Flavors of famous wine regions at Napa Auction lunch

When guests gather at the Napa Valley Live Auction Celebration this Saturday at Meadowood in St. Helena, they will be served a seamless feast drawing inspiration from three of the most renowned wine regions in the world.

Dishes from the sun-kissed climates of France, Italy and the Napa Valley will be served during a casual, al fresco lunch designed by longtime Napa Valley restaurateur Michael Chiarello, chef/owner of Bottega in Yountville and Coqueta in San Francisco.

“There’s so many dinners where every course is different, made by a different chef,” Chiarello said. “With this, every dish will make sense as a lunch, and it’s approachable and celebratory.”

The picnic menu not only pays tribute to Chiarello’s own roots in southern Italy, but to the French roots of Opus One Winery in Oakville, which is serving as the honorary chair of the 2015 event. Finally, it gives a nod to the hard-working chefs and purveyors of the Napa Valley itself.

Chiarello has been cooking in the valley since opening his first restaurant, Tra Vigne, in St. Helena in 1987. Since then, he has only missed one Napa Valley Auction, due to a death in the family.

“I’ve probably hosted three dinners and two lunches ... and I’ve loved every one,” said the graduate of the Culinary Institute of America at Hyde Park, known not only for his restaurants but for his award-winning cookbooks and television shows, his line of Consorzio Flavored Oils and his Napastyle collection of artisanal foods, kitchenware and home decor.

For the auction lunch, Chiarello chose dishes that represent each wine region, with inspiration and guidance from the kitchen at Meadowood, which has earned three Michelin stars. The dishes are mostly classics, with a bit of a innovation and whimsy thrown in for good measure.

“Sometimes as chefs we have a bad habit of always wanting to create new,” he said. “You like things you are going to look forward to, but the classics should be classics.”

Chiarello’s first stop is France and the simple, street food of Paris, the Jambon Beurre Baguette, consisting of a baguette, ham and house-churned butter. “It’s the salty and sweet and crunchy,” he said. “I love that.”

He also came up with a sandwich with roots in the South of France, Ratatouille and Brie on a batard. Rounding out the menu is a classic dish from the Perigord, Cassoulet with Great Northern Beans, Pork Shoulder and Parsley; and a Kale Salad with Herbes de Provence and Summer Stonefruit.

“It’s fresh, and you think about sitting under a pergola,” he said of the salad. “The South of France has that sunbaked feeling to it.”

His next stop was Italy, which inspired a sandwich that pulls together some of the most iconic ingredients of that country: Prosciutto, Arugula, Fresh Ricotta and Caselvetrano Olives.

For vegetable lovers, he added two dishes: Melanzane al Forno (baked eggplant) and Polenta Antica (ancient grain polenta) with Mushrooms and Fontina cheese, a hearty dish that pairs nicely with Napa’s big reds.

The rest of the Italian menu consists of traditional Melon Salad with Frisee and Crispy Pancetta and an Insalata di Tomato and Burrata with Balsamic Caviar (vinegar formed into little balls), which reverses the usual taste order of the dish.

“With balsamic, it often washes the tomatoes out because you taste it first,” he said. “With this dish, you get the creaminess of the burrata, the tartness and sweetness of the tomato, and then the brightness of the balsamic caviar.”

The Napa Valley portion of the menu also provides a showcase for local ingredients like artisanal cheeses and breads, plus oysters, wildflower honey and even some “Napa” cabbage.

“This is the American side of it,” he said. “You want to shuck some oysters if you can, because Hog Island is very close to us.”

For his Napa Cabbage Slaw, Chiarello took inspiration from a dish that a sous chef of his once prepared at The Greenbrier resort in West Virginia.

“The dressing is apple cider from The Apple Farm in Philo, honey, olive oil and toasted fennel seed, emulsified together,” he said. “I love the texture of it and the emotion of it. It tastes like good country living.”

The Fried Chicken with Wildflower Honey also showcases the rustic simplicity of Southern cooking, which Chiarello compares to the cooking of Southern Italy.

“The country ham and prosciutto, the grits and the polenta, there’s an incredible similarity,” he said.

Finally, the tour of America concludes with an array of Heirloom Vegetables grown in the garden at Meadowood Napa Valley restaurant, a few cheeses from the Swiss-Italian immigrants who settled in West Marin, and some Homemade Kettle Chips.

