Food and Wine Mavens

What to Wear to a Feast

2011-11-24T10:40:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving! Let's face it... you are going to overeat today. Most likely, there will be too much food spread out in front of you — a feast by most standards. If you were alone, you'd just curl up in your sweatpants with a drumstick in your hand but alas, you'll be amongst others (that's what the wine is for). So get ready to feast! I've done the research on what to wear.

Feast Fashion : Dos and Don'ts
Q: I asked the experts: "Should you wear a comfortable mumu to dinner? (Actually, it's spelled muumuu.)"
A: The resounding answer: NO! Go fab, not drab but most importantly, go with an expandable waistline and durable, dark fabric.

Washington D.C. image consultant Ketura Persellin explains "a feast by its very nature is a lavish, special affair and proper attire is called for! Muumuus and sweatpants are not what's called for." Author of The Complete Guide to Lightweight Travel, Barbara DesChamps agrees, "A mumu is not very attractive." Style experts recommend these for women:

The Hot Muumuu

Jenn Hoffman, stylist for Fashion Emergency and The Style Network (also previously on Donald Trump's "The Apprentice"), recommends "Wear a hot mu-mu. I'm serious. That's what I plan on doing this year. Find a sexy, short dress that is also big and pair it with sky-high heels. Your hot mu-mu will hide your expanding belly, but your sexy legs and skyscraper heels will make it look like a fashion choice, not a gluttonous necessity."

The Maxi Dress

Hoffman also recommends trying a flattering maxi dress. They range from casual to formal. UK fashion consultant STYLISA agrees, "I find that empire-line dresses or maxi-dresses are great, if you intend to feast. Empire-line dresses are fitted around the bust area, but flare out from underneath the bust, so you can hide a multitude of sins (and eat to your hearts content). Maxi dresses, are the ultimate feast fashion, as they flare all over. If I am going to a party where there are going to be cupcakes, I always wear a maxi-dress."

No Brainer: Don't wear a shear maxi dress like Lady Gaga.

The Wrap Dress

NY Stylist Alexandra Suzanne Greenawalt says to "Think dresses that expand, move, and stretch like a wrap dress." Author DesChamps offers another option: "An adjustable wrap top and matching wrap skirt. Both can be adjusted in real time at the party." Didn't expect to eat so many biscuits? A quick trip to the ladies' room and your dress or two-piece outfit can be appropriately adjusted.

Designer Laura Dawson recommends her wrap dress with killer cleavage so that no eye will stray to the belly, whatever it may be doing during feasting." While fashion stylist Shaunya Hartley reminds us to watch out for food dropping into your cleavage. Although if you forget your tupperware, I think this could be a good spot to store leftovers until you get home.

Caftans

Greenawalt also recommends trying on Caftans but beware of choosing the right fabric. DesChamps explains, "Some caftans are elegant if the fabric is soft and flowing, not stiff."

Any dark, comfortable, durable, and festive outfit
Dark colors
"Avoid evidence of red wine, gravy, etc. with colors that mask your sins...I mean stains." advises Hoffman. "Because I have spit, spilled, and slobbered red wine on light-colored apparel, I recommend basic black. Women, get out that simple, black frock." recommends Jo-Ann Ross, wine educator. Jewelry designer Marie-Lise Lachapelle also thinks you could just pull out your most comfortable LBD because it's all about the accessories anyway. You're also welcome to check out the bold necklaces I design for Soularwave.

Durable fabrics
"Guests shouldn't wear fragile and easily damaged clothing," Persellin advises. Greenawalt agrees "Avoid anything that's really hard to care for in terms of clean up like silk. Instead, look for a washable cotton lycra dress." Hoffman notes "You and your dining partners can all thank Lindsay Lohan and other young Hollywood actresses for the return of Lycra."

Comfortable
Stylisa once "made the mistake of wearing a corseted dress to a really fancy dinner once...I was in agony by the end of the night, and had to leave early. I looked great but felt awful."

How else can you prepare to look fabulous in the face of gluttony?

According to preeminent surgeon Dr. Yanek Chiu, it is a myth that you should stretch your stomach out by eating before a big meal. (Darn, that's how I always prepared for big meals.) Dr. Chiu explains that your stomach is capable of expanding to accomodate a large amount of food and doesn't need to be pre-stretched. Eat little in the morning as you know you're going to shovel it in at dinnertime and you don't need any more calories for the day.
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Happy Thanksgiving all! Don't forget to help others that are hungry today and reduce food waste this holiday season.

Figs are in season!

2011-09-04T15:28:00.000-07:00

A bounty of fig varieties, found at the Alemany Farmers Market by Food Maven Melissa H. From left to right, the varieties are:
-Black Mission (one of the most flavorful)
-Kadota or ? (least flavorful)
-Unknown
-Candy Stripe
-Turkish
-Red fig (one of the most flavorful)
-Unknown
-Kadota or ? (least flavorful)

Cecilia Chiang, Patty Unterman, & Ruth Reichl Dinner Celebrates Chez Panisse 40th

2011-08-29T01:50:00.000-07:00

Intimate Chinese Banquet

Fast friends for decades, it is no surprise Alice Waters asked Cecilia Chiang to host one of the "Chez Soi" dinners at her San Francisco home to celebrate Chez Panisse at 40. What may come as a surprise is that at 93-years-old, Cecilia is still every bit the embodiment of "exquisitely commanding graciousness" and a "true grande dame" as Alice Waters describes her in The Seventh Daughter.

The star-studded evening was filmed by Wayne Wang, best known for Joy Luck Club, for potential use in a documentary. (I didn't realize the floral centerpiece was "bugged" until the end of the evening and am hoping I said nothing of interest.) Guests included former Gourmet editor Ruth Reichl, renowned food writer Patty Unterman, San Francisco Ballet's principal dancer Yuan Yuan Tan, and Robert Sinskey Vineyard's Chef Maria Helm Sinskey among others. The feast was prepared under Cecilia's guidance by South Legend Chef Bill He and Betelnut Chef Alex Ong. Benu's sommelier came up with the wine pairings and the wines were donated by Martine Saunier. Each guest used Cecilia's mother's ivory and silver chopsticks, which were part of her mother's dowry; just one of the touching and intimate ways that Cecilia drew the guests into her world for the evening.

Paper thin abalone. Patricia Unterman and Cecilia Chiang

My favorites in the exquisite 20-course meal included:

Fresh abalone sashimi pounded paper-thin, which Bill He got free-diving in Mendocino
Bon Bon Chicken (aka "Bang Bang Chicken" or "Bong Bong Chicken" because the chicken is traditionally hit with a stick; also aka "Strange-Flavor Chicken" or "Odd-Flavor Chicken")
Elaborately decorated and rich pork kidneys with a numbing pepper spice
Delicate yet crisp wood ear mushrooms with wolfberries (aka goji berries)
Rabbit in Sichuan sauce (with a green root vegetable that may be a Chinese green radish)
Rock cod in Shaoxing wine
Sichuan sweet rice pork (divinely tender with a sweet black poppy seed paste)
Watermelon ice dessert

The abalone shell is passed around the table. Yuan Yuan Tan, Ruth Reichl, and Maria Helm Sinskey

Painstakingly prepared and decorated pork kidneys with cucumber and numbing pepper

Chicken bon bon / aka (bong bong/ bang bang / strange-flavor / odd-flavor)

Ruth Reichl and Head FoodandWineMaven (That's me!)


Filmmaker/Director Wayne Wang with South Legend Chef Bill He


The consummate storyteller, Cecilia Chiang tells how the people of Sichuan were particularly adept at catching rabbits, over a dish of rabbit in Sichuan sauce

Chef Alexander Ong with Beggar's Chicken wrapped in lotus leaf and baked in clay

Bill He holds pork belly with a sweet black poppyseed layer and sticky rice

Better Than Payard - Pecan and Sea Salt Dark Chocolate Mendiants

2011-08-23T21:03:00.000-07:00

No need to order from Payard, although their marzipan cookies are unbelievable and available through Gilt Taste, because you can make fabulous chocolates at home in minutes with your favorite toppings. Customize these for a gift with the specific nuts or fruits the recipient loves. Heidi F. shared her recipe with me after I went gaga for her pecan and sea salt chocolates along with every other guest at a birthday dinner. They turned out delicious on my first try.

A mendiant is a traditional confection composed of a chocolate disk studded with nuts and/or fruits. You can make mendiants with this recipe or regular chocolates with nuts inside, as pictured above. In either case, I think the sea salt really sets these apart so be sure to sprinkle it on before the chocolate is fully hardened. Every ingredient should be top quality because each can be tasted individually in the final confection.

STEP 1
Toast chopped pecans on a frying pan with sugar to taste and a thick pat of unsalted butter until the sugars are a bit carmelized. I used fresh raw Texan pecans found bulk in Whole Foods, Zulka pure unrefined cane sugar, and unsalted European style Straus organic butter. For those wanting a healthier alternative, eliminate or minimize the butter and sugar.

STEP 2
Melt chocolate in a double boiler or in a bowl set atop a pot of nearly-boiling water. I used 70% dark Venezuelan El Rey Gran Saman chocolate available in bulk at the Whole Foods in Potrero, SF. If you temper the chocolate properly, it will have a glossy finish when cooled, won't melt in your fingers as readily, and will have a crisp snap. I didn't do it 'properly' but so what, who cares...it was delicious anyway. ;p

STEP 3
Prepare a cookie sheet by lining it with parchment paper or Silpat. Spoon the melted chocolate over little piles of your pecan mixture, or for mendiants - put down the chocolate first and sprinkle the nuts on top. Don't forget to sprinkle a touch of sea salt crystals on top; I ground up Sosalt brand coarse sea salt crystals and sprinkled it onto the chocolate, not the pecans, so it would hit the tongue first. Refrigerate the cookie sheet to allow the chocolate to harden for about 60 minutes. Enjoy!

Is Olive Oil the Next Hot Trend for Fashion Houses?

2011-03-24T16:55:00.000-07:00

Would you buy an haute olive oil from the Armani Olio Collezioni or from the affordably-priced Armani's Prêt-à-Manger line? Perhaps a private-label olive oil is not so far-fetched considering the ex-fashion executives now making and selling olive oil.

After serving as former managing director and right-hand of Armani, Giuseppe "Pino" Brusone went on to head Donna Karan International under the LVMH umbrella. Having now given up his career running fashion houses, Brusone runs the La Porrona olive oil company based in Tuscany. According to the Rare Wine Co's olive oil newsletter, Brusone "found a magical 70 acres, with century-old olive groves" in the village of Montisi. "Pino's trees are hand-harvested and the oil is hand-bottled. In fact, each year, he only makes about 50 cases." Currently going for $24.95 per 500ml, the organic 2010 La Porrona EVOO is reported by Rare Wine Co. to have a

rich and minty nose "with evocative scents of roasted almond and chlorophyll"
green/gold color
long and fresh finish, with moderate pepperiness

Maria with her toy poodle, Gioia
Photo by Drew Altizer

and a palate starting with sweet olives, which moves to artichoke and butter.

