What's for Dinner

Montage Laguna Wine Tasting at The Loft

We finished our fabulous Montage Laguna spa day by hanging out with one of the hotel's eight sommeliers, who had a special pre-Mother's Day treat for us: Three very different varietals that shared one trait in common: all were produced by female winemakers... and all were sumptuous.

We began the way all celebrations should, with sparkling wine: a Domaine Carneros Brut, which, according to the tasting notes, is "beautifully focused and refined, with Gala apple and raspberry aromas and flavors that are crisp yet layered, with creamy lemon and lime notes and a finish that lingers with mineral and a hint of yeast."

Domaine Carneros is the California outpost of Taittinger, and our sommelier informed us that it's one of Napa's more popular spots, because the tasting room stays open longer than the rest and - well, what they're serving is what we like to call champagne (even if that appellation is not official if it's not made in the Champagne region of France).

I didn't catch all the elements mentioned in the tasting notes, but I found the Domaine Carneros a very easy wine to drink -- and with a retail price of $35-$40 per bottle, it's one we can afford for special occasions. (In fact, I picked one up at the supermarket this weekend to celebrate Mother's Day with my sister, and Ralphs only charged $31.)

Domaine Carneros' founding winemaker is a woman named Eileen Crane, and she is something of a legend in oenology circles, as you don't hear of famed French wineries hiring that many women to head their US operations.

The second wine we tried was absolutely amazing: A Puligny Montrachet from Olivier LeFlaive. First of all, it was a white burgundy - which sounds like an oxymoron. The other unusual thing about this variety is that this white burgundy can be aged up to 20 years and the flavor will improve. This is very unlike the whites I'm used to drinking (cheap Chardonnays from California and New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs, which should be sipped while they're young). 

This wine tasted unlike any other white I've ever tried. The notes describe it as having "distinct aromas: almond paste, ferns, exotic fruit, white flowers with discreet acidity on the palate and a smooth, impressively long finish." All I can say is it tasted amazing.

Olivier LeFlaive is an offshoot of a very old French winemaking house, whose products often will retail for hundreds of dollars per bottle. This one - headed by the founder's granddaughter Anne-Claude - can be found online for around $100. This is more than I've ever spent on a bottle of wine (and these days, we're on a two-buck Chuck budget)... but I'm thinking I could give it as a gift to (really special) wine loving friends and amaze them as much as it amazed me.

The sommelier explained that Anne-Claude has instituted a policy of "biodynamics" to enrich the soil at her vineyards. This is like the next level of organics and the hot trend in viticulture, here in California as well as France. It's where they take the entire ecosystem into consideration when growing their fruit.

The final tasting was a dessert wine from Alsace: Domaine Weinbach, Cuvee Ste.Catherine. I'm not a big fan of sweet wines (although I have been known to enjoy a Riesling or Gewurztraminer with summer barbecue). This one was terrific; sweet but not cloying.

The tasting notes described it as having a "very ripe pineapple nose. Velvet-textured fruit, combined with round creamy vanilla. On the palate, enjoy rich tropical fruits with a sweet and sour buttery finish."

Domaine Weinbach is actually run by a trio of women: Colette Faller and her daughters, Laurence (the winemaker) and Catherine (who handles the business end of the operation).The sommelier told us of visiting the winery in France and being welcomed warmly by the Fallers. She also noted that each wine is named for one of their children (which I loved!)

There's a whole range of prices for Domaine Weinbach's Rieslings - online, I'm seeing a 2006 Cuvee Ste. Catherine for as little as $24. The one we sampled was from 2002.

If you live near Laguna and enjoy wine tastings, you should know that the Loft at Montage holds them most Sundays from 2:00 - 4:00. The next one is titled "Hidden Treasures of the United States" and will include wines that are NOT from California, Oregon or Washington. It sounds like a fun way to spend an afternoon!

View the complete Montage wine tasting schedule here.

DISCLOSURE: I received no monetary compensation for this post and have no business affiliation with the Montage Laguna or any of the wineries mentioned.

When the Kid's Away, the Grown-Ups Will... Cook

Although my daughter is starting to enjoy a wider variety of foods, her palate is still that of a toddler.

She turns 14 this weekend.

Megan boarded a plane on Saturday morning for Washington, DC. She's having a wonderful time - and I miss her terribly. But her absence has given me the rare opportunity to cook the way I did before she started turning up her nose at just about everything.

You might think I'd go through my old recipes and come up with something elaborate - but last night, I settled for a simple meal centered on an ingredient that's been banished from my kitchen ever since she learned to read the packaging label: lamb.

Leg of lamb with mint sauce (not jelly) and roasted vegetables used to be a winter and spring staple in our house. It's a little bit too much food for just my husband and me now (since we've both reduced our calorie intake), so I decided to make lamb chops instead - accompanied with a balsamic vinegar reduction and some nice Swiss chard:

Preparation was easy - and quick. And I'm going to try that balsamic vinegar sauce again when my daughter returns - but probably served with salmon.

