What To Do With Leftover Holiday Buttermilk?

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The method to make these biscuits is easy yet provide very distinctive results.

The method to make these biscuits is easy yet provide very distinctive results.

 

Hmm, pancakes? Salad dressing? Mashed potatoes?

How about “Cathead Biscuits”? Ones that are fluffy inside and have distinctive craggly crisp, buttery tops?

Yeah, now we’re talking.

After a run of holiday baking, I found myself with leftover buttermilk. I pulled a couple cookbooks from my shelf until I hit upon “Muffins & Biscuits” (Chronicle Books) by Heidi Gibson, co-owner of San Francisco’s The American Grilled Cheese Kitchen.

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The Captivating August 1 Five

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The signature Gol Guppa at August 1 Five.

The signature Gol Guppa at August 1 Five.

 

Ask Hetal Shah, which is harder  — creating advertising technology at Google or running a restaurant — and she doesn’t hesitate to answer:

Operating a restaurant. By far.

Shah, who left her job at Google a year ago, and her husband, who still works in tech, had experience opening restaurants, having established Red Hot Chili Pepper in San Carlos in 2010, the casual take on Indian-inflected Chinese food.

But their next restaurant venture was exceedingly more ambitious, August 1 Five, which opened a little over a year ago in San Francisco’s Civic Center.

The name of the splashy, upscale modern Indian restaurant commemorates the date that India won its independence from British rule.

Conveniently located in Civic Center.

Conveniently located in Civic Center.

The bold interior.

The bold interior.

Although Shah and her husband loved the mom-and-pop Indian restaurants in the United States, they missed the more contemporary fare found at high-end hotels in India. So when she and her husband moved to San Francisco from New York, they decided to do something to fill that void.

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Festive Red (Wine Risotto) For the Holidays

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Barbera wine colors and flavors this hearty risotto.

Barbera wine colors and flavors this hearty risotto.

 

At this time of year, the color red rules.

In “Red Wine Risotto,” it really dazzles, too.

The recipe is from “Eataly: Contemporary Italian Cooking” (Phaidon, 2016) by Eataly, the Italian food brand with mega food emporiums around the world.

The 300 recipes are surprisingly pared down, more like what Italians make at home rather than what four-star chefs labor over at restaurants. The recipes are one-page each with most having just a few paragraphs of directions.

Find everything from “Fresh Pea Soup with Smoked Ham” and “Spaghetti Pasta with Mussels, Clams, Jumbo Shrimp, and Bell Pepper Puree” to “Egg and Pancetta Tartlets” to “Chocolate Puddings with Caramelized Oranges and Amaretti Cookies.”

EatalyBook

At the end of the book, there’s also a great primer with photos that gives the lowdown on types of Italian salumi, pastas, rice, fish, beans, grains, breads, and cheeses.

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San Jose’s Venerable La Foret Gets A New Lease on Life

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Presenting Le Grand Johnnie, named for John Davoudi, the chef-owner who presided over La Foret for 38 years.

Presenting Le Grand Johnnie, named for John Davoudi, the chef-owner who presided over La Foret for 38 years.

 

When Chef-Owner John Davoudi decided to retire this year from La Foret, the San Jose restaurant he had nurtured for 38 years, faithful diners almost went into mourning.

But before they could shed a tear, Davoudi had struck a deal to sell the beloved establishment to Maurice and Giuseppe Carrubba, two brothers with a penchant for taking over old-school establishments to give them new life while still keeping their special spirit intact.

They did so previously with Osteria in downtown Palo Alto, and the Grandview in San Jose.

In late-summer, they took the reins of the historic La Foret, nestled in the trees in the Almaden Valley. The building dates back to 1848, when it housed workers from the surrounding quicksilver mines — the first mining operation established in California.

La Foret in Almaden Valley.

La Foret in Almaden Valley.

Its origins.

Its origins.

Historic marker.

Historic marker.

When I was invited in as a guest of the restaurant recently, it wasn’t the first time I had dined at La Foret. What I always loved about the place was that you felt far removed from the hustle-bustle of Silicon Valley. Off the two-lane road, the restaurant is an oasis of calm. It feels almost like a throw-back to another era when dining out felt special, and French continental cuisine and not molecular gastronomy ruled.

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