Dinner at Ad Hoc

Hope you enjoyed my adventures in Napa part 1, now on to our dinner at Ad Hoc!  This is the first time that I’ve stayed in Napa for dinner, my friends and I normally just do a day trip and head back into the city around dinner time.  But this time we were thinking ahead and we managed to score a reservation at Ad Hoc!  We had already been there earlier in the day to have the fried chicken at Addendum so we were all eager to go back again for dinner. 

So after a nice day of wine tasting, we headed back to Ad Hoc. 

The menu at Ad Hoc changes daily, based upon what is in season and what the chef decides would make the best menu!  When you call to make your reservations they ask if anyone in your party has allergies, since the menu is pre fixe and it is served family style. 

The menu comes to the table in a filing folder with a list of what you will be dining on as well as a good selection of wines chose by Thomas Keller himself.  Here is the menu we dined on, the item in red was an additional add on of Steamed Clams that we decided to get as well.   

I chose to get a soft Italian Red wine, which our waiter enthusiastically endorsed especially with what was on the menu for that night.  We started with some bread from Bouchon (well I don’t know that for sure, but I’m assuming since he owns that bakery and it’s a block away that the bread came from there).   You know you are heaven when the bread and butter make you swoon.  The butter- sooooo good!   

Then on to the salad course!  Yummy arugula, fennel, endives, fennel, fried capers, pistachios and a creamy tarragon dressing.  So refreshing and the fried capers in the salad were such a nice accent!   

We of course opted in to get the clams, one of my most favorite dishes! 

Then our main came, prosciutto wrapped chicken and shrimp that was served with grilled zucchini and a creamy polenta with roasted tomatoes.  Such a simple dish but executed to perfection.  The chicken was so moist and flavorful and I could not get enough of the polenta!

So yummy!  One of the nice things about Ad Hoc is that they really take their time and let you enjoy each course as well as the company that you are in.  Then they brought us out our cheese course was a nice mild white cheese that they served with honey, pulots and pumpkin seeds.  Such a wonderful combination, I loved that cheese!   

We finished the meal off with some tea and some really really well brewed coffee.  One of the best things about this meal is that Ad Hoc knows that when it comes to certain dishes, it’s best not to share…  Even though the rest of the meal is served family style, desserts are served individual!  Yay!

A griddled piece of cornbread (amazing) that was served with a caramel sauce and blackberry compote and topped off with a vanilla scoop of ice cream and candied cashews!  So good, I need to figure out how to do the griddled cornbread! 

This meal was great!  I can’t wait to go back to Napa and try another great place.  On my list to try is Bottega, Morimoto and another one that my friend mentioned.  I’m thinking of creating a specific restaurant section for my blog, what do you guys think?   

Nor Cal Love and Addendum

This past weekend I went up to the Bay area to visit my friends and we spent the day in Napa!  I finally had the chance to try Thomas Keller’s famous Fried Chicken as well as have a yummy dinner at Ad Hoc!  We left the city and headed to Napa, the car ride was filled with gossip, sing a longs as well as laughs.  Our first stop was Addendum where we had the fried chicken plate and the Pork BBQ.  I thought I had good fried chicken, but this fried chicken was amazing.  The ribs were also the perfect blend of sweet and spicy and the meat just fell off the bones.   

The area that Addendum is in is so cute!  In the back of Ad Hoc they have a cute little picnic area where they grow a lot of the herbs, fruit and veggies that they use at Ad Hoc. 

After the lunch it was down to BUSINESS!  We hit the wineries, one of my favorite wineries we visited was Peju.  I love the way that Peju does their wine tastings, they break you off into groups and the person who runs the tasting is always super knowledgeable and personable.  I am a Cabernet girl and Peju has some great Cabs, but this trip up I bought 3 types of blends.  One of their wines, the 50/50 might soon become one of my favorites.  We even got to do a tasting of one of their $200 bottles!        

After Peju we hit BV to pick up one of my favorite wines, the Tapestry!  And what would a trip to Napa be without checking out all the grapes??

We also had time to check out Frog’s Leap where we fit in a wine tasting and a quick game of corn hole.  I love the way this vineyard is laid out and how they did their tastings.  It was such a relaxed setting and they even had a cheese pairing that you could get as well. 

We had just enough time to grab some sparkly cocktails before our dinner at Ad Hoc at Chandon.  One of each that they offered of course… A sparkly Ginger Mojito, a Cosmo, a Hibiscus Royale and a traditional Champagne Cocktail. 

  Next post, our fabulous dinner at Ad Hoc!  Thanks to Robert for letting me post all of his amazing pics.  Yes, if you thought my photography skills dramatically improved in one weekend you are mistaken.  Only 5 of the photos are mine…  However I do start Photography classes next week, so hopefully I will be able to take some awesome photos like Robert very very soon!  

