a day visit to a natural winemaker's home and vineyards in the Loire Valley

I know it's been a while since I last scribbled out a post, completely backsliding on my promise to communicate more often. And have amassed a bit to say, so as not to make this too long post, I'm going to divide it into three :
— a day with a natural winemaker
— cooking up and down on the West Coast
— torta caprese

Most recently I've been working on a new excursion on my website : a day in the Loire Valley at a natural winemaker's table and in his vineyards. (My dear friend Emily, of Paris Paysanne blog fame, wrote a generous article, recently posted.) I'm excited about this opportunity to take people for the day to one of many passionate natural winemaker friends along the rivers of the Loire Valley, where the day will start with cooking up a great earthen meal in the winemaker's kitchen with seasonal produce and artisan cheeses from the region. Then sitting around the table with the winemaker—a selection of his wines in hand—to enjoy our meal together.

What particularly stirs about this day-trip is the occasion it offers me to talk about, and demonstrate, pairing wines with vegetables (something I'll be doing from now on when posting a recipe)... as all too often the "science" of wine pairing seems only to speak in terms of meat, fish,  perhaps asparagus ('cuz it's so fussy about what one drinks with it) and wild mushrooms (because they're wild mushrooms)... When there's a whole world of savory discovery in paying attention to what one sips with roots, leaves, flowers and shoots.

At the table the winemaker will surely carry on passionately about natural (or raw, or living, or naked) wine, it's history, definition(s)—and controversy. Methods of farming, or tending the vine; harvesting the grape, with hands and bucket; vinification, or accompanying the "jus" as it turns into wine. The meaning of terroir, the importance of a healthy soil, the teeming microbial life within, a healthy grape and thus abundant, healthy natural yeast. Acidity, minerality, the mother rock, le perlant, the "nothing added, nothing taken away" philosophy—striving for an equilibrium, a stability in the juice itself that should allow the winemaker to bottle his wines without the addition of sulfites. So that in your glass you have but the expression of those grapes grown that year in that spot, with that year's wind, sun, shade, rain, slope, river, woods, and the critters inhabiting them all adding their color and flair...

There'll be ample time to ask any and all questions concerning natural wine—all those queries you've pondered. There'll surely even be an "ah" moment or two in the exchange.

Then a walk with the winemaker through vineyards to cup a bit of soil in one's hands, then onto the chai, or cellar, to talk maceration, fermentation, the risks and joys of vinifying "nakedly." A tasting, will be in order, of a wine or two still in the process of "becoming," lying yet low in the barrel. And as the afternoon slowly descends, you'll settle into a train heading back to Paris.

Would love you all to come and join me for a day in the Loire, in the vines, at the table and in the presence of the passionate men and women who make these beautiful wines. And do please pass the word around to all your friends, near and far. Would be such pleasure to have throngs of enthusiastic folks to share in this unique experience!

Below is a imaged resume of the day...
You can visit my web page for more information and... to book a day—with great pleasure!

cookin' up and down the West Coast

Continuing on from my previous post (of three in this series) :
— a day with a natural winemaker
— cooking up and down on the West Coast
— torta caprese

One of the other reasons I've been so invisible is that I was off to the West Coast for a stretch, where I gave a string of cooking classes up and down the Pacific, from Santa Cruz to Portland.

Former clients of my cooking classes in Paris, as well as a couple of friends, opened up their homes and kitchens to me, where along with a small group of their friends and other keen souls, we stirred up lots of delicious dishes full of seasonal vegetables and artisan products from the areas, chatted, laughed, drank natural (or raw or living or nothing added, nothing taken away) wine and filled our bellies and senses with our earthen creations. You can read a few comments on the testimonial page of my website.

Let's see we made many homemade pastas : quique, carrot-top ravioli, orrechiette w/ rapini...
We made beet and romanesco purées, roasted radishes, green lentils w/ celery-leaf pesto, bruschetta w/ herb pestos,  roasted kabocha salad, sweet-pea blancmange...
And on the sweet end lemon tart, pears poached in red wine (down at the bottom of the post), the oh so luscious torta caprese... which I'll post in the third of these three forays into the last few months of my life.

