In honor of National Sourdough Day on April 1st, I thought it was the perfect time to share a fun story about my family’s sourdough starter, and how we lost it – and then found it again.

One October, I received a frantic email from my second cousin (or maybe first cousin once removed? I never have been too sure how that works), Sarah Kidwell, asking if I had any of my grandmother’s sourdough starter. You see, Sarah’s grandfather, my Uncle Bill, was my mom’s brother, and another one of the many home gourmets in our family. My grandmother “Nama” (Sarah’s great-grandmother), also was a fantastic cook and loved to bake. Family lore has it that back in 1933, Nama first created her sourdough starter, offshoots of which were eventually shared with her children – my mom, Uncle Bill and their older brother, my Uncle Dan. Over the years, offshoots of those starters were then shared with their children, and even grandchildren.

How we lost the starter

So, fast forward to around 2014. My cousin Beth, Sarah’s mom, has kept her starter alive all these years, which is a good thing since her husband Jim, yet another gourmet cook in the family, loves to bake sourdough bread. One day, Sarah was being helpful and decided to clean out the refrigerator. Not knowing what the starter was – it can look kind of ugly when it’s ripe –

she thought it was something that had gone bad and threw it out. A few days later, when Jim went to bake bread, he was distressed to learn that their branch of the family starter was gone! Hence, the frantic email from Sarah to me.

How we found it

I didn’t have any more of the starter, so I started emailing and calling other family members to see who might have it. (Mom and my Uncles have all passed away.) No luck. I emailed Sarah and told her I would expand my search, but it wasn’t looking good. Then, a few months later, I was talking to my brother Jim (not to be confused with cousin Jim) and he mentioned something about the bread our childhood friend Mark Gordon likes to bake – and zingo! – I had another lead on the sourdough starter!

Now Mark is super busy, because not only does he own two ranches, he is also the Wyoming State Treasurer. So, not wanting to interrupt something important by calling, I fired off a text asking if by chance my mom had given him an offshoot of her sourdough starter. Hooray! She had! So we now knew Nama’s starter was still alive!!

As it turned out, it was in in January 2015 I found the starter again, and it just so happened that in February I was headed to Scottsdale, Arizona for a long weekend – and that is where Beth, Jim, Sarah and Sarah’s sister Becca live.  I just had to retrieve the starter from Mark in Wyoming and then figure out how to fly with it to Arizona.

The Sourdough Starter Retrieval

First, the retrieval. My husband Robert and I drove from Denver and spent the night with Mark at his home in Cheyenne, Wyoming (around an hour and a half drive). Not wanting to miss out on a significant family event (“The Sourdough Starter Retrieval”), my brother Jim also drove up from Ft Collins, Colorado to join us. Here is the official “Passing of the Sourdough Starter” ceremony (two jars from Mark – one for me and one for cousin Jim!):

Our two families have been great friends since the 1950s. So, I thought I would also include two non-sourdough related photos  – the first one is of me, Mark and Jim when we were young (circa 1963), and then the second shot is of  the three of us on the evening of the Passing of the Sourdough Starter ceremony:

The Sourdough Starter Family Reunion

Now came the tricky part – how to transport the starter to Scottsdale? You see, starter is a living organism, and as it grows it expands. Plus, it’s sort of liquidy, so taking it in carry-on luggage could be a problem. Checking it, there could be risk that it would blow up if it got too warm – which could cause all sorts of problems. Plus, security might see it as bomb material. After lots of online research, here is what I did: shortly before I flew, I overfed the Kidwell’s newly created branch of the starter a bit (more flour than normal), which slows down its growth. Then, I put it in a plastic jar that was clearly labeled as to what it was (to avoid any inquiries by security). . .

. . . .and put the jar inside 2 large zip top baggies. Then all of that was put inside a small insulated carry case with a freezer block. All of that went in the middle of my checked suitcase.

When I arrived at the Kidwell’s home, we had a little ceremony at which Sarah and I gave Jim his starter – the “Sourdough Starter Family Reunion”.

Jim is now once again happily baking away! And, the whole experience motivated me to start baking sourdough bread, too – and I am loving it, in part because I know that it has a bit of my mom and my Nama in it. It makes every bite taste like it’s filled with love.

