Last Crumb

So far, we’ve not done any restaurant reviews on this site. Certainly we like restaurants. We eat at all sorts of interesting places and enjoy them. But the truth is, we enjoy the challenge and adventure of kitchen projects even more than we like writing about things like service and sauces. And eating out is something we do more than we’d like, while cooking at home is something we wish we had more time for.

But the opening of Peter Lowell’s, in our home town of Sebastopol, is a special occasion. It’s part of the reason Will ventured north last weekend, and the entire reason we’re posting our first review for you. But rather than a review, maybe we should call it a write-up. We would never send you somewhere we didn’t think was great, but for full disclosure, we should say that Lowell Sheldon, who is one half of the team behind Peter Lowell’s, is a dear friend from our childhood so we might be a little biased.

There are plenty of wonderful restaurants featuring local produce, but what’s remarkable about Peter Lowell’s is their commitment 100% sustainable and organic agriculture, and their focus on vegetarian cuisine (they do offer seafood for the flexitarians among us). We ate a meal almost completely of local organic food, and tasted from a menu of all sustainable, organic, or biodynamic wines. In addition, the building and attached live/work development are LEED Certified green buildings.

We arrived around 1:30 pm and settled in at the PaperStone bar at the front of the cafe. Behind us were about 8 or 10 bamboo wood tables. The room felt bright and airy. Soon we were joined by our Mom and our step dad, Ben. Lowell was admittedly a little frazzled, but really, who could blame him. We put ourselves in his hands, and he expertly guided us through the menu, starting us off with a fabulous 2006 Medlock-Ames Bell Mountain Sauvignon Blanc, and wrapping up our meal with an impressive round of Espressos from Ecco Caffe.

We started off with the Braised Rapini, Broccoli Raab braised in local extra virgin olive oil with whole roasted garlic, chile, and anchovy. We’ve never started a meal with braised greens before, but served family style as a starter it was both comforting and bright.

Next came the Peter Lowell’s Escarole Caesar, one of the best Caesar salad’s we’ve had. They decided to feature escarole because organic local romaine is difficult to come by, and it turned out to be a stroke of genius. The young escarole added just enough flavor and bitterness.

Two thin crust Italian style pizzas followed, the Pepperoni Norma, with heirloom tomato, eggplant, gypsy peppers, and ricotta salata cheese, and the Cipolla, a simple heirloom tomato marinara with slivered red onion and Parmegiano cheese, topped with an oven baked egg. Both were excellent, but we particularly loved the Pepperoni Norma.

We ended with the Macro Bowl, brown rice, heirloom beans, and cooked greens, topped with crispy seitan and a tangy ginger sauce, baked in the pizza oven in a soapstone dish. The Macro Bowl would have made a casual, healthy lunch, but was less of a standout after the other dishes. Rose would have liked to see them serve it with a stickier rice.

On a subsequent visit, Rose also tried a version of the White Pizza, with cannellinni beans, rapini, and fontina cheese, and their Fish of the Day, halibut cooked to perfection in the pizza oven and topped with a spicy heirloom tomato, chile, and gypsy pepper relish. Both were excellent, as were the 2003 Porter-Bass Russian River Zinfandel, and the 2005 Paul Mathews Ruxton Vineyard Pino Noir that she tried.

We suggest you stop in after an afternoon wine tasting in the Russian River Valley (but please keep the wineries there a secret!) Then plan to settle in at the wine bar for a leisurely lunch or dinner. And tell Lowell that Rose and Will sent you!

Peter Lowell’s
7 am – 9 pm daily

7385 Healdsburg Avenue
Sebastopol, CA 95472
(707) 829-1077
www.peterlowells.com

For Rose’s recipe for easy braised greens:

Read more »

Posted by: Rose on October 15th, 2007 © Filed under: Main Dishes, Restaurant Reviews | 5 Comments »

 

I would like to remind everyone that Fall is officially here in California and the quince fruit is now in season and available at your local farmer’s markets. Early in July I wrote about my first attempt at making jam. It was quince jam, and it turned out to be delicious! You can view that previous post here if you’re interested. There’s no more jam left now and everyone I gave it away to loved it and wants more. It’s time to make another batch, and what better time than right now when fresh local quinces are in season. The quinces I found back in July at a local Asian market had been imported all the way from Chile, and though not bad, were nothing like the beautiful ones pictured here at top and bottom.

