San Francisco Chefs 2010

San Francisco 2010 Chefs Show CIA Culinary Team

This past weekend I along with a few CIA classmates had the opportunity to help chef Almir DaFonseca prepare and serve the food for the San Francisco Chefs 2010 event after party. It is San Francisco's version of Aspen's Food and Wine Spectacular. It is one of the only events in town where the entire food and beverage industry come together to celebrate itself, and to make everyone in attendance very full and very drunk. The week kicked off with some seminars and smaller parties, but the centerpiece of the weekend were the grand tasting events in the tent on Union Square, featuring a rotating cast of notable chefs around town, several karaoke acts, and ALOT of food and alcohol.


After being voted the top booth at the 2009 show Chef Almir was invited back to be the headlining chef. It was a great night. In between preparing we had the opportunity to attend the event that many top California chefs including Top Chef Masters Chef Hubert Keller attended. A major trend I noticed was corn. From sweet corn icecream to corn chowder it was well represented. There were also many breweries and wineries there to show off their best products. It was a great opportunity to not only eat great food, but to do a lot of networking. 

 Food highlights included Bar Bambino's arancini with risotto, lamb and cheese, Chris Cosentino's pork-liver-filled chicharrone, Banks White's braised pork with johnnycakes and Hollandais, Matt Accarrino's lamb dumpling with sage brown butter, Chef Almir's  Mediterranean inspired Lamb with couscous salad  and fried garbanzo beans, and Chef Almir's Latin style braised pork on black bean puree topped with cabbage pico de gallo slaw and lime cilantro creme.

Top Chef Masters Chef Hubert Keller as the guest DJ 

After party

Chef Demonstration of glazed pork belly

Recipe Box

Dumpling Trio (Gnocchi Parisienne) with Parsley Sauce

Serving Size: 9 pieces, 2oz cooked

Servings/Recipe: 18oz raw

Cook Time: 30min

Prep Time: 10min

Ingredients

Water-8 oz

Salt- .2 oz

Unsalted Butter- 1.5 oz/ 3 T

AP Flour- 5.2 oz

Egg- 3

Parmesan Cheese- 1.5 oz

Goat Cheese- 1.6 oz plus additional .65 oz for trio flavor

Chives- .1 oz c

Chorizo- 1.8 oz

Kalamata Olives- 1.0 oz

Directions

Place large pot of water to boil

Chop olives set aside

Break chorizo into pieces and sauté till brown then set aside

Chop Chives set aside

In a small saucepan, combine the water, salt and nutmeg with 2 tablespoons of the butter and bring to a boil over high heat. As soon as the water boils, add the flour all at once and beat the dough with a wooden spoon until it is thick and comes away from the side of the pan. Cook, stirring to dry out the dough, about 30 seconds. Transfer the dough to a medium bowl.

Beat 1 egg into the dough until incorporated. Beat in 1/4 cup of the cheese and another egg until blended, then beat in the last egg until the dough is very smooth.

Divide dough into three equal portions. Mix 1/3 with extra goat cheese and chives, 1/3 with chorizo, and 1/3 with olives

With a large spatula, transfer the dough to 3 seperate resealable plastic bag, pressing it into one corner. Cut off the tip of the bag; the opening should be about 1/2 inch long.

Reduce the heat to maintain a gentle simmer. Carefully hold the bag over the water and press out the dough, using a small sharp knife to cut it into 1 1/2-inch lengths before it drops into the pot. Simmer the gnocchi for about 3 minutes or until floated to top. With a slotted spoon, remove the gnocchi, and gently pat dry with paper towel.

Place all Gnocchi on baking sheet with butter and parmesan cheese. Bake ~15min till browned and puffed


Parsley Sauce
Blanch and shock 2 bunches of parsley (no stems). Place in a blender with a splash of water and Extra Virgin Olive Oil and a sprinkle of Kosher salt. Blend till liquified. Add more water and oil if needed. To finish sauce strain through a chinois or a fine sieve. 

To serve place 3 dumplings of each flavor totaling 9 on plate with parsley sauce. 

