Sasha's Kitchen: The Flavors Of Napa Valley (A Foodbuzz Contest)

When I decided to enter the contest to report on the finals of the Foodbuzz / San Pellegrino Almost Famous Chef Competition in beautiful Napa Valley, the answer was easy for me.  Napa Valley is my favorite culinary spot in America, both because of the breathtaking natural beauty of its surroundings and because it is a foodie paradise due to its incredible local produce.  Napa Valley is a perfect place, given its rich culinary tradition and lovely scenery, for chefs from around the world to compete to present the most incredible and delicious dishes.  I couldn't think of a better spot on earth to inspire such culinary creativity.  I love watching chefs create their masterpieces, like works of art.  I would love to be there to watch the challenge of so many superb chefs.

Thus, am first presenting some San Pellegrino sparking mineral water with the flavors of Napa Valley, in this post.    I decided to pair the San Pellegrino with the Meyer lemon, Napa's distinctive lemon.  The Meyer lemon is thought to be a cross between a regular lemon and a mandarin orange.  It has a sweeter, less acidic taste than the ordinary lemon, and is, in my opinion, quite a star in itself.  The combination of the Meyer lemon and sparking water dazzles.

Next, I added another dish that I grew to love in Napa.  This is going to sound weird, but trust me with this one and just try it.  When I visited Round Pond Estate in Napa Valley, where they make their own limited production olive oils (and wine too, by the way), I had a marvelous buffet lunch all using local Napa produce (the best on earth).  They served vanilla ice cream with their Blood Orange Olive Oil.  I was skeptical at first.  Ice cream and olive oil?  Weird.  Bizarre.  And also amazing, especially with the blood orange complement.  Thus, this dish will alway be part of what I consider to be the distinctive flavor of Napa Valley.

To sum things up, I would love the opportunity to report live from the Almost Famous Chef Competition, and I'll have a glass of San Pellegrino, garnished with a wedge of Meyer lemon by my side, along with two of my other loves: food and writing.

Sasha's Kitchen: The Flavors Of Napa Valley (A Foodbuzz Contest)

Sasha's Kitchen: California Burgers

After a long week, grilling burgers on a grill pan is the perfect way to quickly prepare a simple meal without having to spend hours in the kitchen. The following burger recipe, I refer to simply as a California burger, even though it does not contain any avacado like the burgers at most restaurants with the same name.

1 1/4 lb fresh ground beef
hamburger rolls
1/3 cup dijon mustard
2 T honey
juice of 2 meyer lemons
lemon goat cheese

To make this burger, prepare the sauce by mixing the dijon mustard, meyer lemon juice, and honey. You can substitute regular lemons or lemon juice if you cannot find meyer lemons. Meyer lemons are native of California and have a sweeter, distinctive taste compared with regular lemons. I was able to buy them both at Whole Foods and a wonderful market here in Park Slope called Union Market (only a few blocks from my condo and they also sell quince, papaya, key limes and at least 12 kinds of mushrooms).

Grill the burgers on the grill pan and top with the goat cheeese for the last minute of grilling, covering with aluminum foil. Season with pepper, toast the buns and your California burger is read to eat.

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Sasha's Kitchen: California Burgers