At the beginning of “The Hobbit”, the wizard Gandalf appears outside of Bilbo’s Hobbit hole and says “I am looking for someone to share in an adventure.” The next thing you know Bilbo who is used to an adventure-free life, full of creature comforts was dashing out his door after a band of trolls, fighting giant spiders and dragons, all the while discovering his true nature.

Three years ago today, Mutineer Editor in Chief Alan Kropf sent a contact message through my blog and asked me to go on a different type of adventure.  Although my journey has been devoid of orcs and other treachery, the result is the same. The last three years have brought me from contributor, to Food Editor and now Team Coordinator. I am a different person that I was three years ago. No longer the cautious hobbit hiding in my comfortable hole in the ground, I am having the time of my life.

There have been some wonderful experiences over the last three years. I have had a lesson in roasting with the O.G. of Seattle coffee, been stuck in the mud during a torrential downpour with a winemaker up in Mendocino and stayed up all night drinking wine and talking with one of the most lively and fun people in the spirits industry. I’ve tasted wine served on a piece of plywood in a barn in mid-conversion and on the slopes of a mountain in Catalunya. I have met wonderful people and have had experiences that will stick with me for a lifetime, but there is something in all of this that is more important to me than everything; my team.

Team Mutineer is made up of some of the most endearing people I have ever met. They are hardworking, creative and warmhearted people who care about creating a company that we can be proud of. Each day, I contemplate my fortune in finding them and can’t believe how privileged I am to have a team like this taking part in this adventure.

To Team Mutineer, there are no other people with whom I would rather travel to the Lonely Mountain. Life is about the journey and Mutineer has certainly given me the adventure of my life. Thank you.

To readers of both The Endive Chronicles and Mutineer, your support gave me the courage to take a chance and I will be forever grateful. Thank you.

“Keep making noise.”

“What?”

“Keep making noise or I’ll think you stopped breathing.”

“Okay. What thould I thay?”

“Are you lisping?”

“Thort of.”

This mildly amusing conversation took place on a Saturday night in mid-November, also known as the most terrifying night of my life. I’ve read a lot about food allergies, have cooked for a few people with them and personally have an allergy to shiso that leaves me covered in hives with an itchy face and numb tongue. But, this is different. This is potentially life threatening. This is my husband.

I’ve read about chef’s who willfully ignore patrons with allergies, personally know people who have lied about an allergy and have read stories about people with a myriad of allergies not giving a kitchen staff fair warning before arriving with a laundry list of demands accompanied by the words in bold caps If YOU DO NOT DO THIS I WILL DIE.  I know I would be sick to be thrown into a high stress situation like that with no warning. All of those situations are just as disrespectful and dangerous as the other.

To chefs who intentionally harm their allergic patrons, the allergy-free who lie and the entitled who don’t give the staff fair warning to ensure their safety: YOU SUCK. You suck and only make life more difficult for the rest of us.

It is because of these people that I am afraid. I am afraid that we will now be mistreated or looked down upon when we dine out because the staff will never know if we are being truthful or not. I am afraid we won’t be taken seriously and someone will dismiss the seriousness of our situation. I am afraid that we will be treated as a burden. I am afraid that my husband will be hurt because of exasperation or thoughtlessness.

It is time to stop the lying and thoughtless behavior, because people are getting hurt.

Phil and I are taking steps, trying to be responsible for ourselves. Getting used to it has been about trial and error. Meeting friends for lunch on a whim, forgetting our situation ended in trading my spicy fried chicken for Phil’s pulled pork sandwich that ended up being topped with celeriac slaw. We didn’t send it back, it was our mistake for not asking when we ordered, so we found our own solution. I do not believe that the restaurant should not have to pay because we have been thoughtless.

I am now big on making reservations. This allows me to notify the restaurant, giving them ample time to prepare. Often this simply means making sure our server is informed so they can find out what he needs to stay away from on the menu. I am very grateful for this. We have even found kitchen staffs who have actually offered to make special stock and sauces for him with enough notice.

These encounters have warmed my heart and helped us see that the good people out number the jerks, but I don’t think the fear will ever subside. In all honesty, it is probably good that is doesn’t, because in a situation such as this vigilance is paramount.