 

Posted by: Will on October 4th, 2007 © Filed under: Condiments, Preserves | 7 Comments »

I finally completed the straining, bottling, and (most importantly) tasting of my homemade bitters this weekend and am generally pleased with the results. I began the process of making bitters at home back on July, then followed up with recipes a few weeks later. Now for a little more about the process and results.

I made two version of an aromatic bitters — one that included the addition of cherry bark and vanilla beans, and the other which was more or less traditional. I have to admit, I wasn’t wowed by the appearance or flavors of either right off the bat. Both liquids remain a bit cloudy, though I tried a variety of straining methods, including passing them through a Britta Filter (a trick Will found online). And since the flavor of spices in both was more prominent than in commercial bitters, I first wondered if they would be effective in cocktails.

I tried them first alone alongside the other aromatic bitters we have on our bar – Angostura, Peychaud’s, and Fee Brothers. Compared to the commercial versions, mine had a lighter color and a milder taste. I cut down on the amounts of water both recipes suggested, but I think next time I might forgo the added water altogether. Mine were also both drier than the commercial brands. The Cherry Vanilla Bitters was the driest by far and also had the most pronounced bitterness.

Of the commercial brands I tried, mine most resembled Angostura. Peychaud’s has a syrupy smell and taste similar to Campari, while Fee Brothers, though we liked it, had a very pronounced taste of cinnamon. Alone, I preferred the flavor of my straight aromatic House Bitters, but mixed into a Manhattan, the Cherry Vanilla Bitters shone, adding complexity and bite to the cocktail and rendering the Makers Mark we used as a test bourbon a little closer to a rye. The Cherry Vanilla Bitters were my hands down favorite in our test Manhattan, while Angostura and my homemade House Bitters shared second place. For drinking straight with soda water, Fee Brothers or the House Bitters top my list, while think I would prefer the Cherry Vanilla Bitters with ginger ale. I plan to experiment a bit more with both, testing them in rye cocktails as well as with other alcohols and mixers.

More on the methods:

For the recipes I used visit this post. For background and where to order ingredients, go here.

House Bitters (from Robert Hess)

1) This recipe doesn’t specify the amounts of water and sugar. I used about 1 cup water in step 2 of the recipe and then added slightly less than called for in step 8. Instead, I suggest using about 1.5-2 cups water in step two and adding it slowly to taste in step 4.

2) Omit the additional water in step 8, or add a little at a time, tasting carefully.

3) I used about 1/4 cup sugar (step 5) but you may want to add up to about 1/2 cup. When I carmelized the sugar and stirred it into the cool liquid, I had one of those “what did I get myself into” moments common to these kinds of home projects. Rest assured, the sugar, which immediately solidifies in the liquid and onto the spoon, will eventually dissolve.

Cherry Vanilla Bitters (from Jeff Hollinger and Rob Schwartz)

1) Use 1-1.5 cups water in step 3 and add little by little to taste.

2) This recipe doesn’t include sugar, but if you want it to resemble the commercial varieties, you may want to add 1/4-1/2 cup sugar. Carmelize as in the House Bitters recipe and stir into the spice infused water before adding it to the alcohol.

A few tips:

• Invest in a funnel if you don’t have one – some of the liquid invariable gets lost in the various transfers and strainings, and a funnel cuts down on the spillage and makes straining easier.
• Taste carefully as you add the sugar and water, you may want less than the recipes call for.
• I used wire mesh and cheesecloth to strain, followed by passing the liquid several times through a Britta filter. The cheesecloth is good for removing the solids and squeezing out any remaining liquid, but doesn’t remove the smaller particles that make the liquid cloudy. It might be worth trying a coffee filter or cheese/butter muslin if you can find it.
• To strain, line a funnel with a coffee filter or muslin, and lay cheesecloth over it. Wrap solids in cheesecloth and squeeze out any remaining liquid.

