By the way, if you aren’t familiar with the Cooking Club concept, you should be. I’m a big fan and as a result I’ve been writing and teaching about them a lot lately. A Cooking Club is a great strategy for getting the most fun out of an afternoon with friends and the most value out of your food budget. It is essentially a group of a few friends or family members who pool their money to shop for and prepare a week’s worth of meals in one afternoon—or, in this case, holiday baked goods.
Nicole on Lifetime Network's 'The Balancing Act'
For those who might not be familiar with the concept, a cooking club encourages several families to pool together to make purchases that really take advantage of buying in quantity. What I aim to do is show these families how they can have fun together cooking a week’s worth of delicious, affordable meals for everyone in just a few hours.
Please view the clip on the Balancing Act website.
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Deborah—willowy, blonde and fearless—is a fourth-generation cherry farmer from Sunnyvale, California. We met at cooking school in Paris more than 20 years ago where she introduced me to foie gras, wine with a cork and French men. In the ensuing years we’ve taken many memorable, spontaneous road trips.
So, we were barreling down Highway 32 or 92 or 192—it might have been all three—trying to find a town so small it wasn’t on the map, where I was scheduled to film a cooking show on the possibilities of pomegranates. Lost and crisscrossing the scorched, post-harvest farms of the San Joaquin Valley in August, it was late in the day when we were forced to pull over for the fifth time to chip insects from the truck’s windshield.
“I think we’re near Los Banos,” Deb said . “There’s supposed to be a traditional Basque restaurant in Los Banos. I’ve heard about it for years. All the farmers in the valley rave about it. I think it’s a ‘don’t miss.’ It’s called Woolgrowers.”
“Oh, come on Deb! That can’t possibly be the right name.”
“Well…Woolgatherers…Woolmen?… No, I’m sure it…it’s Woolgrowers.”
Twenty minutes later we pulled up in front of Woolgrowers. The front was festooned with a flickering pink neon sign, although the actual entrance was hard to make out. The novelty of neon in this vast, rural valley had attracted thousands of pubescent moths. Behind the curtain of shimmying insects was a small sign with two arrows. Dining room to the left, hotel to the right. Turning left, we passed through a long, dark, wooden tunnel into a brightly lit barn. Long picnic tables ran the length of the room from entrance to kitchen. More than a hundred people were hunched forward in concentration over steaming platters of food. Most groups seemed to be large, extended tribes: mom, dad, grandma, grandpa and flocks of iPod-listening 4H candidates.
Some time later, a durable, middle-aged woman appeared to take our order—Chantal according to her nametag. She brought with her a green, plastic pitcher of water, a large icy jar of something red, an entire loaf of white bread on a plate and a bowl of paper-wrapped butter pats. From the pockets of her apron, she handed us paper napkins and silverware.
“The specials are lamb chops, roast chicken or New York steak. What’ll you have?” “We haven’t seen a menu yet,” I answered.
Chantal was clearly confused by my response so she spoke more slowly. Smiling, she said “Okay.” Deep breath. “The specials are lamb chops, steak and roast chicken. What can I get you?”
“Well, could we see a menu?” I was so hungry I would have been delighted to put a fork into any of them but still wanted the chance to read about my options.
“Girls, there aren’t any menus. There’s just steak, lamb chops or chicken—and all the ‘go withs.’ What’ll you have?” Chantal was sighing and shifting her weight from foot to foot, .clearly considering moving on to help others who knew what was what. Deborah and I panicked and plunged. Obviously there was a protocol we hadn’t grasped. You just made a choice and then everything else—the go withs —was automatic.
“Well, the name is Woolgrowers,” Deborah rushed. “Wool-sheep-lamb…lamb chops. Seems like they would be especially good here. I’ll have the lamb chops.”
”Me, too.”
Then Deborah asked to see the wine list. Chantal responded with a great big, hospitable grin. “Well girls, it’s included” she crowed. “The wine is a go with.” Deborah (the wife of a sommelier) said, “Chantal, that’s great. What kind of wine is it?”
“Kind? Red” she answered, tapping the dewy, crimson jar on the table between us. She must have noticed the expression on Deborah’s face because she quickly added, “Or there’s Coca Cola. Would you rather have a Coke?”
We longed for a crispy, cool Pinot Grigio or a comforting bowl of Merlot. Possibly both, consecutively. Deborah ran her hand down the side of the frosted beaker. “Could we order another wine? Something special from the bar? We’re celebrating,” she lied. “We’re happy to pay extra for it.”
