Please Pack Your Knives...

No, it's not Tom, Padma, and that annoying woman from Food and Wine whose name I can never remember... But I'd like to take a few minutes to introduce the bloggers who've generously agreed to assist with judging this month's Does My Blog Look Good in This, all extraordinary food personalities in their own right.

Bron of Bron Marshall, Classic & Creative Cuisine has been honored with three DMBLGiT awards over the course of 2006. Her passion for all things food is immediately evident when you visit her website -- and at least for this reader, highly contagious. Her creations often provide just the inspiration I need to get creative in the kitchen.

Sean Timberlake of Hedonia describes himself a professional writer, amateur foodie, avid traveler and all-around bon vivant. Although I've never managed to make one of his walking tours, I simply can't get enough of his primarily food-focused exposes on all that makes the bay area such an extraordinary place to live. And we're in for a real treat this month -- Sean's professional photographer partner DPaul Brown has graciously agreed to offer his 2c in the judging process.

If Bron is my savory culinary muse, then Ivonne at Cream Puffs in Venice inspires me to experiment with new ways to satisfy my sweet tooth. Check out her series on the baking classes she's taken. If you haven't disabled your keyboard drooling on it, I invite you to explore some of the sinfully sensational things this woman has done with chocolate.

Our final judge is Jeff from C for Cooking. A self proclaimed food lover, photography fan (and sadly, failed ice cream scooper), Jeff provides fascinating photographic essays detailing his various kitchen activities -- with a bit of mood music to boot! There's just something about a man who's comfortable sharing his kitchen with his wife, his mother, an old friend, or going it alone...

So there, you have it. Your esteemed judging panel for the March edition of Does My Blog Look Good in This. Now it's your turn. Give us something to judge. Follow the instructions in this post to submit your entries.

Technorati Tags: Meme | Food Blog Event | Does My Blog Look Good in This

Does My Blog Look GOOD in This?!?

In January it was Mae from Rice and Noodles and her image of Pistachio and Vanilla Truffles that walked away with the top prize. In February, the top honour went to a trio of heavenly mousse flavors from Blanc D'oeuf. Who will win in March?

For those of you who've been residing under a rock, I'm referring to this year's winners of Does My Blog Look Good in This, the food blog community's cross between a best-dressed list and down-and-dirty food porn. It's a monthly opportunity for food bloggers turned photographers to showcase the best of their work -- and the rest of us to salivate over it.

Chronicles in Culinary Curiosity has the honor and the privilege of hosting the March edition. Please, take a moment to peruse the mouth-watering submissions to the January and February editions.

There. Aren't they gorgeous? Are you inspired yet? Hungry? Go ahead... whip up a snack, then come back and learn how you can participate in the March edition.

First, go back through your February archives. Pick your very favorite photograph. Then send and email to me (DMBLGIT0307 at Yahoo dot com) with the following information:

- Your name (or pseudonym, as you wish)
- The URL to your blog
- The URL/permalink to the post where the photo originally appeared
- The title of you photograph
- The type of camera you used

Please attach an electronic copy of the photograph to your email, so I can add your image to the gallery of participants.

The deadline for submissions is Friday March 23, 2007, 6 PM PDT, giving my esteemed judging panel (to be announced once they've all been confirmed) a week to haggle over what is likely to be a difficult decision, if history's any indication.

We'll then choose a first, second, and third prize winner (and perhaps a couple of honorable mentions) in each of the following categories:

Aesthetics: This category addresses technical artistry:composition, food styling, lighting, focus, etc.
Edibility: This category is all about the drool factor -- the picture that makes readers want to lick the monitor.
Originality: The winner here is the photograph that captures our attention because we've never seen anything like it before.
Overall Winner: This picture has it all -- it's technically, creatively and artistically compelling.

Stay tuned -- I'll be announcing the judging panel in the next couple of days, and I'll post the gallery of participants over the weekend.

Technorati Tags: Meme | | Food Blog Event | Does My Blog Look Good in This

Coming soon...

I haven't fallen off the face of the earth -- February just got crazy.

Get your February Food Porn ready and stay tuned, details on the March edition of Does My Blog Look Good in This are coming soon...