Brusone is not alone. San Francisco's Maria Manetti Farrow, a Tuscan native, founded olive oil company Villa Mille Rose in Oakville, Napa Valley. Prior to gourmet olive oil, Manetti Farrow was buyer and director of the Gucci franchise. Later, Aldo Gucci offered her the role of distributing and marketing Gucci's small accessories throughout North America. She went on to do the same for Fendi leather goods and Mark Cross.

Now Maria Manetti Farrow's organic EVOO olive oil has won the gold medal ten years in a row at the Los Angeles County Fair. It is produced from 350 "pampered Tuscan varietal trees," according to the marketing literature, and is "sophisticated and elegant with a soft, round, delicate bouquet of rich fruitiness, extremely low acidity, and a light peppery finish." Currently, 375ml is running $28.00.

SF Slaw Showdown

2010-12-20T17:31:00.000-08:00

I've recently become enamored with various slaws unlike the traditional version I grew up, which was dressed with mayonnaise or some other creamy sauce. I much prefer these modern versions with vinegar dressing. My favorite is the L'acajou slaw made with red onion & jalapenos marinated in apple cider vinegar. Other notable slaws in the area include Bakesale Betty's and Pal's Takeaway. Please let me know if you have any awesome slaw recipes or tips.

The Submissive Drinker’s Guide to Chilean Wine

2010-10-14T07:58:00.000-07:00

From Food and Wine Maven Ben Nelson comes this guide to Chilean wines from his recent tastings in Chile spanning 8 wine regions and covering around 30 wineries and 200 wines:

Forward

Who is a submissive drinker? Well, it’s easier to define who is not a submissive drinker. If you think you can tell the difference between crushed stone and pulverized rock, then you’re not a submissive drinker. If you spend hours reading and writing tasting notes (whether you make up half the stuff you’re writing or not) on wines that you will probably never drink again or may not even sample then you’re not a submissive drinker. If you don’t think good wine can be had for a double digit price, then you’re not a submissive drinker. If you don’t find the world of wine baffling in its complexity, hard to follow, and generally drink-inducing, then you’re not a submissive drinker. But if you are interested in just being told what to drink or what labels to look for, then read on.

The Submissive Drinker’s Guide to Chilean Wine

The storyline surrounding Chilean wines today seems relatively familiar—an ocean of easy-to-drink, cheap wines, quickly taking over the mass market and a clutch of very expensive (well over $100) wines that give big-name French brands their newest source of thrashing in blind tasting competitions. But there’s a far more exciting development (for me, at least) coming out of Chile around very impressive mid-priced wines. What’s more, these wines are not uniform in taste or style, which makes the market even more exciting.

First, the logistics. August 2010, 9 days, 8 wine regions, 2000KM, around 30 wineries and 200 wines. I concentrated on wines in the $20-$80 range, though tasted some below and above. To my surprise, the majority of the wines were unremarkable but drinkable. I was surprised because generally I expect most wines to be poor in quality. The nature of the sun exposure in the major wine regions as well as the soils, vines, and the cool winds coming in either from the ocean or down from the Andes combine to provide tremendous fruit with which good winemakers can produce outstanding wines. The wineries themselves are an odd mix of high levels of sophistication and a good amount of naivety.

The good: impressive wineries in general with good equipment, high quality barrels, good fruit, access to very cheap labor, and substantial overall investment in state-of-the-art facilities that translates to a great deal of hand-crafting where the winery finds it necessary. The bad: poorly developed tourist infrastructure, rather formulaic wine-making (e.g. some fear of experimentation on barrel age), still widespread manipulation of the wines (e.g. adding acidity), and a rather confusing marketing system that doesn't conform to international labeling conventions (e.g. new brands launched to introduce high-quality wines, low-end wines are slapped with Reserva designation, etc.).

Now to the wines. I have included a list of all of the wineries I tried at the end of this guide. If I do not mention a winery, it does not mean that the wines were bad. In fact, the majority of the wines were acceptable to good. But I am only mentioning the remarkable here. Where I do talk less favorably about wines, it is only because their reputation has preceded them in some way I believe unjustifiable, given what I experienced.

A natural evolution from the mass production Chilean wines that rely on their fruit to get them sold are fruit forward wines that bring a level of complexity to the picture. At first blush, they appear to be clones of dreaded fruit bombs but structure is not far behind, which makes these wines interesting and merit their mentioning here.

I’ll start things off with two wineries I would not have imagined talking about at all. And indeed, Miguel Torres bitterly disappointed in several high-end wines. However, two Cordillera wines, the 2008 Chardonnay (with 15% Riesling) and the 2007 Carignane/"Carinena" (which is actually 54% Carignane, 24% Merlot and 22% Syrah) were both drop dead delicious. Yes, the fruit on both was intense and ever present but there was structure there as well and an easy recommendation at twenty-something dollars. These wines are for drinking (and enjoying) now. Two philosophical twins were found in Aresti, a bulk wine producer that has just started branching into the premium market. The 2009 Trisquel Gewurtztraminer and the 2008 Trisquel Syrah were both simply delicious and for $10-$15, a crazy value. None of these four wines will lead to cathartic moments or serve as inspiration, but they are all tasty and should at least be tried side-by-side to see Chile at its value-oriented, extracted, fruit-driven best.

I’ll continue with another unlikely house that had some unlikely wines. Anakena is known for, let’s be straight, cheap wines. A substantial line-up at under $10 can be found and Anakena is certainly one of the standard bearers of the cheap, drinkable wine movement from Chile. But there was something interesting in a couple of their offerings. Their ONA line is considered their high-end line and at the low-to-mid teens per bottle, it’s very affordable. Their 2008 ONA Riesling-Viognier-Chardonnay is a fruit bomb in any sense of the term. Why am I mentioning it? Because the flavor profile was extraordinary and highly personal to me—it reminded me exactly of a vanilla/strawberry ice cream from my youth—a flavor I haven’t tasted in 20-25 years and this wine brought it rushing back. Perhaps that taints my recommendation but what the heck—it’s tasty! Drink it right after you buy it—2 years max and at $12/bottle, a great wine to bring to parties.

A couple of other ONA wines did not disappoint either. The 2007 Syrah and 2008 Cabernet-Carmenere-Syrah blend were both well-structured, the latter having good tannins and both with big fruit up front. At $17 a pop, no need to hesitate. But the real value discovery was the 2008 Indo Cabernet—priced at under $10, it would give a $30 US Cab a serious run for its money. Well structured, great smooth tannins, and 15% syrah for all sorts of interesting fruit. Problem is, I haven’t been able to find the Indo line in the US yet, though theoretically it should be available.

Along the same line, and the second main strand I was impressed with in Chile, is great value cabernet throughout the country—I would recommend the 2006 Lagar de Bezana Aguacera Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve. Don’t let the fancy name fool you, at under $20 (if you can find it), it’s a stunning value. I thought it was a maybe-buy if it were $40-$50 with great structure, fruit and acidity. The most interesting thing is that the Cabernet is the star of the lineup with both of the other wines costing at least twice as much. Others to seek out are the 2006 Erasmo (and look for the 2007 when it comes out and the 2005 which is on the market) which at $25 punches at least twice its weight, displaying that same nice structure and tasty fruit. The Los Boldos lineup includes several Cabernets of note. The Los Boldos 2007 Cabernet lineup from the Grand Reserve to the Vielles Vignes to the Grand Cru in the traditional line as well as the Sensaciones from the new world line are all worthy of recommendation, but with the Grand Cru meriting special mention for an extremely well-structured Cabernet. The problem is that they are close to impossible to find and therefore prices are hard to determine. The Grand Cru is easily a $50 wine that I would get 3 bottles of for the cellar for a straight forward old world style cabernet. At $30, it’s a no brainer case. The rest of the lineup should be snapped up if you can find it at $25. Echeverria also had impressive Cabernets in the $20 some dollar range. The 2006 Limited Edition and Family Reserve wines are recommended. I did not try the Founder’s selection but expect it to be very strong given the others.

On the higher end, the 2007 Domus Aurea Cabernet is delicious, and has years of life ahead. When it’s released, buy it, especially if you find it for $40 as some past vintages are selling at. I cannot ignore the 2006 Concha Y Toro Don Melchor, which was outstanding (though the 2004 and 1996 that I tried were not to my liking) and can be found for $50, which is an absurd steal. The Cabernet lineup at Santa Rita also impressed. The 2005 Santa Rita Floresta Cab is delicious with strong dark fruit on the front palate. It finishes a touch rough when opened but even with a little bit of air it integrates well. Two, maybe three, more years and it will sing if the fruit continues to hold, which I suspect it will. An excellent drink for $35, which you should be able to find. I tried the 2004 Carmen Cab Gold Reserve, also from Santa Rita, which was huge and still out of balance on the finish but shows potential. I would look for the 2005 which should be very good if the `04 is an indication. However, I wouldn’t pay more than $50 for the wine. The 2005 Santa Rita Casa Real cab is shut down upon opening with massive yet gentle dry tannins on the finish. Is the fruit there? There are indications that yes, but it's a gamble. I'd wager $40, but no more—you can find back vintages for that price but `05 is $50 minimum.

Cabernet of course is not the only grape worth mentioning. The 2005 Santa Rita Pehuen Carmenere, is very nice with well-structured tannins, good acidity, but is slightly disjointed. I suspect it would integrate easily with air but at $50 a pop, it’s too much. If you can find it on sale at $30, don’t hesitate. A standout blend is the Von Siebenthal 2005 Montelig (Cab/Carmenere/Petite Verdot). An absolutely first rate blend that is exceptional with the component parts showing through in a big way. I bought 6 at $60 a pop. Taking it up another notch is the 2006 Toknar from Von Siebenthal which is 100% Petite Verdot—that’s right 100%. This wine is a monster. I tasted the same bottle over 6 days and it peaked on day 4! I bought 5 at $100 a pop, though upon release I believe you should be able to find it for $80 or so. GRAB IT.

The 2005 Neyen which I found at $50 online is a steal. The wine gives the Montelig a run for its money without any help from Petite Verdot. The 70/30 Carmenere/Cab is absolutely delicious. The flavors are well-integrated, balanced, and PURE. The same purity I tasted years ago in the 2001 Casa Lapostolle Clos Apalta and that was noticeably absent in the 2007 version (along with any taste as Casa Lapostolle charged a huge amount of money to taste 2 terrible wines before the Clos Apalta, which was just opened and freezing cold—a tannic monster with no fruit flavors to talk of—shame on them). In fact, Neyen only began production in 2003 and I would wager the fruit was sold to Lapostolle in 2001. The 2006 Neyen was also good but somewhat disjointed; though Neyen claimed it tastes even better than the 2005, at this stage I am skeptical. I will look out for the `07 however. A surprise was the 2006 Ninquen—not the Antu Ninquen—(65/35 Syrah/Cab) which was a tasty balanced effort by MontGras and the highlight of their portfolio. Upon opening, it reminded of our sophisticated fruit bomb category but with a day of air it developed delicious complexity. I would say 2 hours of decanting would do the trick. A few others to keep in mind—The 2007 Loma Larga Pinot Noir ($22), Errazuriz Sangiovese (can’t find), 2006 Gillmore Merlot (can’t find), 2008 O Fournier (80% 100 year old vine Cab Franc—phenomenal and to be released next year), 2006 San Pedro 1865 Limited Edition ($31 65/35 syrah/cab), and the 2007 San Pedro 1865 Carmenere ($15 excellent value) are also recommended.

