The last newsletter was focused on the arrival of spring and summer food, the kind of food that likes to go naked or lightly dressed. This time of year the food likes to snuggle up in something rich and decadent. Lately we are juicing pomegranates, adding a little sugar to make a syrup to adorn the dessert plates. On the café menu you will find some "good to come home to" big plate dinners the locals enjoy, like our Niman pork loin with a Fuji apple demi-glace accompanied by a side salad with walnuts, apples, arugula and Elk Creamery Black Gold goat cheese.
This has been a boom year for mushrooms and the local Mendocino Mushroom Company is providing porcini and chanterelles a-plenty. We are putting them on flatbread with melted home-made mozzarella. Read on for the cheese-making instructions and mini slide show — yes, you CAN try this at home. Fresh mozzarella is so much better than store-bought, it adds the "mmm" to salads and pizzas.
We have all this bounty and more to share with you this season, especially on the holidays, when it is nice to go somewhere special and celebrate.
As always, we look forward to seeing you soon.
*Please Note: To receive the discount you must reserve online. Please type "GM's Fall Getaway Special" into the notes field of the online reservation system and the appropriate adjustment will be made to your reservation. This promotion may not be used towards existing reservations. Offer is good for stays through December 20, 2007, and excludes tax and gratuities.
Holiday Gift Certificates
This season purchase an easy, elegant gift certificate for fine dining or luxurious lodging. Receive 10% off your gift certificate* purchase if you order by December 31, 2007; make sure you order early for delivery before the holidays!
*To receive this discount you must purchase using our online form. Please type "Mendocino Magic" in the 'special instructions' on the online gift certificate form and the appropriate discount will be applied.
Order Gift Certificates
Elk Creamery
Situated on a coastal knoll overlooking the village of Elk. They are milking around 260 goats in a mixed herd. They've been making artisanal farmstead certified organic cheese commercially in this glorious setting for a little over three years, starting with delicious fresh chèvre and various herbed chèvres and then mold-ripened cheeses. They also make feta and a limited quantity of aged cheeses for farmers' market customers and are always experimenting with new and distinctive cheeses. For purchasing sources and cheese descriptions check their Website at elkcreamery.com.
Mendocino Mushroom Company
Mushrooms are hot topics these days. Once the domain of European and Asian foragers, those mysterious mycelium in the shapes of cones, parasols, trumpets, and peach pits are on menus and at markets everywhere. Nowhere is the mushroom mania more evident than in the fall when Eric Schramm, owner of the Mendocino Mushroom Company, harvests up to sixty thousand pounds of wild mushrooms each year from Mendocino's forests, where nearly two dozen edible varieties are found. Eric provides the locally foraged mushrooms to the MacCallum House kitchen. Check out our Featured Recipes for one of my favorite mushroom recipes.
North Coast Brewing Company
A pioneer in the craft beer movement, and under the leadership of brewmaster Mark Ruedrich, the brewery has developed a strong reputation for quality having won more than 70 awards in national and international competitions. In addition to Red Seal Ale, Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout, Scrimshaw Pilsner, and other fine North Coast brands, the brewery has resurrected the old Acme label with a heritage dating back to the San Francisco of the 1860s. These exceptional beers are available in 36 states now and also are exported to Europe and the Pacific Rim. For a list of products and more information visit northcoastbrewing.com.
By General Manager Herman Seidell
Combining great food with the appropriate wine is an activity many of us participate in all of the time. Here at the MacCallum House Restaurant we offer the Chef Kantor Tasting Dinner with an optional wine pairing every season. Every evening guests request recommendations about wines that work best with their particular dinner selections. The old adage of white with seafood, red with meat is a bit outdated, and in my opinion it's a whole lot more interesting to do some experimenting. In a fancy restaurant you can always ask for help, but it's nice to have some guidelines to work with when planning your own dinner or looking to make an informed decision when dining out. Read the full story.
In September Chef Kantor set up a mini-kitchen at our local Gallery Books store to help launch author Barbara Quick's new book "Vivaldi's Virgins." He showed the audience how to make mozzarella while Barbara read a passage that mentioned mozzarella! Click here for the slide show plus instructions on "How To Make Mozzarella At Home."
Mozzarella Slide Show
Mozzarella Recipe
Coastal Living, "Where the Wild Things Grow", (Head for California's Mendocino Coast to celebrate the bounty of wild mushrooms nurtured by forest and fog), Jeff Book, October, 2007
Wine Spectator Award of Excellence, 2007
San Francisco Examiner, "Out of the Woods Onto Your Plates", (Mushroom madness takes over Mendocino; foodies will find fun foraging for fungus), Kathleen Jay, October, 2007
We would love to hear your Mac dining tales. If you have a moment to write and wish to share your experience (hopefully a fabulous one) let us know and/or send in your comments to Trip Advisor, Yelp or Zagat. We strive for perfection but, if we miss, we want to hear about that, too. Feel free to write me personally at alan@maccallumhouse.com.
Chestnut Spaetzle
Mendocino Wild Huckleberry Granita
Porcini Butter
Locally foraged wild huckleberries and mushrooms and chestnuts from nearby Zeni Ranch enrich my menus at this time of year. We hope you enjoy these recipes. We serve the huckleberry ice between courses at our annual mushroom dinner but it’s also a refreshing surprise for dessert. The porcini butter is great on mashed potatoes and steaks.
Easy as pie! Just visit the Mendo Wine Tours website contest page at mendowinetours.com/contest. Click on the "enter contest" email link to submit your name and contact info and you will be entered in a contest to win two Mendo Wine Tour tickets. Our luxury vehicle (Limousine or Lincoln Town Car) will pick you up anywhere in or near Mendocino and give you a guided tour of Anderson Valley's award-winning boutique wineries with discounts on your purchases. Kick back with fine local sparkling wine and a gourmet picnic and leave the driving to us. Value: $300.
After the tour if you wish to dine at the MacCallum House Restaurant, we will
waive the corkage fee for any wine bought on our wine tours if you bring it to dinner. Just mention that you are a Mendo Wine Tours guest to your server.
Contest deadline is Tuesday, January 1, 2008, so be sure to get your entries in early! A winner will be announced by Monday, January 8, 2008.
Christmas Dinner
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
No one puts up more holiday decorations in Mendocino than the MacCallum House. Come enjoy the spirit of the season. Special menu items plus our regular menu.
New Year's Eve 2007 Five-Course Food and Wine Pairing Dinner
Send 2007 out in style and ring in the New Year at MacCallum House! We invite you to join us for our superb New Year's Eve wine-paired dinner in the convivial Mac House dining rooms, warmed by riverstone fireplaces and accompanied by live music. Every year Executive Chef Alan Kantor creates an elegant and delectable menu for this annual fête. Keep an eye on our website for the menu closer to the event. For more information and reservations, click here to view menu.
Valentine's Day - Mendocino Lovers Getaway
MacCallum House Inn is a romantic destination every day of the year but we get all starry-eyed on VALENTINE'S DAY and then stay that way through the winter months. We've put together a special package to help you celebrate love in a creative, exciting way with all of the traditional things plus some surprises. Our innkeeper will help you choose custom options from the selection. View details here.
maccallumhouse.com | 707.937.0289 | 800.609.0492
45020 Albion Street | PO Box 206 | Mendocino CA | 95460
Photos: Rita Crane Studio, Mozzarella and Chef Kantor Photos: J. Perlman Photography, Newsletter Editor: foodprose, Café and Breakfast Photos: Robert Stewart, Newsletter Design: Eye Design Studio
