Category Archives: General

Where I’ve Been Getting Takeout of Late, Part 39

Posted on by 2 comments
The jerk chicken plate from Back A Yard.
The jerk chicken plate from Back A Yard.

Back A Yard, Menlo Park, San Jose, Campbell

There is comfort food. And then, there is comfort food with panache — heady with loads of allspice, ginger, and garlic.

That’s what Back A Yard serves up in spades. And for those still indulging in takeout, you’ll be glad to know this Caribbean fare travels well, too.

The plates come complete with a starchy mash of rice and red beans, and thoroughly addictive sweetly caramelized plaintains. You choose a main or a combo of two. The jerk chicken plate ($10.95) includes three pieces of tender dark-meat poultry, seasoned in a moderately spiced jerk rub redolent of fragrant cloves and allspice. You could also get all-white chicken for $11.95, but why? The dark meat is where it’s at.

Jamaican beef patty with a shatteringly flaky crust.
Jamaican beef patty with a shatteringly flaky crust.

The oxtails ($14.95 for a plate) are fabulous — fall-apart-tender in a sticky, reduced sauce, and with that fatty, meaty unctuousness that can’t be beat. It’s a rendition you’ll be craving anytime the weather turns chilly.

Read more

The Best of Both Worlds In Charred Carrot Soup with Miso

Posted on by 6 comments
The oven does most of the work in this easy soup that delivers real bang for the buck.
The oven does most of the work in this easy soup that delivers real bang for the buck.

As much as I love miso soup, I sometimes wish it was more substantial in body.

And as much as I enjoy carrot soup, I often wish it weren’t so one-note.

Now comes “Charred Carrot Soup with Miso” for the win.

It is indeed the marriage of carrot soup and miso soup that results in perfect harmony and happiness.

This superlative soup is from the new Food52 Big Little Recipes: Good Food with Minimal Ingredients and Maximal Flavor” (Ten Speed Press, 2021), of which I received a review copy. It was written by Emma Laperruque, the food editor at Food52.

As the title implies, this collection of recipes is all about making the most of a handful of ingredients to draw out deep, true flavors.

The beauty of this book is that it’s the way most of us want to cook at home, relying on a few staples to get food on the table with little fuss but loads of satisfaction. You’ll find just that in recipes such as “Rigatoni with Corn Sauce and Sizzled Corn,” “Braised Brisket with Forty Cloves of Garlic,” “Pork Tenderloin with Buttery Kimchi & Apples,” and “Low-Maintenance Oatmeal Cookies.”

Read more

Dining Outside at Glen Ellen Star

Posted on by 6 comments
The incredible beef bolognese bianco pizza at Glen Ellen Star.
The incredible beef bolognese bianco pizza at Glen Ellen Star.

For years, so many respected chefs in the Bay Area have raved to me about Glen Ellen Star. Last week, I finally made it to this beloved restaurant in Sonoma County, and it thoroughly lived up to the fanfare.

So much so, that it was even worth dining outside there in — gulp — 38-degree weather.

Oh, yes, I did that.

Who knew when I planned this outing that our early-spring T-shirt weather would give way in a snap to thermals and down jacket frigid temperatures?

But my husband and I soldiered on. And now, we feel like we can tackle anything, especially when fortified with food as stellar as this.

The tented outdoor dining area at the front of the restaurant.
The tented outdoor dining area at the front of the restaurant.

The outdoor tables are set up at the front of the restaurant with party-like tents covering three sides. The back of the chairs are even draped with blankets, a thoughtful touch should you need to envelop yourself in one. Squat portable heaters provided a good amount of warmth, especially as the staff kept bringing out additional ones as the night wore on. If you notice a red cast to some of my photos, that’s actually from the glow given off by the heaters.

Read more

Nova Scotia Maple Chicken

Posted on by Leave a comment
An easy sweet-savory chicken dish from our Canadian neighbors.
An easy sweet-savory chicken dish from our Canadian neighbors.

“Chicken A to Z: 1,000 Recipes from Around the World” (Rizzoli) is a door-stopper of a book, a hefty tome with 1,000 recipes from all parts of the globe for everyone’s favorite poultry.

Written by French author Mireille Sanchez, this definitive cookbook is arranged by country, with chicken recipes galore, from “Bhutan’s Cayenne Pepper Chicken on Red Rice” and “Argentina’s Welsh Apricot Chicken” to “Indonesia’s Java Fried Chicken” and “Tanzania’s Chicken and Banana Soup.”

Long on recipes, it is short on photos, though, which might make it less appealing to some. You may need to Google or hunt online for some of the more esoteric ingredients, too, such as chicken blood in one Brazilian recipe, or corchorus (jute mallow) for an Egyptian dish.

I also wish the book included introductions for each recipe to not only reveal its significance to the spotlighted country but also to hint at what the dish is like in terms of taste and appeal. As it is, you have to use your own imagination when reading the recipe to glean what it might be like.

There’s no serious thinking needed, though, to know that maple syrup, mustard and orange juice make fpr a delicious marinade. That’s why I honed in on the recipe from Novia Scotia for “Maple Chicken.” It’s easy enough to make on a weeknight, too.

Read more

A Cake That Will Make Your Mouth “Open Sesame”

Posted on by 8 comments
Luscious tahini goes into both the batter and buttercream in this delectable one-pan cake.
Luscious tahini goes into both the batter and buttercream in this delectable one-pan cake.

One-pan cakes are simple and satisfying.

But sometimes — just sometimes — they can leap-frog over plain basic into the realm of attention-grabbing exceptional.

“Tahini Sheet Cake” is such a creation.

Like any sheet cake, it’s all of one layer baked easy-peasy in a rectangular pan that gets slathered with sweet frosting to finish.

But what sets this one apart is the tahini in both the batter and the fluffy buttercream that gives this cake the marvelously distinctive, sweetly nutty taste of sesame.

Gotta love the ease of a sheet cake.
Gotta love the ease of a sheet cake.

The recipe is from Eating Out Loud: Bold Middle Eastern Flavors for All Day, Every Day” (Clarkson Potter, 2020) by Eden Grinshpan, a Cooking Channel star and host of “Top Chef Canada,” whose Israeli heritage plays into the Middle Eastern-inflected recipes showcased.

Although you probably know tahini as an essential ingredient in hummus, it also does wonders for baked goods. It combines here with butter, grapeseed oil, whole milk, and sour cream for a batter that results in a moist, rich tasting cake.

Read more
« Older Entries Recent Entries »