I have to admit I have been called a food snob. In general I refuse to eat fast food, don’t buy pre-packaged/processed “stuff” and am not into greasy/sugary foods. A few of my foodie friends have weaknesses in the fast food/junk food area so I thought maybe I should try to expand my culinary experience to something outside of my comfort zone — several of them have and they are all around to talk about it.
The "big" dog
Well if you live anywhere near Paso Robles, you know that the Mid-State Fair is in full swing. Fair food. Those two words either just made you salivate or made your stomach flip. I bet you can guess which camp I sit in. I have lived in Paso Robles for 10 years now and have made it to the Fair at least once each year — usually to enjoy the great concerts, do some people watching and sometimes even a little shopping. I have NEVER eaten fair food (unless you count the one time I was going to a concert and hadn’t found time to eat first so I purchased a very expensive,very bad Caesar salad). Last night I went to the fair with the sole purpose of exploring Fair Food. I went with a friend who promised to introduce me to the best the fair had to offer.
Number one on my list was a corn dog — I honestly don’t think I can say I have ever had one. The thought of a wiener being dipped in batter and fried….well doesn’t sound good. My friend took me to the one vendor who not only claimed hand dipped but also homemade batter. I was advised to go for the “big” one. I purchased the corn dog, poured mustard and hot sauce on my plate and prepared myself for the worst. I was shocked…I did not find the first bite repulsive at all. The second bite I found almost enjoyable. Not near as greasy as I thought — perhaps the oil temperature was high enough that not a lot was absorbed into the “dog”…and the batter….well somewhat like polenta. I ate the whole thing and have to say it was pretty, darn good.
I did need a glass of wine after that experience. My wine pick at the fair was the 2009 Vina Robles White 4 – it really added a refreshing edge and functioned as a palate cleanser between the fat and sugar courses. I guess I shouldn’t really position it as pairing with the food so much as functioning as my reward. In any case it is a very nice blend of 4 white grapes and I was delighted to find it being poured at the fair. I had a glass and discussed food strategy with some friends in between bellowing out the words to any song I knew that the dueling piano performers where playing. Everyone had several recommendations for what I should try — I knew I couldn’t possibly eat them all so I had a short list and spent the evening working through the vendor recommendations.
"Home made" Chips
Next up was “home made” potato chips. They were actually made from real potatoes and not bad. They really lacked flavor (even salt) but the good news is the vendor had an assortment of toppings available, so with a little sea salt, garlic salt, pepper and Cajun spice mix they were pretty good. By the end of the plate I might even say they were becoming addictive. I was told they are even better when they come straight out of the oil and you top them immediately — rookie mistake I took mine from under the heat lamp.
The next course was likely my favorite and clearly within my food comfort zone. The goat cheese people had made ice cream from goat’s milk and made it with natural ingredients and no sugar. The fresh strawberry goat’s milk ice cream was heavenly — sort of a cross between a true ice cream and an ice milk. Nice texture, great flavors and I felt healthy enough to move on to the final tasting of the evening – that I do have to say made me a bit nervous.
Chocolate Bacon
The grand finale — chocolate bacon. Yes it is true you may love chocolate, you may love bacon and you really can get them together. I talked with the vendor and here is the scoop. The bacon is cooked until it is very crisp, then dipped in dark chocolate, then it is sprinkled with sea salt and frozen. I really wasn’t looking forward to trying this one. It was, however, an excellent combination of flavors and with the dark chocolate and salt would be fantastic with a lot of different bold red wines. Knowing I had to drive home I didn’t explore the red wines at the Fair…maybe a homework assignment for me if I ever try to make my own chocolate bacon.
I left the fair grounds with a full belly and empty wallet (fair food is not near as inexpensive as you would expect) and I realized there were indeed some good aspects to “fair food”. I can’t say I am hooked but next year I may just try another corn dog!
