We were picking up a friend in the loin and decided to take a jaunt across Market and try out Little Skillet, the sister restaurant of Farmer Brown. The menu is straightforward soul food-y and revolves around their fried chicken and waffles. I must admit I was a bad person and didn't go the waffles route but I was smart enough to order the chicken (after all, it did make Bon Appetit's top 10 places for fried chicken list) . We tried the bbq pulled pork with grits which was AMAZING. Everything about it was delicious. The grits were perfectly creamy and the ratio of pork to grits worked out nicely with the bbq sauce carrying through each bite, mmm. As for the fried chicken, it was really tasty as well, good flavor and wonderfully moist. Although I must say, the jalapeño cornbread that they serve with the chicken out-shined the main dish. It was one of the best little squares of cornbread I have encountered, with a touch of heat and a wonderful pepper-y flavor. The only downside to the meal, were the fries. I don't mean to be picky but I must confess I am somewhat of a fry connoisseur (and by that I mean whenever I see fries on a menu I can't resist ordering them). On this particular day I was actually (I feel like it is almost a sin to admit this) considering ordering coleslaw just to cut they fried-richness of everything else I was going to consume but the woman at the counter urged me to go with the fries. Maybe they had just gotten a little cold, who knows, but they were lackluster. To top off my heart-healthy meal I bought a mini-pecan pie which turned out to be completely scrumptious. The crust was light and flaky and the filling had a nice maple flavor putting me in a perfect fall food coma. I had a very pleasant Little Skillet experience, not to mention, they have a great little hole-in-the-wall storefront, very SoMa chic. I will be heading back to fulfill my next jalapeño cornbread craving . . .
We had a gray weekend and I was in the mood for what I consider to be a big cooking project so I decided to try my hand at marmalade. My mother has, for years, reminisced about a particular jar of bitter Seville orange marmalade that she got in England some years ago, which inspired me to attempt a bitter (pleasantly so) marmalade. Here's how it went:
I started with about 4.5 pounds of satsuma tangerines, 1 immense grapefruit and 3 lemons.
To begin, use a peeler to remove the zest-y layer from all of the citrus. For my tangerines, the skin was very thin and did not lend itself to being peeled. So I just peeled the entire thing and used it all.
Once peeled, finely slice all of the zest-y bits.
Next take all the zest and throw it in a non-reactive (stainless is an easy way to go, le creuset if you are fancy:) along with 7 cups of water. Bring to a boil and then simmer for about a half an hour, or until the zest is tender.
While that is happening take all the fruit (from which you have stolen the zest) and slice off the remaining peels. Then proceed to "supreme" your citrus - slice out the meat and leave the membrane and pith (set all of this aside and reserve for later use). I did this for the lemons and the grapefruit. For the tangerines, I recommend breaking down some of them and getting about 1.5 - 2 cups worth of fruit (I took a couple of the fatter sections out and then set aside what was left). With all of the remaining tangerine (and you could just do this with all of them from the beginning and forget the meat) I juiced them and once again reserved the membranes for later.
By this time your zest should be done boiling. Turn off the heat and drain the zest, reserving the cooking liquid.
Tie all of the reserved pith and membranes in a cheesecloth bundle.
Once again, in a large non-reactive pot combine 4 cups of the zest-cooking liquid, the tangerine juice, 5 cups sugar (add 1/2 -1 cup more if you want a sweeter marmalade), 2 vanilla beans (split and scrape the seeds into the mixture), and the bu
While the marmalade is cooking, place all of your jars (recipe fills about 10 12-ounce jars), rings and lids in a large pot.
Your marmalade should set up without the addition of any additional pectin (based on the natural pectin in the citrus) if however, you have problems I found that you can add 1/2 a packet of pectin (1.5 ounces) and then simmer for an additional 15 or 20 minutes.
Finally, your jam is complete and all you have to do is can it!
Remove the rings and lids from the pot of boiling water and place on a clean dish towel.
Take out the cheesecloth bundle and discard.
Remove a jar from the pot and ladle (or use a wide mouth funnel) in some marmalade until the jar is full, leaving 1/4-inch space at the top of each jar. Quickly, using tongs, place a lid tightly on the jar and flip upside down. Repeat until you are out of marmalade.
Leave all of the jars upside down until they have cooled to room temperature.