So far we have talked about wines as opposed to wineries and that is because all of the wineries mentioned have had less than recommendable wines that I tried. Three exceptions that I want to especially highlight. The first is Altair, which for my money had the single best value Chilean wine on the market today—the 2002 Sideral. Apparently some confusion in the import market is our gain, and you can find it for less than $20/bottle—for a cabernet heavy Bordeaux blend which I would easily pay $75 for. The 2002 Sideral, on 100% new oak, tastes as smooth as silk. The flavors are not just integrated but from first sip to the 3+ minute finish, all flavors, acids, fruit, and tannins are harmonious from burst to burst—this with 1.5 hours of decanting. I am in for 3 cases. The 2005 Sideral and the 2005 Altair (the first wine) are phenomenal and I will be getting a case of each. These are as good a Bordeaux blend as I have tasted and though I cannot find the `04 and `05 on the US market yet, the `02 and `03 are selling as low as $50 which is shocking (winery price is $120). I cannot recommend the `03 Sideral as it is disjointed and I did not try the `02 and `03 Altair, but the `02, `04 (which I bought at a store in half bottle for $20), and `05 Sideral and the `04 and `05 Altair are all delicious with the `05s being wild standouts for cellaring and the `02 Sideral for drinking now.

Antiyal is the very personal project of one of Chile’s most renowned winemakers and it shows! The 2008 Kuyen Syrah/Cab blend (as low as $22), the 2007 Antiyal Cabernet which was singing arias 30 hours after being opened, yet was insanely delicious up front ($40-$50/bottle), and the `07 and `08 100% Carmenere (yet to be released but no question the best pure Carmenere of my visit to Chile) were all fabulous. Buy buy buy.

Lastly, Casa Marin. I was floored by their portfolio, just knock-out top to bottom, and was afterward told by a trusted source that it has perhaps the best fruit in the country. The two single vineyard 2008 Sauvignon Blancs (the Cipresses especially with its insane minerality and a finish that boggled) and the 2009 Sauvignon Gris (phenomenal—just phenomenal) were hands down the best white wines I tried in Chile—all of which had intense fruit balanced by even more intense minerality. I wouldn’t be shocked if these babies were still drinkable in 10 years, but I doubt anyone will have the discipline to wait. I have already bought a couple of their Gewurztraminers and Rieslings to try back home. The 2006 Lo Abarca Pinot was also delicious and I heard the `07s were even better. 2006 was apparently a difficult year, not just in Chile, but in Casa Marin in particular. Well, what great news that is. As all of these wines are in their teens and $20s online, do not hesitate for a second.

To me, these three wineries rank among the best in their spiritual homelands: Casa Marin in Alsace and the Santa Lucia Highlands; Antiyal in Sonoma and Tuscany; Altair in Napa and Bordeaux, but all quintessentially Chilean. Bravo.

Wineries Visited:

Altair
Anakena
Antiyal
Aquitania
Aresti
Casa Lapostolle
Concha y Toro
Domus Aurea
Erasmo
Errazuriz
Gillmore
J Bouchon
Lagar de Bezana
Loma Larga
Leyda
Matetic
Miguel Torres
Montes
Neyen
O Fournier
San Pedro
Santa Rita
Vina Casa Marin
Vina Casa Silva
Vina Echeverria
Vina Garces Silva
Vina Los Boldos
Von Siebenthal

benu Restaurant - San Francisco's New Cutting Edge Star

2010-09-22T13:32:00.000-07:00

From Food Maven AggieGourmet74 comes a review of SF's hottest new restaurant.

One enters Benu under an arbor covered with new vines and a through a deck that has a Napa / Japanese “zen-like” design vernacular. Inside, the walls are all white except for tufted squares of grey fabric behind the seats of tables next to the walls. The space seems like a citified version of the French Laundry although quite the opposite mood of glitzy Per Se. Tables are set sans tablecloths with beautiful thin glass tumblers and “wood rocks” that hold cutlery similar in function to chopsticks rests.

The young wait staff is attentive, gracious and extremely knowledgeable. Service was near flawless. On the third day of the third week since one of the most anticipated openings of a restaurant in recent San Francisco history, the clientele was a mixture of the “artsy crowd” and young dot-commers with a few ‘tomahawk’ haircuts in evidence.

The food, for the most part, lives up to the pre-opening hype and in case of a few dishes, it is simply spectacular. The first course of the Tasting Menu below featured a Tomato Water Orb, which when eaten all at once exploded with flavor, a gustatory experience akin to eating an Indian Pani Puri. The mock ‘Shark’s Fin’ Soup is a lip smacking, complex and multilayered taste sensation that defies description. The congee-like Haiga Rice porridge could have been enhanced by the judicious placement of one or two red or green chili rings.

The pacing of the meal was brisk and comfortable except for the transition to the beef rib cap which took longer than it should have. The wine list including the collection of half bottles is comprehensive and well thought out. All the dishes were impeccably presented, and in many cases represented sheer genius in the kitchen.

After dinner, we were given a tour of the spotless kitchen. The staff was young, enthusiastic and busy tending to the presentation of the dishes with a meticulous attention to detail. Chef Corey Lee was gracious and came over to greet us and explain the inspiration behind the Asian inflected dishes. Benu is destined to become one of America’s premier cutting edge restaurants.

Tasting Menu

Tomato, cucumber, dashi, summer blossoms

Thousand-year-old-quail egg, black truffle, ginger

Summer flounder, mountain yam, fermented pepper, perilla

Caramelized anchovy gelee, peanuts, lily bulbs, chili, basil

Veal sweetbread grenobloise, cauliflower, parsley, lemon, caper

Eel, feuille de brick, avocado, crème fraiche

Monkfish liver torchon, apple relish, turnip, ramps, sorrel, mustard, brioche

“Shark’s fin” soup, Dungeness crab, cabbage, Jinhua ham, black truffle custard

Sea urchin, potato puree, corn, celery

Haiga rice porridge, abalone, chicken, sesame

Pork belly, sautéed lettuce, onions, spiced sugar, cherry and black olive sauce

Beef rib cap, bluefoot mushrooms, mizuna, pine needle honey

Melon, sake, wasabi

Strawberry sorbet, buckwheat shortbread, vanilla

Chocolates, coffee, tea

Soul Kitchen Movie Review : Fine Dining, Gentrification, and Seductive Desserts

2010-09-08T21:35:00.000-07:00

Direct from our New York correspondent, Food Maven Will L.:

Fatih Akin's award-winning comedy “Soul Kitchen” is a fun tale about relationships swirling around Zinos Kazantsakis' restaurant as well as the gentrification of a working-class neighborhood. Zinos (Adam Bousdoukos) plays Ken Kesey to the motley staff of ☛ his brother, Ilias (Moritz Bleibtreu), who is out on parole only during work hours, ☛ his hard-drinking beautiful barmaid, Lucia (Anna Bederke), ☛ waiter and guitarist, Lutz (Lucas Gregorowicz), and ☛ resident cantankerous old man, Sokrates (Demir Gökgöl).

During a farewell-to-Shanghai party for Zinos' girlfriend Nadine (Pheline Roggan), the chef at the fancy restaurant, Shayn (Birol Ünel), throws a knife-wielding fit when a customer asks him to microwave the gazpacho. Shayn is promptly fired, and Zinos, impressed by Shayn's parting words, “You're selling what can't be sold: love, sex and the soul,” offers him a job. Soul Kitchen will never be the same.

Before Shayn's arrival, Soul Kitchen catered to the working-class neighborhood with simple, American food such as frozen pizzas, fried fish, hamburgers, and macaroni & cheese. Shayn is appalled and creates a fine dining parody of Zinos' cooking:
Ingredients
3 de-breaded fish sticks
1 tomato rose
Sauce of equal parts ketchup and mayonnaise
Preparation
Place tomato rose in the center of the plate. Arrange the fish sticks in spindles out from the rose. Dress artfully with sauce.

Shayn is allowed to rework the menu to the displeasure of Soul Kitchen's working-class customers who empty the restaurant to Shayn's declarations that they are “peasants” and “culinary racists.” Lutz's band begins using the empty restaurant for practice, and Zinos allows him to throw a concert in the vacant space. The young, hip crowd, in narcotic-crazed hunger, demands food, and Zinos summons Shayn back to the restaurant. Gentrification brings the restaurant great fortune. Prepare the rest of the movie as follows:
Ingredients
Heavy dose of music
Equal parts:
booze
crime
drugs
evil real estate developers
sex
Texas Hold 'Em
Preparation
Shake well. Serve on a big screen.

There was one other dish that makes an appearance: an orgy-inducing dessert.
Ingredients
Whipped cream
1 pinch to 1 cup Honduran tree bark (or your choice of mythical aphrodisiac)
Preparation
Stir. Serve to either a) the woman of your dreams that you want to seduce, or b) the tax inspector you want to hate-$#!@.

The Bechdel Test this movie does not pass. Faith Akin describes the roles of the three women in the film as portrayals of “objects of desire and longing.” The actresses, particularly Ms. Bederke and Dorka Gryllus, are able to breathe some semblance of greater complexity than mere objects of desire into their characters, but they serve little other purpose than as foils for the sexual appetites of the men. Which is probably why the complex dessert above must play such a central role in the men's attempt to seduce them.

Faith Akin also describes the movie as an attack on the gentrification of old working-class neighborhoods, but the film actually celebrates gentrification into hip-dom and the alienation of the working-class. The problem is, of course, when evil real estate developers want to turn your favorite restaurant/music venue into condos. Those old dockworkers were such an uncultured drag, anyways.

“Soul Kitchen” is really all about the music, and the soundtrack is quite good. It reminded me of Monday nights at Babe's and Ricky's Inn in Los Angeles where $5 got you the best blues west of the Rockies and a heaping buffet of fried chicken, fried okra and collard greens. You went for the music and stayed for the food because, hey!, it's included in the price, right?

Garlic Flowers at Alemany Farmers' Market

2010-08-06T16:38:00.000-07:00

A few weekends ago, a vendor at Alemany Farmer's Market was selling dried garlic flowers for about $1.00 each. A petite shopper illustrated the length of these lovely decorative flowers. They should still be available for sale this weekend. This San Francisco farmers' market is greatly underappreciated, with low-price vendors, tasty local produce, free parking, and great streetfood carts.

