A SMALL AND SWEET CALIFORNIA SUMMER WEDDING

Last month on July 4th, my sister Lisa gathered close friends and family at a home on the Santa Barbara riviera and celebrated her beautiful wedding overlooking the shimmering Pacific ocean. Native Santa Barbarans, singer Kenny Loggins, his son Crosby and dear family friend, Carrie Clough, sang the couple down the garden aisle. They sang the Loggins and Messina song, "Watch the River Run" and kissed underneath fig trees. A true Santa Barbara wedding.

 

 

Crosby Loggins, Carrie Clough and Kenny Loggins sing the processional song in perfect harmony

A sun sheltering fig tree hangs over Lisa and Chuck as they exchange vows

 

 

Blood orange margarita's by Pure Joy catering and a luscious devil's food cake filled with 
chocolate buttercream, frosted with sweet buttercream by Robyn Loves Cake

The blue tiled kitchen and the outdoor dining table at the George Washington Smith designed house

Tri-Tip, a local favorite cut of beef, the newlyweds Lisa and Chuck à table

Lisa and her newly engaged daugher Brittany, a refreshing watermelon and goat cheese salad

 

Lisa and Chuck watch the July 4th fireworks as the grand finale...

HANDCRAFTED CALIFORNIA ICE CREAM

The McConnell's 1970's line up

Santa Barbara was still in the throes of the 2008 financial crisis when a wildfire blazed through the city in November of that same year.  Of the hundreds of homes torched by the Tea Fire, the home of Eva Ein and Michael Palmer was one of the first to go.  After working through the loss of their beautiful home in an already battered housing market, they made a very unlikely move: they took over an ice cream company.

A Vanilla bean, SB Strawberry, and Salted Caramel Chip flavor stack*

Of all places, McConnell's Fine Ice Creams has it's roots in a health food store in Arizona, opened by Gordon "Mac" McConnell in 1939. In 1942 he was drafted into the army and deployed to England. Fortunately, he made it through the war and discovered French pot ice cream while passing through France en route back to the US.  Unable to find an equivalent ice cream in his home country, or a machine that could make it, Mac dismantled and rebuilt a machine in order to make the creamy, low-air-content ice cream he'd had in France, thus inventing a hybrid french pot ice cream maker. McConnell's Fine Ice Cream was an instant success.  After Mac passed away in the early sixties, it was taken over by Jim and Jeney McCoy who ran the company for 49 years.

 

Left: Michael Palmer with a vintage delivery van, Right: The door of the new ice cream truck

During a time of rampant greenwashing of companies, and ever more boutiqueified foods on the shelves, Michael and Eva saw in McConnell's an opportunity to take on a local company that had never stopped making a pure product from great ingredients.  The work they saw (and still see) ahead of them is to educate the public about this special ice cream, and to tweak the flavors to be the best they can be.  This is where Michael's intense and obsessive character comes into play. The first thing he did was to taste every single ice cream on the market and sample every available flavoring (coffee, vanilla, chocolate, caramel, etc.) to make sure McConnell's was using the best out there.  He can tell you the butter fat content and the "overrun" (air content percentage) of any ice cream just by tasting it. McConnell's proudly boasts it's 22 percent butterfat and no added air. A finely honed palate is just one benefit of a winemaker's background. When talking to him about what makes his ice cream the best, his eyes light up.  He described in meticulous detail how to get a rich ice cream that has a clean finish on the palate, and how he chose the blend of coffees that elevated the complexity of their classic Turkish Coffee ice cream.  The trick with the latter was to keep the cult followers of this flavor satisfied.  (He discovered that the childlike joy of ice cream lovers can turn to vicious contempt very fast if you mess with their favorite flavor.)

Mike Vierra, the master ice cream maker

Master ice cream maker Mike Vierra was hand-picked out of Cal Poly University in his early twenties by McConnell's second owner, Mike McCoy. Along with a scientist's knowledge of the molecular life of sweet, cold dairy,  he has the sage presence you'd expect from someone whose job it is to bring the simple joy of ice cream into the world.  Michael Palmer introduced us to Mike Vierra as we put on our hair nets and later admitted, "You could give me, Michael Palmer, the finest ingredients, 18+% butterfat mix, and I'd make you an awful ice cream. The secret sauce at McC's is the combination of Mike Vierra and Eva Ein. It's their recipes and craftsmanship that bring all of these outstanding components together and make the product what it is, the finest handcrafted ice cream on Earth, no, in the Universe!"

He also clarified what it truly means to make a product from scratch, "in a world of marketing speak, where the terms 'handcrafted' and 'handmade' are bandied about like no one's business, McConnell's had always been and remains a truly handcrafted product...we do everything from scratch, from baking our own inclusions to processing our own chocolates, coffees, etc., to handcrafting every one of our uniquely indulgent (18% butterfat - the only company in the business at this level) recipes, from scratch. And while we do use some extracts, many of which we make ourselves - we use very few actual flavorings."

