Mustards Grill. - Mustards Grill Napa Valley Cookbook

Copyright 2001 by Cindy Pawlcyn and Brigid Callinan
Principal food and location photography 2001 by Laurie Smith
Additional location photography 2001 by Jonathan Chester ()

All rights reserved. Published in the United States by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.
www.crownpublishing.com
www.tenspeed.com

Ten Speed Press and the Ten Speed Press colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Pawlcyn, Cindy.
[Mustards Grill cookbook]
Mustards Grill Napa Valley Cookbook
Valley / Cindy Pawlcyn with Brigid Callinan ; photography by Laurie Smith.
p. cm.
Includes index.
1. Cookery, AmericanCalifornia style. 2. Mustards Grill. I. Title:
Mustards Grill cookbook. II. Callanan, Brigid. III. Title.

641.59794dc21

2001000927

eISBN: 978-1-60774-451-1

Cover design: Marianne Agnew
Design assistance: Toni Tajima
Copyediting: Sharon Silva
Manuscript development: Jackie Wan
Mustard illustrations: Marianne Agnew
Food and prop styling: Wesley Martin

v3.1

Tons of gratitude to all of the recipe testers, especially Lois Lee, Yvonne Moody, Elizabeth Owen, Michael Wolf, David Graham, Nickie and Peter Zeller, and Aimee Newberry. And to all of their eaters as well.

What can I say about Brigid Callinan, other than that shes one of my favorite sugar, butter, and chocolate magicians. The chapter on desserts is her handiwork. I dont think shell ever forgive me for getting her into this project, but I hope shell be proud of it.

Thanks to Marianne Agnew for eating at Mustards ever since the beginning and for making the book look like the real place.

Thank you to Jackie Wan, who made English out of my writing, and to everyone at Ten Speed for their support, especially publisher Kirsty Melville; editor Lorena Jones; and designer Toni Tajima. Many thanks also to photographer Laurie Smith and food stylist Wesley Martin.

A million, zillion thanks to Sherry Fournier, without whom my part of the book would never have gotten done.

And to my husband, Murdo Laird, a rabid fish hater who let me cook fish in our house when I was testing the recipes, as long as Id make him the ham-and-cheese sandwiches he loves so much. He also read and reread the manuscript, and helped unscramble my words into terms others could understand. Much love always, mdear.

goes to my mom, Dorothy Jane Pawlcyn, the woman who taught me how to cook (or at least how to get out of doing the dishes). This book is dedicated to you, Mom. XOX

I was out of town the night Mustards Grill opened, but I certainly heard about it when I returned. It was 1983 and the event was widely (and wildly) discussed all over Napa Valley. The three partnersCindy, Bill, and Billhad expected a modest turnout. Instead, they were over-whelmed by eager customers from the moment they opened the doors. At some point, I learned later, batteries of kitchen helpers and friends had to be dispatched to several local markets to buy additional groceries.

My first visit was a few days after that legendary opening night. For me, it was love at first sightthe start of a romantic affair that continues today. I was struck by the creative genius that went into the restaurant: the playful tongue-in-cheek exterior signs, the colorful descriptions on the menu, the lighthearted way the local wines were offered. The food was inventive and tasty, served by a staff both professional and fun loving. It was easy to get caught up in the charm.

The Napa Valley didnt have many restaurants in the early 1980s, and most of those in the business seemed almost oblivious to the emerging international interest in the local wines. Mustards obviously wasnt a restaurant in which youd expect to see an encyclopedic wine list chained to the table, but it was clear that the place was wine friendly and willing to experiment. This attitude set the stage for the future.

The first list included twenty wines, all local. I suspect that many had been selected as much for their availability and price as for their quality. As the areas vintners grew increasingly comfortable with the place, however, it became a matter of great personal pride to have ones wines represented at Mustards. What better way to secure a spot on the wine list than to offer the restaurant something rare, something sure to impress a visitor? Soon the list was packed with scarce wines, many of them from older vintages long sold out. Without actually meaning to, Mustards had become a sort of wine geeks paradise. It was about this time that I learned about Manzanilla and a little more in the process.