Many of you have heard that we hired a farmer and have begun the (huge) task of giving our once-forgotten garden on the hill a beautiful face-lift, complete with a new name: Frog Creek Farms.

With many hours of hard, physical work, the team has tilled, amended, weeded, planted and tended to several areas that are growing thick, rich, deep-green kale, lettuces, tomatoes, potatoes, cabbage, arugula, spinach (just to name a few). We have also begun planting flowers, lavender and ferns. We will be planting radishes and broccoli and cauliflower … all amazingly nutrient-rich food to serve YOU in our dining room! Needless to say, there’s a lot of good things growing out here in West Marin!

My favorite way to eat our lettuces is with tomatoes and maybe a little arugula and spinach … AND with a small drizzle of our delicious Herbed Buttermilk Dressing on it! Below is the recipe so you can make the dressing at home to enjoy with your family!

Nick’s Cove Herbed Buttermilk Dressing

1 cup chopped parsley
1/4 green onion, minced
2 tblsp. tarragon
2 tblsp. mayonnaise
2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup olive oil
salt & pepper, to taste

Combine herbs, mayonnaise and buttermilk in blender; blend until smooth. Slowly add in olive oil while blender is on and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Enjoy!

And, boy do we love their cars! It really is a treat to drive up to work and see such a fine selection of cars parked out front: Ferrari, Audi R8, Maserati, Porsche, Lamborghini, Mercedes. And it’s not just the new models. We love the classics, too!

Whenever the car clubs are here, guests come out from their tables: cameras in hand they start snapping up-close shots of those much-admired and so-far-out-of-reach exotics!

The lucky drivers and/or owners of those lovelies thoroughly enjoy the twists and turns of Highway One … and stopping to enjoy lunch at Nick’s Cove is a wonderful place for a mid-way stop!

Until next time …

As the General Manager of one of the largest employers in West Marin, I believe it is my responsibility to contribute to the success of our community. Looking back at 2012, I am really proud that Nick’s Cove had the means to support several charitable organizations that help our community stay healthy. While I am most certainly committed to the success and health of Nick’s Cove, our employees and our guests I enjoy giving back to organizations that support so many who need it. Check out our “Giving Back” page on our website; I am certain the content will begin to fill in for 2013! Cheers! http://www.nickscove.com/givingback.html

As I sit at my desk looking out my window, I take in the scenery of our property and I find myself really seeing it for the first time in a long time. I scan over the garden, down to the cottages, the restaurant, over the red legged frog habitat area and finally I stop and fixate on that spectacular, unspoiled Tomales Bay. I watch the sun casts its shimmers on the tranquil waters … in one word: Breathtaking! While my responsibilities require me to be in many locations during a typical day, today, right now, I decided to steal a moment to reflect on 2012 and to smile about my visions for 2013.

Reflecting over 2012 I am grateful, first, for my fantastic husband, my amazing son and our health! 2012 was also good to us at Nick’s Cove; I am grateful for all the guests that visited us for the first time and … for all of our guests that returned! I also am most certainly grateful to have been given the opportunity to be at the helm of one of the most magical places on California’s West Coast. And, in this moment, I am taken aback that this is where I work!

I am proud of our accomplishments at Nick’s Cove and am confident 2013 will bring even more success! In 2013 it is my intention to realize my dream of bringing back a working garden that will provide our chef resources for delicious meals that are truly farm-to-table as well as another place for our guests to enjoy the views of that remarkable Tomales Bay.

Life is good at Nick’s Cove and I am honored to work with such a dedicated group of people that make it their mission every day to provide the best, most sincere hospitality to our guests.

Hello my friends! Thank you for taking the time to read the Nick’s Cove Blog. The Nick’s Cove Crew is busier than ever and ready to provide our readers with all kinds of inside scoop tid-bits! First up, a peek at our entire crew. This photo was taken at our most recent quarterly staff training. We arrived at 8:00 a.m. and headed straight into our training with the hope to further impress our standards of service on our staff, motivate the staff, and provide opportunities for positive feedback and constructive criticism. Then, we turned up the music and had 60+ people working for a solid hour in an organized deep-clean in the restaurant! It’s actually a pretty fun way to start our day!

So, why the photo? Well, a local historian is writing about the history of Tomales Bay and because Nick’s Cove has such a rich history in this area a portion of the book will be dedicated to the history of Nick’s Cove. (I will keep you posted on that progress.) So, the author asked if we had a “group photo.” I didn’t say, “no.” I replied with a question, “When is your deadline?” I quickly called my friend, Erin Wrightsman, who just happens to be an awesome portrait photographer in Petaluma. Fortunately, she had availability on our staff training day – voila … Yes, we do have a group photo!

Recently, Chef Austin Perkins was asked to do a chef’s demo at the local farmers’ market in Point Reyes Station. He enjoys showing off his cooking prowess and we all have a good time watching the crowd enjoy our Nick’s Cove Goat Meatballs. We use Rossotti Ranch goat and they are mouthwateringly delicious! Here’s one of those tid-bits I was talking about … THE RECIPE! Good luck – they are addictive. Just serve them with a warm loaf of sourdough bread, a simple salad with champagne vinaigrette … and enjoy!

Rossotti Ranch Goat Meatballs

2 # ground goat
2-3 oz. ground pork
1 med. carrot, peeled, minced
1 white onion, minced
2 stalks celery, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 T. Chopped parsley
2 T. Parmigiano reggiano
2 eggs
1/2 c good toasted breadcrumb
2 oz. mcevoy evoo, or other premium oil
S and p

7 leeks, white parts only
16 oz. chopped tomato in purée, ie 6 in 1
8 oz. veal or goat stock
4 oz white wine
1 oz balsamic vinegar
1 T toasted and ground coriander
1 t. Red chili flake

Preheat oven to 450.

In a large bowl, combine the first twelve ingredients and vigorously work with hands until all ingredients are combined. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Using an ice cream scoop to measure the size of the meatballs begin scooping on to the sheet pan. Place in oven ten minutes to sear the outsides.

In a large heavy pot, heat up one tablespoon of oil. Sauté the leeks over low heat until well rendered, 15-20 minutes. Deglaze with white wine. Add the tomato and vinegar, reduce by half. Add the stock, again cook until reduced by half. Add the coriander, chili flake, and salt and pepper to taste.

In a Pyrex dish or other pan with sides, arrange the meatballs and cover with the sauce. Braise 15-20 minutes until meatballs are cooked through.

Serve a la carte topped with olive oil, breadcrumb, and cheese… Or add to pasta!

The new Nick’s Cove just celebrated our one year anniversary under new ownership. We are all amazed at how quickly the year went blazing by. We have been to six very different and cool events from SF Chefs to Cocktail Week and the awesome KJ Heirloom Festival, had three weddings, oodles of private dining events, visited but not necessarily reviewed, by the SF Food King himself, Mr. Michael Bauer, hosted a Yelp Elite Event, answered hundreds of yelpers from good to bad and everywhere in between, had 52 very successful, well attended Locals’ Nights, had a small power outage, dealt with AT&T phone lines going down multiple times, launched a beautiful new website, made appearances on national television (thank you Jan Wahl), and served Lady Gaga! We have enjoyed the most beautiful sunsets and the foggiest of mornings. We truly work in one of the most spectacular locations in California!

At the end of the day, we have our customers to thank for this amazing year of prosperity. We are here, ready and waiting to welcome you back or for the very first time.

Cheers,