Summer in, January??

It is hard to imagine a more beautiful day that the one we had today here in the Bay Area. The temperature was in the mid-70's, no wind to speak of, and if there were any clouds in the sky I missed them. At the risk of being trite, here are a few photos and a video taken earlier around the Golden Gate.

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Cheese, Cheese, Cheese

A couple of years ago while hanging out at Cowgirl Creamery in the Ferry Building I asked one of their staff whether they ever gave cheese tasting classes. The woman said that they did not, but suggested I contact The Cheese School of San Francisco run by Sara Vivenzio and her staff. I had never heard of the School but it turned out to be a very happy find – since our first class there in September 2007, we have attended a total of 16 of their classes and other events– see list below - and probably tried around 130 different cheeses. For a taste of what we have experienced, at the bottom of this post you will also find photos of the cheeses we had at the three-class series at the end of this year with Janet Fletcher on cheeses of Italy, France and Spain, as well as those we tasted at Lynne Devereux’ Cheeses of California class.

Sara with Mila, a very young Cheese School staffer!

The classes are held at the Cheese School’s facilities – a very comfortable room on the second floor of a building at 2155 Powell Street (at Francisco) in North Beach. There are normally about 25 people in each class. Generally 7-10 cheeses are served each evening accompanied by 3-4 wines, or in the case of some classes, beers. In addition to the cheese, accompaniments such as bread, nuts, fruit, jam or honey are also served. Classes typically run about 2 hours and are generally $65/person.

As one can see from the below list, the classes focus on different themes, generally cheeses of particular country or other area, or pairing cheese with wine. The Cheese School arranges for different instructors to teach the various classes and that both provides a variety of styles and approaches, as well as gives one a good chance to meet some of the members of the “cheese community” here in Northern California. For example, Janet Fletcher, who has taught a number of our classes, has written a number of books on cheese, and also writes the excellent Cheese Course series for the San Francisco Chronicle, copies of which may be found on the Chronicle’s website. Happily we have here both great stores where one can buy a wide range of quality cheeses (Cheese Plus, Cowgirl Creamery, Rainbow Grocery and Bi-Rite are among those at the front of the pack in San Francisco), as well as a number of excellent local producers including Andante Dairy, Bellweather Farms, Cowgirl, Fiscallini, Harley Farms, Matos and Pug’s Leap.

Cass, Alex and Pat at Juliana Uruburu's Cheeses of Spain Class

Although we have sampled quite a few cheeses at the Cheese School there are many more out there and we have signed up for additional classes for the first quarter of the new year (first up, Cheeses of the British Isles in two weeks!). Classes fill up quickly so if anyone is interested one should contact the Cheese School and get on their email mailing list so that you can learn of their classes as soon as they are announced at the beginning of each quarter.

CLASSES/EVENTS ATTENDED

1. Cheeses of France - 9/17/07 – Colette Hatch
2. Basic Cheese Primer - 9/28/07 – Judy Creighton
3. Cheeses of Italy - 10/4/07 – Judy Creighton
4. Cheeses of Spain - 2/8/08 – Juliana Uruburu
5. Belgian Beer & Cheese - 3/27/08 – Sheana Davis
6. Cheeses of California - 5/22/08 – Lynne Devereux
7. Cheeses of Sonoma - 6/24/08 – Sheana Davis
8. American Cheese Society Winners - 8/14/08 - Lynne Devereux
9. Drop In Night - 8/29/08
10. Locavore (Northern California) Cheeses – 9/29/08 – Sheana Davis
11. Cheese & Wine Pairing (1 of 3) – Italy – 10-14-08 – Janet Fletcher
12. Cheese & Olive Oil – 10/24/08 – Laura Martinez
13. Locavore Beer and Cheese – 11/10/08 – Sheana Davis
14. Sheep & Syrah – 11/14/08 – Thalassa Skinner (sub for Wil Edwards)
15. Cheese & Wine Pairing (2 of 3) – France – 11/18/08 – Janet Fletcher
16. Cheese & Wine Pairing (3 of 3) – Spain – 12-9-08 – Janet Fletcher

Cheeses from Lynne Devereux' Cheeses of California Class

Cheeses from Janet Fletcher's Cheeses of Italy Class

Cheeses from Janet Fletcher's Cheeses of France Class

Cheeses from Janet Fletcher's Cheeses of France Class

Baaaaaahh

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"Castelvetrano Olives" - Nocellara del Belice

A couple of years ago I was wandering through the Whole Foods store in San Rafael when I noted a tub full of vivid green olives with a sign reading "CastelVetrano - Italy - golden green, mild and nutty with a tiny pit."

I tried them and they soon became our family's favorite olive.

I found that Castelvetrano is a town on the western end of the island of Sicily in the province of Trapani. It is in a valley formed by the Belice River (the "Valle del Belice") which flows southwest across that part of the island for approximately 50 miles. The Valle del Belice was the epicenter of a devastating earthquake that hit Sicily in 1968.