Technorati Tags: Does my Blog Look Good in This?

Che? Syrah?

Wine is sunlight captured in water" - Galileo Galelei

Their story's actually not all that uncommon on the surface. A couple of Silicon Valley technical types searching for a deeper meaning bag the cubicle jungle to pursue a passion for viticulture. But the Ciolinos' story -- as they told it during a cozy winemaker dinner at Nibblers -- their story captured my heart as surely as their Syrah had captured my attention.

Perhaps it's a feeling of kinship with Vincent, whose family came from the old country to Chicago seeking opportunity for their children. When he speaks of Dago Red with Sunday dinner, conversations half in Italian, half in English and summer afternoons spent at Wrigley Field rooting for the Cubs, I can relate (although my Colonial American mother was the baseball fan in the family). And I admire the way he and his family incorporate traditional old-world values into their new-world wines.

Perhaps it's Lise, and the way she's channeled the very thirst for knowledge and drive to excel that likely built her successful Silicon Valley career into creating some of the most unique wines to come out of California's Dry Creek Valley, and marketing them to like minded restaurants and wine shops across the country.

Perhaps it's the shared Ciolinos' commitment to producing world-class wines while respecting the land from which it's produced, to live their lives and run their business as good stewards of that land, using organic and biodynamic principles to produce wine with character while protecting the environment in which the grapes grow.

Perhaps it's Paolo, who has his mother's eyes, his father's smile, and an insatiable curiosity -- a wide eyed wonder and sweet intensity that's also present in the wine that shares his name...

Regardless, your heroine's made room between the steady stock of Zinfandel and Merlot in her wine collection for a sensational new world wine produced old-world style: Montemaggiore's 2003 Paolo's Vineyard Syrah. A worthy contribution to this month's Wine Blogging Wednesday hosted by WineCast celebrating New World Syrah/Shiraz.

Paolo's Vineyard Syrah brings new meaning to the phrase food-friendly -- this wine truly plays well with others. Its complex, velvet fruitiness pairs beautifully with red meats and poultry -- and works equally well with buttery salmon and sablefish. Strong hints of blackberry and chocolate give way to subtle vanilla undertones, making it an excellent accompaniment to hearty winter vegetables, extravagant chocolate desserts, perfect with a loaf of bread and a hunk of artisan cheese.

Montemaggiore Winery
2355 West Dry Creek Rd., Healdsburg, CA 95448 | 707.433.9499

Technorati Tags: Wine | Organic Wine | Biodynamic Wine | California Wine | Syrah | Wine Blogging Wednesday

Celebrating Nutella!

Nutella and I share a very special relationship*.

No. No. NO! it's different from my relationships with Ben & Jerry, Jose and the others.

It's a deeper connection than the burning desire to bury a spoon deep within the jar, spin it around, extract it slowly and lose myself in the velvety luxury of a naked dollop of rich chocolatey goodness. It's more significant than that Zen feeling of spreading its smooth silkiness across the freshest bakery croissant, savoring the moment the two blend into rich buttery chocolate heaven across my tongue.*

You see, Dear Reader, Nutella and I share a similar genealogy, the same last name. In 1946, my immigrant grandfather had left the coal mines behind, spending most of his adult life employed by the Illinois Central Railroad. A half world away in the town of Alba Italy, my grandfather's namesake (and given the geography, likely a distant cousin, though we've never taken the time to prove it) invented a bread-spread of cocoa and hazelnut and then built a company to produce and market it. Sixty years later, Pietro Ferrero's grandchildren remain at the helm of an international organization employing over 16,000 people and still espousing his founding principles: using the highest quality ingredients and state-of-the-art technology to create unique confections and make them accessible to consumers.

Nutella debuted in the United States in the early 1960's; I came on the scene a few years later. We've kind of grown up together.

So when a couple of creative Italian bloggers declared Tuesday February 6 as World Nutella Day, there was no doubt in my mind that I wanted to participate.