(Note – I reduced both recipes significantly and the amounts above are for the smaller batches I made. If you make a full size batch, revise accordingly.)

Posted by: Rose on September 30th, 2007 © Filed under: Cocktails & Spirits | 1 Comment »

Many people may not realize it, but the word pesto literally means: to pound or to crush, in Italian. It seems obvious when you think of similar sounding words like mortar and PESTLE, but for some reason, until recently, I never made the connection.

Homemade pesto sauce was almost a weekly tradition for me and my sister growing up. Both my stepfather and my stepmother each had their own unique and delicious methods for preparing the sauce, but unfortunately both methods involved the use of a food processor. Neither of them realized how much better their sauce could have been had they made it the traditional way: with a mortar and pestle. I should give them the benefit of the doubt though, as they were both hard working people with more to think about than gourmet food preparation, and the ones largely responsible for developing my lust for good food. Perhaps they did realize it would have tasted better the old fashioned way, but gave in to the allure of modern convenience and efficiency in a world of conflicting priorities. I won’t judge them negatively for their choice, but I will insist that something was lost in their process(ing). I can’t put my finger on exactly what it is, but having tried both now, I’ve concluded that pestled pesto just tastes better. It’s sweeter, more aromatic, colorful, and flavorful.

Many of the finest distilleries in the United States made a comparable mistake while re-outfitting their whisky stills shortly after the repeal of Prohibition. With new capital, new technology, and the desire to make things bigger, better, and longer lasting, they started using stainless steel to build their stills instead of the traditional copper. A copper still typically has a life expectancy of only around ten years, depending on production levels, whereas a stainless steel still lasts indefinitely. A description of the result, is best made by Jim Murray, author of Jim Murray’s Whiskey Bible. When asked what whisky would taste like without copper used in the distillation process.

“That’s an easy one,” he said. “As often as not, diabolical. The less copper you get, the less sweetness and honey tends to be around. Often you pick up a cabbage water aroma—at its worst, it takes me back to the old days when my mum used to boil hankies. Copper adds a sparkle to the nose; stainless steel stills offer something often flat and lifeless.”

It took years of research and large sums of money to discover why copper was so necessary in the distilling process. Turns out that one of the major reasons is that it acts as a catalyst, extracting sulfur and other nasties from the passing vapors. Much is still unknown about copper’s benefits, and perhaps will be left a mystery for many more years to come.

The moral of this whisky tangent, in case you haven’t figured it out by now, is that in most areas of life, it’s best to adhere to the time honored methods our ancestors developed over thousands of years. They work!

Here we go again… you’re probably thinking, another article by Will or Rose on how to spend an entire day in the kitchen making something that could be bought pre-made, or should only take a few minutes using modern technology. Let me assure you, that the following method only takes about 5 minutes more than the food processor method. I personally find the grinding process to be a labor of love, and I think my wife Mary can taste the difference.

Traditional Ligurian Pesto

Ingredients:

• Leaves from 2 bunches fresh basil
• 1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted, plus crushed pine nuts for garni sh
• 2-3 cloves garlic
• 1/4 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano or Pecorino Romano cheese, grated, plus more for garnish
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more as needed
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt

Method:

1. Combine basil, toasted pine nuts, garlic, and salt in your mort ar.
2. Grind with pestle in a pounding and/or rotating motion until a paste is formed, about 5 minutes.
3. Add cheese; grind until combined.
4. Briskly stir pesto with a wooden spoon while drizzling in the olive oil.
5. Drizzle pesto with more oil until desired consistency is reached.
6. Let rest while cooking your pasta.
7. Stir pesto into drained pasta while still hot.
8. Garnish with extra cheese and crushed pine nuts.
9. Try throwing a handful of chopped tomatoes on top (my mom ‘s touch)
10. Enjoy!

