chez pim

No-knead Pain au Levain, no, really!

Jim Lahey and Mark Bittman's co-accomplishment in the culinary world is such that it now can be divided into the Pre No-knead (PrN) period and the Post No-knead (PoN) period.  When Mark Bittman published the recipe in the New York Times, it incited such a sensation: home cooks who'd dared not touch yeast bread were found stirring up sticky dough, scorching their pristine Le Creuset Dutch Ovens, and blasting the poor little lid knob in the process, all in the name of holy, hole-y, and crispy-crust breads just like those one could get at a corner boulangerie in Paris.  Were we to live near one, that is.

I too had ready success with the recipe.  The first no-knead loaf I produced--the very first loaf of bread I've ever made, in fact--was gorgeous, irregular holes, super crisp crust, and even holding it's shape pretty well despite having been such a sticky, messy dough.  The bottom burnt a little, but I brushed it off as a simple novice mistake.

The problem?  No flavor!  It didn't taste bad, it really didn't.  It was just an inoffensive-tasting bread with a great texture and structure.  Still, I was bitten by the no-knead bug.  I was simply astonished that I too could make bread.  How cool was that?  I was determined to continue, and even more determined to put some taste into this bread.  I resisted using herbs, dried fruits, olives, or any other normal additions to the bread.  I was looking to put flavor in the bread itself, not to dress up the otherwise homely loaf in the culinary equivalent of bling.

After baking I don't know how many loafs, I finally found one I love.  This is it. 

The chef I love

No, no, no worries.  You haven't entered a parallel universe where Chez Pim becomes Gluten Free Girl.  I'm not about to wax poetic like Shauna does about "the chef" of hers.  Noes.  When Shauna does it, it's way cute but when I do it I bet it's not so much.  The only time I've ever referred to David as chef is when I call Manresa's kitchen number and ask to speak to chef--and in that case it would be chef and not "the chef" anyway. 

I'm actually talking about the other chef in my life: my chef levain, or my starter.  I am really quite in love with my starter at the moment.  It's been producing some of the most delicious breads I've ever tasted, and I've done it all with simple adaptations from the effortless no-knead recipe.

Pebble Beach and the circus tent: part III

You know the wine is really good when you can't keep your hands steady enough to focus the camera.  It's not that there wasn't enough light, or that my lens wasn't quick enough, it's just that the wine was too good, and there were also too many of them.  An embarrassment of riches, no, an absurdity of riches.

I don't know about you, but I was quite dazed and confused by the array of wine on offer that day.  Over 200 wineries was the number someone gave me, with each winery offering a selection, at least three or four, for taste.  That makes how many types of wine altogether I am too afraid to compute.  I walked around with the empty wine glass in my hand--each of us was given one upon entering the tents--completely unsure what to do or how to even begin. 

Your instinct is to try everything: who knows what undiscovered gems lurk below the surface of your known universe.  Your hand wants to stretch out to every smiling face--holding a bottle as though it was a coddled baby--and let them pour you a taste.  You heart wants to give them each a chance, to try the proud fruit of their labor.  It is your brain, alas, who must win the day. 

Yogurt, lemon, and herb dip with baby carrots and radishes

A weekend of grazing on rich food and richer wine had us all craving very simple food when we got home.  We went to the garden and picked some fresh vegetables to fill the fridge.  When we got home, Julie, Alain Passard's sous chef who's having a short stay with us after the big event, whipped up a quick and delicious yogurt dip for the fresh radishes and baby carrots that we just pulled from the ground.  It's so great I had to share the recipe with you.

It was so simple, and so wonderful with everything from the sweet carrots to even the zingy radishes.  The secret was a tiny pinch of Madras curry powder, just enough to be interesting but not to be overwhelming.

