Tuesday, February 7, through Friday, February 10

SEE MENU

Our thirteenth annual Whole Hog event will soon be here. Over the past twelve years Oliveto’s Whole Hog dinners have become a spectacular array of pork preparations, a delicious extravaganza, but also somewhat excessive, and in recent years much copied and well…very 2007. So Chef Jonah’s decision to narrow the focus and return to a simpler event for this year’s dinners is particularly satisfying to us.

This year we return to the essential idea of the Whole Hog dinners, honoring the old tradition of many farm families in Italy who spent the year fattening a hog in preparation for the winter visit from the traveling butcher, (or norcino) who would slaughter the pig and break it down for all the preparations the family traditionally made to last them throughout the year.

The menu will include many of these simple, rustic preparations of the farmhouse: sausages, chops, roasts, pickles, terrines, prosciutto, ragùs, and so on. (offerings of offal-and that ultra-western-Italian dish we can’t deprive aficionados of, choucroute garni-will comprise some of the fare in the Cafe downstairs during the event.)

There will still be plenty of extraordinary dishes, with the core of the menu coming from the humble farmhouse and these deeply satisfying and time-honored preparations. We will plan on posting the menu next week but we wanted to alert you to the coming dinners. For the reservations times you want, please reserve online or by phone: 510-547-5356

Tuesday, February 14th

Amuse:
Kushi oyster with Prosecco gelée and blood orange

First Course:
Brodetto of lobster with bergamot crema
~or~
Antipasto of roast wild mushrooms and root vegetables

Second Course:
Tortelli of Castelmagno cheese with red lupin honey and candied walnuts

Entree:
Pan-roasted duck breast (accompaniment TBD)
~or~
Pan-roasted seas bass (accompaniment TBD)

Dessert:
TBD

♥

$85. per person

Wine paring available.

Corkage $25.

Reservations with credit card ONLY

510-547-5356

Saturday, January 14, 2012

Discussion: 4:30 Dinner: 5:30 throughout evening

Athena smiled on us when the schedules of two internationally known olive oil experts enabled us to invite them to participate in a special afternoon and evening steeped, so to speak, in olive oil.

One is our old friend, Roberto Stucchi, of Badia a Coltibuono in Tuscany, who celebrates the semicentenary of Badia a Coltibuono Extra Virgin Olive Oil’s first bottling. Before 1962, there was quality oil available locally in Italy but no one was distributing it. Badia a Coltibuono, then headed by Robert’s father, Piero Stucchi-Prinetti, modeled the extra virgin olive oil business after what he and others were doing with Italian wines–– introducing traditionally made, world-class products to consumers in the US and Europe. Piero was an innovator, one innovation being the selection of the distinctive 1-liter square bottle (called a “marasca” because it was originally used for maraschino liqueur).

The other is a new friend, Tom Mueller, whose Extra Virginity–The Sublime and Scandalous World of Olive Oil has just been published by Norton. His book has received acclaim for its fascinating, scholarly, and “ridiculously overdue” exploration of current olive oil production, marketing, labeling, chemistry, and consumption (as well as its important history and culinary attributes). And Tom is a passionate advocate for true extra virgin olive oils.

Oliveto’s founder and co-owner Maggie Blyth Klein, author of The Feast of the Olive (written in 1983 after her visit to the Badia), will host the two experts in a discussion ranging from the history of olive oil in Italy and America, to the state of government controls, to discerning a good olive oil, to the quandary of the conscientious producer whose beautiful olive juice must of necessity be expensive, and to the nutritional and flavor characteristics of olive oil and different olive varietals.

A dinner featuring new oil straight from the Badia a Coltibuono in Tuscany will comprise the evening’s menu, paired with a selection of the Badia’s wines, including a ’99 Chianti Classico Riserva, half bottles of Roberto’s specially blended Chianti Classico “RS,” and a ’99 San Gioveto.

Every year, Oliveto celebrates the arrival of olio nuovo, the first oil of the season, made from just-pressed, partially ripe olives, whose peppery, vegetal qualities last only a few weeks. California oils usually arrive in November; the Italian oils follow a few weeks later. Their production continues through the first month or two of the season. This year, alas, much of the California olive crop was wiped out in unseasonable spring storms.

But for the special dinner following our Saturday afternoon discussion, Chef Jonah Rhodehamel will have at his disposal several liters of Badia a Coltibuono olio nuovo, which Roberto will have brought directly from his frantoio. Jonah will have limitless dishes from the olive oil regions of Tuscany and, indeed, most of Italy, from which to devise a menu. (For millennia those who’ve lived close to olive orchards and presses have celebrated the arrival of the vibrant new oil by pouring it over suitable cold weather dishes, some as simple as a crust of bread toasted over a fire, others as complex as a hearty spezzatino.)