As Michael walked us through production rooms, he let off a rapid-fire stream of information and excitement about the history of the facility and the delicate balance that goes into making rich, flavorful ice cream.  The factory is housed in the old Santa Barbara Dairy.  For most of the 20th century all of the central coast's dairy passed through this building to be pasteurized and bottled.  He is especially proud of the continuing dairy functions of the facility that go beyond just adding flavors to ice cream mix,

"The brands that do claim to pasteurize (there are a few, artisan brands that make this claim) are actually re-pasteurizing already pasteurized milk, which is very different, not nearly as labor intensive, and not nearly as from scratch (in fact, one could argue the point of doing this at all.) McC's has an almost 70 year history of obsessive perfectionism in this regard."

He continued, "We are the only artisan creamery (in my knowledge) that actually does everything from scratch, including pasteurize our own, year-around, grass-grazed, Central Coast milk and cream, from raw. Why is that significant? Because we're a dairy, we've been doing it this way for almost 70 years, as opposed to other brands - even artisan brands - most of whom buy pre-made ice cream base from dairies, then add flavorings, etc."  It didn't take much time at all to realize how important the history and track record of this establishment is to the new owners.

The room in which the ice cream is made still has all the original tiles and furnishings from the 1940s.  In the tradition of Mac McConnell, Michael's obsession with low overrun lead him to commision a one-of-a-kind mixing pot from German engineers. Understandably, we weren't allowed to photograph it, or write specifically about what makes it work so well.  But we were allowed, encouraged even,  to taste what it pumps out, which happens to be the best ice cream I've ever tasted.

The special blend of coffees goes into the sweet cream base before being mixed and chilled to perfection in the Mystery Machine

Every drop of the good stuff that McConnell's puts out comes out of...

 The Spigot !

The only little boy to ever sleep through an ice cream factory tour

What we tasted in the factory blew away any previous ice cream experiences I've had, whether it was gelato in Rome or sorbet on the Ile Saint Louis in Paris.  This is largely because of The Spigot. McConnell's ice cream from the pot or from the shop is already on par with the best I've had, but what comes out of The Spigot is extra special.  It goes like this: the flavoring is mixed into the liquid sweet cream base (milk, egg yolks, sugar, and cream); then it goes into the Mystery Machine where it is chilled and mixed into ice cream; then it comes out of The Spigot into big canisters. These canisters go into the deep freezer which lowers it to a very specific and secret temperature. This enables it to be packaged and delivered without forming any unwanted crystals.  The soft, slightly higher-temperature ice cream that comes out of The Spigot has an incredible creaminess and freshness that is otherwise indescribable.  I've heard from several people that the best thing they've ever eaten was fresh buffalo mozzarella straight from the cart in an open market in Campania in southern Italy.  Because of the freshness, it just doesn't compare to anything that has to be shipped and refrigerated.  The Spigot produces the ice cream equivalent of that mozzarella.

 

McConnell's uses free range organic eggs from central California and dairy from a handful of family run cooperatives in the greater Santa Barbara area.  But Michael explained to us that he didn't want to push the "local organic" stamp to the forefront of what McConnell's is about. He and Eva want McConnell's to be, first and foremost, a family-run business that offers the best possible ice cream. For them, the local and organic aspect is a given.

 The shiny new McConnell's Ice Cream truck / New flavor, Double Peanut Butter Chip *

Another new flavor, Chocolate Covered Strawberries * / Brooke Loggins, one of many family members in on the operation

 

The one completely new facet that Michael and Eva have added to the company is the street vending program.  There is the McTruck, a baby-blue mobile ice cream shop that travels the city and country, as well as the McCarts, small ice cream filled push carts.  Aside from that, the company is continuing on as it always has.

For more history, info, and to order, visit: www.McConnells.com



Text by Adrian Rubi-Dentzel
All Photographs by Danielle Rubi-Dentzel unless otherwise noted
*Photographs by Remy Hale

White Chocolate Raspberry Mille-Feuilles with Liz Downey in Santa Barbara

When visiting my hometown of Santa Barbara, CA, earlier this year, I had the pleasure of making a delicious signature dessert with Liz Downey in the Downey's restaurant kitchen. Located on State Street, Santa Barbara's main thoroughhfare, Downey's has been an institution since it opened it's doors in 1982. Using locally sourced ingredients and only the freshest produce available, Downey's is taking full advantage of one of the best growing regions in the world. As a loyal member of the Santa Barbara community, it's always been a source of confusion to me as to why the majority of restaurants in the area do not cook using all the incredible products from the local farms and producers. Only a handful of them do, and Downey's is at the top of the list.