Last night I poured wine at the Haven Wine Bistro in Atascadero. The wine bistro is located next door to The Spa Central Coast (same owner) and just down the block from the Carlton Hotel. It was the first Annual “Fine Women, Fine Wine” event and had sold out a few days prior to the event. Owner, Kitty Arosteguy, is very creative and tends to come up with some great ideas. The event was a huge success — 6 women winemakers each poured 2 wines and Haven’s Chef Debi had created 4 very tasty dishes to go with the wines.
Janell Dusi, J Dusi Wines
The women winemakers featured last night included: Amanda Cramer of Niner Wine Estates, Amy Jean Butler of Ranchero Cellars, Denise Valoff of Donati Family Vineyard, Janell Dusi of JDusi Wines, Lisa Pretty of Pretty-Smith Vineyards & Wineryand Natasha Boffman of Taz. I wish I could say I tasted all 12 wines, but since I was “working” I didn’t manage to taste ALL the wine. I did, however, make a very good effort and spent a little time prior to guests arriving to determine what I thought my favorite food/wine pairings were.
Chef Debi tends to prepare food with a great mix of texture and flavor. With her Southern background you will likely find a little kick or an
Chef Debi dishing it out!
interesting twist in her recipes. I have had lunch and appetizers at the wine bar in the past, so knew she would come up with some very interesting items for the “Fine Women, Fine Wine” event. I was not disappointed. Debi had prepared a plate with 4 different dishes and although she had to serve over 70 people, she managed to get each plate out looking perfect. The staff served hungry guests both in the bistro as well as out in the relaxing courtyard area.
Although not everyone will likely agree with my favorite pairings, here is what I thought:
Eat Pasta with Summer Vegetables with 2003 Pretty-Smith Palette de Rouge (and I am not just saying that because it is my wine!).
Eat Tuna Tartare with Asian Slaw on Wonton Crisps with 2007 Donati Pinot Blanc
Eat Hickory Smoked Brisket on Polenta with 2008 Ranchero Cellars Carignane
Eat Chocolate Pot de Creme with 2007 J Dusi Zinfandel Port(or if you are not into the sweet stuff the 2006 Niner Wine Estates Cabernet Sauvignon was also a great pairing).
I’m trying to talk Debi into sharing a recipe from the evening, so with any luck you will soon see one of the recipes with wine details in the recipe section of this blog site.
My favorite wine of the evening — 2008 Taz Fiddlesticks Pinot Noir — my kind of Pinot! It did pair well with a couple of the items but I have to say I liked it all by itself.
Guests received 6 tasting tickets for the evening and the
women winemakers wandered from table to table to pour tastes. Now if you know women, you probably know they don’t always have a pocket or a good place to put things. I give credit to Amy Butler for finding the most interesting place to put her tickets. I hope she remembered to dump her boot at the end of the evening.
The guests had fun and so did the winemakers and staff — the good news is that if you missed it this year it will be an annual event. They even had t-shirts made so you may see me around town in mine.
"Fine Women, Fine Wine" 2010
Tags: Haven wine bistro, Pretty-Smith Winery, wine, wine event, women winemakers
I arrived back in Paso Robles mid-day on Sunday. Bad timing since the kennel closes for an hour lunch break and I was really looking forward to picking-up my dog and heading home. I live several miles from town so decided to hang out and have lunch to kill some time. A sushi bar is a great place when dining alone so I went to one of my favorites – Goshi’s by the train station on Pine Street.
Unlike the crowded restaurants in Santa Barbara, there was no wait here and I was immediately seated at the bar. One of the nice things about living in a small town is most of the chefs know me by name and both the sushi chefs gave me a warm welcome. They had made a special miso soup that day with plenty of clams — very yummy and a great start to what I knew would be an excellent lunch. Although sushi can often get pricey, the lunch specials at Goshi’s are very reasonable — the combination lunch special is just $13.50 and offers a wide range of items including a number of salads. Seaweed salad is one of my favorites so I had that as well as a cucumber salad along with sashimi and a tuna roll.
I often drink beer with sushi but being back in Paso on a hot day I decided to go with a nice, cool, local wine. It is not often I find a California Viognier that I like; however, Anglim produces a nice one — not too floral and not too sweet. The wine went extremely well with the raw fish and I couldn’t think of a wine I had ever enjoyed more with Sushi (well there may have been a cold sake or two that would be right up there).