For more information and reservations call 510-547-5356

The panini tartufati of Procacci in Florence

Most nights at Oliveto, we offer large menus with many choices. New Year’s Eve being a rare opportunity for the Chef to put together a prix fixe menu which combines earthiness and elegance, celebration and deliciousness, and a logic to bind the meal together (perhaps evocative of a place or time). We asked Chef Jonah Rhodehamel what we should do for New Year’s Eve.

SEE MENU

The Inspiration
On this year’s trip to Italy, we brought back a good quantity of truly exceptional white truffles for our November truffle dinners. They were so fresh that the one or two we’d saved for friends who were out of town, are still fairly pungent and healthy. Impressed by the quality of this year’s truffles, Chef Jonah decided to save some of them for our New Year’s Eve dinner by employing the best way to preserve their initial potency: he mortared them, combined them with sweet creamery butter, then froze them.

The panini tartufati of Procacci, Florence’s beautiful old food shop, are little brioche sandwiches filled with truffle butter. This became the starting point from which Chef Jonah began to devise a menu. To the panini he added risotto alla Milanese, and, of course, if you’re going to serve risotto alla milanese, then you’ve got to also serve osso buco.

The Specs:

Early seating
5:00 to 6:30
Panini tartufati and three courses:
$85.
with wine pairings $130.

Late seating
7:30 to 10:00
Panini tartufati and four courses (scallops course added)
$100.
with wine pairings $155.

Phone reservations ONLY
(510)547-5356

Saturday, November 12, 2011

World-famous cookbook author and expert on French cooking Patricia Wells will be dining at Oliveto at 6:30 on Saturday, November 12, 2011, as she celebrates her latest book, Simply Truffles. A precursor to our own white truffle dinners, which will commence on November 16th and continue through the 19th, the dinner will feature several dishes inspired-by recipes from Patricia’s book. As you can see from the items listed below, the  dishes will overlap nicely with Oliveto’s Italian cooking.

Customers who wish to make an all-Wells dinner for themselves will be able do so with ease. And it will be fascinating to compare the French black truffles we will be sourcing for this event with the Italian white truffles co-owner Bob Klein will be bringing back from Italy the following week for our Truffle Dinner blowout.

We will have a supply of her book on hand should you wish to buy one and have her sign it.

Chef Jonah Rhodehamel will intersperse a number of dishes inspired-by Wells’ recipes on that night’s à la carte menu.

First courses:

Salad of oil-poached potatoes, frisée, and black truffles

Poached truffled farm egg with Chanterelle mushrooms and black truffle zabaglione

Pastas:

Tajarin with black French truffles

Cannelloni of leeks, house-made ricotta, and French black truffles

Main courses:

Truffle-studded breast of hen with potato gratinata and Parmesan cheese

Alaskan halibut with truffled brandade and wild nettle risotto alla pilota

Aldo Vacca from Produttori del Barbaresco was taught that proper truffle shaving meant completely covering the dish. Here he demonstrates. This was a block-buster truffle. We ‘re at Trattoria Antica Torre in Barbaresco, famous for their hand-cut tajarin, that is made with only flour and egg yolks.

]]> http://www.oliveto.com/ourcommunity/events/2011-truffle-report-2/feed 0 http://www.oliveto.com/ourcommunity/events/first-truffle-report-for-2011 http://www.oliveto.com/ourcommunity/events/first-truffle-report-for-2011#comments Tue, 25 Oct 2011 20:52:29 +0000 Catherine Meng http://www.oliveto.com/ourcommunity/?p=8956

Oliveto co-owner Bob Klein and General Manager Shane Walker depart in less than a week for Italy in pursuit of truffles for our upcoming dinners. We've already heard some preliminary reports about the start of the season from a few of our contacts. Bad news first: Our friend Aldo Vacca in the Piedmont says...

Oliveto co-owner Bob Klein and General Manager Shane Walker depart in less than a week for Italy to gather white truffles for our upcoming dinners. We’ve already heard some preliminary reports about the start of the season from a few of our contacts.

Bad news first: Our friend Aldo Vacca in the Piedmont says the weather has been very dry and very hot.

BUT he also says the truffles he has seen so far are small but high quality and just recently, the weather has turned and it has started raining. That is definitely GOOD news.

In Tuscany, our truffle hunter Giorgio is saying much of the same.

If you want to follow along, we encourage you to bookmark this page or add it to your RSS feed as we will be posting videos & dispatches live from the hunt.

