I Love You More Than Food

Category: San Francisco

  • Organic Roast Beet Salad with Goat Cheese & Blueberries

    Organic Roast Beet Salad with Goat Cheese & Blueberries

    1 bunch wild arugula, washed and drained
    3 small stalks Japanese kale
    1/3 C blueberries
    4 small-medium golden beets
    2 T raw pumpkin seeds
    1/3 lb Capricho di Cabra or other fresh goat cheese
    1 small lemon
    olive oil
    salt & pepper

    Clean and trim beets and place in foil, covering with olive oil, salt, pepper generously. Close foil up, place in oven at 350 for 45 min-1.5 hours. Beets should give slightly to firm squeeze when they are finished.

    Meanwhile, clean produce. Whisk juice of 1 small lemon or half normal lemon with 1/3 as much olive oil, add salt & pepper. Dress the arugula, and the kale after slicing it in thin strips.

    When the beets are finished, clean and serve warm by placing in ice water and scraping skin away with a knife, then slicing into wedges. Assemble salad with goat cheese chunk, beets, blueberries, and pumpkin seeds.

  • Saffron Shrimp Shallot Risotto

    Saffron Shrimp Shallot Risotto

    Carnaroli Rice (eyeball to cover sautee pan bottom for 2)
    olive oil
    1 shallot
    4 C home made chicken stock
    1/2 C dry white wine
    10 good looking salt water shrimp, peeled and deveined
    Heavy pinch Saffron
    Salt & Pepper

    Sautee the minced shallot and the rice in hot oil until the rice becomes golden, adding salt & pepper. Add 1/4-1/2 C white wine, let liquid reduce, and then use HEATED home made chicken stock, to which you have added saffron, to slowly cook the rice by maintaining a low liquid level and neither boiling nor searing the rice. When it’s almost done and the rice is about soft, add the shrimp.

  • Summer Grilling

    Summer Grilling

    Our grill is in full swing these days and on lazy weeknights we often throw on a few mixed squash, a bell pepper, an onion, and sometimes a peice of meat. I cover the vegetables immediately before grilling in olive oil, salt, and pepper (all generously), and marinate the steak in soy sauce and olive or sesame oil for at least 30 minutes before grilling.  For the gorgeous, affordable sock-eye salmon we’ve got available this year, use soy sauce and maple syrup.

    We like to eat it up with some wonderful whole-great hippy bread from La Brea Bakery.

  • Faux Cuban Pork Sandwich

    Faux Cuban Pork Sandwich

    So to avoid making the Cuban style pork (read: I am sometimes lazy), but to make it taste like a Cuban Pork Sandwich, I’ve taken a few liberties.

    Organic Roast Pork Loin
    Cornichons, diced
    Sweet onion, diced
    Deli-style seed-included mustard
    Cilantro (fresh)
    Sharp white cheddar
    Bread of your choosing cut in 1/2 inch slices

    Sautee in olive oil the diced cornichons and onions, along with salt and pepper. Once soft and hot, add mustard to make it a wet concoction. Do yourself a favor and don’t taste this on its own.

    Assemble like so: Bread, cheese, cilantro, pork, cornichon & onion mixture, bread. Throw it in the panini machine. If you don’t have one, wrap it in foil, put your oven at 350, and put it in there with an oven-safe skillet over it to push it down.

    I served it with pan-fried plantains.

  • Heirloom Tomato Salad & Summer Minestrone Soup

    Heirloom Tomato Salad & Summer Minestrone Soup

    Heirloom Tomato Salad

    There is an amazing market down the street from where I’m living in San Francisco these days. Their produce can be viewed as “on its way out” or “perfectly prime.” I choose to focus on the latter and take advantage of rock bottom prices–a few days ago I found organic raspberries for $1.59, and they were gorgeous, tasty, and not freakishly large. They regularly have zucchini at such a low price that for one, I end up paying about 13 cents. They have whole packs of baby spinach twice the size of the ones at the regular grocery for $1.25. I am obsessed with the possibilities.

    Lately, they have had beautiful, beautiful heirloom tomatoes. I picked the best of them and made a simple salad, even slices of the different colors with Himalayan pink salt (flaked variety), fresh cracked pepper, good olive oil, a dash of good balsamic vinegar, and fresh basil julienned on top.

    Summer Minestrone Soup

    Then, I realized I had a tupperware full of  home made chicken stock left from the last time I made chicken & dumplings. I threw it in a big pot to melt, added some rinsed white beans from a can (it was last minute, or I’d have soaked dry ones), and started chopping into equal, small pieces a carrot, small zucchini, round yellow squash, half a Vidalia onion straight from Vidalia, Georgia (my grandma sends us these every year), some gorgeous green beans, and finally, removed the kernals from a fresh stock of white corn. If I recall, I also chopped up the remaining bits of tomatoes from the heirloom salad into small pieces and added them as well. I threw it all in some toasty olive oil and sauteed it with salt and pepper until it was soft but not squishy.  I reserved it to add to the soup when it was fully heated with the beans.

