Category Archives: Chefs

Where I’ve Been Getting Takeout of Late, Part 12

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Lamb shank with ginger and rose petals from Rooh Palo Alto.
Lamb shank with ginger and rose petals from Rooh Palo Alto.

Rooh, Palo Alto

With a 13-foot-long custom grill that dominates the kitchen, downtown Palo Alto’s Rooh serves up contemporary Indian cuisine licked by plenty of flames and smoke.

It also mixes in some very unconventional ingredients in its dishes, such as goat cheese, cheddar cheese, polenta, and Japanese togarashi. But executive chef Sujan Sarkar, who oversees this Palo Alto restaurant along with its sister San Francisco outpost, somehow makes it all work.

To get a feel for what this grill can do, order the roasted eggplant ($14). It’s as smoky tasting as the best baba ganoush, with an equally spoonable texture. The whole slender eggplant is covered in cumin-scented yogurt, pickled onion, cilantro and pomegranate seeds.

Pork belly (front), and roasted eggplant (back).
Pork belly (front), and roasted eggplant (back).

Garlic naan ($15) is the perfect vehicle to spread this creamy roasted eggplant on. Or smear it on the pao ($16), pull-apart, fluffy soft rolls that come with a sweet-tangy, chunky heirloom tomato kut.

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Yotam Ottolenghi’s Miso Butter Onions

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Onions meet butter meets miso -- with incredible results.
Onions meet butter meets miso — with incredible results.

Have you ever been tempted to devour a huge heap of onions for dinner?

Nope, me, neither.

Not until I discovered “Miso Butter Onions.”

Imagine onions saturated in butter and savory miso, until they become one, with a texture that is downright melty.

It’s a recipe from Yotam Ottolenghi’s newest cookbook, “Ottolenghi Flavor” (Ten Speed Press), of which I received a review copy.

In this latest cookbook, the London chef and co-writer Tara Wigley put the spotlight on plant-based dishes.

Through more than 100 recipes, Ottolengthi teaches how to amplify the natural flavors of vegetables by adding acidity, fat, sweetness or heat; or by using specific techniques such as charring.

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Where I’ve Been Getting Takeout of Late, Part 11

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Camper's version of fried rice will open your eyes and palate.
Camper’s version of fried rice will open your eyes and palate.

Camper, Menlo Park

It still amuses me whenever I read comments from people visiting Camper in Menlo Park for the first time, who expect, well, yes, camping-type food.

While there are S’mores on the menu (albeit a pretty gourmet version), you’re not going to find any canned pork & beans or mounds of trail mix.

Not when Chef-Partner Greg Kuzia-Carmel hails from New York’s Per Se and San Franciso’s Cotogna.

Instead, the name is meant to evoke the great outdoors, as Camper takes its inspiration from the freshest, seasonal local ingredients.

Red lettuce, mustard greens, little gem leaves with green goddess.
Red lettuce, mustard greens, little gem leaves with green goddess.
Maccheroni with pork ragu (top), and chickpea panisse (bottom).
Maccheroni with pork ragu (top), and chickpea panisse (bottom).

That shows from the get-go even with a simple green salad ($14), consisting of an ample amount of fresh mesclun with peppery mustard greens in the mix. Pink peppercorns added pretty color, as well as a crunchy bite of floral heat. House-made Green goddess was the final flourish.

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Hugh Acheson’s Roasted Eggplant with Tahini, Pomegranate, Parsley, and Pecans

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A perfect technique for eggplant, courtesy of Hugh Acheson.
A perfect technique for eggplant, courtesy of Hugh Acheson.

You know that perfect eggplant consistency, where it’s so supple, it’s almost like custard?

It’s not always easy to achieve that texture.

But thanks to James Beard Award-winning chef Hugh Acheson, there’s a fool-proof method that will not only render it with that exquisite consistency but give it an edge of smokiness, too. And all without a grill.

Just put the whole eggplant in a 425-degree oven and let it do its thing for 45 minutes or so. It will emerge sublime.

That’s one of the techniques showcased in the new cookbook, “How to Cook: Building Blocks and 100 Simple Recipes for a Lifetime of Meals” (Clarkson Potter) by Acheson of “Top Chef” fame, who owns three restaurants in Georgia.

Acheson made sure his two daughters knew how to cook before they went off to college. In this book, of which I received a review copy, he showcases the foundational building blocks that every home-cook ought to master, such as knowing the proper way to cook rice, beans, poach an egg, make vinaigrette, pan-fried fish and roast chicken.

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Jacques Pepin’s Chicken in Vinegar with Garlic and Tomato Sauce

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Jacques Pepin employs an interesting technique to cook this bistro classic.
Jacques Pepin employs an interesting technique to cook this bistro classic.

Whether it’s watching him on PBS or thumbing through one of his cookbooks, I never cease to learn something from Jacques Pepin.

A master technician who makes everything look effortless, and a cheerleader who gives the confidence to try any of his recipes handily in your own kitchen, Pepin continues to inspire in his latest cookbook, “Jacques Pépin Quick & Simple” (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt), of which I received a review copy.

As the title implies, the book’s 250 recipes are fast and easy, with brief ingredients list. Pepin is not above using frozen pizza dough, canned beans or ready-made sponge cake in some of them, either.

As he states in the introduction, “This book is intended to make your life easier.”

It will, too, with recipes such as “Cream of Pumpkin Soup” that uses canned pumpkin, light cream and curry powder; “Cheese Tart,” made with a frozen pie shell filled with a mixture of eggs, ricotta and Gouda; “Mustard-Broiled Shrimp” that’s coated with honey mustard, dark soy sauce and Sriracha; and “Orange Bavarian Cream” what mimics fancy custard cream but is instead made with instant pudding mix, half-and-half, and melted vanilla ice cream.

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