Napa Anniversary Trip

May 15, 2015 by Laura Messersmith in Scouting

Napa Valley, California | Image: Laura Messersmith — **Napa Valley, California** | Image: *Laura Messersmith*

Today Mike and I are celebrating our fifth wedding anniversary – five years ago at this moment I was sitting down to a beautiful breakfast in the dining room of the Fontainebleu Inn giddy with excitement and nerves for the day to come. I can’t actually remember what I ate but I think crispy potatoes were involved, maybe waffles? Let’s hope it was waffles.

After a day filled with joy and lots of dancing we re-packed our bags and flew to San Francisco for a honeymoon trip in Napa. It worked out beautifully that we were in Northern California earlier this month and had a chance to revisit one of my favorite places in the world for an anniversary trip.

There were a handful of spots that stood out five years ago and we found some new places on this trip that have become new favorites. If you have a chance to go I highly recommend putting at least a few of these on your itinerary.

Frog's Leap | Image: Laura Messersmith — **Frog's Leap** | Image: *Laura Messersmith*

Sip:
Frog’s Leap – We had fond memories of sipping wine on the back porch here and had to come back. FL takes a lot of pride in growing grapes and making wine with great respect for the environment, and that feeling of communing with the valley carries through to the tasting experience. A perfect spot to relax, watch the bees buzz, and let the magic of Napa fall over you.

Paraduxx – A new find on this trip and we absolutely fell in love with the wines as evidenced by how difficult it was to choose which ones to bring home. A laid back vibe with really warm, friendly guidance from the tasting room hosts. Who doesn’t want to try a glass (or six) while surrounded by rustling vineyards?

Tamber Bey – The excellent wine and location on Sundance Ranch make Tamber Bey unique, as do the pairings: specially prepared miniature cookies. The combinations are developed by local pastry chef Michelle Romaine and it’s amazing to see in action the way a chardonnay is transformed by lemony shortbread spiked with pink peppercorn. But, I bet I had you at cookies, right?

Tamber Bey | Image: Laura Messersmith — **Tamber Bey** | Image: *Laura Messersmith*

Gott's Roadside (aka Taylor's Refresher) | Image: Laura Messersmith — **Gott's Roadside (aka Taylor's Refresher)** | Image: *Laura Messersmith*

Dine:
Ad Hoc – This was the first place we had dinner on our honeymoon and the memory of that fried chicken has lived on in our dreams. Definitely an auspicious beginning. The atmosphere is casual, but don’t be fooled – this is a Thomas Keller restaurant and the cooking is top-notch. Ice cream sandwiches for dessert don’t hurt anything either!

Gott’s Roadside (neé Taylor’s Refresher) – Classic roadside food of the type popularized by In N Out and Shake Shack on their respective coasts. We kept it old-school with a cheeseburgers and diet coke. The grassy backyard dotted with red picnic tables and shaded by umbrellas combined with the mid-century vibe make it easy to pretend you’ve been transported into a Beach Boys song.

Oakville Grocery – Another re-visit, but when the food is this good it’s hard to blame us. We made this our lunch stop on the biking day and I was grateful for the miles covered when it came time to choose a sandwich. So many great combinations and delicious treats it’s hard to decide where to start, so here’s a hint: roast turkey with apple jam and pickled red onions.

The Restaurant at Meadowood – Probably the most elegant, beautifully prepared and presented meal I’ve ever eaten. The entire tasting menu is full of whimsical touches and the experience feels like an adventure – who knows what delicious and inventive bite will arrive next? I really can’t overstate the attention to detail in every dish and in the service. Definitely a place for a very special occasion.

Oakville Grocery | Image: Laura Messersmith — **Oakville Grocery** | Image: *Laura Messersmith*

Solage Calistoga | Image: Laura Messersmith — **Solage Calistoga** | Image: *Laura Messersmith*

Stay & Do:
Solage – Is it possible for Napa (a little oasis in and of itself) to be more tranquil? Somehow this boutique hotel in Calistoga manages to distill that peace and amplify it with carefully appointed rooms in a gorgeous setting. Case in point: real milk in the fridge to go with a freshly brewed pot of coffee, from actual grounds. In a world where shelf stable creamers and pods seem standard this alone wins my devotion. I wish we had more time to sample the spa and make better use of the pool, but all the more reason to go back!

