Bay Area nominees at this year’s James Beard Awards for restaurants and chefs disappointingly came away empty-handed.
But one huge bright spot came at the foundation’s media awards, when Chef Rogelio Garcia of Michelin-starred Auro in Calistoga strode across the stage to accept a James Beard Award for his first cookbook, “Convivir: Modern Mexican Cuisine in California’s Wine Country” (Cameron Company, 2024).
Written with Andrea Lawson Gray, a San Francisco cookbook writer and food historian, this gorgeous, coffee table book, of which I received a review copy, is a collection of more than 150 recipes inspired by the Mexican diaspora that has shaped our foodways profoundly, especially in California.
The title references the Spanish word that means “to live together,” a sentiment with even greater weight and poignancy in these fraught times.
The book is a salute to the many Mexican Americans who have come to Wine Country to work the land, pick the grapes, and create the wines and foods that are appreciated the world over.
Garcia knows only all too well that struggle, having come to the United States at age 2 with his mother and siblings, to eventually become a recipient of DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals).
He bootstrapped himself from those uncertain beginnings to go on to work as a line cook at the Michelin three-starred French Laundry in Yountville, then at two Michelin-starred Cyrus at its original Healdsburg location, then to Spruce in San Francisco, and finally to Luce in San Francisco.
It took only eight months after he opened the fine-dining Auro at the Four Seasons Resort in Calistoga for Michelin to bestow a star on it in 2023, which it has managed to maintain ever since. Spotlighting rarefied dishes that meld Japanese, French, California coastal and Mexican influences, Auro remains the only Michelin-starred restaurant in Calistoga.
In this book, you’ll find a range of recipes, from home-style dishes that Garcia prepares for friends and his two sons to more refined and complex fare befitting a Michelin-starred restaurant. There’s everything from “Fig and Goat Cheese Tamales” and “Mexican Chocolate Paletas” to the more ambitious “Sopes with Sonoma Artichokes Three Ways and Verdolagas Salsa Verde” and “Roasted Stuffed Quail with Madeira Quince Sauce and Tomato Onion Confit.”
Full disclosure: I tried making his “Chocoflan with Strawberry Hibiscus Sauce” — twice. But each time, the caramel layer didn’t come out the way it should, with most of it sticking to the pan and hardening to the point that it had to be pried off.
Wanting to give the book one more try, though, I went savory this time with much better results.
“Squash Blossom and Maitake Rice Pilaf with Poblano Chile and Kale” is a simple dish that puts summer’s pretty squash blossoms on display.
Jasmine rice gets toasted on the stovetop, along with a mix of onion, dinosaur kale, maitake mushrooms, poblano chile, and zucchini. Garlic and a touch of smoked paprika flavor everything. Chicken stock gets poured in, a lid goes on, and everything cooks gently together.
When the rice is tender, squash blossoms are stirred in, along with mildly salty and tangy Cotija cheese.
This is a hearty pilaf, chock-full of veggies that add plenty of texture. The taste is grassy, earthy, buttery, and of course, cheesy.
It would shine alongside pretty much any protein, too.
And you can brag that you made it just like a Michelin starred chef.
Squash Blossom and Maitake Rice Pilaf with Poblano Chile and Kale
(Makes 4 to 6 servings)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup jasmine rice
1 yellow onion, finely diced
2 cups stemmed and roughly chopped dinosaur (Tuscan) kale
2 whole maitake mushrooms, rinsed and dried well, then roughly chopped
1 poblano chile, charred, peeled, stemmed, and seeded, then cut into 1/4-inch dice
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 zucchini, cut into 1/4-inch dice
1 teaspoon sweet smoked paprika
1 1/2 cups chicken stock or water
2 teaspoons kosher salt
16 squash blossoms
1 cup grated queso Cotija or Parmesan cheese
Heat a large skillet with a lid over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, melt the butter with the oil. Add the rice, reduce the heat to medium, and toast, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes. The rice will first turn translucent and then start to turn light brown. Add the onion, kale, maitake, poblano, and garlic and cook, stirring often, for 3 minutes. Add the zucchini and paprika and cook, stirring for 1 minute. Pour in the stock, bring to a simmer, and stir in the salt. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and cook for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the liquid has been absorbed and the rice is tender. Remove from the heat and let sit, covered, for another 10 minutes.
While the rice sits, remove the stamens and pistils from the squash blossoms and rinse them.
Uncover the skillet, taste the pilaf, and adjust the seasoning with salt if needed. Fold in the whole squash blossoms and cheese and serve at once.
More: My Profile on Chef Rogelio Garcia in the Nob Hill Gazette
And: My Dinner at Auro