Although the olives are grown in and around Castelvetrano, they are in fact an olive cultivar called "Noccellara del Belice."

On our recent trip to Sicily in September I had hoped to visit Castelvetrano and see the olive orchards. Unfortunately we were not able to do so as we traveled south of the city along the coast, stopping at the Greek archaeological site of Selinunte which is located very close to where the river Belice runs into the sea. We enjoyed a tour of the site after which we had a great lunch at a casual restaurant named Lido Zabbara da Jojo in nearby Marinella, located on one of the most beautiful beaches we saw on the island.

Our lunch included some of the rare "pane nero (black bread) di Castelvetrano," a very tasty local bread the Slow Foods organization is helping to preserve.

Castelvetrano and its olives was also mentioned briefly in an article about Sicily in the most recent issue (January 2009) of Conde Nast Traveler. The article focuses on an estate on the outskirts of Castelvetrano named Antica Tenuta dei Principi Pignatelli (the Ancient Estate of Prince Pignatelli) which is owned by Becchina & Company. The estate produces olive oil (using only the Nocellara del Belice olives) under the Olio Verde label. It also operates as an agroturismo for visitors.
According to one account I read about Becchina’s Olio Verde: “A few things set Becchina apart. First, they pick their olives earlier in the season, around late October, for a more intense, fruity taste. While this limits the quantity, it improves quality. Secondly, instead of using a machine to shake the olives down, which leads to bruising and effects taste, Becchina hires individuals to pick each olive by hand. Each olive is then gently placed in a sack that hangs around the picker’s neck. In order to keep the olives within reach, Becchina goes through the pain of keeping the trees short enough to be in arms reach. Finally, Becchina invented a machine that removes the leaves, snails and dirt that many olive oil companies simply grind up into oil. The company also refuses to spray chemicals on its trees.”

I also came across two very informative posts regarding the estate, the first a report on a visit in 2004, and the second a post on the Lucy’s Kitchen Notebook blog reporting on a cooking tour led by Judy Witts Francini (of Divina Cucina in Florence and author of Over a Tuscan Stove blog, one of my favorites) which used the estate’s facilities.

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Bay Crossing

I love to commute by ferry, in part because every day on the Bay is unique. Here are a series of photos from my ride in to San Francisco yesterday showing the contrast on just one morning.

7:00AM - Ferry docking in Sausalito in heavy fog

7:20AM -- Mount Tam and Angel Island astern

7:25AM - Alcatraz and the Golden Gate Bridge

7:30AM - Arrival in San Francisco - sunrise behind the Bay Bridge

7:40AM - Walking to the office - Coit Tower in the morning sunlight

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Another Great Meal at Perbacco

Yesterday Alex, Cass and I met up again at Perbacco for lunch. Assisted by both Umberto and Kerri, we had yet another great meal, sharing a number of our favorite dishes:

~ Vitello tonnato - slow roasted veal with lemon and albacore tuna sauce, capers and arugula;
~ Piastra seared squid with ceci bean puree, preserved lemon, chili and arugula;
~ Agnolotti dal plin filled with roasted vitellone and savoy cabbage, with sugo d'arrosto;
~ Pansotti - Ligurian ravioli filled with braised greens, ricotta, herbs and walnut butter;
~ Butternut squash lune; and
~ Beef short rib stracotto with celery root puree, haricots verts and roasted cipolline.

We also tried a couple of more Piemontese cheeses from the Perbacco cheese tray:

~ Robiola di Capra Incavolato, a goat milk cheese wrapped in savoy cabbage from La Casera in Verbania on the shores of Lake Maggiore; and
~ Bianco Sottobosco, a cow and goat milk cheese infused with truffles from Caseificio La Bottera in Morozzo near Cuneo.

Both cheeses were good, but I particularly liked the Robiola which was very runny and tangy. Photos of the three of us (why is it that only Cass looks good in these pictures?) and the dishes we enjoyed are below.

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Caldo Verde and Roast Cauliflower

Wandering around on the web trying to find a recipe for the Galician "caldo" soup described by John Barlow in "Everything But the Squeal" (addressed in an earlier post), I came across a couple of recipes for Portuguese "Caldo Verde". According to one account, "considered by many to be Portugal's national dish, caldo verde is found everywhere — in the dining rooms of Lisbon's most luxurious hotels to the humblest of country homes."

The ingredients of Caldo Verde appear slightly different from the Galician caldo described by Barlow, but the two obviously share a similar heritage. I decided to give it a try, together with a baked cauliflower dish that we saw at our dinner at Pizzeria Delfina last week. Both turned out very well for the first try and would definitely be worth trying again, although I do have to say that visually it brought to mind Barlow's description of Galician caldo ("It doesn't look very appetizing. It looks, indeed, like what might run from an overflowing drain after a downpour. Yet it tastes tremendous.")

