Up and out early to the market. We want to get our breakfast tacos before we have to meet Julie at 8. I wander down to the Italian baker and check out the profiteroles – chat with him about Italy and pop a whipcream-filled delight into my mouth as I walk back to join the others. But we don’t quite make it, as we have ordered our food and it’s going to take 30ish minutes and here’s Julie and two other couples. We sit at a long table as each of us introduces ourselves and she reviews the day’s schedule. Our group wolfs down our meals and heads out to the market with the others as we check out the selection of produce and receive tips from Julie.
After we purchase the ingredients we need, we head over to an olive oil stand for a tasting. Nice and mild, we agree we like both styles they offer. Next, back into the Oxbow pavilion to the spice market, where she discusses the different finishing salts and some unusual blends that she loves. Over to the cheese market, where we get tastes and select the ones we like best.
Meat counter for hangar steak, which is the centerpiece of the menu, then into the corner for break and a couple of final items.
We leave the building and head next door into the charcuterie to pick up some cured meats (yes, they have some braeseola for the two of us not eating pork), then everyone hops into their cars and we head to Groth Winery for a tasting. There are so many little wineries (and many we’ve all heard of) that it makes me want to try out some unknowns to see what gems I could discover….but that will have to wait until I am drinking again.
We meander in the insectarium, a garden planted to attract bugs, butterflies and other helpful insects that keep the sustainable vineyards running smoothly and eliminate the need for many of the chemicals used elsewhere, while Julie prepares. And yes, another group picture:
We walk into the large building and sit at a long, dark wooden table. Every pair of us shares a small serving tray with our selected cheeses, some olives and cured meats (I see a pattern here) as she taste (and sniff) 4 varieties of wine from the vineyard. I’m getting a little bored of these tastings – so much better when I can participate!
I decided to go and sit out in the sun until things wind up, and then we follow Julie to her house for the cooking portion of our show.
She divides us into groups of two and three, and we set to it. Slicing, chopping, sauteeing, blending, etc. You can see us busy at work:
Dripping honey over figs Lee grilled and I topped with fresh ricotta, while everyone is busy at work:
It’s a very, very long time in the making, but we finally sit down around 3:30 for our lunch. We begin with cream of fairytale squash soup, topped artfully with fried sage leaves. This is followed by sliced, marinated steak topped with arugula salad, accompanied by oven-roasted romanesco, sauteed chard and chayote, and fresh bread. Dessert is homemade vanilla ice cream and a pear gallette. We prepare to enjoy:
Sounds awesome, but I would give it a 6.5 or 7/10. The drawback of being such good cooks is that we really needed to have asked for a more advanced class. But the ambience in the back yard is lovely, as is the company, and we all learned a tidbit or two that may help us in the future (aren’t I so gracious?). We finally left (I don’t know why, but I was really going batshit by the end to get out of there) and head back to the Oxbow market to do some serious sniffing and purchasing at the spice shop. And, if you can believe it, mom, Betsy and Lee decided to belly up to the (oyster) bar and ingest a little more of California’s finest.
I couldn’t imagine it. Me, who can eat the best of them under the table. I was filled to the brim from 3 days of overeating, and a day of snacking on bullshit waiting for lunch at 3:30. So, I headed back to the hotel to finally work on the blog, and so here I am. I believe the plan for the rest of the day is to hang out on the beautiful terrace here off of the second floor. Rockers, sofas, easy chairs and swinging benches surrounded gas fire pits. A mellow way to spend the day as all that food makes its way from my stomach into my thighs and ass. How nice!