Have you been to a Cafe Merlot cooking class this year?

"If you do anything this summer... make sure to visit Bernardo Winery. (But don't tell anyone else - we want to keep it "hidden"!)" - Lori Jean Cooks

We had the pleasure of hosting Lori Jean's first Cooking Class at Cafe Merlot a few days ago. You can read about her experience in her blog post below.

Please take some time to stop by her blog today and say "hello". lorijeancooks.blogspot.com

Cooking Class at Cafe Merlot

At the end of May our team at work did a cooking class, as a team building. We had a blast... what a treat! Lots of laughter, lots of food and lots of learning!

Our class started off with an introduction and some background from Toni Kraft, one of the proud new owners of Cafe Merlot at Bernardo Winery, the oldest continuously operating winery in Southern California. Bernardo Winery is hidden in the hills of North San Diego County (in Rancho Bernardo, as a matter of fact)... a quaint family run winery boasting jazz on Sunday afternoons, a large courtyard to stroll through, a coffee shop, restaurant, a farmers market on Fridays, shops & artist studios and a beautiful lawn leading out to some of the vineyards.

Please, if you do anything this summer... make sure to visit Bernardo Winery. (But don't tell anyone else - we want to keep it "hidden"!) ; )

We had some appetizers...

And then Toni handed us off to Chef Daniel Reynolds, who schooled us! (In a good way...)

Let's see... what did we learn/make?

- We made bruschetta (and he explained that if we were pronouncing this word "BROOSHEDDA" then we would be laughed at). Note to self: It's "BROOSKET-TA!"
- We made a citrus viniagrette
- We made his Universal Marinade (did I write down all of those ingredients?! phew!)
- He showed us how to make his famed omelets, as well as how to FLIP an omelet! (I failed!)

Through all of those cooking lessons Chef Daniel shared with us some of his kitchen tips (like why it's important to "spank the herbs"), a few chef secrets, the importance of LABELING everything in the kitchen/refrigerator (product, date, etc), tips on the proper julienne cut and explained the dice, aka "brunoise".

After each lesson we'd get to taste test what we had made, of course...

And by the end of the day we were so full we had to sit down...

And once we sat down they brought to us one of the most amazing mimosas I've ever had in my life. I'm telling you - they serve a special mimosa that you'll have to try for yourself... using a unique-to-them champagne (that's apparently rather difficult to acquire), blood orange juice and I believe there was a third ingredient (which I can't seem to recall at the moment).

What a great day... we learned a lot, we ate some amazing food (THAT WE MADE OURSELVES) and have I said yet how much we laughed ?! Oh yeah, and one more thing we took away from the day? "Don't pull a Lori!" (obviously referring to how I failed on the one-handed flip of the omelet...nice!)

enjoy your time in the kitchen...

Pictures from the Grape Stomp and our next Summer Night Dinner at Cafe Merlot.

Pictures from Grape Stomp on Semptember 11, 2011

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Image Description:
Fresh bread station with cold press olive oil
Chef and crew working over olive wood
Crew that assisted over 250 guests

Summer Night Dinner at Cafe Merlot

DATE:             October 7, 2011

TIME:            5-8pm

LOCATION: 13330 Paseo Del Verano Norte
                          San Diego, California

INFO:             Summer Night Dinner at Cafe Merlot. Please call for reservations:
                         858.592.7785

Cafe Merlot Catering Services

New Photos from Cafe Merlot's Raw menu.

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Special Events: The 3rd Annual LifeStyles INFOCUS® Fundraiser & 3rd Annual Poway Heal Beauty & Wellness Expo

Date: Saturday October 22nd

Recipe and reminders from Cafe Merlot

Photos from our catering service:

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Try at Home one of my favorites:

Baked Tomatoes,squash,and potatoes
A new twist on ratatoulle!
2 Tbs EVOO plus extra to drizzle
1 onion thinly sliced
2small tomatoes(try connolly farms heirloom)yum sliced 1/4 in thick
1medium yellow summer squash,sliced 1/4 inch thick
1medium yukin gold(sweet)potato sliced 1/4 in thick
Sea salt and fresh grnd pepper
1 tbsp fresh thyme
2tbsp freshly grated parmesan
Heat oven to 375 heat oil over med and cook onion until tender and golden 6-8 min
Arrange the onion on the bottom of 9x13 in baking dish.overlap veggies top with onion.season with salt and pepper,sprinkle with thyme and parmesan drizzle wit EVOO -bake covered for 30 minutes uncover and bake until golden 30 more minutes!!
What time should I be over??

First Friday dinners

Check out www.cafemerlot.com for a list of cooking classes until end of year! Some have already been sold out, so book early..
First Friday dinners next one Sept 2nd 5-8pm Chef Daniel will be cooking items from some of our classes, as well as late summer delights!

Cafe Merlot - Heres the updated list of OPEN cooking classes for 2011! They're selling out fast, so book early!

Breakfast for Dinner

A New Twist to Strata's, Quiche, Omelets, Mimosas and Bellinis

April 14th (9:00AM - 12:00PM)

May 27th (9:00AM - 12:00PM)

August 11th (4:00PM - 7:00PM) - SOLD OUT

October 13th (4:00PM - 7:00PM)

November 22nd (5:30PM - 8:30PM)

Grilling, and BBQ, Marinades, Rubs, and Mops

September 15th (4:00PM - 7:00PM)

Healthy and Delicious Italian Recipes

Farm Fresh Ingredients with Flavor and Color for great Old World Italian Dishes

November 18th (9:00AM - 12:00PM)

Farmers Market Finds

Creating Seasonal Stews, Sauces, and Soups

December 30th (9:00AM - 12:00PM)

Classic Dishes for Entertaining

Time Honored Recipes and Robust Wines

September 27th (9:00AM - 12:00PM)

November 25th (4:00PM - 7:00PM)

November 29th (5:30PM - 8:30PM) - SOLD OUT

December 13th (5:30PM - 8:30PM) - SOLD OUT

Gifts from Your Kitchen

Personalized Homemade Treats that Delight Family, Coworkers and Friends

September 13th (9:00AM - 12:00PM)

September 17th (9:00AM - 12:00PM)

October 13th (9:00AM - 12:00PM)

December15th (9:00AM - 12:00PM)

Fearless Cooking for Crowds

Enjoy planning and entertaining from your House or Mine - Mulled Wine and Wassails

December 27th (5:30PM - 8:30PM)

December 30th (5:30PM - 8:30PM)

Please call 858-592-7785 to sign up for a class.

Ladies who lunch for the everyday! Wraps from Sharp Hospital lunch

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Which is your favorite Cafe Merlot LITE Sandwich? Is it the strawberry, fresh ricotta and honey, black pepper on seeded whole grain roll OR the poached salmon, steamed asparagus, goat cheese, lemon on toasted whole grain baguette?!

Yum... Both Great with pomegranite and lemon iced tea!!