A few local artisan products I joyously included in my classes :
Firebrand artisan breads, in Oakland, CA : no store front, but available at both Rainbow and Bi-Rite Grocery
The Baker and the Cake Maker, artisan breads, in Auburn, CA
True Grass Farms absolutely the freshest, brightest yellow eggs from real scratching, pecking hens
vegetables of all sorts from Tomatero Farms
And I made my Sunday morn trip to the Montclair farmer's market, right near where I stay when I'm in town.

Also to a drive up a long and winding road in Glenn Ellen to the home, garden and vineyards of Sonoma Mtn Winery to visit Charlene, a marvelous cook, private chef, gardener, and woman, whom I met in a veritable "hole-in-the-wall" natural wine store in Paris— Crus et découverts (where I hold my natural wine dégustations)—and her partner, Nic (of Coturri Winery family fame) who makes what I consider truly accomplished natural wines. Along with the most delicate arugula ravioli and other delicacies, she served some of the best bread I've ever bitten into, from [the bejkr] in Sonoma that rounded out an incredible plate of artisan cheeses, I think from Vermont... unfortunately, I didn't get the name written down.

She also mentioned a natural wine bar in Oakland that one of my cooking class participants had also spoken of : the PunchDown. Of course, I had to make a pilgrimage to its welcoming space in downtown Oakland. Not to be missed if you've got the hankering for a sweet glass of the French, or Italian, or even American natural (naked) stuff.

I thought I'd share a slew of photos of these tasty gatherings... And many thanks to Megan, Vicki, Tomi, Karen for sharing their images with me, as when I get to stirring and roasting, I don't seem to have the time or head for much clicking of my own camera. Perhaps you'll join in the 2014 edition of my West Coast cooking classes. Would love to stir up some savory earthen dishes with you!

earthen still lifes

surrounded by colors

delectable torta caprese

And finally the 3rd post of this series :
— a day with a natural winemaker
— cooking up and down on the West Coast
— torta caprese

Torta Caprese is one scrumptious Italian chocolate cake, of Neapolitan fame... and it's gluten-free to boot ! It was the sure winner of my West Coast cooking classes. Here's my recipe... or simply one of many varied recipes that I culled from the Internet and one of my favorite Italian recipe websites : Giallo Zafferano

TORTA CAPRESE - serves 8 - 10

300 gr | 10.5 oz whole almonds
250 gr |  8.8 oz dark chocolate (75 - 80%)
250 gr | 8.8 oz unsalted butter, softened
150 gr | 5.3 oz blond cane sugar
50 gr | 1.75 oz powdered sugar
5 large eggs
Extra powdered sugar for dusting the cake

||| Lightly butter the bottom of a 26-cm (10-inch) cake pan. Cut a piece of parchment paper to size and place in the bottom of the pan. Generously butter then flour the sides of the pan.

||| Separate the egg whites from the yolks - just out of the refrigerator. Bring both to room temperature.

||| Preheat the oven to 180 ˚C (350 ˚F).

||| In a small coffee / herb grinder, grind the 50 grams of the sugar into a fine powder (you can use store bought powdered sugar if you prefer). Set aside.

||| Melt the chocolate in a double boiler and set aside to cool.

||| Chop the almonds into a chunky meal in a chopper.

||| Beat the butter and 150 grams of sugar together until pale white and fluffy. Add the eggs yolks one at a time, incorporating each before adding the next. Add the cooled melted chocolate and finally the coarsely chopped almonds.

||| Beat the egg whites along with a pinch of salt until beginning to foam. Slowly add the 50 gr of powdered sugar and continue beating into stiff peaks.

||| Stir a spoonful of egg whites into the chocolate mixture to loosen it a bit. Then gently fold in the remaining egg whites. 

||| Pour the mixture into a cake pan and bake in the oven for 25 – 35 minutes. A toothpick inserted into the center of the cake that just comes out clean is a sure sign of it being done. Please don’t over cook! Remove from the oven and let cool completely on a wire rack. Loosen the cake around the edges before turning it upside down onto a serving plate. Dust with a bit of powdered sugar and garnish with seasonal fruit. Suppose you could put a scoop of good vanilla ice cream on top of each slice.

note : As with many chocolate cakes, it's best to let it sit for a day before eating.

Enjoy !

cookin' artisan and drinkin' natural in the Loire

I was yearning to get out of the city (even if it is Paris), Didn't hesitate about the destination. I jumped in my rented car and headed for Couffy, a speck of a town hanging just above the Cher River in the Loire Valley, or more specifically la Touraine  dans le Loir-et-Cher dans la Vallée de la Loire.