Side notes: To seal the jars you can use the USDA-approved (woot woot) boiling water method. If you use the flip method, make sure the jars are as hot as possible when you are filling them. Finally, and I have to be reminded of this quite often because I thoroughly enjoy popping down the lid tops, when the jars have cooled to room temperature and you flip them over, do not push the lid down, it should go down by itself in 10 minutes or so. If the lid doesn't depress it has not sealed properly and you should store it in the fridge and/or gobble it up immediately. mm
My favorite corn man at the farmer's market still had some end of the season sweet corn so I couldn't resist buying more ears than I could eat. I am not always a soup person (I didn't like the texture when I was little, it has grown on me though) but it just sounded like the perfect meal to compliment the fall crispness in the air. To make (adapted from Bon Appetit's Summer Corn Soup recipe . . . what isn't helped by the addition of bacon?):
Roast two poblano chile's over an open flame and once they are uniformly charred/cooked and then pop them into a paper bag and fold the bag to close. Set aside.
Shuck three or four ears of corn and cut the kernels off.
Break the cobs in half and toss them into a pot with 3 cups of milk, a couple sprigs of fresh thyme, two bay leaves, and salt and pepper to taste.
Bring just to a boil then reduce and let simmer for 5 before turning off. Set aside.
In a separate pan drop a tablespoon of butter and saute chopped bacon (about 1/2 cup).
Once browned, add in 2 diced carrots, 1 diced onion, 3 cloves chopped garlic and the majority of your reserved corn kernels (I saved some for garnish - they were delicious raw). Cook over medium heat until the onion is translucent and the carrot is tender.
Remove your poblanos from the paper bag and just rub off the charred skin (it should slide right off). Cut off the stem and remove the seeds then chop up the meaty goodness.
Add the milk mixture in with the vegetables along with a handful of cilantro, 2 cups of water and your chopped poblanos. Once again, season to taste, if necessary (bacon = salt). Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 20-30 minute
Remove the corn cobs and bay leaves then place everything in a blender and give it a zap (to your preference - chunky to silky).
I finished by putting a big lump of crab meat on top along with some fresh sliced avocado, a dollop of creme fraiche and a sprinkling of raw corn kernels (& cilantro! - i put it on everything).
I served the soup with sliced radishes and fresh baked biscuits. I am completely biased, being the maker, but I will definitely make this again. One of my favorite homemade meals of late.
A few weeks ago in Bernal Heights shop Heartfelt, we made the rookie mistake of looking at a cookbook on an empty stomach thus we have a new addition to our burgeoning collection. It is called Mrs. Rowe's Little Book of Southern Pies by Mollie Cox Bryan. We decided as a little blog/holiday project (which I wanted to call "Branny and Zoe" . . . but someone shot down that idea) we would try to bake one new pie a week (as long as our arteries continue to pump).
We were invited to an early Thanksgiving dinner (long story) and we decided to go whole hog and start with a peanut butter cream pie (also, we figured this way we wouldn't eat it all by ourselves). We started by making our chocolate wafer cookie crust. We didn't have the requisite food processor so we used a handy bottle of wine to crush the cookies and then added in a stick of melted butter and a half cup of sugar. We smushed the crust into a 9 inch glass pie dish and baked it in a 350 degree oven for 15 minutes. Meanwhile . . . I made a custard by cooking 2 cups whole milk with 1/3 cup corn starch, 2 egg yolks and 1/3 cup sugar and a pinch of sugar. Mix all the ingredients and stir constantly over low heat for about 10 minutes. This being my first venture in custard-making, it was VERY exciting when it began to thicken - I felt very accomplished. Once it thickens remove from the heat and let cool. Once cool, whisk to thicken a bit more and then add in 1 cup peanut butter and 1 teaspoon vanilla.
Make sure the crust and the custard are cool and then scoop the custard into the crust, smooth and place in the fridge. While the pie is chilling . . . whip up some cream (we used 3/4 cup cream and when it formed soft peaks we added in 1/3 cup confectioner's sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla). Plop the whip cream on top and shmear it around evenly.
Tataki is a pleasant sushi restaurant in Western Addition/Pacific Heights which bills itself as "San Francisco's sustainable sushi restaurant." Tataki has an appealing happy hour menu that I like to take advantage of - all their featured rolls are $4.50 and they have an asian-fruit sangria that's yummy. I began by trying the albacore tataki (I ventured off the happy hour list to try the dish for which the restaurant was named - how could you not). Tataki is a traditional Japanese way of preparing fish in which it is set to marinate with vinegar and ginger and given a quick hard sear to cook. The albacore was served with a garlic sauce. It was nicely cooked and was served on a bed of shaved daikon which was refreshing and added a nice crispness.
We then had the arctic char and avocado roll (happy hour item!) which is one of my favorites. I was a char skeptic but after Tataki's roll I think I might prefer this roll to a basic salmon roll. We also tried the spicy crunchy tuna roll (I know, it's a little froo froo) but it is SO good. The tuna has a bit of a kick (maybe shichimi togarashi??) and if you put fried panko on virtually anything and I'm going to gobble it up.
