Gumps

Celestial High Tea!

“TEA TIME Tradition, Presentation and Recipes” This Miniature Edition, acquired while working at Gump’s, overflowed with fascinating content that guided ChezHelvetica in the creation of a High Tea for the Cava 5 – a group of highly intelligent, creative dear friends. Each one made a wonderful contribution to our gathering!

First Course: Delicious Tea Sandwiches – Egg Salad with Chives, Honey Smoked Salmon, and Pear Pecan Blue Cheese, paired with an assortment of Celestial Seasonings Herbal Teas and J Sparkling Wine. Second Course: Incredible Blueberry and Currant Scones, served with Somerdale Double Devon Cream, English Clotted Cream, Ollalaberry/ Blackberry Jam (made by my friend Priscilla) and Lemon Curd. Third Course: Desserts! Chocolate Crinkles, Orange Cookies, Ginger/TCHO Cocoa Powder Cookies (made by my niece Rachel) and Iced Pound Cake. Now wine, a luscious Twomey Russian River Valley Pinot Noir, donated by The Duncan Family. And then a Fourth Course: Besparkling Angels. Each Cava decorated a wooden angel with Glitter Glue for the perfect ornament to decorate their Chanukah Bush or Christmas Tree.

A lovely, angelic celebration of friendship!

ChezHelvetica Marquee: Rockfish Redux

The final performance of the Rockfish Roll Out (read: the last of the three pounds of fish) took the form of a show-stopping summer salad. A refreshing Celery Salad – also starring in an encore performance – topped the Rockfish and Red Lettuce, with both stalk and leaves in play. Organic Radishes, Parsley, Capers and Artichoke Hearts completed the cast, all drizzled in Lemon and Key Lime Juices. In the supporting role, warm Whole Grain Sunflower Seed Bread from Trader Joe’s simply dazzled with its topping of Affi’s Aubergine (Fire Roasted Eggplant and Garlic) spread. A final nod goes to Kunde Family Estate Wines. Like the award for Best Choreography, their Chardonnay made the whole show move. Final credits: Saveur Magazine, Costco, Nunez Farm, Gump’s (for the $5 platter from the employee sale) and to Mom for the Denby Dinnerware!

A Veritable Fresh Fish Feast

Recent communiques from EveryDay Food piqued my interest with their focus on fish (a house favorite), with options that transform the taste experience. The Lemon-Parsley Fish Cake recipe specified cod, but I substituted tuna which jumped from “everyday” to “gourmet” with the added green onions, capers and French bread crumbs. The quickly sauteed cakes were nested on a bed of organic arugula, accompanied by buttery yukon red and gold potatoes from Zuckerman Farms. A basil aioli enhanced everything on the platter. The pursuit of trout for the Trout with Brown Butter and Olives recipe finally came to a conclusion with the pristine fillets found at Trader Joe’s. The spicy butter sauce dressed the broiled fish and an organic quinoa salad, intensifying the sweet Campari tomatoes and savory shallots. Adding to the pleasure of these meals were the platters used; the flowered ceramic one acquired at Gump’s for a few dollars at an employee only sale and the glass fish platter from what was Judith-et-Hokins, one of the first gourmet shops in San Francisco. Both beloved treasures!