Category Archives: Cool Cooking Techniques

In Love with Long Beans Amatriciana

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Skip the bucatini and use Chinese long beans in this fun amatriciana dish.
Skip the bucatini and use Chinese long beans in this fun amatriciana dish.

The dress that droops like a sad sack on the hanger but is transformative when slipped on. That plain cookie you reached for last that is surprisingly the most scrumptious of the bunch. And that quiet, nerdy guy you initially dismissed who turns out to be the love of your life.

Yes, looks can be deceiving.

“Long Beans Amatriciana” is proof of that.

Using Chinese long beans, otherwise known as yard beans or snake beans, in place of bucatini might seem virtuous and the ultimate no-carb, gluten-free hack. But in the hands of Chef Jeremy Fox, it is decidedly decadent, loaded with crispy guanciale, and finished with butter.

And wow, is it ever dangerously delicious.

This clever recipe is from his newest cookbook, “On Meat” (Phaidon), of which I received a review copy. It was written with his wife, Rachael Sheridan, a writer and actress.

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Santa Clara Welcomes Jashn Restaurant

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Beef bone marrow nalli nihari at the new Jashn in Santa Clara.
Beef bone marrow nalli nihari at the new Jashn in Santa Clara.

When Vittal Shetty and Reshmi Nair — formerly corporate executive chef and operations manager, respectively, of the Bay Area’s Amber India restaurants — decided to venture out on their own, the plan was to always open their own restaurant together.

Little did they know, they joked, that it would take 11 years.

That’s because they didn’t count on the catering company that they immediately started to try to raise money for that restaurant venture turning into an immediate juggernaut.

Indeed, their Jalsa Catering & Events has grown into one of the largest and most sought-after Indian catering companies in the Bay Area. It was one of the first Indian catering companies to go beyond standard steam tables to present food with more fine-dining finesse. Shetty’s intent was to take the skills he used at Amber India and transfer them to the catering industry.

Jalsa, which means “social gathering,” caters upwards of 400 events annually, many of them weddings with as many as 500 guests, as far north as the Napa Valley and Lake Tahoe, and as far south as Carmel. It’s even been hired to do events in Arizona and Mexico.

Every restaurant has to have an Instagram-ready wall now, right?
Every restaurant has to have an Instagram-ready wall now, right?
One of two private dining rooms.
One of two private dining rooms.

“People would attend the weddings we did and ask ‘Where is your restaurant?’ because they enjoyed the food so much, ” Nair says. “We would have to tell them there wasn’t one.”

Not anymore. When the catering company relocated three years ago from Milpitas to Santa Clara (the former Justin’s Restaurant and Wilson’s Bakery site), it gained a lot more space. Enough for Jashn, which means “celebration,” to open there earlier this month.

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Sally’s Baking Addiction’s Buttermilk Chive Fantail Rolls

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These rolls are sure to be a star on your holiday table.
These rolls are sure to be a star on your holiday table.

Holidays do a delicate dance between delivering comforting nostalgia and raise-the-bar pomp.

“Buttermilk Chive Fantail Rolls” cuts the difference splendidly. With their distinctive look of fanned-out pages of a classic novel, they signal “special” from the get-go. Yet with their ability to be enjoyed one layer at a time, they evoke memories of those refrigerated Pillsbury Grands biscuits in a tube that pops open with a “whoosh.”

Dressed up with snipped chives plus garlic and onion powders, these biscuits are from the new “Sally’s Baking 101” (Clarkson Potter), of which I received a review copy, that’s already a New York Times best-seller.

It was written by Maryland-based Sally McKenney, founder behind the sensation known as Sally’s Baking Addiction website, which has amassed millions of loyal readers. Established in 2011, the site is famed for its meticulously tested recipes and beautiful food photography.

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Sponsored Post: Barley Risotto with Pazazz Apples, Sage, and Leek Butter Sauce

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Caramelized Pazazz apple slices top this hearty, warming barley risotto with a velvety leek butter sauce.
Caramelized Pazazz apple slices top this hearty, warming barley risotto with a velvety leek butter sauce.

Celebrate autumn with a sublime dish that celebrates apple season to the max.

It’s a little sweet, a little savory.

It’s hearty and wholesome, loaded with fiber-rich barley and juicy, fresh Pazazz apples.

But also a bit naughty with a creamy, unctuous leek butter sauce made with a splash of hard apple cider that ties everything together beautifully.

What’s not to love?

“Barley Risotto with Pazazz Apples, Sage, and Leek Butter Sauce” is versatile enough to serve as a meatless first course or entree. Or alongside sausages, ham, roast duck, grilled chicken or Thanksgiving turkey or even leftover turkey the day after.

Crunchy, juicy Pazazz apples.
Crunchy, juicy Pazazz apples.

Good thing it’s prime season now through June for Pazazz apples, a late-season variety that’s related to the Honeycrisp. Grown by a small group of family farmers across North America, these shiny red-skinned apples with yellow-green striations are perfect for snacking out of hand or to feature in all manner of sweet or savory recipes.

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Dining in Los Angeles, Part II: The Astonishing Michelin Three-Starred Somni

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A pizza Margherita that will leave you dumbstruck at Somni.
A pizza Margherita that will leave you dumbstruck at Somni.

The first time I ever dined at the French Laundry in Yountville was a seminal experience, one punctuated by a whirlwind of wee dishes that somehow possessed such outsized, intense flavors that they left me feeling as if I were tasting food for the very first time.

Earlier this month at Somni, I relived that same type of vivid, jolting excitement — but with even more whimsy, humor, and daring.

No wonder this Los Angeles restaurant garnered three Michelin stars this year practically right out of the gate after opening in November 2024.

To be fair, Somni’s original incarnation that opened in Beverly Hills in 2018 had already earned two Michelin stars before it was forced to close when the pandemic hit, the same week it would have celebrated not only its second anniversary, but Chef-Owner Aitor Zabala’s birthday.

The unassuming entrance.
The unassuming entrance.
The courtyard behind the gate, where the meal begins.
The courtyard behind the gate, where the meal begins.
The giraffe sculpture at the front.
The giraffe sculpture at the front.
A welcome note.
A welcome note.

After hunting high and low, he found the ideal space in West Hollywood to relocate in what was previously a Donna Karan store and a former music studio frequented by Jennifer Lopez.

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