Monthly Archives: May 2012

Chef Chris Cosentino Visits Palo Alto, Fun Classes at NapaStyle & More

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Chef Chris Cosentino on Tuesday in Palo Alto. (Photo by Michael Harlan Turkell)

Meet Chris Cosentino at Williams-Sonoma

The offal-good chef, Chris Cosentino of San Francisco’s Incanto, will sign copies of his new cookbook, “Beginnings: My Way to Start a Meal” (Weldon Owen) at Williams-Sonoma at the Stanford Shopping Center in Palo Alto, 2 p.m. May 15.

In a departure from his trademark head-to-tail cooking that makes use of organ meats and every other odd bit, his cookbook spotlights 60 recipes for Italian first-courses through the seasons.

Books must be purchased at Williams-Sonoma in order to be signed.

La Boulange Opens in Downtown Palo Alto

The Bay Area’s La Boulange is opening its 19th locale — this newest one in downtown Palo Alto at 151 University Ave. Doors will open May 16.

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River Wave Sauces Make Cooking Easier

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Grilled fish gets enlivened by a drizzle of "My Thai Gourmet Sauce.''

Even as a mostly from-scratch cook, I’ll readily admit that I’ve often doctored up jarred sauces for the sheer convenience and time savings.

But they better be darned good jarred products to begin with. Or else no amount of fiddling will help in the end.

You don’t have to worry about that with Washington state’s River Wave  Foods, a line of jarred cooking sauces and dressings that are made from fresh ingredients and are gluten-free.

Recently, I had a chance to try samples of the globally-influenced products.

The convenient jarred cooking sauces.

The Thai sauce.

“My Thai Gourmet Sauce” ($7.50 for a 6.5-ounce jar) is a heady blend of lime juice, fish sauce, sugar, garlic and enough Thai chilies to give it a real kick. I enjoyed it spooned over grilled mahi mahi for dinner.

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Can’t Miss Vanilla Shortbread Cookies and A New Sweetener

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Vanilla and European butter are all you need to make these cookies sing.

There are some people who will turn up their nose if a baked good has cardamom in it. Or raisins. Or coconut. Or even chocolate (if you can believe that).

But nobody ever shuns vanilla.

Nope, not ever.

It’s the most popular flavor for so many things because it is the pure taste of childhood memories.

Of ice cream dripping off cones on a hot summer day. Of birthday cake with candles to blow out. Of cupcakes with a mountain of frosting to get all over your face.

That’s why I guarantee nobody will turn down one of these “Vanilla Shortbread Cookies.”

The recipe is from “Bon Appetit Desserts” (Andrews McMeel) by the magazine’s former editor-in-chief, Barbara Fairchild.

European butter makes these cookies extra rich. Powdered sugar and cornstarch makes them very tender, yet nicely crumbly. With a teaspoon of vanilla extract, the dough gets rolled into logs to chill until firm. Then, slices are baked until golden on the edges.

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A Mother’s Day Care Package

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My Mom's tasty care package.

Tied with ribbons, double-taped or adorned with a wad of stamps, care packages come in all shapes, sizes and forms.

But inside, they really all contain the exact same precious thing — the warm, comforting reminder of: “I’m thinking of you.”

My late Mom always conveyed that message with a rather unusual care package — a dish of Chinese-style chicken and rice.

A simple recipe that she made up years ago, the dish is a supremely savory, one-bowl meal of Jasmine rice cooked with Chinese black mushrooms and chunks of dark meat chicken marinated in soy sauce, oyster sauce and sesame oil. The rice takes on the flavors of the marinade, mushrooms and chicken until they all become fused as one.

It’s a dish my Mom would make regularly for our weeknight family dinners, stir-frying the chicken in a big wok before folding in the rice that had cooked separately in a rice cooker. As a kid, that was my task after school — to wash and measure out the water for the rice, before pushing the button on the rice cooker so the fluffy grains would be ready and waiting for my Mom when she arrived home from work to finish making the dish.

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A Toast to the Golden Gate Bridge’s 75th Anniversary, Andrea Nguyen Macy’s San Jose Cooking Demo & More

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Golden Gate Bridge Anniversary Cuvee medallion. (Image courtesy of Iron Horse)

Tiny Bubbles to Toast the Golden Gate Bridge

This year, San Francisco’s landmark Golden Gate Bridge celebrates its 75th anniversary on May 27.

Iron Horse wants to help you toast that monumental achievement with a special bottle of bubbly.

The new, limited-edition Golden Gate Bridge 75th Anniversary Cuvee is comprised of a base of 2007 Blanc de Noir. Its pretty rosy color pays tribute to the bridge’s unmistakable hue.

A 750ml bottle is $50. Additionally, 75 etched commemorative jeroboams also were created for $475 each.

Iron Horse will donate $5 from each bottled sold to the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy.

Join Cookbook Author Andrea Nguyen at Macy’s for a Tofu-Licious Time

(Photo courtesty of Andrea Nguyen)You may think you know tofu. But you don’t know it like Andrea Nguyen does.

My good friend and Bay Area cookbook author, Nguyen has just released her newest book, “Asian Tofu” (Ten Speed Press).

It’s a comprehensive look at the varieties of tofu on the market, as well as recipes for their many delicious uses. There are even directions for making your own tofu from scratch, if you want to give it a whirl.

Nguyen will be doing a cooking demo at the kitchen at Macy’s Valley Fair in San Jose, 1 p.m. May 12. You’ll learn how to make spicy yuba ribbons and get the chance to taste various artisan tofus.

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