Caldo Verde - Portuguese Kale and Sausage Soup

Baked Cauliflower with Capers

CALDO VERDE

Ingredients:

Olive oil
1 large yellow onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
One package (4 sausages/ 12 oz.) Aidells Cajun Style Andouille sausage, sliced into 1/4 inch slices*
4 medium Yukon Gold potatoes (just over 1 pound), peeled and diced into 1/2'' cubes
8 cups cold water**
3 bunches (just over 1 pound) cavallo nero (aka “dinosaur”) kale, stems removed and cut into a fine julienne (long, thin strips, about 1/8" wide) ***
Salt and pepper

* The traditional recipe calls for chorizo sausage.

** Obviously if you have a stock pork stock available that would be far better.

***Kale is not particularly bitter. Contrast the bitter "grelos" which Barlow described as the heart of the Galician caldo.

Preparation:

Heat the 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large enameled cast-iron casserole. Add the onion and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the onion just begins to soften and turn translucent, about 5 minutes. Then add the garlic and half of the chorizo and cook for another 2-3 minutes.

Add the water, potatoes, and salt and pepper, and bring to a boil. then reduce the heat and simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 10-15 minutes.

Hopefully using an immersion blender (otherwise you will need to remove the soup to a food processor and blend it), process the soup to a coarse puree, and then bring the soup back to a boil. Add the kale and simmer until it is wilted, about 3 minutes. Stir in the remaining half of the chorizo and simmer for an additional 5 minutes.

BAKED CAULIFLOWER WITH CAPERS (A LA PIZZERIA DELFINA)

Ingredients:

1 (2-pound) head cauliflower, green leaves discarded and cut into florets*
Olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon drained capers (packed in brine)
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 cups loosely packed fresh flat-leaf parsley sprigs

*One recipe I saw suggested baking the cauliflower head whole. I think it is a better idea (and makes serving easier) to cut it into the florets before baking.

Note: This dish on the Pizzeria Delfina menu is described as "Spicy Cauliflower with capers, garlic, and Calabrian chilies." I did not use either the garlic or chilies the first time, although those would be worth exploring! If one did not want too spicy a dish perhaps one could add julienned sweet Italian frying peppers (like a Jimmy Nardelo variety). In addition, other recipes I saw for similar dishes (apparently one is on the menu at Mario Battali's OTTO in New York) suggested adding thyme and kalamata olives, and flat leaf parsley as a garnish.

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 425°F.

Place cauliflower florets in a large bowl, season with salt and pepper and drizzle on about 1/3 cup of olive oil. Toss to coat.

Put a rack on a baking sheet and spread the florets on the rack. Bake until tender, about 35-40 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through. The tips of the florets may char or blacken a bit but don't be overly concerned about that - in my view it adds to both the flavor and texture.

While cauliflower roasts, in a small bowl combine the lemon juice, lemon zest, capers and 1/4 cup of olive oil. Remove the cauliflower from the oven, put it in a bowl, pour on the lemon mixture, toss and serve.

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Happy New Year

Now there is a New Year resolution I can fully support!

At our dinner at Delfina earlier this week Antonio and I watched as the folks in the kitchen stretched mozzarella. Our waitress, Jeanine, explained that Delfina makes some of the mozzarella they use using cow's milk obtained from local dairies.

Of course, the most traditional mozzarella is made from the milk of the water buffalo, and, in Italy, comes from designated areas in the southern part of the country, much of it from the coastal areas in the region of Campania where the production apparently originated in the 12th century. The highest quality buffalo mozzarella bears a "Mozzarella di Bufala Campana" trademark, and an organization named Consorzio per la Tutela del Formaggio di Bufala Campana (The Consortium for the Protection of the Buffalo Cheese of Campania) oversees the promotion and marketing of mozzarella under that mark.

Almost all the mozzarella consumed here in the US is made from cow milk (sometimes referred to as "fior di latte mozzarella") and while some of it is quite good, according to the Consortia:

"Buffalo milk is not for drinking and is used exclusively for making mozzarella. Indeed, it is so nutritious and so rich in fat and cassein that it would be indigestible over the breakfast table, whereas it is the best for the cheese industry. Cow's-milk mozzarella is a ball of fresh cheese swimming in brine, pleasant as ice cream but absolutely tasteless."

So if one wants to avoid the "absolutely tasteless" alternative of cow's milk mozzarella one needs to find some real buffalo mozzarella. Of course the problem is that as a fresh cheese, mozzarella di bufala needs to be eaten as soon as possible (Italians will say ideally within hours of its production) and hence apart from the cost (and the dioxin scare of last March), several days of transit from Italy does not help its quality.

One ray of hope for those of us here in California is provided by a small California company named Bubalus Bubalis (the Latin name of the water buffalo) which for the last 10 years has been producing buffalo mozzarella at a plant in Gardena using a small herd of water buffalo raised on a farm in Bangor, about 70 miles north of Sacramento. Bubalus Bubalis' buffalo mozzarella can be found as some local cheese stores (including Cowgirl Creamery in the Ferry Building), and in fact Delfina offers it as an option (for a $2.25 surcharge) on its Margherita pizza.

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