Eye On The Bay: Cavallo Point - 7/19/11
Cavallo Point
Experience the ultimate Bay Area weekend escape at Cavallo Point. Nestled underneath the Golden Gate bridge, explore nature with a park ranger, take a cooking class, enjoy Michelin star dining, indulge in the picturesque spa plus go inside the revamped barracks that have been transformed into a new luxury resort.
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PROMOTIONAL CONSIDERATION PROVIDED BY CAVALLO POINT LODGE AND MURRAY CIRCLE RESTAURANT
Cavallo Point
601 Murray Circle
Fort Baker
Sausalito, CA 94965
(415) 339-4700
www.cavallopoint.com
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Polenta with Goat Cheese
2 cups whole milk
2 cups water
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 cup coarse ground cornmeal
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 ounces petite Basque goat cheese, shredded
Directions
Place the milk, water, and salt into a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Once the milk mixture comes to a boil, gradually add the cornmeal while continually whisking. Whisk, whisk, whisk; until the corn meal is completely suspended in the water. Once all of it has been incorporated, decrease the heat to low. Stir occasionally to prevent the cornmeal from sticking on the bottom. Cook the polenta over low heat for 20 to 25 minutes or until mixture is creamy and the grain is cooked through.
Note cooking time will vary based on the texture and grind of the corn meal. Some polenta will cook for 40 to 50 minutes. Just be sure to watch it and check that it is cooked through and not to thick, adjust with additional hot water as needed.
Remove from the heat, add the pepper and butter, and whisk to combine. Stir in the cheese and serve immediately.
Marcona Almond Coco Nib Shortbread Cookies
8 tablespoons (1 stick) cool unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
¼ cup marcona almonds, roughly chopped
½ cup coco nibs
1 teaspoon fresh lemon zest
1 teaspoon Maledon Salt
Directions
Heat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Cream the butter until soft in a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Add 1/4 cup sugar and mix until incorporated. Stir together the flour, cornstarch, and salt in a medium bowl. Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and mix at low speed just until the ingredients are almost incorporated, then add the almonds and coco nibs, mix until the dough starts to come together. Flour a work surface, turn the dough onto it, and knead it 5 to 10 times, to bring the dough together and smooth it out.
Reflour the work surface. With a rolling pin, roll the dough out to a little less than 1/4-inch thick to fit an 8 by 8-inch square baking pan lined with parchment. To transfer to the pan, roll the dough up onto the rolling pin, lift it up, and unroll into the pan. Alternatively you may press the dough thoroughly into the pan with your fingers. Prick the shortbread all over with a fork, to prevent any buckling or shrinking. Sprinkle the surface evenly with 1 tablespoon of the remaining sugar.
Bake for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, deflate the dough by knocking the pan once against the oven rack then rotate the pan to ensure even cooking and a flat surface. Bake 10 to 15 minutes more, until golden all over and very lightly browned. As soon as it comes out of the oven, sprinkle the surface evenly with the remaining tablespoon of sugar and sea salt. Let cool about 5 minutes. Using a very sharp knife, cut into 3 rows by 5 rows making about 1 1/2-inch by 3-inch bars. Let cool completely in the pan. Remove from the pan and store in an airtight container for up to 1 week
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Espresso Rubbed Pork Tenderloin Fresh Herb Sauce Verte
Serves 6
1 pork tenderloin
1 heaping tablespoon espresso beans
1 medium cinnamon stick
½ teaspoon brown sugar
Salt
Fresh-ground pepper
Olive oil
1 bunch fresh parsley
1 bunch fresh marjoram
1 garlic clove
Directions
Trim the pork tenderloin of any silver skin or excess fat. Grind the espresso and cinnamon until fine. Mix with the brown sugar. Season the pork well with salt and pepper. Then generously coat with the espresso rub. Let sit one hour or so. When ready to cook, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Heat a heavy bottomed pan over medium-high heat. When the pan is well heated, add enough olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan. Add the pork and sear well on all sides. Put into the oven and cook until the medium side of medium rare, about 8 minutes. Let rest for at least 5 minutes before slicing.