Smoked Garlic Puree for Lamb by Plate Shop's Kim Alter

2010-08-06T13:04:00.000-07:00

This fall, former executive sous chef at Aqua — Kim Alter — is opening Plate Shop in Sausalito. I recently tasted Kim's lamb cookoff entry at the American Lamb Jam San Francisco. Here are a few photos from the event and the ingredients of her delicious sauce!


	Sauce ingredients: Smoked garlic Cream Rosemary Parsley Mint Cayenne Paprika Smoked Paprika

American Lamb Jam Extravaganza (Fans of Lamb)

2010-07-19T04:27:00.000-07:00

In case you missed this foodie shindig, enjoy this video with photos of every dish, including the winners. Five awards were given out: Best Lamb Leg, Shoulder, Loin, Shank, and People's Choice (the last by popular vote). The winners were:

Oola: Shank
Plate Shop: Loin
1300 on Fillmore: Leg and People's Choice
Bar Bambino: Shoulder

Food Jewelry and Food Decor

2010-07-17T14:54:00.000-07:00

First cupcakes, then macarons (aka macaroons), and now whoopie pies and cake pops. America has fallen head over heels for adorable mini desserts. Apparently, the Japanese have taken the obsession a step further.

Recently in Tokyo I spotted a ton of food jewelry and accessories. Necklaces, rings, cell phone charms, and even Pez dispensers. Here are some expensive blinged-out pistachio macarons made by Q-pot, which I found in the jewelry section of the Takashimaya Times Square department store in Shinjuku. (If Takashimaya NY hadn't closed, you might have been able to find them there.) Ok, I admit, kawaii!! 可愛い

The Q-pot website is absolutely adorable. It turns out that they go far beyond patisserie jewelry. For example, they do fried eggs, cheese, and as fashionistas must already know - Summer 2010 is the season for mini burgers with googley eyes. They're like the Mickey and Minnie Mouse of hamburgers... the king and queen of the slider kingdom...the Hamburglars of today (McDonald's, take notice).

Clearly Q-pot is not new on the scene. They've done collaborations with Fauchon, Richart, Blythe, Haagan-Dazs, and even iPod. The designer behind it all is Tadaaki Wakamatsu - a 32 year-old former fashion model. He was inspired to create designs that made people happy, and it certainly is an easy way to get people to smile.

Now for the coup de grâce: I found a little shop in Tokyo (Omotesando) that had a blinged-out pez dispenser with dollhouse-size touches from Disney's Beauty and the Beast. It wasn't for sale and I don't know who made it. Oops, correction, this is a Pinky dispenser, not a pez dispenser. You can easily buy Pinky in Japanese grocery shops in the SF Bay Area.

If you're in the San Francisco Bay Area and want some food decor for yourself, this weekend of July 17/18, 2010, New People (across from JapanTown) is having a sale on its patisserie and ice cream candles. This shop is SF Weekly's "Best New Shopping Experience” of 2010.

Madeira Wine Tasting in Madeira, Part 1: Itinerary and Map

2010-07-16T23:37:00.000-07:00

Why else would one visit Madeira but for madeira tasting? And yet, neither Madeira's tourism bureau nor most of its restaurants and hotels anticipate serious wine tourism. It's near impossible to find a vintage madeira at a restaurant or bar, we failed to find an itinerary or guide on tasting, and even our hotel didn't suggest tasting as a must-do.

It turns out that there are several reasons for this void. First of all, most tourists and locals are interested in the non-vintage madeiras that are found almost everywhere liquor is served. These are much less expensive and can be quite enjoyable. Some restaurants even serve a cheap madeira as a complimentary apéritif. Secondly, the locals ("Madeirenses") drink madeira as we drink champagne — only on special occasions — so it's not all that surprising that expensive vintage madeiras are not omnipresent. Third, a few of the madeira houses are only open to the trade and by appointment.

So we cobbled together our own itinerary and tasted madeiras from all seven producers on the island. We tasted madeiras as old as 1863, learned about the madeira industry, met several wonderful people, and discovered interesting parts of the island. However, the astounding natural beauty of the island provided at least as much joy as the madeiras we tasted. I was clearly wrong in thinking that tasting madeiras was the only reason to visit this stunning island.

The Seven Families of Madeira Wine (grouped by location):

D'Oliveiras (107 Rua Dos Ferreiros, Funchal): No Appointment Necessary
Artur de Barros e Sousa (109 Rua Dos Ferreiros, Funchal): No Appointment Necessary
Blandy's / Madeira Wine Company (28 Avenida Arriaga, Funchal): No Appointment Necessary for Vintage Tasting (not free); Appointment Required for the Tour
H.M. Borges (83 Rua 31 de Janeiro, Funchal-across the street from the wine museum): No Appointment Necessary
Henriques & Henriques (10 Avenida da Autonomia, Camara de Lobos): Appointment Required
Madeira Barbeito (Parque Empresarial de Camara de Lobos, Camara de Lobos): Appointment Required
VJH aka Justino's Madeira Wines (Parque Industrial da Cancela, Caniço): Appointment Required (No tourists accepted)

Please note that Google Maps does not even have road names for most of the towns in Madeira. I've done my best to display exact locations from memory.

View Madeira Wine Tasting in Madeira in a larger map

Other Useful Sources:

Please see our posts on specific madeira houses with our tasting notes
Get the basics from IVBAM (government body regulating madeira)
Niklas Jörgensen's "Madeira: A Five-Week Stay" (which H&H's rep told us is one of the most comprehensive articles she has ever seen)
Dr. Reutter's Madeira Wine Guide
Wine authority Jancis Robinson's tasting notes from The Great Island Tasting

Food & Football in Tenerife, Spain : FIFA World Cup / Mondiale / Mundial

2010-07-13T14:21:00.000-07:00

Sometimes it's not about the meal but about the whole experience. Recently on the Spanish island of Tenerife, one of the Canary Islands, we were looking for a place to watch the Spain v. Germany World Cup game. We found ourselves in Santa Cruz de Tenerife just before game-time and had no idea where to go.

Here and there we saw people waving flags, wearing goofy patriotic hats, and sporting red and yellow face paint. We followed them, hoping they'd converge and lead us to a nice bar to watch the game.

We asked a small group holding Spanish flags where they were headed and they kindly led us to an open-air plaza with a huge screen. On the way to the plaza, they introduced us to their favorite Spanish Omelet Sandwich in town at a crowded shop called La Garriga.

We ended up making new friends while watching the game. The crowd went wild for a local boy playing on the Spanish team. Festivities went on for hours after the win. And we'll never forget our first Spanish Omelet Sandwich.

Table for One, Please

2010-05-28T23:11:00.000-07:00

Danny Choo, son of shoe mogul Jimmy Choo, likes to eat in the company of his anime figurines. Some without panties (correct, sans pantsu). Here are some photos direct from Danny's blog from his meals in Tokyo. How do you make eating alone fun?

The Modern Picnic

2010-05-18T18:45:00.000-07:00

I always think of a picnic as a big production with a checkerboard blanket, picnic basket, plates and glasses, and special homemade treats. It turns out that it can be easy, cheap, and a great way to relax with your friends. No need for bougie, just grab a buddy and a sandwich and enjoy the nice weather.

At Dolores Park, it turns out that Safeway is the number one source of goodies because it's easy and inexpensive and nearby. Homemade food was also popular as well as Ike's Place. Also making a showing: Truly Mediterranean, Tartine Bakery, BiRite Market & Creamery, Jay's Cheesesteak, and Foods Co. Although the food carts weren't around that day, except for the ice cream carts of course, check Twitter in advance to see if the food carts will be in your area. Using Yelp, you can see which other restaurants are near Dolores Park.

It's a crime not to enjoy warm picnicking weather in San Francisco so go make the most of it! The Modern Urban Picnic doesn't require much effort.

Supporting Your Cause with Cupcakes

2010-05-16T20:15:00.000-07:00

Many people wouldn't think twice about where the proceeds are going if they are facing down a delicious-looking cupcake, cookie, pie, or coffee cake. And there were definitely tasty ones at the San Francisco branch of the Worldwide Vegan Bakesale last weekend.

The Worldwide Vegan Bakesale took place in cities all over the world. By May 3rd, over 120 sales were held and the event was extended an additional week in over a dozen cities. Last year, San Francisco's sale raised $4200 for the Food Empowerment Project and SaveABunny! Worldwide, the sales last year raised over $25,000.

This year, San Francisco's sale benefited WildCare (treating sick/injured wild animals) and Virunga National Park (protecting gorillas in the Congo). Regardless, I found the strawberry shortcake cupcake delightful (does anyone know who made those?). Treats were available Bike Basket Pies, Black Orchid Bakery, Brassica Supperclub, Scarlette Poppy (Team of Heather and Mike Jimenez), Sugar Beat Sweets, Violet Sweet Shoppe, and other purveyors.

All You Can Eat...For 30 Minutes

2010-05-13T15:35:00.000-07:00

Combining the concept of an all-you-can-eat buffet and a u-pick farm is a strawberry farm near Tokyo called Koyano Orchard (Koyano Kajuen).

One and a half hours by train from Tokyo, this farm in Hanno City, Saitama allows you to pick and eat as many as you like for 30 minutes.

Our hotel advised us that there are two types of strawberries available at the farm. 1) Akihime - not as acidic with tender pulp, and 2) Beni-hoppe - with the best balance of acidity and sweetness.

In Nirayama-Tada, an area famous for its Benihoppe strawberries, 60,000 honeybees were recently stolen as part of a major increase in honeybee thefts all over Japan. I don't know if this will affect the coming crop but you should call ahead anyway to make sure they're not sold out before you go. I discovered that they also have u-pick grapes, but don't know which time of year. The following images are from their website.

Black Panthers' Hot Sauce

2010-05-09T18:46:00.000-07:00

Former Black Panthers, plus one BP widow, and musician Al Green worked together to produce an organic hot sauce called 'Burn Baby Burn.' It's slightly more spicy than Tabasco and with stronger flavor. Although we still prefer Tabasco's flavor, no hot sauce has as much fascinating history behind it as this one does.

Terra Bakery - Masters of Cheesy Bread and Bagels

2010-05-09T10:49:00.000-07:00

Picked up Mother's Day brunch bagels and could not wait to bite into the warm cheddar and olive bagel. Stupendous. So soft yet chewy with a bit of crustiness on the outside. I think the olives were kalamata.

I've also tried their cheese bread (larger than a bagel) which I think was made with asiago. Tasty!

P.S. Little known fact is that they do take reservations for their tables.

Mortadella Hot Dogs at Boccalone

2010-05-08T18:15:00.001-07:00

Chris Cosentino's and Mark Pastore's Boccalone is now serving these tasty morsels.
Sold in packs of 3 for $9.00 or prepared in a bun with house-made pickles and mustard for $7.50.