Napa Valley Bike Tours – There's an almost 0% chance that I'm going to hit the gym while I'm on vacation. A little ambient exercise is more my speed - a long walk, or in this case a bike ride fit the bill. The valley is easy to navigate, so we did a self-guided tour and NVBT makes it simple and stress-free with helpful maps, wine pick-ups, and great recommendations. It's also a cool way to stop and smell the roses along the way, see the valley from a different perspective.

Asian Grilled Salmon

May 13, 2015 by Laura Messersmith in Cooking with the Contessa

Each week I follow along with Ina Garten (aka the Barefoot Contessa) and attempt to recreate one of her dishes in my tiny New York City kitchen. The catch? This is my version of cooking school and I’m making these recipes for the first time. I’ll share both my successes and um, challenges, along the way and we’ll see if I can keep up with the Contessa!

Episode: “Fast and Elegant Supper”

The Set-up: Ina’s friend Frank is coming for dinner and she’s cooking up a feast in no time flat.

The Menu: Asian Grilled Salmon, Sautéed Asparagus and Snap Peas, Pear Clafoutis, Zucchini Vichyssoise

0:24 – We’re beginning with theZucchini Vichyssoise, possibly the most difficult to spell recipe ever invented. Seriously, I had to look up 100% of the words.

1:06 – Even though it’s impossible to spell, Ina likes it because soup is an easy made-ahead dish and this one has the double benefit of being served cold. You know, like revenge…

2:45 – Ina is leaving the skins on the potatoes because they’ll be pureed and filtered out when the soup is processed through the food mill. Sounds reasonable.

3:17 – Onward to the Pear Clafoutis which Ina says is basically a pancake with fruit cooked in it. I made one last summer with cherries to mixed reviews – it seems that neither of us are that fond of custards.

4:38 – A little cooking math from Ina – did you know that 1/4 cup is equal to 4 tablespoons? Cue the More You Know star…

5:21 – Ina says that some pear brandies have a whole pear in the bottle which sounds amazing, but how do you get that delicious pear out?

6:13 – Ina confirms that cherries are the traditional fruit for clafoutis, but you already knew that from my post last year.

9:32 – Time to puree the vichyssoise and finish the soup. Ina has a well documented love of the food mill, but I have honestly never used one. They seem a little cumbersome for a small kitchen.

10:59 – Now for the main event: Asian Grilled Salmon. Ina can’t remember how many times she’s made this, but from her tone it’s probably in the neighborhood of a metric ton.

11:20 – Apparently the marinade is used in two ways – first to flavor the fish ahead of cooking and then later as a sauce.

12:45 – As if the marinade working overtime weren’t enough, Ina says that this recipe makes great leftovers so she always makes extra. Efficiency!!

13:56 – The soy sauce in the marinade is what makes this Asian, but I’d also love to try it with grated fresh ginger. I bet that would be really good too.

14:18 – Now that dinner is 90% finished Ina has left the premises and Miguel has arrived to set the table.

15:03 – Florist Pro Tip from Miguel: if you don’t have a flower frog, make a grid over the opening of the vase with scotch tape to hold the flowers in place.

19:17 – Back to prep the fruit for the Pear Clafoutis. Firm, but ripe pears are best and Ina has buttered and sugared the pan.

20:30 – Ina has placed the sliced pears in the dish to make a gorgeous pattern, which reminds me a lot of the process for Apple Cake Tatin.

21:55 – Even though this is called Asian Grilled Salmon it turns out that Ina is cooking indoors. Good news for me since an actual grill is out of the question right now.

22:24 - Sautéed Asparagus and Snap Peas are the side dish Ina is serving along with the salmon. Relevant to your interests: they’re both in season during late spring/early summer, so basically right now.

23:41 – In case you’re wondering, this does count as a green vegetable in my book and I bet the combination is great with the salmon.

