Mostly Recipes, Sometimes News, Occasionally a Letter or Postcard.
Cooking with Crosby Roamann: Feta Cheese Toast
Feta Cheese Toast
- Tablespoon butter
- 4-6 slices good bread, about ½ inch thick, toasted
- 4-6 slices good prosciutto
- Garlic powder to taste
- Maldon sea salt to taste
- Cracked fresh pepper to taste
- Ground cumin pinch to taste
- Dry oregano or fresh garnish to taste
- 2 tablespoons Olio Nuovo or good olive oil
- Leftover crumbled Feta cheese, about 4 oz.
Prep
- Place 1 tablespoon butter on a large plate and microwave on high for 40 seconds
- Meanwhile, toast 4-6 pieces of good bread, like a sourdough boule.
- Place the toast in the butter and sprinkle a pinch of garlic salt on them, then flip them over, and place a piece of prosciutto on each slice of toast, tucking the edges of the prosciutto under the bread.
- Layer on your crumbled Feta cheese generously.
- Sprinkle the tops with Maldon Sea Salt, cracked fresh pepper, a touch of ground cumin (just a little pinch!) and a touch of dry (we used fresh) oregano (use a little more if you want a garnish).
- Then drizzle your best olive oil (we used our Olio Nuovo from 2023) generously over the tops of the toast – about 2 tablespoons worth.
Et voila! Feta Cheese Toast. We paired this with our Tuna Puttanesca, pictured below, and a bottle of good old Merlot. What I love about these little dishes is that I had everything I needed to make them at home. They are so simple and delicious and comforting and we didn't even have to go grocery shopping for anything! Did you know, "Puttanesca translates as “in the style of the whore.” The name derives from the Italian word puttana which means whore. Puttana in turn arises from the Latin word putida which means stinking." But boy, what a dish! xo
Cooking with Crosby Roamann: West Coast Style Gefilte Fish
There is one common staple in our house over Passover, and that is gefilte fish. Traditionally, I make enough for everyone, and then am the only one to eat it. But that’s ok. These things take time. I didn’t love, or even like, or even try, gefilte fish when I was a kid either.
When we lived in NY, it was easy enough to purchase really good gefilte from one of our local grocers, but here in wine country – no such luck. So, I took to making it myself from scratch when we moved here. The first versions weren’t very good -- it turned out to be nearly impossible to find the traditional fish in the right quantities in California. So, I adapted.
Our recipe is a “west coast” adaptation of the basic gefilte recipe from the great book The Gefilte Manifesto. All of the ingredients are easy to find at almost any good fishmonger and grocer this time of year.
Enjoy, and happy pesach.
West Coast Style Gefilte Fish
For the fish stock
- 1 lb spine and head, Halibut bones
- 4 qts water
- 1 Tbsp kosher salt
- 2 small onions
- 4 medium whole carrots
- 3 Tbsp sugar
Add all ingredients and simmer for 45 minutes. Strain the stock and remove the carrots, cutting them into 1” pieces and set ting them aside. Discard the remaining solids and return the stock to the stove top.
For the Gefilte Quenelles
- 1 lb California or Canadian Halibut fillet, skinned
- 1 lb California Sturgeon fillet, skinned
- 2 small onions
- 2 small eggs
- 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 Tbsp chopped fresh dill (plus more fresh sprigs for garnish set aside)
- 2 Tbsp sugar
- 1 Tbsp kosher salt
- ¼ tspn fresh ground black pepper
- ¼ cup Matzah meal
- Horseradish, fresh, for serving.
Prep
- Grind the onions, then the fish with it, and then all the remaining ingredients in a food processor. Remove the Gefilte mix to a bowl, cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Begin to reheat the stock on low. It should be warm, not hot/cold.
- Wet your hands, and roll out large egg-shaped quenelles, just smaller than a tennis ball. Place them gently in the stock using a slotted spoon, one by one.
- You should have about 12-14 quenelles, depending on size.
- Cover and boil the stock and quenelles on medium high for 30 minutes. Then let cool slightly.
- Line a serving dish with carrots and quenelles, then cover with stock, and garnish with a few fresh sprigs of dill, then wrap tightly with plastic and refrigerate. The quenelles are served cool, best the next day and for 3 days after.
- Serve with fresh horseradish and matzah for Passover.