I enjoyed the Anglim Viognier so much that after lunch I decided to pop into their tasting room and check out their current line-up of white wines. The tasting room is just a few doors down from Goshi’s. Stephanie, one of the owners, was behind the bar so not only did I get to try their fantastic line-up of white wines, I also got caught up on what I had missed in Paso over the weekend.
Stephanie’s husband, Steve Anglim is the wineamaker and does a great job with white wines (reds too but lets face it with triple digit temperatures white is the way to go). I enjoyed each and every one including: 2008 Grenache Blanc, 2006 Cameo (Marsanne/Rousanne/Viognier), 2007 Viognier and the 2007 Roussanne. Wine shopping was not on my list but I couldn’t resist — I bought 6 bottles so Stephanie threw in a bottle of Syrah for a penny (she will do that for anyone not just me). Be sure to stop by their tasting room next time you are in downtown Paso — wonderful wines and super nice people. Be sure to buy 6 so you can get the penny deal!
Tags: Anglim, dining out, Goshi's, Paso Robles, sushi, Viognier, white wine
After pouring wine all afternoon at the Wine Festival I had worked up an appetite. The venue was perfect with ocean views, clear blue sky, and an ideal temperature so it was not surprising that the turnout was fantastic — almost 3000 people attended the event. That is a lot of wine loving people to deal with!
Since I had selected the sushi place the night before I let my friend select the restaurant. He had, after all, spent his Saturday moving coolers of wine, helping with set-up and pouring wine – I wanted to keep him happy just in case I need help with another event in the future. He decided to go with Italian and being from the area he had a place he liked that was right on State Street – the restaurant was named Pascucci.
Once again being in Santa Barbara, Pascucci was packed. People were standing on the sidewalk waiting for tables – I was a bit nervous that I would get grumpy before a table opened up (have I ever mentioned I hate waiting for dinner) but it was less than 5 minutes before we found ourselves at a table for 2 by the band. Live music is always a nice touch and they were pretty good.
The menu had a wide selection of items that sounded fantastic. Italian is another of those cuisines that I could eat a few times a week and never get tired of. As soon as we were seated a basket of hot garlic bread arrived. I had ordered the Villa Antinori Chianti Classico Riserva – for the price point I have never been disappointed with a bottle from Villa Antinori. Clearly they don’t know me in Santa Barbara, they brought a glass to the table instead of a bottle. Once that little mistake was cleared-up I could once again focus on food.
I went with a Caesar salad to start and then shrimp that had been stuffed with pesto, wrapped in pancetta and then grilled. The shrimp were served with a huge amount of pasta and a very basic tomato sauce and melted cheese. The flavor combination of pesto, shrimp and pancetta was excellent — went extremely well with the Chianti. My dining companion had ordered mushrooms in a marsala sauce to start (I did get a taste of these and they were very good) followed by a risotto — the Chianti also went well with his food selections. In general, when you select items from a particular region such as Tuscany it is usually a pretty good idea to select a wine from the region as well.
The service was excellent. I had checked out the restaurant reviews on-line and apparently we were either very lucky or the service has improved. Several reviews complained about the service but most people had great things to say about the food — and the price is really good. I was pleasantly surprised to find everything so reasonably priced. Overall, I would say this is a good restaurant in a great area and given the excellent service we had, I have no complaints and would go back again.
Tags: Chainti, dining out, Italian, Pascucci, Santa Barbara
I know it is a food and wine blog but I have to say every now and then I drink BEER. One of those occasions is with sushi (also with Mexican food and always after a hard afternoon on the ski slopes or a round of curling…but that is likely best kept for another blog entry).
I LOVE sushi. It really has to be one of my favorite foods in the world. I have been to Japan over a dozen times on business and I hope it doesn’t sound like bragging but I think I have been to some of the best sushi places in the world. Some of those are right here in California (Sushi Main Street in Half Moon Bay and Goshi’s in Paso Robles are my top two). So when I am out of town and looking for a dining experience, a new sushi place is always at the top of my list.
