flank steak and a tall glass of lemonade. How I do love summer.

Prickly Pear Sorbet: Does anyone know where I can buy a prickly pear? I tried the Prickly Pear puree from Perfect Purees but thought they added way too much sugar. Also, they are so much more expensive than the Boiron purees that I'm sort of boycotting on principle - their purees aren't organic, just expensive.

Plum Galette: Making this this afternoon with Wednesday's elephant plums.

Apricot and Olive Oil Crust Tart: I needed this recipe three weeks ago at the height of apricot season. Ah well, filed away for next year.

Some Wines: I am especially interested to try the Saumur-Champigny as I really love the Roches-Neuves version.

Yellow Gazpacho: Because I too am a sucker for the grilled cheese and tomato soup at Bouchon Bakery.

Roasted Heirloom Tomatoes in Oil: I buy way too many tomatoes for this not to be useful. Now I just need more mason jars.

Five Minute Tomato Sauce: So useful. I hate the idea that if I read a recipe that calls for tomato sauce I'm generally shit out of luck.

Friday Tag-Tacular

I may have gone a little overboard at the market this morning, but it was the last day for apricots and possibly sour cherries too (though I was promised greengage plums next week). I bought short ribs for a braised short rib ravioli. But while I defrost my ribs and wonder what the rest of the produce will be used for, enjoy the week I tagged.

Apricot Tart Brulee: Since I went overboard (again) on apricots, they will have to go somewhere. This will also enable me to finally unpack my butane torch and frighten the man of the house.

Summer Berry Pudding: I'll admit, there's something slightly odd about summer puddings to me that isn't odd about bread pudding. Perhaps it's that so many summer puddings call for wonder bread, which is gross. I might try this recipe if I baked a brioche to use as the bread. But it was beautiful.

Cream Cheese Brownies: Again, this is not something I would usually make (or like). I have never gotten really into cream cheese brownies, but I believe in trying things again.

Chocolate Pistachio Cake: Chocolate and pistachios, on the other hand, are never far from my mind. This preparation might take a back seat to an Herme recipe I've been drooling over - one that would certainly necessitate some new pistachios. Details to come...

Dulce de Leche Brioche Buns: Hmmmm... perhaps these would go with the summer berry pudding.

Lemon Bars: No, not yet, not citrus already! I banish this recipe to the recesses of my mind until California citrus arrives in four months.

Good value red wine: I love this site; I hate that his favorite wine store is really really inconvenient. Perhaps on the way back from the beach, we'll take the Holland Tunnel instead and stop by.

More Yummy Paris: Stupid waiting till February to go back to Paris. I've been to several of these places before, and I must admit, I was disappointed by L'Etoile D'Or on my last visit (though I did try a hemp flavored chocolate - a little ick). But I need to start fantasizing about my return in 2008, and this is a good place to start.

Chickpea Ragout: Ok. This looks amazing. The man of the house is a staunch supporter of meals involving meat, but he did like Morocco, and this has that North African vibe going on, and everyone loves fried eggs.

Pappa al Pomodoro: I buy too many tomatoes in addition to too many apricots (oh god, I just remembered the 3 pounds of peaches I purchased), so this will become Sunday dinner.

Chocolate Torte: Simple, elegant, delicious looking. I have a favorite flourless chocolate cake, but this early flourless one looks eminently worthy of duplication.

Lavender Jam: Don't know if I'll like it, but I know I'll try it.