“Is there anything better?” he asked of the salty chip. “I learned to make potato chips from (Napa Valley chef) Cindy Pawlcyn. Her dad owned a potato chip factory.”

The following recipes, perfect for an early summer picnic, are from the team for the Auction Napa Valley Saturday Lunch.

Salade de Pommes de Terre

Makes 10 servings

5 pounds of fingerling potatoes

2 pounds haricots verts

For vinaigrette:

¼ cup red wine vinegar

1 cup extra virgin cold-pressed olive oil

½ bunch fresh parsley

½ bunch fresh thyme

½ bunch fresh chives

1 shallot, minced

- Salt

- Freshly ground pepper

- Maldon sea salt flakes

Wash potatoes and boil in salted water until fork tender but skins still intact. Remove from water and submerge in cold water. Blanch haricots verts by submerging in boiling water for 2 to 4 minutes. Once beans are tender and still bright green, remove from boiling water and immediately submerge in ice water to cool and stop the cooking process. Drain both potatoes and haricots verts and let air dry.

Whisk together vinegar, olive oil, shallot and finely chopped fresh herbs. Add a pinch of salt and fresh ground pepper to taste. Toss potatoes and haricots verts together in vinaigrette. Season with sea salt flakes just before serving.

Insalata di Melone e Prosciutto

Makes 10 servings

5 heads frisée lettuce

1 cup prosicutto, roughly chopped or in ribbons

1 cup each of cantaloupe and honeydew melons, in small balls or pieces

For vinaigrette:

¼ cup champagne vinegar

1 cup extra virgin cold-pressed olive oil

½ bunch fresh thyme

1 shallot, minced

- Salt

- Freshly ground pepper

- Maldon sea salt flakes

Wash frisée and pat dry. Gently chop or separate frisée by hand into smaller sections. Add melon and prosciutto.

Whisk together vinegar, olive oil, shallot and finely chopped thyme. Add a pinch salt and fresh ground pepper to taste. Toss the frisée, melon and prociutto with the vinaigrette. Season with sea salt flakes just before serving.

This recipe has been adapted for the home cook. The brining of the chicken for this recipe needs to be done the night before cooking. It’s important to let the chicken pieces dry completely before battering and before frying. Putting them in the refrigerator to dry can help accelerate the process.

Napa Valley Fried Chicken

Makes 8 to 10 servings

18 thighs or drumsticks (preferably Mary’s Organic Chicken)

- Cooking oil for frying (preferably peanut oil)

For brine:

1 gallon cold water

1 cup plus 2 teaspoons kosher salt

¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons honey (preferably local wildflower variety)

2 bay leaves

1 head of garlic cloves, smashed (peels on)

2 tablespoons black peppercorns

3 large rosemary sprigs

1 small bunch thyme

1 small bunch parsley

- Finely grated zest and juice of 2 lemons

For dredging:

3 cups all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons garlic powder

2 tablespoons onion powder

2 teaspoons cayenne pepper

2 teaspoons paprika

½ teaspoon ground pepper

2 teaspoons kosher salt

2 cups buttermilk

In a very large pot, combine 1 quart of the of the water with 1 cup of the salt and the honey, bay leaves, garlic, peppercorns, rosemary, thyme and parsley. Add the lemon zest and juice and the lemon halves and bring to a simmer over moderate heat, stirring until the salt is dissolved. Let mixture cool completely. Submerge the chicken pieces, and refrigerate overnight.

Drain and rinse the chicken pieces and pat dry. Make sure the chicken is really dry and all herbs or peppercorns are removed from the skin.

For dredging: In a large bowl, combine the flour, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne and the remaining 2 teaspoons of salt. Put the buttermilk in a large, shallow bowl. Working with a few pieces at a time, dip the chicken in the buttermilk, then dredge in the flour mixture, pressing so it adheres and coats the chicken completely. Transfer the chicken to a baking sheet lined with wax paper or use a wire rack. Let sit for 20 minutes to dry completely.

In a very large pot or Dutch oven, heat oil to 360 degrees. Use enough oil to deep-fry the chicken. Fry in 2 or 3 batches until golden and crunchy (approximately 15 to 20 minutes). Internal temperature should read 160 degrees.

Transfer the chicken to the cooling rack to drain, and keep warm in a low oven (175-200 degrees) while frying the remaining pieces. Fried chicken may be garnished with fresh herbs and served hot or cold.

Staff writer Diane Peterson can be reached at 521-5287 or diane.peterson@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @dianepete56.