Celeriac Salad (a.k.a. the offending salad I’ll never make again)

1 celeriac root, grated

3 TBS. olive oil

2 TBS. sherry vinegar

1 TBS. Dijon

sea salt, to taste

freshly ground pepper, to taste

1 TBS. mustard seed, lightly toasted

Make sure your guests are not allergic to celeriac or celery. Combine the oil, vinegar, Dijon, salt, pepper and mustard seed together in a bowl and whisk until it is emulsified. Mix in the celeriac, taste and adjust the seasoning. Serve.

Get your a** to the hospital immediately if you are itchy or swollen after eating this.

A year and change ago at Thanksgiving, I had more pureed pumpkin than I had pie so I decided to try a little something different with it. I browned onions, deglazed them with vermouth, seasoned and simmered them with pumpkin the result was a savory, pleasantly sweet sauce that was glorious on a pizza topped with mozzarella, sage, pine nuts and bacon. It has become a wintertime favorite at my house and I hope it will be in yours too.

2 TBS. olive oil

1 onion, diced

1 garlic clove, minced

1 c. dry vermouth

3/4 c. pumpkin puree (home roasted or canned are both fine)

1 TBS. sage, chopped

sea salt, to taste

freshly ground pepper

pizza dough, rolled out to desired thickness (I recommend going a little thick, so it can handle the weight of the sauce)

1/2 c. bacon, diced

20 small leaves sage rinsed and dried

mozzarella, sliced

1/2 c. pine nuts

Preheat the oven to 425F.

Add the olive oil to a warm saute pan, add the onions and garlic then cook until golden. Deglaze the pan with the vermouth, before adding in the pumpkin puree, sage, salt and pepper. Simmer the mixture to until thick, remove from the heat and allow to cool. If you want a smooth sauce, puree it, but I personally like the onion pieces in it.

Fry the bacon in a small saute pan. Remove the bacon and drain. Fry the sage leaves in the rendered bacon fat and drain.

Top the pizza dough with the sauce and sliced mozzarella and place in the oven for ten minutes. After the ten minutes is up, top with the bacon, sage leaves and pine nuts and return to the oven for an additional five to ten minutes.

Hello! Is there anybody still there?

          I should probably start by explaining  my long absence from this space. You see, through working in food and beverage media, recipe writing and many, many injuries I seem to have put on a pound or two. Possibly more. Anyhoo, in early August I decided that it was time to take things in hand and began to change my eating and exercise habits. I didn’t want this to turn into a diet blog, because that isn’t what I want to talk about. I like food and I just needed to figure out a system that worked for me. And so, my posting became less and less and now I am crawling back and hoping you forgive my absence.

          Needless to say, I am pretty well whipped into shape. I’ve still got a little ways to go, but it is all second nature to me now. So, what in the world have I been up to these long months you may ask?

          Well, shortly after my last post I got all dressed up as Mattie Ross and went with Phil the Barkeep to the True Grit themed Halloween party at Jordan Winery. I even carried a (toy) gun in my pillowcase purse, played Blackjack and even pulled my (toy) gun on the dealer. Parties at Jordan are always spectacular.

           A couple of weeks later Team Mutineer descended on Napa for our annual Red Carpet Party. Miss Julie Hadjinian Mutineer Designer Extraordinaire came into town a bit early for a visit and it was wonderful having her here all to myself for a bit. We shopped, ate and talked non-stop for three days, but it still wasn’t enough.

           Once the team was all assembled we gathered at Raymond Vineyards for a meeting in their eye popping Red Room. It was wonderful to be together again after six months and there were surprises to come. Some of you may remember, but we had been working with A Child’s Right to raise money to buy water filters for several schools in Nepal. At the meeting we all received letters of thanks and scarves. My scarf was one of two special scarves given to my Editor-in-Chief by the headmasters in welcome. Our Director of Operations and I received them in recognition of the work we put into the project. It was a really special moment and it meant a lot to me.

Photo courtesy of my awesome friend Ryan Clinton and his new iPhone.

           After the meeting we all descended on Chef Todd Humphries (he’s featured in my latest “Off Duty” column) new restaurant Kitchen Door at the Oxbow Market out in Napa. We dined on roasted chicken, various charcuterie, a porcini soup that may have made it onto my death row menu and candy cap mushroom bread pudding. We drank wines from all over the valley like Mumm and Delgadillo Cellars. But mostly, we relished in each others company. I know I hadn’t laughed so much in a long time (Miss LB, if you’re reading this you have a hilariously dirty mind) as I did that night.

