Happy month December left behind some cheerful memories to kick-off the New Year 2012. As the month set in, there was always something happening every day at office- pleasing visuals with everyone dressed in red or green, cubicle decoration, home baked cookies from colleagues, and business sponsored Christmas parties or boss’s lunch. At home Sheena baked ginger bread man for the little ones in the family and then a variety of cookies – Almond, cashew nut, pistachio, sugar, coconut macrons and chocolate chips – that simply captured the spirit of sharing and cheerfulness. Our baby was busy biting the edges off the cookies that came out of the oven and she always offered help in packing them for her cousins. Our attempt to make the X’Mas plum cake was quite successful this time with brandy socked currants and orange peels producing a beloved aroma and end
uring taste. 
We also hosted a couple of Christmas dinners with friends locally, where we served elaborate Kerala style meals with Lamb cutlet and sallas, Salmon molly, fish curry, shrimp masala, beef fry, duck roast and all of them accompanied with vellappam and rice. Paired with some crispy white wines, these meals probably attained the desired outcome. Joy.Trip to San Jose, to join the families of my brother Thomas and cousin Agnal for Christmas and also to catch-up with some Bay area friends during New Years was planned in advance. On 22nd Thursday, after a lunch with John at Chef Hung, we started to San Jose at 3:30pm. The following twelve days were fun-filled and food remained the dominant theme throughout.
On day one at San Jose- 23rd Friday – Drove to Napa Valley with Chettan. Chateau Montelena , the winery famed for its top position in ‘Judgement of Paris’, was our first stop. Excellent
award winning Chardonnay with butterscotch finish and expensive estate grown Cabs ($135) made the tasting flight rich and pleasing. Picturesque Jade garden and ambience were additional rewards to driving to this winery in Calistoga, the northern end of Napa valley. The manger generously waived $40 tasting fee when we bought two bottles of their Chardonnay. We picked nearby Envy Wines, even with its cheesy name, as our next stop because I had a Napa Card from WineBomb that offered a free tasting in this winery. Our enthusiastic host, Michelle - probably the owner -happily honored the free tasting and engaged us in interesting conversation about the private labeling of wines and their own operations as winemakers for others. She even poured the wines that are not in the list. Mid-range priced small lot Petit Syrah and estate Merlot stood out in our tasting. Overwhelmed by their quality and hospitality, we ended up packing a couple of bottles for Christmas. So now we know there is a small quiet place away from busy Hwy 29 where fine reds are waiting. After a short lunch break, we took the scenic Silvarado Trail 
and travelled south to reach Mumm , a well reviewed winery for sparkling wine. Unlike a regular winery, this one was set-up like a restaurant and when you order a flight of wine that would be served to you on the table. Not in a mood for sparkles we tried a couple of regular wines. Following the suggestions from online forums, we drove to Chimney Rock Winery in Stags Leap district to taste their pricey Bordeaux (Elevate & Tomahawk $80-115) and 2005 to 2008 vintage cabernet sauvignons ($75-$66). It is quite intimidating that good wines costs a lot of money but places like Chimney Rock provides an option to indulge in fine wines with little money.
Our second leg of the day was to procure some fresh meat for Christmas. A friend of us knew a farm in Dixon, a place about 50 miles East of Napa and near to 
Vacaville. By the time we reached the farm our friends already bought a 50 lbs goat and had it butchered for us. We also bought a free range country chicken from the farm for $10. We got back to San Jose at 8pm and decided to cook some of our fresh catch from the farms. At around 10, we had our dinner with a mutton soup seasoned with fried shallot as starter, peppery liver masala on the side and coconut milk based chicken curry, which tasted gamy and felt boney, over chapatti and rice. It was also a gentle reminder that home recipes like these call for finest and freshest ingredients that are hard to find outside Kerala. The kick-off day at San Jose was grand and the days that followed kept on adding to it. When I started writing this log, I wanted to describe the everyday experiences in detail but when I am done with the first day, that does not seem to be practical. So let me just highlight some.
Vacaville. By the time we reached the farm our friends already bought a 50 lbs goat and had it butchered for us. We also bought a free range country chicken from the farm for $10. We got back to San Jose at 8pm and decided to cook some of our fresh catch from the farms. At around 10, we had our dinner with a mutton soup seasoned with fried shallot as starter, peppery liver masala on the side and coconut milk based chicken curry, which tasted gamy and felt boney, over chapatti and rice. It was also a gentle reminder that home recipes like these call for finest and freshest ingredients that are hard to find outside Kerala. The kick-off day at San Jose was grand and the days that followed kept on adding to it. When I started writing this log, I wanted to describe the everyday experiences in detail but when I am done with the first day, that does not seem to be practical. So let me just highlight some. Christmas Eve at Agnal’s place with chilled Red Ale and IPA from Rockbottom Brewery and a variety of meat delights from Filsy, Chechy’s delicious
mutton biriyani paired with crispy white wines on Christmas day, Gluhwein (Mulled wine – a mix of strong tea, red wine and spices), Dungeness crab and New Year Fondue were the novelties at home front. Tied House in Mountain View got added to the list of visited Micro Brews in Bay area. Apart from the elaborate home cooked meals, we occationally hoped restaurants like Joy Luck Palace in Cuppertino and Rock Bottom brewery in Campell.
mutton biriyani paired with crispy white wines on Christmas day, Gluhwein (Mulled wine – a mix of strong tea, red wine and spices), Dungeness crab and New Year Fondue were the novelties at home front. Tied House in Mountain View got added to the list of visited Micro Brews in Bay area. Apart from the elaborate home cooked meals, we occationally hoped restaurants like Joy Luck Palace in Cuppertino and Rock Bottom brewery in Campell. Working from San Francisco office opened up new lu
nch opportunities in the downtow
n. First at Paladar Cuban Cafe in Kearny St-Boiled tapioca with herbs garnished as a side and a hot pressed Cuban pork sandwich. Second at Boudin - a grilled cheese ham sandwich on a fresh and flavorful sourdough . A third sandwich sized heaven at La Boulange - A Ciabatta sandwich with Provencal aioli, goat cheese and Boulange potatoes.
nch opportunities in the downtow
n. First at Paladar Cuban Cafe in Kearny St-Boiled tapioca with herbs garnished as a side and a hot pressed Cuban pork sandwich. Second at Boudin - a grilled cheese ham sandwich on a fresh and flavorful sourdough . A third sandwich sized heaven at La Boulange - A Ciabatta sandwich with Provencal aioli, goat cheese and Boulange potatoes.While visiting our Salinas friends, we could sneakout to a Monterey winerey - Pessagno - at the River Road wine trail for a tasting and also picked up a couple of zinfandels
for the New Years party. Ramya prepared good vegetarian meals that were close to Aluva region in flavor and style. Tara baby had a great time with her cousins visting parks and fairs and was just happy visiting homes trying infinite number of new toys from her cousins and friends. Quite a compensation for the time she missed since we have moved from Monterey to Irvine. While driving back to Irvine on New Year day, our thoughts were still hanging out in Bay area sorrounded by food and drinks. What a great way to begin the New Year 2012 !
for the New Years party. Ramya prepared good vegetarian meals that were close to Aluva region in flavor and style. Tara baby had a great time with her cousins visting parks and fairs and was just happy visiting homes trying infinite number of new toys from her cousins and friends. Quite a compensation for the time she missed since we have moved from Monterey to Irvine. While driving back to Irvine on New Year day, our thoughts were still hanging out in Bay area sorrounded by food and drinks. What a great way to begin the New Year 2012 !
