Hump Day

Generally Hump Day is Wednesday, the middle of the week, implying that you have to get "over the hump" before you can anticipate the weekend. This past Hump Day took on a special meaning for me. It is not only the anticipation of the weekend it is also anticipation of Wednesday, March 31 my last day on the job! Yes, I am hanging up my suit, closing a chapter and moving on to the next thing whatever it may be.

So Hump Day this week was marked by a lovely lunch at A16 (with one of my favorite people) on Chestnut Street, followed by a visit to the We Olive store next door. When we walked into the restaurant there were people behind the counter/prep station butchering a side of pork. From all appearance A16 uses all of the pig, fascinating to watch! Our lunch was rather early in the day so the dinning room was filled with empty tables. We were seated at the back of the restaurant near the enclosed porch where there was a long communal table being set. Behind me was another long communal table so we assumed that this was going to be a very lively lunch surrounded by large parties.

The room began to fill with a parade of men coming into the restaurant with wine, we later learned that there were two wine merchants’ lunches going on. I saw a familiar face, the bartender from Flour + Water, I buttered him up a little so he would remember me the next time. After a few minutes my lunch companion and I order three dishes to share; Mozzarella burrata with olive oil, sea salt and crostini and prosciutto di Parma; Pork and beef meatballs braised in tomato with basil and grana padano(a house specialty and a favorite of mine), and the Cavatelli with manila clams, calamari, borlotti beans, fennel, basil and tomato. Needless to say we each had a glass of wine to complement our lovely meal. Every morsel was good and so very satisfying. I have never had a bad meal at A16; the food is always fresh, very well seasoned and beautifully prepared in its simplicity.

After leaving the restaurant we were anxious to visit We Olive located a couple of doors down the street. The store was charming, inviting and fragrant, you could taste everything. I needed some olive oil because I was running low; I usually have a variety of olive oils on hand for various preparations. I purchased the blood orange olive oil and an extra virgin for everyday use. Some of the oils are in vats; you fill your bottle and bring your bottle back to be refilled at a discounted price.

Wednesday, March 24, was the best Hump Day Ever!

Flour + Water

flour + water “is a San Francisco Italian restaurant that focuses on seasonal ingredients sourced from the unparalleled and ever abundant California artisans and growers.” flour + water is located on the corner of Harrison Street @ 20th. Before the restaurant opened last year the space was a dilapidated store front. I live in striking distance of the restaurant so I watched for months with anticipation as the renovation began and the storefront evolved into flour + water.

We walked in during the opening week and waited for a long time for a table; the wait seemed a bit unnecessary since there appeared to be empty tables but we attributed the wait to opening week jitters. The food was fresh and tasty enough for us to give it another try. We have dined at flour + water a few times since it has been open and we would probably dine there more often if it wasn’t so difficult to get a table.

One day we noticed that the restaurant had been tagged not by a gang member probably by someone that had made several attempts to get in. The tag read “ F_ _ _ this place!”, I asked my husband if he wrote that, he denied it. Wednesday we decided to make another attempt at getting in. I was a bit reluctant, those of you that know me personally know that I am going through a rough patch, I told my husband that I didn’t know if I could take rejection right now. He was determined so off we went, I told the waiter my rejection story to that he replied “I can seat you in 30 minutes max maybe shorter, will that work?” We were seated in less than 30 minutes and had a lovely evening!

We sat at the bar; while waiting to be seated we perused the menu so we had a good idea what we wanted to order. First we ordered a bottle of Michele Calo, Negroamaro, Salento IGT, Mjere, Puglia 2005; the wine was big and bold with a nice finish.

The bartender/waiter suggested that we start with a pasta dish after we told him our plans. The pasta, seafood (sea bass) stuffed tortellini verde with prosecco, fennel & tarragon. The pasta dish was subtle and very refreshing, a perfect start since our flavor profiles were going to build with each dish.

Pizza was next, osso – roasted bone marrow, fontina, rabe leaves & fresh horseradish. The pizza was very rustic rich, flavorful and the marrow melted in your mouth. This may have been the best pizza I have ever had! The wine pared perfectly with the pizza.

Last, we had roasted chicken breast & stuffed leg with golden turnips, morels, rabe leaves & sherry thyme jus; OMG! The breast was juicy and the stuffed leg was to die for, I don’t often order a chicken dish out but the description of this dish on the menu was tempting and it delivered big time.

We were too full to order dessert, next time.

I highly recommend flour + water for a casual evening when you are in the mood for good food and wine without too much fuss. Make a reservation because they have not quite figured out how to manage walk-ins.

Spring

Saison (french word for spring) http://saisonsf.com/ is this lovely little restaurant in the French tradition tucked away in the back of The Stable Café http://stablecafe.com/ on Folsom Street in the Mission. You enter the restaurant through the industrial kitchen that connects The Stable Café with Saison. The dining room is inviting in the modern farmhouse style; a large communal dinning table in the center of the round surrounded by tables of four; the dining room seats roughly 30 people. The walls are adorned with artwork and the tables all have simple floral arrangements.