P.S. Many thanks to Mark Gordon for keeping our family history alive!

The post The Saga of the Sourdough Starter appeared first on A Well Seasoned Kitchen.

The hiking trail actually starts at the bottom of the Falls – that, at over 600 feet high, are truly awe-inspiring.

After a short walk (around 1/4 mile), you cross a bridge that spans the falls about 1/10 of the way up (you can see the bridge in the photo above).

Here is a photo of Robert and Adam having some father-son time together, on the bridge:

From the bridge to the to the top of the Falls is around another mile – it’s an easy hike and the trail is very well maintained (mostly paved).

With over 600 feet of gain in a relatively short distance, we had to stop and look at the fabulous view frequently to catch our breath (me and Robert, not Adam who could have easily cruised to the top with no stops!).

It was well worth the trek up there – as the view down the Columbia Gorge was even more beautiful from higher up!

Here is a shot of the tippy top of the Falls – where you can get a sense of the power of the water:

This is a short hike that isn’t too strenuous, but does make you feel like you are getting a workout while enjoying some spectacular scenery. A highly recommended activity while in the Portland area!

The post Beautiful Hike Outside Portland, OR appeared first on A Well Seasoned Kitchen.

First on the list was a food truck “pod” – a surface lot where a handful of trucks are permanently parked. This concept was new to me – I’m not aware of any permanent food truck pods in the Denver area. The pod Adam took us to is called Mississippi Marketplace – which happens to be the first purpose-built food truck pod created in the Portland area. The trucks sort of form an L around a central area, where picnic tables are grouped under a couple of awnings.

We were there for lunch on a Tuesday, so traffic was light and some of the ten trucks weren’t open. We still had plenty to choose from! Robert opted for the Meatball Sub at the “Roast” truck; Adam and I chose the vegetarian/vegan trucks in the corner. I went to “Native Bowl” and had the Broadway – an Asian-inspired rice bowl; Adam went to Homegrown Smoker Vegan BBQ.

We then sat down under one of the awnings and enjoyed a delicious and fresh lunch. My Broadway Bowl had a very well balanced mixture of flavors and textures that all worked together perfectly. It included spinach, cabbage, carrots, cilantro, sesame seeds and garlic tofu all tossed in a peanut ginger sauce and served over a bed of jasmine rice. YUM!

From there, Adam took us to the Alberta neighborhood to his favorite ice cream shop – Salt & Straw – where we had the most amazingly fabulous ice cream! All their ice cream is handmade using organic, sustainable ingredients.

The flavor choices were varied and pretty wild – including Dill Pickle Sorbet and Fish Sauce Caramel with Palm Sugar Ice Cream! Here’s the complete menu:

I opted for two flavors a bit less wild, but still unique – a split scoop of Sea Salt with Caramel Ribbons, and Stumptown Coffee and Burnside Bourbon. Robert had the Almond Brittle with Salted Ganache, and Adam chose the Strawberry Honey Balsamic with Black Pepper. All of them were amazing – creamy, delicious, and overflowing with flavor.

From there, Adam drove us out of town, up the Columbia River for a hike. Check out details in my next post!

The post Exploring Portland, OR – food trucks & ice cream! appeared first on A Well Seasoned Kitchen.

There is a pedestrian stone path from the hotel into central Amalfi that was the route taken by the monks who lived at the convent until the mid-1800s.

It wound down the hill, past entrances to various homes, taking us eventually to the central town square:

(Note: the store/restaurant on the square, Andrea Pansa, was one of our favorites while in Amalfi. See my review of Pansa here.)

The town of Amalfi is directly on the Mediterranean, surrounded by mountains. From the square, we headed away from the water, wandering up a main street past several old mills. At one time, a major industry in the Amalfi area was milling paper. Now the mills are all closed, but we could see the ruins of many on our walk – both in and out of town (here is Robert with Giocondo in front of what was once a mill):

We also saw some beautiful flowers along the way:

As we walked, we eventually wound our way around and up into a valley – called Valle de Molini, or valley of the mills. The route we were following was another pedestrian stone path, that led all the way to the town of Scala (here is Giocondo on the path):

But we weren’t going that far – just to the organic farm, around an hour’s walk. It was beautiful!

