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Monthly Archives: March 2020

Pomegranate-Glazed Roasted Quail

Posted on March 6, 2020 by foodgal 5 comments

Quail is one of the unsung heroes of fast cooking.

These little birds, with flavorful dark meat, cook up in no time flat.

In fact, it may take longer to hunt them down at a store — than to actually prepare them at home.

When Sprouts first opened, I rejoiced that its freezer section was regularly stocked with frozen quail. However, that ended more than a year ago. Then, I was relieved to find them in the freezer case of Whole Foods. Again, that was short-lived. Now, I grab them when I can find them lurking in the corner of the freezers at Zanotto’s in San Jose. Fingers crossed that they keep being a staple there.

I wish more people would give them a try. They are slightly duck-like in taste, and cook in about 10 minutes on the backyard grill or about 15 minutes in the oven.

“Pomegranate-Glazed Roasted Quail” is a no-brainer to make at home. It’s easy-peasy, and delicious with tangy-sweet-fruity pomegranate molasses scented with cinnamon and thyme glazed all over.

The recipe is from “The Complete Mediterranean Cookbook: 500 Vibrant, Kitchen-Tested Recipes for Living and Eating Well Every Day” by America’s Test Kitchen.

The cookbook, of which I received a review copy, is a wealth of judiciously tested recipes with Mediterranean influences. Savor everything from “Mussels Escabeche,” “Spiced Fava Bean Soup” and “Bulgur Salad with Grapes and Feta” to “Pan-Roasted Halibut with Chermoula,” “Spanish Grilled Octopus Salad with Orange and Bell Pepper,” and “Fig Phyllo Cookies.”

Trailblazer Tavern — A Fantastical Taste of Hawaii, and Beyond

Posted on March 4, 2020 by foodgal 3 comments

Fried chicken -- Trailblazer Tavern-style. — Fried chicken — Trailblazer Tavern-style.

San Francisco’s Trailblazer Tavern — a collaboration between home-grown Chef Michael Mina, Honolulu chefs and husband-and-wife Wade Ueoka and Michelle Karr-Ueoka, and Marc Benioff’s Salesforce — is full of whimsy from the get-go.

Enter through the Salesforce East building’s lobby and be greeted by a lifelike LED-projection of fish swimming overhead, giving the impression of being at an actual aquarium. There are also playful, cartoon-ish sculptures of a bear, goat, Albert Einstein, and Astro — all part of the official Salesforce Trailblazer Crew, who are meant to represent how the company blazes new trails.

That extends to the restaurant, which opened in late 2018 to serve modern, upscale Hawaiian food in the heart of downtown San Francisco.

This is not the first partnership between Mina, Ueoka, and Karr-Ueoka, The couple also opened Burger Hale inside Mina’s The Street Food Hall in Honolulu.

Mustard, Mustard — Everywhere: French Green Lentils with A Trio of Mustards

Posted on March 2, 2020 by foodgal 5 comments

If there is one thing that is always in my fridge, it is jars of mustard. That’s plural, because there is always more than one.

Dijon, stone-ground, brown, and yellow — it’s usually all there, to smear on sandwiches and sausages, to whisk into vinaigrettes, to flavor pork roasts, and to stir into velvety pan sauces for chicken.

As a bona fide mustard fiend, it’s no surprise that a recipe for “French Green Lentils with A Trio of Mustards” caught my eye — big-time. That’s because it incorporates not one, not two, but three types of mustard, as in Dijon, mustard seeds, and fresh mustard greens. How genius is that?

The recipe is from the wonderful new cookbook, “Cool Beans: The Ultimate Guide to Cooking with the World’s Most Versatile Plant-Based Protein, with 125 Recipes” (Ten Speed Press), of which I received a review copy.