Dear Friends,
I'm sitting in the dining room at Cindy's Backstreet Kitchen. Michael and I started working on pasta ideas and it's morphed into a month of Italian Supper Club menus for June.
The concept was inspired by a great, small book I just read, Le Erbe Aromatiche in Cucina (Aromatic Culinary Herbs), by Renzo Menesini, a native of Lucca, Italy. He is a fine writer and had me craving fresh Italian cuisine after reading the book. We'll use bountiful spring herbs to flavor June's Wednesday and Thursday Italian Supper Club menus. Stop by for a taste. You won't be disappointed.
On June 4th, the Film & Fork series presented by St. Helena's Cameo Cinema and Cindy's Backstreet Kitchen will feature "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel." In keeping with the movie's Indian setting, dinner will showcase a yummy lamb curry. Film & Fork always sells out early so get your tickets at the Cameo now (call: 963-3946).
A big thank you to everyone for their good wishes on the release of my latest cookbook, Cindy's Supper Club - Meals from around the World to Share with Family & Friends. It's received some terrific press, including the Saturday, May 26th Wall Street Journal in which Charlotte Druckman raves about my South African Bobotie "meat loaf." (The Wall Street Journal!!)
I'm doing a signing at one of my favorite bookstores, Omnivore Books in San Francisco at 3pm Saturday, June 16th. On Friday morning June 22nd, I'll be giving a cooking demo and signing books at the St. Helena Farmers' Market. Hope to see you there.
At Mustards, our June Pour-Off Pair-Off dinner series is all about dads! Every Thursday, we're featuring our fathers' favorite dishes. My dad's "snow-day doughnuts" will be one of the desserts. Indulge your dad, husband, friend, brother or cousin in a meal they'll love.
Brassica's sun-dappled patio is heavenly for al fresco lunches and dinners. We've got delectable new spring and summer menu items and Jen is upping the ante with creative cocktails by the pitcher - super fun for parties. And back by popular demand, we're featuring live world-beat music on the Brassica patio every Thursday night, so do yourself (and us) a favor and join us.
One final note: Well-behaved dogs are welcome on the patios at Cindy's and Brassica, so you don't have to leave your best friend at home. (Dog lovers unite!)
Happy summer, everyone!