They remind me of soft bologna. Any other Russians grow up with meals of fried soft 'baloney' with potatoes?

No Jewish Delis in the Holy Land?

2010-05-07T23:42:00.000-07:00

Have you eaten so many corned beef sandwiches that you deserve to be an honorary Jew? You may have to wait indefinitely for that title because delis and the Holy Land are like ham & cheese - a fine combination to outsiders.

It turns out that the Jewish deli is such a distinctly American creation that it's rare to find one in Israel, because they're not very popular. Even in travel guides, these delis are listed under "American Food."

According to the Jewish site Forward.com, Eastern European Jews invented delis only after they arrived in the New World. According to Forward.com:

David Sax, author of “Save the Deli,” which describes the increasingly endangered Jewish delicatessen, says there are a number of reasons that the deli never made it to the Holy Land.

“The climate made it very difficult for people to grow the produce, especially raise cattle for such a meat-based food,” Sax said in a telephone interview from New York. “Also, the food itself doesn’t suit the climate as much. Then there was the clear philosophical break Israel’s founding fathers made with the Diaspora, and [the indigenous] falafel became the official food of Israel.”

While a new deli called Ruben has just opened in Tel Aviv and is planning a second branch soon, previous delis have not done so well. Many food mavens have given up hope on great American-Jewish delis in Israel. Here's a quick roundup of the most significant delis in Israel.

Ruben
Mendy's deli (Tel Aviv) is now closed
New York deli (Herzeliya) is now closed
New Deli (Jerusalem), which Chowhounds don't like and is focused on fast food
Hess German deli (Jerusalem), which foodies like but report that it's pricey and focused on sausages
Chofetz Chaim (Jerusalem), which foodies like
Chicago Chef Deli (Ra'anana) is actually not a deli
Kedma (Jerusalem), which promotes its "corned beef experience"

Inside scoop on P.F. Chang's from Chef's Mama

2010-04-27T15:34:00.000-07:00

Who knows you better than your mama? How about when your mom is a world-class chef (a.k.a. the "Julia Child of Chinese Cooking") and she's opining on your restaurant?

I had the pleasure of meeting Cecilia Chiang, mother of P. F. Chang's Co-Founder Philip Chiang. Of course I asked her the all important question: What are your favorite dishes at P. F. Chang's? She answered that her favorites are the smoked ribs and the seared ahi tuna but that Philip's sister likes the garlic noodles.

In the 1960s, when Cecilia Chiang opened The Mandarin in San Francisco, she faced a lot of opposition when she tried to serve authentic Mandarin cuisine instead of the Americanized-Cantonese that was commonplace. Now she is over 90 yrs old and has plenty of fans including Thomas Keller and a long roster of esteemed students including Alice Waters, Julia Child, and James Beard. Her book documents her incredible life with significant struggles and also presents delicious authentic recipes that our adventurous foodie culture has now come to love.

Her son Philip Chiang (whose last name was simplified to Chang) is the chef that conceived and planned the menu of P. F. Chang's. He has also struggled with bending traditional recipes to American taste but the restaurant chain has done incredibly well (now at nearly 200 bistros) so he must have hit the spot for the average American. Last week, P. F. Chang's announced the launch of a line of frozen entrees that can be prepared at home in 13 minutes or less. The flavors include: Orange Chicken, Shanghai Style Beef, Sweet & Sour Chicken, General Chang's Chicken, Ginger Chicken & Broccoli, Beef with Broccoli, Shrimp in a Garlic Sauce and Shrimp Lo Mein.

Tax Day Relief with Free Food Nationwide

2010-04-09T17:03:00.000-07:00

Food Freebies for April 15th, 2010

Cinnabon will give out free bite-size CUPCAKES from 5pm-8pm at its mall locations.
MaggieMoo’s will reward customers with a free sample of their new ice cream pizza from 3pm-7pm.
Taco Del Mar is giving away a free taco filled with cheese, lettuce, pico de gallo and a choice of fish, pork, chicken or beef. Visit http://www.tacodelmar.com/, request your Free Taco 1099 Coupon (which is emailed to you), and bring it into your local shop for your free taco.
TCBY free waffle cone for joining their eClub.
Check your local McDonald's for free food offers. Currently, some Florida stores are reported to have a BOGO Big Mac or Quarter Pounder offer. On Friday April 16th, you can get free fries with any purchase nationwide.
Check your local Chick-Fil-A for free food offers. Currently, some Virginia stores are reported to be offering free biscuits.

Post-Easter Report: Your Favorite Easter Treats

2010-04-06T00:10:00.000-07:00

Now that you've had your fill of Easter treats, let me know what your favorites are! Besides the Easter bunny, egg hunts, and colored eggs, what delicious things are part of your Easter traditions? Going to hit the after-Easter candy sales? Have an Easter candy hangover?

Has anyone tried these $8 chocolate oeufs that were available at Cocoa Bella? The Oeuf Coquille by L'Olivier is a real egg shell filled with hazelnut and almond praline. If I'm not mistaken, this is made by the oldest chocolatier in France, in a little workshop based in Toulouse, which is known for its traditional french pralines and marzipan pieces.

San Francisco Weekend Getaway - Fresno County Blossom & Fruit Trail

2010-03-19T01:01:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, we explored the Fresno area's Blossom Trail, which showcases flowering orchards of plum, apricot, almond, apple, orange, lemon, peach, nectarine and other fruit trees. What a beautiful sight! We ended up in Orange Cove, with sweet oranges already dripping from the trees, and extended our day trip by hiking in Sequoia National Park after a night's stay at historic Wicky Up Ranch in Woodlake.

This trip makes a lovely weekend getaway from San Francisco even when the blossoms wane because this becomes the Fruit Trail from May to September. Besides the blossoms and fruit, you can have adventures with wine tasting, wildflowers, photography, touring Sequoia National Park (Grant Grove, King's Canyon), and discovering interesting foods such as:

Gourmet Atomic Frog Balls
These are spicy pickled brussels sprouts by Black Sheep Gourmet Foods
I found them at Appellation: California (but didn't taste them).

French Burnt Peanuts
Found at Simonian Farms, this old time treat is simply candy-coated
peanuts with coloring. They were even sold in gumball machines
once upon a time. ( I didn't taste these.)

Best Omelet!

Found at Wicky Up Bed and Breakfast in Woodlake.
Jack Pizura, co-proprietor and breakfast chef, shared his recipe and
secrets for his sublimely delicate omelettes (below).
This B&B also serves orange chocolate chip cookies
and fresh orange juice, made with oranges from their own 110 yr old trees.

The Amazingly Delicate Wicky Up Bed and Breakfast Omelet
by Jack Pizura

Ingredients:
1-2 Eggs per omelette
1 Tablespoon of Half & Half per egg
Seasoned Salt
Salted Butter
Olive oil
Optional: pre-cooked stuffing (such as mushrooms and spinach)
Optional: grated cheese (such as mozzarella)

Method:

Hand mix the eggs and cream until fully blended with a coiled spring whisk (about 1 minute). Add two pinches of seasoned salt to the mixture. Start with a medium-to-high heat in an 8" non-stick frying pan (one omelet per pan) and add 1 teaspoon of salted butter and olive oil to cover the surface of pan. Immediately after adding the egg mixture, top it with your pre-cooked stuffing as well as any grated cheese. Cook until lightly browned on the bottom, rolling back edges and shifting uncooked portions to sides. Never allow it to stick to the pan. Slide the omelet onto a plate and fold over (to hide the stuffing).

The Secrets:
Use a coiled spring whisk to mix the eggs and cream
Use salted butter because unsalted cooks differently
Also use olive oil to ensure the edges don't stick to the pan
Make sure the omelet keeps sliding as you shake the pan
Do not overcook the eggs because they'll become rubbery (moisture is forced out)
Use brown or organic eggs for a deeper yellow yolk

If you want to see the trail from home, check out this video: California's Gold - Blossom Trail . If you're ready to head out there, lucky you! I recommend starting the blossom trail at Simonian Farms (where you can pick up a free trail map). From there, you can drive the trail by map or by the road signs (however, we found 1-2 signs missing from critical turns).

Upcoming Festival: Orange Cove is holding its annual Orange Blossom Festival (aka Orange Harvest Festival), complete with an Orange Blossom Queen and a parade, on April 10, 2010. (Call the Orange Cove Chamber of Commerce for details: 559.626.5179)

San Francisco's Inventive Food Cart Transforms Crème Brûlée

2010-03-09T17:50:00.000-08:00

With inventive creme brulee flavors such as frosted flakes, s'mores, and lemon blueberry, the Creme Brulee Man - a.k.a. Curtis Kimball - is providing fun and tasty treats to the street food crowd. The Creme Brulee Cart has also carried these flavors in the past: vanilla bean (a fan favorite), Bailey’s Irish cream, dark chocolate Chambord, lavender, and Ritual Coffee.

Explore Caribbean Food with The Evil Jerk Cart Lady

2010-03-08T10:41:00.000-08:00

Well I started Evil Jerk Cart because my family's from the Caribbean and there's no Caribbean food in the city.

So I used to make it when I was homesick, and then I started making it for parties, and then I kind of figured 'well, let me see if I can take it to the street and see if anybody's interested.'

It's been great. I've been doing it for 5 months. It's nice to share my culture with everyone...the food...and just enjoy the San Francisco street culture.

Food and Wine Maven: And tell us what you have today...you have the jerk chicken?
EvilJerkCart: Yes, I have jerk chicken. I always have coconut rice and peas. I have an Ital vegan stew. There are always vegan options. I also have some eschoviche fish, which is like a fried tilapia with seasonings, onions, peppers, and some scotch bonnets so it has a nice kick to it.

Food and Wine Maven: Thank you so much!
EvilJerkCart: Sure.

Interview with the Man Behind the Adobo Hobo Food Cart

2010-03-07T22:23:00.000-08:00

How ya doin', I'm Jason Rotairo, the Adobo Hobo and I have a San Francisco street food cart.

I serve Filipino food. It's mainly chicken adobo over rice and I also serve sisig tacos.

I started doin' the cart...My first night out was August 1st and I started doin' the cart because some friends came home one day and I was in the kitchen cookin'. They came home from visiting the creme brulee cart and encouraged me to get out here and get something going `cause I'm the cook of the household. So that's what I did, I got it started, and about 7-8 months later, still going strong.

So, originally I just started it to try it out, have some fun with it, but it's actually turning out to be a lot of fun for me and pretty successful so I'm going to keep it goin' and hopefully grow it into something else.

Food and Wine Maven: How many nights a week are you out?
JR: I'm usually out about three or four nights a week...and it's not just nights, I go out at lunchtime also. A lot of times, I'm at South Park for the lunchtime crowd over there.

