Category Archives: Chefs

Honey Pie For the Holidays

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Imagine this on the Thanksgiving table.

Imagine this on the Thanksgiving table.

 

Call this the antidote to pecan pie.

Or at the very least, a most worthy alternative.

“Olivia’s Honey Pie” is plenty sweet and nutty. But not as dense and heavy as pecan pie. It also the added bonus of tasting gloriously of buttery, caramelized honey.

The recipe is from the new “The Beetlebung Farm Cookbook” (Little, Brown and Company) by Chris Fischer, of which I received a review copy.

Spanning five acres on Martha’s Vineyard, Beetlebung Farm is run by Fischer, who took it over when his grandfather passed away.

BeetlebungCookbook

Fischer is both a farmer and a cook. And what a cook, indeed. He was a sous chef at Mario Batali’s Babbo in New York City, and previously had stints at Fergus Henderson’s St. John Bread & Wine, and at the River Cafe in London. Fischer hosted dinners cooked over an open-fire at the farm before becoming head chef at Beach Plum Inn & Restaurant.

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Splendid Squash

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Imagine setting this dazzling dish down on your holiday table.

Imagine setting this dazzling dish down on your holiday table.

 

Come closer. Closer still. Come on, put those peepers right up to the screen.

Because This Is Squash. From “This Is Camino.”

Of course, that’s not the actual name of this gorgeous dish. But it might very well be because this is the only squash recipe you’ll need this season.

That’s how delicious it is.

The recipe for “Kabocha Squash and Grilled New Onion Salad with Yogurt, Pomegranate, and Almonds” is from the new cookbook, “This Is Camino” (Ten Speed Press), of which I received a review copy.

The 100 recipes draw from the cuisine of Camino, the soulful farm-to-table Oakland restaurant run by Chef Russell Moore, who cooked at Chez Panisse for 21 years, and his co-owner and wife Allison Hopelain.

Much of the cooking at Camino is done on a wood-fired hearth in view of the dining room. The crackling flames kiss dishes such as “Grilled Squid with Tomatoes and Korean Perilla,” “Grilled Chicken Ballotine with Green Lentils and Parsley Root,” and “Grilled Fig Leaf Ice Cream with Grilled Figs.”

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Jacques Pepin’s Poulet A La Creme

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Chicken with mushrooms and cream in a fabulous dish by Jacques Pepin.

Chicken with mushrooms and cream in a fabulous dish by Jacques Pepin.

 

This dish is the equivalent of a big cashmere blanket wrapped around your shoulders.

It’s warm, comforting, and makes you feel well taken care of.

And of course, it’s by Jacques Pepin.

“Poulet A La Creme” is from his newest cookbook, “Jacques Pepin Heart & Soul In the Kitchen” (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt).

JacquesPepinHeartandSoul

It’s also his last cookbook — well, at least the last one associated with his own television cooking show. That’s because his current KQED series of the same name is the last one he will film. He’ll turn 80 in December, and after 14 series, 24 cookbooks, and 32 years on television, he’s finally taking a break.

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Trokay — A Fine-Dining Surprise in Truckee

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Kauai shrimp sizzling away on searingly hot granite at Trokay.

Kauai shrimp sizzling away on searingly hot granite at Trokay.

 

TRUCKEE, CA — In my youth, trips to Lake Tahoe didn’t involve sophisticated fare. Instead, it was all about burgers, pastas and Mexican food — hearty and inexpensive eats that filled you up after a hard day on the slopes.

But truth be told, it was also because those simple dishes were all that could be found then.

Not anymore.

Imagine my delight to find Trokay in Truckee, a fine-dining establishment versed in molecular gastronomy and true attention to detail that would be right at home in San Francisco or New York.

In fact, owners John and Nyna Weatherson are from New York. She was the head cheesemonger of the landmark Murray’s Cheese in the West Village. He is a Culinary Institute of America graduate, who was the top-ranked student in his class, and went on to be chef de partie at Restaurant Daniel.

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S’Mores and More at the Ritz-Carlton Lake Tahoe

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Warm up with a gourmet s'more at the Ritz-Carlton Lake Tahoe.

Warm up with a gourmet s’more at the Ritz-Carlton Lake Tahoe.

 

TRUCKEE, CA — After a four-hour drive, what better way to stretch the legs (and arms)  than by making and devouring a gourmet s’more?

That’s just what my husband and I did after dropping off our bags in our room at The Ritz-Carlton Lake Tahoe, where I was invited to be a guest for its Epicurean Weekend two weeks ago.

We made it to the resort just in time, too, for its daily, early-evening “Marshmology” event on the terrace, which is not to be missed. After all, who can pass up house-made marshmallows in flavors such as caramel apple, orange, and pumpkin spice?

Marshmalogists are on hand to help you thread your chosen marshmallow on a long steel skewer, which you then hold over the nearby fire pit until it’s as gooey and charred as you like. Then, your Marshmalogist will help you squish the toasty marshmallow in between graham crackers and a piece of chocolate. Press down and take a sweet, messy bite. If that doesn’t make you feel like everything’s right in the world, nothing will.

Your friendly marshmalogist.

Your friendly marshmalogist.

Where all the action happens.

Where all the action happens.

The finished product. Oh, yes!

The finished product. Oh, yes!

Epicurean Weekend, the first weekend in October, is a slower time for the resort. It’s not yet winter, when the slopes are packed with skiers and snow-boarders (snow, notwithstanding). And it’s past summer, when hoards of mountain bikers aren’t careening down the barren slopes of next-door Northstar, though there were still a fair number that weekend.

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