Surf and Turf

I made some grass-fed sirloin steaks from Marin Sun Farms with mustard rub, cumin rub, coffee rub and cracked black pepper crust. And note that Atlantic lobster is quite cheap, at least for the moment.

Sorbet does not require an ice cream machine

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/10/dining/10mini.html?ref=dining


December 10, 2008

The Minimalist

Sorbet? Let’s Make It Short and Sweet

By MARK BITTMAN

THE first time I made this sorbet I was ridiculously happy, and I can almost guarantee that you will be, too. It is the epitome of a minimalist recipe, requiring no exotic ingredients, no technique and virtually no time.

If you can shop and press the button on your food processor you can make this sorbet — and make it while you are loading the dishwasher with plates from dinner.

Why sorbet, now? Because its main ingredient is frozen fruit, which is requisite here. Frozen fruits, and vegetables for that matter, are picked when ripe and suspended in their ripeness until you’re ready to use them.

No fruit is as good frozen as perfectly fresh, of course, and many are next to useless, especially when thawed. But frozen fruit is convenient: strawberries are already hulled, mangoes peeled and cubed, peaches are seeded and sliced. It is also relatively cheap. And being frozen makes it a pretty good starting place for a frozen dessert.

So: begin with a bag of your favorite frozen fruit. Put it in the food processor with some yogurt, sugar and a bit of water. Turn the machine on and process until you get the consistency you are after; be careful not to over-process it or you will have a smoothie.

You can be adventurous, too. I made a sorbet using frozen cherries and four ounces of melted, cooled bittersweet chocolate instead of sugar. Rather spectacular.

And not only will you not have to buy an ice cream maker, but you will never again pay $4 for a pint of sorbet.

*****

Super-Simple Sorbet

By MARK BITTMAN

1 pound frozen strawberries or other fruit

1/2 cup yogurt, crème fraîche or silken tofu

1/4 cup sugar, more or less.

1. Put all the ingredients in a food processor container along with a couple of tablespoons of water. Process until just puréed and creamy, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. If the fruit does not break down completely, add a little more water through the feed tube, a tablespoon or two at a time, being careful not to over-process or the sorbet will liquefy.

2. Serve immediately or freeze it for later; if serving later, allow 10 to 15 minutes for sorbet to soften at room temperature.

Yield: At least 4 servings.

Mushrooms and Clams

It was sunny and warm on Mon Dec 8 on Tomales Bay. The water clarity was fantastic for a muddy bay, perhaps 8-10 meters. I took a more reasonably paddle this time to Hog Island Oysters, about 8 miles. Someone was digging for steamer clams on a rocky shore near the oyster farm (limit 50 a day, minimum 1.5 inches). I'll have to try that someday.

My brother found oyster mushrooms growing on one of his logs of firewood. We ate a bunch, them saved the log hoping to nurse some more. He's wondering if he should water it every now and then. He may stumble into become a mushroom farmer after all.

Tomales Bay

My brother just told me that the oysters at Tomales Bay Oyster Company (the oyster farm across from his house) aren't really local. They are brought in from elsewhere and "stored" in the bay for a number of days or weeks before being sold. In additional to the non-local food aspect, he says they lack the terroir of Tomales Bay, so he prefers Drake's and Hog Island.

You can see pictures of him kayaking around the bay here. The Tuesday after Thanksgiving I kayaked from the house in Inverness to Hog Island (not the eponymous oyster company, but Hog Island itself) and back. It was about 20 miles (7 hours), the furthest I have kayaked by far. It felt pretty good, though my wrist is sore from feathering the paddle about 100,000 times.

Here's a local beach. Below is a picture of the bay taken from his house. Oh, and Copia (see October) just filed for Chapter 11.