26:32 – The salmon is coming off the grill pan and Ina suggests placing it skin-side down on a platter so that the reserved marinade/dressing/sauce poured over it will be absorbed.

27:11 – A final drizzle of sauce, a final flip of the vegetables, and the vichyssoise is ladled into the most charming little tureens and sprinkled with a few snips of chives.

28:40 – Ina’s guessing that dinner will be so elegant that her guests won’t realize how easy it was.

29:12 – The Pear Clafoutis goes over well – it’s Miguel’s particular favorite – and everyone agrees to come back, even if dinner is Chinese takeout.

Final Thoughts:
Ina’s recipes, while fairly simple, do take a little doing and a fair amount of time, so I love it when she cooks something that’s really quick!

I am seriously thinking of tinkering with that marinade recipe and making a ton of different versions of grilled salmon - can I get some taste-testers?

I wonder if Ina feels terrific pressure when she has guests – the expectations of dinner prepared by the Barefoot Contessa must be pretty high.

Lessons Learned:
absolutely love salmon but since I’ve started cooking it at home I’ve never tried marinating it, which seems like a serious gap in my repertoire. Asian Grilled Salmon is seriously simple (just 5 ingredients including the salmon) and takes about 15 minutes to prepare not counting the marinating time.

Flavor - One of the primary things I learned is how much flavor can be developed with truly minimal ingredients. I want to cook simply, but I still feel the urge to keep adding and adding when perhaps a more limited list would work just as well. Something to keep in mind….

“Grilling” – I put that word in quotes due to my lack of charcoal (Webers aren’t really conducive to apartment living.) However, as Ina demonstrated this recipe is 100% doable without a grill or even a grill pan, the cooking time (5 minutes per side) is exactly the same, so don’t let that a lack of grilling equipment hold you back! Definitely turn on the exhaust fan, or rig one up with a small fan in the closest window – this lets off a lot of smoke and sizzle.

Tools – This is a time when a fish spatula (metal, slim, very flexible) would have been helpful, if you have one definitely bust that baby out and use it. I made do with a standard spatula, but I’m coveting this one from Kuhn Rikon that combines sturdy stainless steel and a silicone edge. Trust the Swiss for perfection, right?

Small Kitchen Friendly?
Oh yes. I used a cast iron grill pan (a sauté pan would work too), a glass baking dish for marinating, a metal spatula, small cutting board, chef’s knife, small bowl, measuring spoons, and a tablespoon for mixing. That’s it!

The Verdict:
The flavor in Asian Grilled Salmon is A-mazing and belies the simplicity of the marinade and the amount of effort required. I made this for a midweek dinner and both Mike and I were in heaven. The reserved marinade has the perfect amount of salt from the soy sauce, a little heat from the mustard and is begging to be the dressing over a pile of baby spinach, roasted asparagus or broccoli. Ina was definitely telling the truth – this dinner is fast and fabulous.

Grapefruit Olive Oil Cake

May 11, 2015 by Laura Messersmith in Cooking

Happy day after Mother’s Day! I hope you had a wonderful weekend celebrating the mamas figures in your life, preferably with brunch... I love going out to restaurants, but there are three high holidays in the brunch game that I avoid like the plague: Easter, Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. The lines are long, the reservations hard to come by, not really conducive to relaxing and enjoyable meal. Hence, brunch at home.

Mike’s parents were in town this weekend and with both Mother’s Day and my mother-in-law, Lucy’s birthday coming up on Tuesday I had an excellent excuse to go a little bananas with our brunch menu. Spinach frittata, crispy thyme potatoes, bacon (obviously), OJ, fresh fruit salad and the literal icing on the cake: Grapefruit Olive Oil Muffins.

I’ve been wanting to make a citrus olive oil cake for months now, but never really had an occasion, not that you really need one for this delicious cake as it turns out. I came across this recipe by Ashley Rodriguez who writes the beautiful blog Not Without Salt and I was intrigued by using grapefruit. I played around with the recipe a little until I got what I wanted – intense grapefruit flavor, a moist muffin, and just a little sweetness from the glaze.

