Napa - Ad Lib at Royal Oak (Silverado Resort)

When French Laundry closed for renovations/expansions a few months ago, the ever-innovative Thomas Keller looked to the Silverado Resort in Yountville/Napa and opened a pop-up concept. Since the pop-up is a takeover of one of the country club's restaurants, TK decided to do a homage to the country club cuisine.

Nancy, Hua and I headed there over Memorial Day weekend, keeping our fingers furtively crossed that TK would be at the restaurant, carving beef wellingtons or tossing Caesar salads tableside. It would have been amazing! We were fan-girl-excited at this very thought.

front view of the Silverado Resort

Since there were three of us, we decided to go with three appetizers, entrees for four, a bunch of sides and a few desserts. Nancy and I traveled far to eat here; don't judge. Plus, since this is a temporary concept and though there is no actual end date, we didn't want to miss out on any amazing dishes. Basically we experienced FOMO to the max.

Bread was served to the table warm and the butter/salt combination was delicious. We were off to a great start. Excitement levels high at this point. Plus, we kept craning our necks for TK to appear.

duck liver mousse, kumquat jam

lamb carpaccio, compressed cucumbers, pearl onions, mint crème fraîche

classic Caesar salad, prepared tableside

Appetizers were solid. The Caesar salad could have used like, double or triple the amount of lettuce for the dressing that was on it, but I generally like very lightly dressed salads. The mousse was good but I wasn't too fond of the lamb carpaccio. Nancy and Hua liked it though. I liked how good looking our server was ...

prime beef short-rib "wellington" (serves two)

Liberty Farms duck breast, mustard fruits, sauce "bigarade"

grilled Elysian Fields Farm lamb t-bone

With these entrees for *ahem* four people, we also ordered a bunch of side dishes. Basically we ordered everything that looked interesting and/or delicious. Cause treat yoself.

crispy fingerling potatoes with caramelized sweet onions

crispy cauliflower with garden dill and sour cream

garden carrots glazed with wildflower honey

The entree round is where the meal started to fall apart. The beef wellington was really good, but honestly, it's hard to mess up or overcook short ribs. They get MORE tender the longer you cook them! Short ribs are very forgiving. The duck was a bit overcooked; more on the medium side than the medium rare that we requested. The sauce was also very thick and very sweet.

Our biggest beef was with the lamb (haha). It was definitely cook to well done - the meat was gray all the way through with no hint of pink, and ended up being tough and chewy. It's very, very rare that I send something back to the kitchen but for a $54 dish ... they should be able to execute it properly. Then the second one we received was still overcooked! Albeit slightly less overcooked, but it was still medium-well. The server asked us to cut into the middle (she hoped it would be more pink) but nope, fail. However, she did say that she would take it off the check.

Sides were solid but the carrots were also a bit overcooked. They were almost a bit mushy. The potatoes were well crisped but I feel like I could have made them myself - they're just roasted.

pineapple upside down cake, rum syrup, roasted macadamia nuts

meyer lemon chiffon pie

There was no saving desserts after the entrees. The pineapple upside cake had a weird crumbly texture and the whipped cream on top tasted exactly like the whipped cream on top of the mango pudding at dim sum (it took me a week of thinking to figure that out). The lemon curd and meringue was good on the chiffon pie but the crust was thin, brittle and slightly tasteless.

The bill came out to over $100 per person, before tip - and this was with the $54 lamb taken off the tab. As Nancy said, we spent a pretty penny for sub-par Thomas Keller food.

Honestly, I've never been more disappointed in a meal in my life. It's not to say that I haven't had worse food but our expectations were high, especially at a restaurant with Thomas Keller's name attached to it. Especially since Nancy and I flew up from Southern California to eat here. And TK wasn't there that night either! If I had gotten a picture with him, it would have at least saved the night a little bit. I understand the country club homage concept so I wasn't expecting French Laundry level plating but in terms of execution ... at least make the food taste good!

Conclusion: sad faces all around.

