Opera to the Rescue (and other Christmas stories)

As some of you may already know, the Buche de Noel, or Yule Log Cake, was the Daring Bakers' challenge this month. I actually had planned to make one even before it was chosen, since we did one in my pastry class, and my father in law specifically requested it this year. As the week wore on however, it became increasingly clear that taking on a large scale risky baking project right then just wasn't a good idea. We have our annual Pozole Party on the 23rd, which meant there would be no room in the kitchen or in the fridge (we really need an extra one in the garage!) for baking or storing the cake's components before the posting date of the 23rd. We were slated to host James' family on Christmas Day though, (around 20 people) so I had thought about making the cakes on Christmas Eve.

Then, as I was wandering around the Hillcrest Farmers' Market on Sunday the 23rd, I found the perfect solution. Opera Patisserie was selling pastries at the market, and after chatting with the guy (actually, more like grilling him about the closing of the downtown store) I found out he had two full size logs - one chocolate and one coffee, in the cooler right there at the market. I bought them both for $40. and haven't looked back. Luckily, James had already started cooking the soup by the time I got home - so the large bowls and buckets of meat, hominy and condiments had already started coming out of the fridge and I was able to store the large boxes.

I also took advantage of the "deal" Extraordinary Desserts was offering - a $25.00 take away dessert credit with any purchase of $100. of merchandise. If you've been in there, you probably know it's not that difficult to fritter away $100. on their fun stuff, I bought some gifts - including books, a Diptyque candle, some Mariage Frere tea, some fantastic hand cream, a bag of Valrhona cocoa, and a couple of bags of caramel corn. The last day to use the credit was the 24th, so I swung by there on Monday to pick something up to complement the yule logs. When I walked in, I noticed a sign on the cake case with prices seven to ten dollars higher than their normal prices - including their Christmas specials advertised just days earlier. When I asked the sales clerk why, she said "It's Christmas Eve!" I must have looked incredulous, because she went on to explain that the flowers they use to decorate the cakes cost more because of the holiday. I bypassed the whole cakes, and instead selected three pavlovas in the case, filled with Devonshire cream and fresh berries - which along with one chocolate chip cookie equalled exactly $25.00. Extraordinary Desserts' yule logs, incidentally, were advertised at $55.00 the week before, and were $65.00 on Christmas Eve. I am sure they are fabulous, but it made my Opera purchase feel like a bargain.

We served up some pretty good Mexican food at our two Christmas feasts this year - James' pozole was made even more fabulous by the addition of Rancho Gordo Hominy - instead of that canned junk cured with lye, and we made abso-freaking-lutely fantastic margaritas. For garnish we used some funky citrus I found at the farmers' market - some "variegated" lemons with striped skins and pink flesh, and something called a "cocktail grapefruit" which was actually sweeter than an orange - with green skin and deep pink flesh, as well as some pomegranate seeds. The pozole was complimented by the traditional Cuatros Milpas lard soaked tortillas, Salsa Chilena chips and salsa, lots of "Avocado's Number" guacamole from Trader Joes (just try to get your hands on some ripe avocados at this time of year!) and plenty of rotten gifts - including the inflatable husband, a jar designed to contain "my best fart" and the recurring favorite dolphin statute - this year taken home by Kenny. Doesn't he look pleased?

On Christmas Day, we hosted James' family for the Robertson family spectacular. At that feast we served beef, pork and cheese tamales from Tamales Ancira, in Chula Vista (they have two other locations in Pacific Beach and Escondido.) Since they shut down the rest of their operation at the holidays due to the extreme demand for tamales, we also contracted with James' co-worker Daisy to prepare enchiladas, rice and beans (and accompaniments) according to her family recipes. The food she prepared was delicious and exactly what we wanted, and it was awfully nice of her to make it for us on the holiday.

Before the meal, we had lots of snacks and wine and beer and cocktails and hot chocolate and well... pretty much anything else you could want. I had to go to Iowa Meat Farms for more chips after the Pozole Party, so I got some from El Indio too - their food might not be very good anymore, but those chips just rock. I also picked up a little piece of cross rib roast and dry roasted it in the oven with a little salt and pepper. Backing up here for a minute - on Sunday, I went by Taste in Hillcrest to pick up a few things for the holidays, not knowing if they'd be open on Christmas Eve. (They are, as it turns out.) One of the things Mary made let me taste was a cheddar paired with a red onion jam. All I could think of was how great that would be as a canape on top of a little slice of rare roast beef. Since I couldn't think of anywhere to buy good rare roast beef, I made my own. It was extremely easy and very good. Honestly, it was gone so fast I didn't even have time to take a picture - or actually make the canapes. I mounded it on a plate and served it with the cheese and jam and bread on the side, but I think they ate it plain. We also served some Winchester Aged gouda (from the town near Temecula) and mozzarella cheese and a Salumetto from Framani - along with some foie gras pate - which my niece Zanda helped me spread on brioche toasts and top with pomegranate seeds. (Delish with champagne.)