    Mixed Summer Vegetables for Minestrone

    What really made the soup delicious and different, though, aside from having such cheap, tasty, gorgeous produce from my neighborhood corner store, was that I took a hint from San Luis Obispo’s Buona Tavola Ristorante that I’ve known of for years: add a lump of pesto to the center of the bowl.

    I make a batch of pesto just about every week these days (the BF likes to eat it for lunch when I’m at work), and this time I had some that contained basil, olive oil, salt, pepper, fresh garlic, and almonds. It was perfect and brought the whole soup together into tasty, tasty deliciousness.

  • Spring-Summer Gnocchetti, Plantains with Creme Fraiche Whip

    Spring-Summer Gnocchetti, Plantains with Creme Fraiche Whip

    Spring-Summer Gnocchetti with Pancetta, Squash & Arugula in Lemon-Thyme sauce

    1 1/8th in slice pancetta, diced
    1 small zucchini
    1/4 cup chicken stock (otherwise omit)
    1 small shallot, diced
    1 clove garlic, course mince
    Zest of 1 small meyer lemon or 1/4 regular lemon
    Handful Arugula
    Fresh Thyme (~1/2T leaves before chopping)
    Piave, Parmesean, Asiago or other grated hard cheese

    Start water boiling for gnocchetti. Meanwhile, dice zucchini, shallot, garlic, thyme. Seperately dice pancetta , and add to hot non-stick skillet on medium high. Let begin to crisp, gain color, and let fat out into the pan.

    Add zucchini and thyme. Add salt & pepper. Let zucchini begin to brown, add garlic and shallot, turning heat down to medium. Water should be ready at this point–cook gnocchetti (alternatively use gnocci). Add chicken stock to zucchini mixture, let reduce.

    Add grated cheese (~1 T before grating), lemon zest, toss. Turn off heat. Add gnocchetti to pan, toss, add arugula to pan, serve with Thyme sprig on top.

    Plantains with Creme Fraiche Nutmeg Whip, Green Apple & Blueberries

    1 Plantain (for 2-3 servings)
    2 T butter
    1/3 C Creme Fraiche
    1/3 C Heavy Whipping cream
    1/2 small green apple
    Handful blueberries
    Pinch salt
    Ground nutmeg

    Peel plantain and slice diagonally. Melt butter in non-stick pan on medium-high heat. When bubbles mostly gone, add plantains with each slice down flat to the surface. Let brown, turn slices over, then reduce heat to medium until browned on the 2nd side. Meanwhile, whip heavy cream into whipped cream. Add creme fraiche, and a dusting of nutmeg on the top of the mixture (just enough to notice some brown specks), whip together. Slice green apple thinly. Assemble and serve.

  • Dinner in the City, II: A Summer Menu

    Dinner in the City, II: A Summer Menu

    We’ve enjoyed dinner with my friend Peter before, but about two weeks ago I worked hard (read: begged) for another home cooked meal in the city.

    Friend and I headed from Berkeley to the city for pre-show dinner at Peter’s (we were to catch the MF Doom/Pigeon John performance at the Independent, but when we arrived later it was canceled), and brought gifts of Berkeley Bowl’s fresh buckwheat & lemon pastas–saving someone who lives in the city a trip to the famous Berkeley Bowl, I’ve now learned, will almost always earn me a delicious meal.

    Peter’s food is especially fun to write about because he has taken to obsessively photographing almost everything he eats or makes these days. This is helpful for me, as inevitably I almost always begin copying and making variations upon the dishes he creates when I’m lucky enough to join him for a meal.

    Friend & I brought a bottle of Bucci’s Verdiccio (a native Italian varietal especially from the southern regions, it is somewhat similar to a Vermentino except lighter, perhaps more like a blend with Pinot Grigio) and the first course was slices of a perfectly ripe (California? Organic?) pluot wrapped in Prosciutto di Parma (Peter has read my entry detailing my dislike for domestic prosciutto), served with aged balsamic vinegar I once gave him from my stint of living in Italy, and ricotta seasoned with blood-orange olive oil.

    I could have walked away satisfied. Can we take a moment to remember how important using high quality ingredients are? I mean, in addition to the flavor and all-important texture combination, the harmony of the perfectly ripe fruit, the freshly cut ham, and the fresh ricotta made it. Things wouldn’t have been the same if the dried out week old stuff in my fridge had finally been saved from itself. Yes, that was an admittance of recent culinary guilt, on my part.