           We came together for the Red Carpet Party and Mixology Competition shortly after and I am happy to report that it was a smashing success. Just below are six of the eight competitors. They came to compete from restaurants all around the valley from Morimoto and Bouchon to Solbar and Angel. It was a great night made better by the after-party at Morimoto where I must say, they make a mean Sidecar.

          After the excitement died down we had another house guest in the form of friend and Mutineer Chris D’Amico. We drank and ate way too much during his visit, but no more than the day we spent with Hellocello’s Fred and Amy Groth. The Groth family are more fun than a barrel of monkeys, but instead of monkeys their barrels contain bourbon. Lots and lots of bourbon. It was a great visit, but I definitely am not 21 anymore and drank nothing but water and ginger tea for many days after.

           A week or so later we had our eighth anniversary. We passed it quietly with a nice dinner and a bottle of St. Suprey cab at home. I still can’t believe that in all, we have been together a decade. It feels like only yesterday Phil nervously was trying to talk me out of taking his phone number and scuttling for the door. I am very lucky to have him.

Photo courtesy of Cory Weaver with permission from The San Francisco Opera.

          Two days later we went with Gloria Ferrer to dinner and to see “Carmen” at the San Francisco Opera House to celebrate their successful harvest. The production was spectacular and bubbles delightful. I hadn’t been to the opera since our first anniversary (Aida at Lincoln Center) and I’d forgotten how wonderful it is. Intermission was all about bubbles and chocolate dipped strawberries. It was a lovely evening. The folks at Gloria Ferrer really know how to show their guests a good time.

Photo above courtesy of Cory Weaver with permission from The San Francisco Opera.

          My annual Mutineer holiday extravaganza hit the shelves. It featured everything from a rum breakfast of crunchy french toast, candied bacon, pear parfaits and hot chocolate with rum, nocino and allspice to moonshine liqueur gifts,  cocktails and mocktails.

          More recently one of my favorite people in wine country had a celebration for her new book. Sondra Bernstein of Girl and the Fig fame just released her latest book Plats du Jour. I had been waiting for this one for a while and was really excited to find a lot of the food I have eaten (and loved) at events are featured in the book. There are two in particular that I can’t wait to get to, the wild boar ragu and the rosemary olive oil cake. They are both superb and I am beyond excited to be able to duplicate them at home. Also at the event were two of aforementioned spectacularly fun people in Sonoma County Amy and Fred Groth of Hellocello. They were serving up cocktails and as they are featured in Plats du Jour obliged me by signing my book.

          Beyond  that I turned 33 two weeks ago. I spent the day chatting with friends and getting some serious best friend time in with Leslie who lives much too far away. We had drinks with our friend Chef Sean Z. Paxton where he let us try one of the most delicious beers either of us have ever had, Sexi Mexi from Bend Brewing (They collaborated with Sean on the brew). Phil bought me a fabulous dress, a pair of peep toe heels, made me a cake and took me to an incredible dinner at ESTATE. It was a great way to spend my day.

          Christmas was quiet here as it always is. Work slows down and allow us time to regroup and enjoy the last days of December. We ate lovely meals, drank wonderful beverages and spent time together. Simple. Quiet.

          Today is New Years Day. I am not hungover as I didn’t have a thing to drink last night, since the night before I hosted a small number of Mutineers for a Christmas party and enjoyed far too many cocktails. Last night we celebrated with fresh Dungeness crab and Manila clams with copious amounts of garlic butter and sourdough bread. I may have napped a bit before midnight, but I did manage to wake up at midnight and smooch Phil before heading to bed.

          And so on this first day of 2012 and instead of making new resolutions, I am renewing my commitment to the ones I made last year. I think I made some pretty good headway and am not at all ashamed to still be working on them. I have gotten in shape, given into my imagination to write fiction and I have significantly reduced my swearing. Of course, I watched a few Scorsese films which threw most of my progress out the window on that last one, but I am steadily finding my way back. I will add one thing to my list of things to-do in 2012 and that is getting back to blogging. I will start by posting a recipe for you on Friday. We are eating it for lunch today and I have to say that I am pretty excited to share it with you.

          Any moment Phil is going to remember that the tree is still up and then it will have to come down. For my part, I hope it takes a while, the saddest day of the year to me is the day when the tree comes down.