After dinner, I had one of these hot chocolate whippers, which I fired up with a mixture of Guanni and Michael Recchiuti (Guanni is too sweet and Michael Recchiuti too bitter for me on their own - but together they were just right.) The machine worked great - you just dump in the milk and the chocolate and turn it on - a few minutes later - voila. I put out some little espresso cups, and it kept it nice and hot and frothy. It really makes a difference in the texture of the chocolate, for the better. (Incidentally, I keep seeing these around with plastic containers - but I think it's worth seeking out the metal, I'm a little sketched out by heated plastic, and the liquid can sit in these things for quite a while before you drink it.)

I also made some more of the kick-ass margaritas. I made a little discovery this year that I'm going to share with you. Trader Joes Organic Limeade is the PERFECT margarita mix. $2.50 a gallon, and so much better than the other premium brands, like Bone Daddy's, etc. at twice that much. The ingredients are expensive, but there's really nothing better, at least in my mind - than a margarita that makes you swoon at the first sip. I find that nearly everyone will drink at least one - in fact, the amount of tequila we went through over the course of three days was really quite shocking.

I don't have much else for you since I did more hostessing than cooking over the holidays, but I offer you this recipe guaranteed to make your next party go smoothly, especially if you serve it up with unlimited warm El Indio tortilla chips and bottomless guacamole. If there's one thing I learned this year, it's that you can never have too much tequila or guacamole on hand. Consider yourself warned.

Pitcher o' Fabulous Margaritas

equipment: glass 1 gallon pitcher, wooden spoon, pint glass, hi-ball glasses, ice, salt, lime wedges

ingredients:

1. Trader Joes' Limeade or other high quality margarita mix. You can also make your own with a little simple syrup (1 cup sugar and 1 cup water, boiled) and fresh squeezed lime juice and a little water. A squeeze or two of orange juice doesn't hurt either.
2. A liter of good-quality tequila, such as Sauza Hornitos or Cuervo 1800. If you really want to get fancy, use Don Julio or Sauza Anejo.
3. Cointreau (you can use Triple Sec, but the Cointreau really makes a difference.)
4. Grand Marnier (optional - makes it a "Cadillac" margarita)

Pour the liter of tequila into the pitcher. Add a pint glass full of Cointreau. Measure out three pint glasses full of limeade or your homemade simple syrup/lime juice concoction and stir with a wooden spoon. Pour into a high ball glass over ice and top with a splash of Grand Marnier. I don't do salt, but if you do - rub a lime wedge around the edge of the glass and dip in a dish of kosher salt before adding the ice. I also added a few pomegranate seeds for a festive touch.

Heaven, I tell you. Just heaven.

The Holidays are Here! - What I'm Doing, Baking and Buying...

First of all, I just have to say WOW - Menu for Hope has raised over $80K to date, more than 20K over last year's total! That is such fantastic news.

Sorry to have been so absent lately, but I've been ridiculously busy running around getting ready for the holidays and trying to work at the same time. I should have just taken this week off as a little winter vacation, but for reasons I won't bore you with, it didn't seem like a good idea at the time. I've been fantasizing lately though about taking a week off in the middle of winter just to bake bread, read books and sleep. Doesn't that sound great? I might go to a yoga class or two, just to break up the monotony. Back to reality though -I thought I'd share a few photos and reports on what's going on Chez James and Alice lately.

Earlier this month I went to the Slow Food Holiday dinner at Molly's Restaurant, where a grand meal was prepared by new chef Timothy Au, who replaced Brian Sinnot after he moved on to 1500 Ocean. The meal included a butternut squash soup amuse, a lovely green salad, an intermezzo of tangerine granita with club soda to pour over, which was quite interesting, and a seared Brandt Flatiron, pictured below, served with a potato cake and brussel sprouts. Dessert was a chocolate cornmeal bread pudding served family style. (More photos can be viewed here.) One of the highlights of the dinner was a spectacular local wine that I had never heard of before, from a small local winery called Hacienda de las Rosas, in Ramona. We will definitely be seeking them out in the future. I also just love that the sommelier at Molly's is named Lisa Redwine - too perfect. She took great care of us.

Baking wise, I've been a little lazy this year - but that's all about to change. For cookies I made my usual butter cookie recipe, and turned it into my usual pecan bars and the two variations I did last year, chocolate orange and pistachio cranberry slice cookies.

I also did Dorie Greenspan's Korova cookies, which turned out great - I didn't bake the first batch quite long enough (it's hard to tell when they don't brown!) but they were great when allowed to get a little crisp. I bagged some of these up and gave them away as gifts in some bags designed by the Junior League's own Amber Chic - who does amazing custom invitations and paper goods (picture up top.) For Christmas Day though, I'm going to be making a Yule Log cake - or Buche de Noel. It's the Daring Baker challenge this month - but I'm also making it because my father in law requested it. Stay tuned for more on that adventure...

