Notes from Gonul's J St Cafe

Out With the Old, in with The Vanilla Bean Bistro

2011-05-15T10:17:00.000-07:00

After 9 years, it is time to make a change. Gonul's J Street Cafe will close on May 29, 2011 to make way for our friends at Formoli's (and they are making way for us). Gonul will open her new bistro down the street at 3260 J Street on Monday June 6. There will be a new name, the Vanilla Bean Bistro, but Gonul is still the chef and although there will be some changes in the menu, much will still be the same. Herbs and vegetables from her garden, locally grown produce, top quality meats and fish, and Gonul's inventive tastes will still rule. Same phone (916-457-1155), same catering line (916-508-0159), new web site (www.vanillabeanbistro.com). You will be able to make reservations on line from that web site. See you at the Bean.

Wine Maker's Dinner -- A Taste of Portugal

2011-01-15T18:36:00.000-08:00

Our next wine maker's dinner is in just 2 weeks and will be both delicious and interesting. This one is for the adventuresome. We will be featuring varietals of Portuguese origins and Gonul will pair this 5 course meal with Portuguese inspired recipes. Valentine's Day will be on a Monday this year -- make your plans soon. We will be posting that menu on our website, http://www.jstreetcafe.com/

Sunday, January 30 at 6 PM

A Taste of Portugal
Featuring the Wines of the Fenestra Winery of Livermore
Presented by the wine maker, Lanny Replogle

Frango Na Pucara

Chicken Sautéed with peppers, tomatoes, onion, garlic and wine

2009 Verdelho, Silvaspoons Vineyards, Lodi

Portuguese Paella
Rice with a variety of shell fish, chicken and vegetables
2008 Graciano, Markus Bokisch Vineyard, Lodi

Pork Tenderloin
With bacon wrapped dates and an apple and pomegranate sauce
2008 Malbec, Silvaspoons Vineyards, Lodi

Boneless Short Rib
With polenta and a red wine & dark chocolate sauce
2006 Tourvanillo, Silavaspoons Vineyards, Lodi

Chocolate Bread Pudding
2004 Port, Livermore Valley

Silver Medal 2009 Riverside Competition
Silver Medal 2009 El Dorado County Wine Competition.

$49.50 per person

Vino Noceto Wine Maker's Dinner

2010-11-27T09:43:00.000-08:00

WINE MAKER’S DINNER

Sunday, December 12 at 6 PM

Featuring the Vino Noceto Winery of Amador County
Presented by the vintners, Suzy and Jim Gullett

Portuguese Seafood Paella
Rice with lobster tail, prawns, mussels, chicken, chorizo sausage, tomatoes, sweet peas, and saffron
2009 Pinot Grigio

House Made Gnocchi
With an Heirloom tomato sauce
2008 Sangiovese

Roasted Sonoma Duck
with a blood orange compote, ginger & star anise
2007 Sangiovese Riserva

Slow Roasted Rack of Sonoma Lamb Rogout
With a puree of beans, haricots verts, shallots, black olives & natural jus
2007 OGP Zinfandel

Baklava
2010 Frivolo Moscato

$49.50per person

Go to OpenTable.com to RSVP

A Taste of Italy

2010-04-13T19:16:00.000-07:00

WINE MAKERS DINNER
A Taste of Italy

Wednesday, June 23 at 6:30 PM

Featuring the wines of the Watts Winery & Vineyards of Lodi
And presented by owner, Craig Watts

Insalata di Mele
Apples, spinach, maple roasted walnuts, French feta cheese
& a spicy orange vinaigrette
2006 Rosado

Chicken Scallopini
Durham Ranch Chicken with apricots, dates, currants, shallots
and local roasted vegetables
2007 Chardonnay, Casa Azul Vineyard
Silver Medal ’09 Florida State Fair

Pasta Puttanesca
With anchovies, garlic, tomato, shrimp, olives, capers & red pepper
2005 Dolcetto, Los Robles Vineyard, Clements Hills
Gold Medal ’07 Chronicle

Osso Buco Milanese
With saffron risotto
2005 Montepuciano, Los Robles Vineyard, Clements Hills
’04, ’07 Silver El Dorado County Fair, ’05, ’08 Gold Los Angeles County Fair

Budino di Pane al Cioccolata
Chocolate bread pudding with dulce de leche and crème fraiche

$45 per person

for reservations call (916-457-1155), email (jstreetcafe@aol.com) or go to www.opentable.com

Holly's Hill Vineyard and Winery Wine Maker's Dinner

2010-03-18T08:07:00.000-07:00

We are excited to bring Holly's Hill Winery back for a wine maker's dinner on Tuesday, March 23. This foothill winery is known for their Rhone style wines and is one of Sac Bee's wine editor Chris Macias' favorite wineries. The dinner is at 6:30 PM