Winery Highlights

Cade- Cade was one of the best tasting experiences I’ve had in the Napa Valley. We started the tasting outside, with their 2009 Sauvignon Blanc.  "Spearmint, guava, kiwi, gooseberry and snow pea are followed on the palate with flavors of concentrated lemon/lime mix, fig and guava." This wine had wonderful complexity and a depth of flavors. Then, we went inside to taste their 2007 CADE Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain, 2007 CADE Napa Cuvee Cabernet Sauvignon, and the 2007 CADE Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain. Each was better then the previous. Our hostess was a sommelier and provided useful information in regards to the wine we tasted and the process of becoming a sommelier. The beautiful atmosphere and informative staff paired with their tasty wines to make Cade a VIP experience.

Sitting next to the infinity pool...can't get a better view of the Valley

Where we tasted the Sauvignon Blanc

Castello di Amorosa Castello di Amorosa seems to be the “Disney World” of the Valley. For $30, guests receive a 1 hour and 45 min tour of the 3-year old castle. I found the tour to be extremely kitschy and I could have definitely done without- due to the cheesy and scripted tour guide. I suggest the self-guided tour along with a tasting. The tour highlights the fact that the castle took 15 years to build, however it’s treated as though it is 15 thousand years old. The property is beautiful, and the wines were surprisingly good,  but the sales pitch took away from the experience. The tasting came at the end of the tour (couldn’t come soon enough.) It took place in a cellar room where guests choose 5 wines from a list of 20 to taste. We ended up tasting many more than that, which was nice, and much needed after the hour-long tour.

Castle with surrounding Grape and Olive Vineyards

Guard Tower

Where Vienna and Jake from the Bachelor went on a date

Each empty barrel costs $1100 and holds 300 bottles worth of wine

Tacky Tour Guide Pouring our Barrel Tasting

Keeper of the Wine

Restaurant Review

Menu

Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto recently opened his 6th restaurant in Napa, and I along with a few friends had the pleasure of eating there. Showing the pride and care he puts into his businesses Morimoto himself was in attendance making sure every dish left the kitchen to his expectations. It is a trendy restaurant with very reasonable prices. I dined on the soft shell crab maki, shiso roll, and spicy tuna roll. I found all to be fresh and delicious, but nothing special. Knowing the Chefs style of cooking on Iron Chef I expected more original dishes and was a little disappointed with the familiarity of ingredients. Fellow diners tried the Wagu beef sashimi that they found to be good, but contain too much soy sauce. They also tried the black sea bass with english pea and wasabi puree, which was a big hit for them. The dish was described as being rich in flavor and depth. Chef Morimoto's food defines the umami taste sensation. A must eat for residents of the Bay Area, but if only in town for a short period of time there are more original restaurants to visit.

Part of dining room

Bar

Morimoto's Chicken Ramen Soup                                           

Carrie enjoying her soup

Soft shell Crab, Spicy Tuna, Shiso

With Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto

Restaurant Review

Saturday night,  after a long day at the beach, sitting outside with a burger sounded like the perfect stop before heading back home. The local burger joint in St. Helena is Gott's Roadside formerly Taylor's Refresher. They have two other locations in the Bay Area, and has to be one of the best burgers in California (sorry In-N-Out lovers). They have a large menu, where everything sounds better then the next. Gott's has a big reputation in town so to avoid the large lines it is best to order at off hours. 

Menu

While dining this time, I went back to my midwestern roots and had the Wisconsin burger with a side of fries. Both came out hot and delicious. The fries were the perfect thickness, home-cut a little thicker then a McDonald's fry and seasoned perfectly. They were crispy on the outside and the perfect dipper for Gott's homemade ranch dressing. The burger was awesome. For not telling them the temperature I wanted it cooked to it came out perfect. Instead of a bun the burger comes out on toasty sourdough bread slices. It is extremely juicy and covered in char grilled flavor. I went with two friends who were equally pleased with their sweet potato fries, veggie burger and cheese burger. 

The menu is a little pricey, but then again so is the rest of St. Helena. It is to be expected. The prices are well worth not only the food, but the ambiance. You go up to the outdoor counter to order and in back is an entire picnic area to sit at. A great place to eat and enjoy the California weather. 

Waiting for our food

Wisconsin Burger (Grilled mushrooms, bacon, and cheddar cheese on toasted sourdough).