I also wanted to brag? proudly state? that I have managed to do all of my Christmas shopping this year without setting foot in a shopping mall. Where have I done my shopping? I did a surprising amount of it at the Hillcrest Farmers Market. I found glass artists, leathergoods, scarves, bags, jewelry and other goods there to help me fulfill the handmade pledge and round out my store purchases - in addition to my favorite (also handmade!) Guanni Chocolates. I'll be there again tomorrow, picking up more chocolates, along with pomegranates and citrus to fill up our fruit bowls, chips and salsa for our Pozole Party on the 23rd, and supplies for Christmas Day. We've ordered Tamales from Tamales Ancira for Christmas Day dinner, and we're expecting twenty plus people to enjoy them. It should be a good time.

I also ordered some stuff online from McSweeney's (for my sweetie), and made trips to Warwick's in La Jolla, India Ink, Station and Extraordinary Desserts in Little Italy, and (ahem) Costco. We have nieces. I tried to avoid the girly-princess toys this year though and bought the Daring Book for Girls for my seven and eleven year old nieces, a jewelry making kit, a "Pop Bottle Science" kit, the book "Olivia" and a Hello Kitty boombox. We'll see how they go over - the Easy Bake oven was a big hit last year.

I'm also working on a project for the Fancy Food Show, coming up in January, that I'll be able to tell you about soon. In the meantime, I fully expect to be swamped in the coming couple of days, so you probably shouldn't expect to hear from me until the 26th at the earliest.

Have a wonderful Christmas and I will see you back here next week!

Have You Donated Yet?

I bought six tickets - two for Sam's tea, two for the Manresa dinner, and two for the Blogher passes. (Fingers crossed!) If you haven't bought a ticket, I highly recommend it - it's so inexpensive - $10.00 apiece - and it just feels so nice to do something that is really and truly such a good deed.

The annual Menu for Hope fundraiser was started a few years ago by the charming and fabulous food blogger Pim. Last year over $60,000 was raised and donated to the UN World Food Programme. This year, the funds will be earmarked for a school lunch program in Lesotho, Africa. Menu for Hope chose the program in Lesotho because it supports local procurement -instead of shipping surplus corn across the ocean, the WFP buys directly from local subsistent farmers who practice conservation farming methods. Supporting this program not only feeds the children and keeps them in school, it supports their parents and community farming.

Where does the money go, you may ask? Of every $100 donated to Menu for Hope, nearly $87 will go directly to the school children and farmers in Lesotho, pictured above - courtesy of Chez Pim. Unlike many charitable endeavors, 0% of the funds here go to Menu for Hope management. 7% go to The UN World Food Programme, which uses no more than 7% of their total funds raised each year for their operational overhead. 6.35% goes to Firstgiving for the administration of the funds - they assemble the donations, accept payments, host the site, etc., and then transfer the funds directly to the recipient.

If you're a blog fan or foodie, you'll find plenty of prizes to tempt you, including meals at the Union Square Cafe and Manresa, two tickets to the Madrid Fusion conference, a weekend with Fanny of Foodbeam, lunch with Harold McGee, and multiple cooking lessons, autographed cookbooks and food items, some of which will be made by the bloggers themselves. To donate, go to the Firstgiving website for Menu for Hope 4, and enter the prize code and number of tickets you wish to purchase. The complete list of prizes and codes can be found in a comprehensive instructional and informative post on Pim's site, here. I highly recommend it as a place to start.

Have fun and good luck!

Milk on Amazon?

If you like milk, or even if you don't - you've got to take a look at this.

I'm up to my ears in pre-holiday madness right now, but will be back soon with more posts.

Hope everyone's having a good weekend !

One door closes and another one opens...

Last week, I drove by Opera Patisserie which opened about six months ago in a storefront on 5th Avenue at Ash Street, and noticed that it looked a little dark - no sign out front, no tables and chairs. After seeing this for the second day I called their wholesale business and received the sad news that they have decided to close the cafe. Apparently the decision was just made just a week or so ago. It was a little out of the way, but I really thought they'd make a go of it, with the money they spent on decorating the shop and the great products they were putting out. They made the best croissants I have ever had - anywhere - including Paris - and I still can't believe I won't be able to get them anymore. They did say they are opening another place in Sorrento Valley in February, but that does me no good, since I live in Mt. Helix and work downtown. I'll probably make the trip occasionally, but it definitely won't be the same. Hopefully some of you further north will benefit from my misfortune!
While I was still grieving over the loss of this gem of a cafe (they served organic Caffe Calabria coffee! and Parisian Macarons! I am still not over it.) I discovered that Mary Jo Testa, the owner of SaladStyle in the East Village, has taken over the site of the old Global Village Marketplace deli on India Street (between Ash and Beech) and opened a place called "Enoteca Style." Currently they are serving lunch - toasted panini sandwiches, Saladstyle salads, and soups - but the plan is for a full service wine bar with snacks, etc. For lunch today a friend and I split a panini sandwich and salad. It's not exactly cheap - but the food they put out is damn good. I really like their steak and ahi salads, and the grilled chicken panini we had was full of good stuff. Sandwiches and Salads are $8-$10 and soup was $3.50.