Sautéed Prawns & Scallops

With a spicy mango sauce
2009 Holly’s Hill Viognier

Stuffed ChickenDurham Ranch Chicken

with apricots, dates, preserved lemon, golden raisins, shallots, goat cheese & cream cheese
2008 Holly’s Hill Grenache

Boneless Short Rib

With red wine & dark chocolate sauce
2007 Holly’s Hill Patriarche (think Chateauneuf-du-Pape)

Filet Mignon Roast

With a 3 pepper glace
2006 Holly’s Hill Syrah

Apple Crisp
2008 Late Harvest Roussanne

$49.50

Make a Reservation

Forchini Wine Maker's Dinner

2010-02-11T14:11:00.000-08:00

WINE MAKERS DINNER
Featuring the wines of Forchini Vineyards of Sonoma County
and a presentation by owner and wine maker Jim Forchini

Wednesday, February 24 at 6:30 PM

Criolla Mama
Barbecued Scallops with a Corn and Goat Cheese Torta
2008 Chardonnay, Russian River Valley

Fettucini Kushadesa
With Spicy Tomato Salsa, Crispy Calamari, and Roasted Garlic Aioli
2006 Papa Nonno, Dry Creek Valley

Ajiaco of Short Ribs
With Red Wine and Tubers
2006 Zinfandel, Dry Creek Valley

Bavette a la Bordelaise
Filet Mignon with Gonul’s own Bordelaise Sauce
2006 Cabernet Sauvignon, Proprietor’s Reserve, Dry Creek Valley

Chocolate Decadence with Vanilla Cream Sauce

$45 per person

Wine for purchase night of dinner

(around 15% off regular winery price per bottle, plus another 10% off per case)
2008 Forchini Chardonnay $15/ bottle, $165/ case
2006 Forchini Papa Nonno $15/ bottle, $165/ case
2006 Forchini Zinfandel $20/ bottle, $226/ case
2006 Forchini Cabernet Sauvignon $22/ bottle, $236/ case

Valentine's Dinner for 2

2010-01-22T09:14:00.000-08:00

Valentine's Day is on a Sunday night this year, don't forget. Gonul's is offering a great bargain dinner for 2 with Champagne. There will be live entertainment -- I hope you can join us. Reserve on line with OpenTable.com

VALENTINE’S DINNER

Four Course Dinner For Two With a Bottle (375ml) of Champagne and a Rose

STARTERS
(choice of)

Salmon Crepes with organic plum sauce and spinach
Baked Goat Cheese in a walnut crust with organic greens and maple roasted apple

SECOND COURSE
(choice of)

Red & Gold Beet Salad with herbed goat cheese and citrus vinaigrette
Butternut Squash Soup
Curried Lentil Soup

ENTRÉE
(choice of)

Medallion of Filet Mignon
with green peppercorn demiglace, asparagus & organic purple and red potatoes
Grilled Sea Bass & Giant Prawn
With a crimson orange cream & chipotle crème fraiche
Stuffed Chicken Breast
With apple walnut & goat cheese over house made gnocchi
Vegetarian
with gnocchi, asparagus & purple and red potatoes

DESSERT
(choice of)

Chocolate Decadence with Vanilla Crème Fraiche
Gonul’s Chocolate Bread Pudding

$39.90 per person

Fenestra Winery Wine Maker's Dinner

2010-01-09T17:25:00.000-08:00

WINE MAKERS DINNER
Wednesday, January 20, 2010 at 6:30 PM
Featuring the Wines of the Fenestra Winery of Livermore
Presented by the wine maker

Sautéed Prawns & Scallops

With a spicy mango sauce

2008 Viognier, Livermore Valley

Pork Tenderloin

With an apple and pomegranate mustard cream sauce

2006 Alvarelhao, Silvaspoon Vineyard, Lodi

Papparadella
With spicy Tuscan duck sauce
2006 Cabernet Franc, Livermore Valley
Gold Medal, 2009 Best of the Bay Wine Competition

Boneless Short Rib
With red wine & dark chocolate sauce
2006 Malbec, Silvaspoon Vineyard, Lodi

Chocolate Decadence
2003 Port, Silvaspoons Vineyard, Lodi
Bronze Medal, 2009 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition
Silver Medal, 2009 Best of the Bay Wine Competition

$49.50 per person

RSVP at 916-457-1155

Our quality gets better and better

2010-01-09T11:47:00.000-08:00

Gonul is constantly seeking the best sources for food supplies. Cooking skills may be important, but starting with the best products is essential. For years she has sought out the best grocery products at local farmer's markets and from local farms. For her meat sources, she now uses Niman Ranch primarily for lamb, Durham Ranch for chicken and Chef John Paul Khoury for beef, pork and as a secondary supplier of lamb and chicken. Chef John Paul contracts with many local premium farms to supply these products and she is proud to be doing business with him.

