Sticky Toffee Pudding - a Rainy Celebration

While half of the country has been swept up by the vortex, we have been sweltering (not quite) here in drought-ridden California. This past weekend we finally got a reprieve and had four glorious days of rain, which to me means that I can hunker down and get cozy and just eat, read and nap all weekend long - which I did.

When I lived in London, I had a deep and abiding romance with sticky toffee pudding and since leaving I must admit, I have felt a void. This weekend I decided to take matters into my own hands and make it myself. I immediately googled British recipes looking for the "best" sticky toffee pudding. After perusing for a while I realized I did not have the will to get the traditional ingredients (i.e. golden syrup, turbinado sugar, etc). So instead, I opted for an Americanized recipe that I found from Bon Appetit.

The pudding was DELICIOUS and tasted just like the versions I had abroad - I know that traditionalists will balk, but this was gooood. To make: Combine 1 1/2 cups dates and 1 1/4 cups water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Once boiling, remove from heat and add 1 teaspoon baking soda. Set aside to cool. Sift together 1 1/2 cups AP flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon sea salt. Then in a large bowl beat 1/2 stick butter, 1 cup white sugar and 1 teasoon vanilla extract until just combined . Beat in 1 egg. Then add in 1/3 of your flour mixture and then stir in 1/2 of the date mixture, alternating until both are incorporated. Beat in the final egg. Pour the mixture into a buttered and floured pan - the official recipe calls for a bundt pan, I did mine in a pie pan or you could do smaller individual puddings in ramekins - up to you.

Now, this part is key, the hard sauce. In a saucepan combine 1 1/4 cups packed light brown sugar, 1/2 cup cream and 1/2 stick butter and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Continue boiling and stirring for 3 minutes then remove from heat and stir in a smidge of vanilla extract and brandy (I used calvados). The pudding is best served warm, drizzled (or drenched) with hard sauce and a dollop of clotted cream (go big).

Irish Soda Bread & City Vistas

I may not have posted this in time for St. Paddy's Day, but I definitely made it and ate it in time for the holiday. 

 I love continually exploring the city in which I live. Last weekend we had some pretty, if a bit cool, weather so I trundled across the bridge to Fort Baker and took some photos as I strolled. 

I also love a good carrier for warm butter and jam so endeavored to make my first loaf of soda bread. I kind of merged two different recipes to make this, in an effort to use up a variety of ingredients that I have laying around (bread flour, currants, golden raisins). The bread was easy and tasty and I'm not usually one to say this, but it was almost nice when it got a little stale because it meant that I could slice it and toast it and bring it back to life with some butter and a nice dollop of homemade apricot preserves - mmmm.

 To make: Preheat the oven to 375 and line a baking sheet with parchment. Pour a cup of boiling water of 1 cup of raisins and/or currants, let sit. Combine 4 cups bread flour, 4 tablespoons sugar, 1 teaspoon baking soda and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt in a medium bowl. Cut in 1/2 stick chilled butter.In a separate bowl beat together 1 3/4 cups buttermilk, 1 large egg, and the zest of 1 orange. Slowly add the wet mixture into the dry, stirring until combined. Dough will be wet/sticky. Drain the currants and then add them into the dough. Turn the dough out onto a generously floured surface and knead a few times. Shape into a round, place on the prepared baking sheet and cut a plus sign into the top of the dough. Bake for about 45 minutes, until the loaf is golden brown and has a hollow sound to it. Best eaten with lots of butter. P.S. I would have loved to put caraway seeds in this but I didn't have any and Trader Joe's doesn't carry them. . . and that's where my industriousness petered out.

 For Ina Garten's version of this recipe click here.

 

Splurging on Burrata - Une Tartine at a Time

 I wanted to do something simple, but simple doesn't have to mean healthy. After being good and going for a run, I ran straight to the market (never a good idea to go to the market post-workout when I am starving and  generally over-buy without fail). I helped myself to the fancy burrata (normally I go for the cheapest domestic whatever that they have to offer) the "Zoe's" prosciutto, some fresh Acme bread and I nice bunch of basil. I trudged back home and set to work making my sandwich, snacking along the way.

 This is one of my favorite  sandwiches and requires virtually no work. Slice of a nice thick piece of bread and plop a generous dollop of burrata on top (halfway there!). I add a little bit of nice sea salt to the burrata to bring out the flavor and drizzle a bit of nice balsamic on top. To finish toss on a few leaves of fresh basil and a nice helping of prosciutto, et voila! La tartine est prêt a manger!