On the way back, we stopped at Extraordinary Desserts, and decided to make it a "progressive lunch." (Working a block away from this place is definitely both a blessing and a curse!) Everything I've tried here lately has been a winner, I have to say. The Linzer Torte is excellent, the Pavlova with passionfruit curd and fruit is spectacular (as is the cream version with berries) and the Chocolate Pecan Pie is a killer. They also had some sort of coconut flan tart today that looked really good. Their coffee is also excellent and they make the best espresso in the area.

There's also a new place opening up near there called Spicy Pickle, which seems to be a high-end chain serving salads and soups with slightly better ingredients than the norm. Might be interesting to check out - though you know how I feel about chains...

While on the subject of businesses closing - I have to say a few words about one of those nearest and dearest to my heart. My beloved Rocky of Rocky's Antiques on Park Boulevard is finally closing her doors this month. I've been shopping at Rocky's since 1994, when her store was over on 30th, next door to Plum Pottery. Rocky has always had an unerring eye for the best vintage cookbooks, children's books, art, dishes, unique kitchen wares, ephemera, furniture and books. Since the antique mall behind and next door to her shop moved out a couple of years ago though, I think things have been slow.

I went in this past week and bought all the things I've had my eye on for the last few visits - a stack of plates, a hand-leafed and painted mirror done by a local artist who worked for the Natural History Museum, some demitasse cups from the 1800's and a pop up book. When I got them home, I looked at them and felt a little twinge of sadness. I think I'll always feel that way when I remember that I bought these things not just because I loved them so much, or because I wanted to treat myself, but because it was my last chance.

Fare thee well, Rocky - you will be sorely missed!

EnotecaStyle
1445 India Street, between Ash and Beech
(619) 546-7138
Open 11-3

Cooking with Tom and Suzanne... Spiced Pork Stew and Chocolate Bouchons

This past weekend was James' 38th birthday, and to celebrate the occasion we had a few close friends over for the big Mayweather Hatton fight and some casual dinner. James' birthday present this year was a Guitar Hero III for Xbox 360, with the Gibson Les Paul Guitar, so after dinner we rocked out to some tunes by Foghat and Pat Benatar. It's a lot of fun, I have to admit - except for the fact that I now have "Slow Ride" stuck in my head on repeat.

For the food, we put out some Fra' Mani Salametto sausage (available at Taste Cheese in Hillcrest) with fresh mozzarella cheese and bread, goat cheese topped with Frog Hollow Farms Peach Chutney, and a piece of local Winchester gouda (which nobody ate much of, so I had it left over!) I also smeared some foie pate on brioche toast squares and topped them with pomegranate seeds for some canapes, and baked up some of those Trader Joes Feta and Apricot pastries, which are always a huge hit. We had beer and wine available, and as usual we went through more champagne than I thought possible.

The main course was a stew from the Sunday Suppers at Lucques cookbook - Spiced Pork Stew with Polenta and Root Vegetables with Gremolata. It was pretty involved but worth it - the complex flavors in the broth are intense, and the root vegetables and gremolata provide an interesting contrast with the richness of the pork. The vegetables were fairly simple and would be a good addition to any braised dish - even a roast chicken. The stew could also be served over mashed potatoes or grits instead of the polenta.

To make the pork, I browned it in a dutch oven, and added all of the broth ingredients - fennel, carrots, onion, spices and herbs, and braised it for a couple of hours in the oven. I then chilled it down overnight and finished the cooking the next day, with another hour in the oven. I removed the fat from the broth by skimming it off and putting the bowl with the skimmed juices in the freezer - where the fat solidified so I could scoop it out, and put the rest of the juice back in. I really love that chilling overnight trick for getting the grease out of stewed meat dishes and improving their flavor. It also simplifies the day of -preparation quite a bit, since all you have to do is reheat.

