Gastronomie

Stealing a Bite -- My Top 10 Tastes of 2006

Sometimes, the inspiration for blog fodder comes in the form of, well... stealing. In this case, I'm stealing from Jen, who did this brilliant post about the 10 best things to pass her lips this year. I thought that recollecting all the delicious things I've eaten would be a nice way to close out what has been a pretty crappy year.

So, without further ado, I present my Top Ten Tastes of 2006, in (mostly) chronological order:   

1. Like Jen, I have to put the Buttermilk-soaked Fried Quail with Lemon Confit at Rubicon on the list. It was sublime enough that I have been back specifically to eat that one thing.   
2. Bacon-Wrapped Chorizo-Stuffed Dates at 4580 in Boulder. Before this meal, I would have sworn that I hate dates. Not only were these incredibly delicious in their own right, they actually opened my mind to an ingredient I previously shunned.
   

   

    
3. Chanterelle Tagliatelle at Babbo was positively exquisite -- the first time I understood how pasta was supposed to taste and "bite". Phenomenally good, and one of my loveliest meals with C, ever.   
4. Then there's Alinea, which was definitely the meal of the year. For the rest of my days, I will never forget the perfectness of Pear: Curry Infused Cocoa Butter Orb with Pear Juice.   
   

   

5. On the dessert end of the table is the Smoked Yogurt that accompanied the bittersweet chocolate cake at Coi. I've heard it's no longer offered because it was too odd for most people, which is a shame and makes me fear losing Daniel Patterson to New York. That stuff was revelatory.   
6. If I ever taste O-toro like the pieces we were served at Pod, I will consider myself ready to... ready to... oh, come on, who am I kidding? I wouldn't stop eating sushi. But, I would be a damned lucky girl.   
7. My first (and second... and third) La Spada's Hoagie. 'Nuf said.
   

   

    
8. Eating heavenly Festival Bread in Jamaica with hotter-than-sin jerk chicken and washing it all down with ice cold Red Stripe.   
9. You know how sometimes you listen to people go on and on about how great something is, and then when you finally try it, it's sort of a let-down because you've hyped it so much in your own head? Yea, that's not how it is with Pretzel Croissants from City Bakery.
   

   

10. And finally, to take us back a full year, the Croquembouche I ordered from Citizen Cake for last year's New Year's Eve party. While it was delicious in its own right, what made it a top-10 contender is the friends I got to share it with.

Now, you may have noticed that there are no wines or spirits on this list; that's because they could make up a whole post on their own. But a couple quick memories include:   

• My first sip of Oban, high above San Francisco on the top floor of the Hilton   
  
• A taste of Water's Crest Nightwatch, a luscious eiswein-style offering from Long Island
• The first sniff of Qi (the Lapsang Souchong/Orange/Vanilla liqueur from Lance Winters, Brian Backus & John Scharffenberger) that nearly knocked me backwards with its potency
• A Hangar One Wasabi Vodka Bloody Mary -- perfection with a pickled green bean
• Brewing a pot of Vanilla Rooibos tea, and sharing with my mom
• A dinner with good friends, seeing their reaction to their first taste of a nicely aged Masi Amarone. ..the wonderment that wine could taste like this.

It has been a year of delicious food, and delicious drink. A year of merry-making, friend-making, sadness-making.

Yes, it has definitely been a year to remember.

HAPPY NEW YEAR to all of you, with hopes and wishes for a phenomenal year ahead with joy, prosperity and many beautiful and delicious things.

Tags: Food, Food & Drink, 2006, 2007, New Years, New Years Eve, Best Of, San Francisco, Chicago, Jamaica, Oakland, New York

Menu For Hope III: In the Company of Greatness

I'm positively HUMBLED by the extraordinary response we've seen on this year's Menu For Hope Campaign.

As of this evening, over thirty thousand dollars has been raised for the United Nations World Food Programme.

So, what am I coveting?

Well, I'm definitely enamored of UW48, Hangar One's donation. Alas, it would be unfair of me to put in for that prize since it's one of my own. (But, you know, as long as you're asking? Cardamom & Rosewater. Yea, baby.)

EU32 would be a killer way for my friend L and I to make the most of our time in Paris this spring; a custom itinerary and reservation service? Bring it on.

'Course I'm also seriously loving the UC10 -- a stage at Alinea? Are you kidding? Grant Achatz is my own personal molecular gastronomy God. I'd be honored to play the role of gopher for a day.

But then, in the wine category I would be thrilled to win dinner with Eric Asimov (WB01) or Lenn's Long Island Wine Lovers Getaway (WB19). And I can tell you from first-hand experience that anyone winning WB02 (Alder's Sommelier for a Night Service) will be very pleased indeed -- he's patient, expressive and fun to drink with.