Ad Lib Pop-Up
1600 Atlast Peak Rd, Napa, California

The Walking Dead S3E10 - Homemade Fried Chicken

So generally, I go pretty all out for meals during new The Walking Dead episodes. I find a recipe that's pretty time consuming, plan it out, practically come up with a timeline to schedule everything to be eaten at 6pm (we have DirecTV in Eastern time, so we get to see new episodes first!) and get super excited. Never, ever have I asked Boyfriend what HE wanted. Because who cares, right? Happy live-in-girlfriend, happy life. Or something like.

This time, however, I asked if there would be anything he's interested in me making and he responded with "fried chicken" ... my jaw almost hit the floor. Fried chicken is nothing to scoff at. nor is it easy. But my mind immediately went to a Thomas Keller Ad Hoc recipe.

brining. so much brine.

Colonel Sander's herbs and spices have nothing on Thomas Keller's!

A lot of prep work came with this chicken ... but super easy. Mainly, chicken had to be brined about 12-24 hours ahead of time, then rinsed and dried, and then left to sit out for 1.5-2 hours, to get to room temperature. This ensures that the outside of the chicken won't cook faster than the inside, leaving you with a burned exterior and a raw interior.

When Vanessa asked if I was going to fry in my new Le Creuset cast iron pan (Christmas present!), I told her no ... I was going to deep fry! She then asked "Oh cool, you have a deep fryer?" and I said "Nope, I'm just going to fill a pot with oil" ... she then proceeded to tell me how to put out a grease fire. Smother the flames, don't throw water on it!

With the help of a trusty candy thermometer, I got the oil heated and bubbling to a nice 320degreesF and started frying away. It was a great experience and though the oil bubbled and hissed super loudly, I did not get burned in the slightest.

nicely browned chicken. probably due to the spices and buttermilk.

served with steamed asparagus and Kraft mac-and-cheese

The chicken came out moist and flavorful, if a tad bit salty. Maybe less brining next time? I brined for a total of 20 hours or so, maybe I should cut that down. Boyfriend didn't think it was salty though, and proclaimed it was "one of the best things [I've] ever made" ... always nice to hear. The skin was so crisp and amazing that there were audible crunching sounds when you bit into it ...

Which leads me to the new The Walking Dead episode. I must admit, the crunching from the chicken while watching zombie bashing is seriously a bit unnerving. This week's episode was a bit slow ... and I dislike Dead Lori coming back to haunt Rick some more. Come on, woman! Just leave him alone and let him lead his people. From the trailers, it looks like next week, Rick will have a mutiny on his hands. And the Daryl/Merle abandonment didn't last very long, huh? Actually, the episode was slow ... until the very end. RIP to the best mustache on television. *sad face*

Thomas Keller's Ad Hoc Fried Chicken
as much chicken as you want

Chicken - I used 5 drumsticks and 1 package chicken breast tenders

Brine
8 cups water
1/2 cup kosher salt
2 Tbsp honey
6 bay leaves
1/2 head of garlic, cut horizontally
1 Tbsp black peppercorns
1/4 bunch thyme sprigs
1/4 bunch flat leafed parsley sprigs
3-4 sprigs rosemary
Grated zest/juice of 2 large lemons

Coating
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp garlic powder
2 Tbsp onion powder
2 tsp paprika
2 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

2 cups buttermilk
grapeseed/canola/vegetable oil for deep-frying

Count your hours down and start making the brine. Combine all the ingredients in a large pot, bring to a boil, and boil for 1 minute, stirring to dissolve the salt. Remove from the heat and cool completely before adding the chicken in. It takes about 1-2 hours.

Rinse the chicken pieces and place in the cold brine. Refrigerate overnight or for 12-24 hours. When ready to cook, remove the chicken from the brine, rinse and pat the chicken dry, removing any herbs or spices sticking to the skin. Let the chicken come to room temperature outside of the fridge, about 1.5-2 hours.

Mix the coating ingredients together in a bowl, transfer half to another second and set up a dipping station for easy assembly while battering: chicken, coating, buttermilk, second bowl of coating, tray.