New Years Eve

2009-12-20T11:02:00.000-08:00

New Years Eve Champagne Dinner
Served from 5 PM to 10 PM

Live Entertainment with the classical guitar of Greg Williams

Individual bottles of Piper Heidsieck Brut Champagne

Prix Fix 4 Course Dinner

*
1st

Southern Style Creamed Corn with Bacon

Beef Vegetable & Cremini Mushroom Soup

Butternut Squash Soup

2nd

Beet Salad with caramelized onions, maple roasted walnuts and goat cheese

Mixed Greens with maple roasted walnuts, raisins, feta cheese with a balsamic vinaigrette

3rd
Filet Roast with Red Wine Sauce

Turkey with a vegetable & bread stuffing and Apple Dressing

Pumpkin and Butternut Squash Risotto
Mexican Prawns with garlic and lemon, mushrooms, ginger & scallions

Roast Leg of Lamb with Red Wine Sauce

Penne Pasta with artichoke, & Cremini mushroom

4th

Kazan Dibi -- Turkish lavender almond milk flan with Lavender Tuiles

Chocolate-Coconut Bread Pudding with passion fruit sauce

$55

A perfect Saturday

2009-12-12T10:47:00.000-08:00

It was supposed to be storming this morning, but, although its cloudy, the temperature is nice and the air clean. Took the dog for a nice long walk and came home to harvest some Meyer lemons in our garden. We have soooo many. So the plan is to cook up a batch of my lemon marmalade. Look for it at brunch tomorrow and try to identify it in some of our specials coming up this week.

Thanksgiving dinner

2009-11-28T08:57:00.000-08:00

Gonul did another great holiday meal. Everything was well received, but the Turkey, of course, is always the center piece. Her secret for a perfect Turkey is fairly simple and will fit into many recipe variations. Start with a quality Turkey. Gonul uses oraganic Turkies from Diestel. She then brines the Turkey in red wine, vegetable stock and herbs. Guarenteed to be moist and juicy -- even when reheated for leftovers.

Beet Salad

2009-11-21T21:59:00.000-08:00

Its root vegetable time at the farmer's market. Bought, among many other things, some great beets. Ask for our beet salad special. We are also doing a really generous promotion for the next couple of months. For $40, get a four course dinner for two, including a bottle of wine (house white or red depending on the entree).

Spicy Citrus Sauce

2009-11-18T22:24:00.000-08:00

I was experimenting with all the great citrus from my garden and developed a wonderful spicy citrus sauce. It will be part of our Thanksgiving prix fix dinner. This will be a good recipe for my next cookbook.

A visit with Kenny

2009-08-29T09:03:00.000-07:00

Kenny and Derya

a
Gonul and Allie

3 Generations: Mitch Zach and Kenny

Derya up and riding

Gonul's step son Kenny Blum is quite the adventurer and now runs Tahoe Wake Sports at Lake Tahoe (north shore). See http://www.tahoewakesports.com/. Gonul, her son Derya, her husband Mitch, Mitch's grandson (Kenny's son) Zach, and Derya's friend Allie from Connecticut enjoyed a great day on the lake wake boarding, tubing, swimming and wake surfing last week. Derya had never tried this sport although he is fairly comfortable snow boarding. Kenny had him up on his firtst try and taking a long ride on his second. He's a great teacher and this was a very special day

Here is Kenny wake surfing: www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijbYG4MTOXo

Derya's ride:

Fox 40 cooking demonstration

2009-08-29T08:38:00.001-07:00

Gonul appeared on the Fox40 morning news show to demonstrate her stuffed chicken recipe on Thursday, August 28th. This was her 4th TV appearance this year. All have been fun and interesting. Live television usually is.

Gonul was able to show all the ingredients and spices that go into many of her dishes and present the finished product of this particular dish, but time constraints did not give her a chance to actually demonstrate her methods -- maybe at a later date. What was supposed to be two five minute segments turned into a single 3 minute segment because of some live interviews running long. However, there was some excitement. Knowing that her segment was shortened, Gonul turned up the heat on the electric range provided to make sure the skillet for browning the chicken was hot enough. Because of the delay, the skillet was on the oven top longer than planned and when she added the butter and olive oil to the skillet a great plume of smoke arose and set off the smoke alarm at the TV station. So much for the demonstration!

Email Gonul for the recipe at jstreetcafe@aol.com. We will add you to our email list if you ask so you can get notification of special events (Wine Maker's dinners, wine tastings, entertainment, etc. along with monthly recipes and discount coupons)