THANK YOU!!!!

Thank you to everyone who donated money to the March of Dimes. We had a large team from the hospital this year, and raised more than $6,000. Fortunately, the weather cooperated (it was supposed to be snowing; we're glad it was sunny.) I will look forward to participating again next year!

Spring '11 Journal Club

Right after we got back from SF, we hosted another journal club. Of course, it was delicious! (Thanks, Tom.)

I don't have a picture of the appetizers. There were a variety of cheese, fruits, crackers, and a warm goat cheese & leek dip that I love.

The first course was spring rolls (with shrimp) and a shrimp broth. Everything was drizzled with a cilantro oil - my favorite.

The main course was smoked chicken, mashed potatoes, and a black-bean salsa.

The dessert (my contribution!) was a blueberry & lemon parfait. The lemons, of course, came from Phoenix: Meyer lemons, from Sarah & Erik's tree. Happily, we had leftover parfaits....

day #1 on the wine trail

OK, as promised: I rec'd some photos from my dad. I was originally planning on sharing an array of photos from Bell Wines, but I think my dad said it all when he sent the caption along with this photo (of my Aunt Kathee): "Anything worth doing is worth doing to excess."

We had a fantastic afternoon at Bell Wines. We were lucky enough to have our Cab Clone tasting hosted by the owner of the winery, Anton Bell. He shared with us a rich history of the valley, including his part in starting to make clones in the late '70s from some of the old Paul Masson vines. I agreed with Mr. Bell that I liked "Clone 6" the best -- but appreciated his "Claret" (a blended wine from several cab clones, plus a little Merlot added in).

If you are planning a trip to Napa, I would highly recommend planning to visit Bell. The afternoon was interesting, educational, and of course -- delicious.

day #2 on the wine trail

Day #2? What happened to day #1, you ask? Well, my dad has those photos... so I'll have to get them from him. In the mean time, suffice it to say... we had a wonderful (albeit brief) trip to Napa after going to San Francisco.

On day #1, we had a very unique experience visiting Bell Wine. We LOVED it. More on that when I get the photos.

On day #2, we asked our B&B proprietor to recommend to us where we should go to see the "typical/touristy" part of the Napa Vineyards. He recommended Rubicon, which is now owned by Francis Ford Coppola.

Our B&B host was right! The grounds were impeccable... and included a museum of sorts -- filled with all sorts of memorabilia -- some from the original Rubicon estate, but a lot of random things from Mr. & Mrs. Coppola -- things relating to film history, a Tucker (read: old, famous car-collector's car, exquisitely restored), and whatever random tschotchkes that Mrs. Coppola likes to buy/put on display/sell.

While we enjoyed seeing the grounds and touring the random collections of art & other weird things, we didn't taste any wine there. Among other things, it was still before lunch! I don't know how people visit Napa for more than 2-3 days, I must admit... even though it's gorgeous & interesting, there's only so many days that one can drink that much wine!

This was a view of the Rubicon/Coppola estate. Gorgeous, no? We also went up to Keenan (where we had a nice picnic lunch). By that time, it was clouding over -- so I didn't take too many pictures.

It was nice to see my parents. We also got to see Paul & Kathee -- hopefully my dad has some pictures that have them, too.

the gang heads to Muir Woods

We had one afternoon off, so we hopped in a van (thanks to Sarah) and headed up to Muir Woods. I took this picture for my nephews...

I think everyone was impressed by the trees. Having grown up near here, I don't think I ever really appreciated the redwoods until I left California... I definitely miss the green.

There were a lot of cool flowers blooming along the trail. I love irises, but I don't think I've ever seen them growing wild before.

This was our group (minus Dave, who was taking the photo), at the "top" of our journey. John Masoudi and Sarah McKinley are above me & Tom.

Sarah had me take this photo show she could show her boys how amazingly big these trees are.

on the road again!

Quite a few of the Exempla Department Chairs went to a credentialing conference in San Francisco last week. (Pictured here, from right to left: Ken Rooks & his wife, Renee, and Todd Bickford.) So when in SF....

... go to a ballgame! It was a good game: SF vs the Dodgers. The Good Guys won.

We stayed at the Ritz in SF. It was a pretty swanky old hotel with lots of cool architecture. The inside decor seemed to showcase a lot of old china, which was right up my alley. My only complaint was that it was the noisiest hotel, EVER. If you're going to go to the Ritz, I would recommend that you request a courtyard-facing room (rather than street facing). And just in case: bring earplugs.

hours of food & wine

Tom & Mark conferring about the seafood bisque... which was our next course (after the spring rolls). This was served with a lovely Gewurtztraminer (from the 1990s).

The main course was a joint effort between Tom and Mark. Tom smoked turkey breast, and Mark made the sauteed chard, the mushroom pilaf, and a wonderful sauce for the turkey (a plum reduction). This was served with the Cos D'Estrournel, which absolutely knocked my socks off.

For a palate-cleansing course, we had cheeses and an apple compote.

And for dessert, I made an eggless chocolate mousse, which Tom topped with cherries that had been soaked in bourbon. They certainly packed a punch!

enjoying the moment....

As we prepared for the evening, we even consulted an atlas (which Lynne kindly brought along) so that we could learn as much about the wine as possible.

The first course was spring rolls. There were two different kinds. Mark's had chicken, celery & 5-spice; Tom's had cherries reduced in red wine, star anise & bean sprouts.

These were served with a 1977 Chateau Latour and a 1977 Napa Chateau Chavalier (cabernet). Amazingly enough, the Chateau Latour had passed its prime.

preparing for great wine

We had the fortunate experience to share another great dinner with our friends Mark & Joanna, and Lynne & Larry. Lynne has a wine cellar that is full of amazing old wines. She has agreed to share her cellar if Tom & Mark will do the cooking. What a fantastic arrangement!

Tom really enjoys this...

rooms with views

We stayed at the Marriott for my conference. We had a nice view from our first room -- which we were willing to abandon, because the room was so incredibly loud (it faced the railroad tracks).

However, we clearly didn't suffer by asking them to move us to a bayside room....

the chorizo fest continues

The following morning we had an awesome breakfast: almost an open-faced burrito, with eggs, chorizo, salsa, cheese.... YUM.  Then it was off to the conference -- where I assure you, the food was not worthy of writing about!

putting the whole meal together

The final plate was the Saag Paneer, Puri, basmatti rice, and ground lamb. It was outstanding.

Puri

I have made Chipatti before, and am familiar with Naan, but I had never seen a puffed Indian flatbread before. This one is called Puri, and it was delicious.

After the dough was made & rolled out, it was fried -- which produced large air pockets.

It was an excellent fork for the rest of the meal.

Saag Paneer

This was an amazing side dish: sauteed chard (I think other greens could be substituted), fenugreek chorizo, and I don't remember what else -- but this, likewise, could have been a satisfying meal for me. Sherry & Mike will have to help me fill in the details....

Tom learns from the master

We told Sherry that Tom was wanting to learn more about cooking Indian food. She decided to introduce us to fried Pakora: which is fried chick-pea flour. It was delicious!

My favorite part was the Tamarind dipping sauce. It was tangy but not sour -- I could have eaten the bowl of Tamarind sauce and been happy with just that.