The Sante Payback, Dog Park Dinner Part 2 ! Plus A New Kind of Cabbage!

 

I know this sounds like a cross between a sequel to the Bourne Identity and the Ostermann Weekend. Instead it was an all Indian weekend at our house.
 I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that we were treated to a marvelous dinner at Sante,  Sonomas' only restaurant to hold a Michelin Star.
Kelley Cosgrove the general manager of the Sonoma Mission Inn and her husband Rick Rontiris were kind enough to invite us as their guests. They're fellow dog parents (Zeus) from the Sonoma Dog Park 
Play Film Below

The trade off was a full on Indian Dinner at our house.
We also invited other friends from the dog park, Chip and Terri Roberson (Tucker and Tulip)

 Tucker, Tulip, & Patsy

  Tulip & Patsy
and to round it off Paula Wolfert and her husband Bill Beyer. They have a cat, but since there were going to be no animals actually present at this event, we felt it would be safe to include admirers of the Feline Persuasion.
The reason I haven't had a post in a few days is I've been menu planning and cooking. I'd run out of my homemade chutneys of all varieties so I've also been canning. Between canning and cooking and writing (my real work) I haven't been able to post here. But now I'm back.
Kelley and Rick had shown us such a wonderful time, and every meal we've ever had at Paula and Bills' house has been amazing, and after all the times, Chip has bailed my ass out computer wise (the time I removed the frames from my website and accidentally locked myself out) and Terry who is the Cookie Queen of Sonoma, I owed them all...big time. And I was scared...big time. Chip and Terri are frequent guests at our house, but I knew we're not quite up to Michelin Star level, not with a Siberian Husky stealing food off the counter when my back is turned and dragging it under the bed. As for cooking for Paula Wolfert?? Enough said. I've cooked for a lot of people, including some of the Dalai Lamas' monks...this group scared  me.
  So last Saturday I repaid my culinary debt. It was time to drag out the biggest of my clay pots that I'd gotten at Brams' Potapalooza last month.  My  ginormous La Chamba Oval Roaster seemed made for  Saag Gosht for 8 people.

  I started cooking on Thursday, putting up the mangos for chutney. On Friday I started slow cooking the lamb in my big clay pot. It cooked for about 4 or 5 hours on Friday and then another 4 hours or so on Saturday. After a total of 8 hours, the result was tender melting off the bone lamb with the deep earthiness of spinach and spices wound around and through it.

  I also did a Hyderabadi Rice pilaf of Basmati rice and Dal in my big clay Bram,

cauliflower with cilantro and ginger,

prawns in a creamy curry sauce for the vegetarian in our midst,

flame roasted eggplant with tomato and spices,

raita with the ever present boondi, chapattis and a dish I'd never made before involving one of my favorite vegetables of all time,  King Cabbage.
  The week before at my birthday party Paula had given me several cookbooks. One of them was  The Vegetarian Table, India by  Yamuna Devi.
   When planning a big Indian dinner with a lot of courses I always like to have something that I can make a bit ahead of time and then serve at room temperature. This new cookbook had just what I was looking for, Gujarati Wilted Cabbage Salad.
  This is something that can be whipped up literally in 20 minutes. It can be served warm right out of the pan, or taken on a picnic and served at room temperature. It would make a great barbecue side and I'm already imagining it alongside a pulled pork sandwich. In short I just can't say enough about this recipe. Genius. Pure genius and fast and cheap. What's not to like?
   Start off with 1 lb of shredded cabbage. I used two little 8 oz bags that are sold at the market as coleslaw fixings. It saves time grating and I like to keep these on hand in the fridge for an emergency side dish when needed.
   The steps are easy:
1.) Cut a 1 inch piece of peeled ginger into thin strips.
2.) Cut  1 green serrano chili in half, seed it, then slice it into thin strips
3.) Heat 1 1/2 Tbs of vegetable oil in a heavy skillet or kadhai
4.) Toss in 2 tsp of brown mustard seeds
    When the seeds start to pop add in the ginger, chili strips and

5.) 15 fresh or frozen curry leaves

  Stir it all around for about 30 seconds or so then toss in:
6.) Three carrots peeled and thinly sliced in rounds
7.) 1/2 Tbs of sugar

  Stir it around until the cabbage starts to wilt. This should take about 5 minutes.
  Take the pan off the heat and put the salad in a salad bowl.
 Mix in:
8.)  1 cup of lightly toasted peanuts .

