Category Archives: Chefs

A Zesty New Year

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Fennel and Meyer Lemon Relish to start the year off right.

Fennel and Meyer Lemon Relish to start the year off right.

 

After all that belly-busting food of the holidays, it’s time for something light and bright to start 2014.

Best yet, this particular recipe makes use of any Meyer lemons you may still have hanging on your trees.

“Fennel and Meyer Lemon Relish” is from the new “The Art of Simple Food II” (Clarkson Potter) by the one and only Alice Waters.

The cookbook, of which I received a review copy, is filled with recipes that make the most of your kitchen garden at any time of year. Moreover, there’s even information included on taking care of your soil, building a compost pile, making compost tea and growing seedlings.

Although called a “relish,” this is almost like a salad in that it has so much delightful crunch. It couldn’t be easier to make, either.

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Gifts for Yourself

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Relax with Spiced Wine -- hot, cold or room temperature.

Relax with Spiced Wine — hot, cold or room temperature. (Photo by Carolyn Jung)

 

If all that cooking, entertaining and shopping over the holidays has run you ragged, it’s time you gave yourself a little present, don’t you think?

Here are a few definitely worth considering.

Spicy Vines

There’s little that’s more relaxing than kicking off your shoes with a glass of red wine after a long, hard day.

Imagine one crafted from Zinfandel, Syrah, Petit Syrah, Granache and a bit of Sauvignon Blanc brandy, and imbued with heady spices to snuggle up with.

That’s what you’ll discover in Spiced Wine by Spicy Vines, which Bay Area founders Crystalyn Hoffman and Anders Pederson modeled after mulled wine or glogg.

Surprisingly, the sample I tried was not the over-powering, ultra-alcoholic, hit-you-in-the-face sweet mulled wine I’m accustomed to. Instead, it’s quite balanced and enjoyable.

At room temperature, the orange, clove and cinnamon are quite evident on the nose. It’s a festive-tasting drink with good structure and flavors of warm baking spices and deep, dark fruit.

When warmed — which you can do easily in the microwave — the citrus become more muted and the tannins more present.

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Cowgirl Creamery’s Famed Red Hawk Potato Gratin

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A luxurious potato gratin made with an award-winning cheese.

A luxurious potato gratin made with an award-winning cheese.

To know California cheese is to know Cowgirl Creamery.

Pioneer cheesemakers, Sue Conley and Peggy Smith, started Cowgirl Creamery in the early 1990s in a dilapidated barn in Point Reyes.

Conley, an alum of Chez Panisse in Berkeley, and Smith, who helped found the iconic Bette’s Diner in Berkeley, got the notion to make cheese after working on their days off at Straus Family Dairy, where they fell in love with the lush organic milk and its distinct nuances from season to season.

Wanting to help local dairy farms that were going broke, the two set about to create a way to showcase that wonderful milk in value-added products.

Today, Cowgirl Creamery crafts some of the state’s most extraordinary cheeses. It boasts a cheese shop and restaurant, Sidekick Cafe & Milk Bar, both in the San Francisco Ferry Plaza. It sells at five farmers markets in the Bay Area.  And its original creamery and cheese shop, Tomales Bay Foods at Point Reyes Station, still remains a must-stop for any visitor to West Marin County.

CowgirlCreameryCooksBook

Now comes their first cookbook, “Cowgirl Creamery Cooks” (Chronicle Books), of which I received a review copy.

There are recipes galore for everything from their beloved grilled cheese sandwich to making your own fromage blanc at home. Moreover, the book is imbued with delightful stories about how their business came to be. Additionally, there are  tips on creating a balanced cheese course, how to properly store cheese at home, and answers to whether you are supposed to eat the rind on cheeses (the French don’t for the most part, but Conley and Smith do).

With holiday entertaining on the minds of all of us, I couldn’t resist trying the recipe for Red Hawk Potato Gratin.

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A Chocolate Cookie That’s Almost ALL Chocolate

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You won't believe how much chocolate is in these cookies.

You won’t believe how much chocolate is in these cookies.

 

Are you looking for a can’t-miss chocolate cookie to bake this holiday season?

Look no further than this beaut.

This is one of the most chocolatey cookies I’ve ever had.

Consider: There are 1 3/4 pounds of chocolate in them — and only 1/2 cup flour.

Leave it to Pastry Chef Belinda Leong of San Francisco’s incredible B. Patisserie to come up with these decadent delights.

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