Food and Wine Maven: Mmm. I loved your tacos tonight. They were killer.
JR: They were killer? Are you the one I'm going to teach?
Food and Wine Maven: Yes.
JR: OK. Let's do it.
Food and Wine Maven: Thank you.
JR: Thank you.

Food and Wine Mavens caught on NBC Bay Area News

2010-03-07T01:33:00.000-08:00

Head Maven and friends were caught on camera by NBC News at the SF Food Cart Party celebrating significant anniversaries for food cart operations in the city.

We really enjoyed the Creme Brulee Man's lemon blueberry flavor, Magic Curry Man, Adobo Hobo's sisig tacos, talking to Evil Jerk Cart's beautiful Lisette, the Shanghai lumpia from the cute guys of Lumpia Cart, and even some fire dancing. Next time, we'll come even hungrier because there was lots of great food.

I'll post the pics and videos of the food vendors shortly but in the meantime,

enjoy the highlights video below!

A San Francisco Favorite : Bomboloni at Boriana

2010-03-05T12:37:00.000-08:00

Some foodies are concerned about the changes to the bomboloni at the Ferry Building. Chowhounds and others in the know are submitting reports of changes in texture and taste for the dough as well as the filling. There have also been reports of getting stale ones.

7x7 reports that Absinthe's pastry chef Luis Villavelazquez has been making Boriana's bomboloni for a while now but he will be opening his own sweets & bomboloni stand at the Ferry Bldg on Thursdays, so will he still be providing Boriana's bomboloni? I don't know.

I haven't been thrilled with chef Luis in the past, specifically his insane desserts at Orson that he wanted to "challenge" his diners with (his own word). For example, he had a dessert I personally thought tasted like smoked creamed turkey (containing tapioca balls and smoked tea leaves) and a lackluster cornbread with bacon and blueberries. But he has moved on to a more refined restaurant so I'm willing to keep my mind open to his future creations. He is supposed to have a maple-bacon bomboloni at his new stand, which sounds like it's worth trying.

But who used to make the precious bomboloni we are now so wistful over? Someone on the Chowhound board believes Boriana got her bomboloni from a chef at the Four Seasons Restaurant/Hotel in East Palo Alto and that this same chef now makes the bomboloni for Caffe Del Doge in Palo Alto.

Do you have any insider information to share about this?

Curried Deviled Eggs with Mango Chutney

2010-03-01T18:40:00.000-08:00

The original recipe is from Epicurious but my sis and I have made some changes that our guests ♥ love ♥. They've been very popular at our Superbowl parties but they would be lovely for Easter as well! Do something new this year!

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

Modified Epicurious Recipe:
6 large hard-boiled eggs, shelled
1/3 cup mayonnaise (We like Hellmann's Mayo called Best Foods on the West Coast)
Minced green onion to taste (minimum 1 TBLSP)
Yellow Curry Powder to taste (minimum 1 TBLSP) (my guests like lots!)
Tabasco sauce to taste
Mustard to taste (Grey Poupon Dijon Mustard)
Topping: Mango Chutney (approx 1 oz)
Cut hard-boiled eggs lengthwise in half. Scoop yolks into medium bowl. Mash yolks with fork or in mixer. Add mayonnaise, minced green onion, mustard, tabasco, and curry powder; mix well. Season yolk mixture to taste with salt and pepper. Fill ziploc bags with the yolk mixture and cut off a small corner and pipe the yolk mixture into the empty egg white halves. Arrange eggs on platter. Garnish eggs with mango chutney and serve.

When you boil your eggs, you may want to use an egg timer because overboiled eggs get grey/green yolks. Set the eggs and timer in the pot at the same time and into cold water. Do not put eggs from the fridge directly into hot water because that temperature difference will make them crack open.

After boiling, cool the eggs in the fridge for a few hours or soak them immediately in very cold water. I believe this makes the eggs easier to peel.

When peeling the eggs, make sure that you also remove the thin white membrane under the shell. I've seen several men peeling eggs for the first time be confused by this membrane.

Halve the eggs lengthwise with a NON-SERRATED knife (unless you want a pattern on the egg whites). Wipe your knife between each cut so that you don't spread yolk all over the whites. You want the whites to look clean and the yolks to only be in the middle, when all is said and done.

Throw the yolks in a bowl for mashing or mixing. I use a KitchenAid Mixer.

Mix in your curry powder and make it as flavorful as you want. Take into account the power of the curry versus the wine pairing. Make sure your wine will hold up to the flavor. My delicious curry is from Aphrodisia Herb Shoppe in NYC (thanks to my husband).

Mince in green onions or chives. The smaller, the better (IMHO) but remember the more you cut onions, the more the onion taste will leach out into the mixture. And don't cut your onions on a dish like I did! Once you've mixed in the onions, fill a ziploc bag with your yolk mixture and get ready to pipe the mixture into your egg whites. Cut off a small corner of your plastic bag and test piping it into your eggs. If it doesn't look/feel right, make the cut larger.

Get some delish mango chutney to top your deviled eggs. I like Sukhi's.

Voilà!

Search Amazon.com Home&Garden for deviled egg plate

Do Fresh Foods Cause More Food Poisoning?

2010-02-25T22:36:00.000-08:00

According to a new Harris poll of over 2,000 adults, four in ten (42%) people said they've become sick in the past two years from something they ate (or so they think). Of those folks, 69% believe they know what made them sick and many eliminate that food from their diet entirely. Moreover, another 15% indicate that they advised family, friends and colleagues not to eat that food item.

One of the most interesting results of this study is that people are most concerned with the safety of fresh foods (followed by canned foods, other packaged foods, and frozen foods). Those that were at least somewhat concerned that fresh foods are safe to eat are most concerned about fresh meats (31%), fresh poultry (23%), fresh fish (20%), vegetables (16%) and fruit (8%).

As Americans struggle to eat healthier, how do our food safety concerns about fresh food affect our efforts to eat healthier? Is it true, or just a perception, that consumers are most likely to get sick from fresh foods? Are consumers failing to prepare their fresh foods correctly? In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan encourages us to buy more from the outside edges of the supermarket where all the fresh products are, instead of the processed foods in the inner aisles. Do Americans need to be educated on how to prepare fresh foods correctly?

For Italians, Amaretti Cookies are like Chocolate Chip Cookies for Americans

2010-02-16T08:22:00.000-08:00

Our recent post about amaretti cookies has drawn a lot of interest so I did more research on this delightful cookie with the help of chef Maria Teresa Capdevielle and gourmet Italian marketplace DITALIA is offering our readers a discount on their classic amaretti cookies, both crunchy and soft.

Professional pastry chef and author Maria Teresa Capdevielle shared her insights with us about this popular Italian cookie that is similar to an almond macaroon. "Amaretti cookies are a staple of the Italian pastry kitchen. We use them as an ingredient for many cakes and tarts. We also use them as an ice cream or zabaione topping." (Check out Maria's recipe for Zabaglione with Strawberries and Amaretti Crumbs.)

"Every town has its own amaretti recipe. In Abruzzo, the region I come from, amaretti are soft and sometimes filled with a fruit preserve. The most popular amaretti are from Saronno and they are crispy - great for dipping in coffee or sweet liquor." (Consider getting the soft amaretti cookies and spreading preserves/jam or nutella/ganache between them to make pretty cookie sandwiches. They'll look like über-trendy Ladurée boutique macaroons.)

I asked Maria if there was a certain time of year during which amaretti cookies are showcased in Italian culture, like pumpkin pie is for Thanksgiving in the US. Maria replied, "If I have to pick a celebration to eat amaretti, I think Christmas would be the one. But for Italians, amaretti are like chocolate chip coookies for Americans." (Consider serving amaretti cookies or making desserts with amaretti cookies for Easter or Passover. They're certified Kosher OU, without flour or milk, and I believe they're gluten free as well.)

In celebration of this versatile and delicious cookie, DITALIA is offering a generous discount of 20% off all the Amaretti cookies in their online marketplace for Italian gourmet food. Use code AMA20 until March 15, 2010. Thank you, DITALIA! Check out Amaretti Cookies from DITALIA.

You can sign up to receive additional exclusive offers and recipes from DITALIA and see why their fans love them on Facebook.

We'd love to hear from you about Amaretti cookies. Eat, drink, and be merry!

Amaretti Fail

2010-02-08T16:31:00.000-08:00

Today, Food Maven Josh B. introduced me to Italian amaretti cookies, which we found at I Preferiti di Boriana (Boriana's favorites) at the Ferry Building in San Francisco. They are mini cookies with a mild taste of marzipan and they are available soft or crispy/crunchy. Josh was also kind enough to show me how to create a nice after-dinner flourish by lighting the wrapper on fire. When lit, the tissue wrapper should shoot up like a rocket, if you follow his instructions.

See how the tissue paper shoots up into the air when it behaves.

Valentine's Day Treats at San Francisco's Ferry Building

2010-02-06T21:51:00.000-08:00

Heart Garlands at Miette

Excellent Chocolate Covered Cherry Chews by Frog Hollow
(their own Frog Hollow cherries, made with Recchiuti chocolate)

Recchiuti Valentine Confections 20% Off

Gianduja Hearts at Miette

Miette's Sweet Revolution Valentine Boxes
with Maple-Honey Caramels

Food from the Heart 2010: on 2/12/10, enjoy a candlelit ferry building
and listen to music, shop, dance, and taste chocolate, food, and wine

Acme Bread's Rosemary Focaccia Hearts

Scharffen Berger Chocolate

Superbowl Party Hors d'Oeuvres

2010-02-05T10:18:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure whether it's even socially acceptable to use the phrase "hors d'oeuvres" when speaking of the holiday when "Americans eat more chips, popcorn, pretzels and snack nuts than on any other day of the year," according to Penn State researchers in Encyclopedia of American Holidays and National Days.

I'm willing to bet that my Superbowl hors d'oeuvres are fancier than most football game spreads. One year, I toiled over the stove poaching quail eggs to top individual portions of Israeli shakshuka served in porcelain Chinese soup spoons. Never again.

I've also made angel hair pasta with mini meatballs, also individually portioned in those porcelain spoons, with parmesan crisp decorations from The French Laundry Cookbook. This one is easy for anyone to assemble and can be cooked in bulk unlike the poached quail eggs.

One of my favorite standbys has become the curried deviled egg. My sister shared this recipe with me after a successful party debut and I have found it to be successful as well. I follow the Epicurious recipe but I omit the olives, increase the curry, use green onions/chives, splash in some tabasco and mustard, and top it with a mango chutney from Sukhi's.

