Tell me why I need a girolle

Okay, cheese fans out there, tell me why I need a girolle. No, for real. I'm in desperate need of a solidly argued excuse.

In case you've never seen one, a girolle is this lovely little Swiss device created especially for cheese, and not just any cheese, but for those savory little wheels of Swiss Tete de Moine. They make stunning "delicate ruffles" of cheese that evaporate on your tongue leaving only the gust of flavor behind.

I want gusts of flavor from ruffles of cheese. I want pretty little cheese flounces that breeze over my taste buds. Great Heavens, do I want a girolle with an unreasonable fervor.

But how can I possibly justify spending $80 on an item with only one use? And not just that, only one use for one kind of cheese?

So help me out here folks -- tell me why I must have a girolle -- why it is, in fact, a kitchen essential. My Cheese Kitty and I will thank you.


We respectfully await your excuses....

Moroccan picnic at Opera in the Park

So, lashings with a wet crostini for taking so long to get this post up, but here at last are some photos from the fabulous Moroccan Picnic.

It's been a few years since we've gone to Opera in the Park, and this year seemed like a great opportunity to take in some culture along with some of that great San Francisco fog. Seriously, I've been both chilled ot the bone and sunburned simultaneously at previous Opera in the Park events -- where else could such a thing happen but in San Francisco?

We didn't enter the picnic contest (was there one this year?), but we had our theme all the same -- a sort of organic, pan-North African/South Europe inspiration, shall we say.

I got there early to stake out some ground, and at 9:30 this was the scene. Yep, pretty far back from the stage already. Do these people get up and get here at 4 am?!? The organizers also have a new set up this year, with a covered tent for the musicians instead of the usual open stage. The violinists who arived early seemed to really like it a lot more -- but in this fog, who could blame them? They had some protection.

Still, I had my blankets and pillows and the Sunday Chronicle, the New York Times and that week's New Yorker. Okay, so I was being optimistic that I'd actually get through the New Yorker, but I did read both papers, which I never get to do on a Sunday. I guess for this to happen every week, I'd have to be up at this hour and stuck in the middle of a field with nothing to do every Sunday.

Anyhow, by 1:30 pm, this was the scene. Yes, it was us and 20,000 of our closest friends. It often amazes me that there are this many opera fans out there, but how could you pass it up when it's free?



Anyway, on to the food. Everyone brought a little something... or a lot of something. Ms. Five-and-a-Half's incredible individual B'stillas (along with her size 5 1/2 shoes) and her Chicken Marbella were indisputably the stars of the picnic. Savory, sweet and totally yummy.

Some of the other items on the menu: Whole Grain Salad courtesy of Helene and Jimo, tomato & cheese salad, citrus salad and fresh figs from Brenda, Spanish tortilla by Don and Karina, a chocolate and raspberry cheesecake from Craig and Rhonda, smoky baba ghanoush and lovely syrup-soaked baklava from Cindy at Food Migration.

Check out the feeding frenzy!

Quarters were close (I knew I should have gotten the 25' tarp!) but the company couldn't be beat -- and needless to say, the singing was terrific.
Opera fans -- check out Mary Dunleavy when she plays Gilda in the SF Opera's Rigoletto.

So our contribution to this feast was some homemade hummus and fresh pita. I have to say, there's nothing like fresh from the oven pita -- and it's remarkably simple to make. Warm pita... mmmm... comfort snacking.

Hummus bi Tahina

• 4-6-oz. Chick peas (garbanzo beans) soaked overnight and boiled 1 hour or canned, drained and rinsed
• Juice of 2-3 lemons
• 1/4 pint Tahina (sesame) paste
• Water
  
• 2-3 mashed cloves garlic (I like a little extra garlic myself)
  
• Salt to taste
• 1 tsp. paprika
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 Tbsp. chopped, fresh cilantro or parsley
• toasted pita triangles or crackers

Mash chick peas and press through a sieve, OR mix them with lemon juice and a little water and puree in a blender. Mash the garlic cloves with salt and then add them to the chickpea mixture. Blend together until well combined. Add the tahina, then mix with a little water until the mixture is like a creamy mayonnaise. Taste and adjust the seasonings as necessary. Some people like a little extra lemon or more salt.