As we headed out of town, up the valley, there were field after field of lemons – terraced up the sides of the valley, around the ruins of the mills and various farmhouses:

There were tons and tons of large, fabulous Amalfi lemons!

Amalfi lemons are much sweeter than we are accustomed to in the U.S., even sweeter than Meyer lemons. How I wish we could get them here! All that lemon flavor without the bitter bite. Yum. But back to our hike . . .

We walked by these dried trees, leaning up on the side of the path:

Giocondo explained to us that these were felled cedar trees – and cedar trees are what is growing above the lemon groves surrounding us, throughout the valley. The farmers cut down the trees, strip them of their branches and then let them dry. Once dry, they are used to stake up the lemon plants! So clever.

We arrived at the farm . . .

. . .where we were greeted by the owner Mina (her husband manages a hotel and was working):

They provided is with a delicious nonalcoholic drink of water flavored with Amalfi lemons to quench our post-hike thirst:

Here I am enjoying my Amalfi “lemonade” next to some of the fabulous flowers on their patio:

Then we walked a bit further up the path to take a look at the store on property where they sell their lemons and other produce.

The store is only accessible by foot from the path – no roads! It’s the same for the farmhouse.

Back at the farmhouse, Mina started our cooking class. I took photos, and Robert took notes (that’s Mina’s daughter in the background).

Mina’s overall approach to everything she made for us was focused on simplicity – very fresh ingredients straight off the farm, prepared in an uncomplicated manner with minimal seasonings, allowing the fresh flavors to come through. The first dish she prepared was fried zucchini flowers:

Not stuffed with cheese, the way I had them (and prepared them!) in the past, she simply dipped the flowers in a mixture of flour and beer, then dropped them into hot oil and cooked them until they were a rich golden brown.

(Uncooked zucchini flowers, from her garden:)

So simple – and so delicious! Very light flavor.

Next she made fried zucchini chips – just like the Zucca Chips at North restaurant in Denver that I love!

Again, just a few ingredients. She sliced the zucchini very thin (using a mandolin), lightly coated them with flour and fried them in hot oil until golden brown. Now I can make Zucca Chips at home!

Here’s a clever tip I learned from Mina – she put the flour in a salad spinner, added the zucchini slices, then lifted out the strainer internal portion of the spinner and gave it a few shakes to get the excess flour off the zucchini. A time saver – you can flour many more at a time this way.

We sat down on her lovely patio to savor our two first courses, along with various antipasti Mina had made with vegetables from the farm, along with salami made at the neighboring farm. So fresh, so amazing!

Of course, we had to try some local wine – from Giocondo’s vineyard. It was a great complement to the food.

Next Mina prepared a pasta course, featuring the zucchini again. She started off sautéing sliced cippolini onions (from the farm) in olive oil. She added coarsely chopped zucchini and kosher salt and cooked it until crisp-tender  . . .

. . .then stirred in cooked penne pasta and torn fresh basil and stirred it around for a few minutes, to allow the sauce flavor to penetrate the pasta. She served it with freshly grated Parmesan cheese. We loved it – very light, with lots of zucchini flavor.

After enjoying the pasta, Mina made a deliciously easy chicken dish. Boneless, skinless chicken breasts lightly dusted with flour and sauteed in olive oil. After cooking the breasts on one side, she turned them over and squeezed fresh lemon juice (from those amazing Amalfi lemons) over the chicken and into the pan and continued until it was cooked through. So light, healthy and moist!

To go with the chicken, Mina created a quick salad of several different varieties of lettuce they grow on the farm, tossed  with sliced onion, fresh olive oil and fresh Amalfi lemon juice (in photo above with chicken). I continued to be amazed at how sweet these lemons are. The salad wasn’t tart at all, just rich with lemon flavor.

For dessert, Mina served us a traditional local dessert – the same one we had at Ristorante Ippocampo the day before – a Lemon-Almond Tart. Fabulous!

She served it alongside a large bowl of fresh fruit – all from the farm.

As if that wasn’t enough, Mina then brought out three different varieties of home made limoncello!