I shake them around in a cast iron pan with a bit of oil until they're a light brown color.

9.) the grated zest and juice of 1 lime.

 Sprinkle in
10.) 2 Tbs of chopped fresh cilantro
11.) salt and pepper to taste

Place in your most gorgeous bowl and serve with pride.
 All during the cooking process I was pretty antsy. How could I not be with Paula Wolfert coming to dinner? Alan was hovering around with the camera and he captured a small rainbow arched across the stove for one glimmering moment.

Pay no attention to the mess on the counter, and the stove. I am usually much more controlled. Focus on the rainbow!
 Either way, I flew over the rainbow and managed to get everything on the table more or less on time.

Note to "Santa" I really really really want a 6 burner stove with a warming drawer thankyouverymuch!

     A good time was had by all the dog people (cat people too). Paula brought some chocolate ice cream for dessert, I'd made some vanilla and I went into the larder and broke out a bottle of  brandied cherries that I'd made as topping along with some simple biscuits and tea.
   The dinner party that I'd been terrified to give, went off without a hitch.
  

Baked Not Fried, The Alternative Samosa

  I love samosas. Crunchy, crispy filled with vegetable deliciousness. So when it came to the menu of foods for my birthday party last week, they were at the top of my list. What I don't like about samosas are the oily greasy part. Ok, I take that back. Like every human I love the greasy. That's half the fun. However, the greasy doesn't love me and I don't like what it has the potential of doing to my pants size.
 I also don't like half-baked short cuts to tasty. Most of the time they just don't seem to work out. That's why I decided on a full-baked short cut.  I would make samosas without the deep fat fryer. I would bake them.
There are a lot of recipes out there for baking samosas. Turns out a lot of people enjoy them, but would prefer not getting all the extra oil in their diet. A quick perusal of the internet led me to many variations of baking. Various temperatures.  I factored in all the different ways of going about it and then decided on a 400 degree oven for about 20 minutes. It worked.
We had about 18 people over to the house for my party. I settled on a menu of potato and pea samosas, momo made of  shrimp, more momo made of chicken,  a dhokla and assorted chutneys.
  I made my dough and filling a day ahead of time for easy assembly at party time. In two steps you'll be all set to tuck and roll on party day. The following recipe will make enough samosas for 6 people. needless to say I tripled it.
  Samosa Dough
  mix together:
1 cup of flour
1/4 tsp of salt
3 Tbs of vegetable oil
1/3 cup of water
   Mix all of this together. Knead it up and then set it aside covered with a warm damp cloth to rest for about 1 hour.
 If you're going to be using this the next day, cover the bowl with plastic wrap tightly and set it in the fridge. Take it out a good hour before you intend to use it so that it can come to room temperature.
  About the filling. There are a lot of different things one can stuff a samosa with. The most common being potatoes and peas. Even with that combo there are still a lot of variations depending on where the recipe comes from. Without being fancy I'll start off with a basic.
Samosa Stuffing
Boil 3 medium potatoes for about 15 to 20 minutes.
  When they're done, peel them, dice them and set them aside.
  In a large heavy pan heat :
1.) 2 Tbs of oil
   When it's hot toss in the diced potatoes and
2.) 1/2 cup of peas frozen or fresh . If using frozen, thaw them first.
3.) 2 tsp of ground coriander
4.) 1 tsp Kashmiri chili or 1/4 tsp cayenne 1/4 tsp paprika
5.) 1 tsp amchur (dried mango) powder
6.) 1 tsp of turmeric
7.) 1/2 tsp garam masala
  Mix it all up and cook it for about 5 minutes or so.
     As it worked out, I discovered that doubling the stuffing recipe was enough, even if I tripled the dough. I was paranoid about running out of samosa stuffing so I tripled the amount of that. Big mistake. Big. Mistake. I had waaaaay too much. All I needed to do was to double it and I would have been fine. You live, you learn.
So, now to assemble the samosas.
   Roll the dough out in a long cigar shape. Break off pieces of it as though making chapattis.
   Roll each piece into a ball then roll it out with the rolling pin into a round disc, same as a chapatti.