The next day, in lieu of a cake I baked some Bouchons - the signature sweet from Thomas Keller's bakery in NYC and Yountville. I found the recipe online (which apparently had a misprint in it the first time around, calling for half the required amount of sugar) but I noticed that it didn't call for any black cocoa, which I detected in the ones at the bakery. Having planned to try these since I returned from New York - I ordered some black cocoa online from King Arthur Flour Co. and when I baked these, I swapped out half of the regular cocoa. If you've tried this recipe before and it hasn't worked, this is the secret - the result was spot on. Dare I say it - maybe even better than the ones from the bakery. I baked them in little cupcake-sized paper panettone cups, which made for an easy presentation since I didn't even have to take them off. (I found mine at Sur la Table.) You can also make them in a muffin tin or mini popover pan. The ones at the bakery are made in small timbale molds.

I also made some Honeycomb candy - from a Nancy Silverton recipe that appears in her Sandwich cookbook - which I love to look at, but I find most of the recipes impossibly complicated for a casual meal. It's part of a recipe for something called "Blum's Sandwich Cake" - a layered concoction of angelfood cake, whipped cream, hot fudge and honeycomb.

The process is super simple and fast - you cook 1 1/2 cups sugar, 1/4 cup water and 1/4 cup syrup (I used Light Karo, Lyle's Golden Syrup and honey in different permutations) to a boil - around 300 degrees (totally undisturbed) in a heavy saucepan, and stir in 1 tablespoon of baking soda. You whisk that in thoroughly, and dump the whole thing on a silpat lined baking sheet, where it spreads, foams and rises to form the "honeycomb" pattern. It's kind of neat, actually. I have two pieces of advice for you if you're planning to try it though. Actually three. One, turn the heat off as the sugar reaches temperature, so you don't have to worry about it burning. I had some stickage on the bottom of the pan from some slightly burnt sugar on my second try. Two, whisk the baking soda in thoroughly, it will bubble up but it's not done until you swirl it in to dissolve. And three - be very careful with this stuff, because if you drop it on the floor and step on it, your shoes will stick to the floor all over your house for the rest of the day - making little sticky sounds with every step. Not fun.

The first batch was flavored with half Karo and half Lyles Golden Syrup, and came out quite light - the second was Golden Syrup and honey, and came out a bit darker with more flavor - I think I overcooked the syrup on that one for a half second though, so that could account for the color. In any event, it was an interesting experiment and it turns out you don't have to have corn syrup to make honeycomb after all. (Sam, are you listening?? )

I finished up by cooking the root veg and making the gremolata and polenta shortly before serving. If I had it to do over again I might have started those things earlier - but polenta has a tendency to set up as it sits around, so you can't make it too far ahead. You might also be tempted to skip the root vegetables or the gremolata; and of course the pork stew would be great on it's own - but the flavors added by the shallots, the garlic and lemon in these components really do bring the dish to life. In fact, if I really had it to do over again - I'd put a lot less polenta in my bowl - why waste space on that when there's braised pork, buttered vegetables, lemon and garlic to be had!

Here, for your enjoyment - are the recipes as I adapted them.

Spiced Pork Stew with Polenta, Root Vegetables, and Gremolata
adapted from Sunday Suppers at Lucques by Suzanne Goin
makes approximately six servings

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon cumin
2 tablespoons coriander
2 tablespoons fennel seeds
3 pounds pork shoulder, cut into 1 1/2 to 2 inch chunks
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
6 cloves garlic, smashed
1 tablespoon oregano leaves, plus 3 whole sprigs
1 tablespoon thyme leaves
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup diced onion
1/4 cup diced carrot
1/4 cup diced fennel
2 bay leaves, fresh if possible
1 chile de arbol, crumbled (I used fresh chile flakes)
1/2 cup white wine
2 cups chicken stock
2 cups good quality beef or veal stock
1 lemon
4 sprigs cilantro
Roasted root vegetables with gremolata (recipe follows)
1 recipe polenta (recipe follows)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method:

Toast the fennel seeds a few minutes in a small pan over medium heat, until they release their aroma and are lightly browned. Pound them coarsely in a mortar.

Place the pork in a large bowl with the cumin, coriander, fennel seeds, cayenne, smashed garlic, oregano leaves and thyme. Using your hands, toss the pork and spices together to coat well. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Take the meat out of the refrigerator 45 minutes before cooking. After 15 minutes, season it on all sides with 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons salt and some black pepper. Reserve the garlic and any excess herbs and spices.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Heat a large Dutch oven over high heat for 3 minutes. Pour in the olive oil and wait a minute or two until the pan is very hot and almost smoking. Place the meat in the pan, being careful not to crowd it. (You will most likely need to cook the meat in batches.) Sear the meat until well browned and caramelized on all sides; this will probably take at least 15 minutes. As the batches of meat brown, transfer them to a baking sheet.

Turn the heat down to medium and add the onion, carrot and fennel. Stir with a wooden spoon, scraping up all the tasty crusty bits left in the pan. Stir in the bay leaves, crumbled chile and reserved garlic and spices. Cook 6 to 8 minutes, until the vegetables start to caramelize.

Pour in the wine and reduce by half, about 5 minutes. Add the stock and bring to a boil.

