chante( the praise of the)relles

A friend biking through the Berkeley hills found these amazing specimens of the delicious chanterelles mushrooms( the big ones are 6 inches across). Very generously he dropped a bag full ( about 2lb !) of them.Pretty and delicately scented, they might go into quesadillas, after being sauteed in butter and shallots, yes Julia, I am with you on that one, no substitute.Or a risotto, or a soup, or all 3 since there is so much of them.thanks N !
Happy new year. Do not know about you, but cannot wait until 2010.....

diving in

A lot has been said about chocolate. It has been a long time since Marie Antoinette drank hers , dark and foamy, for both pleasure and for curative purposes , as it was then the fashion . The cups were small, more like espresso shots and the spicy brew ( often sprinkled with pepper) would invigorate.
Since then, a crop of chocolatiers have open shops to the cries of pleasure from all of us. I can pinpoint the beginning of the trend to the early 80"s when Alice Medrich served the best truffles west of the left bank in her store Cocolat. Her truffles were traditional and delicious. Since then, artisans have explored various fillings and 'couvertures"( I think that is the term), to a point of Dalinian madness and genius. After all ,who could come up with a truffle filled with a black olive ganache?
Well, who but the brain behind a Toronto candy and chocolate store, adjacent to his spanish influenced restaurant, Cava.
I love the clean design of the box, as well as of the labels.The extraordinary truffles play a quite game of elegant checkers.
The olive truffle was astonishing, the salted caramel unmentionably divine.
So , when in Toronto, run there, otherwise, order may be.....

lunch from a truck

We went to visit Dot at work today. She works in east Oakland, where you can find many Taco trucks parked in the corner of open lots at busy intersections. The customers are mostly locals, mexican families on their way to a sunday outings, or neighbors yearning for a cheap and fresh authentic taste. A few daring gringos make up the rest of the crowd lining up at the tiny window to place their order and waiting in their car to be called.
I go for the fish taco ( not on the menu) served on corn tortillas, under a pile of just made bracing salsa with sliced radishes and pickled jalapeno peppers.juicy, light , with just the right amount of heat. Significant had the lingua taco ( photographed here) which is his favorite, bringing back childhood memories of homemade braised tongue.
We went back to a patio, back at her work, the sun was shining, and she dressed the unkempt table with a paper cloth.

EL SLURP

Finally here...... Hope you enjoy it.

flour and flowers

Winter light through my bedroom window.


It is officially winter. Even though here in California, we can have it pretty easy.We get some rain, the occasional freeze lasting one or two nights, and then blossoms will start popping come February first. Today, Christmas eve, it is sunny, with a bright optimistic blue sky. Lately and luckily, there has been a lot of Dot time. we have made for the first time a fabulously rum soaked fruitcake together. It took about 5 cups of fruits and various raisins, when Dot announced that she hated raisins and reminded me of the dreaded red boxes of her childhood.But a fruitcake has to be different ! no ?! specially rum soaked ?!

There has been an interesting kind of ikebana spirit around our house lately.One bouquet is from Dot, delivered this morning, and the other is from Significant who , also so generously, brought this gift home, carefully and creatively picked. Can you tell which is which ?

cold front

It has been gloves, goose feathers and soup . Some plants have frozen, the deck was icy and slippery.In the car, the heat is turned to high, and the sky is an uncut bolt of dove grey silk.

cecile's gallery

a wonderful opening at Cecile's over a week ago (pix by Dot).Thanks to all who came.I stopped by yesterday , the sun was pouring in through the open French doors,making the art stand out like jewels.

aziza

was very much looking forward to our meal at Aziza , the Moroccan restaurant with the Michelin star, with the trendy twists on a cuisine known for its exotic spicing . I have made my own version of couscous for years( brothy, saffrany,with thyme and cumin) and was curious to see the chef's spin on it.
The restaurant is down on Geary blvd, close to the Legion of Honor museum,which is quite a trek.In other words, it would have to be a stellar performance to induce a come back visit. The glass door at the front makes you believe that the space is modern, but upon entering , you are face to face with an ali baba harem room gone Hollywood by way of the medina, all pinks and blues with moorish arches over tables.I liked the red chandeliers and the black and whites print of horses in front of Moroccan buildings, otherwise, despite its attempts at warmth ,it was tacky and left me cold.
I have to say that the food was very, very good.We started with an apetizer of"spreads".my photos are horrible, and I have to confess that I had about 1/2 second for each, as my friends were declaring loudly a state of starvation and that I had the time for one shot each, but still it gives you a sense of the presentation if nothing else.The spreads were creamy to the point of richness, but delicious against the grilled pitas.My friends shared a couple of other appetizers that they declared superb( the meatballs with raisins, the squid) and I moved on to the couscous.Presentation wise,I rate it a :2, taste, a :10. I was disappointed with the lack of invention and home style plating( booooring)but it definitively made up in taste:it was a vegetarian version and true to form, included carrots, turnips, garbanzos, the plumpest raisins,almonds and also rutabagas which I have not seen before in the traditional couscous, which will have zucchini instead( I guess that switch was a nod to the seasonality of root vegetables).It was not brothy at all and I was afraid of it being dry.But it was moist,hearty,spiced just right, and so rich that I think that the vegetables had been stewed with butter.
We shared 2 deserts, and the waitress neglected to advise us that both were similar in case we wanted to consider something else.The service, in fact was lazy.I never felt taken care of.too bad.Now, how did they get that star with that service? On the other hand, I didn't have the exact change for the valet ( he did not either, moment of awkwardness there), and as I was seated, I asked for change and got it promptly,It was the least they could do.We left the place without a glance from the bar staff or anyone, but the valet told us to wait inside since it was cold and that he would come get us.He was really nice.

EL SLURP

If you glance at the sidebar, you will find a new link: my online magazine where you are welcome to play with me.... Let's cover the world in its myriad of wonders and delectables , let's laugh and cry , and may be ponder on what is to come.First issue : all things Spanish.There will be a reportage from Juan Cristian on the Barcelona markets, a story about a couple who came up with innovative and artful ways of resurrecting antique tiles, also from Barcelona, reviews of local Bay area haunts and restaurants and much more to come.So please collaborate and send me anything you have on Spain !