So I pulled a jar of Nutella from my pantry. (There is ALWAYS a jar of Nutella in my pantry.) A bottle of frangelico. A couple of sheets of puff pastry from the freezer (I still have a bit of leftover puff pastry). A block of cream cheese from the refrigerator. The bananas and pears that arrived in this week's CSA box. And I began to experiment. I'm actually pretty proud of myself -- the product of my mish-mash of ingredients definitely doesn't suck.*

Banana Hazelnut Tarts

2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup brown sugar
4 bananas, sliced crosswise into 1/4 - 1/2" disks
1/4 cup frangelico
4 oz (give or take) block cream cheese
1/2 cup (give or take) Nutella
2 sheets of puff pastry

Combine butter and brown sugar in a skillet, stirring over medium-low heat until sugar dissolves. Add banana slices, and saute until they begin to soften and brown. Carefully add the frangelico. Continue to cook until frangelico warms and sauce thickens slightly. Remove from heat and set aside.

Preheat oven to 400.

In a small bowl, combine the cream cheese and Nutella, blending until smooth (I used a hand mixer.)

Coat a twelve-cup muffin tin with your lubricant of choice* (I used nonstick cooking spray, canola oil or butter would also work)

Roll out puff pastry and cut into 4 inch squares. Spread 1 to 1.5 tablespoons Nutella mixture in the center of each square. Carefully move squares to muffin tin. Top Nutella mixture with a spoon or two of the bananas.

(Since I've been feeling guilty about the mini tart shells I bought last fall and have only used once, I used them instead of the muffin tins. Either would work fine.)

Bake at 400 for 15-20 minutes or until puff pastry "puffs" and browns slightly. (when making this again I'll probably blind bake the shells first).

Cool for a few minutes before plating. Serve with frangelico sauce drizzled over the pastry.

*I can't WAIT to see the Google searches that land people on THIS post.

Technorati Tags: Food Blog Event | Meme | World Nutella Day | Nutella

Searching for an old friend...

...we made a new one.

You could say John and I have an obsession with sushi. And you really wouldn't be exaggerating. It's probably the one pilgrimage we make MORE often than Nibblers.

John's fixation started before we met. Mine began early in our relationship with my first visit to Koji's. A four-table hole in the wall off the beaten path on the San Francisco peninsula, Koji's was a true neighborhood find -- and the perfect place to discover a new food addiction.

Over the years we've probably sampled hundreds of sushi bars and found a few favorites along the way. But because John was one of Koji's first customers and Koji was my first real sushi experience, we managed to make our way back to 37th Avenue no matter from wherever we were in the bay.

Since Koji closed his doors in 2004, a dedicated group of his customers have kept in touch and we've followed him around the bay to the very best of our ability. So before he celebrates his first anniversary with Hiro Steak and Sushi in Brentwood we decided to visit and check out his newest digs.

A little Internet research reveals that Hiro's is the brainchild of owner Mark Bradford and executive chef Hiro Ogawa, that it will take us a little longer than an hour to get there, that for a Japanese restaurant the wine list is impressive, and that the descriptions of the menu items have us salivating over the keyboard.

I find the ambiance at Hiro's fascinating. A lot of restaurants try to offer something for everyone -- and lose their own identity in the process. Part piano lounge, part sushi bar, part robata grill, part 5-star restaurant -- Hiros' manages to do it all, and do it well. From our seats at one end of the sushi bar, we're close enough to the lounge to observe the quiet and friendly efficiency of the bar staff and enjoy the young Michael Bolton lookalike and his unique style on the piano before turning our attention to the menu before us.

It's immediately clear that we've missed Koji -- but quickly becomes equally clear that he's made a mark on the menu. Hiro himself offers us an amuse of seared tuna in a creamy wasabi sauce before taking our order. We enjoy ocean-fresh nigiri, a crisp-tender tempura roll (with just a bit too much greenery for John), and a creamy California roll that evoked memories of late nights on 37th Avenue for both of us. One of the most interesting dishes we chose was the edamame -- prepared "three ways" -- some simply sprinkled with salt, some seasoned with garlic, and a third section in an sweet sesame dressing. Fascinating in it's complex simplicity, I'm convinced this preparation would convert many soy-phobes to the other side.