“Well, no. This is the only wine there is.”
I interjected, ”Don’t worry about it. Water will be fine. We sure are hungry though.” Chantal shrugged and strolled off in the direction of the kitchen. Three minutes later she reappeared with a stainless steel mixing bowl filled with roughly torn heads of iceberg lettuce, a towering basket of crackers, a crock-pot of soup and an oval platter of potato salad. Deborah’s eyes bulged. I began to understand the enthusiasm her farmer friends had expressed.
We sampled everything. The dressing on the salad was delicious, a real French vinaigrette. Floating in the soup were potato chunks, celery spears and mutton—specifically, the parts of a grown up lamb that remain after the chops, roasts, steaks and wool have been removed. The potato salad reminded me of my grandmother. Chantal returned with a smoking platter of French fries, baked beans and another terra cotta crock pot. This second pot warmed a thick, dark lamb stew. In order to add these dishes to our table, Chantal had to use her muscular hip to shift plates. She finished up by stacking the butter on the crackers on the bread.
Dusting her hands in satisfaction, she said “Dig in girls. Your lamb chops should be ready in a coupla minutes. They come with some nice mashed potatoes, peas and pan gravy.”
As she walked away I hissed, “Deb, I don’t think I can go on. I’m already so full my teeth hurt.” Deborah laid her ears back like a challenged pit bull. “We’ve come all of this way and this is a very famous place. We owe it to ourselves to try everything. This is a once in a lifetime experience.”
The French fries were awesome. My guess is they were fried in some combination of rendered sheep fat and clean oil. The lamb stew was thick and dark with gobs of mushrooms, peppers and rosemary.
Chantal returned with an oval plastic platter piled with a dozen lamb chops. The chops were prepared in a fashion completely new to me. A three-inch layer of glistening fat enrobed each chop. And they had been deep fried, to a crispy, even, medium well. The mashed potatoes were bathed in a quart of grey gravy; the peas had their own casserole. At this point, Chantal started shoveling food onto our dinner plates from the appetizer platters to make room for the entrees. I whimpered and flapped my hands ineffectually while Deborah adopted a fierce, waxy smile.
“You know Chantal,” she said. “ I think we’ll take a little breather. I bet there’s a store in town where we could buy a bottle of wine. That would really help all of this go down.” She grabbed my elbow and dragged me to my feet. “I saw a Stop-n-Go as we pulled into town. They’ll have something. Save this for us, okay, Chantal?”
The Stop-n-Go had wine in boxes and gallon jugs¾mostly in shades of iridescent pink. We bought the least intimidating and drove back to rejoin the Woolgrowers family to discover Chantal standing at our table with an industrial box of foil under one arm and a determined look on her face. “You know you’ll be wanting this later,” she said as she transferred everything into bulging, football-sized packets. I did not moan. On the last package, she fashioned two small appendages. Giving them a final tweak, she smiled and said, “Lamb’s ears. It’s our trademark.”
While Chantal was packing this astonishing buffet, Deborah wrestled the cap off the wine and filled our plastic tumblers. Tasting hers, she fished some ice cubes from our water pitcher, added them to her glass and sipped again. She smacked her lips and said, “It’ll do.”
I took a sip. Either my taste buds had been dulled by sensory overload or I had seriously underrated pink, fizzy wine. “This isn’t bad.” We toasted with a dull clunk and grinned at each other across our shiny pile of Basque leftovers.
And then Chantal brought dessert. Into the space in front of us still warm from piles of lamb-every-way, she served us each a crockery bowl full of vanilla ice cream topped by glossy, burgundy cherries the size of plums. When I tasted a spoonful, these cherries snapped like tiny, ruby apples—so saturated with tart juice I had to press my lips together to keep it from spurting across the table. The homemade ice cream was as good as any we had made in France¾better. The sexy, dense fruit (from Deborah’s farm, we later learned) mingled with the sweet, frozen cream to remind me of why I liked eating in the first place.
As usual, Deb was right. This had been a “once in a lifetime” experience. I had eaten some of the best and some of the worst food in years—all in one sitting. The moths were still making neon-love as we groaned back out into the San Joaquin summer night.
]]>I am absolutely passionate about entertaining and cooking with a mindful approach to global sustainability, and as I’ve taken the time to go back and update past recipes with this approach, I felt they needed a home of their own.