I was in Santa Barbara for the Wine Festival and a couple of my foodie friends had told me about Arigato Sushi — as luck would have it the restaurant was located just a few blocks down the road from where I was staying. I had a friend helping me for the weekend and thankfully he was into sushi too (I have to admit I may have ditched him for dinner on Friday night if he was not).
The restaurant does not take reservations – they don’t have to — every night the place is packed. Coming from Paso Robles, where you don’t ever have to line-up for dinner I wasn’t too enthused about that. The good news is they were willing to take our name and number, let us wander off for drinks and call us when the table was ready. I hadn’t even finished my first gin and tonic (yes I drink more than wine while out of town) when our seats at the bar became available.
I think the best seats in the house at a sushi place are at the bar. This was very true of Arigato since people watching in the packed restaurant was a lot of fun. Not to mention the menu has a lot of non-traditional items so it was fun watching all the plates come out of the kitchen — several were flaming and that just doesn’t say sushi to me but it does add to the entertainment factor.
My dining companion and I each selected a few items and ordered beer. I like Sapporo with Sushi and was happy to see it on the list. The edamame was a great teaser for the yellow tail sashimi, uni, tuna roll, and eel. The plates were all delivered with a nice presentation and the fish was fresh (at the rate they were pumping plates out of the kitchen how could it not be?).
In general I am a bit of a traditional sushi eater — a nice plate of sashimi is one of my favorites, there really isn’t any fish that I don’t like and keeping the fish flavor pure is key for me. Arigato Sushi have a huge menu of non-traditional and I decided we should likely try something that was unique to the restaurant. We went with one of the fancy rolls with three kinds of fish, asparagus, lots of sauce and well a lot of “show” – overall the roll was good but not $22 good — I guess when it comes to sushi fancy is not for me! If you are in Santa Barbara and looking for sushi I would recommend Arigato Sushi — they do have something for everyone on their menu.
I was in Santa Barbara for the big California Wine Festival this past weekend and I have to confess I took the whole weekend off and decided to enjoy a mini getaway to the beautiful city of Santa Barbara. I arrived mid-afternoon on Friday after a hectic morning of working/trying to get everything done prior to leaving for a couple of days. My mid-afternoon headache reminded me I had skipped breakfast and lunch. Knowing I was having a sushi dinner with a friend later that evening I decided to wander down State Street and look for somewhere I could get a light bite mid-afternoon on my way to check out the water front area.
There are certainly plenty of choices for dining in Santa Barbara. What caught my attention was Cafe Buenos Aires – partially due to a gorgeous outdoor courtyard and partial due to the music piped out to the sidewalk that did remind me of my visit to Argentina a few years back. I LOVED the food in Argentina and would put that country on my “must eat there again” list. So I wandered in and was seated near a foutain of trickling water — the restaurant scored high points in my book already for that — very relaxing and my headache was already a little better.
They had a very interesting list of tapas and salads. I decided to go with ceviche and a salad. I decided Sauvignon Blanc was the way to go for wine and when I was having a difficult time making up my mind the waiter offered me a tasting of Sauvignon Blancs from their by the glass list. The service was excellent and my waiter very friendly.
I have to say the ceviche was very well presented — served with a side of salsa and guacamole as well as fried tortilla chips. I was a little dissappointed in the ceviche itself – the best I have ever had was in Costa Rica — second best is what I make myself (see recipe section). This one I think had likely been made the day before — I think it had been in lime juice a little too long and well lacked flavor — I mixed in the salsa and that certianly helped. The salad on the other hand was excellent! I ordered the house Buenos Aires salad and it was dressed lightly in a nice vinaigrette. Very fresh greens with hearts of palm, blue cheese, white beans and tomatoes. Of the Sauvignon Blancs I tasted, the best by far was the one from Brander. After the lovely salad and my glass of wine I was ready to continue exploring Santa Barbara –headache free. My waiter invited me back for another visit with a big smile — a great start to a weekend away from home!