CUESA Sunday Supper 2010

I got an immense treat this weekend in the form of a seat at CUESA's annual dinner at the Ferry Building!
The first part of the event was the 'cocktail reception,' which was made up of about thirty different appetizer stations, each with its own creation from a participating chef (the chef line-up was pretty spectacular, with dishes from big names like Liza Shaw of A16, Chris Cosentino of Boccalone and Phil West of Range).
A couple of the highlights were:
- Smoked opah belly salad with coriander yogurt, dehydrated pumpernickel (aka a crouton), and compressed cucumber (don't ask me what this means, but it was great) from Mark Richardson of Seasons Restaurant.
- Shrimp tacos with pickled chili peppers from Mark Dommen of One Market. It doesn't seem that innovative, but it was extremely tasty.
- Braised red kale agnolotti with olive oil croutons from Dmitry Elperin of The Village Pub. This was the first dish I tried and, I say this as a kale opponent, it was delish -- the tiny croutons provided a great textural contrast.
I'm trying to stop myself but I have one more...
- Chilled avocado soup with cumin crema and corn-poblano relish by Antelmo Faria of Tacolicious.
They also offered ... COCKTAILS! I tried the "proper pluot" (from Tony Devencenzi of Bourbon and Branch), which had pluot juice, gin, something I can't remember and bitters. It tasted like a wonderfully refreshing glass of Christmas (the flavor of the bitters, I guess?). I also sampled the Daisy Cutter from Greg Lindgren of Rye. It was made with watermelon juice, Charbay tequila, meyer lemon juice and a touch of agave. Quite nice, although very similar (virtually identical) to the watermelon margarita I make myself.

At seven o'clock we trundled upstairs to the beautifully arranged upper deck of the ferry building. Having never been there for an event, nor having ever been on the second floor, I was awed by how beautiful the lighting and expansive set-up was (they had six long banquet tables laid out, about 60 people at each table), and each table had a separate menu composed of dishes by different participating chefs. The theme for this year's dinner was the 'whole-beast feast' and they carved the beasts tableside. We ended up at the chicken table (originally slated to be the duck table). The meal began with braised cauliflower and bulghur with bitter green salsa verde, garum, lemon and almonds from Lauren Kiino of Plum (the just-opened restaurant from Daniel Patterson of Coi-fame that I am looking forward to trying - click here for the lowdown). The starter course was wonderful, not too heavy but a nice fall-inspired mix of ingredients.

For the second course (my favorite!), we were served pork trotter scarpinocc (don't worry, this means ravioli) with lobster mushroom, horseradish (so they said, though I couldn't detect any), and watercress, created by Thomas McNaughton of Flour+Water. The scarpinocc was made with a delicate dumpling-like dough and was paired with Big Cypress Brown Ale. I don't usually like ales but I found this to be a pleasant pairing that made the ale taste almost chocolatey.

The entrée consisted of three parts: braised chicken legs with chicken sausages, shell beans with roasted tomatoes (mmm), and a 'salad' of rocket, gizzard confit and chicken cracklins all piled atop toasts shmeared with chicken liver, made by Taylor Boetticher of Fatted Calf.

To close, we had an almond milk tapioca with spiced kabocha puree and bronx grapes from Chucky Dugo of The Slanted Door. I am not a tapioca lover (texture) but this was very nice - the tapioca was mild with a nice, light nuttiness and the kabocha puree provided a comforting sweetness. The highlight of the dessert, for me, was the addition of the grapes - they were served on a skewer and were coated in some sort of a brittle. This meant that you bit off a piece of the hard, crisp brittle and then got a big pop of the fresh grape in the center - a very exciting closer indeed!

9.27.10

Indian summer has hit San Francisco. The 86 degree weather made me want to eat fresh fruit, dip my toes in icy ocean water, drink a cold beer and eat mussels.
I made a quick shellfish pasta. Here is the recipe:
Chop some cloves of garlic, 4 or 5, and 2 shallots. Mince 1/2 cup of flat-leaf parsley. Boil a pot of water.
Once the water boils toss in your pasta (I used linguine). Saute the garlic and shallots in a little bit of olive oil and 1 tablespoon of butter. After about two minutes sprinkle in about 1/2 teaspoon - 1 teaspoon red chili flakes, 2 tablespoons of parsley and a little bit of salt. Add in the shellfish (I used 1 pound of mussels and 1/2 pound of littleneck clams) and pour in 1/2- 3/4 cup dry white wine, re-salt and cover with lid. Keep at a simmer and check in 3-4 minutes, as soon as the shellfish has opened up you can turn off the heat. I tossed in 1 cup chopped fresh heirloom and cherry tomatoes with the warm sauce and served it atop the linguine with a generous sprinkling of parsley.