In the meantime, use a vegetable peeler to pull long strips of zest from the lemon.

Turn off the heat, and add the pork to the pot. Tuck the cilantro, oregano sprigs and lemon zest around the meat. Cover the pan with aluminum foil and a tightly fitting lid. (Her recipe says to put plastic wrap under the foil, but I'm leery, especially after reading about incidents like this one. Braise in the oven about 2 hours. Allow to cool, and put the pot in the fridge overnight. The next day, skim the fat off and put the bowl in the freezer - the fat will solidify so you can remove it easily.

Preheat the oven to 325. Put the pot on the stove and bring to a simmer, then put in the oven and braise for another hour.

Turn the oven up to 400 degrees.

Ladle most of the braising juices and vegetables into a strainer set over a saucepan, pressing down on the vegetables with the ladle to extract all the juices. Reserve. Discard the remaining herb sprigs from the braising pan.

Return the pork to the oven for about 15 minutes to caramelize the meat.

If necessary, reduce the broth over medium-high heat about 5 minutes, to thicken it slightly. Taste for seasoning.

Pour the broth over the browned meat and stir to coat well. Transfer the stew to a large warm platter. Scatter the warm gremolata-coated root vegetables over the stew. Serve with the bowl of hot polenta. Tell your guests to spoon the polenta onto their plates and top with pork and vegetables, making sure to get lots of delicious braising juices. (You may need to serve more braising juices on the side if your platter is too shallow to hold them all.)

For the Roasted Root Vegetables with Gremolata

Ingredients:
Zest of 1 lemon
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

9 baby or 3 regular carrots, peeled
9 baby or 3 regular parsnips, peeled
9 small or 3 regular turnips
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3-4 branches of thyme
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup 1/4 inch-thick slices shallot
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method:

Zest the lemon with a microplane grater, or chop the zest finely. Place the garlic, parsley and lemon zest in a hand chopper and puree. This mixture is called gremolata. Set aside.

Slice the carrots and parsnips in half lengthwise, leaving the stems attached. If they are on the bigger side then slice each half lengthwise again, into long quarters. Clean the turnips, cut off the tails and trim the stems leaving 1/4 inch of the stems. Cut small turnips in halves or quarters; if they're larger, cut them in half and then into 1/2-inch wedges. The root vegetables should be no thicker than half to three quarters of an inch across.

Heat 1 very large, or two regular sized skillets or saute pans over medium heat. Swirl in olive oil and wait 1 minute. Divide the carrots, parsnips and turnips between the pans and season with 1 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper and the thyme. Saute 10 minutes, stirring often, until the vegetables just start to caramelize.

Add the butter and sauté another 5 minutes, tossing them often. Add the shallots and 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook another 5 minutes or so, until the shallots and all the vegetables are tender and nicely caramelized. If you're serving dinner soon, turn off the heat and hold them in the pan. Re-warm if necessary.

Toss with the gremolata just before serving.

For the Polenta:

Ingredients:
1 cup medium-grain polenta
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
Kosher salt

Method:
In a heavy-bottomed pot, bring 5 1/2 cups water and 1 tablespoon salt to boil over high heat. Add the polenta slowly, whisking continuously.


Turn the heat down to low, and continue cooking for another 20 minutes, whisking often.

Add another 1/2 cup water and cook 1 more hour, whisking often and adding 1/2 cup water as needed, about every 20 minutes. The flame should be low, so the polenta is barely simmering. As you whisk, make sure that you reach the bottom of the pan to prevent the polenta from scorching. I like to use a rubber spatula to scrape the bottom and sides of the pot.

Whisk in the butter, and taste for seasoning. Even when the polenta is finished, you might sense it thickening up a little. If so, add a little more water and whisk to get the right consistency. If you're not serving right away, cover the pan with plastic wrap to keep the polenta from thickening or losing moisture. If necessary, re-warm over low heat before serving.


Thomas Keller's Bouchons
adapted from The Bouchon Cookbook
Makes 15 2-inch bouchons

Butter and flour for the timbale molds or muffin tin (paper mini pannetone molds do not require buttering)
3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup unsweetened Scharffenberger cocoa powder
1/2 cup black cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon flake sea salt, crushed (the original calls for 1 tsp kosher salt)
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups plus 3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
24 tablespoons (12 ounces) Plugra unsalted butter, melted, just slightly warm
6 ounces semisweet chocolate chips or chocolate chopped into pieces the size of chocolate chips (I used Ghirardelli 60%)
Confectioner's sugar for dusting

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour 16 (2-ounce) timbale molds or fleximolds. Set aside. Sift the flour, cocoa powder and salt into a bowl; set aside.

2. In the bowl of a mixer with a paddle attachment, or in another large bowl if using a hand-held mixer, mix the eggs and sugar on medium speed for about 3 minutes, or until very pale in color. Mix in the vanilla.