On nicolealoni.net, I’ll continue to blog and share my experiences as a food writer and spokesperson. You can also turn here for the scoop on upcoming tours, media appearances, and when I might be visiting your town for a class or talk. If you’d like to keep up with me on this site, please consider subscribing via RSS or email.
Nicole partnered with Debi Lily (Oprah’s event planner) to discuss Cooking Clubs, the collaborative strategy for families to get great meals on the table for less money. More than 16 television stations from around the country taped the duo for live interviews.
]]>“If you are a foodie and go to this country, you will go insane.”
Those who live to eat know that Vietnamese cuisine ranks up there with the best of them. French and Chinese sophistication have been intertwined with Vietnamese ethnic traditions to create a remarkably rich culinary experience.
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“If you are a foodie and go to this country, you will go insane.”
Renowned Southeast Asia tour company Danu Tours have asked me to co-lead a remarkable culinary adventure across Vietnam’s most delicious destinations.
Those who live to eat know that Vietnamese cuisine ranks up there with the best of them. French and Chinese sophistication have been intertwined with Vietnamese ethnic traditions to create a remarkably rich culinary experience.
Nicole’s classic French training will come in handy as she collaborates with local Vietnamese chefs to explore this fascinating cuisine.
Please visit the Danu Tours website for a detailed itinerary and registration information.
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Cooking Solutions for Tough Times
I’m happy to introduce a series of recipes from the Komo TV News feature Tactics for Tough Times with KOMO reporter Elisa Jaffe. These features started to air Friday, March 6th, 2009.
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Slow Food
The organization that cherishes traditional foodways, artisanal producers, heirloom foods and the art of gracious time at the table.
Nielsen-Massey Vanilla
They have been making the best vanilla for 100 years (and the owner is a friend). They have conventional and organic vanilla in many formats: the paste is the bomb! Absolutely outrageously good vanilla!
Cow Girl Creamery
Based in gorgeous Point Reyes, Ca., these two women have created a mini-empire of prize-winning, artisanal cheeses. Made from milk from local cows. Visit if you can! And you can order online. The Humboldt Fog is one of my absolute favorites.
Theo Chocolate
A Seattle company that makes me very proud to live here. They produce some of America’s only organic, free trade chocolate and they do it in unique flavor combinations (like curry and chai). If you’re in Seattle, you can go on a tour of their very Willy Wonka-ish factory. Their products are available online and through my Amazon store.
With so many great sites for the aspiring gourmet (and gourmand), it gets a little difficult deciding who to turn to when you need great advice, or want to check out the latest on great chefs and techniques. These are some of my favorites.
Cook Street Culinary School
Denver, CO
CookStreet.com offers a wide variety of culinary courses for everyone from the aspiring professional chef, to the backyard grill master.
Epicurious
From Conde Nast, the recipe collections from Bon Appetit and Gourmet magazines, with good search engine.
Food Network
From the Food Network Channel; recipes, programming, products and celebrity chefs.
The Food Paper
An online “newsletter” with cookbook reviews and sales, plus upcoming events for food and wine lovers.
Jessica’s Biscuit
Jessica’s Biscuit cookbook collection with over 13,000 titles. Both of Nicole’s books are available at 30% off.
Leite’s Culinaria
Winner of the 2006 James Beard award for Best Internet Food Website, billed as “hot food, dry wit.” This site offers up recipes, articles, resources and shopping.
Natalie MacLean
This is the website for Natalie MacLean, wine writer and accredited sommelier. Sign up for the free newsletter, “Nat Decants.” Read recent articles and reviews, food and wine pairings, and book reviews. There’s an “Ask Nat” section and Wine Picks — both vintages and values.
Novus Vinum
Expert reviews and wine tastings, featuring small production wines and boutique wineries.
Top Secret Recipes
This site specializes in reproducing famous and secret recipes from major manufacturers.
Wine Enthusiast
Online feature stories and articles from the magazine plus online catalog with wine products.
The companies and products listed below can form the backbone of your kitchen support group. While especially comforting for the novice, the finished dishes or ingredients included here will help anyone round out a menu. Not only are these products delicious, they are from “somewhere else”, and by definition exotic and interesting.
This is one of the best aspects of our new global shopping access. You can browse the wide array of ethnic, artisan and specialty products online, place them in your checkout cart and have them shipped to your home. How exciting to get next day delivery of Maine lobsters, Cinderella slippers in white chocolate, or crisp bing cherries from California?
These reputable companies generally operate on a “satisfaction guaranteed” basis. As someone who made and shipped tens of thousands of refrigerated products, I can assure you that the satisfaction level on quality food shipping is extremely high. My company averaged less than one question in 1000 orders placed.
