Cambria, California
This week’s French Fridays with Dorie recipe choice is Moules Marinière. It proved to be the perfect anchor to my celebratory feast after settling into my new California digs.
Moules Marinière
Living in the Colorado Rockies is a privilege, my idea of paradise. But it’s that 4-month window of snow, cold temps and icy footpaths that, well, leaves me cold. I learned to ski at Snowmass Mountain in the late ‘70s and buckled up my last boot in the late ‘90s when my knees began sassing back at me. This month, after two loopy falls on the ice, I escaped in search of a winter paradise. My first stop was Cambria, a drowsy, seaside village of 6,000 people located on the spectacular central coast and plopped among a native stand of Monterey pines.
It’s a good choice and here’s why. To my thinking, winter shows off Cambria at its finest. It’s off-season, that fleeting moment when locals reclaim their community. Think quiet, quaint and a well-kept secret. But here’s the thing, what surrounds this tiny town is just flat-out noisy in the friendliest of ways. Besides a number of migrating species, elephant seals, whales, birds and butterflies, there’s a castle to visit and an ocean to enjoy.
The end of the trail at Harmony Headlands and my favorite spot for a picnic lunch
Added perks are the vineyards, olive tree farms, goats (think chèvre) and farmers markets. These aren’t the vineyards of boxed wine and Two-Buck Chuck. In fact Wine Enthusiast magazine just named the surrounding Paso Robles area as the 2013 Wine Region of the Year. In all the World! More than 200 wineries here plant and pick over 40 wine grape varieties. It’s also reasonable to assume that marching in lock step with these wine producers is a food culture of innovative chefs offering seasonal, farm and ocean-to-table cuisine. For a food writer like me, I’ve landed in an edible feast of experiences.
This olive oil ranch is located in Paso Robles.
In a salute to where I landed, I made this week’s FFWD menu a true farm & ocean – to table meal. My two-pounds of mussels came from Pier 46 Seafood, my favorite fishmonger located in nearby Templeton. To make the mussels, I used Pasolivo Olive Oil made with olives grown on their Paso Robles ranch’s 45 acres of trees.
Emptying Sarah’s baguette basket at Hoppe’s Bakery. (Sarah has applied to Colorado University’s doctoral program in political science and is nervously waiting to hear from Boulder.) Note the time. It is 8:20 a.m.
The best baguettes on the central coast are made at Hoppe’s Bakery in picturesque Cayugos, a 15-mile trip and soooooo worth the 20-minute drive. If you stop by at 8am, the baguettes will be warm, the coffee, piping hot, and the almond croissants……… well, you know. I bought out Sarah’s basket and delivered two of those beauties, wonderfully warm, to my Realtors, Heidi and Janet. Since those two ladies were already having a prickly morning, the baguettes were welcomed.
Pour moi. An almond croissant. And, yes, I hung out at Hoppe’s, chatted with Sarah and ate the whole thing.
For wine, I turned to my favorite vineyard at historic Halter Ranch, and chose, at their suggestion, a fruity-tasting Sauvignon Blanc. Besides pouring superb wine, I am partial to Halter Ranch wines because of its owner, Hansjörg Wyss, a Swiss-born, billionaire businessman who donates generously to various conservation efforts in the Rockies. He also walks the walk at the 960-acre Ranch with its state-of-the art and environmentally-sensitive winery.
Halter Ranch’s state-of-the-art winery. Photo by Halter Ranch
There is no downside to this meal. Chop an onion, 2 shallots and 4 garlic cloves and throw into a Dutch oven filled with a tablespoon or two of olive oil. Toss some salt and pepper into the pot and soften the mixture for 3-5 minutes until it glistens. Pour in a cup of dry white wine with a chicken bouillon cube, springs of thyme, parsley, bay leaf, and lemon zest strips. In another 3 minutes add 2 pounds of mussels. After bringing this to a boil, cover the pot and steam for another 3 minutes or so, until the mussels are opened. Serve immediately with a hot baguette and toasty french fries (mine are from the local Trader Joe’s.)
Two pounds of mussels, scrubbed, debearded and ready to steam.
A tip or two. I cranked up the broth’s flavoring by doubling Dorie’s suggested ingredients portions. What I used for my 2 pounds of mussels, she used for 4 pounds. Also, try this when eating Moules Marinère. Break the shell at its hinge and use one half as a scoop to detach the mussel and spoon it in your mouth. Really, no utensils are needed. As Dorie mentions, “You’re talking about an elbows-on-the-table meal and messy fingers.”
To see how these mussels opened for my colleagues, go to our group link here. For this week’s recipe, go here. French Friday’s with Dorie is an international cooking group working its way through Dorie Greenspan’s “Around my French Table, more than 300 recipes from my home to yours.”
“I cranked up the broth’s flavoring by doubling Dorie’s suggested ingredients portions”
YES. Wish I had thought to do this too.
If you doubled everything how did that change the proportions? I love nothing more than to pick up something here and things there and put together a great meal like this! I wish was there to share it with you…esp the croissant.