Bring the oil to 320degreeF in a pot deep enough that the oil does not come up more than 1/3 of the way; make sure you have about 2 inches of oil so the chicken piece can submerge fully. It took almost an entire bottle of oil for me to get this, and I just used a medium saucepot (see picture above). If you have a deep fryer then feel free to use it but the saucepot method worked pretty fabulously.

Right before taking the chicken into it's hot oil bath, dip each piece into the coating, patting off the excess, then into the buttermilk and then into the second bowl of coating. Place the chicken onto the tray. I did this in batches, so while one batch of chicken was almost done frying, I'd coat another batch.

When the oil has reached the proper temperature, carefully lower the pieces of chicken into the oil. The temperature of the oil will decrease, so adjust the heat as necessary to bring the oil to proper temperature. Fry for about 13 minutes for the drumsticks, to a deep golden brown, cooked throughout and very crisp. The white meat chicken tenders took about 8 minutes.

Remove the chicken to a wire rack with a baking sheet underneath, so the oil can drip down and the skin won't become soggy. Alternatively, you can just transfer the chicken to a tray lined with paper towels, if you have no wire rack. Sprinkle with coarse salt (optional, I didn't do that).

Let the chicken rest for a few minutes to cool slightly. Be careful biting into it! Eat fried chicken until you explode.

The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap 2012 - Bouchon Bakery’s ‘Nutter Butters’ #fbcookieswap

After participating in the #FBCookieSwap last year, there was no way that I was going to pass up the opportunity to participate again in it this year. Hosted by Lindsay at Love & Olive Oil and Julie at The Little Kitchen, dozens of bloggers in different countries participate to send cookies to each other for the holiday season. After receiving my matches, I send out a dozen cookies to each blogger. In return, I receive three one-dozen sets of cookies in the mail from other bloggers.

In order to participate in the exchange this year, we had to donate $4 to charity, which was a great idea. Signing up and paying via Paypal was easy, and in exchange, this adorable cookie spatula was sent to your house along with a thank you not for your donation.

It's been really fun getting boxes in the mail though I got them all practically on the same day. No spacing out this year! I wish it was a bit more staggered so I could have had a steady stream of cookies to eat but no fear ... you can never have too many cookies! And I received the following lovely cookies from the following lovely bloggers:

linzer thumbprint cookies with apple butter from Hannah

(www.nothingbutdelicious.blogspot.com)

rosemary lemon cookies from Stacy

(www.everylittlethingblog.com)

orange walnut waffle cookies / holiday popcorn w/ dark chocolate, white chocolate, pistachios and dried cranberries / peppermint bark from Liz

(www.cookingbymoonlight.com)

This year, I decided to do a recipe from Thomas Keller (who I also met earlier this week at a book signing ... EEP!! *clapping*). His fancy nutter butters had ... well, a ton of butter. But they were so good. At the book signing, they had these cookies to pass out so I was able to try his actual version (I hadn't tried it prior to the recipe) and ... well though I thought mine were delicious, they were nothing compared to his.

creaming of the butter and sugar. lots and lots of butter.

cream till fluffy

batter up!

cookies ready to be filled and sandwiched

tins of cookies ready to be sent out

Some of the cookies might not have had as much filling, so I'm very very sorry. Next time, I will have to double up on the filling so each one gets a good healthy dose. Ha, I said healthy. There is absolutely nothing healthy about these cookies. Hope you liked them Victoria, Beth and Diana!!

Bouchon Bakery’s ‘Nutter Butters’
makes about 3 dozen sandwiches

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 ttsp baking powder
4 tsp baking soda
1 lb (4 sticks) butter, room temperature
2/3 cup creamy peanut butter, preferably Skippy
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1½ tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cups coarsely chopped peanuts
2½ cups quick-cooking oats

Cookie Filling:
¼ lb (1 stick) butter, room temperature
½ cup creamy peanut butter, preferably Skippy
1 2/3 cups confectioners’ sugar

Preheat oven to 350degreesF. In a bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder and baking soda; set aside. Using a mixer with a paddle attachment, cream together the butter and peanut butter. Add sugars and beat at medium speed for 4 minutes, scraping down bowl twice.