Birdseye Steamfresh!

As part of FoodBuzz’s Tastemaker program, I get to sample a bunch of products!  Imagine my happiness that when I came home one day and found a box sitting outside my door with some of Birds Eye’s new products!  Inside were some of their new Steamfresh items that are lightly sauced.  In the goodie box they sent me I got some Creamed Spinach, Roasted Red Potatoes and Green Beans and two types of Risotto. 

The first item that I tried was of course the creamed spinach.  I was little worried about the nutritional stats would be, but I was pleasantly surprised since the stats were a lot lower than I had thought.  Who knew you could have creamed spinach that was light right?  I popped it in the microwave for a couple of minutes and I had a side dish to my meatballs in minutes! 

The creamed spinach was yummy, though I did add some salt and pepper for additional flavor.  I will actually probably buy this product again since I felt like I was being naughty but the stats were so good! 

The other item I couldn’t wait to try was one of the Risottos.  I had grand ideas of what I would do with the Risotto… Make some risotto cakes, sear some scallops, but time ran out and the risotto rescued me and helped me to create the best 10 minute dinner!  I tried the Mushroom and Green Bean Risotto with some lemon grass chicken egg rolls that I popped into the toasted oven. 

Best 10 minute meal ever!  I wasn’t really sure what I was going to get with the Risotto, I sorta expected a rich creamy mess.  But I was pleasantly surprised that the Risotto didn’t feel to heavy with cream and I could actually really taste the mushroom flavor in this dish! 

The verdict?  While the risotto was good, I’m not sure if I would buy it again.  Mostly since I am trying to eat healthier and I loved the creamed spinach!  The best thing about this is that you do not create any dirty dishes, you just microwave it in the bag!  I can’t wait to try the Red Potato and Green Beans and the other Risotto I have waiting for me. 

Disclosure:  As part of the Tastemaker program I received free product from Birds Eye.  However the opinions expressed are my own and I am not receiving compensation from Birds Eye. 

Kodak Gallery Book, Weekend of Fun!

You may remember a couple of posts ago I told you that my college roommate (and good friend) came to Los Angeles to have a Bachelorette weekend.  What I didn’t tell you was this was no typical bachelorette weekend, this was a foodies bachelorette weekend!!  From the moment she landed in LA, the bride to be hit up all of her favorite spots that she had been missing for the past year. There was sushi, Korean BBQ, Pinkberry, her around the world shower, the night out with Korean tacos and some Boiling Shrimp!

So when I got selected as part of Foodbuzz’s Tastemaker Program along with Kodak to try their photobooks, I was beyond excited and knew Charlotte’s Bachelorette weekend was the perfect thing to capture and would make an excellent gift for the bride to be!!  Over the years I have used a lot of different photo sharing sites, so at one point I had also used Kodak Gallery as well.  I was so impressed with all the improvements that they made since the last time I visited!   My favorite new feature was definitely the “Group Albums” feature.  Instead of visiting friends Facebook pages, or begging them to send you photos, you can now send them a link and everyone can now directly upload to a Group Album!  

This feature was awesome since for several of the events I didn’t take photos, so the other ladies were awesome enough to contribute their fun photos.  Selecting the photos to use is a snap, a lot easier than I remember in the past.  The Photobook wizard is so easy, you simply select a page layout and drag pictures on to the pages.  They even have a feature that will auto create an album from the pictures that you select.       

Some layouts have spaces for you to add text which is always nice to jot down things like time, date or comments about the memory.  In the past I have also used the text fields for people to write messages to the photobook recipients.  The possibilities are endless on what you can create.   

Making these books is so easy, with all the prompts and helpful messages Kodak ensures that your book will come out great.  Some of the pics I had were such low resolution that when I tried to drop them in, I got a warning saying the quality might be poor.  Simply change the layout or drop the pic into a smaller spot!

Scrapbooking is out (although I still have boxes of supplies) and photobooks are seriously the new way to go.  This took me about 90 minutes to put together, but judging by the other photobooks I have made, it is time well invested.  These make such nice gifts as well as a nice way to capture your own memories.  The thing I love best about these is that they are so compact compared to keeping boxes of photos or huge scrapbook albums.  Sorry I was not able to show you pics of the real photobook, I had it directly shipped to the bride.  (I have issues with going to the post office, when she visited she finally got her birthday present that I’ve had since October.  Horrible I know…) 

Kodak Gallery is offering all you 40% off a medium hardcover or a large photobook!!  To take advantage of this awesome offer go to www.kodakgallery.com/creativity to redeem.  Do it quickly this offer is only available till 8/31/11.  Get all those awesome summer memories capture in a photobook that you can look through again and again.  

Disclosure – As part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program, I received a free Kodak Gallery Photo Book.  The opinions expressed are my own and are NOT influenced by monetary compensation.