Community Kitchen: Postcard from Mustards Grill, Napa Valley

Laura Scheffler Morgan photo

One of my favorite cookbooks, "Mustards Grill Napa Valley Cookbook," by Cindy Pawlcyn with Brigid Callinan, is a book that is nuts for me to call a favorite, because I've only so far followed a few of the recipes in the book. But I've read the thing more times than I could guess in the decade I've been grateful to own it. One of the aspects of the book that first drew me to it is the following passage, from Cindy Pawlcyn's introduction:

"...This is not a collection of our fancy recipes, but ones that people have asked for and others that I think people would like to try making in their own kitchens. It is not my intention to wow fellow chefs. I want to enhance the experience of the home cook and allow the wonderful people who have eaten at Mustards to take a bit of the place home with them. I hate to follow recipes ? it's a pain in the ass. But it's the only way I have found to keep things somewhat consistent, so we follow them as best as we can at the restaurant. Feel free to make substitutions as you see fit, though, for personal taste or to eliminate a trip to the store. Think of these recipes as a collection of kitchen maps to get you headed in the right direction...."

Mustards Grill is a refined but casual (kind of?) bistro in the Napa Valley of Northern California. If I'd not been fortunate enough to have dined there 6 times already, I'd still love this cookbook only for those introductory sentences I just mentioned. But I love the book all the more since I've visited the restaurant every single time (and on two trips, twice) I've traveled to that area.

I've eaten at Mustards early in the sun-gushed evening when I was brimming wide-eyed and ready to try new tastes; and I've eaten there a couple times with less exotic interests, one of those occasions the last time Mike and I visited Mustards. That night, we showed up last minute, no reservation, and as we sat down, our waitress greeted us and immediately remembered us from a couple evenings prior. I'd already relished some flashier style cuisine on the previous visit, so I dreamily, humbly, and pointedly asked her ? closing my menu in front of me so I could focus on her response ? "So, which is better: the pulled pork sandwich or the cheeseburger?"

My wholehearted appetite at that point was in her hands. She knew it. Her dry-humor, no-frills-when-there-should-be-no-frills manner eased into grateful recommendation, and from behind her black rectangular frames she completed our understood transaction ? briefly beaming that the cheeseburger is always one of her favorite things on the menu.

Mustards Grill is the kind of place that isn't too above itself to even take sandwiches seriously, something I appreciate. You can plan to go to there hoping to try something both local and a little askew. Or you can go more spur-of-the-moment and do what I did, realizing that the opportunity to enjoy the best of what the restaurant makes sometimes means annihilating a fistful of glistening, dripping cheeseburger. Then for dessert, catch the last bit of generous-intense Napa sunshine out in the Mustards Grill sunflower and herb garden.

To remember the vivid vibe of the Napa Valley area, I read the Mustards cookbook somewhat often. The tone of it just appeals to me. It's full of both photos (of the restaurant, and the people, and the surroundings, not just the dishes themselves) and anecdotes (many times, a cookbook will be of one or the other type of style, I've found), as well as suggestions for growing your own herbs for a particular recipe, and information about some of the vegetables in the dishes.

One of my favorite aspects of the book is the information it contains about the evolution of some of the recipes and finished dishes. Some of those notes are educational, as a note in the Lemon-Garlic Chicken recipe that says, "In case you're wondering, this recipe is an adaptation of an Italian dish called pollo al mattone, in which the chicken is smashed flat with a brick, then roasted or grilled with the brick on top to weight it down and force all the wonderful juices to permeate the meat. Many Americans don't like the idea of the small bits of bone left in the meat, so we developed this tamer version." And some of the notes are more for entertainment, like the note that accompanies the Mongolian Pork Chop recipe, that tells the story of two of the restaurant's original regulars who ate different versions of that pork chop dish for a week until deciding on their favorite day's version and writing "It is now perfect!" on a napkin, which at least on one of my last visits, was still framed and on the wall. The recipe note says the framed napkin reminded Pawlcyn in the restaurant's early days that "...if it ain't broke, don't fix it."

