Dear Friends,
I am so happy spring has arrived in the Napa Valley. The garden at Mustards is popping. We have beautiful variegated red and green bok choy and sweet, tender rainbow chards. The best news is that the tomato plants in our greenhouse are a foot tall! Great job, Laura (Mustards' master gardener). Since I am at Mustards as I write, let me tell you about the May Pour-Off Pair-Off. This morning I was digging in the French section of my cookbook library. Two French artists/cooks and two French chefs were instrumental to me in my early years, and recipes from each will be featured this month. Vincent Van Gogh always had a magical effect on me. As a chef, you put a lot of effort into each dish and need to refill your creative juices and refresh. I soothed my soul at the end of many long shifts looking through an old art book of his while sipping a glass of wine. Posters by Toulouse-Lautrec were all over my college dorm room and I worshipped his "pets de none" recipe. For one of my classes, I did an entire menu presentation from his cookbook and decorated the room with posters of his art. It earned me an "A" from a very hard-to-impress professor. I discovered Richard Olney when I was about 14 and working as an assistant in a Minneapolis cooking school. Two teachers taught from his French Menu Cookbook. He is a truly gifted writer and I reread his books often. Finally, Joel Robuchon is one of France's most revered chefs. I was fortunate to eat at his restaurant, Jamin, in Paris. During my meal, a white Labrador retriever sat at my feet. How can you not love a place like that? Enjoy dishes from these four greats at Mustards every Thursday this month. This month's Supper Club at Cindy's will borrow recipes from my new book, Cindy's Supper Club: Meals from Around the World to Share with Family and Friends. We'll travel from the Americas to Europe, North Africa to the Middle East and over to Asia. (The book will be available May 15th at all three restaurants. Let me know if you'd like to pick up a copy and have me personalize it for you.) Book Passage will be hosting a Cooks with Books lunch on Thursday, May 24 at Noon at Cindy's featuring a special menu from the cookbook. Click on the link to see more. The patio at Brassica is open! We love to relax outside and share a meal with friends. Pizzas have been flying out the door and our spring menu features lots of wood grilled and wine friendly dishes inspired by France, Italy, Spain and Greece. Join us for lunch or dinner al fresco! Cheers, | 