Adriana’s Caravan
800-316-0820
New York, NY
1500 international gourmet products, exotic spices and condiments.
Aidells Sausage Company
800-546-5795
Kensington, CA
Stunning array of flavors and spices in the guise of sausages: andouille, chicken, duck, and other
Gourmet sausages, plus lots of recipes.
American Mussel Harvesters
401-294-8999
North Kingston, RI
Cold water shellfish (oysters, clams, mussels) harvested to order and shipped in ice packs.
American Spoon Foods
888-735-6700
Petoskey, MI
Spoon fruits, sour cherry jam, cherry-peach salsa, jams, jellies, sauces, wide product selection and
lots of recipes.
Annapolis Seafood Market
www.annapolisseafoodmarket.com
410-263-7787
Annapolis, MD
Maryland blue crab, whole and cleaned meat, oysters, soft shell crabs, lobster. Overnight shipping, includes recipes.
Aux Delices Des Bois
212-334-1230
New York, NY
Translates, loosely, as “wonderful things from the forest”. Fresh & dried exotic and wild mushrooms, a variety of sea salts, Atlantic smoked salmon, fiddlehead ferns, ramps, & more.
Big Bob Gibson’s Bar-B-Q
877-350-0404
Decatur, AL
Go to the General Store to check out award winning Southern Bar-B-Q sauces: Championship Red Sauce and the secret-recipe White Sauce, available by the bottle or by the case. Also find gift baskets, apparel and grilling tools.
Boudin Bakery
800-992-1849
San Francisco, CA
Tangy crispy-crusted sourdough bread in a variety of shapes, from the famous bakery near Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco.
Chef Shop
800-596-0885
Seattle, WA
Over 1000 artisan produced, sustainable foods and ingredients available online; based in Seattle. If in town, stop by to see their storefront.
D’Artagnan
800-327-8246
Newark, NJ
Provides foie gras and specialty meats to top chefs around the country; also fresh duck, pheasant, quail, partridge, and squab; farm raised game: venison, rabbit, buffalo, and boar.
Dean & Deluca
800-221-7714
New York, New York
This epicurean institution in SOHO since 1977, a dream realized by Joel Dean and Giorgio DeLuca, is now yours to browse online. Dean & Deluca introduced us to balsamic vinegar, sun-dried tomatoes and dried mushrooms. Take inspiration from their seasonal specialties, and all manner of fine foods: petit fours, miniature chocolates, mandarin chocolate cake. Maple honey glazed ham, Jambon Cru du Beaujolais. Wine. Kitchenware. Don’t miss the “gift” collections for all occasions.
Delightful Biteful
Got a big sweet tooth? This is the site for you! A family owned business, this is the place for
quality sweets — desserts, gourmet cakes, pastry, French tarts, cookies, brownies and helpful
tips for serving.
Demi-Glace Gold
800-860-9385
Akron, OH
Proud to be the ONLY company today making classic French sauces in the old world tradition as defined by the renowned Chef Master Auguste Escoffier. You’ll taste the difference when using these quality sauce basics: beef, veal, duck and chicken, that contain no chemicals, MSG, fillers or preservatives. Recipes ideas offered for each of the sauces. Try the “store locator” by zip code to find a retailer near you, as an option to ordering and shipping.
Ethnic Grocer (partnered with the James Beard Foundation)
630-860-1733
Bensenville, IL
More than 20,000 ethnic food products, ingredients for Indian, Asian, Mediterranean, Latin American and Middle Eastern cooking like edible wrappings, quail eggs, husks and masa for tamales, Szechuan hot bean sauce, pomegranate molasses.
The Fillo Factory
800-653-4556
Bergen, NJ
If you want to work with fillo, this is the best, most forgiving product. Fresh, no-tear fillo dough shipped fresh frozen, regular or whole wheat; also carry a line of frozen fillo hors d’oeuvres.
Formaggio Kitchen
888-212-3224
Cambridge, MA
Specialty cheese store with their own on-site cheese cave; very fresh Parmiggiano-Reggiano and more.
Galaxy Desserts
Stunningly beautiful, scrumptiously delicious individual gourmet desserts — mousse cakes,
tarts and cheesecakes. Also find crème brûlées, and Oprah’s Favorite croissants.