The Mustards Grill Napa Valley Cookbook is a book I can look to for inspiration for different ways to fill and cook a green chile (the first dish I ever ate at the restaurant was something close to the recipe for Grilled Pasilla Chiles with Tamale Stuffing and Salsa Ranchera, p. 30 ? and most likely one of the reasons I like the place the way I do; I adore green chiles, every variety I've yet tasted) as it is also a cookbook I can explore for barbecue ideas, homey chicken dishes (or guidelines for them), and is a book I occasionally open to find a recipe that apparently was on the restaurant's first menu and that Pawlcyn says is still one of her favorites. Though I've not (yet?) enjoyed this dish at Mustards, I've made the dish at home many times now (or at least variations on the dish), because it just tastes like the aura of Mustards Grill ? a little familiar, a little out there, and just right in between both of those appealing ideas.

The recipe fits the cookbook's aura as well, because it's flexible in its guidelines up to the point that you can make the dish as an appetizer as is suggested, or, in my opinion (and experience), as a wonderful salad (use more greens and don't worry so much about the croutons) or even (with a little more creative liberty), as part of an entree (I've made it into a summer dinner salad plate including balsamic-marinated steak, as one example).

Goat Cheese from the Very Beginning

1/4 cup chopped Those Nuts made with almonds (recipe follows), or almonds toasted for 7 minutes at 375 degrees
1/4 cup toasted bread crumbs
2 to 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
4 ounces goat cheese logs, cut into 6 rounds

VINAIGRETTE

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 shallot, minced
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
1/3 cup walnut, almond or olive oil
2 cups frisee, radicchio, escarole, or other bitter greens
6 oil-packed sundried tomatoes, cut lengthwise into strips
12 to 18 croutons (recipe follows)

Combine the almonds and crumbs on a plate. Pour the olive oil onto a second plate. One at a time, dip the goat cheese rounds in the olive oil and then in the crumb mixture, coating them evenly, and place them on a baking sheet. If you do not plan to serve them immediately, cover and refrigerate.

To make the vinaigrette, whisk together the vinegar, shallot, salt, and pepper in a small bowl until the salt is dissolved. Gradually whisk in the walnut oil, and continue to whisk until fully emulsified. Taste and adjust the seasoning.

When you are ready to serve, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Wash and spin dry the greens, and tear them into bite-sized pieces. In a large bowl, toss the greens with just enough of the vinaigrette to coat them. To serve, put the cheese in the oven for 3 to 4 minutes, until warm and slightly soft to the touch (be sure not to melt the cheese). Put a mound of greens on each plate, and top each with a round of goat cheese. Arrange several strips of sundried tomato on the cheese. Accompany each serving with 3 or 4 croutons.

Laura's Note: I've made this dish many times simply with toasted nuts (almonds or walnuts or pecans, etc.) and the dish is just as succulent and even easier to prepare than when made with Those Nuts.

Those Nuts

2 cups raw shelled pistachios
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
Peanut oil or vegetable oil for deep-frying
Sea salt
Ground cayenne pepper

Blanch the nuts in boiling water for 2 minutes. Drain and toss immediately with the confectioners' sugar, mixing well to coat the nuts evenly.

Pour the oil into a deep, heavy pan to a depth of 1 to 1 1/2 inches and heat to 375 degrees. Add the nuts in batches, and fry for 1 or 2 minutes, until crisp and golden brown.

Using a slotted spoon, transfer the nuts to a rack or fine-mesh screen to drain (don't use paper towels or the pistachios will stick!). Allow the oil to come back to temperature between batches.

Sprinkle the nuts with salt and cayenne to taste while still hot. Now, see if you can keep from eating them all up before company comes.

Makes 2 cups

Croutons

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Cut a baguette on the diagonal into 1/4 - inch-thick slices. For extra-large croutons, cut the bread at a severe angle. Brush the slices with the olive oil. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until golden brown.

About 1 dozen

All recipes from "Mustards Grill Napa Valley Cookbook"

Source: http://www.columbiatribune.com/weblogs/community-kitchen/2012/jan/11/postcard-from-mustards-grill-napa-valley/

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