Take the disc and divide it in half. Each rolled out little ball makes two samosas.

Take a tablespoon of filling and place it in the corner of one of the halves.

Fold it over like so, into a little triangle.

Place your folded samosas on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Brush the samosas with a bit of oil.

   Slide the cookie sheet into a preheated 400 degree oven for about 20 minutes. When the samosas start to brown turn them over and brush with a bit of oil and cook  for a bit longer, 5 minutes or so, until they've lightly browned on both sides.

 Take them out and serve them hot, with chutney of your choice.

Or three. I made one hot hot hot, one sweet and one of cooling yogurt with mustard seed.
   The samosas drew a crowd both around the table

And under it, as patsy was hoping to get lucky.

     One of my birthday gifts was an olive tree from McEvoy Ranch. We made sure to get it outdoors before Patsy got any bright ideas.
    Of course among all the other stuff there had to be Princess cake.

I had a great party, I also had a good two days of cleanup, but....let the good times roll! Coming up, a killer momo recipe that can be whipped up in minutes and a look at some great dipping chutneys.

My Birthday Was Great!

Thanks to everyone who sent me birthday wishes, it was a wonderful weekend. The day before my birthday, Alan took me birthday present shopping, of course I stopped off at Bram, one can never have too many clay pots!

On the actual day Friday Alan and I went to one of my favorite places here in Sonoma, The Girl and The Fig.
   I wanted to show you the amazing fish I had but alas, Alan was not quick enough.

  He did stop me however before I could get my choppers into my birthday dessert.

        This was an amazing Meyer lemon cheesecake. When I was done with it, the only thing left on the plate was the candle.
   The next evening was the party at our house at which many Indian treats were served along with more cake. Coming up, lots of  recipes and a way to make Samosas, without all the deep fat frying.

Sweet Dessert Dumplings..Gluten Free!!!

 Almost everybody loves desserts, however not  everybody loves what desserts do to them. I'm not talking here about the amazing expanding waistline, larger pants size problem. I talking about gluten intolerance.  There are a lot of desserts that involve wheat flour and there's the rub. It's the gluten in the wheat that makes desserts off limits for so many. Fortunately there are a lot of products out there for those who have to steer clear of wheat and even more do-it-yourself recipes out there for people who love dessert, even when dessert doesn't love them.
   When I posted a recipe for dhoklas, the delicious fermented Gujarati bread made from chickpea flour, I was surprised at how many people I heard from who were interested in yet another gluten free dish. How great would it be if I could find some gluten free desserts? Turns out there are quite a few in the Indian kitchen.

  Modaks are a traditional sweet served all over Western and South India for the festival  of Lord Ganesha.

 These delicious, coconut stuffed sweets are sometimes made using wheat flour. Sometimes the dumplings are deep fried, sometimes they are steamed. In the south of India however, the dumplings are steamed and made of rice flour. Gluten free rice flour!
  These little treats  first came to my attention when I ran across them at the blog Niyas'World. They looked so tempting I just had to have some. I did my research and studied every modak recipe I could find. Most of them were pretty similar.I had all the fixings at home and since I was curious to explore more gluten free recipes, I thought why not give them a try? So I did.
  And here's how I did it.
The Stuffing
    1 cup of grated dried unsweetened coconut
   1/2 cup of jaggery or brown sugar
    2 tsp of ghee or melted butter
     1/4 cup of milk
   1/4 cup of chopped pistachios
   1/4 cup of golden raisins
     1 tsp of ground cardamom
       In a heavy pan heat the jaggery or sugar. When it begins to melt, add in the grated coconut and melted butter and everything else. Stir it together. It will become thick. Take it off the heat and let it cool. That's the filling for the dumplings.
  The Dough
     1 cup of rice flour
      4 tsp of ghee or melted butter
    1 cup of water
    A pinch of salt
         Putting It All Together
   Bring the water to a boil
  When it boils add the melted butter

   Mix in the rice flour and the pinch of salt.