    

Posted by: Will on September 27th, 2007 © Filed under: Condiments, Food for Thought, Main Dishes | 8 Comments »

A few days ago I made a trip over to my favorite (big kids) candy store- Hi-Time Wine Cellars in Costa Mesa, which doesn’t just have one of the finest wine selections in California, but also one of the finest liquor selections. I don’t know whether it’s their self service tasting bar, their extensive underground caves (bring your jacket), or their amazing supply of hard to find spirits that gets my heart racing and empties my wallet every time I visit, but this time was no exception.

I was trying to locate some Peychaud’s bitters when I met Forrest, the store’s own liquor guru. We got to talking, and the conversation quickly settled on his homemade Pimento Dram endeavors. It was while he was describing the trials he went through to locate Jamaican allspice berries that I knew I had met my new go-to man for obscure and forgotten spirits. He informed me, with an excited look of approval seeking anticipation on his face, that something very rare and special had just come in, and that I might like to take a look. I took the bait, not wanting to disappoint him, and he ran off to fetch the bottle. When he returned, grinning ear to ear, holding a dark green bottle with the care you might see in a new father, he pronounced, “Batavia-Arrack”.

To tell you the truth, I’d never heard of Pimento Dram nor Batavia-Arrack until that day, but I’m always game for new things, and this guy impressed me with his passion and knowledge of all things booze. According to Forrest, for the first time in many many years, Batavia-Arrack, a rare and exotic spirit imported from the island of Java Indonesia via a blending plant in Amsterdam and a bottling plant in Austria, has been reintroduced to the U.S. market thanks to the fine folks over at Haus Alpenz. The product is painstakingly distilled, so it goes, from a mixture of sugar cane and fermented Java red rice using pot stills and ancient Chinese methods to produce a distinctive high proof spirit reminiscent of a spicy, smoky cachaca. “It’s an ingredient indispensable”, Forrest informed me, “to the adventurous mixologist trying to recreate such things as Swedish Punsch from scratch”.

Well, you may laugh, but I was sold on it. I forked over a hefty $31 bucks for the bottle (available online from Hi-Time Cellars here), and left the store with a strange bottle of hootch and a photocopied list of some drinks to be made with it.

I chose to make the Swedish Punsch recipe from the list because it’s the most common use of Batavia-Arrack, and it went something like this:

Swedish Punsch:

Produces enough for two small cocktail glasses

• 2 oz Batavia-Arrack
• 1/2 oz Rum
• 3/4 oz Fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 oz Simple syrup (2:1 sugar and water)*
• 3 oz Water
• Ground cardamom or nutmeg
• Lemon twist

Method:

1. Combine Batavia-Arrack, rum, lemon juice, simple syrup, water, and spices in a shaker.
2. Stir until well chilled.
3. Strain into a vintage (small) cocktail glass.
4. Add the twist of lemon.
5. Enjoy.

Notes:

1. Try preparing this recipe hot instead of chilled (pre-19th century style).
2. Try it over ice in a rocks glass.
3. Try using it in other cocktails.
4. Try replacing the spices and simple syrup with the spiced (not so simple) syrup recipe bellow:

Spiced (not so simple) Syrup:

• 2 cups Demerara sugar
• 1 cup water
• 6 whole cloves
• 8 cardomom pods broken open and lightly crushed
• 3 sections of a star anise broken open
• 1 small cinnamon stick broken up
• just a little grated nutmeg (less than 1/16th of a tsp.)
• a little ground ginger
• 1/16th tsp. ground cardamon
• 1/2 vanilla bean split open

Method:

1. Combine everything in a saucepan.
2. Bring to a low boil stirring constantly for two minutes.
3. Shut off heat, and cover for two hours.
4. Add an ounce of vodka to help preserve.
5. Strain through a sieve.
6. Store in a cool dark place for later use.

Posted by: Will on September 20th, 2007 © Filed under: Cocktails & Spirits | 12 Comments »