Greenberg Smoked Turkeys
903-595-0725
Tyler, TX
Offering fully cooked, ready to serve, smoked turkeys, averaging 6 — 15 lbs per bird at $3.65/lb. Helpful information on how much to order, delivery time, what to do with it once you get it. Orders must be called or faxed in, no online service at this time.
King Arthur Flour Baker’s Store
802-649-3361
Norwich, Vermont
America’s oldest flour company, King Arthur Flour was founded in 1790. Now you can visit
online this playground for home baking enthusiasts, which offers: real maple syrup, a vast array of baking and cooking supplies; recipes; fine tools; pastry blending fork, flour wand, English muffin rings, stainless steel rolling pin, doughnut cutter, alphabet and number cutters, ingredients, equipment; and books for baking.
Kitchen/Market
888-HOT-4433
New York, NY
Offering one of the largest selections of chile peppers, at over 100, in the U.S. Also find Latin American ingredients including hot sauces and salsas, a variety of cornmeal products, many organic, nine types of tortillas, and a selection of Caribbean ingredients.
Lee Gelfond Chocolates
310-854-3524
Beverly Hills, CA
Candy as art. Specialty molded chocolates, custom “anything” in chocolate. Imagine
6” white chocolate Cinderella slipper filled with truffles, a chocolate champagne glass place card,
available personalized, a chocolate golf bag. Call or fax to place orders.
Legal Sea Foods
800-343-5804
Allston, MA
High quality fresh seafood: live lobster and excellent New England clam chowder. The Lobster Clambake supreme includes lobster, clams, linguica sausage, clam chowder and corn on the cob. Simple cooking instructions included in every shipment.
Los Chileros De Nuevo Mexico
505-471-6967
Santa Fe, NM
New Mexico food products and wide variety of dried chiles, and just as many recipes to use them.
Maine Lobster Direct
800-556-2783
Portland, ME
This is the site for lobster lovers. Live lobsters and lobster dinners.
Mozzarella Co.
800-798-2954
Dallas, TX
The place to purchase product from cheese legend, Paula Lambert. Selections include: cow’s and goat’s milk mozzarella, smoked scamora, queso Oaxaca, marscapone; range of fresh goat’s milk cheeses including ricotta, feta, and fromage blanc. Paula Lambert’s cookbooks are also available.
Olson’s
800-738-BING (2464)—-ask for Deborah
Sunnyvale, CA
Cherries, cherries, cherries and other fruit. Famous for the world’s most wonderful cherries and jewel-packed boxes of cherries; fresh and dried gift packs, chocolate-dipped fruits, homemade jams, jumbo pistachios, almonds and walnuts.
The Oriental Pantry
800-828-0368
Acton, MA
They ship all of the hard-to-find ingredients for authentic Oriental cooking: curries, mustards and wasabi, lemongrass, a large assortment of noodles and thirteen kinds of seaweed. How about custom fortune cookies (up to 10 different messages) $29.99 includes shipping for 50. Cooking equipment: steamers, woks, Chinese knives, and utensils, as well as, Asian gifts items such as sake and/or tea sets, chopsticks, rice bowls.
Penzey’s Spices
800-741-7787
Brookfield, WI
Incredible, vast array of exotic spices and herbs. Every chile, every way. Custom spice mixes.
The Perfect Puree
800-556-3703
St. Helena, CA
High-quality cooking bases from field-ripened berries, fruits, and vegetables that are pureed then frozen. Widest selection I’ve found of all natural essences — from pomegranate to persimmon.
Petrossian, Inc.
800-828-9241
New York, NY
Russian caviar, smoked salmon, truffles, foie gras, luscious handmade French chocolates and the elegant appointments to serve these rare delicacies with elan.
The Republic of Tea
800-354-5530
Mill Valley, CA
Extravagant and enticing variety of special teas from around the world: organic, herb, chai.
The Spice Hunter
800-444-3061
San Luis Obispo, CA
Broad selection of unusual, all natural, salt free blends and spices. Selected products are carried at national grocers; also available online or call for catalog.
Sweet Street Desserts
Serving up tempting desserts since 1979, Sandy Solmon’s Sweet Street Desserts is not to be missed. You’ll drool at the the tempting sweets online including: cakes, deep dish pies, gourmet dessert bars, coffee and bundt cakes, and more.
Uwajimaya
800-889-1928
Seattle, WA
Asian ingredients: twenty varieties of miso, bean pastes, noodles, Japanese bread crumbs, fermented black beans, and Asian specialty produce: fresh lemongrass, Thai eggplant, red basil, frozen fresh banana leaves, galangal.