It will quickly congeal into a thick doughy mass.

Take it off the stove and grease  your hands lightly.  I sprayed mine with Pam  spray (no smart remarks please) the dough will be very hot, so be careful.
Knead it briefly, the greasing of the palms will help.
Roll pieces of the dough into balls and then flatten them as though making small chapattis.

  Place a small scoop of the stuffing in the center of the  flat flour disc

Shape it into a garlic clove shaped dumpling and place the dumplings into a steamer that has been lightly greased.

Steam the dumplings for 20 minutes.

Serve them with a bit of ghee or melted butter.

Mmmmmmmmmmm good!
  These Modaks are said to be the favorite food of Lord Ganesha, also known as the Remover of Obstacles and therefore always served at his Festival.  If gluten is an obstacle keeping you from enjoying desserts, this might be one for you.

A Sunshine Award and A Gluten Free Dessert On The Way!

 I was totally bowled over this morning to see that I'd been given a Sunshine Award  from the Sunshine State.
   I'm extremely grateful for all the kind words and appreciation. Since I've been writing this blog I've met so many nice people from every corner of the world, all of us united by one common thing...good eats!
 The blogging community has has turned into one big restaurant common table where strangers meet to chat about what's on their plates and in their pots at home, and become friends along the way. Together we're making the world smaller, one course at a time.
   By the rules of the Sunshine Awards, I have to nominate 12 Bloggers I enjoy reading. People I "see" everyday, even though I've never personally met any of them. My list of course would be too long for just 12, and some of those who already received this award would be on my list also. So here are the bloggers and food writers who brighten up my day.
  1.) Sudeshna of Cook Like A Bong for a myriad of wonderful tastes, and great recipes accompanied by stunning  pictures. Anything one could want to know about Bengali Cuisine, can be found here.
2.) Shirley of Enriching Your Kid who's always a source of great ideas and wonderful stories about the dishes she presents.
3.) Janis of Bite Me New England. The woman who is always ready for a challenge and who  I admire because she will attempt anything culinary and writes so wonderfully about it.
4.) Silvia of Citronetvanille whos' elegant simplicity makes her the Audrey Hepburn of my cooking blog world.
5.) Nick of In The Kitchen With Nick who cooks with great wit, and has introduced me to new foods such as skate wings. He has introduced me, I don't know if the skate wings and I are on familiar terms yet. It remains to be seen. His food is always delicious and beautifully presented.
6.) Sanjana of KO Rassoi. She has caused me to experiment and made me crave coconut burfi at a highly inappropriate hour.
7.) Mae of Peas Love Carrots. I never know what I'm going to find at her website but I am always freaking amazed at what she does. She also makes me laugh, she knows how to play with her food.
8.) Linda of Salty Seattle because well...she makes her own salt!!! What can I say? Gorgeous food, and an old school do it from scratcher, something I admire deeply.
9.) Frank Fariello of Memorie di Angelina for wonderful down home Italian cooking and great instruction in the art of polenta and risotto. Not since my Nonna have I seen such goodies. Frank is also a tireless worker in the Food Blog Community many times holding us all together.
10.) Mary Moh of Keep Learning, Keep Smiling for wonderful creative recipes and a way of making it all seem so easy!
11.) Padmaja of Padmajas' Delicious Indian Recipes for wonderful authentic recipes. I always love learning from the things she writes about.
12.) Robin of Vegetable Matter for some of the best vegetarian recipes out there.  She has a wonderful flair for explaining how to do things and everything she posts makes me hungry!
   Now, to all you Sunshine Award recipients, here are the rules:
1. Put the logo on your blog or within your post
2. Pass the award on to 12 Bloggers!
3. Link the nominees within your post
4. Let the nominees know they have received this award by commenting on their blog
5. Share the love and link to the person from whom you received this award.
   Now, I'm off to experiment with another gluten free delight....fingers crossed.

Twinkle Twinkle Little Michelin Star! Dinner at Sante.