    Next we had a delicious cold layered course of roasted white corn with sesame oil, avocado, mache, and seasoned crab. I was paying more attention to my wine than Peter’s prepping of the crab dressing, but something about olive oil and maybe garlic and some Asian herb he wouldn’t divulge the name of (probably to spite us) were all involved. Wait, his photo says it’s a yuzu and tarragon vinaigrette…was I being tricked all along? I would feel as if my nose failed me :(

    Along with other goodies from the East Bay I brought some Burrata–a wonderful fresh cheese similar to mozarella except that it is super creamy and decadent inside and stringy and fresh on the outside like fresh mozarella. It spoils very fast because of the fresh cream, so it is somewhat difficult (read: expensive) to find it imported but since it’s a cow’s milk cheese and a producer of it is in the LA area, it isn’t too expensive or hard to come by in the Bay Area. It is also incredibly addictive and delicious, and peter used it with the avocado and crab to round out the dish.

    Because P is master of portion size, we were up for a third course. For a while–in fact, we were salivating for both the crab and the smell of the caramelizing heirloom tomatoes while eating the crab, P sauteed some heirloom tomatoes in olive oil and smashed cloves of garlic, adding chili flakes about halfway through and fresh basil towards the end. He chose traditional semolina spaghetti (often underutilized in my kitchen) and made an incredibly satisfying but healthy dish that reminded me of some of my favorite Italian comfort food. I recreated the heirloom tomato spaghetti a few days later with very little effort and wonderful results. The only thing I”ll offer you readers is this: Do not cook the garlic on too high of a heat, and make sure to add the pepper flakes when there is enough fluid for them to break down in.

    Bellies full, friend and I skipped off to walk a few blocks to our show, leaving P wish only a few dishes and his cello. We were actually kind of happy to arrive and see it was canceled–we looked at each other, and said “Dessert?” at the same time, and started heading to get some chocolate ice cream from the store. We called P, and as soon as we said the show had been canceled, he was on the same page as us.

    No pictures of this one, but it’s something I ‘ve had with P before and he stole it from some place I can’t remember in the city. Dark Chocolate Ice Cream with Bergamont Olive Oil and Sea Salt. Oh_my_god.

  • Cupcakery: Love At First Bite

    Cupcakery: Love At First Bite

    Love At First Bite, Berkeley, CAPretty in Pink Strawberry Cupcakes From Love at First Bite

    A few years ago, someone turned me on to a little bakery specializing in cupcakes. Located in a little “mall” in the Gourmet Ghetto district of Berkeley, and now a short two block walk from my house, this place cranks out amazing mini cakes in all sorts of flavors, always perfectly moist, never stale, perfect frosting (usually buttercream).

    A few days ago, I took my roomate (who, living two blocks away for a year, had never been) to Love At First Bite (yes, aptly named). I recommended my favorites and we headed home to have a cupcake before heading out to fly kites at the Berkeley Marina, and we planned to have another around dinner time. We bought Pretty in Pink, fresh strawberry; Red Velvet–50’s cocoa cake with cream cheese icing, and Peanut Butter Cup, a chocolate cupcake with peanut butter icing and a quarter reese’s on top.

    Red Velvet CupcakesPretty In Pink Strawberry Cupcake

    Some of my other favorites include the Matcha (green tea), but I liked it better when it had the fluffy piped icing instead of the flat, denser icing, and at one point (though I haven’t seen it in a while) they had one called True Love which was different from another chocolate one in that it was like a moist, dense, milk chocolate with buttercream icing in vanilla or chocolate.

    Pistachio CupcakeMatcha Cupcake

    At any rate, this place is worth a trip, and though we can’t call it cheap (though for some perspective, the worst cupcake of my life was at the famed Citizen Cupcake in San Francisco, and cost almost 100% more than these), let’s admit it: cupcakes are a lot of work, and we just can’t make them like this at home. I use to come in from Oakland (though I’d come much farther with other excuses to be in the area) just jones’n for a cupcake, and you will too, once you’ve had one.

    Coconut CupcakePretty in Pink Cupcake

  • Fusilli con Broccoli

    Fusilli con Broccoli

    This is a very simple and flavorful dish I like to fix on weeknights or as a mini-portion at a dinner party. It’s very dependent on the freshness and quality of the ingredients, like many Italian dishes. You will need a food processor or other pulverizing mechanism for this recipe.

    I like to use Eduardo’s pasta which is readily available in the bay area–it is the only one I really like if I am not going to make the pasta fresh myself, and because Fusilli is extruded and I don’t have the equipment, I generally buy it. (Eduardo’s comes in a clear package with blue and white writing–you can buy some of their pasta on amazon.com, but not the fusilli).

