Sonoma Getaway

Imagine being in Sonoma at a luxury estate with three gourmet kitchens indoors (as there are three houses) and one bbq kitchen outdoors for four days and three nights (August 25-28, 2011) with the best group of foodie girlfriends (and their +1)! The culinary possibilities are endless.

Diana, Vanita, Eric, Joyce, Heather, Michele, Luice, Euree, Shipra, Stacy, Matt.
Missing: Mama and Papa To, Ryan, the Waldins, Luc, Toro

This is our second time staying at Casa Nueva Vista. We learned from last time to keep the menu plan simple so as to relax and enjoy all that Casa Nueva Vista has to offer, which is a lot. We all love to cook and eat, and we have a reputation for being overly ambitious when it comes to food. So the game plan was to not stress over cooking and cleaning, scale back to only two meals per day -- lunch and dinner. This was the plan going into the weekend. Read on and decide for yourself how well we did.

Leading up to this trip, it had been a typical San Francisco summer. Fog covered the city for three plus weeks and depression was about to set in. A warm sunny escape to Sonoma was the perfect remedy to our potential blues. Four days to relax, swim, play and most importantly eat and drink in the company of good friends. After a short drive over the Golden Gate Bridge the SF fog was left behind, the sun was beaming brightly. A few more miles and in no time at all, we reach Casa Nueva Vista. Drive through the gates and it is a completely different world -- serene beautiful landscapes, trickling fountains and the knowledge of a weekend full of culinary delights. So it begins...

Thursday Afternoon - Appetizers and Snacks

As if being in Sonoma and a luxury estate isn't enough, upon arrival there was blended watermelon juice and an amazing spread of homemade dips/spreads, cheese, and a bounty of the sweetest summer fruits, courtesy of Luice and Euree. Salsa, tapenade, artichoke cucumber dip, yogurt herb dip, chips, pita, figs, raspberry, pluots, nectarines, grapes, pita, and so much more. All made from scratch!

Thursday Dinner - Korean BBQ

Since it was arrival day, the goal was to keep dinner simple in order to start the r&r as soon as possible, perhaps even get in some pool time. So before heading to Sonoma, the Waldins made a quick stop at Kukje Market to get Korean BBQ. As planned, within 30 minutes of arrival we were in the pool and spent the rest of the afternoon swimming and snacking on the gourmet spread of snacks. Then at dinner time, Ray simply grilled the bulgogi (sliced beef), kalbi (ribs), and daeji bulgogi (spicy pork) as the rest of us laid out the egg battered fish, chap chae (glass noodles), kim chi, three kinds of wraps, and an endless assortment of banchan (side dishes). 

Friday Morning/Afternoon - A Traditional Brunch

Our first full day at Casa Nueva started with an amazing brunch of bagels and lox, watermelon feta salad, arugula tomato salad, eggs benedict with crab (at right, the sous vide egg factory to feed a crowd), mimosas, and fruits. Thanks Michele, Joyce, Diana, Luice, Shipra! Oliver and Timothy wanted to contribute too but being 2 and 5 years old they can't cook. Ah ha, they woke up early at 6:30AM (their usual time actually), convinced their mom to make a short drive to Oxbow Public Market in Napa to get the notoriously famous english muffins from Model Bakery. So famous that there is a limit of six per person. Yikes! There are a lot of aunties and uncles to feed. Six just won't do (which was all Thao was permitted to buy). So Timothy bravely got cash in hand, waited in line, and ordered six more. With Thao and Oliver looking on from outside through the glass doors, Timothy scored the additional english muffins and we are back on track for the eggs benedict with crab. Yay!

Friday Dinner - Vietnamese Wraps

Mama and Papa To, and Diana made a perfect dinner for a hot summer night - Vietnamese wraps. Fresh herbs, lettuce, and veggies galore to wrap with noodles in rice paper. Goi cuon (shrimp, pork), bo bia (julienne sauté veggies, Chinese sausage, hoisin sauce), crab egg rolls, do chau (pickled carrots and radish), two dipping sauces, and Joyce's green beans with shitake mushrooms. Thank you Mama and Papa To for wrapping 100+ egg rolls and 3-days of prepping the enormous amount of yumminess.

Saturday Lunch - BBQ Foodie Style!
No summer getaway is complete without a BBQ. There were slow cooked pulled pork sandwiches on sweet Hawaiian rolls (by Joyce), beef sliders made with Pat LaFrieda Ultimate Burger Blend and topped with tzatziki on naan (by Shipra, Walt), sous vide chicken breast and thighs marinated four ways then quickly grilled to add smokiness (by Ray, Thao), grilled summer sweet corn with a light brushing of green onion oil (by Mama Papa To), summer tomatoes (that are sweet as candy) caprese salad (by Shipra), pluot caprese salad (by Thao), pasta salad, a variety of summer fruit, and so much more.

Then after burning off a few calories in the pool, it was time for Euree's carrot cupcakes made from scratch with freshly grated carrots, raisins and nuts, and topped with cream cheese frosting, and chocolate cupcakes. Oh so good warm, right out of the oven. Yum!

The fruit, dips, chips, and spreads made a very welcomed appearance by the pool again, along with Luice's homemade guacamole, Euree's homemade salsa, and the Oliver and Timothy's selection of copa, salami, prosciutto, pates and rillettes from The Fatted Calf in Napa. All of which paired perfectly with a couple of special cocktails by Diana. Bloody Mary accented with homemade pickled radishes and Peony, a delicious light pink/lavender concoction with coconut milk. It was a feast for the eyes and taste buds.

Saturday Dinner - Leftovers + Salmon + Smores

As our stay in Sonoma was coming to an end, we finished off the leftover BBQ, wraps and egg rolls (all still yummy a second time around) and added grilled salmon on cedar planks and a final night "campfire" to make smores.

Sunday Breakfast - Lobster Eggs Benedict

Early risers that trekked to the Waldin house, were treated to lobster eggs benedict. Made with buttery yet light english muffins from Model Bakery in Napa, New England lobster, a sous vide poached egg, hand whipped hollandaise sauce, and finished with a dollop of caviar and sprinkling of chives. No exaggeration. These were made with leftovers, not a single new ingredient was purchased, and not on the menu plan.

Sunday Lunch - Grilled Pizza

Heather with a crew of sous chefs (Euree, Luice, Michele, Shipra, Vanita) expertly crafted four kinds of pizza that were cooked on the grill -- BBQ Chinese duck, BBQ chicken, carmelized onion with pear and gorgonzola, and a nectarine and cheese pizzas. On the side was a salad (Thao) made with leftover butter lettuce, tomatoes, nectarines, cucumbers from the To garden and lobster tossed with balsamic vinaigrette.

It was a great finish to a great getaway and a great summer.