Posts from — May 2011

If you have recently eaten out at chef-driven independent restaurants, instead of chains, then you already know that it is squash blossom season. Every chef I know in this town has them on his/her menu, and luckily for me, Barbara Fenzl was at an event a couple of nights ago where Duncan Family Farms had a whole extra case of squash blossoms. He gave them to Barb and she in turn gave some of the bounties to me. Thank you, dear friend!

Summer squash is one thing I don’t plant in my small garden. It would just overtake the entire space and I’d be “one of those people”.  You know who I’m talking about, akin to the homeless person on the street, peddling my cart around and begging people. Not begging for your spare change, begging you to take some of this squash off my hands, “Please sir, please take some of this damned squash before it goes bad!”  So if nothing else, plucking the blossoms during their brief blooming window is a hugely effective form of squash birth control.

[Read more →]

There are two wonderful restaurants in the town of Sonoma that Chef John Ash recommended to me and that I now highly recommend to you; The Girl & The Fig (110 West Spain Street) and Estate (400 West Spain Street).  They are owned by Sondra Bernstein and both have amazingly talented chefs. Be sure and make reservations before you leave for vacation.  We couldn’t get in for the days we were in town, except to sit at the bar (which was still great and probably more fun) at The Girl and for Sunday brunch at Estate.

[Read more →]

About eight months ago, Dave and I attended a Hospice fundraiser and purchased a Sonoma Wine Weekend. It included a 2 night’s stay at Benovia Winery’s Vineyard Hideaway, a great house in the middle of their vineyard. As luck would have it, the night before we left, I assisted at a cooking class with Chef John Ash, an expert in all things Sonoma/Napa. He suggested what wineries to visit and where to eat and shop, we honored each of those suggestions and it made for a perfect trip! [Read more →]

Dave and I just returned from a long weekend in the wine country of Sonoma, California. I can’t wait to tell you about all the fabulous food we ate and wonderful wineries we visited.  But before I can even think about that, I have to share with you an absolute gem that we stumbled upon on our arrival night in San Francisco – Gitane Restaurant & Bar. You absolutely have to go the next time you are anywhere near Union Square! I am in love with this place and now my mission in life is to recreate the dishes we had there!

“Gitane” means gypsy woman in French. Additionally, Gitane is the name of a French bicycle manufacturer and also a brand of French cigarettes. This place is exotic and ultra-sexy, exactly what you might expect from a gorgeous romanticized gypsy image. It is hidden away on Claude Lane, an almost alley-like, side street between Sutter and Bush in one direction and between Grant and Kearney in the other.

[Read more →]

So much for my Meatless Monday postings over each weekend. I think that lasted all of 2 or 3 weeks. I’ll keep trying to get up at least one meatless option each week, but scheduling it on a specific day seems to be useless for me.  Of course, you could make this salad meatless just by leaving off the bacon, but the dramatic visual effect of the whole thing would be lost without the bacon jetting out of the ring.

For the julienned carrots, I used a new and really effective little tool I found at Sur La Table called the Kinpira Julienne Peeler.  It is pictured below in case you want to run out and buy one, or you can order it online HERE.

[Read more →]

Once I decided to make lobster risotto with the lobster stock I made in yesterday’s post, I remembered that some time ago I had seen somewhere a recipe from Emeril Lagasse using lobster oil. I Googled “lobster oil” and quickly was taken to his recipe. It was an easy and delicious addition to the risotto.

[Read more →]

In addition to the wonderful duck skin I brought home from Les Gourmettes after the last class of the season, I also was privileged to receive 3 lobster shells. I used them to make 4 cups of lobster stock, 2 cups of which I have used to make luxurious Lobster Risotto. I happened to also have a frozen lobster tail in my freezer, so I’ve cooked the tail, used the meat for the risotto, and used that shell to make lobster oil, which is drizzled on top of the finished dish… truly outstanding!

In the next week, I plan to take the remaining 2 cups of lobster stock and make another dish, maybe a Maine lobster bisque…. I’ll decide upon that later and share with you what transpires. In the meantime, here is the recipe for the lobster stock… tomorrow the oil and risotto will be posted.

[Read more →]

One of the countless benefits of working at a world-class cooking school is the goodies I get to bring home. Not only delicious leftovers but in most cases, what I even appreciate more are the by-products of the food made there.  The chicken, beef, and veal bones; extra produce that was purchased but not used; even homemade puff pastry that a chef made as a demo and then left behind. Earlier this week was the last class of the season and I hit the mother load; lobster shells and duck skin.  Today we will use the duck skin and in the following days I will show you how to make priceless lobster stock and lobster oil, and then use those to make lobster risotto, YUM!

[Read more →]

First and foremost, I must thank my amazing guest blogger of the past two days; my gorgeous, generous, gracious, and very talented daughter, Marissa. It was a joy to have two full days off without any stress or guilt. Yes, it is strange but true, I feel guilty when I don’t post. Not because any of you, my kind and loyal followers make me feel so, just my own self-imposed desire to be a true “daily” blogger.  Take, for instance, last Friday and Saturday. I was overwhelmed and overworked preparing for a cooking class birthday party I was holding on Saturday night. I had not only the usual recipes to type and copy and the food to shop for and prep – but also a house to clean, furniture to move, linens to press, centerpieces to make, china, crystal, and cutlery to polish, a table to set, and weather to fret over.  Posting was out of the question and I felt bad about that. But the class went off without a hitch, (in part, thanks to my perfect assistant, Marissa) the dinner was lovely, the weather cooperated, and the guests left educated, full, and happy.

[Read more →]

Marissa here again, reporting today with the greatest thing in the world (in my opinion) – baked brie!  I am a cheese freak, and brie has been my favorite for years.  It’s probably something to do with the way I was raised.  We are a bit of a cheese family. 

Add puff pastry and apricot preserves to the greatest cheese, and you have absolute perfection on a cracker.  I was trying to find an appetizer Mom did not have on the blog yet and was so excited that this didn’t show up in my index search.  The three of us (Mom, Dad, and I) completely demolished this entire baked brie round while playing board games and before sitting down to the salad from yesterday’s post and The Amazing Race finale. 

It was a good Mother’s Day evening.

[Read more →]