When peoples' kids go to school they very often find themselves socializing with new "school friends", other parents from their childs' class. The dog park world is pretty similar. Dog people find themselves getting acquainted with other "dog parents".  As long as nobody bites anybody and everyone has had their shots..it's all good.
  Our Siberian Husky  Patsy aka Champion Alpines Absolutely Fabulous is a former "showgirl". She came to live with us after giving up the show ring as a result she's very "friendly".

One of her "crushes" from the dog park is the dashing and athletic Zeus.
Play film below

   Showgirls and Jocks are a natural fit. As a result  Zeus' people, Kelley Cosgrove and Rick Rontiris have become friends of ours.
Kelley happens to be the general manager of the The Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn and Spa. She and Rick invited us to be their guests for dinner at its' Michelin starred restaurant  Sante with its' amazing chef de cuisine Andrew Cain. The trade off was an Indian Feast at our house. We jumped at the chance.
  Growing up in San Francisco then living for many years in Los Angeles and being a major major food/chef groupie, I have eaten in places graced by a Michelin star before. I haven't however found one of these restaurants in my little town of Sonoma before. All the big foodie news seems to go on in The City  (SF) or the "Other Valley" as Napa is sometimes referred to around these parts.
  Well, shove over Napa because Sonoma has a star and it's Sante.
   The dining room at Sante is an unfussily romantic and tranquil spot. A perfect place for a special dinner or celebration.
   As someone who's used to dining with the chin of a begging Siberian Husky on my knee, I was bowled over by the crystal, roses and the lack of a canine under my chair.

That is me in the background through the forest of glassware. Some of the pictures are a bit on the dark side as we didn't want to be too intrusive taking pictures of the food on our plates "Hey Ma! Look! Lobster!"
    Sante offers a regular a la carte menu, a prix fixe menu and a special tasting menu. We decided to go with the a la carte.
   We ordered and then before our meal was served, were presented with a lovely amuse-bouche of a cream of celery soup with a bit of basil cream dotting the top and a salmon mousse bruschetta. I loved the charming little glassware. Just a sip is all one needs to set the stage for the meal. I also love surprises at the table. They had me at the amuse.

  Alan ordered a lobster bisque as an appetizer

I , on the other hand in the interest of fresh greens on my plate chose an endive salad with beets and citrus or more exactly:
                                                    BELGIAN ENDIVE SALAD
                                                    MACHE LETTUCE
                                                    MARINATED HEIRLOOM BEETS
                                                     CITRUS VINAIGRETTE
  which looked like this

 Just as an example of how serious these appetizers are, I present the following example which by the way I was really controlling myself not to order.
                                         GROWN UP MACARONI AND CHEESE
                                          MAINE LOBSTER, BLACK TRUFFLES
                                          FONTINA VAL D’AOSTA
Chef Andrew Cain of Sante is  a bad bad boy and definitely, most definitely not fooling around.

I know we should have ordered separate entrees and swapped but we are both suckers for duck, that's just the way we roll. Duck it was:
                                               ROASTED SONOMA DUCK BREAST
                                              BRAISED SWISS CHARD
                                              DUCK CONFIT AND SUNCHOKE STUFFED ONION
                                               PORT WINE DUCK JUS

 
Of course there was wine, a a Failla Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast Hirsch Vineyards

And finally, the dessert. Unfortunately there is not a picture of my dessert, as I ate it before one could be taken, so just imagine Alans' dessert, only in chocolate.

   What you are seeing here is a lemon souffle with a lemon creme anglaise. On the other hand Rick ordered this:
                                                  MANJARI CHOCOLATE DARIOLE
                                                  PEANUT BUTTER GANACHE
                                                  BANANNA ICE CREAM
                                                  CARAMEL SAUCE

Which came as part of the prix fixe dinner. I loved the very art deco individual coffee service. It made me feel as though I was on the Italian liner The Rex tooling around the Mediterranean circa 1935.
After this amazing feast, I am going to have to work extra hard to plan an Indian Feast as our part of the swap.
  So what reward do Patsy and Zeus get for bringing us all together? For Patsy it's logging extra Dog Park minutes, for Zeus it's a charming and not too aggressive 2010  Spaulding tennis ball with a hint of crabgrass, undertones of mud and a soupcon of dog park water and just the slightest notes of Siberian Husky.