To round out my sushi binge I tried the Divisaderoll (Tataki's cross-street is Divisadero . . . get it??) which was albacore, avocado and masago (a type of roe). Very good, but I next time I will stick to my happy hour allegiance.
I flew to LA this weekend and had great plans to take advantage of dineLA Restaurant Week (reservations at Ortolan and illusions of more prix-fixe grandeur). Unsurprisingly, my flight was delayed...and then delayed further. Forty-five minutes into the delay, we came to terms with the fact that we were going to have to cancel our reservation, and I put Ortolan back onto my wish list. (It worked out for the best, as I was greeted by a fantastic throw-together, home-cooked meal of veal with chanterelles and salad with purple basil.) I did, however, take advantage of an exciting development -- a pop-up restaurant had come to the valley (could it be the valley's first?). Georgio's Cucina is a two-month West Coast venture by New York-based chef, Gary Robins. It is in a strip mall off of a relatively foodie-rich part of Ventura Blvd (home to Sushi Nozawa, Asanebo, and Laurel Tavern), and the restaurant itself was an old school pizzeria complete with deep-red leather booths and a dark woody interior. I kind of loved the setting just for being so unpolished (and so valley) and it made the dining experience all about the food, which was fine because everything we had was delicious. The meal began well with fabulous olive bread (care of La Brea Bakery) and citrus-y Arbequina olive oil (we asked for seconds...and thirds). We tried the house sangria (made simply with fruit and wine due to liquor license restrictions), which was pleasant and nicely infused with blood orange. For starters, we ordered two different crudos -- they have a variety of flatbreads and an assortment of appetizers including duck polpette (meatballs) and grilled octopus. The crudos: first, the "capesante," which was sea scallop with pomegranate, basil, and toasted hazelnuts in a flavorful broth. The scallop was the most buttery and tender that I have ever tasted. The second crudo was a thai snapper accompanied by japanese horseradish (I think this would be wasabi, and while I LOVED the dish, I could not detect a hint of the horseradish), yuzu and green apple. This dish was unique and supremely tasty. For my entrée I ordered the pappardelle with braised duck in a porcini fennel broth topped off with aged pecorino. It was a perfect cozy-feeling Fall meal with a scent of tarragon and maybe a touch of five-spice. We also ordered the pumpkin gnocchi with sage brown butter, walnuts and pecorino -- this is a fairly common pairing but it was done exquisitely. The gnocchi were made without any potato, and they appeared to have been sautéed on the outside to give it a little crust. They were perfectly fluffy and creamy on the inside (some declared this the best dish of the night). Our final entrée selection was the porchetta served with polenta and broccoli rabe. Another great dish. The highlight: the most beautifully crisp skin I've ever tasted. We couldn't leave without trying a dessert, so we all split the flourless chocolate cake. I really enjoyed it, some wanted it to be more dense. It tasted like a chocolate mousse with a crispy top crust -- what is there to complain about? I really enjoyed Georgio's (also, our server was lovely, and to top it off we could actually hear one another speaking) and I hope hope hope that Gary Robins decides to take up permanent residence in the 818.
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!
We were picking up a friend in the loin and decided to take a jaunt across Market and try out Little Skillet, the sister restaurant of Farmer Brown.
The menu is straightforward soul food-y and revolves around their fried chicken and waffles. I must admit I was a bad person and didn't go the waffles route but I was smart enough to order the chicken (after all, it did make Bon Appetit's top 10 places for fried chicken list) .
We tried the bbq pulled pork with grits which was AMAZING. Everything about it was delicious. The grits were perfectly creamy and the ratio of pork to grits worked out nicely with the bbq sauce carrying through each bite, mmm.
As for the fried chicken, it was really tasty as well, good flavor and wonderfully moist. Although I must say, the jalapeño cornbread that they serve with the chicken out-shined the main dish. It was one of the best little squares of cornbread I have encountered, with a touch of heat and a wonderful pepper-y flavor. The only downside to the meal, were the fries. I don't mean to be picky but I must confess I am somewhat of a fry connoisseur (and by that I mean whenever I see fries on a menu I can't resist ordering them). On this particular day I was actually (I feel like it is almost a sin to admit this) considering ordering coleslaw just to cut they fried-richness of everything else I was going to consume but the woman at the counter urged me to go with the fries. Maybe they had just gotten a little cold, who knows, but they were lackluster.
To top off my heart-healthy meal I bought a mini-pecan pie which turned out to be completely scrumptious. The crust was light and flaky and the filling had a nice maple flavor putting me in a perfect fall food coma. I had a very pleasant Little Skillet experience, not to mention, they have a great little hole-in-the-wall storefront, very SoMa chic. I will be heading back to fulfill my next jalapeño cornbread craving . . .