You'll find the recipe on Epicurious.com here.

Leftover Turkey

Between our various likes, dislikes, diets and food allergies, it's tough to come up with meal plans that satisfy everyone in the family. Thank goodness there are only three of us! I don't know if more children would mean I'd have an easier time of laying down the law... or if I'd go further down the path of separate meals.

If you drew a Venn diagram of the foods everyone in the Mills family likes and can eat without dietary consequences, the circles would intersect at poultry. Thank goodness chicken is so versatile - but even that gets tiring. So I was pleased when my husband and daughter both raved about the turkey breast brought home from Costco last week.

There was only one problem: Half the roast was enough for dinner for a family of three, and that brings us to another of my meal planning difficulties: getting everyone to enjoy the leftovers.

I think I hit the nail on the head tonight, by turning the leftover turkey into stew. I sauteed some chopped carrots, celery and onions (purchased Wednesday at the Santa Monica Farmers Market) with some seasoning, added in a quarter cup of flour and then poured a 32 oz carton of chicken broth into the mix.

Once I'd brought that to a boil, I added in a diced potato, some leftover green beans and the cubed slices of turkey. I covered the pot and baked in the oven for 30 minutes.

I served it to my husband and daughter in bowls. I contemplated baking up some frozen puff pastry to use as a pie crust, but decided that would be too tempting for me. So I served it plain.

There's just one problem: I still have a small amount leftover. But I think it will make me a lovely lunch.

Restaurant Review: Small Cravings at CPK

Let's get the disclosure out of the way first: I was not paid to write this post.

I did it for the free meal.

You see, I absolutely LOVE California Pizza Kitchen. It is one of the few restaurants where I know that EVERYONE in the party will be happy... even us dieters, thanks to their vast array of really interesting salads. (If you don't think a salad can be exciting, I dare you to go to your local CPK and order the Moroccan Chicken Salad. It is out of this world.)

So I didn't think twice when their PR people asked if I wanted to go to a blogger tasting of their new Small Cravings menu, especially since they were holding it here in the Valley, at their Studio City location. 

I didn't even have to cajole my daughter into coming along. California Pizza Kitchen is one of her favorite places, too. In fact, whenever her middle school schedules a half-day, my daughter and her friends end up organizing a lunch at our neigborhood CPK. (And as they are not yet old enough to drive, we moms often end up dining together at a table beside them.)

According to the company, the Small Cravings offerings "deliver the big innovative flavors CPK is known for, but in smaller portions, inviting guests to explore the many tastes the restaurant offers." Items on the Small Cravings menu cost $4-$7. There is also a companion Small Cravings wine list - smaller pourings of vintages selected to go with the food.

It's kind of like tapas - done CPK style. And it would be a perfect selection for those impromptu early dismissal day luncheons.

So what did I think of the food?

We sampled nearly everything on the menu: The Arugula-Asparagus salad, White Corn Guacamole and chips, the Mediterranean Plate, Crispy Artichoke Hearts, Buffalo Chicken and the Sweet Corn Tamale Ravioli. I'm glad we did it that way, because each dish was so good that I would have a hard time selecting just one... or even two. All together - and shared among everyone at our table - it was a hearty and varied meal.

And yes, I also enjoyed a glass of Murphy-Goode Sauvignon Blanc. After all, it was small.

DISCLOSURE: I was not paid to write this review, nor did I promise that it would be a positive one. The opinions on this blog are my own.

Chicken Stir-Fry with Baby Bok Choy

Over on my main blog today I waxed rhapsodic about the Santa Monica Farmers Market, where I fell in love... with a bag of baby bok choy. (Yes, you can fall in love with fruits and vegetables!) 

I figured it could star in a stir fry with some organic chicken breasts I'd picked up at Costco over the weekend. The problem was - I wasn't quite sure how to cook it.

As I always say - that's why God invented Epicurious. A quick search on "baby bok choy" turned up this easy, well-reviewed recipe.

I decided to cube the chicken breast and cook it separately with the scallions, broccoli, carrots and sliced garlic and then add the bok choy later.

There were a couple of problems with my plan: (1) I didn't have any cornstarch and (2) it turned out that I was out of soy sauce. I made the dish anyway with a little extra chicken broth and the contents of two Panda Express soy sauce packets I'd stored away in a drawer.

The results were not bad. It definitely could have used more soy sauce - but I don't think the cornstarch was necessary (OK that it didn't have a thick sauce). And the bok choy was yummy. I hope to pick up some more the next time I head out to the farmers market.

Improvising

I am enjoying our bright new kitchen - especially after being without one for most of last year.

You wouldn't know it to look at this blog, which I launched out of excitement at finally being able to cook again.

There are a number of excuses reasons for that neglect. For one thing, I lent my camera to my sister for her trip to Cuba (and have yet to get it back), so it is that much harder to put up a photo of the meals I prepare.

December was crazy busy and it was all I could do to keep up with the completion of the work on the house, let alone the holidays and entertaining (no time to document what we did).

