Vietnamese-Style Sauteed Artichokes

Posted on by Leave a comment
Artichokes take to Vietnamese flavors uncannily well.
Artichokes take to Vietnamese flavors uncannily well.

Besides the abundance of raw, fresh herbs and addictive umami of fish sauce, the other aspect of Vietnamese food that I adore is the French influence on the cuisine.

Case in point: “Vietnamese-Style Sauteed Artichokes.”

Artichokes are certainly not a veg you’d normally see in Vietnamese dishes. But they work beautifully in this recipe from the cookbook, “Tasting Vietnam” (Rizzoli, 2021), of which I received a review copy.

Written by Anne-Solenne Hatte, an actress and model of French and Vietnamese heritage, the book showcases the home-cooking of her maternal grandmother, who grew up in the rice fields of Hanoi, then emigrated to Washington, D.C. and then France, where she opened the restaurant, La Hanoienne.

From surviving the famines of Vietnam to raising nine children in France, her grandmother’s cooking sustained and satiated through the decades, preserving tradition but also adapting to her surroundings along the way.

Read more

The Cake That Hides A Dramatic Surprise

Posted on by 8 comments
Put some green in your life in a different way this St. Patrick's Day.
Put some green in your life in a different way this St. Patrick’s Day.

There are cakes, which when cut, tumble out a hidden torrent of rainbow sprinkles or M&Ms.

This cake also boasts a surprise center, but a far more sophisticated one.

Cut into it with a fork, and a gush of melty, brilliant-green, matcha-chocolate will flow out instead.

This genius recipe for “Matcha Chocolate Lava Cakes” is from “The Honeysuckle Cookbook” (Rodale, 2020) by Dzung Lewis, a former Bay Area financial analyst who moved to Los Angeles to pursue her passion for cooking with her YouTube channel “Honeysuckle.”

There are several techniques to create the molten center of lava cakes. This one relies on freezing matcha ganache — melted white chocolate mixed with matcha and a little oil — in an ice cube tray until solid. The frozen cube then gets set into the cake batter, so that during baking, the frozen ganache slowly liquifies within the set cake.

Read more

Dining Outside At Kaiyo Rooftop

Posted on by Leave a comment
Bluefin tuna toast gets glam at Kaiyo Rooftop.
Bluefin tuna toast gets glam at Kaiyo Rooftop.

To find San Francisco’s newest hot spot, all you need do is look up.

That’s where you’ll find Kaiyo Rooftop, up on the 12th floor of the Hyatt Place Hotel in the SOMA neighborhood.

Opened barely a month ago, it’s already drawing crowds, as evidenced by what I saw last Wednesday night when I was invited in as a guest of the restaurant. Even at 5 p.m. on a school night, every seat was taken at the eye-catching bar done up in glazed emerald tiles, along with about half the tables.

Kaiyo Rooftop is the sister property to Kaiyo restaurant in the Cow Hollow neighborhood, both of which specialize in Nikkei cuisine, a blend of Japanese and Peruvian In fact, a similar Kaiyo restaurant is expected to open on the ground floor of the hotel by the end of the year to serve more substantial fare like its Union Street sibling. In contrast, Kaiyo Rooftop’s menu is designed to be more bar food. Even so, it’s ample food for a meal.

The elevator doors.
The elevator doors.

Just be sure to dress in layers, and don’t forget a scarf or hat, too. That’s because the winds can be fierce up top, and the chill will definitely set in once the sun goes down, despite heaters being all around.

Read more

The Pureness of Miso Soup with Halibut

Posted on by Leave a comment
Soup does a body good, and this miso one with halibut surely does that in a most delicious way.
Soup does a body good, and this miso one with halibut surely does that in a most delicious way.

As much as I love halibut, it can be precarious to cook.

A lean fish, it can easily go dry and tasteless.

But “Miso Soup with Halibut” solves that conundrum by gently poaching halibut fillets in flavorful miso soup.

This fantastic recipe comes from “The Complete Autumn and Winter Cookbook” (2021), of which I received a review copy, by America’s Test Kitchen.

Yes, with spring around the corner, I just squeaked in under the wire with this recipe.

Read more

Where I’ve Been Getting Takeout of Late, Part 40

Posted on by 6 comments
Feast your eyes on the "Italian'' at Troubadour.
Feast your eyes on the “Italian” at Troubadour.

Troubadour, Healdsburg

How incredible are the sandwiches at Troubadour in downtown Healdsburg? After I scarfed down an entire one in no time flat, I actually contemplated getting another. Yes, that’s how amazing they are.

The sando shop, which opened earlier this year, can’t be missed, not with its adorable sign that’s like a toad in the hole, except this is a slice of bread with a “T” stamped in its center.

A great sandwich has to start with fabulous, fresh-baked bread, and Troubadour has no shortage of that, thanks to the fact that it’s owned by the same folks behind Quail & Condor bakery on the edge of Healdsburg.

The sign that marks the spot.
The sign that marks the spot.

Both establishments are the brainchild of couple, Melissa Kane and Sean McGaughey, who both worked at Michelin three-starred SingleThread in Healdsburg. That pretty much tells you all you need to know about the quality you’re in for, too.

Read more
« Older Entries