Last year, I was inspired by the "Hearts of Palm with Purée of Marrow Beans" recipe from The French Laundry Cookbook, which takes forever (3-4 hrs) to make for only a few people. I reconfigured the reccipe to take about an hour for 40 people. I created palm hearts filled and topped with a tuscan-herbed bean & cream cheese spread. These were a hit and I plan to make them again this year with mascarpone instead of vegan cream cheese and boost the flavors a bit (perhaps with some fried bacon). Here's how I made them last year: I took Trader Joe's tuscan white bean spread and mixed it with a vegan cream cheese to thicken it (just keep additing it until the mixture is thick enough to stand on its own like cake frosting). After adding herbs and spices to taste, including white pepper, I piped the filling into the center of the palm hearts as well as on top (just like cupcake frosting). I experimented by sprinkling the "frosting" with bits of crispy fried onion, which tasted fine but not special. I refrigerated them so that the filling remained thick and did not drip out.

This year, I'm planning to make very thin corn muffins (like thick blini) using Ridgecut Girstmills' stone ground cornbread mix (wonderful texture and sweet corn taste), topped with a bit of crème fraîche and salsa. I also hope to find a use for the amazing paneer that Cowgirls Creamery makes...any ideas?

We'll see what else I conjure up this year!

Results from Blind Bacon Tasting

2010-01-19T00:05:00.000-08:00

Yes, I tasted different bacons from all over the US so you wouldn't have to. I spared you. You can thank me later. The tasting results from today's Camp Bacon at 18 Reasons with Zingerman's Ari Weinzweig are below:

Bacons	Tasting 1	Tasting 2	Total	Ranking
1) Vande Rose (Iowa)	7	2	9	5/6 Tie
2) House of Sticks (California)	6	8	14	Third Place
3) Nueske's (Wisconsin)	5	1	6	7/8/9 Tie
4) Benton's (Tennessee)	11	5	16	Second Place
5) Niman Ranch (Iowa)	1	5	6	7/8/9 Tie
6) Broadbent's (Kentucky)	10	2	12	Fourth Place
7) Nodine's (Connecticut)	5	4	9	5/6 Tie
8) Bi-Rite (California)	4	14	18	First Place
9) Edwards (Virginia)	4	2	6	7/8/9 Tie

Procedural Notes: Each person was told to vote for 2 favorite tastes (each person voted twice). Although bacons were labeled 1-9 on the tasting plate, it's not necessarily the order of tasting and many people tasted them all twice.

The major bacon differentiators include: pig breed, pig feed, spices and length of curing, wet or dry curing, type of wood used for smoking, and length of smoking. (When comparing bacons from different countries, make sure you know which pig part you're eating. Some areas of the world use the back and loin of a pig instead of the belly, which we use in the States.)

Official Notes from the 18 Reasons Tasting: (errors are in original)

[First Place Winner] Bi-Rite's House-Cured Bacon - San Francisco. Butcher Chili Montes sources Becker Lane Organic Pork Bellies to make Bi-Rite's house bacon. Becker Lane is a fourth generation family farm who grows their own organic feed, which doesn't include corn. This is the same pork that Herb Eckhouse uses for his exquisite La Quercia prosciutto. Montes dry-cures the meat in a mixture of salt, sugar, nutmeg, juniper, thyme, bay, garlic and nitrite for about seven days. He then smokes it for about 6 hours over sugar maple hardwood.

[Second Place Winner] Benton's Bacon - Eastern Tennessee. Allen Benton has always been passionate about using the best pork. He sources small batches of old heritage breeds (primarily Berkshire) from farms that raise their pigs humanely, on pasture, where they are not confined to a small space or made to live on concrete. Benton's is known for its intense smoky flavor, and is sliced thick. `Whatever you do, don't overcook it - take it out the moment it gets crispy!' warns Benton.

[Third Place Winner] House of Sticks Bacon - San Francisco. From their friends at Prather Ranch, Dave Le and Ryan Freitas source pork bellies from heritage pigs (Berkshire and Tamworth breeds) which are raised locally on an organic and, more importantly, varied diet. They cure them with a mix of brown sugar, salt, black pepper and bay leaf that brings out a rich savory character in the final product.

In case you're interested, I voted for Bi-Rite and for Nodine's. It's interesting that Nodine's didn't come near the top in this tasting considering that it was "rated #2 in the country in the most recent California Bacon Cook-Off."

If you'd like to know more about artisanal producers, the history of bacon, great recipes such as Bacon Mayonnaise and chocolate bacon gravy, get Ari's book. Ari's favorite bacon recipe is American Fried Bread, which he found in a 1914 cookbook. This recipe basically involves soaking up bacon fat with bread, and frying the bread. He recommends Zingerman's Roadhouse rye bread for that recipe.

Ari's other exploits currently include training business owners how to train their staff. Last week, he conducted such a session at San Francisco's Ferry Building for the vendors. At the time of the session, I heard that Jacky Recchiuti was meeting with Ari and was hoping for a new bacon chocolate bar to be born, but alas and alack, they were not meeting about that. Ari's next book may be an anarchist's guide to building a great business because of his studies of Russian History at the University of Michigan.

Bacon Fat Mayonnaise
Makes about 2 cups

Adapted from Ari Weinzweig's "Zingerman's Guide to Better Bacon" (Zingerman's Press, 2009). N.B.: this will look different from traditional mayonnaise.

• 5 egg yolks
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 7 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 1/2 cups rendered bacon fat (saved from frying bacon)
• 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
• Freshly ground Tellicherry or other black pepper to taste

Instructions: Chill all ingredients and utensils (including the mixing bowl) down to about 40°. Don't skip this step or the mayonnaise may break.

Beat the egg yolks, mustard and 1 1/2 teaspoons of the lemon juice in a blender or mixing bowl on high for 2 minutes, until well-blended.

Add in the bacon fat (no need to add gradually if everything's properly chilled), continuing to beat until the mixture is thick. Depending on how thick and rich you like your mayonnaise, you may or may not need the entire amount of fat.

Slowly blend in the remaining lemon juice, sea salt and pepper, whipping it pretty much continuously throughout. Adjust seasoning to taste.

Now I'm off to invest in pork belly futures!

What's the oldest drink you've ever tasted?

2010-01-08T18:21:00.000-08:00

How about a 3,800 year old beer? In 1988, experts set about recreating an ancient beer after finding a loose recipe on an ancient clay tablet within a hymn to Ninkasi, the Sumerian goddess of brewing. Dr. Solomon Katz of the University of Pennsylvania and Fritz Maytag of Anchor Steam Brewery did manage to brew the ancient beer in 1989 after decoding the recipe full of vague ingredients such as "flowing water," which meant the salty waters of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Goddess Ninkasi, whose name literally means "you who fill my mouth so full," must have been honored.

Now how about the elixir that mourners of King Midas drank at his funerary feast circa 8th Century B.C.? UPenn's Patrick E. McGovern, molecular archeologist and the leading authority on ancient alcoholic beverages, analyzed residue from the drinking vessels found in King Midas' tomb but could not determine which beverage those vessels had contained. Dr. McGovern found evidence of a mixture of barley beer, grape wine, and honey or mead which would have tasted awful all together without a bittering agent. Dogfish Head Brewery found the solution by adding saffron and reconstructed the historic beverage with barley, honey, saffron, and white Muscat grapes (because bonafide ancient stock from Turkish grapes wasn't available). This was marketed in 2001 as the Midas Touch Golden Elixir by Dogfish and you can read all about it in Uncorking the Past: The Quest for Wine, Beer, and Other Alcoholic Beverages.

You can now recreate the funerary feast of King Midas at home with your slow cooker. Get yourself some Midas Touch brew from Dogfish and the recipe for the lamb and lentil stew, which is available in The Gourmet Slow Cooker: Simple and Sophisticated Meals from Around the World, and you'll be golden (unfortunately, pun intended).

You don't have to be vegan to love vegan food

2010-01-07T14:58:00.000-08:00

While filling up on holiday party treats, Food Maven Tania L. from Berkeley really surprised me with her outstanding mini chocolate cupcakes - and it wasn't just the googley eyes on top (an homage to Stephen Colbert's googley-eyed clams?).

I was surprised how delicious vegan cupcakes could be and how superior they were to the conventional cupcakes in our local specialty bakeries like Kara's and Sprinkles.

Tania's cupakes were made according to the recipe
from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World: 75 Dairy-Free Recipes for Cupcakes that Rule by Moskowitz & Romero who have also written the vegan cookie bible: Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar: 100 Dairy-Free Recipes for Everyone's Favorite Treats. At the end of this post, you'll find the recipe for these cupcakes and the chocolate mousse topping/frosting.

If you're considering going vegan this year, now's the time for Philadelphians. To help you fulfill your new year's resolution, the Pennsylvania chapter of Friends of Animals is hosting a free program this January to help up to 30 people pledge to go vegan for one month. Participants in the “Vegan Pledge” will be paired with a vegan mentor, will be started off with a vegan care package, and will be invited to five meetings in Philadelphia. At the meetings, participants will be given cooking and shopping lessons, receive information about veganism, and will have lunches together where they will sample various vegan foods. "Philadelphians who want to dedicate 2010 to the animals, the environment, or their health have a great opportunity to do that," says Leila Fusfeld from FOA Philly. The program is already more than half-full, but there is room for about a dozen more. To register or find out more information about the Vegan Pledge, e-mail leila@foaphilly.org.

Happy 2010 everyone!

Chocolate Cupcakes
(From Moskawitz & Romero, Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World)

1 cup soymilk
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup canola oil
1 teaspooon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon almond extract, chocolate extract, or more vanilla
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

1. Heat oven to 350; line muffin pan.
2. Whisk soymilk and vinegar in a large bowl.
3. In a medium bowl, sift together flour through salt.
4. Add sugar, oil, and extracts to soymilk; beat until foamy.
5. Add dry ingredients to wet in two batches, and beat until only a few small lumps remain.
6. Pour into liners, 3/4 full, and bake 18-20 minutes. (For mini cupcakes, baking time is closer to 12 minutes.)

Chocolate Mousse for topping
(From Moskawitz & Romero recipes in VegNews)

12 ounces extra-firm silken tofu (e.g. Mori-Nu brand)
1/4 cup plain soymilk
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla
12 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips (I use 62% Scharffen Berger)

1. Crumble tofu in food processor or blender with everything but chocolate, and blend until perfectly smooth. May need to scrape down sides a few times.
2. Melt chocolate in a double boiler or in the microwave. If using the microwave, heat in 30 seconds increments, mixing in between.
3. Add melted chocolate to tofu mixture, and blend until perfectly smooth.
4. Taste and adjust accordingly -- depending on the chocolate, you may want to add more maple syrup.
4. Chill for 1 hour for a firm mousse. You can serve on its own, or use a pastry bag to top the cupcakes.

Note: It's easier to pipe this mousse through a pastry bag if it hasn't been chilled for a full hour. The quality of the chocolate also matters -- I like it very dark, and find that a high quality chocolate (like Scharffen Berger) produces a *much* better result than generic chocolate chips.

Celebrate New Year's Eve with the Flourish of a Sword Trick

2009-12-24T22:18:00.000-08:00

This year at the stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve, you'll score a great big kiss and belt out "auld lang syne." As the song winds down, get your sword ready because you're going to open the champagne with it! Worst-case scenario, you injure yourself and others. You decide, is the stunt worth it?

