looking for menus for summer concert season
Jeane Bell
Jenny Newburg...@igpp.ucla.edu writes....
Jenny-these menus sound wonderful. Recipes are at the WEB site below.
THE FABULOUS NAPA VALLEY MOVEABLE FEAST....JUMP IN THE CAR AND LET'S GO!
An exodus by Ruth Smith (smi...@gene.com), Lynn Klein (ly...@sirius.com),
Diane Eiger (dei...@cisco.com) , Sandra in SF (san...@slip.net) and Cathy
Zadel (cza...@aloha.net)
California. The name fairly oozes beautiful fruits, produce, seafood,
fabulous breads, cheeses, and of course, wines without peer. What a
State! Sort of the foodie "Mother Lode" for so many places. So many
things to see, so much good food to sample, so many spots to visit.....but
THIS weekend, we are going to Napa Valley!
Lovely Napa Valley with rolling hills and quaint little towns strung
together by fields of grape vines-and fine wineries.Picnic spots
everywhere! One day is hardly enough time so we need to start out
EARLY....get out of bed and LET'S GO!!!!!!
We begin in Oakville with a stop at the Groth Winery and their tour....of
course we have made an appointment way in advance so we buzz right in and
sample the wonderful wines. We buy a few bottles of Sauvignon Blanc to sip
with our lunch later on. On then to Vichon where we tour and taste the
Cabernets, Pinots and Chardonnays. Bottles of Cabernet and Pinot Noir go
with us for later.
We pull in to Indian Springs in Calistoga for a late morning mud
bath,massage and a leisurely soak in the 102-degree olympic-sized mineral
pool...AAAHHH.
It is time to eat! We go to Chateau Montelena in Calistoga for our early
afternoon picnic...it is a bit chilly today but beautiful and sunny and
we spread our picnic out and dig in.
Mugs of Roasted Tomato Soup
Cracked Dungeness Crab with Olive Oil Dipping Sauce
Grilled Eggplant with Chicken-Apple Sausage and
Pesto on Sourdough from the Acme Bakery in Berkeley
Corn and Pepper Salad
Crocked Herb Cheese
Extra loaves Sourdough Bread
**Groth Sauvignon Blanc**
**Vinchon Cabernet Sauvignon**
Groan....Boy am I full! Let's go walk a bit. Should we take a hot air
balloon ride or soar on a glider? Hmmm- let's go to Calistoga Glidersfor
a glider ride through the valley!
Beeeeeeeeeaaaaauuuutttttiiiiiifffffffuuuulllll.
........oh, we're on the ground again....get your "sea legs" now and back
into the car.....more wineries to tour, more food to eat.
Cruising slowly through the towns, stopping here, touring there....Grgich
Hills,Mondavi, Opus One, Prager Port Works, Newton Vineyard-cute shops,
antiques, my, my what fun...buying bottles of wine....whew, what a
day...aren't you HUNGRY again after all this touring? What's on the menu
for our late afternoon picnic? Here we are at Vichon again! We will eat
here-it is one of the best picnic sites in the valley:
Homemade Caponata
California Olive Bread
Roasted Chicken and Cipollini Onions
Artichoke Heart Pasta
Pear and Endive Salad
**Vichon Pinot Noir**
**Vichon Cabernet Sauvignon**
**Grgich Hills Chardonnay**
Ummmmmmmm....such a feast! Good thing we packed a nice, big picnic blanket
to stretch out on in the sun...Watch the hawks overhead, circling the
vineyards looking for mice. Drift off into apleasant nap, until it's time
to move on...ZZZZZZZZZZZZ.
Yawn- Stretch.....How about a bit of dessert and some bubbly? YES! Do
let's pack up and move on to a picnic spot in Yountville where we can tour
the wonderful Domaine Chandon and have a tasting session with our sweets:
Fresh Jumbleberry Pie with Creme Fraiche
Cheesecake Brownies
Baked Vanilla Creams with Orange Caramel
Fresh melon and strawberries
**Domaine Chandon Sparkling Rose**
**Domaine Chandon Blanc de Noir**
**Domaine Chandon Etoile**
Time to find an Inn.......what a fabulous day.hope you had a great time!
Enjoy our recipes; they are all below.
Ruth, Lynn, Diane, Sandra and Cathy
http://food4.epicurious.com/HyperNews/get/regions/23.html
--
Jeane Bell
email: jea...@ns.net
Alan M. Fudge email: pug...@ns.net