In a separate small bowl, combine the olive oil and paprika. Pour the hummus into a serving bowl and drizzle with paprika & oil. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve with pita chips.

Homemade Pitas
2 cups warm (80F ) water
1-1/2 tsp active dry yeast
1-1/2 tsp honey
3-3/4 cup bread flour, plus 1-1/2 cups for kneading
1/4 cup rye flour
1 Tbsp salt
2 Tbsp olive oil

Combine the water, yeast and honey in a bowl. In a separate large bowl, combine 3-3/4 cup bread flour, rye and salt. Make a well in the flour and pour in the yeast liquid, stirring constantly as you pour.

Stir in the oil and add part of the remaining flour until the dough just pulls away from the side of the bowl.

Turn the dough out onto a floured board and knead for about 8 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic. Place it in a floured bowl, cover with a wet towel and let rise until doubled (about 1 1/2 hours).

Punch down the dough, turn out again, and knead for a minute. Then divide it into 8 balls. Roll each ball lightly and then place on a floured sheet and cover. Let them rest for 1/2 an hour. In the mean time, preheat the oven to 500F.

Working in batches of two, roll each ball out to about 8 inches around and bake in the oven for about 3 minutes. They should POOF and then deflate. After baking, wrap the pitas loosely with a dry towel to keep them warm and soft until you're ready to serve.

Not spoiled...

We're not spoiled.






No, the fact of the matter is is that the Cheese Kitty is simply helping us collect a complete set of Saint Marcellin dishes.

I learned recently that these cute little terracotta jobbies are called "cazuelas." In Spain we had a variety of small tapas served in them, notably the shrimp in garlic... Once we have a whole set of them, we'll have to think about a tapas party.

Friends with Gardens

I have a black thumb. I am currently killing the thyme plant just to the left of this picture. I've nearly nailed the rosemary too.

In my dreams, I have a plot of land more lush with vegetation than the Garden of Eden, but in reality I have a couple of terracotta pots with dying herbs and a lot of catnip (you really can't kill that stuff.)

So when a friend came to dinner bearing a gorgeous basket of produce from her garden, I was grateful and yet incredibly envious too.

Tomatoes. She has her own fresh, ripe lovely tomatoes, and scads of marjoram and basil. She has peppers and squash.

Even the green beans taste great and I hate green beans.

Well...well...well... I can't grow food, but I can.... I can... I can go to the farmer's market and buy fruit.

I can.

So there.

Okay, that's not too exciting when you live in San Francisco. You can go to any number of places and get good produce. The best figs were available at the market last week. Those big, luscious Brown Turkeys are so sweet right now.












It being Kelli's birthday (and she's bringing me presents!) Joe bought her a chocolate cake from DeLessio's market on Market. Great place for takeout and spectacularly chocolate-y cakes. Did only four of us eat THAT much cake??

Anyway, I haven't been posting very much of late, but this week, we've been getting ready for Opera in the Park, which means that I've been getting craft-y. The very first time I went to this event, when I first moved here, I thought it was a kind of "beach towel and sandwiches" sort of thing. Hah.

We arrived to find 20,000 people lining Sharon Meadow in Golden Gate Park. People had Persian rugs and fine china out. They were drinking out of glass stemware and serving five-course buffets as if it were an al fresco wedding. I don't think any less attention is lavished upon Carnival balls in Venice.

Our theme this year is Moroccan, (although it may feel arctic given the way the fog has been rolling through the city of late!) so I've been having some fun at the fabric and paint store.

The fabulous Heather at Sal Beressi Fabrics (1504 Bryant St., 2nd floor, San Francisco, 415-861-5004) found us an affordable, sturdy upholstery fabric for the blanket ($30). I got some stuff to make a cover for the pillows ($10) and our cheap picnic food tent($6) and then bought some acrylics and a stencil ($10) for the wooden board we'll use as a tabletop. Afternoon spent shivering in the fog with great food and company? Priceless.