At low speed, add eggs and vanilla. Add flour mixture and beat at low speed until well mixed, frequently scraping down bowl. Add peanuts and oats, and mix well. Using an ice cream scoop 1 1/4 inches in diameter, place balls of dough on parchment-lined baking sheets at least three inches apart.

Bake until cookies have spread and turned very light golden brown, about 10 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside to cool and firm up, 5 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool completely before filling.

To make the filling, with an electric mixer, cream together the butter, peanut butter and confectioners’ sugar until very smooth. Spread a thin layer (about 1/8 inch) on underside of a cookie. Sandwich with another cookie. Repeat until all cookies are sandwiches and start eating!

The Walking Dead S3E6 - A Mini Thanksgiving (with Chicken)

Thanksgiving is upon us tomorrow! I tried to tell Boyfriend that I made him a baby turkey, which is why the (chicken) was so small. But he wasn't fooled. Apparently he can just tell the difference between the taste of chicken and turkey! Strange.

I followed the same Thomas Keller Roast Chicken recipe as I had done in the past, but I changed the veggies underneath, as they were a bit undercooked last time. This time, I cut the carrots smaller and in half, quartered an onion and quartered four yellow Dutch potatoes. Also, I cut the butter to rub onto the breast by half. The skin still turken out nice and crispy though. Score!

I made brussel sprouts for the first time, which was awesomely easy to make with the chicken since they both roast at 400degrees F. Then when I took out the chicken and it was resting, I lowered the oven temp to 350degrees F and popped the stuffing in. By the time the chicken finished resting and I carved it, the stuffing was ready! All of this was basically a test on timing for the T-Day showdown.

Yay for mini-Thanksgiving! What did everyone think of The Walking Dead this week? Why is Andrea so weaksauce and slutty? So many questions. This week wasn't as good as two weeks ago, but I think its a lot of setup for the future. Hopefully a huge Rick-Governor showdown ... to say nothing of a Merryl-Rick showdown as well.

On another note, I used the cups that Boyfriend gave me for our three-year anniversary! Don't they look super fancy and golden? I always naturally drink with my pinky up (yea, sorry I'm weird) but I made sure the pinky was super-up when I used this cup! I drank some ginger peach tea that Vanessa gave me and the experience was exquisite.

Roast Brussel Sprouts

1 lb brussel sprouts
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp pepper

Preheat oven to 400degrees F. Wash and trim brussel sprouts, removing any withered or yellow outer leaves. Half the large sprouts, or leave them whole if they're small.

Toss brussel sprouts with the remaining ingredients and pour onto a foil-lined baking sheet. Roast for 35-40 minutes, shaking the baking sheet about every 10 minutes, until the sprouts are tender.

My First Roast Chicken

It shames me to say that I've never roasted a chicken. Ever! I don't know why either - every writer out there says its the easiest thing. Simply season, truss and bake. Bam! An entire roast chicken, which could probably feed me for a week.

Of course, for my first, I had to start out with the best. The best being the best chef of them all, Thomas Keller. Now, you may have different opinions on whether he is THE best chef, but there is no denying that the man is something of a genius. Though I haven't had the opportunity yet to go to The French Laundry (someday ... someday), I have gone to the Bouchon locations both in Beverly Hills and Las Vegas, and the food was simply divine. Boyfriend claims the steak frites is the best steak he has ever eaten, and he likes his meat (har har). I marvelled even at how well selected and beautiful the market lettuces were in the salads, how the colors shone like gems and were perfectly dressed ... but I digress. This is all about Thomas Keller's Roast Chicken with Root Vegetables. His Ad Hoc roast chicken, to be exact. Mr. Keller has a very exact and specific recipe.