It was this past Sunday evening when my husband, a friend and I dinned at Saison. We had a long, leisurely delightful meal and a magical dining experience! We had the wine pairing with our meal, I was a little concern because our friend is Brian Duncan http://www.bin36.com/brian.html wine director at Bin 36 in Chicago http://www.plumtv.com/videos/2009-food-wine-classic-video-bin-36s-wine-director-brian-duncans-grand-tasting-tent-picks/index.html, he know his was around wine and food and Saison delivered! The food is fresh Saison claims “each morning our menu is crafted from scratch. We source all of our ingredients from the surrounding land and our network of small farms, ranches and fisherman” and it taste like it!
The food was so beautiful, simple, clean and precise in its presentation and flavor profile. Every course left us speechless and satisfied beyond belief waiting to experience the next plate. After every course I proclaimed it my favorite; the oyster and egg stood out. Brain said that the dessert was the best he ever had in his life!

Menu
Little leeks, Sweetwater oyster jus, wild caviar
Bailly-Lapierre Cremant de Bourgogne, France

Our farm EGG, smoked butter & golden trout roe

Garden vegetables & herbs cooked various ways
Can Feixes Penedes, Spain 2008

Roots stewed with bonito, caramelized flowering rabes
Domaine Seguinot Bordet Chablis, Burgundy France 2007

Crimson BEET aigre-doux, hibiscus & bone marrow
Poggio Argentiera Morellion de Scansano, Tuscany, Italy 2008

Poularde, whole-roasted with podi spides, almond milk, natural jus
Copani Pinot Noir “ tous ensemble” Mendocino 2007

Point Reyes Inverness, sun-toasted walnuts

Satsuma Creamsicle

Chocolate-walnut crumble, salted caramel ice cream

Saison is so very refreshing like spring, although it is expensive the meal and the experience was worth every cent! Chef Joshua Skenes is a master a shinning star on the culinary scene in San Francisco. I can’t wait until my next experience at Saison!

chef joshua & brian

Chocolate Month

It’s February – Chocolate Month; I was in Chicago for Valentine’s Day (I will muse about that later) so I missed having chocolate for Valentine’s Day. I have been craving chocolate for days so I decided to do something about it. Now in all honesty I have cravings for chocolate and may other things all of the time, I just thought the post Valentine’s Day craving was a nice lead into this blog.

Last night watching Bobby Flay Throw Down on HGTV the challenge was brownies, after watching that show I decided to make brownies would full fill my chocolate fix. Checking the pantry I found that I had almost all of the ingredients and what I didn’t have I could pick up from the store. Gooey fudgy brownies are the only ones for me. This brownie recipe started off as someone else but I have made so many adjustments to the recipe that it is truly mine. Remember the better the ingredients the better the brownie; enjoy this recipe and make your own adjustments if you like!

Johnnie’s Brownies

1 1/4 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
8 ounces unsalted butter
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
½ cup semisweet chocolate chips (optional)
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (the good stuff, it makes a difference)
4 large eggs
I cup macadamia nuts (or whatever you like)
1. Preheat the oven to 350°.
2. Sift the flour, 1 cup of sugar and salt together in food processor bowl (you can do this by hand if you want & if so you would put these dry ingredients into a bowl.).
3. Melt the butter and chocolate (not the chocolate chips) in a medium saucepan over very low heat, stirring frequently and keeping a watchful eye on the pot to make certain the chocolate doesn’t scorch. Add 1 cup of the sugar to the mixture and stir for 30 seconds or so, then remove the pan from the heat and stir in the vanilla.
4. Little by little, pour chocolate mixture into the food processor bowl alternating adding the eggs, pulse constantly scraping the side of the bowl with a rubber spatula.
5. Pour and scrape the batter in to a buttered 12-inch glass pan (I prefer a glass pan when baking brownies, I like the chewy bottom) and fold in the nuts & chocolate chips. (I rough chopped some of the nuts and sprinkled them over the top)
6. Bake the brownies for approximately 30 minutes (remember it depends on your oven so use your judgment), during which time they will rise a little and the top will turn dark and dry.
7. Cool the brownies in the pan on a rack.
I made a simple ganache with some of the chocolate chips and a little whipping cream to drizzle over the top of the brownies.

I’m From Chicago…

I didn’t move to California to let a little weather intimidate me; yea it’s wet, damp and dark so what I’m grilling! Growing up in Chicago we would grill in any kind of weather including snow and sub zero; I had to remember my roots. So I decided to grill the chicken that I seasoned up earlier today to save myself (or my kitchen hand) the job of cleaning the roasting pan afterwards; what a good idea. The chicken was moist and juicy with a little taste of summer; oh the good life!

