Weekend trip to Napa Valley

[rotuts]

Its WF !

 

none of this 

 

 

for them !

 

just this :

 

 

potatoes " WF " run $ 9.99 /lbs

[KennethT]

It's amazing how much produce a supermarket can throw out each week in the US.  Most of the time, supermarkets wind up throwing out produce that started out as not cosmetically perfect, because many US consumers associate cosmetic appeal with freshness and flavor.  This is why most farmers (especially the large agro-corps) in the US grow crops that are engineered or selected for cosmetic uniformity and appeal as well as shipping stability and storage, rather than for flavor.

 

Sorry to derail this thread, but I have been doing a lot of research lately as I'm prepping to start some indoor farming to sell.  I have some unused warehouse space that I think I can put to good use!  But growing for a business is different than growing for fun - so it's important to understand the average consumer... hence the research since most people who are active on this site are certainly NOT average consumers!

[chefmd]

@KennethT Well said.  I will go out of my way to avoid throwing food away.  Buying cosmetically imperfect food cheaply is perfect for me.

[chefmd]

Breakfast at Model bakery.  Perfect temperature for eating outside, 71 degrees.

[chefmd]

Lunch at Heritage Eats.  Bunh mi on Dutch crunch roll.  Dutch crunch was really crunchy, I had to google it since it is something I have never encountered before.  Now I am dying to make it at home.  

[chefmd]

Another What The Food moment.  Alkaline water.  Really?  Drano is alkaline, just saying.

[chefmd]

Pre dinner snack.  Duck liver pate on crusty baguette.  Black currant mustard, what a treat.

 

[chefmd]

Dinner at home.  My cousin who grew up in Vilnius, made cold beet borscht.  Wild king salmon with chanterelles.

 

 

[Shelby]

10 hours ago, chefmd said:

Lunch at Heritage Eats.  Bunh mi on Dutch crunch roll.  Dutch crunch was really crunchy, I had to google it since it is something I have never encountered before.  Now I am dying to make it at home.  

I've never had Dutch Crunch bread before (also called zebra bread) but when I read about it, I just had to try.  Biggest bread failure I've ever had.  I haven't had the heart to try again so I await your efforts and maybe then, I'll try again.

[Martin Fisher]

11 hours ago, chefmd said:

Duck liver pate on crusty baguette.  Black currant mustard, what a treat.

 

OMG! YUM! 

[chefmd]

Sandwich with olive bread from Model bakery.  Made with left over roasted chicken, havarty cheese, quick pickles, black currant mustard.  Bread was heavenly.  Other ingredients seemed almost superfluous.

 

[chefmd]

A trip to V. Sattui tasting room resulted in purchasing these two very aromatic dry wines.  Drinking at 10 AM is very wrong.  Tasting wine at 10 AM is very different.  It is also 1 PM east coast time.  

Pay phone looks so nostalgic.

 

[KennethT]

There is no shame in wine tasting at 10AM.... some professionals start even earlier!

[kayb]

@chefmd writes: "A trip to V. Sattui tasting room resulted in purchasing these two very aromatic dry wines.  Drinking at 10 AM is very wrong.  Tasting wine at 10 AM is very different.  It is also 1 PM east coast time. "

 

In whose world is drinking at 10 a.m. very wrong? Certainly not mine. It is, after all, five o'clock somewhere.

[BonVivant]

2 hours ago, chefmd said:

A trip to V. Sattui tasting room resulted in purchasing these two very aromatic dry wines.  Drinking at 10 AM is very wrong.  Tasting wine at 10 AM is very different.  It is also 1 PM east coast time. 

 

Relax, you are on holiday. In fact, I say go all out. Deal with it when you come home but right now just enjoy.

 

Check this out, drinking beer at 10am at my lodging whilst waiting for the bus back to El Calafate (Argentina). Back in 2009 there was no information about this beer to be found on the web. Not even ONE photo. Nothing. I have just looked it up again, found two photos and the label is totally different. This old label is home printed and glued on the bottle manually. They probably brewed it in the shed.