Clos Rougeard for Wine Blogging, um, Wednesday

I know this is Friday, but it's better (a little) late than never, no?  We drank the wine on Monday night even, so it's definitely qualified for this Wine Blogging Wednesday Friday.  For those of you new to this, Wine Blogging Wednesday is the fun event in the (mostly) wine and (some) food blogging community.  Each month a new blog host chooses a theme for the tasting.  It could be anything from a cépage, year, region, flavor or even the wacky-name edition which I hosted a few years ago. 

The theme this month is Cabernet Franc, and the host is none other than the oddly fascinating Gary Vaynerchuck of Wine Library TV.  Gary hosts a wine video blog, so it should be fun to see how he's going to do the roundup.  Count on him to do something outrageously hilarious, or hilariously outrageous, or even both.

My choice is my absolute favorite Saumur Champigny: 2001 Clos Rougeard "Le Bourg".  At home on Monday, David and I hosted a small impromptu dinner party with the wine and a simple roast chicken with vegetables from the garden.

Pebble Beach and the circus tent: part II

The key to navigating the tents, for me, was staying focused.  When it comes to food, I only tasted what looked really good to me.  It also helps to plot a progression of the meal, don't eat a bite of savory and then another of sweet--there was no booth for Tums, as least not as far as I knew.

Luckily there were more than enough interesting stuff to try here.  I spied Hubert Keller pouring something into little shooter cups, so I had to grab one.  It was great, a zesty white gazpacho with vanilla oil.  There was one more soup that I loved, a silky avocado soup with crab meat hidden at the bottom of the bowl.  What a lovely surprised from Keiko Takahashi of El Paseo in Mill Valley.

Taste of the Nation, do some good this weekend?

Have you got plans for this weekend?  Join us for dinner at Taste of the Nation San Francisco.

There will be food from Elizabeth Faulkner of Orson and Citizen Cake, Nate Appleman of A16, Stuart Brioza of Rubicon, and more.  The wines will be selected by Christie Dufault of Quince, Paul Einbund of Coi, Shelley Lindgren of A16/SPQR, and Larry Stone of Rubicon Estate, to name just a few.  Those of you Iron Chef fans will be happy to see The Man himself, the new Iron Chef Michael Symon, plus three contestants Chris Cosentino, Gavin Keysan, and Traci des Jardins.

See, there's something for a foodie of every stripe?  Better yet, the proceeds will benefit the Share Our Strength's fund to end childhood hunger.  You can read more about Taste of the Nation and Share Our Strength here.

Pebble Beach and the circus tent: part I

That's how it was referred to all weekend: the circus tent.  And what a fun circus it was.  It's madness too, mind.  Try finding your way among throngs of people grabbing and reaching for wine and food.  Well, they are hardly to blame.  You'd go a little off in the head too with that much food and wine.

I must admit I'm not exactly an walking around eating in a tent kind of girl.  I have the appetite of a horse and the metabolism of a humming bird, so I just never have enough food at these kind of affairs.  Usually the walk between one bite and the next burns basically all the calories than the bite affords me.  It's a zero-sum game, which I guess could be a good thing.

Even with my skeptic's hat on, the big tent at Pebble Beach was great fun.  The food was amazingly good--there wasn't a lot of gratuitous dousing of truffle oil which seems to be the norm in these big tent foods.  No, no I'm not going to mention which "famous" chef served me the most gnarly burger "slider" with dodgy meat that was positively soaked in truffle oil.  Certainly not here for sure. 

While truffle oil was thankfully missing in action, foie gras--holy goodness foie gras--was everywhere.  My favorite three bites here all involved foie gras in one form or another. 

Pebble Beach Food & Wine, mystery chefs edition

I got home from Pebble Beach yesterday.  It was a fun weekend full of fun and food, not to mention all the wines and the gossips.  I might need a few days to recover before I can even post about them!

Meanwhile, here's a few mystery chefs for you guys to guess. 

Who is this mystery chef who came out of retirement to cook here?  He doesn't run a kitchen anymore but still uses his culinary artistry to make fabulous olive oil.