Time is short and the work list is long as we get ready to head up to Sonoma for the Dry Creek Passport event (you can read more about it in last year's post), but I squeezed out enough time to finish this lamb meatball video recipe.
It tasted great, but I put in way too much breadcrumb, and as you'll see the results were extremely bouncy balls. The ingredient amounts below are the new and improved quantities in case you want to try these.
Speaking of being busy, I'll apologize in advance for blowing off your emails and/or comments until this event is over on Monday. I'll try to keep up, but if you are ignored, try again next week when things return to normal. Enjoy!
Ingredients: 1 1/4 pound ground lamb 1/2 cup breadcrumbs 1/2 cup milk 1 egg, beaten 1 tbsp chopped rosemary 3 cloves minced garlic 1 tsp dried oregano 2 tbsp olive oil pinch of cayenne 1/4 tsp cinnamon 1 tbsp cumin 1/2 tsp black pepper 1 1/2 tsp salt 1 tbsp tomato paste 2 tbsp chopped mint 3 cups tomato sauce 1 cup chicken stock red pepper flakes View the complete recipe
While running some supplies up to the Frick Winery in preparation for our big event this weekend, we made a pit stop in beautiful Healdsburg. I've wanted to try the famous pork cheek sandwich at Bovolo Restaurant for the longest time, and it was well worth the wait.
The tender, rich cheek sat on a crusty toasted roll, slathered in an intensely-flavored salsa verde and roasted sweet peppers. We also shared a charcuterie plate, and Michele had a lovely fried green tomato BLT. Enjoy!
Here's a little video recap I just put together of my favorite bites from inside the Lexus Grand Tasting tent at Pebble Beach. It was foodie nirvana - literally hundreds of the finest wine markers shoulder to chef coat with some of the most talented gastronomes in the country.
As I methodically worked my way around the giant white tent, I was pleasantly surprised to find the star chefs were not only present in the booths, in most cases they were the ones making and serving the food.
This gave the attendees a rare chance to hear what they were about to taste as described by the dishes creator. As you'll see in the video, while describing these offerings, most of the chefs had a twinkle in their eye that only shines through when you are truly enjoying what you're saying.
My favorite description was by Chris Cosentino, who created the ingenious "Liver and Kidney Pie" pictured here. Chris was beaming over every single component, and after one bite I knew why.
For the sake of time, and several star chefs' reputations, this video is not a complete catalog of the food, but a collection of my favorite bites. I thought it was going to be hard to decide on a favorite - that was until I tasted what Chef Mark Estee called a BLT. It was transcendent.
The little homemade English muffin topped with tomato gelée, pork belly, and romaine ice cream was simply amazing. It was a truly brilliant bite from concept to cocktail napkin.
In addition to the Grand Tasting covered here, I attended a couple demos by Chef Michele Richard (Chef Richard and Santa Claus have never been seen in the same room). They were a lot of fun, and I'll post more content this week as time allows.
I want to extend a special thanks to my friends at Foodbuzz who made covering this memorable event possible. For those of you who don't know about Foodbuzz yet, they're the ultimate social network for foodies, and I highly suggest signing up. Enjoy!
I arrived back in San Francisco last night after an incredible day of food and wine tasting at Pebble Beach. A very sincere thanks to Foodbuzz for the invite, and I hope they, and their community of curious culinarians enjoys the multimedia coverage I'll provide over the next few days.
Today we're headed up to Sonoma to take care of some business for our annual mega-catering at the beautiful Frick winery, which is happening this coming weekend.
This week will be crazy busy getting ready for that, but I will pull together some great video and photos I took down in Pebble and post it for your vicarious viewing pleasure.
It was a who's who of the West coast foodie universe and I was blown away by some of the things I saw and tasted. Stay tuned for the video and photographic recap, along with news about our big upcoming weekend.
By the way, save your "what the hell is that?" comments - all these dishes will be identified in the video(s), usually by the star chef that made them. Cheers!
Being so close to the sea had me craving a nice thick steak, but after checking Yelp for dining recommendations in Seaside, California, I decided to go for some fish instead.
I ended up at a cute little seafood place called either "The Fishwife's Turtle Bay Taqueria," or "Fishwife Seafood Café," depending on which sign you believe.
I started with a cup of Ciopino, which is usually a stew, but this was in soup form. It was pleasant, and filled with bay shrimp, clams, halibut, and faux crab.
It was hard not to get the New England clam chowder, which looked great at the next table, but geography won the day.
My main course was a small, but very fresh and nicely cooked piece of wild Pacific salmon. It was topped with a zesty habanero pepper butter sauce. The rice and black beans are always welcomed on my plate, but it was the cold broccoli salad that was the side dish star.
The perfectly cooked broccoli florets, dressing with a simple vinaigrette, topped with diced tomato and onion, have me planning a video recipe attempt very soon.
It was a very nice meal, and extremely reasonable for the location. I'm headed to Spanish Bay in the morning, so stay tuned!
Pebbles? You'd think with all the millionaires that live in the area, they could afford some sand. Anyway, I'm headed down to the stunningly beautiful Monterey peninsula today for a quick overnight foodie adventure.
The 2nd Annual Pebble Beach Food and Wine event began on Thursday and runs through Sunday, and I've been blessed with a pass compliments of my friends at Foodbuzz.
I'll be attending a couple demos Saturday, and will also graze, snap, and hopefully film my way through the Lexus Grand Tasting Tent, home to over two hundred wineries, partnered with a small army of star chefs.
This event is not for the financially challenged. Prices range from $100 for individual chef demos, to $4,750 for a complete package that includes a three-night stay, access to all events, including after-hour parties with the star chefs.
Before you put on your "Eat the Rich" t-shirt, and start sharpening your pitchfork, you should know that last years Pebble Beach Food and Wine event raised over $100,000 for local charities.
To give you a little taste, I've embedded a video produced by Lexus, one of the main sponsors. Yes, it is basically a Lexus commercial, but will give you some idea of the event. I will be back Saturday night and hope to post something soon there after.
Time is short and the work list is long as we get ready to head up to Sonoma for the Dry Creek Passport event (you can read more about it in last year's post), but I squeezed out enough time to finish this lamb meatball video recipe.
