A Taste of Tuscany

Posted on by 11 comments

Tender lobster with fluffy gnocchi.

Truth be told, it was more than a taste.

It was more like the ultimate Italian gorge fest.

That’s what happens when Donatella Zampoli, executive chef of the wine estates of Marchesi de` Frescobaldi in Tuscany, whizzes into town for 48 hours to cook with Dominique Crenn, chef de cuisine of Luce at the InterContinental Hotel in San Francisco.

I was invited to the multi-course dinner last Wednesday, which was a benefit for CUESA, the Center for Urban Education about Sustainable Agriculture.

Each dish was paired with a different wine from Frescobaldi, which has been making wines for more than 700 years. The two chefs took turns preparing each course, volleying back and forth, for a most memorable and filling repast.

An unusual buckwheat amuse.

The evening began with two amuses: First, Crenn’s unusual combination of organic buckwheat, trumpet mushrooms and lobster puree. It came to the table looking like a loose-formed granola bar of sorts. And the crispy grain puffs almost made the amuse akin to a new-wave, savory Rice Krispie treat.

Creamy, rustic duck liver.

Zampoli’s rusticly wonderful duck liver mousse followed, topped with crispy sage leaves.

Next came Zampoli’s organic eggplant timbale tower filled with diced carrots and squash, and Scarmorza cheese. You don’t even have to be a devout vegetarian to love this comforting, satisfying dish.

Eggplant timbale.

Crenn followed up with what was probably my favorite dish of the night: an updated rendition of her mother’s potato gnocchi with lobster and a sphere of bone marrow custard. Lobster, which so often suffers from over-cooking, was perfectly moist and tender here. The gnocchi were incredibly fluffy and buttery. I’m not sure the dish even needed the tiny round of bone marrow custard. Still, it was an intriguing addition.

Zampoli presented parmesan risotto that hid a well of intense duck jus in its center. Thinly sliced smoked duck breast was fanned over the top, and fried leeks finished this elegant dish.

Risotto with smoked duck and fried leeks.

It was time for an intermezzo, and Crenn provided a doozy — a bubble of apple cider balanced on a silver spoon.

Read more

The Phenomenon Known As Kogi BBQ

Posted on by 17 comments

Chef Roy Choi of Kogi BBQ talks about his unlikely business that's become a runaway hit.

We in the San Francisco Bay Area like to think we have access to everything tasty.

But one thing we sadly don’t have is Kogi BBQ.

At least not yet.

Roy Choi, a Seoul-native who graduated from the Culinary Institute of America and cooked at the likes of Le Bernardin and Aureole, both in New York, has turned the world of tacos topsy turvy on the streets of Los Angeles.

The classically-trained, extremely articulate chef has taken his high standards and top-notch skills, and applied them to humble taco truck offerings. Ten months ago, he started hawking his own brand of Korean tacos from one roaming truck that announces its location via Twitter. Now, he has four trucks, each of which serves more than 2,000 people a day. How crazy is that?

Fortunately, I didn’t have to drive all over Los Angeles to chase down one of his trucks to try the famous Kogi taco. Instead, I was able to snag one when Choi did a cooking demo at last weekend’s “Worlds of Flavor” conference at the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone in St. Helena. With this year’s theme, “World Street Food, World Comfort Food,” what could be a more perfect fit than a Korean taco?

And a most delicious one at that. As Choi explained, street food often gets the bum rap of being something thrown together, slap-dash. But take a bite of one of his tacos and discover how incredibly complex it is.

The sweet, smoky, tender taste of Korean short ribs transforms the taco into something all together new. The meat is marinated in a blend of soy sauce, maple syrup, yellow onions, green onions, garlic, kiwi, Asian pear, mirin, orange juice and 7-Up. It’s cooked at high heat to char and caramelize it. Then it’s diced, cooked on the flat-top, and heaped on two soft corn tortillas along with salsa verde or salsa roja; diced onion; a mix of shredded cabbage, romaine and green onions; Kogi chilie vinaigrette; and toasted and crushed sesame seeds.

Grilling corn tortillas until they're puffy and a little crisp.

Constructing the famous taco.

Aren't you dying for one?

It’s a thing of absolute beauty. And it sells for an absolute pittance.

“We make everything from scratch, and we sell our food for $2,” Choi said. “I’m not sure if that’s the best business model, but our goal is not to lose money. My other goal — I don’t achieve it every day — but it’s that every single bite hopefully makes you stop in your tracks.”

Read more


Take Five With Masaharu Morimoto, On His New Svelte Figure and New Napa Restaurant

Posted on by 19 comments

A trim Chef Masaharu Morimoto. (Photo courtesy of the Food Network)

Masaharu Morimoto, the star of the original Japanese “Iron Chef” and the newer Food Network version, “Iron Chef America,” may be sporting a trimmer physique these days. But the celebrated chef, who was born in Hiroshima, Japan, is still one commanding presence.

Morimoto visited the Napa Valley last weekend for the 12th annual “Worlds of Flavor” conference at the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone in St. Helena, the theme of which this year was “World Street Food, World Comfort Food.” The chef, who was there to do cooking demonstrations, drew crowds wherever he went, especially at the marketplace, where his crew cooked up okonomiyaki (a Japanese savory pancake layered with noodles, pork and a fried egg) and takoyaki (a Japanese octopus donut hole).

During a break, I had a chance to talk with the 54-year-old chef about his sixth restaurant that will open next summer in the Wine Country — Morimoto Napa.

Q: What made you choose Napa as opposed to San Francisco for your restaurant?

