Selection from Hive-Mind
July, 2006
After I disk the okra with my sharpest knife, I gently mix the tartare, arrange a thin circular layer on each plate, distribute five disks of okra on each circle, drizzle extra virgin olive oil, and sprinkle wild fennel pollen that I harvested near Lake Berryessa last weekend over the tartare.
Tartare: beef, lamb, tuna, halibut; all I have to do is cut, season, pair it with a good olive oil and garnish. The tender, fragile quality of the meat or fish plays against the texture present in each bite. Tartare was my favorite dish to serve at Oliveto. We’d fry capers until they were stiff star-like flowers, or take nasturtium petals and dot them over eye of round, ground and moist with oil so the dish looked like a Monet painting…
The crickets have begun to pick up as the sun turns down below Mount Vaca; they seem to work themselves into frenzy as night begins this time of year, only to mellow out as the dark hours progress.
Baker has made delicate basil ice cream studded with sun-dried Sungolds. The dried morsels have the chewy texture of raisins, but retain the acidic leap of Sungolds and work to balance the cream’s richness. The basil pairs well with the halibut’s sublime flavor, and my taste buds swim with the combination.
July, 2006
After I disk the okra with my sharpest knife, I gently mix the tartare, arrange a thin circular layer on each plate, distribute five disks of okra on each circle, drizzle extra virgin olive oil, and sprinkle wild fennel pollen that I harvested near Lake Berryessa last weekend over the tartare.
Tartare: beef, lamb, tuna, halibut; all I have to do is cut, season, pair it with a good olive oil and garnish. The tender, fragile quality of the meat or fish plays against the texture present in each bite. Tartare was my favorite dish to serve at Oliveto. We’d fry capers until they were stiff star-like flowers, or take nasturtium petals and dot them over eye of round, ground and moist with oil so the dish looked like a Monet painting…
The crickets have begun to pick up as the sun turns down below Mount Vaca; they seem to work themselves into frenzy as night begins this time of year, only to mellow out as the dark hours progress.
Baker has made delicate basil ice cream studded with sun-dried Sungolds. The dried morsels have the chewy texture of raisins, but retain the acidic leap of Sungolds and work to balance the cream’s richness. The basil pairs well with the halibut’s sublime flavor, and my taste buds swim with the combination.
