Category Archives: Great Finds

New Mole Sauces From Chef Susana Trilling

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Big, beefy ribs get a big hit of spiciness and earthiness from ¡Ya Oaxaca! Mole Rojo.
Big, beefy ribs get a big hit of spiciness and earthiness from ¡Ya Oaxaca! Mole Rojo.

Mexican moles can be an intimidating and time-consuming affair to make from scratch at home, what with upwards of 40 ingredients that need to be prepared and cooked for hours.

But that laborious process can be bypassed easily with new ready-made jarred moles from an impeccable source.

¡Ya Oaxaca! moles are by Chef Susana Trilling, a renowned expert and ambassador for Oaxacan cooking. She started cooking at age 10 alongside her grandmother, a chef from Tampico, Mexico, who ran a small cafe in San Antonio, TX. In 1999, she founded her Seasons of My Heart Cooking School on her ranch in Oaxaca, and has since taught countless lessons both in-person and online.

Her children have inherited her culinary passions. Son Kaelin Ulrich Trilling is the chef de cuisine at Thomas Keller’s La Calenda in Yountville. He’s also involved in ¡Ya Oaxaca! moles, along with his brother Jesse Ulrich Trilling, who is the company’s head of operations, and his half-brother Azul Couzens, who is in charge of marketing, sales and distributions.

Acclaimed chef and cooking teacher Susana Trilling has teamed with her sons on this new mole sauce venture.
Acclaimed chef and cooking teacher Susana Trilling has teamed with her sons on this new mole sauce venture.

The moles, sold in shelf-stable 12-ounce jars, come in three varieties: Mole Rojo, Mole Coloradito, and Mole Negro. They are based on recipes handed down for generations.

Recently, I had a chance to try samples. The ¡Ya Oaxaca! web site includes recipes online, while the jar labels are printed with recommendations for what types of protein or vegetables best go with each mole.

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What I’ve Been Drinking of Late, Part 14

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The 2019 Memento Mori Cabernet Sauvignon has power and finesse.
The 2019 Memento Mori Cabernet Sauvignon has power and finesse.

2019 Memento Mori Cabernet Sauvignon

What do you get when you source grapes from the storied Napa Valley vineyards of Beckstoffer Dr. Crane, Beckstoffer Las Piedras, Oakville Ranch, Vine Hill Ranch and Weitz Vineyard, and blend them into one singular wine?

The flagship 2019 Memento Mori Cabernet Sauvignon ($250).

You know you have something special — and spendy — on your hands when the bottle arrives, as my sample did, in its own custom-designed, cushioned box like fine art.

Winemaker Sam Kaplan has created an inky garnet wine that is velvety smooth. Big Cabs sometimes exhibit aggressive tannins early on, needing to be set aside to age to give them time to settle down. Not Memento Mori. This is a powerful wine that surprises with impeccable balance already. There are aromas of dark berries and dark wooded forests. The palate gets caressed with cassis, purple plum, mocha, cranberry and pomegranate, plus a touch of anise and toast.

Outfitted with its own custom box like fine jewelry.
Outfitted with its own custom box like fine jewelry.

Consider this the Dwyane “The Rock” Johnson of Cabs — imposing, with weight and solid structure, yet also surprising with a soft, gentle side.

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Dining Outside at the Revered Californios

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Californios' astonishing banana with caviar and dulce de leche.
Californios’ astonishing banana with caviar and dulce de leche.

How fortunate is San Francisco to have the only Michelin two-starred Mexican restaurant in the world?

Exceedingly.

Now, chances are that in your lifetime, you’ve had more than your fill of tacos and tostadas.

But not the way they and other dishes are interpreted at Californios.

This is Mexican cuisine that is elevated, elegant, exhilarating.

Last year, Californios relocated from its snug spot in the Mission District to a roomier property in SoMa, which formerly housed Bar Agricole. Following a remodel and the throes of the pandemic, it opened its doors earlier this spring.

The chic outdoor patio.
The chic outdoor patio.

While Bar Agricole didn’t really make use of its sizeable front patio, Californios certainly has. High walls encircle it, painted deep, matte charcoal gray like the restaurant’s interior. Steel beams run across the top, from which large light fixtures dangle. In case of rain, there is a retractable roof, with space between it and the top of the walls to allow for air flow.

Executive Chef-Owner Val Cantu in the kitchen at Californios.
Executive Chef-Owner Val Cantu in the kitchen at Californios.

My husband and I sat at one of the white tablecloth-draped tables outside, which had heaters both above it and to the side to provide ample warmth, no matter how chilly the evening. Done up with potted plants, the patio has a chic starkness to it.

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A Visit to Gold Ridge Organic Farms

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Asian pear apples grown at Gold Ridge Farms. (Photo by Carolyn Jung)
Asian pear apples grown at Gold Ridge Farms. (Photo by Carolyn Jung)

Farmer Brooke Hazen knows every tree planted on his 88 acres in the rolling hills of Sebastopol. Not in the “Hi! How are you?” kind of way, he jokes. But in the truest sense of nurtured familiarity, having planted each and every one of them with the help of only one assistant.

He started his Gold Ridge Organic Farms in 2001 to create an edible wonderland. He’s more than succeeded, growing 13,000 olive trees of Spanish, Italian and French cultivars; 12,000 apple trees of 75 different varieties, including rare heirlooms; and a smattering of citrus, including Blood Oranges and Mandarin-Kumquats. All are grown organically, too.

You may very well know his apples already from his branded bags of Heirloom Apple Blend that are sold at Northern California Whole Foods. These treasure bags can contain such unusual antique varieties as Pitmaster Pineapple that actually tastes like pineapple, and Strawberry Parfait that — yes — tastes like strawberry. Indeed, Gold Ridge is one of the largest heirloom apple growers in California.

Farmer Brooke Hazen. (Photo by Dawn Heumann)
Farmer Brooke Hazen. (Photo by Dawn Heumann)

This month, you can get the opportunity to visit this wonderful farm for the first time.

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Pasta That Does A Body — And Planet — Good

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A Japanese-influenced cacio e pepe made with a new high-fiber, nutty tasting artisanal dried pasta.
A Japanese-influenced cacio e pepe made with a new high-fiber, nutty tasting artisanal dried pasta.

Pasta has gotten such an unjust bum rap of late.

Too many carbs. Full of gluten. Way too caloric.

Yet few foods are as craveable, comforting, and lusty.

So, go ahead and indulge, especially when it comes to Semolina Artisanal Pasta Upcycled Strozzapreti, a dried pasta that purports to be good not only for your body, but the planet.

That’s because this pasta was made in partnership with ReGrained, the innovative Bay Area company upcycles or reuses spent grain from beer-making and turns it into nutritious new products such as energy bars and snack crisps. ReGrained’s resulting SuperGrain+ — made of barley, wheat, and rye — has more than three times the fiber of wheat flour, and twice the protein of oats.

Leah Ferrazzani of the Semolina Artisanal Pasta company in Pasadena, whose pasta products are beloved by Southern California chefs, took that SuperGrain+ and combined it with her usual semolina to create strozzapreti, the striking elongated, twisted noodle shape. But it took a few fits and tries to get it just right.

The pasta has a suede-like hue and a singular shape.
The pasta has a suede-like hue and a singular shape.

“We had to find the right ratio of semolina to SuperGrain+, and extrusion speed, to help maintain texture and shape, and to keep a balanced flavor,” Ferrazzani told me in an email. “The resulting pasta packs a punch — the flavor of the SuperGrain+ isn’t subtle — but it’s something truly unique and special.”

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