One of the things that turns a good sushi bar experience into a great one for us is our interaction with the sushi chef, our host for the evening. No matter how fresh the fish, the experience lacks luster if we can't find a connection with the chef. Hiro was the consummate host -- attentive and friendly without hovering or 'up-selling.' He let us set the pace, paid attention to our selections and our reaction to his creations, offering an occasional recommendation based on his observations. When John ordered uni to finish, we explained that while I appreciate good uni, I usually find a whole nigiri overwhelmingly rich. In response, Hiro offered me the smallest of spoonfuls to sample.

In the end, John mustered the courage to ask after Koji. Sadly, we managed to visit on the last Friday of Koji's vacation in Japan -- he's scheduled to return on Monday and Hiro promised to tell him we'd stopped in. So we'll need to make the drive out Vasco Road again in February to reconnect with an old friend and a new one.

Hiro's Steak & Sushi - 613 First St., Brentwood - 925.634.3129

Technorati Tags: Restaurants | Sushi | Restaurant Reviews

Butterfly Effect - the Written Word

Bet you all figured I'd given up on this whole Butterfly Effect meme, huh?

Ye of little faith.

Part four sends me to explore my culinary bookshelf in search of the volume that changed everything...

Flash back to 1989. Your heroine is a twenty-something soon-to-be-senior in college. She's survived a year of dorm food without donning the famous freshman fifteen. She's spent the last few years as a pampered sorority girl, with an on-site chef, houseboys to serve Monday night formal dinners -- her only foray into the kitchen a once-a-month obligation to empty the dishwasher and refill the milk dispensers.

It's a bright late September afternoon (especially by central Oregon standards) full of the promise of things to come. Your heroine's unloaded the car, hung the curtains, made the bed, stocked the bathroom with enough haircare products to open a salon and rearranged the furniture in the small sitting room. She now stands with her roommate Susie surveying no-mans-land, the large-by-campus-apartment-standards kitchen they'll share for the next 9 months.

Susie owns a set of ginsu knives her grandmother bought on late-night-TV. Your heroine's a little better off -- she's got a toaster oven and a popcorn popper from the dorm days and a set of mis-matched fraternity-labeled beer steins, souvenirs from a sampling from a series of invitations to that social rite of passage in the collegiate Greek community: the barn dance.

Hmm...

Houston, we have a problem. Neither our budgets nor our waistlines are going to withstand a semester of Track Town delivery or burgers and beer at Rennie's Landing.

Solution? Pick up the phone and call dad. In less than a week, his food loving friends have outfitted our apartment with an eclectic collection of hand-me-downs. A 1950's vintage "Mix Master" mixer. Two mix-and-match collections of cookware: a 6 piece nonstick set and 4 copper-bottom sauce pots. Dented but functional cookie sheets and muffin tins.

But I digress. The purpose of this side-trip to kitchens past is to divulge the cookbook that most influenced my culinary journey. That cookbook arrived two weeks after my desperate call for help: a housewarming gift from my godparents.

The package was heavier than its packaging would indicate. I eagerly tore the tape off the box, scattering Styrofoam peanuts along the counter to reveal a book wrapped in Ruth's trademark wrapping: the Sunday comics. "Julia Child," the cover pronounced. "The Way to Cook."

"Julia Child?" I pondered? "That funny French chef from PBS"? I set the book aside for later; I had more textbooks than I could handle without one for the kitchen.

Fortunately, it wasn't long before I found myself wanting to impress another young man with food. Our typical fare of ramen noodles with a side salad wouldn't cut it. Neither would hamburgers on the hand-me-down hibachi. And I'd already done the chocolate chip cookie thing.

I wanted something adult, something unforgettable. {Get your mind out of the gutter}

I was thinking ... steak. With some kind of sauce. Real vegetables on the side. The kind that came from the produce aisle, not the freezer. Like a restaurant. As I pondered the menu, I knew I was in over my head. But wait. Where's that Julia book? She's got to have a recipe...

As I paged through the meat section, I found myself transfixed, and transformed. Julia had more than a recipe. She had advice. How to purchase good quality meat. How to work with various cuts. Which was best sauteed, roasted, grilled. And why. Questions to ask the butcher. A couple of "master recipes" with dozens of variations. In the span of a half dozen pages, this woman told me what to do, showed me how to do it, and offered me the inspiration and the courage to stray from the printed recipe, making the menu truly my own.