3. On low speed, add about one-third of the dry ingredients, then one-third of the butter, and continue alternating with the remaining flour and butter. Add the chocolate and mix to combine. (The batter can be refrigerated for up to a day.)

4. Put the timbale molds or papers on a baking sheet. Pour the batter in (or use a large pastry tip big enough for the chocolate chips if using smaller molds).

5. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. When the tops look shiny and set (like a brownie), test one cake with a wooden skewer or toothpick. It should come out clean but not dry (there may be some melted chocolate from the chopped chocolate).

6. Transfer the bouchons to a cooling rack. After a couple of minutes, invert the timbale molds and let the bouchons cool upside down in the molds, then lift off the molds. Dust with confectioners sugar.

The Best New Bite Downtown - The Kebab Shop

Having heard about this place for a while, I finally had a chance to drop in for lunch this past Saturday in the middle of a day of errands and shopping downtown. I dug their simple modern decor/exterior and the straightforward menu, which consists of doner kebabs made with chicken, lamb or falafel - the same offered as "shwarma" - in a sandwich, and a few specialties such as shrimp, salmon and kofte. They also offer a dish called the "iskender" kebab, which is lamb with a tomato-ey sauce and lebneh yogurt.

I chose the chicken doner kebab, based largely on fond memories of the Gardenia - a kebab shop in the heart of Cambridge where I spent many a late evening after the pubs during the summer of 1990. Their version is quite different, but every bit as delicious. It's served on a thin warm lightly crisp flatbread - not a tortilla though it looks like one - and stuffed with sliced chicken, lots of incredibly garlicky yogurt sauce and fresh vegetables. It was so good I found myself continuing to eat, even after I was pretty well full.

A few days later, I picked some up to bring home for dinner, a easy and relatively cheap proposition, considering they're located downtown and the sandwiches are only $4.95 apiece. The wrap was definitely best eaten fresh - when it sat for a while, the crispness of the bread and contrast in texture was lost. It was still good, just not the transcendent experience the first one was.

The guys working there were friendly and professional, and extremely fast - just a couple of minutes, if that - to get the sandwiches made. They also have some cold salads in their case - but on both my visits they looked a little tired. I imagine they're best earlier in the day.

Easy? Cheap? Independent? Delicious? Convenient?

Check, check, check, check, check.

I will definitely be back!

The Kebab Shop
630 9th Avenue (at Market)
San Diego, CA 92101
(619) 525-0055

This Little Kitty had a Pug Burger... The Hungry Cat, Santa Barbara

It seems only fitting that in working my way through a backlog, I should start with the entry that comes first chronologically. I'm surprised, actually, that it's taken me so long to write about this place, because it was one of my favorite dining experiences in recent memory.

The Hungry Cat specializes in seafood - particularly raw bar items and fresh made innovative cocktails. They're also well known for their burger, called the "Pug Burger." We'll get to that in a minute. I haven't been to the LA branch, so I can't compare - but I understand they are quite different.

One thing that drew me to the restaurant was the impression that they do few things, but with fine attention to detail. I've come to the conclusion - after dining in and observing restaurants a little more closely for the past couple of years - that the quality of a restaurant really hides in the details. Just about anyone can buy a good piece of meat and manage not to ruin it, but it's hard to keep the whole train on the track from beginning of a meal to the end without some little tidbit going awry. The ones that manage that and do it consistently - those are the special ones.

The first recommendation I will make, and I am very serious about this, is to sit at the copper bar. It's basically a chef's table, with the cooks at work in front of you - moving between a set of burners and a wood burning stove. To the left is the (liquor) bar, and to the far right is the area where they dish up the cold seafood. The tables, though only a few feet away - feel like Siberia, and the dining room is a bit small and bland, so you won't get much to look at. That might be fine if you're with another couple or want to chat privately, but if you're looking to be entertained, the guys at the grill will take care of you. They seemed to like the fact that we asked questions, and they really seemed to like cooking for someone interested in what they were doing. They were definitely proud of the whole endeavor, which may be the secret of their success in the first place.

I started my meal with a glass of Dampierre Champagne (which we encountered again a few days later on our trip up the coast - at Sierra Mar at the Post Ranch Inn.) It is true Champagne - from that particular region of France, and very good - but not too terribly expensive. (If anyone knows where it's available for sale here in San Diego, please drop me a line - I've been keeping an eye out to no avail! )

For our first course, we split a small raw bar platter - which included some caviar with blinis and garnishes (including a perfect egg salad, some chopped onion and creme fraiche), as well as some scallop ceviche, oysters, clams, shrimp, tuna tartare and chilled crab. Not a limp, watery, recently-frozen specimen among them - unlike the offerings on the brunch buffet the next day at the Four Seasons. The shrimp were firm and sweet and had been poached in a court bouillon; the crab was pre-cracked, but still a little messy and difficult, as it should be. All in all, it was a pitch perfect beginning to the meal.