I would highly recommend this outing if you are looking to get outside and see the Amalfi countryside, glimpse into a local kitchen and see how a local cook works. This is really more of a hike plus dinner on an organic farm, with a bit of cooking instruction thrown in. The evening was light on cooking instruction, but we did learn a few new tricks – and enjoyed a simple but delicious dinner in a lovely setting, with lovely people.

The post Amalfi Hike and Cooking Class Dinner appeared first on A Well Seasoned Kitchen.

Pasticcerie Pansa

Owned and managed by the  Pansa brothers (one is there in the morning, the other in the afternoon), this darling place is full of history, having been founded by the brother’s grandfather.

(Photo above courtesy of the Pansa website)

Here I am with one of the adorable brothers:

The pastries are amazing – cakes, cookies, chocolates, coffees, everything was delicious.

The Pansas also introduced us to the aperitif that is all the rage in Italy right now – the Aperol Spritz.

According to my friend Dede Graves, it consists of 3 parts prosecco, 2 parts Aperol liqueur, and 1 part soda water, on ice with a slice of orange. Very pretty and yummy too! I can see why it’s so popular.

Right on the main square next to the big church, definitely stop in to Pansa for a pastry – or an Aperol Spritz – while in Amalfi!

Ristorante Ippocampo in Conca dei Marini

Later that same day, Giocondo took us by boat to the small town (referred to as a “village” by the Italians) of Conca dei Marini for lunch at Ristorante Ippocampo. In a small bay, right on the Mediterranean, we were treated to a fantastic, memorable lunch of fresh fish and seafood – that had been caught just hours before we ate it!

Like Pansa, this is a family run business. One brother is the manager, the other the fisherman! After disembarking on the dock, Giocondo – and the fisherman brother – took us into the kitchen to see and “approve” the squid, shrimp and fish we would eat for lunch.

We then sat down at a table just next to the dock and beach to enjoy our meal. The first course was focaccia bread with tomatoes (looked and tasted like a pizza to us!) and a seafood antipasti – squid, shrimp (both cooked and raw!), white anchovies, breaded and deep fried artichokes and carpaccio of fish.

We also had a local white fish they filleted, brushed with olive oil, lightly breaded, wrapped in foil and grilled. Wow! there is no comparison to eating fish and seafood this fresh. Sooo good. I also loved the preparation of the breaded fish on the grill. I’m definitely going to try this at home!

Next we had fresh squid and a local fish, both grilled. Minimal seasoning, and it didn’t need any more. Fabulous!

I love the way they cook the fish whole and then skin and debone it at the table. A fun presentation, and it’s easier to eat too.

For dessert we had a very popular Amalfi cake, a sort of almond-lemon torte. I told Giocondo I need the recipe! He is going to send it on.

With the cake, the owner treated us to a glass of Herbe Cedro – which was green and tasted a bit like limoncello. Giocondo said he had never tasted it before! A locally made liqueur of citron and “local herbs”. We loved it!

A very special and memorable lunch – one of our favorites on our trip!

The post Two Food Favorites on the Amalfi Coast (Italy) appeared first on A Well Seasoned Kitchen.

Checchino dal 1887

This restaurant was recommended by my college friend, Italian food and wine expert and famous restauranteur Danny Meyer. Located in what was once the meat packing district, the restaurant has a fun history, having been in the same family for five generations. It is still managed by descendants of the founder – two  brothers. We ate out on the patio, which was charming (although I did get some mosquito bites on my ankles, so take bug spray if you go!).

We sampled a variety of dishes – a pasta with bolognese sauce, which we shared, was our first course. The house made pasta was done perfectly, as was the sauce. The fresh tomato flavor really came through. Yummy!

Robert had the chicken and wild mushrooms for his main course, which was super moist, tender, and earthy-tasting.

I had the involtini – thinly sliced meat stuffed with vegetables and covered with a red sauce. I was excited to try this dish, as at home I have an old involtini recipe of mom’s that I haven’t yet made. It was fabulous! The meat was surprisingly tender, and all of the flavors blended together well.

We ordered sliced, marinated eggplant on the side – so simple, yet so full of flavor! Eggplant, garlic, olive oil and fresh herbs. Heaven.

Somehow Robert convinced me to skip dessert!