Thanksgiving plus

On Thanksgiving, my brother tried out the Char-Broil The Big Easy Oil-Less Infrared Turkey Fryer. He said it works pretty well, but it's definitely not a fryer. On Black Friday, Eleanor, Alex and Cindie fried a turkey with a true turkey fryer. It came out very well, very moist and juicy, but the effort/danger factor is considerable. They used a fresh turkey, to make sure there wouldn't be any ice that could vaporize in the fryer and cause a boil over. They used about 5 gallons of peanut oil that came up to about a foot below the edge of the pot. Still, when they put the turkey in, the oil rolled over quite vigorously, and came fairly near the top of the pot. I wouldn't do this within 20 feet of anything flammable. Easier options, in my opinion: make something else for Thanksgiving, as almost anything is easier and better tasting then turkey. Cut the turkey up into pieces, as it is much easier and safer to fry it that way. You might even be able to do it on your stove or grill.

Since they had that oil out frying, they also fried taro chips, twinkies and PB&J sandwiches. They were all delicious.

Freedive to 32 m/ 105 ft/ 79 sec with cheap snorkeling fins, Catalina Island

My very first youtube video, couldn't resist embedding it here. I didn't get any fish or seaweed on this dive.

With Performance Freediving intermediate class, Sept 2008. I would be invisible at the bottom save for the day-glo fins. I did 44/144/100 with a monofin in Kona, November, but don't have video of that.

COPIA Center for Wine, Food & the Arts

So I celebrated my birthday (an unfortunately large, round number) at Copia in Napa, which is sort of a wine and food museum. You can read about it below. They showed us how to prepare a great meal in their cooking studio. Here's a picture of our salad. Here I am at the front of the classroom afterwards. The apple log is used to grow mushrooms.

*****
The North Bay and East Bay Chapters of the Haas Alumni Network invite you and your guest(s) to attend an exciting afternoon at COPIA in downtown Napa. Join your fellow alumni from the Bay Area and enjoy great wine, a three-course lunch, a cooking demonstration, and a presentation by our special guest, Haas alumnus Michaela Rodeno, CEO of St. Supéry Winery.

Saturday, October 18, 2008
12:30 PM to 2:30 PM
COPIA, the American Center for Wine, Food & the Arts (http://www.copia.org)
500 First Street, Napa, CA (707) 259-1600

Cost: $50 per person if registered on or before October 8, 2008
$60 per person if registered after October 8, 2008

Registration will be limited to the first 70 people. Tickets are going fast! Please register as soon as possible.

DESCRIPTION OF EVENT:

Haas at COPIA

The afternoon will begin at 12:30 PM with a 30-minute presentation by Michaela Rodeno, CEO of St. Supery Winery (http://www.saintsupery.com), who will discuss some hot issues in the premium wine business as you sip a glass of wine from her company's vineyards. Michaela is one of the leading women in the California wine industry. November 2008 marks her 20th anniversary with St. Supery, serving as the winery's first and only CEO. During her tenure, Michaela has carefully guided the winery onto the market and through a period of rapid growth. St. Supery's wines have earned critical acclaim and many awards for the winery. Prior to joining St. Supery, Michaela spent more than 15 years at Domaine Chandon, during which time she earned her M.B.A. at the Haas School of Business, in 1980.

Michaela's presentation will be followed by a special edition of the Taste of COPIA, where you can imagine yourself in a live cooking show studio, enjoying an interactive cooking demonstration, garden talk, and a three-course lunch paired with three varietals of wine.

If you'd like to stay after the event, you will have the opportunity to explore the COPIA facilities, which include 13,000 square feet of gallery space for exhibitions of art, culinary history and science, a rare-books library, three and one-half acres of landscaped organic edible gardens for hands-on learning about soils, farming and viticulture, and a museum gift shop, among many other attractions. (General admission is free.) And of course, you'll have the opportunity to purchase wine, food, wine and cooking accessories, books, DVDs and more, so have your credit cards available. You also don't want to miss the opportunity to check out the newly opened Oxbow Public Market adjacent to COPIA. The Market is a Napa version of the Ferry Building Marketplace in San Francisco.

Questions? Contact Jeannine Drew at jdrew@sonic.net.

Lotta Food This Weekend

On Thursday August 14, Marin Agricultural Land Trust. (MALT) had a tour of Hog Island Oyster and Straus Dairy. My brother was a guide. My friend John covered the event for the West Marin Citizen. Afterwards, we stopped by his farmhouse in Tomales for some oysters. Hint for oyster shucking: little pressure, lot of wiggle.

