Category Archives: Chefs

Chris Cosentino’s Acorn Squash, Stracciatella & Sage

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Roasted acorn squash wedges topped with rich, creamy burrata.

Chef Chris Cosentino of Incanto restaurant in San Francisco may be known for his offal-good cooking, but there’s little organ meat to be found in his new cookbook, “Chris Cosentino’s Beginnings: My Way to Start a Meal.”

Sure, you’ll find a little bit of tripe, bone marrow and chicken liver, but there’s much more in this book (Olive Press) by Cosentino, of which I received a review copy.

Some of the recipes may have you hunting down specialty purveyors such as for the boar shoulder in “Pickled Boar, Herb Pesto, Grilled Onions & Pine Nuts” or bumming some leaves off your vintner neighbor for “Pan-Roasted Grapes, Turnips & Grape Leaves.”

But most will have you marveling at how just a few key ingredients can elevate a dish to new heights.

You’ve probably roasted acorn squash before. But have you ever served it with stracciatella, dreamy strands of fresh mozzarella soaked in heavy cream?

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Bouchon Bakery’s Incomparable Blueberry Muffins

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Just try to resist these perfect blueberry muffins.

Imagine a muffin that’s moist through and through, tender and fluffy rather than dense, filled with plump blueberries, and crowned with a majestic halo of crunchy, nutty streusel.

Leave it to one of the world’s best chefs, Thomas Keller, to elevate the humble blueberry muffin to a work of art.

I’ve had these many a time at his Bouchon Bakery in Yountville.

But with the publication of his “Bouchon Bakery” (Artisan) with his Executive Pastry Chef Sebastien Rouxel of the Thomas Keller Restaurant Group, I can now make them happily at home. The cookbook, of which I recently received a review copy, includes 150 recipes for pastries and breads. Some like the Pear Feuilletes, made with homemade puff pastry, are geared to the more skilled baker. But there are plenty of others such as the Chocolate Chunk and Chip Cookies that novice bakers will embrace.

The “Blueberry Muffins” are quite simple, too. Keller writes in the book that the key to a great muffin is resting the batter overnight in the refrigerator. This allows the flour to absorb all the liquid, resulting in a very moist muffin. Plus if you make it the day before, it’s all set to go for baking in the morning. What a way to wake up.

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Coffee with A Molecular Twist at Lavazza

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Ferran Adria's memorable Espesso Macchiato at Lavazza in Santana Row.

After braving the long, chaotic lines at all those Black Friday mega sales, you’ll surely be in need of a pick-me-up.

Why not make it one with a little molecular gastronomy thrown in to boot?

At the newest coffee cafe in San Jose’s Santana Row, Lavazza Espression, you can indulge in exactly that.

The artsy Vespa-red Italian cafe is the first of its kind on the West Coast by the famed Italian coffee roaster. More locales are expected in the near future around the Bay Area.

Lavazza's slogan.

Last week, I had a chance to sample the goods as a guest at the grand opening party. Scoops of vanilla gelato, samples of focaccia sandwiches, and arugula salads stuffed into crisp, lacy Parmesan cups made the rounds.

The San Jose cafe, which features artwork by top fashion photographers.

A striking wall decoration.

The tiramisu and chocolate tortes tasted fresh and classic. They’re flown in daily from Italy.

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Holiday Sweet Treats, A Special Michael Mina Dinner & More

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La Boulange's special holiday macarons. (Photo courtesy of the bakery)

La Boulange’s Holiday Offerings

Need a last-minute hostess gift or sweet treat to end the feast for Thanksgiving?

La Boulange, with locations around the Bay Area, comes to the rescue with its double whammy of  holiday pumpkin and rum raisin macarons.

The classic French cookie sandwich is filled with your choice of pumpkin or rum raisin ganache. They’re $1.50 each.

For Christmas, La Boulange offers up the classic buche de Noel. The Christmas log-cake confection is rolled and filled with cream, topped with buttercream, then decorated with marzipan and meringue.

A festive, scrumptious yule log. (Photo courtesy of La Boulange)

The edible yule log comes in two sizes: 6-inch ($23) and 12-inch ($35).

Maximum Mina Dinner For A Good Cause

That’s the appropriate name for the Nov. 27 dinner at RN74 in San Francisco, which will include a host of chefs from the Michael Mina restaurant group cooking up a five-course feast with wine pairings and a cocktail.

The “Maximum Mina” dinner will be created by Mina, wine director Rajat Parr, and Pastry Chef Lincoln Carson, as well as Ron Siegel of Michael Mina restaurant, Jason Berthold of RN74 and Omri Afalo of Bourbon Steak.

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Pizza Perfection at San Francisco’s A16

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Marinated sardines with frisee and apples at A16.

As the saying goes: The more things change, the more they stay the same.

In the case of San Francisco’s A16, that’s a very good thing. The restaurant, which specializes in the cuisine of Campania, has weathered quite a few chef changes over its eight years. But you’d never know it. The narrow restaurant is always packed. And the food is consistently stellar, especially the pizzas and pastas.

That was the case on my most recent visit there last month, when I was invited in as a guest of the restaurant.

Executive Chef Christopher Thompson took over the helm earlier this summer. He also journeyed to Naples this year, where he became a certified pizzaiolo in Neapolitan-style pizza.

The Margherita with added prosciutto di Parma.

Of course, we had to have one of those pies. We opted for the Margherita ($15) with tomato, mozzarella, Grana Padano, basil and a splash of olive oil. The blistered crust was crisp, even holding up well enough in the center to the milky mozzarella that had melted delightfully to become one with the sweet tomato sauce. You can tell the sign of a great crust in that it should have a developed flavor all on its own. This one does. It also had plentiful air bubbles to create a wonderful chewy texture in parts.

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