Erik Liedholm, Wine Director for Washington's Seastar Restaurant & Raw Bar, tried it once upon a time and now has, at least, a great story. Mr. Liedholm recounts a time when he was the sommelier at a grand opening party for a cutting-edge new restaurant and "little did I know how 'cutting edge' this opening was to be." The who's who of the Seattle food scene was invited and "part of this grande fete was to have me saber off the top of a bottle of Champagne. I had plenty of experience whacking the tops off bottles of a regular (750ml) size but the crazy Food & Beverage Director who looked and acted like a cross between Schultz from Hogan’s Hero’s and Truman Capote, insisted I saber the top off of a Jeroboam (about 3 liters of wine). I was always told that one needs a large floor cradle when dispatching the tops of big bottles but he thought it would take away from the drama if I had one. He was right!!"

"After several unglamorous attempts hacking at the mammoth bottles 'sweet spot' I let out one last heave of the saber and then the Food & Beverage Director got his drama. Wine went everywhere, glass went everywhere. The crowd let out a big cheer and as I looked around, everyone had smiles…except the General Manager who looked at me with horror. The bottle had exploded in such a way that the broken half I was holding decided to engage itself into my thumb and was slowly removing it from my hand. It seems as though during my many failed attempts holding this freezing cold, giant bottle my hand became anesthetized."

"I did not realize that my entire hand and arm had become a bloody mess. I was off to the hospital and in no time, I was the talk of the ER wing at Virginia Mason hospital. All the docs and nurses wanted to lay their eyes on the fool who tried to open a bottle of Champagne with a sword. After twenty stitches and a hurt pride I was back to work that night!" (Thanks to Mr. Liedholm for sharing this story with us.)

So you've read the cautionary tale but still want to try it? You can use a special tool like the Laguiole Champagne Sabre or a solid and trusty knife. Wired Magazine has tips on everything from bottle temperature to the angle for holding the bottle.

Don't forget to prepare some lovely snacks to go with your champagne. Luckily, champagne goes with mostly everything from popcorn to rose petals. Paul Abercrombie's Organic, Shaken and Stirred: Hip Highballs, Modern Martinis, and Other Totally Green Cocktails has a delightfully delicate cocktail recipe mixing champagne and rose petals.

For cheese, try an easy to serve brie on crackers such as this one from President Cheese. It has an accessible taste that will appeal to most people and is easy to prepare. It'll be great with champagne!

And now some useful tips from Food Maven Ahmet A. about champagne:

Champagne is something to be enjoyed for more than special occasions, New Year's Eve or a wedding toast. It's practically the perfect drink: refreshing, delicate and complex. With so many to choose to from and with a such great range of prices where does one begin?

First, to be called champagne it has to be French. Nothing else will do. Yes, there are plenty of substitutes from Spain, Italy, New York and California. While those concoctions may appeal to some palates, champagne only comes from....you guessed it, the Champagne region of France.

Second, it doesn't have to be expensive or vintage to be delicious. We may all think that Dom Perignon or La Grande Dame is the only way to enjoy this delightful drink, but those of us who live within driving distance of a Costco are in for real surprise. Costco's own Kirkland brand has added a champagne to its lineup of high quality products priced sensibly. Currently $19.95 gets one a fruity, slight yeasty dry champagne that competes with bubbly costing five to ten times the price.

Lastly, make sure the bottle is properly chilled (43 to 48 degrees F.). Don't just throw it into the freezer 30 minutes before serving. Once opened, there's no rush to finish, but don't even think about re-corking. At these prices you can afford to have a several bottles in your fridge waiting to be consumes for the best reason of all: for the taste. à votre santé!

On the first night of Hanukkah, my true love gave to me...Lox, bagels, and cream cheese

2009-12-10T15:48:00.000-08:00

May I be blunt and just say it? I never met a Jew that didn't love lox (including me) but I have met a lox that I didn't love. I've made an effort this year to find my favorite lox and here's what I've come up with so far.

In their November issue, Details Magazine published their list of the "Most Delicious Mail Order Food," in which they recommend NYC's Russ and Daughters. (When I first heard about this old New York City gem, I thought people were saying "Russian Daughters" and even found some chowhounds with the same misunderstanding.) Their main competitor is Zabar's, which I have yet to try.

I finally tasted R&D's lox in September 2009 and was disappointed with their bestsellers but did enjoy their Scottish and Pastrami lox. While Details Magazine recommends the Gaspe Nova, I feel that the Scottish and Pastrami varieties are by far the best lox that Russ & Daughers has to offer and I sent them to my grandmother for her birthday. At first, I was reluctant to try the pastrami flavor because it just sounded gimmicky but I actually loved the added flavors as well as the fish itself. If you're not in NYC, you can have it shipped.

On the West Coast, I found my favorite lox at the San Francisco's farmer's market at the ferry building/terminal: Cap'n Mike's Northwest Style Lox. Ingredients: wild red King salmon, alderwood smoke, sea salt, honey, brown sugar. Truly heavenly: smooth, meaty, flavorful, and perfectly balanced on the sweet/salty scale, so it's no wonder their website is "Holy Smoked Salmon".

Cap'n Mike's lox is available for shipping and I have shipped their lox as Hanukkah gifts in the past and will continue to. I can't imagine a more tasty Hanukkah gift that goes well with latkes, boiled potatoes (my preference: smashed Russian Banana Fingerling Potatoes), bagels, or biayls (Elizabeth Falkner's current obsession).

I've also tried two lox offerings at Trader Joe's, two at Safeway, and Charlie Trotter's lox products at Whole Foods. None of these came close to the taste and quality of Cap'n Mike's and frankly I would have preferred to have no lox than to have eaten any of those. Suprisingly the Safeway offerings were my favorite and some of the cheapest. The others were too salty, fishy, or just didn't taste right. If you happen to be part of the huge Jewish community in Michigan, there is good lox at Hiller's Market on Orchard Lake Rd that is packaged by the store itself. It's labeled "Ma Cohen's Lox" and is a thicker slab than normal lox cuts but the flavors are good. Just make sure it's fresh by the date on the container.

Q. What is lox? How does one find the best lox?
A. Ultimately, it's subjective but here are some pointers.

1. Of course, the main ingredient - salmon - is going to be the biggest factor in lox taste and quality. Sally Hiebert of Cap'n Mike's says that most people are used to King salmon lox, although most lox is farmed and not wild. "Farmed salmon does have a nice oily texture, but is VERY mild in flavor -- sort of tasteless to those of us used to the wild salmon." She says that Sockeye Salmon, "the very red, smaller species of salmon," has a huge, bright salmon flavor and also a slightly more buttery texture than the red King. Cap'n Mike's also has a wild white King salmon lox that is "delicate in flavor and more buttery in texture than the red King." From my experience, if you like only extremely mild fish like halibut (I personally can't relate to that), don't get a strongly flavored salmon. There may also be some differences in contaminants between farmed and wild salmon.

2. Cut: Most lox is made from salmon filets, but one can also buy cheaper salmon trimmings from near the fins called lox wings (oilier), which I ate a lot of growing up because we couldn't afford the fancy lox. It turns out that those lox wings probably are the tastiest option (see below about oil) but cheaper because they're not as pretty and much messier to eat. There's also the fish head prepared in lox style, which is also very tasty and my father still loves to eat. If you're laying out a beautiful buffet, don't get wings or the head. Check out the barn-warming party that Barefoot Contessa (aka Ina Garten) held buffet-style with smoked salmon and herbed butter.

3. Oil content: Generally, you will maximize the fish flavor by getting the package of fish with the most oil in it. You should be able to determine the juiciest fish by just looking through the clear packaging and seeing the oil flowing around.

4. To smoke or not to smoke? Only cold-smoked salmon is "lox" because hot-smoking leads to a completely different texture (flaky). Lox has a smooth and silky texture, very close to raw salmon, because it is cold-smoked. Some lox is not smoked at all, but simply cured at home with various spices (usually just salt and sugar). My mom has created her own lox by simply curing salmon at home but it's tough to get just the right mix of salty and sweet.

5. Curing: Lox is prepared with a mixture of salt, sugar, and sometimes other spices. If the curing mixture includes water, the process is called brining or wet-brining. Know your personal taste when it comes to choosing lox that has been cured with spices because taste profiles range widely. "Nova Scotia lox" is a term denoting a certain kind of preparation (not fish origin) that usually involves a mild traditional brine whereas Gravlax typically adds dill, juniper berries, and is a bit on the sweeter side. I did enjoy the Gravlax at Russ & Daughters which seemed to have nothing but dill added to it.

If you're at Russ & Daughters, they will give you a sample when asked, even though it may come with an annoyed look. Below are photos of some of the other varieties that they carry.

Common Beauty Supplies Serve Double Duty in the Kitchen

2009-12-03T18:32:00.000-08:00

I gathered these tips from Cook's Illustrated magazines. Everyday personal items that you already have at home can help you out in a pinch while you're cooking.

Amazon.com Widgets

1. Dental Floss: If you're out of kitchen twine, use unflavored and unwaxed dental floss to tie up your meat, poultry, or bouquet garni. (From Cook's Illustrated Winter 2008 Issue)

2. Spray Bottle: Fill with distilled water and use to rinse your wine glasses after washing. Distilled water won't leave spots when you air dry the glasses upside down. (From Cook's Illustrated Issue 82). Also, before putting colored sugar on your cookies, spritz them lightly with water so the sugar doesn't fall off. (From Cook's Illustrated Issue 83)

3. Exfoliating Cloth: Use the rough texture of exfoliating cloths for fast and easy scrubbing of potatoes, carrots, and beats. (From Cook's Illustrated Issue 38)

4. Hair Dryer: Use your hair dryer's No Heat setting to dry washed foods if a recipe calls for dryness, such as strawberries before chocolate dipping. (From Cook's Illustrated Issue 82). Also, to remove sticky price tags from items like dishware, point the blow dryer at High Heat onto the label. When the glue softens, lift it off. (From Cook's Illustrated Issue 84)

5. Toothbrush: Where does that roll of plastic wrap start? Rub toothbrush bristles along the roll while rotating it until you loosen the hidden edge. (From Cook's Illustrated Issue 85). Also, instead of specialty brushes, use toothbrushes to clean mushrooms. Use soft-bristled brushes for delicate work. (From Cook's Illustrated Free Issue)

6. Sweatband: To keep your oil bottle from staining your pantry shelves, place a sweatband around the bottle to catch drips. Just toss it in the washing machine when it's too dirty. (From Cook's Illustrated Free Issue)

7. Heated Neck Wrap: Warm it up in the microwave and wrap it around a bowl of dough. The extra heat helps the dough rise faster, in about half the time. (From Cook's Illustrated Free Issue)

The Mavens of Food & Wine Welcome You

2009-12-03T16:15:00.000-08:00

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