What I did was half the amount of mussels (2 pounds instead of Dorie’s 4 pounds). But, I used her suggested proportions for the broth. It made no difference in the finished product except I wish I would have given the broth an added flavor boost. What would you suggest?
Forget the moules marinière, Mary, I am ready to pack my bags and go west. The area
looks and sounds delightful and I am so happy you are enjoying yourself.
Ahhh, Cambria. What a lovely way to spend winter, Mary. So neat to see how the wine (and other food) industries have thrived over the past couple of decades. Enjoy! (Love the pic of your mussels in the blue colander!)
This sounds absolutely wonderful! Can I come for lunch?
FRIES! That’s what we were missing!
Just lovely, Mary. Glad you’re settling in and exploring all the area has to offer. We’re looking forward to seeing you soon! xoxo
I did the full amount of broth for one pound of mussels; definitely a good decision! I love how easy and quick mussels are – but I really had no idea that french fries went so well with them. I’m trying that next time!
Cambria looks so lovely Mary. It sounds like you are well settled in and your dinner looks so fun with the bread and fries.
If I had known you were making this for dinner, I would have gotten a ride on our favorite private jet and popped over. Mary you do know how to live and learn and dig in.
That almond croissant looks like last meal worthy.
Miss you. PS… I have a cold.
Donna, you would have missed dinner because Bernie would still be posing for pictures of himself standing by the plane and you’d miss your take-off time slot. (May I say once again, we are lucky we didn’t.) Sorry about that cold. I learned some of that living and learning and digging in by hanging around you.
Forget the mussels, can I move in with you for a few months? Your winter residence sounds lovely.
There is always room for you, Cher.
Hey Mary!! So happy you are enjoying your stay. How fun to read this and see what you and others have to say. We really do have some amazing wineries here don’t we? Shocking how they have grown in the past years. Well, since it’s after 2:30, I’m guessing you are already at our lovely Farmer’s Market, stocking up on locally grown goodies! 😉
Glad you are enjoying your winter residence. Cambria sounds wonderful! I really enjoyed your post, Mary. Love hearing about all your California adventures. Bill and I will be heading south the first week in February, and will be gone for most of the month. Looking forward to getting away from the cold! Have a great weekend, my friend!
Your mussels look amazing! And it sounds like you are in foodie paradise!!! Hmmmm….wishing I had an almond croissant for tomorrow’s breakfast….
I swooned over that almond croissant! Enjoyed reading your post and your celebration feast of the mussels as the main!
Wow, way to source locally this week. I’m guessing that would not have been an option in Aspen:-) Sounds like you’re settling in nicely on the coast. My husband and I drove the classic Highway 1 Route all the way down from Oregon to San Diego a few years back. It was truly beautiful country.
Dear Mary, sounds like you are in a regional food paradise and cooked your moules marinières exactly the way I would have, if I was lucky enough to be where you are now. It all sounds so unbelievably good and delicious and just wonderful and your meal looks fabulous. I think these are the freshest mussels that I have ever seen. Now I am really jealous (in a good kind of way, of course).
Enjoy your time in Cambria, dear friend!
And thank you so much for all your kind words and messages during the last couple of weeks, they meant more to me than I can say! Danke!
If I had been in Germany, I would have been bringing casseroles to Thomas and those four darling girls. (That’s an Iowa-thing, Andrea.) But, from afar, none of us knew what to do or say so we all prayed mightily and are thrilled you’re on the mend. Take your time getting back into this blogging business. And, use this breathing space to rest on your laurels and savor in the knowledge that you were deemed the 2013 German Food Blog of the Year. We really haven’t celebrated that.
I am such a lover of snow and skiing…though now I am switching to XC because lets face it down hill skiing can be dangerous. I wonder if I will ever want to escape winter… but if I do Cambria looks like the place to go and the food available, just wonderful Mary.
I adore California, it’s a lovely part of the world. Glad you enjoyed the mussels, thiugh they could not possibly compete with that sensational almond croissant.
Sounds like you’re settling in nicely! Great way to celebrate!
That croissant has my name on it! I get a similar one at my local bakery. The scenery is just amazing and stunning. What a lovey place to escape to – maybe I can escape the summers their someday!
It looks like you are settling into Cambria with style, Mary! We really enjoyed the mussels, too. Did the same as you. 2 pounds of mussels with the full amount of broth. So delicious. I wish I’d made fries too. Next time, it will be on the menu, and maybe a postcard of Brussels in the background to feel like we’re in Europe. That bakery looks quite special too. I hope your young friend got into her program. Have a great weekend.
Love the Almond Croissant. The mussels were delicious:) Looks like you are having a great time in California.
It looks like you found a foodie’s paradise in Cambria. Enjoy your stay there! I am not a mussels fan myself so no slurping any broth but your meal looks fantastic!!
Everything looks so delicious! I love the beach in winter. Its different but still wonderful. And quiet! I can tell you are enjoying exploring your new town.
Wow, you sure make that meal (and living in Cambria) sound fantastic!