          Have a Happy New Year and I hope to see you around here in 2012.

                                                   Cheers!

Last night Phil and I were talking about Mutineer and I realized that it has been nearly two years since started writing my column “Hungry Mutineer”. Time has flown by so quickly, it seems just like yesterday that I was harassing my editor to let me take the lead on food. Since then, I’ve gone from contributor to columnist to Food Editor. It still makes me laugh.

Anyhoo, I realized that I have never shared any of my Mutineer recipes with you all, so I’ve poked around some back issues and chosen some of my favorites to share with you. This week I’m sharing a delicious recipe for olives cooked with absinthe. I was really shocked by the reaction to this recipe. I adored it, but I wasn’t sure how well it would be received, but my fears were totally unfounded, this flavor packed cocktail snack was a hit. As a new columnist with an uncertain future all I could think of was, thank goodness.

I hope you like it.

Olives and Absinthe

2 TBS. Butter

3 c. olives, rinsed and pitted

2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped

1 TBS. fennel seeds

1 tsp. freshly ground pepper

1/4 c. absinthe

zest or 1/2 an orange, use a veggie peeler to ensure large pieces

1/2 c. pine nuts

2 TBS. fresh mint

Lightly toast the pine nuts in a 350F oven for 8-10 minutes.

In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium heat then add in the olives and cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in the garlic, fennel and pepper and cook for another minute. Deglaze the pan with the absinthe, lower the heat and stir in the zest and cook for 2 more minutes. Remove from the heat, stir in the pine nuts and mint before serving.

I haven’t been using my grill very much this summer. I don’t  know why, since I love to barbecue. Yesterday, I got a wild hair and decided to grill up a rack of ribs.

Normally, I would do more traditional ribs with a green chile rub and barbecue sauce, but I didn’t have all the ingredients necessary and I couldn’t go out. We were actually trapped at home, since a group of scholars decided to pave the parking lot right up to our front door. Needless to say, I had to make do with what I had and what I had was dried apricots and Sri Racha.

I struggled over whether or not I should add a bit of sauteed onion, but in the end decided against it since the garlic and onion are so prominent in the Sri Racha. I think I made the right decision. The end result was a rack of ribs that were caramelized on the outside, spicy and tangy with ridiculously succulent insides.

Sadly, I didn’t get a shot of the ribs. It is possibly that I may have forgotten. Happily, I had a bit of the sauce left for your viewing pleasure.

On another related note, fabulous blogger and poetry chica Jeanne, from Cook Sister, who is also a proud South African, shared with the rest of us the tradition of a braai. A braai is pretty much what we think of as a barbecue, lots of friends, truckloads of food and cooking with fire. She has shared several braai recipes with her readers and asked us to share our favorite braai-style recipes with her for National Braai Day . . . which is today. I’ll be the first to admit it, I am lame about blogger events. They are great, but I always miss the deadlines. Yesterday, I got a reprieve. Jeanne extended the deadline, so I will finally make this one. Yippie!

In a few days the braai round-up will be posted on Cook Sister and I highly recommend you check it out. If last year was any indication there are some delicious braai recipes in our future. Actually, check out Cook Sister anyway, Jeanne is fabulous on several levels.

What are your favorite braai/barbecue recipes?

Spicy Apricot Pork Ribs

1 c. dried apricots

3 c. boiling water

2-3 TBS Sri Racha

1 rack pork ribs, sliced in half

sea salt, as needed

Place the apricots in a medium bowl and cover with boiling water. Allow the apricots to plump for a few hours before proceeding.

Combine the plumped apricots, soaking water and Sri Racha in a blender and pulse until smooth.

Season the pork ribs with sea salt and allow to come to room temperature.

Oil the barbecue grates, then start the coals and allow them to become white hot before placing the ribs on the grill. Grill the ribs slowly over indirect heat. Begin basting with the apricot sauce after 30 or so minutes, being sure to reserve a little of the uncontaminated sauce, to warm and serve with the ribs as desired. Grill  the ribs until the meat begins to pull away from the bone.

Note: I love it tangy and spicy, but may have to try a little sauteed onion to see how well it deepens the flavor. It would be a great idea for fall.