The wine list is extensive, and the service was excellent – very warm, helpful and attentive.  A winner all around!

La Campana

This restaurant was recommended by my childhood (and still) best friend – and award winning travel agent – Katey Hartwell. As soon as Robert and I arrived, I realized I had been to this restaurant with Katey several years ago. If you only have the time – or money – to treat yourself to one restaurant in Rome, go here. While the service is a bit brusque (not unusual in Rome), the food is fabulous – bonissimo as they say in Italian. The decor is typical of a traditional Roman restaurant (i.e., hard wooden chairs, too bright lights!).

As we entered the restaurant, we walked by a beautiful antipasti buffet, which we opted for as our first course. OMG – amazing! I think it’s the olive oil that makes all the difference – or it could be the freshness of the vegetables; probably both. Artichokes, broccolini, cauliflower, eggplant, zucchini, onions, olives, sundried tomatoes. I could have just eaten the antipasti all night! But then I would have missed the rest of the amazing food.

For the next course, Robert and I shared the fetucinni with black truffle sauce. I love anything with truffles, and this pasta didn’t disappoint. The pasta was perfectly cooked (just the right amount of chewiness), and the sauce had a deep, earthy flavor. The Parmesan cheese was fresh and tangy. I was in heaven and we weren’t even to the main course yet!

Robert is known for his Eggplant Parmesan (his recipe is here and will be in my next cookbook, due out in the Fall of 2015), so he opted to taste La Campana’s version for his main course. He liked it so much he did what I often do, and started asking questions about how it was prepared. The manager was happy to share details, and Robert can’t wait to try this new way to prep the eggplant (hint: they don’t bread it).

I chose the fresh fish of the day, which was grilled and served simply with chopped fresh parsley and a large wedge of lemon. Fabulous! I love the way they cook the fish whole, then skin and debone it table side. Wish they would do that in the US!

So now we were both in a food coma, but that didn’t stop us from finishing the meal sharing a tiramisu. La Campana’s version was creamy and light, with just a hint of liquor (rum maybe?) and unsweetened dark chocolate on the top. Perfect ending to a perfect meal!

The post Traditional Rome Restaurants appeared first on A Well Seasoned Kitchen.

They were all delicious, with very different flavors. Some were spicy, some salty, others a bit greasy (the one made with liver) – my favorite, not surprisingly, was the one flavored with black truffles.

We also liked the dried prosciutto strips – sort of like an Italian beef jerky!

From there we walked a short distance to Verso Sera Enoteca (Italian for a wine bar), to sample a fried artichoke and – hum, wine! (The blonde in the photo was our guide Francesca.)

We sat on the patio, but the interior is interesting as well:

Not the sort of fried artichoke we most often see in the US (chopped, breaded and fried), in Rome it’s more typical for the whole artichoke globe to be fried, and not breaded. We all loved it! The leaves were very crispy, like eating potato chips.

We also really enjoyed the wine – a Pecorino (same name as the cheese). Light, not too sweet, not too dry, just our kind of white wine. Similar to a Pino Grigio, but with a bit more body.

On a side note, look at the cute, tiny car we saw – smaller than a smart car! It looked like something out of a cartoon:

Next we moved on to pizza at Forno Roscioli. I was excited when we stopped here, as my college friend and restauranteur extraordinaire, Danny Meyer, had recommended this restaurant to us.  It’s really more like a deli – counter service and only a handful of tables.

We sampled a variety of fabulous pizzas . . .

along with a popular Italian beer, Peroni.

While Naples, not Rome, is the original home of pizza, these pizzas were wonderful – lot of fresh flavor, not greasy and not overloaded with a ton of toppings. Robert was in heaven, as pizza is one of his main food groups! We also sampled a sort of pizza sandwich, which was also yummy.

Robert and I both thought the beer was great too – on the light side, which I prefer.

We strolled through the charming neighborhoods to our next stop, Antica Caciara, to sample Italian cheeses.

The Pecorino Romano and the Caciotta were our favorites.

