Oui Cook

Saturday, January 14, 2017

Summertime in Southern Australia, 2017

Only a few of the bottles we ended up taking home ... such delicious wines!

Breakfast at Agatha's in McLaren Vale

Agatha's

Met the wine maker. Good time, delicious win

Yangarra Estate, McLaren Vale

Yangarra Estate

Hickinbothom can be found at Yangarra Estate

Hickinbothom

Bowan Estate, Coonawarra Valley

Bowen Estate

Patrick of Coonawarra

~ Hors D` Oeuvres ~

Confit of Pork Belly with Dijon Vinaigrette

Zucchini Flowers with Fresh Ricotta

~ Artisan Table ~

Marin Triple Cream

Redwood Hill Goat Cheddar

Point Reyes Farmstead Blue

Baby Carrots

Cerignola Olive

Radishes

Haricot Vert

Parma Prosciutto

Molinari Salame

~ First Course ~

Watercress, Frisee Lettuce and Red Radish

with a Tangy Dijon Mustard Vinaigrette

~ Entrée ~

Grilled King Salmon and Roast Spring Lamb

Steamed Baby Vegetables

Fingerling Potatoes and Sauce Colbert

~ Hors D` Oeuvres ~

Roast Crimini Mushrooms with Farmers Cheese and Fresh Herbs

Eggplant Fritters with Frisee and Dijon Vinaigrette

Beef Skewers with Gremolata Thin Sliced Gourmet Prosciutto & Fresh Melon

~ Mediterranean Help Yourself Table ~

Molinari Salame Spicy Dry Coppa

Parmigano Reggiano from Italy Idiazabal from Spain

Haricot Vert Radishes Baby Carrots

Marinated & Grilled Fresh Peppers, Fennel, Radicchio, Eggplant, Artichoke, Cured Black Olives, Cerignola Olives

~ Salad ~

Fresh Mixed Greens with Gorgonzola, Walnuts & Dried Cranberries,

Tossed in a Balsamic Vinaigrette

~ Entree ~

Grilled Organic Chicken Breast with Lemon and Herb Salsa

Grilled Alaskan Halibut with Black & Green Olives, Capers

~ Sides ~

Seasonal Baby Vegetables

Steamed Fingerling Potatoes

Oui Cook specializes in Private Dinner Parties and Events along California's North Coast, primarily in Mendocino County. From intimate dinners for two to luxurious dinner parties for more guests, we focus on a very high level of hospitality, quality and service.

Fresh foods are without a doubt the most important part of cooking. Focusing on flavors, aromas and what is in season, it brings us great satisfaction to feed people. Whether we are visiting a cheese maker in Petaluma or a scallop diver in Nantucket; buying local succulent dungeness crab in Bodega Bay or picking up locally grown produce at the Mendocino Farmer's Market, we are most happy working with the farmers and meat producers who are committed to excellence. The wine country is in nearby Anderson Valley where world class wines are produced.

Please inquire about local wine pairing for your event.

Chef Rocco received many accolades for his cuisine as chef/owner of Oui Cook @ Greenwood Pier Cafe. Here are some of the best-of-the-best reviews from Yelp:

4/9/2012:
Enjoyed a sunset birthday dinner at this wonderful restaurant. Meals are subject to change on any given night, which make it special and unique.

This place was romantic and a true joy. The food was fantastic. We shared the quail plate and skirt steak plate. Both came with a small salad and homemade vinaigrette. We ordered a bottle of wine from Mendocino, which was delicious. And for dessert...lets just say I had just died and went to heaven. I cant remember the name but it was this crispy banana sweetness.
Loved this place and only hope for the best for this talented (chef)!

1/13/12:
WOW, who knew this little Cafe in a little town called Elk, CA would have such an amazing, talented, and gifted Chef in the kitchen! I would have never expected to have the culinary experience I had when I walked into this restaurant.

The Cafe itself was very clean and cozy, we got to sit next to the little gas fire place in the corner of the restaurant. It had a pretty large wine selection from looking at the little wine bar and menu. It seemed to be a Cafe where the locals in the area gathered, ate, visited, and enjoyed themselves.

Our food came out and the plates where artistically presented and just beautiful. Something you would expect to get at a high end and very expensive place in the City! My wife ordered the Marinated Strip Steak w/ Creamy Polenta and Arugula. I had ordered the Rock Cod w/ Roasted Fingerling Potatoes and Broccolini. Our dishes where amazing, they where so full of flavor and you can tell they where prepared not only with such technique but with a lot of love and passion, the bass just melted in your mouth, Wow. It was truly a culinary experience. The dishes where filling and we were full but considering how much we enjoyed our main dishes, we just had to order dessert from this Chef! We explained to the waitress we were both lactose intolerant and can the Chef make us something, she said no problem...

Our dessert came out 15 minutes later and it too was art on a plate! I'm kicking myself in the azz, I didn't have my camera with me. It was something so simple but so good! A banana wrapped in phyllo dough backed to perfection with a homemade caramel sauce drizzled on the top, YUMMO! We ate every bite.

What a great dining experience and if your ever in Elk, CA, you must try this place as the Chef is a hidden Gem!

12/30/2011:
I brought my mom here for a 2 night getaway from SF for the Holidays, and arrived an hour past the 3p check in time. We got settled into our room (Garden Cottage which is lovely btw) and we were a little tired, debating on whether to drive 25m into Mendocino for an early dinner. I decided to take a chance and have dinner at the cafe, and it was the biggest and most pleasant surprise ever. It was a fantastic meal! I had the clam and tomato soup (very nice!) and the rock cod w fingerling potatoes and brocollini. That rock cod was so perfectly prepared that it could easily have been served at Cafe Chez Panisse. I'm salivating just thinking about it. Topped it off w a nice glass of house red wine, and I was over the moon.

When I left, I popped my head into the kitchen to thank the chef (tall man w shaved head- look for him!!! hunt him down....he's fantastic!) to tell him how happy I was after eating that meal. It was exactly what I needed. He was so gracious and reminded me to come back for the free breakfast the next morning (french toast w sausages, fruit and hot maple syrup - delicious). Highly recommended!

6/29/2011:
We ate here half way through our week-long trip down the coast. As soon as she took one bite of the baby spinach, beet, and goat cheese salad, my wife said, "this is the best thing we've had this entire trip." Now that we're back home, I think she's probably still right.

Her chicken entrée was good, and my elk stew (get it?) was quite tasty. Simple food done well--harder than it sounds, and totally worth the effort!

Nice view of a garden and some of the coast. Friendly staff, including the chef, who stopped by everyone's table to see what they thought.

A couple small details were off--my espresso was accompanied by some pretty stale seeming sugar packets, for example, but on the whole we really enjoyed ourselves here.

Definitely worth a visit.