Grapefruit Olive Oil Cake (yield 1 loaf or 1 dozen muffins)

Ingredients:
3⁄4 cup freshly squeezed grapefruit juice, divided
2 tablespoons grapefruit zest, divided
1⁄2 cup Chobani 4% plain yogurt
3 large eggs
2⁄3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3⁄4 cup granulated sugar
1 3⁄4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1⁄2 teaspoons baking powder
1⁄4 teaspoon baking soda
1 1⁄4 teaspoons kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1⁄2 cups confectioners’ sugar
Crème fraîche, for serving (optional)
Non-stick spray or muffin liners

Ingredients:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly coat a loaf pan with non-stick spray or place paper liners in the muffin tins.

Add 1⁄2 cup grapefruit juice to a small saucepan set over medium heat. Bring to a simmer and reduce the juice by half. Cool slightly.

In a small bowl, combine 1 tablespoon grapefruit zest, yogurt, eggs, olive oil, vanilla extract, and reduced grapefruit juice and whisk to mix well.

In a separate medium bowl, add the granulated sugar, all purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, and kosher salt. Whisk to combine.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Mix until everything is well blended.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and place in the hot oven. Bake until the cake is deeply brown and set and springs back gently when pressed, 50 to 55 minutes for cake or 25-30 minutes for muffins.

Let the cake or muffins cool in the pan for 5 minutes before turning out to cool on a wire rack.

While the cake comes to room temperature, prepare the glaze. In a small bowl, combine the remaining 1⁄2 tablespoon grapefruit zest with 5 teaspoons grapefruit juice and 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar until well mixed to create a thick, but still pourable glaze.

Place the cake on a serving platter and drizzle with the glaze, or swirl the tops of the muffins to coat with glaze. The cake can be made 1 day in advance.

Slightly adapted and rewritten from Ashley Rodriguez’s Grapefruit Olive Oil Cake with Bittersweet Chocolate via Not Without Salt.

Small Kitchen Friendly?
Yes! I used one medium bowl, one small bowl, a small sauce pan, and two muffin tins (or one loaf pan.) I also needed a microplane grater, utility knife, dry and liquid measuring cups, a wire whisk, and a rubber spatula. If you’re making muffins an ice cream scoop is really helpful for portioning the batter.

The Verdict:
This cake is the perfect way to round out a breakfast table with a sweet bread that doesn’t stray into cloyingly sugary territory. The flavors are light and refreshing, and personally I like the slightly bitter edge that grapefruit offers. This cake is simple to make and could easily be the basis for a sweeter version suitable for a summer dessert.

Gone Scouting + Bonus Reading Material

April 24, 2015 by Laura Messersmith in Reading Material

California Wine Country | Image: Laura Messersmith — **California Wine Country** | Image: *Laura Messersmith*

Mike and I are off to the Left Coast for a long weekend and I’m so excited to celebrate the marriage of some of our friends and spend some time in wine country. We’re coming up on our 5th wedding anniversary and the timing of this trip is serendipitous since it gives us the chance to return to Napa where we spent several days during our honeymoon.

I can’t wait to see the gorgeous mountains rolling with orderly vineyards, and I’m really looking forward to some great wines and wonderful dinners while we’re there. I’ll definitely share some of our favorites – new and old – when we get back and trust me when I say that the camera is going to get quite a workout!

While we’re away soaking up some sunshine and enjoying Northern California I’ll leave you with some reading material. Here’s what caught my eye in the wilds of the internet this week.

Reading Material:

Laurie Colwin’s Home Cooking is on my bedside table right now and if this piece on The Toast by Emily Gould is any predictor I think it’s just the thing to read while I’m flying this weekend.

A to-do list of food events across the country (and London!) for this spring compliments of Eater. Yachts & wine….who wants to invite me to the Nuit en Rosé?

Former Starbucks barista here and I could totally relate trying to help customers order coffee. Refinery29 feels my pain.

Oh, the dance of getting a table at popular, no-reservations accepted restaurants. A quandary Man Repeller describes all too accurately.

Natural Science Alert! I love oysters and this guide to the common varieties and their shells(!) from Edible Brooklyn was really cool.