My Birthday 2009

At 63 I have finally learned how to enjoy my birthday without a bout of sadness. For many years I could always find a reason for self pity; the things lacking in my life always came to the forefront. Today was a lovely day with three cards, and many phone calls from people I love, including two long chatty ones with Leland.

The table for one downstairs at Chez Panisse was mine, with views of the kitchen and the entry way. I watched for the pretentiousness I’ve heard of, but the employees all seemed delighted and proud to work in a restaurant that was serving, and also letting them eat, house made sauerkraut, sausages and confit of pork belly.

First came an amuse bouche of house made salami and a cornichon, perhaps the best salami I’ve tasted. Making salami is popular in Bay Area restaurants now, but once the taster is over the awe, the product has to taste better than the ones Molinari makes or why do it? There was also a basket of two Acme breads, the Levain, and a white torpedo shaped bun made especially for Chez Panisse.

The Sommelier was offering wines by the glass to accompany each course. First came a Gamey Noir with the salad. There were golden and pink beet slices with a sprinkling of cooked leeks in a super citrus vinaigrette. Someone had drizzled a little crème fraiche over this and then topped it with a few sprigs of mache. Small and delicious, especially the leeks.

The entrée was the sauerkraut cooked in Riesling with a beef frank, a garlic sausage, a little piece of confit of pork shoulder and a grilled slice of pork belly. I haven’t eaten a lot of sauerkraut and this was well balanced, not too salty or sour. The pork offerings each had its own flavors. I drank the recommended Riesling, not usually one of my favorite wines, but it was fuller and heavier as the Sommelier had described, and not too sweet.

Finally they brought the Pavlova, a firm meringue, not too sweet, with two ice creams perched on top. One was chocolate and one kirsch-sour cherry. These had a few reconstituted dried cherries around them and some shaved chocolate on the top.

As I was eating my dessert, I spoke to the table next to me. It also had a birthday celebrant, a gentleman who turned ninety-three. He enjoyed his meal, asking for extra salami and drinking his favorite wine with his three companions. I mentioned that we shared the birthday and some one working in the dining room must have heard me. A plate of cookies and a wonderful date appeared for me with a birthday banner and a candle. So I also had a surprise for my birthday.

Toasting Almonds

I like topping my oatmeal with rough chopped toasted almonds or hazelnuts. They also make great, satisfying and healthy snacks by themselves. A few may substitute for chips which I don’t keep in the house because I will eat too many too fast. Nuts also add protein to salads or to yogurt with fruit as well as a dimension of flavor and texture to almost anything.

Toasting nuts, especially almonds, is very easy. Put them in a pan, then into an oven. Take them out.

There are a couple of factors that complicate this plan. The first is finding good raw almonds. I buy them in bulk from Andronicos or the Berkeley Bowl. When I lived in OC, I bought them at Trader Joe’s. You want a good fresh product and buying from a bulk source where you scoop them out is usually a good sign if the store has enough turnover to keep the nuts fresh. Whole Foods in Tustin when I was in OC didn’t pass this test. Stores don’t encourage sampling, but it is the best way to judge the freshness.

You might try a local health food store (I found good nuts in a quaint place in Fort Smith, Arkansas) or an ethnic market. Little packages of nuts sealed in cellophane will not have much flavor and will be much more costly.

The next complication is timing. You put your almonds into a pan in one layer. They need a little room so don’t jam them in. Put the pan in the oven and turn it on to 350 degrees or lower. If your oven beeps to let you know when it is hot, you can check the nuts then.

You check them by opening the door and smelling the aroma and seeing if they have begun to brown. If it doesn’t smell nutty, close the door let them toast another 2 or 3 minutes. This process will teach you two things. The first is how thoroughly cooked you like the nuts. Eventually you will also develop a sense of timing so you don’t have to check them as often. This subconscious sense of time will help you to become a better cook for most things you prepare.

When you think they might be done, take one out. Let it cool a little and try it. Is it delicious? By experimenting you will decide how darkly toasted you prefer your almonds.

You can use this method for most nuts, pine nuts and pistachios need less time so you have to watch them closely to be sure they don’t burn.

Hazelnuts or filberts are my favorite, but need one more step. When they are done you put them into a clean kitchen towel immediately after taking them from the oven. Then you create a bag from the towel and roll the hazelnuts between your hands in the bag to remove the skins as much as possible. The skins crisp in the oven and will come off easily although probably not completely.

Enjoy.

My Son's Introduction

Although my mother grew up in the 1950s in Orange Country, California (known for its void of culture), she somehow found Gourmet magazine and read about food she wanted to taste. The ingredients and wine she found at her local Ralph’s were a poor facsimile of the produce, dairy, meats and wine the authors were describing from Europe. Of course she didn’t know that, and cooked Julia Child’s recipes.

In the early 70’s she migrated to Berkeley Ca. Here she found access to the tools she needed to pursue her passions. Over the last 40 years she’s tried 1000’s of wines, endless restaurants and made countless meals.

I asked her to start a site to provide a forum for comparison and a place to chronicle all of her food knowledge.

Why should anyone read this? Because they like food. Not only how to make béarnaise sauce, but how to correctly roast an almond. And find for under $20 bottles of wine that are a good fit with a hamburger, a roasted duck breast or a piece of dark rich chocolate.