Big Sur and Hearst Castle – November, 2012

In early November my daughter, Gisenyi, and I took a drive along the beautiful California coast up to Big Sur.  We stopped in Santa Barbara for lunch hoping to eat at the Hungry Cat but there had been some sort of an emergency so little was on offer.  Instead, we walked on down Chapala Street to Silvergreens (www.silvergreens.com)  and had a delicious roasted tomato soup and vegetarian sandwich combination and then headed on our way.

It takes about 6-1/2 hours to get up to quaint and rustic Deetjens Big Sur Inn (www.deetjens.com)  where we love to stay and it was dark by the time we checked into the Van Gogh room.  We each took a flashlight and walked up the hill to Nepenthe(www.nepenthebigsur.com) overlooking the dark ocean.  Gisenyi had a beer and I had hot tea and a piece of three berry pie with ice cream and we chatted about what we wanted to do the next day.  It was rather cold up there this time of year but felt good just the same.

Breakfast at Deetjen’s is always delicious.  It is like eating in your own home only better!!!  I particularly like the yogurt parfait, i.e. layers of yogurt, blueberries and granola topped with thin apple slices – heaven!  Gisenyi orders something different each time we come.   After breakfast we drove into Carmel and parked away from the “90 minute parking” signs and took a leisurely walk along the ocean to Mission Ranch and back to town which took about two hours.  The walk took us past lovely old mansions with unique gardens on one side and the ocean on the other and luck was with us as the weather was grand.  Lunch at Ristorante Mediterraneo Dametra Café (www.dametracafe.com)  on Lincoln was delicious.  We shared hummus and warm pita bread, a grilled vegetable and spinach salad with feta cheese and finished with complimentary baklava for dessert.

As we headed back to Big Sur we stopped at the Andrew Molera State Park for a walk to the ocean and back.  We couldn’t really do much more as it gets dark so early.  After relaxing awhile in “little room” we decided to go up to the Big Sur Bakery (www.bigsurbakeary.com) and have a little something for dinner.  I hadn’t made a reservation as it didn’t seem like a particularly busy time of year but the bakery was packed so we sat at the counter which was just fine.  Gisenyi had warm roasted tomato soup and I had an appetizer scallop dish and we shared a pumpkin ginger cheesecake for dessert.  Snug in our little bed after hot showers we read our books before falling asleep in our “little room”…

Another great yogurt parfait for breakfast in the morning and then a long, lovely walk along the bluffs overlooking the ocean in the Andrew Molera State Park.  Lunch at Big Sur Bakery was a nice salad with sunflower seeds, carrots and greens and a warm bubbly open faced gruyere and tomato “sandwich”.  Afterwards, we drove to Cambria where we would spend the night.  After checking in to our little inn we went into town for a quick look around before heading up to Hearst Castle (www.hearstcastle.org/tours)  for our 6:10 p.m. reserved tour. The evening tour is a combination of all the other tours and the first one begins about 5 p.m.  The Castle was all lit up and because it was near the holidays there were Christmas wreaths, trees and decorations throughout the castle.  It was very cold but even so there were volunteers dressed for the 1920’s sitting around the pool, getting dressed in the powder room, chatting together around the fireplace, playing piano, etc.  It was really fun.  Afterwards we stopped at Robin’s

(www.robinsrestaurant.com) in Cambria for a light “dinner”.  Gisenyi had a little meze plate of eggplant, hummus, pita bread and tabbouleh and I had a piece of Dutch apple pie al la mode.  Back to our little inn for hot showers and a good night’s sleep.

Breakfast in the morning was pastries and coffee at a little bakery nearby and afterwards we took a brisk walk along Main Street and back.  4 hours later and a quick stop for yogurt we were back in Irvine.  I loved spending “one on one” time with Gisenyi and hope she felt the same!!

Cauliflower and pears with brown butter and roasted hazelnuts

1 medium head cauliflower, cut into florets

2 Tbsp. olive oil

1 tsp. Mediterranean spices

1 – 2 comice pears, cored and thinly sliced

8 fresh sage leaves, thinly sliced

½ stick unsalted butter

1/2C roasted hazelnuts, skinned and coarsely chopped

salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400F.  Toss the cauliflower florets with olive oil and Mediterranean spices on a rimmed cookie sheet.  Roast until almost tender – about 15 – 20 minutes.  Add the pear slices and sage leaves and toss to combine.  Return to the oven and roast until cauliflower is tender – about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile heat butter in a pan until browned but not burned.  Remove the vegetables/pear from the oven and add the browned butter and hazelnuts, tossing to combine.  Season to taste with salt and pepper and transfer to a serving platter and serve.