When ready to serve, slice the pork and serve with a drizzle of Sauce Verte
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Roasted Beet, Dungeness crab, Avocado and Grapefruit Salad with Sherry Vinaigrette
Serves 6
2 bunch small yellow beets, greens removed
2 bunch small Chioggia beets, greens removed
1 pound crab meat, cooked
1 avocado,
1 grapefruit
1 1/2 tablespoon sherry vinegar
1 shallot, minced
1 cloves of garlic
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 teaspoon whole clove, ground
Salt and pepper
1 clove garlic
Olive Oil
¼ pound arugula
¼ pound spicy cress
Directions
Wash the beets and toss with olive oil, salt and pepper. Keeping the beets separate, place each color in a low sided baking dish with ¼ inch of water. Cover with foil and bake in a 375° degree oven for 20 – 30 minutes until cooked through. Allow to cool and slip beets from their skins. Slice the beets into rounds. Toss with olive oil, salt and pepper and keep to the side until you are ready to assemble the salad.
Peel, pit and slice the avocado. You may want to put just a bit of lime juice or lemon juice on the avocado to keep it from browning while you assemble the rest of the salad.
Remove the skin from the grapefruit juice and carefully cut between the membranes to remove the grapefruit sections. Do this over a bowl to capture the grape fruit juice.
Heat the butter in a small heavy bottomed pan and add the ground clove, cooking for a few minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly. Gently toss the crab in the clove butter. **Note you are looking to keep whole pieces of crab intact and be sure that the butter does not cool to much or it will start to solidify.
Wash and dry the arugula and spicy cress.
Prepare the vinaigrette. Dice the shallot finely and put in a bowl with the vinegar, grapefruit juice, salt and pepper. Let this stand a few minutes to allow the shallots to macerate in the vinegar making them softer and more flavorful. Pound the garlic into a paste with a mortar and pestle and add to the shallot mixture. When you are ready to make the vinaigrette whisk in the olive oil. Adjust to your taste, adding more vinegar, oil or salt.
When you are ready to assemble the salad; toss the greens with a bit of the vinaigrette and place on a salad plate. Toss each component separately with a bit of the dressing. Layer each ingredient on the plate, starting with the red beets and finishing with a final layer of crab. Garnish with a bit of spicy cress. Drizzle a bit of the dressing over the salad and serve.
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Roasted Cauliflower with Wild Mushrooms and Chorizo
4 Servings
1 pound Roasted Cauliflower
4 each carrots, peeled and sliced on the bias
4 whole garlic cloves, peeled
1 sprig fresh Thyme
Olive oil
½ pound chorizo diced
½ pound wild mushrooms, cleaned and torn into pieces or sliced
Salt
Directions
Preheat the oven to 425 ̊ F. Trim the damaged outer leaves and the stems from the cauliflower. Heat a heavy bottomed pan and add enough olive oil and mushrooms to generously coat the bottom of the pan. Add the mushrooms and toss to coat. Season the mushrooms with salt to encourage them to release their juices. Allow the mushrooms to sauté until slightly dry and browned a bit remove to a bowl. Toss the carrots and a cauliflower with a bit of olive oil, salt, some whole garlic cloves and thyme sprigs. Place on a roasting sheet and roast in oven for 15 to 20 minutes. Add the chorizo and continue to roast until slightly browned and caramelized. Remove from the oven and toss with some fresh herbs and the mushrooms, check for seasoning and adjust as needed.
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Vanilla Ice Cream
Makes 1 quart
6 egg yolks
1 1/2 cups half-and-half
2/3 cup sugar
A pinch of salt
1 vanilla bean
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 small squirt of lemon juice
Directions
In a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks just enough to break them up. Gently heat the half-and-half, sugar, and salt in a large saucepan, stir to dissolve the sugar. Split the vanilla bean lengthwise opening it up. Gently scrape out the vanilla seeds with a bench scraper. Add the seeds and bean to the half and half and sugar mixture. Bring the half and half to a quick boil, turn the heat off and let steep for 5 – 8 minutes. Remove the vanilla bean and return the pan to the. When mixture is warm again, add a bit of it to the egg yolks, whisking constantly as you pour. This is process is called "tempering" and will allow the egg yolks to gently rise to the same temperature as the half and half with out scrambling them.
Return the tempered egg yolks to the saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring slowly and scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon or heat-resistant rubber spatula, until the mixture thickens enough to coat the spoon. (This happens at a temperature of about 170°F.) Immediately remove from the heat and strain through a fine-mesh sieve. Stir in the cream and a small squirt of lemon juice, chill thoroughly.
Freeze the mixture in an ice cream machine, following the manufacturer's instructions. Transfer the frozen ice cream into a clean dry container, cover, and store in the freezer to firm up for before serving.
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Camping at Kirby Cove:
www.parksconservancy.org/visit/park-sites/kirby-cove.html