Ten years ago I was poking around the vegetables at Tacoma Boys market in Tacoma, Washington when I first saw them. They were all sizes, colors and shapes. Some were green or orange with stripes, some were deep red with green around the core. Now, a decade later heirloom tomatoes are no longer a rarity, but a celebrated part of summer’s bounty. Last weekend Phil and I put on our Mutineer caps and drove up to Santa Rosa for Kendall-Jackson’s 15th Annual Heirloom Tomato Festival.

I was expecting a quaint wine country festival, sparsely attended, but nice. What I saw was throngs of locals and tourists being directed by security and the Highway Patrol to their respective parking places and groups of excited winos and tomatophiles filing into the Kendall-Jackson grounds, wine glasses in expectant hands.

There was an Iron Chef-like competition with the first round featuring former Top Chef competitors Chef Jennifer Carrol and Chef Kevin Gillespe in a 30 minute battle royale. The tension was fierce, but in the end Chef Gillespe came out on top. 

Vendors lined the grounds serving up heirloom tomato delights. While fevered volunteers sliced tomatoes of every shade in the tomato tasting tent. Vertical wine tastings took place throughout the day while light-hearted music filled the air. We dined on horseradish pudding with tomato relish and shrimp, tomato panna cotta with bacon foam, green zebra tomatoes fried in batter made with Censored by Lagunitas and smoked tomato sausage with heirloom tomato ketchup and green zebra tomato relish. It was fantastic.

My favorite taste of the festival was the creation of Kendall-Jackson’s Executive Chef Justin Wangler. It was a creamy, rich concoction of tomato and smoked fennel and it was incredible. Seriously, incredible. And, I just so happen to have the recipe courtesy of Chef Wangler and Kendall-Jackson. I hope you like it as much as I did.

Check out the Kendall-Jackson site, they really have some spectacular recipes.

Smoked Fennel and Tomato Soup

Serve with Kendall-Jackson Vintner’s Reserve Pinot Noir

This makes a great dish for your vegetarian friends because the smoked fennel and onion make this soup taste like bacon has been added.  The sweetness of the smoked fennel makes a perfect match for the soft, smoky finish of the Vintner’s Reserve Pinot Noir.

Chef Justin Wangler

Serves 8

1 large fennel bulb, sliced in half lengthwise

1 small yellow onion, peeled and sliced into 1-inch thick rings

4 oz. butter

1 TBS. fennel seed

1 medium carrot, peeled and diced small

Kosher salt

5 lbs. red heirloom tomatoes, cores removed and rough chopped

12 oz. heavy cream

Specialty equipment needed: Camerons stovetop smoker and oak chips

 Place 2 tablespoons of finely ground oak chips in smoker and heat on stovetop (make sure to do this in a well ventilated kitchen or outdoors).  Allow the chips to burn and then cover to put out the flames.  Let the chips smolder until the smoke color changes from a greenish hue to white.

Place the fennel and onion into the smoker and smoke for 4 minutes over medium heat.  Remove the fennel and onion and rough chop into small pieces.

In a large sauce pot, melt the butter and add fennel, onion, fennel seed and carrot.  Season with salt and sweat over medium heat until vegetables are soft and the onions are translucent.  Add the tomatoes and cook for 15 minutes or until tomatoes begin to fall apart.  Add the cream and cook for an additional 15 minutes.  Remove soup from heat and carefully process in a blender until smooth. Season to taste and strain through a fine mesh strainer.  Reheat soup and serve.

Any leftovers can be frozen.

Note: This recipe is the intellectual property of Chef Justin Wangler of Kendall-Jackson Winery. 

 If you are going to be in the Napa/Sonoma area next Sunday you should toodle on up to NapaStyle in Yountville for the Italy Cooks book release party and fundraiser. There will be a ricotta making demo, and Italian wine tasting and book signing. The event itself is free, a the book for signing is $40, with a portion of the proceeds donated to the Oxbow School Pamela Hunter Fund. The event is being put on by by friend Ashley of Media ANT and a few others close to Pamela Hunter who passed last year.

RSVP: Jennifer Flynn jennifer.flynn@napastyle.com or 707-945-1229

Limoncello Icebox Cake

Limoncello Ice Cream Sandwiches

Bellocello Raspberry Pavlovas

I also wrote a feature called Teahouse Revolution about the fall of communism in Eastern Europe its effects on the rising in popularity of tea in the Czech Republic.