Totally gratuitous food post
Wed, Mar. 9th, 2005 11:30 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
oyceterOn Saturday, my dad took me up to Napa Valley. It had been raining for the past three weeks or so, but Saturday was a gorgeous day, around 70 degrees and beautifully sunny. I miss the sun so incredibly much, and I felt like I could just lie down outside and soak up the rays forever, finally feeling warm and dry. I'm still in the middle of Robin McKinley's Sunshine, but I completely agree with her main character in how replenished she feels by sunshine. And not only that, but we were in Napa, with the beautiful countryside, vineyards everywhere. There was one that we went to (Joseph Phelps) where the tastings were outside on a sort of patio overlooking all the vineyards. So incredibly gorgeous. So we sat around and sipped wine and bathed in the sunshine (well, me). I had some very expensive wines which were unfortunately completely wasted on me, given that I have no palate to speak of. Plus, I was only letting myself take a sip or so of each wine, due to the meds.
And because it was my dad, we had some very excellent food. Went to a little place in Napa for lunch, where I had a whole Dungeness crab, wonderfully done so that the crab tasted sweet and seafoody, with a sort of creamy sauce on the shell that really worked well with it. I have no idea what was in the sauce, but it was so good and didn't overpower anything. Usually when I have cream sauce I find that I can only taste the sauce. And there were these tiny onion hearts or something, about the size of pearl onions but with thicker layers, completely caramelized and dark brown, also incredibly sweet, and everything together just tasted divine. My dad had risotto with beans and very, very tender slices of lamb, which I stole. And the restaurant had such good bread! All crusty and piping hot, and the inside was so chewy and soft -- much more gluten-y that bread usually is, but sooooo good. With olive oil, olives included! And a really good cheese on bruchetta-type bread.. it tasted like very new cheese, incredibly mild, a bit like mozzarella, almost like it had just turned into curds and whey so that it had only just solidified. Ok, that sounds slightly gross, but it was really, really good, very milky and with such a soft texture!
I didn't end up buying wine, because I don't really drink wine, but I bought a good deal of cute canned goods. Alas, I left my eggplant tapenade in the car and it is now out of my reach =(. But I still have a black olive spread, honey, and chocolate wine sauce (mmmmmmmm), so all is not lost! I am such a sucker at those gourmet grocery markets. But my dad was paying, so I had absolutely no compunctions, heh heh heh.
For dinner I made him take me to this little French restaurant that I like. Previously I've gone there for Valentine's Day, but was rather disappointed. I think the general rush of Valentine's Day and the necessity of having a sort of fixed menu made the food not as good as it usually is. I've had such good stuff there, and it's wonderfully seasonal. One of the best things I've had there before was this sort of pea pancake, with fresh peas around. I've always thought of peas as fairly unappetizing vegetables, and I speak as someone who really loves veggies. BUt these peas were large and sweet and firm, not at all like the sort of gross, flavorless ones from the freezer.
Anyhow. This time we had a very good, very simple salad of dark greens and a very light dressing, so you could still taste the salad. I hate it when people drench salads in dressing, because I actually like the taste of dark greens. I had duck confit after that, on top of parmesan risotto, and OMG SO GOOD. It wasn't sliced duck breast -- it was duck leg, with the skin still on and fried to crispy perfection, and the duck was not at all dry, and it was so good and dark and tender and duck-y, and the meat tasted just the slightest bit smoky. I will never quite understand the appeal of white meat. And they didn't put some overly sweet fruit sauce on top that just makes the skin less crispy. Instead the risotto was just a little bit sweet because of the parmesan, and I was quite amazed because it wasn't too salty like duck dishes can be. Did I mention crispy duck skin? I love crispy duck skin.
My dad had skatewing roulade (what is roulade?) with celery root and whole-grain mustard sauce. Actually, neither of us knew what skatewing is either! I sort of figured it was some sort of fish like a manta ray. Er. Manta rays aren't fish, are they? But yeah, the way we eat is something like: Hey, look, something strange we have never tried before! Let's get that one! That is how I managed to try bone marrow with sea salt and fava beans (surprisingly good! And apparently cooked bone marrow can be clear!). It was really good and a very light fish, with the slightest bit of spice from the mustard sauce. And the celery root was really good! Very lightly cooked, or something, so it still tasted like itself.