Of course, it wouldn’t be a Rome food tour without pasta! Our next stop was at La Fraschetta for three different pasta dishes, all traditional Roman: Carbonara (eggs, Pecorino and/or Parmesan cheese, bacon, black pepper and garlic), Caccio e’ Pepe (Italian pecorino cheese and black pepper), and All’Amatriciana (tomatoes, guanciale, Pecorino cheese, red chili peppers and white wine). This place was right out of central casting, with red and white checked tablecloths on long tables. Unfortunately, my phone battery died, so no photos of the pasta – or the fabulous gelato we had next! We loved all three of the pastas. It was tough to pick out a favorite. I think mine was the Caccio e’ Pepe – a spicy Italian version of the traditional American “mac and cheese”. So simple, just a few ingredients, but very well prepared. Creamy, cheesy, peppery – yum. Pecorino cheese is saltier and sharper than Parmesan – I think it’s the secret to this sauce.

Everything we tasted all evening was scrumptious and typically Roman food – and all super fresh and loaded with flavor. I would recommend all of these foods and purveyors!

The post Food Tour of Rome appeared first on A Well Seasoned Kitchen.

This post contains referral links for products I recommend. As an Amazon Associate, I earn a small commission on qualified purchases, at no cost to you.

This one the first of the Gather dinners at the Botanic Gardens Robert and I had attended, and we thoroughly enjoyed it. Served at long family-style tables in the Garden’s beautiful Orangery, the setting was lovely, even though it was an unseasonably cold (okay, freezing!) evening.

The centerpieces were a casual collection of pretty spring flowers, adding color to the overcast skies:

On to the food! The first course, “Spring has Almost Sprung” was a scrumptious combination of radishes, Aero Farms baby greens, grilled ramps, English peas, beets, baby turnips, carrots, chevre, chili-spiced pepitas and seabeans. Wow! So light, yet so full of flavor – and beautifully plated too.

Aero Farms uses what they call aeroponic technology to grow leafy greens, herbs and micro greens without sun or soil, in a controlled greenhouse environment. I have to say, their greens tasted so fresh and flavorful.

The second course was Andalusian White Gazpacho – a yummy combination of pureed and chopped green almonds, marcona almonds, fiddleheads, rhubarb, cucumber and celery, with a drizzle or two of chili oil and sweet apple vinegar.

Main course was “An Interpretation of Peking Duck”. I am a huge duck fan, and this dish didn’t disappoint – it was amazing. A base of tat soi (sort of an Asian collard green), topped with black quinoa tossed with dried cherries and pistachios, and on top of that was duck confit brushed with hoisin sauce – all garnished with purple scallions. OMG, what an incredible combination of flavors.

The quinoa came from White Mountain Farm, right here in Colorado. I have heard we are one of the largest producers of quinoa in the US! The tat soi also came from a Colorado organic purveyor (Circle Fresh Farms). So great to find out about all of these high quality providers of organic, fresh produce near to Denver.

Our final dish of the evening was cheesecake – another one of my favorites. It’s tough to top my Aunt Dee-Dee’s cheesecake recipe (in our cookbook, A Well-Seasoned Kitchen), but Daniel Asher’s cake came close. It did have a few very unique ingredients (for cheesescake) – jasmine rice, macadamia nuts, and the topping was pineapple jalapeno jam and sesame seeds!

We sat with some very nice people, and made some new friends. A truly memorable evening at the Denver Botanic Gardens – we are looking forward to attending another Gather dinner soon!

The post Dinner in the Orangery at the Botanic Gardens appeared first on A Well Seasoned Kitchen.

Not surprising, the first aspect of the culture I wanted to experience was the food! So, on our first day, we set out to try the Basque version of tapas, called pintxos (could be described as small plates or finger food). The pintxos in San Sebastian are reported to be the best in all of Spain – not surprising, since this city is the birthplace of Basque cuisine.  We were told the best pintxos bars are in the old town center, which was just a 10-minute walk from our hotel, around the La Concha Bay. Our walk along the beach over to the old section of town was lovely:

Here I am with Santa Clara Island (which is in the middle of the bay) behind me:

We checked out a few potential places to eat and quickly settled on the pintxos bar directly across from the beautiful Santa Maria Church, called Atari Gastroteka. Little did we know that it would soon be one of the top-rated pintxos bars in all of San Sebastian!