I was hooked.

In that moment and over the course of the next several years, Julia changed the way I approached food preparation. Rather than heading to the grocery with a rigid list, I started shopping for the freshest ingredients and those that appealed to me in the moment. I began using recipes as guidelines rather than commandments. With a stocked pantry (which Julia taught me how to do), I was confident I'd find a way to put interesting meals together. I usually succeeded. And when I failed, I learned something in the process. When I wanted to try something new there was Julia, ready to show me the way. Puff pastry. Pie crust. Exotic seafood and vegetables.

Thanks Julia. We've come a long way together. And I've eaten well along the journey.

Technorati Tags: Food Blog Events

Coming back up for air...

What is it with this winter cold/flu that just won't let up? I've been sick so long, I'd forgotten what 'well' felt like! The irony that I started this coughing-sneezing-stuffy head journey three days after I got my flu shot is not lost on me.

But enough with the whining. Hang in there, my friends. I'm on the road to recovery and I'll be back soon with tales of recipes and restaurants and a fabulous field trip to San Francisco's Fancy Food Fair...

Thirteen sheets of leftover puff pastry

Those of you who've been around a while remember our open house in November. A pre-Thanksgiving Saturday afternoon we turn off the heat, fire up the grill, the oven, and virtually every other heat-producing appliance in the kitchen and prepare a finger-food feast for nearly 100 of our closest friends.

In our sixth year, we've worked most of the kinks out of the menu and found ourselves a rhythm that works for us. This year we worked with our contacts in the restaurant business to procure some of the staples. Cheeses. Mini phyllo shells. Puff pastry. In restaurant sized packages. Which brings us to my second edition of the Thursday thirteen:

Thirteen creative uses for leftover puff pastry...

1. Breakfast just doesn't get any better than this. Based on how yummy this was with commercial pastry, I can't wait to try it using her recipe for pamesan pastry.
2. Sweet tooth? Check out Food Network's Puff Pastry, Apple & Raisin Strudel. Assemble it Saturday night and toss it in the freezer overnight for a no-fuss addition to your Sunday brunch menu.
   
3. Tonight's cover recipe comes to us from The Wednesday Chef. I love leeks. I love goat cheese and mushrooms. Fennel's a bit of a stretch, but I've learned to trust Luisa. If she says I'll like something, I usually do. A wedge of Leek, Mushroom and Goat Cheese Tart with a cup of mushroom soup was exactly the antidote for a long cold winter day.
4. Puff pastry plus a few extra ingredients and you have yourself a sensational weekend lunch. I'm particularly fond of my friend Haalo's Potato & Onion Tart -- and I don't LIKE anchovies. (Rocket? That's arugula in this part of the world).
   
5. Having friends over on Friday night? Brie kisses and a bottle of wine are a great way to start the weekend off right. A mini muffin tin, a sheet or two of puff pastry, a small wheel of brie and a jar of your favorite jam/jelly/preserves is all you need. Prepare your muffin tin with the nonstick spray of your choice. Cut the pastry into 2-inch squares, putting a square into each muffin form. Top with a 1/2 teaspoon of brie and a 1/4 teaspoon of the preserves. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes. Allow to cool briefly before you enjoy -- the contents get molten.
6. Don't want to work that hard? Forget the slicing and stuffing -- top your brie with several tablespoons of the preserves. Wrap it in puff pastry, brush with beaten egg wash and bake at 400 for 25 minutes. Allow to cool 20 minutes before serving.
   
7. Last week's Salmon Fillet in Puff Pastry with Citrus Beurre Blanc was absolutely sensational, and not nearly as much effort as I'd initially expected.
8. For a hearty appetizer, try my Sassy Savory Tarts, inspired by Australia's answer to Martha Stewart - Donna Hay. I like to serve these over balsamic-dressed spring greens.
9. Or Bron's Caramalized Onion, Goat Cheese & Fig Tarts -- pornography on a plate.
   