The weather forecast for the Paso Robles area indicates triple digit temperatures all weekend long. Here is a very refreshing pairing — every time I make ceviche people rave about it — and the good news is it is easy to make. I tend to serve this with blue corn chips, regular corn chips or when I am feeling ultra healthy I serve it on Belgium endive petals. Goes fantastic with a crisp, Sauvignon Blanc such as the 2009 Halter Ranch Sauvignon Blanc.
Tilapia Ceviche
- 2 Tilapia fillets, diced
- 6 cherry tomatoes, diced
- 1 green onion, diced
- 1/4 teaspoon red chili sauce
- 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
- Salt & pepper to taste
Optional ingredients for a spicy ceviche
- 1 clove garlic, crushed
- 1 Serrano pepper, finely chopped
Marinade
- Juice of 2-3 fresh limes
- Place chopped fish in glass container. Pour fresh lime juice over fish, stirring to coat all fish pieces. If fish pieces are not covered completely, add more lime juice. Cover the container and place in refrigerator for three hours. The fish is cooked by the lime’s acidity rather than by heat.
- Drain and discard lime juice. Mix the fish with tomatoes, onion, chili sauce, cilantro and if you want a spicy version also add the garlic and pepper. Season with salt and pepper. Squeeze a little lime juice over top.
Note:Although traditionally made with tilapia, snapper or seabass, ceviche can be made with various fish including shell fish — this recipe works great with sea scallops or shrimp for a very impressive appetizer.
When I was at the lavender festival today I remembered last year tasting one of the best rice-chickpea salads that I have ever had. Special thanks to Michele Knecht, Seasonal Custom Cuisine, Atascadero, CA for providing me with her recipe.
Makes 6 cups
Salad:
- 1 cup short grain brown rice
- 2 cups water
- 1 cup chick peas
- ¼ cup diced celery
- ¼ cup diced carrot
- ¼ cup fresh cooked or frozen corn, thawed
- ¼ cup frozen peas, thawed
- 1-2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
- Bring rice & water to boil, cover and lower heat. Simmer for 45 minutes. Remove from heat. Place a clean towel under lid, across top of pan & replace lid(to absorb moisture) let sit an additional 10-15 minutes to steam. Fluff rice and let cool to room temperature.
- Combine remaining ingredients with rice.
Dressing:
- 2 tablespoons finely minced shallot
- 1 tablespoon Herb de Provence
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 clove garlic, finely minced
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Ume Plum vinegar
- 2/3 cups good quality olive oil
- Combine all dressing ingredients with whisk or in food processor.
- Toss with salad to taste just before serving. Extra dressing can be stored in fridge for 1 week.
Chef’s Tip: This is a client favorite. I use short grain organic brown rice that has a nutty flavor and chewy texture, local organic carrots, celery, shallots and parsley from Nature’s Touch Nursery and Harvest in Templeton, and the Herb de Provence blend from Central Coast Organic Lavender Farm in Paso Robles. The Ume Plum vinegar (at the Health Food store) gives the dressing a certain depth. Don’t omit it!
The salad is fantastic with Eberle’s Syrah Rosé — try it with your favorite rosé for a wonderful summer lunch — it is very healthy but you don’t have to tell your guests that!
I also like to serve this with grilled chicken breast for a healthy dinner.
Today before I opened the tasting room I hit the farmers market in Templeton and then swung by the Paso Robles Park to catch the beginning of the annual lavender festival — made me think of all the wonderful things you can do with this herb.
Relax – Its Lavender When I think of lavender I can close my eyes and take myself back to the south of France with the never ending lavender fields and the wonderful aroma. Lavender is said to have one of the most relaxing aromas there is, so it is not surprising that the oils from the flower are extracted and used in soaps, bath oils, body lotions, face masks and even insect repellent (ok I guess that is not so much about it being relaxing as it is about the bugs not liking it). Lavender is also known as a natural anti-depressant and in the dried form it is often found in wreaths, sachets and potpourris. Well what may surprise you is that lavender plants don’t just flourish in France and England — lavender is now becoming a growing industry right here in California’s Central Coast – and if you have not used it for culinary purposes you are in for a big surprise.