The bartender spoke fluent English and was very patient and nice, translating the menu for me:

We had several delicious dishes, including this grilled tomato, goat cheese and balsamic vinegar sort of crostini . . .

. . .  and a yummy Basque version of a tuna salad sandwich:

The beef cheeks are their specialty, which were scrumptious as well (eaten up before I could get a photo!). The sangria was light, cool and not too sweet – a perfect match to the food:

I would highly recommend a stop at Atari Gastroteka for pintxos next time you are in San Sebastian – the bar is easy to find, located on the corner of Calle Mayor and Nagusia Kalea just across from the Santa Maria Church. If you are standing in front of the church, this is what the bar looks like:

The post Pintxos in San Sebastian, Spain appeared first on A Well Seasoned Kitchen.

As I mentioned, the hotel and grounds are beautiful. Here are a few photos to give you an idea of what it is like:

Check out these cool sterling silver martini sets that were in the bar – shaker and glasses to match! I want one please!!

That was the main hotel. From there we walked over to the farm house where we were to have lunch:

Here I am with my husband Robert on the patio in front of La Ferme aux Grives:

Inside, in the main dining room was an incredible display of fresh fruits and vegetables . .  .

. . . with hams hanging from the chandeliers above!

But it was too nice outside to sit inside, so we enjoyed our fabulous lunch under one of these umbrellas:

On to the food! So amazingly wonderful – every single dish was scrumptious, with beautiful presentations. For the first course, Robert had Chilled Heirloom Tomato Soup with Mustard Ice Cream (yes, mustard ice cream!) – full of flavor, not too rich, sooo fab:

Beth and I both had the duck foie gras with a sort of mushroom mousse on the side. Truly the BEST foie gras I have ever had, and trust me, I’ve eaten a lot of it! So smooth, no harshness, and the mushroom mousse was a perfect complement to the duck flavor:

Marc had the tartare of seafood with chopped prawns and other shellfish along with smoked anchovies – lots of well-balanced flavors, and a wonderful presentation.

For the main course, Marc, Beth and Robert all ordered the grilled steak with sauce Bernaise. The steak was perfectly prepared on the rare side (but not too rare), and I loved the presentation of the bernaise sauce on the side of the steak, in a small white dish with a demitasse spoon!

I ordered the grilled veal chop that was coated with a mustard-Parmesan cheese sauce, and served with a light barbeque sauce on the side – again, in the darling white dish ( I scooped some out onto the plate). I can’t tell you how fabulous this veal was – like the steak, perfectly prepared, juicy, and the combination of the mustard, cheese and barbeque sauce was over the top.

For dessert, we ordered two dishes to share, which we all loved. First, the profiteroles with Tahitian vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce:

Then La Charlotte with fresh local strawberries and sauce. YUM!

So, after all that, here we are in a food coma!

Shortly after this photo was taken, we saw Chef Guerard, his wife, children and grand children all exit the inside dining room. I was so excited that he was there – he is an icon in the food world! I casually wandered over to see if I could talk to him, but he had slipped into the men’s bathroom. I waited around, trying not to look too conspicuous, then he came out and immediately took off for another part of the grounds on the property. Bummed, I went back to our table, where Robert, Beth and Marc all told me to go after him. So, I grabbed my camera and off I went!

Quickly walking across the grounds of the hotel complex gave me a few minutes to come up with the words – in French – that I wanted to say to him. Fearful I was going to lose him, I started to sort of walk-run along the path. As I came into the courtyard of the main hotel, there he was, talking to the gardener! I wasn’t too late! With my limited French, I said excuse me, hello, introduced myself, told him I was a big fan and asked if I could have a photo with him. He smiled and said yes! But who would take the photo? I started to hand my camera to the gardener, but he was holding a hose watering the flowers. What now? Fortunately, Chef’s son saw what was happening, came to the rescue and offered to take the photo. Chef’s wife Christine also came over and joined the photo too. Here we are:

SO exciting! One of those special days that Robert and I will remember – and talk about – for years to come. Many many thanks to Beth and Marc for taking us to this wonderful place!

The post Incredible Lunch at La Ferme aux Grives appeared first on A Well Seasoned Kitchen.