NY Chef Seamus Mullen Visits the Bay Area, Call for Local Food Entrepreneurs & More

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Chef Seamus Mullen to sign copies of his cookbook at two appearances. (Photo courtesy of the chef)

Meet Seamus Mullen

Seamus Mullen, chef of Tertulia in New York, will be signing copies of his cookbook, “Seamus Mullen’s Hero Food,” at two upcoming Bay Area appearances.

Diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis a few years ago, he discovered that his quality of life improved dramatically when he based his cooking on 18 key ingredients, such as olive oil and fresh fish. Learn what other ingredients he favors, along with delicious recipes spotlighting them.

I became an instant fan of his “Mutti’s Blueberry Boy Bait” cake recipe included in the book. In fact, it was so good, I made it twice last summer. For the recipe, click here.

This simple and delightful blueberry cake recipe is featured in Seamus Mullen's book. (Photo by Carolyn Jung)

Mullen will be signing copies at Omnivore Books in San Francisco, 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. Jan 25.

The next day, Jan. 26 from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m., he will appear at Whole Foods in Napa, an event sponsored by Cooperfield’s Cooks.

Calling All Northern California Food Artisans

If you’re a Northern California food artisan, Andrea Blum, culinary artist at Montalvo Arts Center in Saratoga, wants to hear from you.

She has started a project called “My American Pantry” (MAP), in which she is mapping the lush landscape of artisan American food and drink — through aerial photographs.

Just take a look at the image here of 23 Bay Area artisans with their products — everything from seaweed to pies to eggs to chickens to alcohol.

Twenty-three local artisans pictured with their food products. (Photo courtesy of Kenny Blum Photography and Andrea Blum)

Blum’s hope is to celebrate the breadth of the American pantry by eventually creating a map, where people can go to click on the stories, recipes and products of these artisans.

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A Load of Lemons, Part II: Northern Greek Braised Pork and Leeks

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A velvety sauce enriched with egg and lemon juice makes this pork stew irresistible.

Although I’ve traveled through parts of Europe, I’ve yet to make it to Greece.

(Cue melancholy violin music now.)

Yes, the white-washed buildings and mesmerizing blue sea there have yet to be explored.

Until I finally do journey there, I have to content myself with getting my fill of Greek food at Bay Area restaurants. Or by making it, myself.

Thankfully, Diane Kochilas’ new cookbook, “The Country Cooking of Greece” (Chronicle Books), makes that part easy. The cookbook, of which I received a review copy, is the latest by Kochilas, who has written 18 other books specializing in Greek cuisine.

The 200 recipes spotlight Greek country cooking, full of nutritious greens, whole grains and the bounty of the Mediterranean Sea.

“Northern Greek Braised Pork and Leeks” is a classic dish made all over northern Greece that’s a favorite Sunday repast.

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A Load of Lemons, Part I: Meyer Lemon Cake

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More than a pound of lemons goes into this cake, along with almonds and candied ginger.

That’s what my backyard tree gifted me this winter: a load of Meyer lemons.

After last season’s dismal crop that netted me barely enough lemons to make a couple quarts of lemonade, I was overjoyed to see the bumper harvest this year from my one little dwarf tree.

When life gives you a load of lemons, you just have to use them, of course. In everything you can think of — and then some.

So, I couldn’t have been happier to spy this recipe for “Meyer Lemon Cake” in the new “The Sunset Essential Western Cookbook” (Oxmoor House), of which I received a review copy. The cookbook, by the editors of Sunset magazine, features more than 150 recipes that are so very Californian in spirit — everything from “Hangtown Fry” to “Char Siu-Glazed Pork and Pineapple Buns” to “Tagliatelle with Nettle and Pine Nut Sauce” to homemade fortune cookies.

This quite citrusy cake uses more than a pound of lemons. Most of them are pulverized — rind, pulp and all — to go into the cake batter, which contains no butter. Instead, ground almonds give it richness, along with five large eggs.

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Hear the Food Gal on KQED’s Forum

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If you missed yesterday’s “Restaurant Roundup” on the airwaves of KQED’s “Forum” program, you missed out.

But not to despair.

You can catch the nearly hour-long podcast to hear what yours truly, along with Restaurant Reviewer Michael Bauer of the San Francisco Chronicle and Jonathan Kauffmann, San Francisco editor of Tasting Table, dished about Bay Area restaurants, chefs and dining trends.

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World’s Youngest Master Sommelier

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Roland Micu, the youngest certified Master Sommelier in the world. (Photo courtesy of the International Culinary Center in Campbell)

Last year at age 28, Roland Micu passed the last of four rigorous exams to become the youngest certified Master Sommelier in the world.

To get a sense of the weight of that accomplishment, consider that since the Court of Master Sommeliers was established in 1969 that only 197 people around the globe have attained that certification.

For most candidates, it takes multiple tries to pass the daunting Level IV exam, in which six wines must be tasted blind in 25 minutes to identify the varietal, country of origin, district and appellation, as well as vintage precisely.

Micu did it on his first attempt.

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