You Say “Potato,” I Say “Perfection”

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Crusty, crispy and divine -- who can resist these semolina-dusted potatoes?
Crusty, crispy and divine — who can resist these semolina-dusted potatoes?

When others shun potatoes, I welcome them with open mouth.

Yes, in this low-carb world, I am the outlier who lusts for spuds.

And when I find a recipe that does them proud, I am beside myself.

Such is the case with “Crispy Semolina Potatoes.”

This insanely good yet simple recipe is by Susan Spungen, a recipe developer, stylist and cookbook author, who is the former food editor at Martha Stewart Living. She was also the food stylist for the film, “Julie & Julia.”

It’s from her newest cookbook, “Open Kitchen: Inspired Food for Casual Gatherings” (Avery), of which I received a review copy. When Spungen cooks, she likes to break down the prep into stages so that it can be spread out over a day or two. That way, it’s less intimidating, especially if you’re cooking for company.

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Where I’ve Been Getting Takeout Of Late, Part 1

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Such a treat -- beignets from The Village Pub.
Such a treat — beignets from The Village Pub.

When shelter-in-place first took hold, I took it to heart, cooking all my meals at home from pantry and freezer ingredients, and from grocery deliveries, so I wouldn’t have to venture out needlessly. But wanting to support my local restaurants, I also bought gift cards and donated to GoFundMe campaigns.

As restrictions have lessened, though, I’ve felt more at ease about getting food to-go. I prefer to pick it up myself rather than going through third-party delivery apps that tack on an extra charge to restaurants. Plus, after listening to a highly informative “The Tim Ferris Show” podcast with guest Nick Kokonas, co-owner of Alinea restaurant in Chicago, I also realized I now needed to use those gift cards pronto. Kokonas, who owned a derivatives trading firm for a decade, explained that while the revenue from gift cards help restaurants in the short-term, they remain a debt on their books. Indeed, the worst-case scenario would be for every well-meaning patron who bought a gift card to descend upon that restaurant the first week it reopened to use them when the establishment had no revenue coming in.

So I’m making a point to use those gift cards I purchased in March for food to-go now, and to even order more beyond the card’s amount to give the establishment an extra boost.

Here’s where I’ve picked-up food in recent weeks, paying my own tab.

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Cute Little Cherry Upside-Down Cakelets

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How cute are these cherry upside-down cakelets?
How cute are these cherry upside-down cakelets?

Glossy little cherries have an undeniable appeal at this time of year.

They’re even harder to resist when spotlighted in sweet treats like these “Cherry Upside-Down Cakelets.”

This Food52 recipe is by VVVanessa. When I received my first cherries of the season last week in a bountiful Farm Box, I knew I wanted to do something special with them.

Farm Box is a new start-up by the digital design company, 409 + Co, which was founded by Andreas Winsberg, whose father owns the Bay Area’s Happy Quail Farms, famous for growing the first coveted pimientos de Padron peppers in California.

Cherries from G.L. Alfieri Farms via Farm Box.
Cherries from G.L. Alfieri Farms via Farm Box.

This specialty produce box can be picked up at the San Francisco Ferry Plaza farmers market on Saturdays or the Menlo Park farmers market on Sundays; or delivered to your door on Saturdays for a $20 fee. Learn more about Farm Box in my post earlier this week.

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Good Things Come In — Farm Box

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Some of the impeccable produce from small farms in this past Saturday's Farm Box.
Some of the impeccable produce from small farms in this past Saturday’s Farm Box.

Andreas Winsberg is used to growing things. The son of a farmer — David Winsberg of East Palo Alto’s Happy Quail Farms that started the craze for pimientos de Padron in California — he’s been helping his dad plant those prized Spanish peppers and sell them at the San Francisco Ferry Building farmers market since he can remember.

Now, it’s this 25-year-old’s turn to germinate something special of his own.

In late-March, just as the COVID-19 pandemic hit full bore in the Bay Area and shelter-in-place restrictions took hold, he created Farm Box, a weekly curated farmers market box that customers can get delivered to their door or pick up at the Ferry Plaza farmers market on Saturdays or the Menlo Park farmers market on Sundays.

Farm Box was developed by 409 + Co, a design agency that Andreas founded with fellow 20-something alums of Pennsylvania’s Haverford College, Stephen Davis and Jessie Lamworth.

They didn’t set out to do this. But realizing just how complicated buying groceries and food was about to become for people, they rose to the challenge to build out a new web-delivery business to help small-scale, local farmers, whose goods are so perishable, reach more customers.

Contactless delivery to my porch.
Contactless delivery to my porch.
The reveal of what's inside.
The reveal of what’s inside.

“Seeing what my dad was going through, and fearing that the farmers market might shut down, was the impetus,’’ Andreas says. “We’re not in it to get rich, but to help farmers and others who need the boost now.’’

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Rice With Andouille and Kale

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A one-pot meal that's smoky and with just the right amount of spiciness.
A one-pot meal that’s smoky and with just the right amount of spiciness.

At the start of shelter-in-place, I admit I was in a tizzy over all the shortages at grocery stores.

Sure, the scarcity of hand sanitizers and rolls of toilet paper had me a little troubled. But what really got me worked up was the run on all-purpose flour and, yes, rice.

After all, I am Chinese-American. So to me, a pantry without any rice is a very sorry one, indeed.

Fortunately, when I was nearing the last few grains in my cupboard, I managed to find a 25-pound bag of jasmine rice online for a reasonable price. Now, normally, even I, in a household of two, would never buy such a huge bag. But because this was the only one I saw, I grabbed it without a second thought.

Good thing I did, too, because it’s come in so handy. It’s also inspired me to seek out new recipes to enjoy this mother lode of rice, including this one-pot wonder for “Rice with Andouille and Kale.” It’s a recipe by the late-great food writer Molly O’Neill that was published in the New York Times, which she wrote for regularly.

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