Cucina Testa Rossa

Fête de la Musique

Every year on the summer solstice, the entire country of France is illuminated with music. Created in 1982, this celebration honors anyone and everyone with a love of music and a shred of musical talent. Everyone takes to the streets, the concert halls, the churches and museums, the cafés and bars...and any free corner to play, sing and dance just because they love it. One year, 300 saxaphones poured forth at the top of Montmartre. It was the most glorious sound you've ever heard... one of pure joy!

The Minister of Culture at the time, Jack Lang, proclaimed: "Let the music be everywhere, but the concert nowhere." This musical celebration has spread to more than 100 countries throughout Europe and all over the world...always on the 21st of June, the summer solstice in the northern hemisphere.

One summer I celebrated Fête de la Musique with my friends E & D on their barge in a little town called Montchanin in Burgundy. The entire town turned out for it, complete with bonfire, traditional dancing, and accordians! Pics and vignette are here. My first year in France, in a small town Chateau de Thierry in Champagne, we were treated to "Eye of the Tiger" by a local band playing in the Town Hall square :)

Another summer, I only had to walk a few feet out my front door et voila! Music poured from the streets all around and in Place Monge. You could almost see the musical notes floating and swirling up into the sky like a lost balloon.

This year Fête de la Musique wound its way 6,000 miles west to San Francisco and on June 18th at Mission Rock, Tété and Eric John Kaiser will continue this fabulous French tradition! Ne le manques pas! Hope to see you there!

Some links for more info:
France's Official Fête de la Musique Web Site
Follow it on Twitter
Become a fan on Facebook
Check out Tété
Dont miss Eric John Kaiser
Buy Tickets
At Place Monge
In Montchanin

Napa Valley Wine Auction at the Mondavi Winery

At the Napa Valley Wine Auction at the Mondavi Winery... lots of wine and lots of food!

Peanut butter bliss cupcake was indeed pure bliss!

I was in Mill Valley last weekend checking out Tyler Florence's new shop when our stomachs started growling. My friend E suggested we check out the cupcake shop around the corner. Now I don't have much of a sweet tooth, I'll do a face plant into a bag of Salt & Vinegar dirty chips or a plate of Gordon Biersch garlic fries any day without batting a salt-caked eye, but it's not too hard for me to pass on desserts - not to mention that fact that I can't bake to save my savory soul - but these little sugary devils definitely stopped me in my tracks. The store, darling. The cupcakes, delicious!

The owner (I can't remember her name, sorry! and I was too busy stuffing my face with cupcake to write it down...) gets up every morning at 2am to start baking these beauties! I had the Peanut Butter Bliss cupcake - dark chocolate cake, topped with a few swirls of peanut butter butter cream icing kissed on top with a Reese's peanut butter cup. Oh and did I mention there was peanut butter butter cream filling?! Bliss indeed. Signing off fat and happy in Mill Valley :)

FROSTING bake shop
7 E. Blithedale Ave
Mill Valley, CA 94941
415 888 8027
www.frostingbakeshop.com

Black Bean Soup continued...

As a quick follow up to my previous Black Bean Soup post a while ago, I made this the other evening and this time, with no pine nuts on hand, I sauteed about eight 1/4" banana slices til golden brown (a tad too long obviously, like the above mentioned pine nuts...) then placed them on top of the soup.

And what wine to drink, you ask? I couldn't answer it myself so I asked Master Sommelier, professionally trained French chef, author, speaker, writer, mom and all around genius wine guru Andrea Robinson and she recommended a Rhone or a Rioja. For the Rhone, I of course jump up and down and shout for Domaine Rouge-Bleu from St. Cecile des Vignes but then again I am a bit biased :)

So from the top...

Ingredients:

* 1 can of Progresso black beans, drained
* 1/4 cup water or broth
* sea salt, fresh ground pepper
* herbes de provence
* 1 T plain yogurt (see note below)
* 1/2 banana, 1/4" thick slices
* optional: brown rice

1. In a pot, combine 1 can Progresso black beans, 1/4 of that can of water or a 1/4 can broth or whatever you have on hand, pinch sea salt, a few grinds of fresh ground pepper, a few pinches of herbes de provence. Bring to a boil then simmer low for a few minutes to combine flavors. This should take about 5-7 minutes depending on your stove.

2. While the soup is cooking, make brown rice. I use Success boil-in-a-bag brown rice. This is of course optional (as is everything!) but it adds texture and a heartiness to the soup.

3. Cut 8 - 1/4" sliced of banana. Saute on each side til golden brown (not burned like I did above!).

4. When the soup is done, puree it in the pot with an immersion (aka stick) blender. Don't dirty the blender or cuisinart if you don't have to. One less big thing to wash.

5. Put a scoop of brown rice in the bottom of a bowl. Ladel the black bean soup over it. Add a dollop of plain yogurt, swirl it around with the tip of a paring knife. Top with the sauteed bananas.

Et voila! In literally 10 minutes you can have a delicious soup. The bananas add a sweetness, the yogurt a tang, both great contrasts/complements to the earthy soup. Simple, fast, healthy and pretty darn good if I do say so myself :)

Bon appetit!

note: If you don't have any yogurt on hand, then a squeeze of a wedge of lime will give it that tangy kick!