First, you take the chicken out and let it come to room temprature for an hour to an hour and a half (to ensure even cooking - see, it's already genius!). While this is happening, prepare all the veggies and google "how to truss a chicken". Read 15 descriptions and watch 4 videos on how to do it. Freak out slightly. Dry the chicken as best you can. I also cut away the big chunks of skin that flapped over the ... chicken cavity opening. I was worried that it would make the veggies underneath a bit too greasy. Once everything is trussed, flavored, peeled, chopped, and buttered, you get this beautiful masterpiece:

But once that is roasted for over an hour, you get THIS beautiful masterpiece:

This, dear readers, is a thing of beauty. Granted, I think I need a bigger roasting pan because not all my veggies were 100% softened and carmelized the way they were supposed to. But I think it is also because I didn't follow the exact directions to find "golf ball sized red potatoes." I tried, but it's been a long time since I've mini-golfed damnit, and I think I misjudged how small a golf ball actually is. Don't make my mistake! Hopefully your veggies will come out softer than mine. When I first poked my chef's knife to carve the chicken, the skin actually crunched. Crunched. It was one of the most beautiul sounds in the world.

Of course, after eating all the juicy, flavorful chicken we could cram into ourselves, dessert had to be somewhat healthy. Strawberries are popping up all over, and these were courtesy of my mom.

Thomas Keller's Roast Chicken with Root Vegetables
from Ad Hoc at Home

One 4 to 4 1/2 lb chicken (mine was a little bit more than 5 lbs)
6 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
6 thyme sprigs (I used sage cause that's all I had)
2 large leeks
3 tennis-ball-sized rutabagas
2 tennis-ball-sized turnips
4 medium carrots, peeled, trimmed, and cut in half
1 small yellow onion, trimed, leaving root end intact, and cut into quarters
8 small (golf-ball-sized) red-skinned potatoes
1/3 cup canola oil
4 Tbsp (2 oz) unsalted butter, at room temperature

Remove the chicken from the refrigerator and let stand at room temperature for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until it comes to room temperature. Preheat the oven to 475F.

Remove the neck and innards if they are still in the cavity of the chicken. Using a paring knife, cut out the wishbone from the chicken. Generously season the cavity of the chicken with kosher salt and freshly ground pepper (I mixed up a combination in a small bowl first, then scooped out as much as I needed), add 3 of the garlic cloves and 5 sprigs of thyme, and massage the inside of the bird to infuse it with the flavors.Truss the chicken. Watch as many Google videos on this as necessary. In the end, stare down the chicken and give up - have boyfriend do it, which he does promptly after watching one video.

Cut off the dark green leaves from the top of the leeks. Trim off and discard the darkened outer layers. Trim the root ends, cutting around them on a 45-degree angle. Slit the leeks lengthwise almost in half, starting 1/2 inch above the root ends. Rinse the leeks well under warm water, trying to get all the dirt between each layer.

Cut off both ends of the rutabagas. Stand the rutabagas on end and cut away the skin, working from top to bottom and removing any tough outer layers (or using a peller, like I did). Cut into 3/4-inch wedges. Repeat with the turnips, cutting the wedges to match the size of the rutabagas. Combine all the vegetables and remaining garlic cloves and thyme sprig in a large bowl. Toss with 1/4 cup of the oil and season with kosher salt and pepper. Spread the vegetables in a large cast-iron skillet or a roasting pan.

Rub the remaining oil over the chicken. Season generously with kosher salt and pepper. I used the remaining salt and pepper combination left over from seasoning the cavity of the chicken. Make a nest in the center of the vegetables and nestle the chicken in it. Cut the butter into 4 or 5 pieces and place over the chicken breast.

Put the chicken in the oven and roast for 25 minutes. Reduce the heat to 400F and roast for an additional 45 minutes, or until the temperature registers 160F in the meatiest portions of the bird (the thighs and under the breast where the thigh meets the breast) and the juices run clear. If necessary, return the bird to the oven for more roasting; check it every 5 minutes.

Transfer the chicken to a carving board and let rest for 20 minutes.

Just before serving, set the pan of vegetables over medium heat and reheat the vegetables, turning them and glaazing them with the pan juices. Cut the chicken into serving pieces, arrange over the vegetables and serve.

* I also added three parnsips, which I had languishing in the fridge, as I had determined them to be a "root vegetable".
* I forgot the onion, which I am sad about because I think it would have perfumed the veggies even more.
* Yellow happy face cup was brought home full of flowers by boyfriend. Yay!