 

ep

 

Actually, not one but three beers. The hostel where I was staying at had a drink fridge in the reception area by the entrance but I didn't know there was also beer in it, saw mostly sweet fizzy crap. Then whilst waiting to pay for my room, an hour before the bus left for El Calafate, I looked at the bottles more closely and what did I see? Beer. Artisanal beer from around here. Well of course I just had to buy all 3. Then it occurred to me I would not have any way to keep the beer cold in the coming days so I drank them right there. Simple as that. The young employee laughed when I said "who cares how early it is, I'm on holiday". She concurred. Directly after this I walked to the bus stop to catch my bus.

 

 

This is what I came to El Chalten for, to do a hike. A typical sight in Patagonia. Stayed 3 days, should have stayed the whole week. That is the very impressive omnipresent Mt. Fitz Roy seen from the road leading to El Chalten. And it is also here where I found some beer that is still not available outside the village in 2017. Note that El Chalten is only open in high season, the southern summer.

 

Edited September 5, 2017 by BonVivant (log)

[chefmd]

@BonVivant Thank you for encouragement!  I can get used to this kind of life

[chefmd]

Lunch at Cindy back door kitchen.  

Duck burger (it was half eaten by the time I remembered to take a photo).  I was told that it gas to be medium per CA regulations.  It was delicious nevertheless.  Paired with Misspent youth pale ale.

 

 

[chefmd]

Dinner at home.  Rib eye steak,, sautéed chanterelles, kale salad.

[Thanks for the Crepes]

16 hours ago, chefmd said:

Sandwich with olive bread from Model bakery.  Made with left over roasted chicken, havarty cheese, quick pickles, black currant mustard.  Bread was heavenly.  Other ingredients seemed almost superfluous.

 

 

Lovely, shiny crumb on that bread! I can certainly see how it could overshadow the fillings.

 

Thanks for taking us along on your holiday to Napa Valley. I have found it most enjoyable.

[chefmd]

7 hours ago, Thanks for the Crepes said:

 

Lovely, shiny crumb on that bread! I can certainly see how it could overshadow the fillings.

 

Thanks for taking us along on your holiday to Napa Valley. I have found it most enjoyable.

Thank you for reading my posts.  It makes my trip even more enjoyable.

[chefmd]

When I cook salmon. I like to cut the thin belly part off to prevent uneven cooking.  It usually gets cured in the mixture of salt, sugar, dill.  This morning we had cured belly of king salmon, tomatoes, cream cheese on olive bread.  The quality of tomatoes and salmon made it exceptional.  

[chefmd]

We are going to have a very, very special dinner tonight.  11 courses.  At 5:30.  Stay tuned.  So the plan was to have a very, very light lunch.  So what did we do?  We had hamburgers at Gott's Road Stand.  Blue cheese burger for me and green chile burger for my husband.  No fries though.  And if you buy Gott wine in a nearby grocery, there is no corkage fee.  Please don't judge.  I can drink Sauvignon blanc with everything.   

 

[chefmd]

Last night we had dinner at Single Thread.  I think it's the best meal that I ever had.  Greeted by chef Kyle Connaughton upon entering.  Starting with amuse bush on the roof.  Every dish was perfectly executed.  I often notice and complain about little things while eating out but there was absolutely nothing wrong with our food.  

 

 

 

[Shelby]

Those burgers look amazing.

 

And wow on that presentation--is that a live tomato plant or did they cut a branch off?

[chefmd]

Here is the menu.  Two best dishes were Late Summer in Sonoma County (multiple one to two bite offerings) and king salmon dish that was lightly smoked in donabe.  Chef has extensive collection of exquisite donabes.  Serving pieces were all beautiful and different for each dish.  Mostly ceramics.