Napa Valley 2012

Four years after our last trip to the Napa Valley, we were lucky enough to visit that beautiful area again for a week of great food and wine this past April, along with my sister and brother-in-law and our friends Meg and Matt. The boys stayed with their grandparents; it felt strange to leave them behind but was a perfect getaway.

Dinner the first night was delicious cheeses, meats, fruit, and of course wine, poolside at our rental house

We took a tour at Hendry Winery with George Hendry. He was adorable, and taught us a lot about grape growing, wine making, and pairing.

Grape de-stemmer

George, talking about pairings and demonstrating the effects that fats have on the palate while drinking wine. He had us try this out by tasting a wine, then eating a cracker heavily dunked in oil, then tasting the wine again.

All set up for tasting and note-taking at Bouchaine in Carneros

Our fun group

Before dinner at Thomas Keller's Bouchon, a favorite from our last trip. (We also made it to The French Laundry this time!-- to be detailed in a separate post.)

Gordie's celery soup at Bouchon. I was surprised he ordered celery soup but it was very good.

The most delicious roast chicken ever

Steak frites

Some of our desserts at Bouchon...

"Tasting" at Mumm Napa-- they, like many places, were exceedingly generous.

Excellent wines at Caymus

Delicious sandwich at Gott's/Taylor's Automatic Refresher

Dinner at the house one night

Beautiful barrel room at Groth

The fact that they have pugs lying around is not the only reason we love Groth

Fancy reserve room at Silver Oak

Really good tacos at Oxbow Public Market in downtown Napa

Such an exciting pilgrimage!

We had a great view from our table of the gorgeous, open kitchen at Chez Panisse. We were also welcomed to walk through it. The people were so nice and the kitchen just seemed so calm and well crafted.

Cannard Farm asparagus tempura with horseradish cream and watercress

Pea and lettuce soup with basil sauce and crispy shallots

Spit-roasted Llano Seco pork loin with wild fennel, lentils, fava beans, roasted turnips, and carrots

Page mandarin and kiwi pavlova with roasted pineapple

At Artesa in Carneros-- breathtaking view, cool architecture, and really great pinot noir and chardonnay

We felt special

Dinner at Jole in Calistoga

Cheese course of two cheeses, fruit, chutney, and crispy bread

Chateau Montelena, famous for helping put California and Napa on the wine map when its chardonnay beat French wines in a blind tasting in the 70s-- the movie Bottleshock tells the story

One last stop at Taylor's Automatic Refresher for a breakfast sandwich on the way to the airport

Spring and Summer Potato Salads

from Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, by Barbara Kingsolver

Summer potato salad, with a side of crostini with pesto and tomato

The Summer Potato Salad has been a favorite for a while. It even won for best savory dish at last year's Apple Weekend competition. The Spring Potato Salad we just tried for the first time this spring and it was cool, refreshing, and very springy.

Spring Potato Salad:

4 C potatoes, coarsely diced and boiled until firmly tender
1/3 C fresh mint leaves
1 - 2 C new peas
1 C crumbled feta 
1/4 C extra-virgin olive oil

Combine ingredients.

Summer Potato Salad:
2 lbs. red or golden new potatoes, cut in 1-inch chunks
olive oil
coarse salt

Any one or combination of the following:
peppers cut in chunks
green beans, stringed and broken in 1-inch lengths
1 - 2 ears corn off the cobb
bunch of chard, chopped

2 C tomatoes, cut in wedges
1/2 C fresh basil
1/4 C olive oil whipped together with 1 T balsamic or other mellow vinegar

Toss potatoes with salt and oil and roast in roasting pan or baking sheet at 450° oven until tender (20-30 minutes). Add more tender vegetables (corn, peppers, green beans, chard) for last 10 minutes of roasting. When done, loosen the vegetables with a spatula.

Add tomatoes, basil, and dressing with roasted vegetables, salt to taste.

Tuna Salad with Olives

 
adapted from Gourmet, June 2000

This is a very tasty tuna salad. It's great as a sandwich on a toasted baguette or other bread brushed with oil and seasoned with salt and pepper, with or without lettuce-- or tossed with about a 1/2 lb. of pasta to make a yummy pasta salad. Serve the pasta salad over a pile of greens for a nice one-dish meal. 

1/4 C mayonnaise
2 T fresh lemon juice
2 (6-oz) cans light tuna packed in olive oil, drained
1/2 C chopped drained bottled roasted red peppers
10 Kalamata or other brine-cured black olives, pitted and cut lengthwise into strips
1 large celery rib, chopped
2 T finely chopped onion

Whisk together mayonnaise and lemon juice in a large bowl. Add remaining ingredients and stir together gently. Season with salt and pepper.