MAKES:  6 servings

Warm Pumpkin Salad with Farro and candied pumpkin seeds

1 Tbsp. unsalted butter

1/2C raw green pumpkin seeds

1 Tbsp. sugar

½ tsp. ground cumin

¼ tsp. ground cinnamon

¼ tsp. paprika

¼ tsp. cayenne

¼ tsp. salt

1 small cheese pumpkin or butternut squash (2 lb.), unpeeled,

  quartered lengthwise

1 Tbsp. olive oil

1C cooked farro or barley

6-oz. piece parmesan or pecorino Romano cheese, shaved

5 oz. bag baby arugula

12 dates, pitted and sliced

1/2C fresh pomegranate seeds

Vinaigrette

2 Tbsp. pomegranate juice

1 Tbsp. sherry wine vinegar

1 tsp. honey mustard

4 Tbsp. olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

For the pumpkin:  Preheat oven to 400F.  Cut pumpkin quarters crosswise into ½-inch slices and toss with one tablespoon olive oil, salt and pepper to taste.  Arrange slices in one layer in a shallow baking pan and roast until just tender – about 20 minutes.  Remove from oven, cover with foil and keep warm.  Remove seeds.

For the pumpkin seeds:  Melt one tablespoon butter in a heavy pan over moderate heat, stir in sugar, cumin, cinnamon, paprika, cayenne and ¼ teaspoon salt.  Cook, without stirring, until caramelized.  Add the pumpkin seeds and cook, stirring occasionally, until the seeds are puffed and golden.  Transfer to a plate to cool.  When seeds have hardened, break up any clumps with your fingers.

Toss farro, arugula and dates with vinaigrette to lightly coat.  Divide pumpkin slices among plates and sprinkle with pomegranate seeds.  Top with farro/arugula/date mixture.  Sprinkle with pumpkin seeds and top with parmesan shavings.

MAKES:  6 servings

Goat Cheese with Asian Pear Marmalade

One 2-inch piece ginger, peeled and grated

1/2C water

grated zest of one orange

2 Tbsp. fresh orange juice

1/2C packed brown sugar

1 tsp. Chinese five-spice powder

1/2 tsp. vanilla

one cinnamon stick

4 Asian pears, or a combination of Bartlett and Asian pears, peeled,

  cored and chopped into ½-inch pieces

1 Tbsp. Italian parsley leaves, finely chopped

Italian parsley leaves, garnish

11 oz. log goat cheese

crackers

In a medium pan, combine all the marmalade ingredients together.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for three minutes.  Uncover and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes, or until soft and not mushy.

Remove and discard the cinnamon stick.  Let cool to room temperature.

Place the log of goat cheese on a platter and spoon some of the marmalade on top.  Garnish with Italian parsley leaves.  Surround with crackers.

MAKES:  8 servings

San Francisco and the Napa Valley - October, 2012

After a quick one hour 20 minute flight with Southwest Airlines I arrived at the Oakland airport about 10:25 a.m.  I took the Bart into San Francisco, left my bag at the hotel and started to walk towards Spruce (www.sprucesf.com) on Sacramento where I had lunch.  Passing Grace Cathedral and many old interesting homes in the Presidio Heights area, I arrived at Spruce on Sacramento, another very cute little shopping street.  Lunches are always wonderful at Spruce and I was delighted with my golden potato gnocchi with red kuri squash, poached egg, pecans, sage and toasted pumpkin seeds.  Dessert was an adorable little plum tart with walnuts and tiny little plum slices. 

I walked down Stanyan Street to Fulton where I entered Golden Gate Park.  Since it was such a beautiful day I walked around Stowe Lake and into the Japanese Tea  Gardens.  Afterwards, after a quick stop at the hotel to check into my room, I took the bus to my favorite restaurant in the city Frances (www.frances-sf.com) .  In order to dine at Frances you have to plan two months ahead to make sure you get a reservation.  It is a small casual “bistro” with delicious little plates so creatively prepared.  My first course was a canning glass jar filled with cauliflower puree topped with little roasted florets on top and served with thin lavash bread topped with nigella seeds.  Second course was a baby kale salad with duck confit and medjool dates followed by pumpkin risotto with roasted chanterelle mushrooms and parmesan cheese.  Dessert was a little chocolate torte and “pecan pie” – a pecan tart topped with chocolate “cake” and served warm with caramel sauce and nut ice cream.  Everything was sooooooooo good!!!