I threw a few kitchen tools and ingredients into the trunk, as I was going to cook up a robust vegetable dinner for a bunch of vigneron-de-vin-nature (natural-winemaker) friends.

Whenever I can, I love cooking up a host of earthy dishes for these paysans, les gars du Loir et Cher (sons of the soil), as Noëlla, the one woman winemaker among the bunch, called them when I was putting together the menu for the diner des vignerons at their wine tasting salon in Blois, the beginning of December—to emphasize the fact that, yes, they are hardy eaters, and do love their charcuterie and a satiated belly.

I suppose I like the "challenge," and love their company, but it's also that I have, without a doubt, a passion for both vegetables and natural wines, especially when savored together... After all, mineral does echo mineral, and natural wines are a great showcase for the "smack" of the terroir, resonating with the earthiness of all else that grows in the soil, plunges its roots towards the mother rock, sways to the movement of the air (poetic it is that the rhythm, the caress of the wispy atoms it carries furnish to the calm loitering leaves, 95% of a plant's constituent elements and perhaps has an impact on the depth of its flavor, while the slow yet industrious roots supply the remaining 5%), soaks up the sun, embraces the cooling grey of a covered sky, drinks in the water those same clouds produce, and laps up the morning dew.

That weekend happened to offer the only exuberant expression of winter that we've really experienced so far in this part of the old continent. Mostly cool temperatures and way too many grey skies for any thriving soul these last couple of months... But snow was forecast and snow we did have, along with freezing rain. Luckily I managed to arrive at my destination before the routes turned slippery and the countryside was carpeted in white. We did manage a trip to a nearby village, Chateauvieux, where Christophe has a cellar, carved into the hillside from ages past, and where we gathered together a bottle or two or three of his delicious wines.

On the menu was focaccia, winter squash soup, orecchiette with broccoli rabe (unfortunately not to be found at the local marché, although I did get my hands on some lovely locally produced escarole, as well as dandelion greens—that was exciting—which made for a scrumptious substitute), and for dessert pears poached in red wine and spices. I've included the pear recipe way down below.

I'd brought along my faithful Nikon camera, thinking I'd capture a few scenes from the soirée, knowing all the while that once I started cooking and serving I'd have no mind to clicking away. Yet by the end of the night, some 300 shots had been taken, thanks to two of the winemakers who gleefully framed and clicked away as the hours passed, the plates were eaten clean, the bottles of beautiful wine they'd all brought devotedly emptied. 

I couldn't help but sharing with you their delightful photos, depicting the jovial communion of the evening. Thanks to Noëlla and Joel !

Oh, I should mention the names of the wonderful winemakers present at la fête :  Brendan Tracey : les vins de Sainte Anne,
Christophe Foucher : la Lunotte, Joël Courtault : domaine de Bel Air,  Noëlla Morantin (with Laurnet Saillard, soon to be coming out with his first vintage !), and Pascal Simonutti.

I do plan on writing an updated post on natural wines in the next wee bit of days. In the meantime, you can find links to some great natural wine blogs and a list of some of many natural winemakers in the Loire Valley here. 

But before, the link to a report that came out in August 2012, but which I just read it on the Huffington Post—the French version—this morning. Here's the same same article on the Guardian : Food shortages could force world into vegetarianism, warn scientists
Might as well join the program early !

Chateauvieux

escarole and dandelion melange

pears, wine and, yes, charcuterie

Bay Area, CA and Portland, OR open cooking classes

I'm making my annual visit to the West Coast in February and am excited to be holding my 3rd edition "all things vegetable" cooking class series up and down the coast.

I still have two open classes
—  Monday, February 18 in Berkeley, CA, from 6 - 11 pm
— Tuesday, February 27 in Portland, OR, from 5:30 - 10:30 pm

Information for the two classes and photos of the dishes we'll be stirring up are below.
Would love to have you join in !
All that is required is a pair of willing hands and a passion for "all things vegetable."

You can also take a look at my 2010 class series post, if you'd like to see what we were up to in the different kitchens back then.
And if you have the time to wander through my website, you could read my thoughts on cooking and the thoughts of others who have cooked with me.

For further information and/or to reserve, please write me here. My email address is also on the 2 flyers below...

savory wishes auguri voeux... 2013