]]>

Wednesday, November 16th through Saturday, November 19th

SEE THE FULL MENU

call 510-547-5356 or reserve online

We first got the idea of going to Italy to obtain the truffles for our truffle dinners sixteen years ago, after a shipment of specially selected truffles with Oliveto’s name and address on it got lost in Heathrow Airport. Although the truffles were located within a few hours, the following year we went to Italy for the truffles ourselves and have been doing so ever since. By so doing, we stay in good touch with Giorgio (our principal truffle hunter), know that our truffles are fresh and salubrious, get the best prices, and have a wonderful time to boot.

This will be Chef Jonah’s first truffle event at Oliveto, and we can’t wait to see how he intersperses the traditional with the creative in his menu. Because our white and black truffles are harvested in Piedmont, Tuscany, and Umbria, many of the dishes will derive from a northern Italian sensibility. The flavor and aroma of truffles being utterly of those places, the most evocative truffle dishes are traditionally based and composed of  ingredients grown close to where the truffles are found. Fortunately for us, we live in an area which has access to those ingredients and Oliveto’s kitchen practices the same artisanal methods of food preparation practiced in northern Italy.

Please join Chef Jonah Rhodehamel and the staff at Oliveto and allow us to shave a few grams of white truffle (Tuber magnatum Pico fresh from the Crete Senese) over some tajarin al burro right under your nose.

We will be posting reports from the hunt as Oliveto co-owner Bob Klein and General Manager Shane Walker pursue this year’s bounty – conversing with truffle hunters, cooks, and our old Italian friends along the truffle road. Follow along here.

Last year, we celebrated the 25th anniversary of Bonny Doon’s Le Cigare Volant, Randall Grahm’s great Rhone Valley blend that has contributed so much to California’s wine palette. More importantly, we celebrated Randall’s newest adventure–his latest efforts in reinventing the way he makes wine.

Here’s some background on what he’s up to.

As for this coming Monday night, it’s pretty casual.  Randall will be in the dining room to say hello to, or engage in conversation.

We’ll be pouring Le Cigare Volant ‘07 “en foudre” and Le Cigare Volant ‘07 “en demi-muid”. En foudre is a 10,000 liter standup wood tank, and en demi-muid is a 600 liter barrel, over twice the size of tradition barrique. These are alternative barrels not as commonly used for aging wine. Randall will tell us what he was trying to do and what he learned from the process.

And, if your looking for a spectacular outdoor adventure this Sunday, I believe there are a few spots still open at Bonny Doon’s annual ‘DAY OF THE DOON”. For the first time, it’s will take place at the newest vineyard site in San Juan Bautista. There’s a membership involved, perhaps a secret handshake, but it is bound to be pure fun.

Antipasti

Cold

Parmesan cheese panna cotta with marinated heirloom tomatoes
and watercress

Millefoglie of Zebra tomatoes with summer savory goat cheese,
walnuts, and sherry vinaigrette

Carne cruda of Angus beef with Beefmaster tomato, basil,
and Parmesan cheese

Gazpacho of Early Girl tomatoes with basil-tomato gelatina

Warm
Fennel sformatino with tomato “maionese”

Fried green tomatoes with lobster remoulade

Salad of warm lamb’s tongue, cherry tomatoes, and new potatoes

Beef polpette all’ arrabbiata with Fiore Sardo Pecorino cheese and arugula

Pastas
Lasagnette of house-made ricotta with heirloom tomato sauce

Durum wheat spaghetti with a long-cooked San Marzano tomato
and its juice, garlic, and oregano

Tortelli di pomodoro with garlic crema and rosemary crumbs

Summer savory pappardelle with Early Girl tomato-braised hen

Penne alla bolognese

Grills, sautés, and rotisserie
Gratinata of braised San Marzano tomatoes with Gigande beans,
pork skin, and garlic sausage

Sicilian-style stuffed Momotaro tomatoes with Listada di Gandia
eggplant purée and Pecorino cheese

Charcoal-grilled tomato-glazed pigeon with Cetriolo tomato slaw,
Cranberry beans, and sweet corn

Cioppino of Chilipepper rock cod with heirloom tomatoes

. . . beef, hen, and rabbit dishes to be announced

Desserts
Momotaro tomato water and prosecco sorbetto

Walnut house-made nocino ice cream in cialdone cigarettes with
Cherokee Purple tomato sauce

Mascarpone budino with Sungold tomato compôte

Jonathan apple-green tomato tarte Tatin with crème fraîche

Brandywine tomato caramel-Valrhona chocolate tart

Pistachio-sultana raisin biscotti