Breakfast at Sugar Café and then a walk to the ferry building with all its food stalls and little shops, up the embarcadero to pier 39 and then to SFMOMA.  There were some new works by Alessandro Pessoli and a small exhibit called “Paul Klee’s circus” but nothing exceptional.  Three course lunch at Michael Mina (www.michaelmina.net) was outstanding!!  First course was ahi tuna tartare with habanero infused oil which has been a traditional dish in his restaurants for many years.  Second course was seared ahi nicoise w/Jidori hen egg and a crouton topped with chopped hard cooked eggs and tomatoes.  Dessert course was a chocolate and peanut “abstract” with caramel, peanut ganache, etc.  Afterwards I took the bus to the De Young museum which is open late on Friday nights and saw the exhibition on Rudolf Nureyev, the famous Russian dancer/choreographer.  There were 80 costumes which he wore in his ballets and many photographs of him dancing.  The William S. Paley Collection of modern painters was also very good.  Later in the evening I had dinner at Nopa (www.nopasf.com) and sat upstairs overlooking the open kitchen.  The place is always bustling with people and the food is creative and excellent.  I had duck breast with cranberry beans, walnuts, arugula and warm grapes and a chocolate torte with hazelnut caramel and whipped cream.  The bus system in San Francisco is so fantastic that it is easy and cheap to get around so I took the bus back to the hotel…

In the morning I took the bus to the Enterprise Rental car lot and headed to Muir Woods just over the golden gate bridge.  I took a really nice hike through the redwoods to a lookout point where you could see the bay bridge and the panorama of the ocean.  It was such a perfect day.  On to Yountsville where I had lunch at Redd (www.reddnapavalley.com) .  which consisted of tuna tartare with yellow fin and hamachi, a small order of scallops with cauliflower puree and butterscotch pudding with two little shortbread cookies for dessert. 

It took another 2 hours to get up to Gualala and St. Orres (www.saintorres.com) where I stayed the night but the drive was beautiful especially along the coast.  As it was a weekend night I could only stay in the hotel; otherwise, there is a two night minimum.  I prefer staying in the little cottages in the meadows but will have to plan better next time!!!  Dinner in the lovely dining room overlooking the pacific ocean was the delicious wild mushroom ravioli and decadent chocolate cake for dessert.  I slept with the window open so I could hear the sounds of the ocean….lovely….

In the morning I walked along the bluffs overlooking the ocean in Sea Ranch, a very unique community of homes, before heading back down to Yountsville for lunch.  I had a delicious roasted grape salad and fig tart at Bottega and then drove on up to Calistoga stopping at Bothe-Napa Valley State Park.  It is a lovely park with several trails through the redwoods and up to some nice view points as well.  I stayed at an adorable little bed and breakfast not to far away called Fanny’s (www.fannysnapavalley.com) on Spring Street.  After checking in and organizing myself I wandered along the main street filled with cute little shops and museums and had dinner at Jole (www.jolerestaurant.com)  in the Mount View Hotel.  I ordered the tasting menu and loved every bite!!!  It started with a mushroom empanada, scallops with curry and fresh pumpkin, duck breast and duck confit with celery root puree and stout cake with pumpkin ice cream to finish.

Deana, the innkeeper, fixed an amazing breakfast for me in the morning:  crisp apple pastry, fresh fruit, thin vegetable frittata topped with organic greens, baby tomatoes and shaved parmesan, muffins, bagels, coffee and juice!!!

After a nice leisurely walk around town, I drove back to San Francisco to return the car.  I wandered around the Jackson Square area to visit some of the art and poster galleries before having lunch at Cotogna (www.cotognasf.com) , a casual little Italian bistro.  First a pear, prosciutto salad with smoked almonds and arugula followed by luscious tortellini filled with cheese and butternut square drizzled with brown butter and sage.  Dessert was a thin crisp plum tart topped with honey ice cream.  Now I was ready to hop on the Bart and head home!!!