Hee, ok, I just reread and I may have gone slightly overboard ;). Aren't you all glad that I don't document every single fancy meal I eat? It was so nice though! And my dad paid for it all, which is why I could eat it! I stopped feeling guilty about ordering expensive things with him this year or so. I figure, most of the time I eat cafeteria food, leftovers and tv dinners, so when he is he, I will completely pig out. Plus, as everyone knows, if it is good food someone else is paying for, obviously it has no calories! Ah, I love food so much.
And because it was my dad, we had some very excellent food. Went to a little place in Napa for lunch, where I had a whole Dungeness crab, wonderfully done so that the crab tasted sweet and seafoody, with a sort of creamy sauce on the shell that really worked well with it. I have no idea what was in the sauce, but it was so good and didn't overpower anything. Usually when I have cream sauce I find that I can only taste the sauce. And there were these tiny onion hearts or something, about the size of pearl onions but with thicker layers, completely caramelized and dark brown, also incredibly sweet, and everything together just tasted divine. My dad had risotto with beans and very, very tender slices of lamb, which I stole. And the restaurant had such good bread! All crusty and piping hot, and the inside was so chewy and soft -- much more gluten-y that bread usually is, but sooooo good. With olive oil, olives included! And a really good cheese on bruchetta-type bread.. it tasted like very new cheese, incredibly mild, a bit like mozzarella, almost like it had just turned into curds and whey so that it had only just solidified. Ok, that sounds slightly gross, but it was really, really good, very milky and with such a soft texture!
I didn't end up buying wine, because I don't really drink wine, but I bought a good deal of cute canned goods. Alas, I left my eggplant tapenade in the car and it is now out of my reach =(. But I still have a black olive spread, honey, and chocolate wine sauce (mmmmmmmm), so all is not lost! I am such a sucker at those gourmet grocery markets. But my dad was paying, so I had absolutely no compunctions, heh heh heh.
For dinner I made him take me to this little French restaurant that I like. Previously I've gone there for Valentine's Day, but was rather disappointed. I think the general rush of Valentine's Day and the necessity of having a sort of fixed menu made the food not as good as it usually is. I've had such good stuff there, and it's wonderfully seasonal. One of the best things I've had there before was this sort of pea pancake, with fresh peas around. I've always thought of peas as fairly unappetizing vegetables, and I speak as someone who really loves veggies. BUt these peas were large and sweet and firm, not at all like the sort of gross, flavorless ones from the freezer.
Anyhow. This time we had a very good, very simple salad of dark greens and a very light dressing, so you could still taste the salad. I hate it when people drench salads in dressing, because I actually like the taste of dark greens. I had duck confit after that, on top of parmesan risotto, and OMG SO GOOD. It wasn't sliced duck breast -- it was duck leg, with the skin still on and fried to crispy perfection, and the duck was not at all dry, and it was so good and dark and tender and duck-y, and the meat tasted just the slightest bit smoky. I will never quite understand the appeal of white meat. And they didn't put some overly sweet fruit sauce on top that just makes the skin less crispy. Instead the risotto was just a little bit sweet because of the parmesan, and I was quite amazed because it wasn't too salty like duck dishes can be. Did I mention crispy duck skin? I love crispy duck skin.
My dad had skatewing roulade (what is roulade?) with celery root and whole-grain mustard sauce. Actually, neither of us knew what skatewing is either! I sort of figured it was some sort of fish like a manta ray. Er. Manta rays aren't fish, are they? But yeah, the way we eat is something like: Hey, look, something strange we have never tried before! Let's get that one! That is how I managed to try bone marrow with sea salt and fava beans (surprisingly good! And apparently cooked bone marrow can be clear!). It was really good and a very light fish, with the slightest bit of spice from the mustard sauce. And the celery root was really good! Very lightly cooked, or something, so it still tasted like itself.
Hee, ok, I just reread and I may have gone slightly overboard ;). Aren't you all glad that I don't document every single fancy meal I eat? It was so nice though! And my dad paid for it all, which is why I could eat it! I stopped feeling guilty about ordering expensive things with him this year or so. I figure, most of the time I eat cafeteria food, leftovers and tv dinners, so when he is he, I will completely pig out. Plus, as everyone knows, if it is good food someone else is paying for, obviously it has no calories! Ah, I love food so much.
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