I was a little bit surprised when I looked over the specialty cocktail menu and discovered several gin cocktails. Generally I am a not a fan of gin, but our very competent host and server (who turned out to be the manager and wine director) strongly urged me to try the "Proper Greyhound" - made with fresh squeezed grapefruit juice and a gin he assured me would not offend my delicate sensibilities. He was right - it was absolutely delicious, and came garnished with a large strip of well-candied grapefruit peel.

For our main course that evening (I say "that evening" because we liked this place so much that we actually came back the next night too) we had the "whole fish" - which on the first night we were there was a sea bass, I believe. The next day it was a rockfish. It's one of their most popular dishes, and apparently one of their best. The fish is grilled whole over the wood burning fire, slathered with charmoula, and then served over a bed of basmati rice, with figs and almonds. It was the perfect size for sharing and made a good meal for two along with the platter. The staff actually seemed proud of us for choosing so well.

The Hungry Cat serves only one dessert, but it's a doozy. They call it "Chocolate Bread and Butter Pudding." Baked in a charlotte mold, it's dense and rich - covered with a brulee crust that is figuratively and literally the crowning blow. It's sized for two to share, and you'll need the help. The dark chocolate is melted at the bottom, so the best way to eat it is to dip down and pull some up along with the souffled bread. They also offer cheeses, which we didn't have a chance to sample but I would bet are very good.

The next night, we had planned to walk down State Street until we found a place to eat. We thought about Cafe Zia, but it was closed, and I rejected every menu I saw (fried mozzarella sticks anyone?) before arriving at the strip on Victoria Street where Olio e Limone, Bouchon and Epiphany reside. Epiphany was depressingly deserted, and Olio e Limone too crowded, but Bouchon looked like they might have space, and the menu looked promising. They claimed they had several 8:30 reservations yet to arrive, but promised to call us if anything came available. We decided to walk around the corner to Hungry Cat to wait and enjoy another kick ass cocktail.

When we showed up, we were greeted as old friends by the guys we had chatted with the night before. They joked that Bouchon wouldn't call, and it turned out they were right - so we wound up enjoying another meal there at the bar.

This time we started with a salad, which I honestly don't remember much about, other than the fact that it was good. We then ordered two entrees to split - the spiny lobster with pork belly, swiss chard and sunchokes, and the Pug Burger.

The spiny lobster dish was new on the menu - that night I believe, and they were very interested in hearing what we thought about it. We really weren't sure what to tell them. The pork belly and chard worked well together, but the crispness of the radishes and sunchokes didn't quite go with either the pork or the lobster. It certainly wasn't bad, and I'm glad we tried it - but it just didn't add up to more than the sum of its parts. It is still on the menu, and I'd be curious to know whether they tweaked it and if so how, since the first night it appeared.

The Pug Burger is so justly famous that I had actually heard about it before coming to the Hungry Cat. Stories of the lobster roll (served only at the LA location) and the burger, along with the killer cocktails, were what intrigued me in in the first place.

The burger consists of a roughly ground sirloin patty the size and shape of a small fist, perched on a bun trimmed to fit and topped with blue cheese, avocado and crisp bacon. The process of making the burger is something to watch (especially when they're forced to grill one to well done which takes about 45 minutes.) I'm not sure how one person could eat the whole thing, but it's perfect for sharing - especially once you add in the humongous onion rings. It was probably the best burger I've ever had - but it was so over the top in it's excesses that it almost doesn't seem fair to compare it to other burgers served elsewhere. It was worth the trip in and of itself.

Far too full after that indulgence to eat anything else, we bade our friends goodbye and promised to come back soon. Very soon, I hope.

The Hungry Cat - Santa Barbara
1134 Chapala
Santa Barbara
(805) 884-4701
no reservations, but if you call ahead they will put you on their wait list - sit at the bar if you get a chance.

recommended dishes - the pug burger, the whole fish, the rawbar platters, the bread and butter pudding. What we didn't eat, we watched them make - and it all looked very good.

Cookbooks then and now...

Here is the cookbook corner of my kitchen when I started this blog -

and here it is now -

There's no longer room for the cookie jar, and the small sheaf of papers tucked among the books has now grown into a three inch thick monster full of recipes from websites and other blogs. I got the Michel Richard book at the Gourmet Institute - it's autographed. One of these days I'll get around to writing more about that. It really was phenomenal. (I am so far behind!!!)

There are also the culinary school books, the blogger's books (Perfect Scoop and Supernatural Cooking) the Zuni book, Sunday Suppers at Lucques, Tartine, Alice Waters' Art of Simple Food. My how the collection has grown - just one way this blog has brought (*even more*) joy to my life.

Who'd have thunk it.