Trying to create tasty meals while on a diet is a bitch. I simply don't enjoy "cooking light."

And while dealing with all of the above, I quickly found myself relying on the tried and true dishes I can throw together quickly (and have some chance of getting eaten by my picky family).

But this last week, I decided to really make the effort to try something new. And I've concluded that being unable to attach a photo is no excuse for neglecting to write about it.

So...

When our friends Tim and Debbie heard we'd acquired a new dog and suggested we get together, I suggested they come for dinner on Sunday. They're kind of picky themselves (about the only thing they eat is poultry) and I'm a nervous hostess, so this is one occasion where going with something tried and true made sense: Roast chicken.

My favorite roast chicken recipe comes from chef Jamie Oliver's cookbook of family meals, Jamie's Dinners. It's really easy to prepare, and once it's in the oven, you can hang out with your guests. But what really makes this meal stand out is the par-boiled potatoes you add to the pan about halfway through the roasting. Jamie instructs you to toss them in the fat that's cooked out of the bird.

This simple step makes the potatoes unbelievably flavorful! I've learned to limit the amount of potatoes I include in each pan so they end up with a crispy crust.

I rounded out this meal by roasting broccoli, cauliflower and a couple of sliced garlic cloves tossed in olive oil (and finished off with a little salt and pepper and a sprinkling of almond slices).

The starter was a salad of lettuce and homemade croutons with a choice of Caesar or Balsamic dressing (recipes taken from Wolfgang Puck Makes it Easy).

Dessert was where I got creative. When it's just the family dining together, I tend to omit dessert entirely. Dieting, remember? But when I went to the store for some last minute items Sunday afternoon, I remembered that most people expect it. But I had no idea what to do.

I ended up walking up and down the aisles at Gelson's, looking for some inspiration. I eventually found it in the fresh bakery section: luscious slices of chocolate pound cake. I picked up some strawberries (which I sliced and sprinkled with sugar) and heavy cream (which I whipped with a little vanilla extract and sugar) and used these to top the slices. It was simple - and good, and I predict it will be another of the dishes I will describe as tried and true. 

I only wish I had a photo.

Thanksgiving at Linda's House

My sister set a beautiful, colorful table for the holiday. Note the autumn fruits as a centerpiece.

Of course, we had turkey. This year, Linda succumbed to fashion and brined the bird. We discovered that everyone is right: it did result in meat that was moister.

I know it's sacrilegious, but not everyone's a fan of turkey. So Linda also offered salmon fillet, which she cooked on the outdoor grill.

Of course, it wouldn't be Thanksgiving without the wonderful side dishes:

The stuffing...

Yummy yam and sweet potato casserole. I think this was my favorite!

Green salad.

Homemade cranberry sauce.

I've left out the appetizers and the beautiful array of pies and desserts. We went to bed with "food babies," as my husband and Homer Simpson would say.

Meatless Monday: Tuscan Gardein

During our long period without a kitchen, I made a lot of promises to myself. One was that I would institute "Meatless Mondays," reducing our use of animal protein for health and the health of our planet.

That's why I agreed to review "The Conscious Cook," by vegan chef Tal Ronnen. I was all set to try out his version of "chicken" piccata last night - but could not find all the ingredients, which include a meat substitute called Gardein. I did find the product, but it was already packaged in a Tuscan style marinade that didn't lend itself to the sauce that appeared in the cookbook. So I simply grilled those as is.

On the theory that EVERYTHING tastes better roasted in olive oil and garlic, I tried that approach with packaged medley of broccoli, cauliflower and carrots. I rounded off the meal with a gratin of sweet and white potatoes.

This was not the most auspicious start for Meatless Monday. My daughter took one bite of the Gardein and gagged. My husband ate most of his portion. I'm the only one who liked the stuff. The side dishes came off kind of so-so.

And I have yet to really do any of the recipes from the cookbook. I think next week, I'll try my hand at tempeh.

Sunday Dinner

About the only meal the entire family agrees on is roast chicken, which I do a lot on winter Sundays. The recipe for this one came from Jamie Oliver's everyday cooking book, "Jamie's Dinners." I place a lemon, a handful of fresh thyme and several garlic cloves inside the bird's cavity, which has been rubbed with salt and pepper. The chicken itself has been seasoned and rubbed with olive oil.

After 45 minutes of roasting, I remove the chicken and add fingerling potatoes, rosemary leaves and slices of garlic, tossing them in the fat that's drained out. Then the chicken goes back in for another 45 minutes.

At Disneyland on Saturday, my friend Deena told me she likes to roast broccoli in the winter, so I tried that, too (tossed in more olive oil and garlic slices and topped with slivers of almonds). That was the best part of all.

Fast Meal: Grilled Chicken Breast

Friday nights can be hurried affairs, so I often rely on tried-and-true and convenience. I dumped some chicken breasts into a store-bought marinade I had on hand, made some brown rice and boiled some of the brussel sprouts I'd purchase at Costco - then cooked the chicken in my new grill pan. It's not fancy or glamorous - but it's dinner.