Lavender as a Culinary Ingredient Lavender belongs to the mint family and has several different groups, many species and even more subspecies. Classifying lavender plants appears to be very confusing. Some are known to be sweet while others savory. Not all plants are suitable for culinary use, so if you are planting your own be sure to do a little research first. The climate, soils and time of harvest will all dictate the flavor. Although most people will just use the flower from the lavender plant, I have been told some people also include the stems. The flower is sweeter while the stems add bitter notes. A little goes a long way with lavender and although there are those that absolutely love it, others can find it a bit overwhelming even soap like.
The simplest way to use lavender is to include it as an edible garnish – the buds add aroma, color and flavor to a salad. Keep in mind biting into a full bud can be a bit of a flavor explosion, so if your guests are not familiar with the herb be sure to give them a little warning. Due to the intensity, some people prefer not to use the flowers directly in the recipe. Rubbing lavender onto meats prior to cooking is an excellent and simple way to add the distinctive flavor – it tends to pair really well with the fattier cuts of meat. If you want to be even more cautious about the amount of flavor added, you can always add the dried lavender cuttings to your coals and let the smoke do the flavoring – everyone will want to hang around the BBQ.
One of the most common ways to use the herb is to create a lavender sugar or syrup and then add that to baking or drink recipes. Sugar cookies, chocolate chip cookies, short bread, ice cream, you name it – just take your favorite sweat recipe and instead of plain sugar include lavender sugar. All you have to do is mix lavender with your sugar in a food processor (approximately 1 tablespoon of lavender per 2 cups of sugar) then store it in a container for 2-3 weeks. During that time the flavor and aroma of the lavender will infuse the sugar. For recipes requiring a simple syrup (or sugar water as I like to call it), just boil 2 cups of water, 2 cups of sugar, 2 tablespoons of lavender, let it steep 20-30 minutes, then drain and store in the refrigerator. Great in tea, ice tea, lemonade, cocktails – makes a yummy addition to margaritas — try adding some to inexpensive sparkling wine.
Pairing with Wine: While it will largely be dictated by the savory versus sweet aspect of your dish, I would have to say the safest pairing with lavender is Riesling — either off-dry or sweet with a nice acidity. For many desserts made with lavender a Moscato d’Asti or ice wine would also be nice. Paired with a meat dish, a Zinfandel or Merlot will also work well. I’m stocked-up on lavender – with so much in my pantry now you will likely see a few recipes appear in the blog soon.
Each Tuesday night, if we are both in town, my friend Stacie and I meet at the gym then after a yoga/pilate’s class we head over to her place for a healthy dinner. Last night was the first night we were firing up her brand new BBQ — so you know there had to be plenty of grilled food on the menu.
A grilled feast
I had marinated thick lamb chops in lime juice, rosemary, thyme and olive oil. Just prior to grilling I added a little of the special salt that Stacie had brought back with her from France. Stacie had red peppers and sliced eggplant ready for the grill and she had prepared a very tasty tossed salad. I think I did pretty good with the new grill — I’m so use to an old one with uneven flame that it was a real treat to cook on a new one.
There are a lot of red wines that would go well with the grilled feast. After giving it some thought, Stacie remembered she had a bottle of 2007 Ancient Peaks Merlot open and as luck would have it that went wonderfully with the dinner.
Being on a bit of a health kick right now, I actually stuck to sparkling water with dinner but was very tempted by the Merlot – I’ve had it in the past and it is one of my favorite, local Merlots. I decided to do Phase 1 of South Beach Diet for approximately a week and wine is not allowed until Phase 2 — will be a huge challenge for me. As a result, my posts for the rest of the week will have to be of pairings I remember being good. I have a lot of memories of great wine and food pairings so I don’t think I’ll run short on material. The added benefit is you should see some healthy recipes appearing in the recipe section of this blog for the next little while — and there are so many great fresh produce items at this time of year that healthy is also tasty!