to Paris and back

sf street food festival 2010

2010-09-02T21:56:00.000-07:00

Summer in San Francisco. This year, that has meant: lots of fog, grey mornings, cooler temps than anyone can remember in years and a few days of heat towards the end. A few weekends ago, La Cocina put on the 2nd annual SF Street Food Festival in the Mission. Last year's festival was far more popular than anyone expected and as a result it was packed with people & lots of sold out vendors

homemade strawberry jam

2010-06-18T18:13:00.000-07:00

Strawberry season is one of my favorite times of year. The berry choices in northern California are superb. Every farm has different options which feature distinct flavor profiles and all seem to taste best when you sample them right at the market when the sample basket has been in the sunlight for a bit. This year, the berries have tasted better than I can remember in recent years and so

spring fava bean spread

2010-05-17T21:28:00.000-07:00

I started making this spread two spring seasons ago when nearly every stand at every bay area farmer's market was overflowing with these strange (to me) large green bean pods. I don't know if I had ever eaten a fava bean before then and if I had, I didn't know it. I often am in the habit of buying an ingredient (usually at a farmer's market) and then figuring out what to do with it. there is

braised pork with sweet & tangy barbecue sauce

2010-01-28T21:08:00.000-08:00

I am a huge fan of barbecue - or even what I'll call not-really-barbecue-but-close-enough-for me. For many years I've made a simple pulled pork recipe in the slow cooker with onions and bottled barbecue sauce. It is very easy and flavorful, but I was thinking of expanding a little and making something that was a little more handmade and hands on this past weekend. I did a search on Food

Spaghetti with Artichokes, Lemon and Ricotta

2010-01-09T14:20:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year! I cannot believe I haven't written any blog posts since the end of November. Honestly, photographing what I've been cooking has been one of the biggest hurdles since the Bay Area can be rather low on the natural light in which we all love to shoot. I've been looking around at several solutions for lighting and/or flashes so hopefully I won't go into these low light lulls in

New York Times chocolate chip cookies

2009-11-29T22:16:00.000-08:00

I know it is time for holiday baking, but I for one am not quite ready yet. I had a craving a week or so back for classic chocolate chip cookies. Browsing as many food blogs as I do, I’ve seen the New York Times recipe mentioned and varied many times. This recipe is based on the genius of Jacques Torres. My favorite touch is the sprinkle of sea salt before baking – it really makes a great

winter squash risotto

2009-11-24T22:01:00.000-08:00

Living in California, I love the year-round access to my favorite farmer's markets and winter veggies are some of my favorites. I love all the various greens & squash. They actually even taste great paired together with pastas and sometimes sausage or other rendered fat. That's another recipe for another day. My Thanksgiving table seats at least one vegetarian every year and so I plan to

chicken marsala

2009-11-15T20:35:00.001-08:00

I really love making classic dishes. My first step is usually to read through several recipes to get a good idea of the standard ingredients and preparation methods. Cook's Illustrated and America's Test Kitchen are often my gold standard for cooking reference. Gourmet magazine is also an excellent standard not only for classics, but also for new flavor trends and food concepts. Sadly, the

Chilaquiles!

2009-11-02T21:57:00.000-08:00

Growing up in Colorado, I really love authentic Mexican cuisine. Living now in the Bay Area, I also love imported Mexican or even Tex-Mex meals. I never knew there was such a thing as a "San Francisco-style burrito" but apparently there is. Of course, I have a couple of my favorite taquerias that I frequent. One is even programmed into my phone for orders on the go. Another thing I love

Ricotta & Goat Cheese Tart

2009-10-25T20:02:00.000-07:00

Recently while in Paris, I bought a new tart pan at Mora. Mora, is a baker's paradise stocking every possible baking utensil and other great kitchen items. The store was opened in 1814 which gives you a good idea of how well they do what they do. I wandered around the store for nearly an hour looking through all the shelves of endless goodies. Along with the tart pan, I also bought a new

hearty Tuscan bean stew

2009-10-18T22:18:00.000-07:00

fall is in the air - even here in the bay area. in the last week, we had a big storm which felt like a small scale hurricane or possible monsoon. for October, this was not a welcome sight. however, for the remainder of the week, we had typical morning fog, midday sun and seasonal temperatures. even still, this weekend I was set on making soup. in the process, i realized that there

no-knead small baguette

2009-10-11T22:59:00.000-07:00

this weekend, my first back from Paris, I needed to reconnect with my kitchen and to do some real cooking. bread was one of the items on my to-do list and after making many loaves of the Cook's Illustrated No-Knead bread, I decided to try a slight variation. I had seen this recipe on Leite's Culinaria for Jim Lahey's No-Knead Small Baguette. following the recipe to the letter, these

still here - just falling behind on the writing

2009-10-01T09:53:00.000-07:00

Paris is still treating me well and so that hasn't left me much time for writing. I have bunches of ideas to write about and pictures to go with, just not the time nor energy to sit down and make it happen. but, it will. soon. i promise. xoxo

Dimanche - 27 septembre

2009-09-29T09:05:00.000-07:00

Sunday lunch in France is the main meal of the week and many cafes are now offering a specific brunch menu. To me, that meant a long, lazy, enjoyable meal. I made my first trip up to the 9th where I found the much beloved Rose Bakery. I couldn't have felt more at home in a restaurant that is located over 5,000 miles from my home. One could easily pick up this entire operation and drop it in

Samedi – 26 septembre 2009 (part two)

2009-09-28T14:12:00.000-07:00

my Saturday pre-Hidden Kitchen was filled with a trip to the beautiful Marche du President Wilson of which I have some beautiful pictures. I will save those for a separate post when I get the time. For now, I will share on my mid-day meal at Breizh Cafe. I took a short walk from my apartment up the rue Vieille du Temple through the beginning of the trendy part of the Marais filled with

vendredi - 25 septembre

2009-09-27T13:08:00.000-07:00

I'll be up front about my day Friday - not much food worthy to report. I spent most of the day being a tourist and as such wasn't afforded the opportunity to include big food highlights during the day. At the recommendation of a friend back in SF, I signed up before I came for a bike tour of Paris offered by Fat Tire (yes, the beer of New Belgium brewery & Colorado fame). Karen said that when

Samedi – 26 septembre 2009 (part one)

2009-09-26T17:07:00.001-07:00

I’m going to skip ahead and post about today ahead of Friday because I’m SO excited about my experience tonight. There are no photos – just my thoughts. I can’t remember exactly where I read about Hidden Kitchen, but it is essentially a private dinner club held in a private apartment home of two Americans living in Paris. The meal consists of ten courses, each paired with wine as well as a

Jeudi - 24 septembre 2009

2009-09-25T14:16:00.000-07:00