Long weekend with the parents.

Cabbage and citrus slaw with avocado and pickled red onion

Sweet potato and black bean soups... swirled. 

I know we've been over this, but few things inspire my cooking like the people I love best.  I recently spent a long weekend at my parents' beautiful, peaceful home in Fresno-- a place that really is a solid contradiction to everything negative you've ever heard about that town.  I've been saying for years, "well, my Fresno is awesome!"
They have a beautiful, extremely productive garden, and often meals are made simply from what one finds on a little stroll around their raised beds.  I swear, the best broccoli I've ever worked with came out of their parking strip; and every now clichéd, reverent reference you've ever heard about the tomato still warm from the vine is rooted firmly in the image of their sunny, cheerful backyard.

Chocolate-toffee cookie

My parents are both educators, and had a four day weekend for President's Day- which inspired my trip.  We spent the days like we always do, I cook while Moma (that's what we call her- she's very artistic) reads me poetry or short stories aloud.  Ron, my step-dad is gardening or Mr.-Fix-It-ing something in the yard.  We eat, lingering over the table, drinking wine at ANY AND EVERY hour of the day.  We play in highly charged tournaments of word games, card games (Hearts, please!), and dominoes.  We sit in the living room, which has the most exquisite, amber light I know, and Ron plays the piano or we talk.  We are so comfortable surrounded by the book-lined walls and the animals who have finally tired from their incessant play and lay, collapsed, at our feet.  My Fresno is peaceful, and beautiful, and I fall backwards into the hammock of my family breathing a deep sigh of relief.  There are so many things we don't and can't know in life, but this?  This I know, and this I believe.

Spicy cauliflower pizza. I tried, unsuccessfully, to innovate on the baking-pizza-at-home-without-a-stone issue.  Still delicious!

I mean, seriously, in could be nine in the morning.

This is potentially my favorite dish of the weekend.  A bed of creamy hummus, pickled rounds of roasted beets, halves of beautiful five-minute eggs,  a garlicky mortared walnut and diced avocado relish. 

Doesn't everybody love befores and afters?
Apple-raisin tart with hazelnut-oat crumb topping.  Family food.

Celebrating Baby D', Eric and Nelle! Baby shower for 40 guests.

       Months ago I happily agreed to do the food for my wonderful cousin Nelle's baby shower.  Larger events are not generally my interest, but this was a family affair, and few things inspire me and my work like family and friends!
       The event was unusual-  It was not intended as a "meal", yet had been scheduled for noon!  Approaching this from a design perspective was so fun-- what direction did I want to take that would yield a diverse, fun and satisfying eating experience while delivering a balanced meal to those inevitable guests who would consider it one?  I positively giggled as I decided on- Mediterranean street food.


      The cooking of the Mediterranean and the portions of the Middle east that fall under that title has always been inspiring to me- the savor and complexity in the fritters, the marvelous spicing, the positively sensual colors, the emphasis on seasonal produce-  the deep respect and reverence for food and its place in the culture.  These things speak to and make reverberate the strings that tether me to my cooking.



       I made savory tarts, dips and fresh pita bread that I baked into its puffy glory on site just an hour before the guests arrived, and a beautiful spread of salads.  I plied my sister with lunch a few days before (and the possibility of leftovers), and the little champ came over and rolled no fewer than 130 dolmades.  I provided a couple of traditional condiments that could be applied in any number of ways to the spread- in fact, Nelle came up with a combination that was like an upgrade to the whole affair-- I guarantee some new dish or other is incubating in my brain as a result.  See?   Inspiration comes from all corners!

The menu:

Dukkah:  Spiced hazelnut dip with bread and olio nuovo

Fresh pita bread with hummus and muhammara

Dolmades:  stuffed grape leaves

Spanakopita

Butternut squash, leek and walnut tart

Salads:

Spiced sweet potato and shaved fennel with preserved lemons and green olive

Marinated beets with celery and herbs

Wild and basmati rice with fresh ginger, currants and almonds

Creamer potatoes with roasted red pepper, black olive and saffron

Turkish spiced yogurt sauce

Seasonal fruit platter

Birthday brunch on the terrace

    

       This weekend I traveled down to beautiful Portola Valley to do a birthday brunch for some wonderful clients!  They particularly like having a good amount of the action happening in their kitchen, so I made sure that there was plenty of fun and interesting cooking happening there on-site.  I could chat with guests, answer questions and share information and inspiration related to our event as I worked.  I had a wonderful time showing the kids the magic of whipping egg whites, the wonderous way that they change as you work them, and then making sure that they could see the soufflés as they rose!
Here's the menu:

French breakfast radishes with sweet butter and sea salt

Belgian endive with roasted beets, chopped egg, avocado and walnuts

"Macedonia":  Seasonal fruit marinated with fresh mint and orange blossom honey

........

Individual spinach soufflés with sauce Mornay and crisped ham

.......

Hand-made baked goods:

Oatmeal-raisin scones

Cinnamon-streusel coffee cake

Croissants

Pains au chocolat

Pains aux amandes

 About the process.

        I spent my time early in the week making some of the pastries- forming, proofing and freezing all of the viennoiserie and the scones.  This guaranteed that I could bring them out the morning of, glaze them and bake them there.  Everybody knows that a freshly-baked croissant or scone as at least twice as delicious as one that's several hours out of the oven.  

It also freed up my Sunday morning to hone in on the details before heading over to the destination.  Once there, I could focus on enjoying my time with the hosts and on the more delicate projects, like the soufflés!  

Our day:

       The radishes, butter and sea salt were out to nibble on while I cooked and guests chatted.

A colorful platter of endive came next- a fun and beautiful dish,
with layers of piquant and rich elements.

        Finally the guests sat at a lovely table outside for the plating of the main event- the soufflés!  A table was set nearby with the assortment of hand-made pastries, seasonal fruit, toast and jam from the incomparable Blue Chair Fruit Company.