Category Archives: Food TV

Lighten the Load, Part II: Black Garlic Butter Branzino

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It tastes like a restaurant-worthy dish -- but takes only one pan and about 10 minutes to make.
It tastes like a restaurant-worthy dish — but takes only one pan and about 10 minutes to make.

When it comes to Italian cooking, Chef Joe Sasto doesn’t like to adhere rigidly to tradition.

Thus, the title of his new cookbook, “Breaking the Rules” (Simon Element), of which I received a review copy.

It was written by San Francisco-native and “Top Chef” alum Sasto, who graduated from the University of California at Davis before going to work for three years at Michelin three-starred Quince in San Francisco, where he was in charge of the hand-made pasta program. From there, he went on to become executive sous chef at Michelin two-starred Lazy Bear in San Francisco.

The book, written with assistance from cook and recipe developer Thea Baumann, is a collection of recipes that Sasto makes at home.

From the first page, his flair for bending or breaking so-called rules in on display.

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Whipped Spam — Whip It Good

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Spam -- that you don't want to delete.
Spam — that you don’t want to delete.

It’s as guilty a pleasure as there ever was one.

Spam is both beloved and maligned. But as anyone who grew up like me with the canned lunch meat will attest, there’s just a comforting nostalgia that tugs whenever we spot the familiar blue and yellow can on a supermarket shelf.

It’s mandatory for Hawaiian musubi, handy for noodle stir-fries on the spur of the moment, and a right of passage with eggs of any sort in the morning.

Now, get ready to enjoy it in “Whipped Spam with Toast Points,” in which it takes on an airy, chopped liver or dip-like consistency when whipped with cream cheese and herbs.

This intriguing recipe is from “Padma’s All American: A Cookbook” (Alfred A. Knopf), of which I received a review copy.

It’s by Padma Lakshmi, the former host and executive producer of Bravo’s “Top Chef” for 19 years. The cookbook draws from her travels and experiences from her Hulu series, “Taste the Nation with Padma Lakshmi.” If you haven’t yet watched the two seasons, I highly recommend them not only for the salivating food that’s highlighted, but for the deep illuminating cultural insights.

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Tiramisu — But Make It With Hong Kong Milk Tea

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An inspired Chinese spin on Italian tiramisu.
An inspired Chinese spin on Italian tiramisu.

Consider this the king of tiramisus.

Not only is it the creation of San Francisco Chef Melissa King. But it cemented her victory on “Top Chef: All-Stars” when one taste immediately brought tears to the eyes of legendary Italian butcher Dario Cecchini, who knows a thing or two about fine tiramisu.

As you can probably glean, her genius move was to give an Asian spin to this classic Italian dessert by swapping out the traditional espresso for Hong Kong milk tea instead.

This recipe for that winning “Hong Kong Milk Tea Tiramisu” is from her debut cookbook, “Cook Like A King” (Ten Speed Press), of which I received a review copy.

Growing up in Los Angeles’ San Gabriel Valley and in San Francisco, she started cooking with her mom as a kid. After college, she enrolled at the Culinary Institute of America. She ended up working under such lauded Bay Area chefs as Dominique Crenn and Ron Siegel.

In 2014, she was a finalist in “Top Chef” (Season 12) before going on to win “Top Chef: All-Stars” in 2020. I often think she didn’t receive the fanfare she deserved as the first Asian American female chef to triumph on “Top Chef,” largely because the worldwide pandemic erupted shortly afterward that rightly consumed everyone’s attention.

I’m glad to see that this cookbook — filled with such enticing, creative and fun creations — is allowing her to finally receive her flowers.

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A Lazy Way — And A Good Way with Tomatoes

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There's a time and place for stuffed tomatoes. And there's an even greater time for "unstuffed'' ones.
There’s a time and place for stuffed tomatoes. And there’s an even greater time for “unstuffed” ones.

There are times when I am up for a challenge, for those recipes that are as long as a chapter in a novel, made with ingredients that take me four trips to as many different grocery stores, and that leave me spent but gratified when I sit down at the table to enjoy them.

Granted, those times are rare.

More likely, as with so many of you, I gravitate to recipes that are not only quick and easy, but let’s face it, take the lazy approach.

Because there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that.

For example, I’ve made Julia Child’s classic “Stuffed Tomatoes Provencal,” and they were fantastic.

But when I came across Laura Vitale’s “Baked ‘Unstuffed’ Tomatoes,” the loafer in me immediately latched on to it.

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Stephanie Izard Debuts Valley Goat

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A mound of "disco fries'' at the new Valley Goat.
A mound of “disco fries” at the new Valley Goat.

It’s always an occasion when a “Top Chef” champion opens a new restaurant. Even more so when it’s Stephanie Izard, arguably one of the most successful winners to emerge from the Bravo TV show’s 22 seasons (and the first woman to win). And especially when she chooses to do so in Silicon Valley.

At the end of March, the James Beard Award-winning chef opened Valley Goat at the new Treehouse Hotel Silicon Valley in Sunnyvale.

After opening her original Girl & The Goat in Chicago in 2010, Izard was named Food & Wine “Best Chef” in 2011. When she opened Girl & The Goat in Los Angeles in 2021, she gave up the Windy City for Tinsel Town, moving there with her family. Valley Goat is her first Northern California restaurant, and what she told me is the first of several planned restaurants she will open with Treehouse Hotels.

Chef Stephanie Izard, who has spent the past six weeks in Sunnyvale, to oversee her Valley Goat restaurant.
Chef Stephanie Izard, who has spent the past six weeks in Sunnyvale, to oversee her Valley Goat restaurant.

Quirky and playful, the hotel is like a glamping playground gone wild for Gen Z. There’s a beer garden with picnic tables set with Jenga towers, rubber duckie floats in the pool, and a fence cleverly painted with tree trunks to blend in and create the look of a lush forest with real trees.

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