A: Two years ago, I came here for the “Worlds of Flavor” conference. It was my first time in Napa. I liked it. It is a special place. It’s a culinary place.

Q: What will Morimoto Napa be like?

A: Thomas Schoos, who did Tao in Las Vegas, is the designer. There will be three components — a fine-dining room with a sushi bar and omakase, a late-night lounge, and a retail store. People will be able to buy fish and Wagyu beef from Japan to take home to cook. We may sell bento box lunches and do catering for parties, too.

Q: Will the restaurant look like a piece of Japan? Or a piece of Napa?

A: It will look like a piece of Morimoto.

Morimoto supervises his crew at the "Worlds of Flavor'' conference.

Cooking up a Japanese savory pancake.

Tender octopus donuts get flipped so they're golden all around.

Q: With so many restaurants already, how often will people expect to see you actually in the Napa restaurant?

A: I will be there as much as I can.

Q: Will we be buying a place to live here? Perhaps a house with its own vineyard to make Morimoto wine?

Read more

Giving Thanks for a Non-Pie Pumpkin Dessert on Thanksgiving

Posted on by 26 comments

A pumpkin dessert that's not pie.

I love all things pumpkin — except pie.

Forgive me my idiosyncrasy with this hallowed squash.

Many of you already know I won’t ever turn down pumpkin bread, pumpkin cheesecake, pumpkin muffins or any savory pumpkin dish. But if pumpkin pie comes to the table, I’d just as soon pass. I think I find it just too dense and one-dimensional.

Yet, I still enjoy the autumn taste of pumpkin and I know it rightfully deserves a place on the festive Thanksgiving table.

That’s why I’m always elated when I find a lovely pumpkin dessert recipe that is not pie.

“Crema di Zucca” or “Creamy Pumpkin Custard” stars pumpkin in the form of creamy, smooth individual puddings that get dolloped with whipped cream and boozy golden raisins.

The recipe is from one of my favorite cookbooks, “Dolce Italiano” (W.W. Norton & Co.) by Gina DePalma, pastry chef of Babbo restaurant in New York.

Cream cheese, mascarpone, and egg yolks give the batter luxuriousness and a fluffier texture than pumpkin pie filling. Pulverized crystallized ginger gives it a special little kick.

The golden raisin compote gets its sweet, grown-up taste from orange juice, sugar, butter and rum.

The custards bake in a water bath, then are chilled before serving.

The original recipe calls for chilling the custards for at least four hours, before inverting them onto individual plates. Try as I might after that allotted time, though, I couldn’t get my custards to release from the ramekins.

The custards after being baked, then chilled overnight.

I conferred with DePalma via email, who noted that at the restaurant, they actually chill the custards overnight. She thought that might make them firmer and easier to remove from the ramekins.

So I waited overnight, and tried again. And what do you know — it worked this time. The custards were indeed firmer. I ran the tip of a knife around the edge of each custard, then let the ramekins sit in a bowl of very hot water for a few seconds, as DePalma also had suggested. Then I placed a small plate over a ramekin, turned it over, and gave it one big shake, which helped release the custard onto the plate. Voila!

Read more

Events to Toast

Posted on by 6 comments

The "Golden Gate Mary'' cocktail at the St. Regis in San Francisco. (Photo courtesy of Chef Hiro Sone)

Did you know the iconic cocktail, the Bloody Mary, is 75 years old this year?

Drink a toast to that milestone at the St. Regis Hotel in San Francisco to commemorate the drink’s invention 75 years ago at the St. Regis New York.

In 1934, bartender Fernand Petiot introduced the cocktail at the King Cole Bar in The St. Regis New York. It was created when Serge Obolensky, a well known man about town whose penchant for vodka was in keeping with his aristocratic Russian background, asked Petiot to make the vodka cocktail he had in Paris. The formula was spiced up with salt, pepper, lemon and Worcestershire sauce. But since “Bloody Mary” was deemed too vulgar for the hotel’s elegant King Cole Bar, it was rechristened the “Red Snapper.” While the name may not have caught on in that era, the spicy drink most certainly did.

The San Francisco hotel is now serving a new contemporary version, dubbed the “Golden Gate Mary.” It’s made with tequila and pepper-infused tomato water, and garnished with a dried heirloom tomato chip. The $14 cocktail is available at the lobby bar through the end of the year. For another fun option, a flight of the new Bloody Mary and the traditional Bloody Mary is offered for the same price.

Don't you just want to take a sip right now? (Photo courtesy of Chef Hiro Sone)

Like the photos of the drink? I have Hiro Sone to thank for them. Yes, the excecutive chef of the esteemed Ame restaurant inside the St. Regis San Francisco snapped these pics. He’s a multi-talented chef if there ever was one.

Restaurants are gearing up for next week’s release of Beaujolais Nouveau. Just after midnight on the third Thursday of every November, villages and towns in France race to be the first to serve this new wine of the current harvest.

Campbell’s Twist Bistro gets in on the act Nov. 19 with a three-course prix-fixe for $32. A glass of the Beaujolais Nouveau is $8; a bottle is $30.

Left Bank restaurants will do the same with a la carte specials at its locations in Menlo Park. San Jose’s Santana Row, and Larkspur.

Depending upon the location, look for dishes such as house-made pork sausages with red wine-braised lentils, and pear poached in Beaujolais.

For a different twist, Arlequin Wine Merchant in San Francisco will host “No More Nouveau” on 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Nov. 19.

Read more

« Older Entries Recent Entries »