Prepared Horseradish garnish recipe:
- 1 (8 to 10-inch long) piece horseradish root (4 to 5 ounces)
- 2 tablespoons water, more as needed
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar, more as needed
- Pinch salt
Peel and chop your horseradish root into half inch cubes, then pulse in a sturdy food processor with the other ingredients. Store in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks (or as long as it takes to finish all the gefilte fish the rest of your family refused to eat.)
Cooking with Crosby Roamann: Seared Herb-Crusted NY Strip Steak with BA.1 Steak Sauce
For our herb-crusted NY Strip Steak, we choose prime cuts at least 1-inch think, and apply a rub of 1 tablespoon each dried thyme, rosemary, oregano, and Kosher Salt. We let these sit for the day in the fridge, and then for an hour at room temperature before cooking. We prefer cast iron skillets for searing steaks at home, with one tablespoon of butter and a tablespoon of good olive oil, which we let begin to smoke in the skillet before we add the steaks. We fry these at the highest temperature we can for 3-4 minutes per side, and then finish them in the oven, covered for 2-4 minutes, until an instant read thermomemter registers 145F interior temp. We then let the steaks rest on a wood cutting board for 5 minutes before serving.
Pair this with our 2020 Crosby's Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, available here.
- 2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
- 2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
- 2 Tbsp. ketchup
- 1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 Tbsp. vinegar-based hot sauce (such as Frank’s or Crystal)
- 1 tsp. Dijon mustard
- 1 tsp. honey
- Kosher salt
Combine ingredients in a small bowl and mix well. BA says, "sauce can be made 2 months ahead. Store airtight at room temperature," but we store ours in the fridge.
Cooking with Crosby Roamann: Roast Chicken with Olives
It’s probably our favorite meal in the world … so there, I said it. No trip to Paris is complete for our family if we don’t visit Restaurant Allard, Alain Ducasse’s staple bistro near the heart of Saint-Germain-de-Pres. We’ve spent years trying to recreate the dishes we found there, and while it will never be exactly the same as sitting in the back of their small Parisian dining room and enjoying truly fine French bistro, it comes darn close. Enjoy this Roast Chicken (or Duck) with olives with our Thanksgiving selections or a magnum of Merlot. (The bird pictured here is with some late harvest zucchini form our garden while the olives finished cooking in their gravy).
- 2 tablespoons rendered chicken fat (or substitute 1 tablespoon oil and 1 tablespoon butter).
- 2 pounds chicken wings or backs, cut up.
- 1 chicken or duck (about 4 pounds, well-rinsed, patted dry, and trussed with neck and gizzard reserved.)
- 3 onions minced
- 1 1/2 tablespoons superfine flour
- 2 cups dry white wine
- 2 quarts chicken stock
- 1 bouquet garni: 12 parsley stems, 8 peppercorns, 1/4 teaspoon thyme, 1/4 teaspoon fennel seed and 1 bay leaf tied in a double thickness of cheesecloth.
- 1/3 cup tomato paste
- 8 ounces, brine-cured, pitted green olives
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
In a large, nonreactive stockpot or stovetop casserole, melt the chicken fat over medium heat. Add the chicken pieces and reserved duck neck and gizzard. Cook, stirring over medium-high heat, until golden, about 8 minutes. Add the onions and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle on the flour and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Stir in the wine, stock, bouquet garni, and tomato paste. Simmer, uncovered, over low heat for 2 hours, stirring occasionally. Strain the sauce through a fine mesh sieve into a nonreactive saucepan. Discard the solids.
Bring 1 quart of water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add olives and boil over high heat for 2 minutes. Drain and rinse well under cold water. Taste an olive. If they are still very salty, repeat the blanching. Add the olives to the strained sauce. Set over low heat and simmer, uncovered, until the sauce is just thick enough to coat a spoon, about one to one-and-a-half hours.
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
Pierce the chicken or duck skin all over with a knife and rub the skin with the butter. Place the bird, breast side down, on a rack in a roasting pan and roast for 30 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees. Turn the chicken or duck breast side up. Continue to roast the bird until the juices run clear when you pierce the thigh with a skewer, about one hour more. If you find that the breast is brown before the bird is cooked through, shield the breast by covering it loosely with aluminum foil.
To serve, carve the bird. Arrange the meat on a large serving platter and surround it with the green olives and sauce. Yield: 4 servings.