WHITE CHOCOLATE RASPBERRY MILLE-FEUILLES

This rich white chocolate and raspberry dessert, developed by pastry chef Jeff Hausz is a favorite at Downey’s Restaurant. What  makes it so distinctive is the method of baking the puff pastry circles under weight so the stay thin but retain their fluffy layers - John Downey, head chef

Filling:

61/2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 lb top quality white chocolate chopped
3 cups (12 ounces) fresh raspberries plus a few for garnish

Quick Puff Pastry:

4 cups all purpose sifted flour

1 T salt

6 1/2 sticks ( 3 1/4 cups) of european style (like Plugra brand) butter cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 cup of chilled water

Sifted powdered sugar for dusting. 

Parchment paper

pastry bag with flat tip

2x 18 x 26 inch large baking sheets

9 inch round cake pan (for pastry cutting guide)

In medium saucepan, bring 1 1/2 cups of the cream to a boil and turn off the heat. Add the white chocolate and let it sit until the chocolate is melted, then stir until blended. Cover and refrigerate until firm and cold, at least overnight.

If making homemade Puff Pastry, please refer to the bottom of this post for the recipe, otherwise you may use your favorite high quality store bought puff pastry (make sure it's made with real butter!).

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Cut the puff pastry in half and roll each half out to 1/8 inch thickness. Roll each piece of dough roughly into a 12 inch circle. Cut 2 rectangles of baking parchment to cover an 18x26 inch baking sheet. Line the baking sheet with one piece of paper and place the pastry circles about 1 inch apart on the lined pan. Place the second piece of paper on top of the pastry and a second baking sheet on top of that. Place tiles, bricks, or heavy cookware on top to hold the sheets together.  Bake in the preheated oven until golden about 10 minutes. The pastry circles will bake up very thin, but will still produce many flaky layers. Let cool completely.

Place a 9 inch round cake pan on one circle and cut around it with a sharp paring knife to trim the circle. Repeat with the second circle; wrap each securely in plastic wrap. (The pastry also may be frozen, before trimming, for several weeks. Thaw in the refrigerator, and heat in a 300 F oven for 5 minutes, let cool completely before proceeding.)

TO ASSEMBLE: No more than 3 hours before serving (to prevent the pastry from becoming soggy), stir the remaining 3 cups of the whipping cream with the chocolate mixture until well blended. Whip until stiff peaks form. If you do not have a electric mixer, you can do this by hand with a whisk. You will have about 9 cups for the filling. Transfer some of the filling to a pastry bag with a plain tip.

 

Pipe a single layer of the chocolate mixture on one pastry circle, leaving a 1 inch margin around the outside of the circle. In this space, pipe a 2 inch high wall of white chocolate. Place raspberries on the outside of the wall, pressing, tightly so they will adhere to the wall. Cover the wall neatly and completely. Spread the remaining berries on top of the pastry inside the wall. Cover the berries with the rest of the white chocolate mixture, smoothing the top. Place the second pastry circle on top and press down gently with a cake pan to adhere the two parts; stop when the sides bulge just slightly. Refrigerate for 2 hours before service.

When ready to serve, dust the top generously with powdered sugar and garnish with a few additional raspberries. Cut into wedges with a serrated bread knife.

PUFF PASTRY

 

Don't be alarmed at Liz's large portions and restaurant grade mixer, this recipe is in fact scaled down for you !

1. Sift together the flour and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade attachment.

2. Add chilled, diced butter and pulse three to five times, until the butter pieces are about the size of lima beans. Add water to the mixture and pulse again about three times. Invert the crumbly mass onto a lightly floured work surface.

3. Using a rolling pin and bench scraper, shape the mass into a long rectangle. Use the bench scraper and carefully flip one third of the rectangle toward the center. Then, flip the other end to the center, like folding a business letter. Rotate the dough 90 degrees.

4. Reshape and roll the dough into a rectangle. Repeat the folding and rotating process three more times for a total of four turns. If the dough becomes soft or sticky during this process, immediately refrigerate until firm.

5. After four turns, wrap the dough in plastic wrap.  Refrigerate the dough at least 45 minutes or until firm.

6. After the dough has been refrigerated for 45 minutes, unwrap it and discard the plastic. Keep your work surface and rolling pin well floured. Press down on each of the four sides of dough to seal its shape.

7. Start with the rolling pin at the center. Roll away from you. Return to the center and roll toward you. Repeat the folding and rotating process of the dough two more times.

8. Wrap the finished dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate to make sure it is well-chilled before baking. Quick Puff Pastry keeps refrigerated up to three days or frozen for several months.

*The white chocolate should be top quality, made from cocoa better, do not use white coating chocolate or any product that lists palm oil.

Downey's features Liz's beautiful plein air paintings of local landscapes, like this one of the Santa Barbara coastline

Downey's

1305 State St.

Santa Barbara, CA

t: (805) 966-5006

Recipe courtesy of Downey's Restaurant, however we adjusted their Puff Pastry recipe for scale