Feeling Fishy

It has been a rainy dark and dreary couple of weeks here in San Francisco; leaving me feeling rather fishy! Last Thursday I had a meeting on the peninsula so I stopped at Cooks and picked up a nice red snapper. Because it is dark, wet and dreary I wanted to prepare something that was warm and comforting, something that would warm the cockles of my heart. I prepared a very simple fish stew that I have prepare time and again sautéing garlic, onions, celery and green peppers in olive oil. Adding to the sauté one can crushed tomatoes and a cup of sweet vermouth; when this mixture is fully heated I add the skinned and boned snapper to the pan, put the lid on and cook for 5 minutes before turning the fire off. After simmering in the steamed tomato broth I uncover and serve over rice or pasta; this is a tried and true recipe that never has fail me!
Between last Thursday and last night I have prepared steak with chanterelle mushroom sauce and a roasted chicken so now it’s time for fish again. Don’t’ get me wrong, I love fish but it can get boring if it is not that way I like it which is usually in a raw or semi raw variety. Just recently an old friend said “you don’t eat much fish do you? I never see you order fish when we are out”; well she is right and wrong. I probably eat as much if not more fish than the average person but I don’t order fish when I am dinning out from anywhere. You got to really know how to handle fish before I order it out on a menu; there is nothing worse than over cooked fish or over cooked fished hiding under some sort of sauce!
My husband loves salmon, I like it too and it is really good for you. Salmon is rather pedestrian and can be really boring. I picked up some salmon from my fish monger bound and determined to find an interesting preparation, I did a little research and decided on a Panko-Crusted Salmon for dinner and man oh man did I make the right decision!
This recipe was wonderful; the fish was so moist, interesting, and complex. I served the fish with roasted green beans with pancetta and roasted sweet potato wedges drizzled with a little orange olive oil and salt. Try this recipe; it’s so easy and oh so good!
Panko-crusted Salmon
Panko is a Japanese type of bread crumb that is especially light and crunchy, popular these days with chefs because it doesn't get soggy. What I love about this way of preparing salmon is that the panko topping seems to hold in the salmon's moisture while roasting, so the salmon doesn't get dried out at all. The salmon is perfectly moist, flakey, and seasoned.
Panko-crusted Salmon Recipe
Ingredients
4 teaspoons olive oil
4 pieces thickly cut, boneless salmon (each 6 oz)
Salt and pepper to taste
2 Tbsp honey mustard or sweet-hot mustard
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
2/3 cup panko bread crumbs
2 Tbsp chopped Italian parsley
1 minced garlic clove
1/2 teaspoon Hungarian sweet paprika
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 400°F (convection or regular). Set the salmon on a foil-lined baking sheet skin side down. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
2. In a small bowl, combine the honey mustard and 1 teaspoon of the thyme. In another small bowl, mix the panko with the remaining 1 teaspoon of thyme, 4 teaspoons of olive oil, parsley, and paprika. Add salt and pepper (a light sprinkle).
3. Using a small spoon, spread the mustard mixture on the salmon; top with the bread crumb mixture.
4. Roast the salmon for 12-14 minutes (10 minutes was good for me, I like my salmon a little rare in the center) or until it is almost completely firm to the touch and flakes when poked with a fork. Serve at once; Serves 4.
Use your judgment, creativity and taste when preparing this dish and know your oven. The recipe calls for a 400 F oven; my oven does not run as hot so when something calls for 400 degrees I use 425.
Happy Cooking!

New Years Eve Gravlax

For the past ten years we have rung in the New Year with close friends in different locations from coast to coast. Our friends live in Chicago and for the past 3 or 4 years they have sought warm climates to escape Chicago’s brutal winter, this year it is Palm Springs.

My husband and I decided to break out of our mold and drive to Palm Springs rather than hop on a flight like we would normally do; we are not road warriors. So December 31, New Years Eve early in the morning we packed up the car and took to the road. Our hostess loves salmon so I decided I would try my hand at making Gravlax to bring along as a hostess gift and for New Years Eve treat.

Gravlax is basically cured salmon; there is nothing better than a thin slice of bread or a nice cracker spread with a little cream cheese topped with a thin slice of salmon and a glass of champagne. Most people whether they know it or not have had Gravlax. I made the Gravlax and it was simply fantastic! The recipe is below; because I am unable to follow a recipe to the letter I added the zest of an orange and it really added to the flavor.

Gravlax
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients:
1 (3- to 4-pound) salmon, weighed after cleaning and beheading, skin on
3 Tablespoons salt
2 Tablespoons sugar (I used brown sugar)
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 good-size bunch dill, roughly chopped, stems and all
1 Tablespoon spirits: brandy, gin, aquavit, lemon vodka, etc. (I used gin because we didn’t have any vodka, next time I will use vodka because it is more likely that we will have vodka in the house.)

Preparation:
Fillet the salmon or have the fishmonger fillet it for you; the fish need not be scaled.

Lay both halves, skin side down, on a plate. Sprinkle with the salt, sugar, and pepper, spread the dill over them, and splash on the spirits. Sandwich the fillets together, tail to tail, then wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Cover the sandwich with another plate and something that weighs about a pound -- an unopened can of coffee or beans, for example (I used a cast iron pot). Refrigerate.

Open the package every 12 to 24 hours and baste, inside and out, with the accumulated juices. On the second or third day, when the flesh has lost its translucence, slice thinly as you would smoke salmon -- on the bias and without the skin -- and serve with rye bread or pumpernickel, and lemon wedges.

For many years I have wanted to make Gravlax and I finally did before the end of the year and the decade. What a wonderful way to end 2009 and to welcome 2010.

Wishing you all good health, good eats and a prosperous New Year!