New Releases & Member Shipments
We are thrilled to release two new single vineyard wines from Napa Valley -- our 2020 Satyrs Ridge Old Vine Cabernet Sauvignon and our 2019 Harmony School Cabernet Sauvignon -- plus a new Chardonnay from the Santa Cruz Mountains. Members will also receive a library selection of our 2010 Mt. Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon from magnum.
Satyrs Ridge is a 4-acre block of Cabernet Sauvignon in Saint Helena, planted in 1970. Extremely low-yielding, we receive 1.25 tons per acre on average. We harvested the fruit at the cusp of ripeness, to preserve the integrity of the acidity and sumptuousness of the fruit. Fermented in open top stainless steel for seventeen days, then aged in one-quarter new French oak barrels for twenty-two months. Tasting notes: Dusky raspberry and briar, saddle leather, blood orange, with a touch of French oak evident but very subdued.
Harmony School is a one-acre block in Coombsville of Clone 6 Cabernet Sauvignon -- "the winemaker's clone" -- fermented on native yeasts in stainless steel for eighteen days. After a natural malolactic fermentation in barrel, we aged the wine in one-third new French oak barrels for 22 months, and bottled the wine by hand at the winery, unfined and unfiltered. On the palate: aromas of sweet raspberry and cassis emerge, with integrated vanilla and spice, cocoa and coffee on the palate.
Maeve Vineyard Chardonnay is from a very small vineyard just outside the town of Los Gatos in the Santa Cruz Mountains, on a steep bowl-shaped hillside facing southeast. Maeve is an Irish girl’s name meaning “the intoxicating one" -- but don't be fooled -- This very lightly-oaked Chardonnay is more Chablis-style than Napa, with semi-tart notes of fig, licorice, and lemon zest, and it pairs delightfully with pastas, salads, and seafood.
Member Shipments will begin to ship Fedex the last two weeks of September and will continue into October, weather depending. One Magnum from our library of 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon Mount Veeder AVA is included in the membership.
We are incredibly grateful and humbled to report a flurry of news and reviews over the past summer months! First, a review from Alder Yarrow's Vinography. Later, notes and reviews from Brian Freedman at Food & Wine Magazine, Joe Czerwinski - managing editor at The Wine Advocate, Karen MacNeil at WineSpeed, Mike Desimone and Jeff Jensen at Robb Report, and Tom Hyland at Forbes Magazine. You can find the full list at our new page dedicated to supporting Trade & Press here.
It's the perfect time of year for fresh pasta recipes with ingredients straight from the garden, and this only-very-lightly-creamy Farfalle pairs deliciously with our Maeve Vineyard Chardonnay from the Santa Cruz Mountains. Find our "Cooking with Crosby Roamann" blog online here for new recipes from our kitchen.
Maeve Vineyard is planted on a steep bowl-shaped hillside outside Los Gatos facing south and east. We whole-cluster press the juice to stainless steel for primary fermentation, and age the wine in all neutral oak and some stainless steel. A light pad filtration and cold stabilization is performed prior to bottling, by hand, at the winery. Tasting notes: Maeve Vineyard displays zesty notes of fig, licorice, and lemon zest, with apple cider and a touch of pineapple on the finish. Delightful now, the wine will gain complexity over the next year and reach its apogee from 2024 - 2027.
Forbes Magazine: The Unique Tale of Crosby Roamann Wines from California
In case you missed it, Tom Hyland for Forbes wrote a lovely piece on Crosby Roamann wines which you can find here: https://www.forbes.com/sites/tomhyland/2023/08/15/the-unique-tale-of-crosby-roamann-wines-from-california/?sh=3797ab8e2807
We are truly honored and grateful for the attention!
Cooking with Crosby Roamann: Duck a la Sean -- Seared Duck Breast with Cherries
There is something about seared duck that always seems so … decadent. But what I love about duck is how simple and easy it can be, whether we simply take a couple duck confit and crisp them gently in the broiler with some boiled potatoes and a green salad for Sunday brunch, or sear up some duck breasts in a sauté pan for a somewhat more formal dinner. This recipe falls into the latter category. It has all the hallmarks of fine French cooking, but while it is exceptionally decadent and serious, it also incredibly simple. Only a couple ingredients are needed, and the majority of the prep time is spent halving and pitting cherries, half of which get eaten by whoever is chopping or talking with me in the kitchen (you know who you are!).
This is also a terribly romantic meal, and sure to impress, with a minimum of tedium. Enjoy!