I've posted the tour description below in case they remove it.

HOG ISLAND OYSTER CO. & STRAUS DAIRY
Thursday, August 14

Join local oystermen for a tour of an oyster-growing operation. Taste oysters fresh from Tomales Bay while enjoying great views. Eat your own lunch or pre-order a made-in-Marin lunch from Tomales Bay Foods with your registration. Afterwards, carpool to the Straus Dairy where dairyman Albert Straus will talk about his organic dairy operation. Learn about the methane digester and other energy-producing and -conserving techniques used at the ranch. Watch the cows being milked in the dairy that was converted to organic in 1993.
TIME: 11 A.M–3 P.M.
WHERE TO MEET: Hog Island Oyster Co., 20215 Highway One, Marshall (10 miles north of Point Reyes Station). Carpool to dairy from there.
WHAT TO BRING: Water, picnic, shoes that can get dirty
DEGREE OF DIFFICULTY: Easy
COST: $30 / $35 non-members ( $20 additional to pre-order made-in-Marin lunch.)

On Friday my brother and I helped his friend Ray in Olema with some farm work in exchange for some superb tomatoes, plums and other goodies. On Saturday, I attended the West Coast BBQ Championship and Tomato Alley in Fairfield. My friend Donna is a Certified Kansas City Style BBQ Judge. The certification is fairly cheap and only one day. At competitions in CA, there are usually a dearth of judges, so they will also solicit non-certified people to help judge. It was quite an experience. I'm inspired to buy a professional smoker (saw a bunch in Donna's BBQ newspaper).

Day trips in West Marin

This Sunday, Aug 3, 2008, the NYT had an article about day trips around Pt. Reyes. That's my brother on the far left kayaking with Blue Waters Kayaking on Tomales Bay. The article is a good summary of things to do around Pt. Reyes. I've pasted it below.

A mere 40 miles north of San Francisco, Tomales Bay is a tranquil coastal estuary that stretches 12 miles along Highway 1. As you drive north, wetlands give way to sandy beaches and calm waters that open into Bodega Bay and the Pacific, perfect for kayak exploration. Rentals and tours are available from Blue Waters Kayaking in the towns of Marshall and Inverness (415-669-2600; www.bwkayak.com).

Wildlife abounds. There are herds of elk on Tomales Bay Point on the northwest side of the bay — part of Point Reyes National Seashore — while harbor seals frolic in the water or lounge on the sand.

Hog Island oysters are grown in Tomales Bay, and you can grill your own at the Farm, the Hog Island Oyster Company’s bayside picnic area (20215 Highway 1, Marshall; 415-663-9218; www.hogislandoysters.com). Nearby Point Reyes Station is home to the Cowgirl Creamery, specializing in organic artisanal cheeses. Among its award winners is Red Hawk, an aged triple-cream made with organic cow’s milk (80 Fourth Street, Point Reyes Station; 415-663-9335; www.cowgirlcreamery.com).

Ten miles north in Marshall, you’ll feel deliciously away from it all at Nick’s Cove, a string of 1930s-era cabins over the water, with an affiliated roadhouse by the San Francisco restaurateur Pat Kuleto (23240 Highway 1, Marshall; 866-636-4257; www.nickscove.com; from $225).Want to bed down even closer to nature? There are several campgrounds in the area, and a handful of permits are available each day for boat-in camping on the west-side beaches (415-663-8054; www.tomalesbay.net).

LA, Korea and Oaxaca

Was down in LA this weekend. A friend took us to Kobawoo House, a Korean place specializing in pork. Angelenos have fanatical opinions about their food, which you can read about on Yelp. Search the comments on Kobawoo for "b*itch" and "Fermat" for some enjoyable reading. We also tried various mole dishes at Monte Alban in Santa Monica. I picked up some Oaxacan drinking chocolate and Elotitos Xtreme candy (Elote is Mexican corn on the cob, usually with butter or mayo and chili sauce). The Juquilita drinking chocolate is in crumbly dry cylinders, which is typical of South American chocolate, but I was disappointed to find that this was pre-sweetened with sugar rather being pure cacao.

That candy sure looks spicy!