An anniversary dinner to remember

Detail of wallpaper at
Chez Panisse.
Photograph ©2014,
Lori Korleski Richardson

We were due to be in Berkeley on the day of our 25th wedding anniversary, so there was one restaurant that immediately jumped to the top of our list: Chez Panisse.

And we were not disappointed. Although a printed menu comes to each table, there was more to each dish than what was described. Each course seemed somewhat small, but by the time we were done, we were quite full. We ordered a glass of Spanish sparkling rosé (a 2011 Cava Rosado) for each of us to start, then I had a glass of chardonnay (2010 Votes du Jura, Peggy et Jean-Pascal Buronfosse, France) with the fish course, and Jim had a pinot noir (2011 Ponzi Tavola, Willamette Valley) with the duck (we shared sips).

After we were seated in a room that had been redone after a fire closed the restaurant last year, and presented with menus and a wine list, a basket of rustic whole wheat and a pain d'epi came, with a small butter bell and some fleur de sal. A server then came by with a few green, unpitted olives that had been marinated in orange and lemon zest.

 Here are the menu items, followed by photos.

First:
Porcini mushroom and celery salad with fava beans, mint and new garlic vinaigrette. The favas were mashed and spread on a delightful crostini; the sprouts and radish were also nice additions. Much to my delight, the celery was absolutely fresh and not overpowering in quantity.

Photograph ©2014, Lori Korleski Richardson

Fish:
King salmon in saffron brodetto with agretti greens. The broth was made from halibut and the little yellow orbs were cooked and peeled yellow cherry tomatoes. The poached squid was amazingly tender and tasty. Agretti is a salt-tolerant plant that is native to the Mediterranean, but tonight's greens were locally sourced. They had the look of rosemary, the taste of spinach and the texture of a delicate seaweed.

Photograph ©2014, Lori Korleski Richardson

Main:

Grilled Salmon Creek Ranch duck breast and leg with sage and pine nut salsa, wild rocket and squash tian. As you can see from the photograph, a couple of spears of peeled asparagus slipped in, along with a generous grate of parmesan. The sage was muddled with the pine nuts, rendering it an amazing seasoning for the duck. The leg was exceedingly rich, having been cooked confit style then crisped, while the breast was grilled in the fireplace until just warm. It was so melting tender that practically dissolved on our tongues. The tian was like a light, crustless quiche. Side note: Wild rocket, indeed. Just try keep arugula in the garden.

Photograph ©2014, Lori Korleski Richardson

Dessert:
Star blueberry tart with candied Meyer lemon.

I stopped taking photographs before dessert arrived, so I'll try to describe it the best I can. The tart was a slender slice, with a light, whole wheat crust. The candied Meyer lemon was in tiny bits scattered on a side drizzle of honey and a goodly number of raspberries. On the other side was a dollop of vanilla-bean crème anglaise. It was pure heaven.

After dinner, our server stopped by with the restaurant's version of an Almond Joy: two tiny coconut macaroons and two almonds dusted in cocoa.

What could we say but yum! And we'll be back well before we celebrate our 50th.

My favorite blues

I love the blues. I know it's not a universally loved song style, but putting problems to music is one of the best ways to deal with them.

But the blues I love most aren't songs - they're fruit. And I'm still seeing lots of blueberries in the markets, so I thought I'd offer this recipe from Food and Wine.

Blueberry Pie

For the filling:
8 cups blueberries
3/4 cup sugar (if using fresh blueberries, only use 1/2 cup sugar)
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon corn starch
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
Pinch of salt

For the pie crust:
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 sticks cold unsalted butter, cubed
1/4 cup lard, frozen and cubed
1/2 cup ice water

For the egg wash:
1 egg and 1 tablespoon of water, whisked together

Instructions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Make the pie crusts first: In a food processor, pulse the flour and salt. Add the butter and lard and pulse until you get a crumbly texture. Pour in the ice water and pulse just until the crumbs are moistened. Press the dough into a ball. Divide the dough into 2 pieces, one slightly smaller than the other. Flatten into disks, wrap in plastic and refrigerate until firm, at least 30 minutes.

While the pie crusts are chilling, start on the filling. In a bowl, toss the blueberries with the 3/4 cup of sugar, the cornstarch, the lemon juice, the lemon zest and the salt. Set aside. Once the pie crust is appropriately chilled, roll out the larger dough disk to about 13 inches. Drape it over a pie pan like so:

Crimp the edges, removing any excess dough as you go along. My finished bottom crust looked like this:

Pour the blueberry filling into the pie crust:

Roll out the second dough disk to about 12 inches. Using a pastry brush, brush the edges of the pie crust already in the pan with water. Then place the second crust over the top of the blueberry filling. Crimp the edges together, forming a good seal around all of the edges of the pie:

Brush the pie with the egg wash and then make a cross in the center of the pie with a serrated knife.

Bake the pie until the filling is bubbling and the crust is golden brown, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Allow the pie to cool for at least 5 hours before serving.

No phooey clafouti

Clafouti, or perhaps more properly clafoutis, is a French dessert most often described as a baked fruit pudding. It is traditionally made with fresh cherries.

But it's wonderful with many fresh fruits (the photo is of a strawberry clafouti from Sunset magazine), and when I got home from a few days away, I realized I better use up some blueberries and strawberries that had been sitting in my fridge. I thought about just mixing them with yogurt (and the killer Greek yogurt needs to be used soon, as well), but given that dinner had been a salmon salad, I thought something a little hardier would be better.

I think, rather than a pudding, clafouti should be described as a thick, baked crepe with half the work. The batter is rather crepelike - milk, eggs, a little flour - but instead of whirling it around the pan and flipping, it just goes into the oven and bakes for 45 minutes to an hour. And it comes out with the filling already in it. Yum.

I'm including Julia Child's recipe for it, right after the one I made for two last night.

Lori K's Clafouti

serves 2

Ingredients

3/8 cup milk

2 tablespoons sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

Pinch salt

3 tablespoons flour

1/2 cup each sliced strawberries and blueberries

2 tablespoons sugar

powdered sugar

Instructions

In a food processor, blend the milk, sugar, eggs, vanilla, salt and flour. Pour a 1/4 inch layer of the batter in a buttered fireproof baking dish. Place in a 350-degree oven until a film of batter sets in the pan. Remove from the heat and spread the fruit over the batter. Sprinkle on the second amount of sugar. Pour on the rest of the batter. Bake for 40 minutes to an hour. The clafouti is done when puffed and brown and and a knife plunged in the center comes out clean. Sprinkle with powdered sugar, serve warm.



Julia Child's Clafouti

serves 6-8

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups milk

1/3 cup sugar

3 eggs

1 Tablespoon vanilla

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup flour

3 cups cherries, pitted

1/3 cup sugar

powdered sugar

Instructions

Follow the directions above.