2 lb sweet potatoes/yams
1 qt vegetable or chicken stock
1 qt milk (not skim; or more stock and some heavy cream)
1 small onion
1 large orange
1 stick cinnamon
1 T fresh grated or  1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg (preferably fresh)
1/2 stick butter
salt & pepper
You will need a food processor.
In a large soup or stock pot, melt [...]

Good on a variety of meats and dishes, this relish gave purpose to the fresh cranberries I received in my produce shipment. This recipe requires a food processor.
2-3 C fresh washed cranberries
1 large orange with good skin
1/4 C candied ginger
Sugar to taste
Wash and chop the orange into small segments as if to garnish a drink. [...]

I drove my Capay Farm Leeks back up the coast to Mendocino for Thanksgiving and found myself cleaning & chopping them to make a leek & potato soup to feed all of us cooks before the main event–kind of like the “family meal” in a restaurant.
On cleaning leeks & picking leeks: A good leak is [...]

So as you know from my last entry, Thanksgiving this year was a big, cooperative event. What follows is a photo entry of the action and dishes. I don’t have all of the recipes, but will follow this post with 2-3 of them. If there’s a specific recipe you’d like, please post a comment and [...]

We made our way up to Mendocino to meet a friend of mine and her extended family for Thanksgiving. The occasion called for some serious brevity as our setting was as such: two nights and one and a half days of smart, sharp, opinionated women (ages 13-60 something) and the sole male representative I brought [...]

For some time, I’ve been considering a home produce delivery, as the Bay Area has a large selection of vendors for this purpose–from private farms to co-op vendors who source several farms and deliver, there’s a wealth of good, organic produce in these parts. I had put off starting the shipments because I was torn [...]

1/3lb (or more) dover sole filets (from morro bay)
flour
butter
juice of one orange
salt & pepper
They’ve been carrying Morro Bay Dover Sole at Andronico’s for a great price lately, and since it is a little heartier than other types of sole I’ve been digging in. Heartier=more versatile, less breakable.
Heat a non stick skillet to medium high heat. [...]

History has it that Pasta (in this case, Rigatoni) puttanesca had something to do with prostituites in Naples, but all I can tell you is it’s great in winter and terribly typically Mediterranean.
180g rigatoni (pasta for 2-3), dry
80g (several T) good quality tomato paste
1 yellow bell pepper
1/3 red bell pepper
2 T capers (packed in salt [...]

Very close to my place of work in downtown San Francisco is a popular gourmet take-out staged in a former cigar/tobacco stand, aptly named The Sentinel (you can read people’s thoughts on the place here). They serve a rotating, limited menu daily which is updated every morning on their website. Almost every day, they offer [...]

I’ve been making a lot of salads lately in an attempt to incorporate both more greens and more fiber into my evening diet. One way that I trick myself into eating an item I’m generally not too crazy about is by adding what should have been really obvious: fried potatoes. This has been the basis [...]