So many amazing prizes to choose from! And while I wish you guys all the best luck, I still hope I win one of my covets!

Tags: Food, Food & Drink, Hangar One, Vodka, Menu For Hope, Charity, Donation, Holidays, First Giving, United Nations, World Food, San Francisco, Alameda, Oakland

Menu For Hope -- Another Priceless Experience -- Prize #UW48

Jeez, oh man. This campaign's been going for four days -- FOUR -- and already we are closing in on the funds raised during the entire campaign last year. As of this writing, we have raised $14,290 $15,450! You guys are amazing!

And there are still a few prizes straggling in. Kind of like this one. Because when you're trying to pin down a brilliant  mad scientist, sometimes it takes a few days.

Gastronomie Prize #2: A Hangar One/St. George Spirits Custom Distillation with Lance Winters. Retail value = Priceless

Maybe you think I'm being coy by calling this prize priceless. But really, it is!    

Lance Winters, evil genius of St. George Spirits (distillers of Hangar One Vodka) is opening his lab to one lucky winner. You will be granted the opportunity to visit the distillery and distill with Lance and the crew an ingredient of your choice (based on seasonality and the availability of ingredients, of course).

In the very same still where Hangar One's Alchemist Series begins, Lance will create a designer spirit just for you -- a one-of-a-kind, small-batch, craft-distilled liquor that will impress the pants off your friends.    

This winner of this prize will want to be local to the San Francisco Bay Area, or want to arrange a trip around the distillation date (to be agreed upon based on ingredient selected and availability).   

Please email me with any questions you might have about this prize.

If you want to bid on this item, PLEASE go to the donation page and bid a minimum of $10 for one raffle ticket. Specify prize number UW48 for the Custom Distillation in the "Personal Message" section of the form, and PLEASE make sure to allow us to see your email address so we can contact you if you win.

Raffle winners will be announced on January 15, 2007 at Chez Pim.

Tags: Food, Food & Drink, Hangar One, Vodka, Menu For Hope, Charity, Donation, Holidays, First Giving, United Nations, World Food, San Francisco, Alameda, Oakland

Menu For Hope -- A Beautiful Way to Close the Year -- Prize #UW38

Do you guys remember that little grass roots effort that a bunch of food bloggers participated in last year? The one that raised some $17,000 towards the relief effort in Northern Pakistan and India?

Well, not only is it back, but it's got structure, visibility and a great deal of excitement around it this year. And, it's benefitting the United Nations' World Food Programme

Here at Gastronomie, we have not one, not two, but THREE gifts for you this year. However, we are only releasing information on the first prize today, and not because we don't love you. No, we just aren't READY to release everything at once. So, once you've read about our cool Persian Pantry, and checked out the amazing prizes on offer by other bloggers -- West Coast bloggers' donations are here; the rest of them are most easily found here.

Gastronomie Prize #1: The Persian Pantry, retail value = $75+

• 4.6 grams of pure Khorasan saffron threads, hand-carried from Iran by my aunt
• A bundle of cleaned, chopped and dried herbs for Ghormeh Sabzi, enough for 4-6 servings
• A bag of leemoo-omani, dehydrated persian limes, critical for many Persian dishes
• Kashk (dried or a jar of fresh, depending on winner's location) - most of you have told me this is the single most difficult thing for you to find, and it's so important.
• Resht-e, Persian noodles used to make Aash 
• Rob-e Anaar, or pomegranate paste. This is different from the pomegranate molasses you fine in most markets. You'll see why when you receive it
• Sumac, the dried and crushed berries of the poisonous plant. Sprinkle it on Basmati rice, fry up a few kabab, and you have a perfect Chelo Kabab
• Finally, I'll be putting together a selection of sweets and other goodies based on the winner's requests

If you want to bid on this item, PLEASE go to the donation page and bid a minimum of $10 for one raffle ticket. Specify prize number UW38 for the Persian Pantry in the "Personal Message" section of the form, and PLEASE make sure to allow us to see your email address so we can contact you if you win.

Raffle winners will be announced on January 15, 2007 (big "woot-woot" to Derrick, here, as we actually wrote all y'all's names on slips of paper and did drawings last year. He's taking us into the 20th century with a randomizer application.)

So, really, head on over and make a donation. Good things will happen, and you'll feel good about doing it, too!

Tags: Food, Food & Drink, Persian, Iran, Menu For Hope, Charity, Donation, Holidays, First Giving, United Nations, World Food, San Francisco, Oakland