This past Monday UC Davis hosted the visiting undergraduates from the prestigious CIA of Hyde Park, New York as part of their month-long culinary tour of Northern California. We were delighted to be invited to create a special luncheon for them during their visit. The menu (local, seasonal, and different): Shots of Carrot Gazpacho, Market Salad with local greens, royal blenheim apricots, and roasted almonds, Carrot Cachapas (a carrot version of a popular Venezuelan dish), and Bing Cherry Tarts. The students had never experienced a cachapa before and they were intrigued. I think the sweet, savory griddle cakes with a veggie base and melted cheese blew them away. From here they're off to Monterey and other cool destinations. Sharing our wonderful produce from Yolo county and the wonderful cachapa with the world's top culinary students was blast! Have a safe trip and we hope to see you back soon...
June 2008 Archives
This past Monday UC Davis hosted the visiting undergraduates from the prestigious CIA of Hyde Park, New York as part of their month-long culinary tour of Northern California. We were delighted to be invited to create a special luncheon for them during their visit. The menu (local, seasonal, and different): Shots of Carrot Gazpacho, Market Salad with local greens, royal blenheim apricots, and roasted almonds, Carrot Cachapas (a carrot version of a popular Venezuelan dish), and Bing Cherry Tarts. The students had never experienced a cachapa before and they were intrigued. I think the sweet, savory griddle cakes with a veggie base and melted cheese blew them away. From here they're off to Monterey and other cool destinations. Sharing our wonderful produce from Yolo county and the wonderful cachapa with the world's top culinary students was blast! Have a safe trip and we hope to see you back soon...
If you've been in recently, you might have noticed the cool new cigar boxes that come out to the table with the bill. These are thanks to Janis & Terence of Newsbeat (my favorite morning destination on my way to Peets for a coffee). We started brainstorming new ways to bring the bill to the table, something cool and different enough to carry on the Tucos experience and cigar boxes came up as an option. We talked to Terence about cigar box sizes and one day he just showed up with a box. These have been a hit. So much so that we one lose one every now and then to customers that find them too cute to pass up. Thanks Janis & Terence- we love you!
A Tucos favorite. The almonds are non-pareils from Andrew Scoffield's orchard in Arbukle. We blanch them, roast them in our Saloio olive oil, and toss them in kosher salt, crushed red pepper and fresh rosemary. Then they're mixed in with our jumbo golden raisins from the Davis Farmers' Market. Interesting story on the almond raisin mix- we've always served these (separately) as a part of the cheese plate. One day when we were looking for ways to save space on the plate we combined them into one small dish. When we tasted them together we found that magical combination we're always looking for when the sum is greater than the parts. The sweet, salty, spicy, crunchy, chewy contrast with the overtones of pungent rosemary make this a really cool snack. I'll go out on a limb and call this the world's most complex trail mix!