    For two dinner portions, you will need 1/2 a package (about 5 oz or 150 grams for moderate eaters) of Eduardo’s Fusilli (or other, inferior fusilli, unless you’re getting it from a local pasta maker, fresh) and the following:

    1 medium crown of broccoli, fresh
    olive oil
    parmesean reggiano (a block, not the pre-grated stuff)
    a few pine nuts
    nutmeg (just a shake or two’s worth)
    1/4 white or yellow onion
    1/4-1/2 bell pepper (red, yellow, or orange)
    salt & pepper

    Boil a large pot of water (your pasta pot).

    While the water is attempting to boil, dice your onion & your bell pepper and add them to a sautee pan with a bit of olive oil (a few tablespoons) that is already hot. Let them get soft. Add them to the food processor (or a bowl for pulverizing with a wand, whatever you have).

    Sauteed onion & bell pepper

    When the water comes to a boil (while your onion & bell pepper are sauteeing), add a generous amount of salt. Add the broccoli crown, and blanch it until just barely cooked (DO NOT OVERCOOK). Remove it and throw it on a cutting board. Add your pasta to the water. Set a timer for 1-2 min less than the package says–you’re going to eat this al dente (“to the teeth”).

    Coursely chop the broccoli and add it to the food processor. Throw in a few pine nuts, a healthy amount of freshly grated parmesean, a couple of shakes of nutmeg, sea salt, fresh grated pepper. Your bell peppers & onions should already be in there, if they aren’t, add them now.

    Fusilli Con Broccoli

    Pulvarize your sauce. Add olive oil or water as necessary to achieve something that sticks together like a wet or loose pesto.

    Fusilli con Broccoli

    Your pasta should be about done by now, so strain it and throw it in a hot sautee pan, and add however much sauce you think you need to the pan, and toss it until it’s well coated. Serve, enjoy.

     

  • Sicilian Chocolate & Simple Crostini

    Sicilian Chocolate & Simple Crostini

    I’m seeing a lot of repeat visitors from the bay area, and sometimes I wonder who they are that aren’t leaving any comments. I think I know some of you, and don’t want to know some of you, and wish I knew others who I haven’t met. It’s a little disturbing when someone takes a link from yahoo searching for my real name, ends up here, and I have no idea who they are. But on with business..

    So one of my very favorite simple things to make as a snack of meal is crostini. There are many, many variations of this, some more traditional than others, but the jist is this: Bruschetta (Bru-SKET-tah) is a piece of bread with stuff on it (simple; not overloaded, generally) that is fairly large, like an open-face sandwich. In America, it is used to encompass only one thing: bread with olive oil and tomatoes or some variation of this. In Italy, it refers only to the idea that it’s toasted bread with a topping and the bread is generally a particular size. Crostini, on the other hand, are smaller, usually the size of a diagnoally sliced baguette, often also thinner sliced than bruschetta. Crostini has similar toppings, often the same toppings, as bruschetta in Italy, but in the US a trendy restaurant that has crostini is probably serving you an assortment of different breads with toppings or tapanades.

    A few weeks ago I made two simple crostinis:

    sliced sweet Italian baguette with gorgonzola, slices of pear, and honey drizzled on top

    (these are put under the broiler for a few minutes until browned and gorgonzola warmed and slightly melted: be sure to use D.O.P. Mountain Gorgonzola from Piedmonte, expect to pay about $20/lb for this in the US), the honey can be put on after the broiler if you like. I also use chestnut honey from Italy or France as it has a VERY particular flavor. I’m not a fan of the fancy honey trend that’s been going on in the US, and find many of htem taste about the same, but CHESTNUT honey is something entirely different that you should definately give a try. Some people don’t like it, but if you do, it’s wonderful. Try it also drizzled on young pecorino cheese.

    the other crostini I made was Prosciutto di Parma with fresh Pecorino sliced thin and a bit of pear to brighten it up (and to get my serving of fruit). This was also put under the broiler until the prosciutto crisped up and the fat melted a bit. I drizzled olive oil on the bread of this one before putting the other toppings on, but did not on the other crostini because of the cheese.

    Also, Sicilian chocolate is becoming trendy and available in the Bay Area. A readily available one is “casa don Puglisi” which you can find in several infused flavors: bergamont, ginger, cinnamon, peperoncino, and more. Sicilian chocolate is kind of like Ibarra or mexican chocolates, where it is grainy and less refined, the cocoa and the chocolate smushed together and when you open it it may look like it underwent a temperature change, but it’s normal for the cold process they use to make it. It’s delicious and the infused flavors are always subtle and not overwhelming, and only add complexity. It’s also great made into a drink with milk or water or both. So satisfying.