10. Chocolate/Puff Pastry/Cream Cheese cookies feel like cheating, they're so simple. But they are consistently one of my most popular contributions to cookie exchange parties.
    
11. Another yummy entree using mostly kitchen staples: Spinach-Stuffed Chicken in Puff Pastry. Again, unless I'm serving serious company, I tend to skip the decorative extras. It tastes just as good without "decorative stems and leaves."
12. These Mini Savoury Tarts aren't nearly as fussy as they look. They taste amazing and they make a gorgeous plate. I'm particularly fond of the mushroom ones.
13. This variation on soft breadsticks pleases even my finicky "he won't eat that, it's not chicken" nephew.
    

Links to other Thursday Thirteens!

1. (leave your link in comments, I'’ll add you here!)


Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. ItÂ’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants


Technorati Tags: Food | Leftovers | Puff Pastry | Recipes | Thursday Thirteen

Coaxing you out of your comfort zone

It's come to my attention that January 8-12 is "De-Lurking Week." Devised by Stephanie of Paper Napkin and now in its third year, this is is your golden opportunity to let me know you're out there.

How? Leave a comment. Let me know a little something about you. Where you're from. What brought you here. Or for the dozen or so of you who are semi-regular readers, what brings you back.

Come on, I don't bite.

(unless you know the code word and the secret handshake.)

On creating a monster...

We haven't packed the pasta roller up from Monday's adventures yet. (And yes, I *do* intend to tell the story behind Monday's adventure... as soon as I'm through with this round of system testing at work).

And we're trying to limit "mindless takeout" this year -- opening the refrigerator rather than the phone book or the drive-through -- and redeploying that portion of our food budget to the newly created vacation fund.

So when John suggested he'd make fresh pasta for dinner after a Saturday of non-stop errand-running, I didn't need a lot of convincing.

Because pesto appealed to both of us we made a quick stop at the grocery store, figuring we'd pick something up out of the deli case.

Hmm. $7.50 for half a cup of pesto. And that's the store brand.

A quick trip down the produce aisle reveals we can get a bunch of fresh basil for $1.59. I've got leftover pine nuts from my holiday baking. And what self-respecting Italian American doesn't have garlic or olive oil in her pantry?!?!

When we got home, John made the pasta. While the dough rested, he whipped up the pesto. My sole contributions to dinner were helping with the pasta roller (a three-hand job) and grilling up a bit of sausage.

Yeah, I could get used to this.

Technorati Tags: Food

Thursday Thirteen

I discovered this Thursday 13 thing through the Holidailies Portal and I thought I'd try it out this week. Who knows, it may end up being a regular weekly feature...

You can learn a lot about a person from what they eat. So my introductory contribution to Thursday Thirteen centers around thirteen things I tasted this week. Gourmet things. Homemade things. Extravagant things. Simple things. Good things.

1. I picked up a couple of gorgeous salmon fillets at Trader Joes, and we still have a ton of leftover puff pastry in the freezer from November's open house. Gotta love Google. We had a romantic dinner at home Friday night: Salmon Fillet in Puff Pastry with Citrus Beurre Blanc and a salad of butter lettuce and avocado. The salmon dish is a *whole* lot less fussy if you dispense with the fishy shapes and just cut the pastry in squares.
2. Saturday's dinner was tasty, if not quite as successful. We were set to make steamed mussels with Belgian frites. We braved the mandoline to slice the potatoes. We broke out the new deep fryer that Santa gave me. Read the instructions carefully. Plunged the potatoes into the oil as instructed and --- spent the next hour cleaning oil off the counters, the cabinets, the floor, the ceiling. And being very thankful that neither of us were hurt in the process. So I head to the closest fast food joint for takeout fries while John steams the mussels. We settle down with our makeshift meal and a bottle of Belgian brew -- and John breaks out in hives. Which return periodically over the course of the weekend -- as near as we can tell, some odd allergic reaction to the mussels.
3. Nothing says "lazy Sunday afternoon" like French toast with preserves and powdered sugar and a marathon of Top Chef episodes queued in the Tivo. The perfect way to say goodbye to 2006.

4. New Year's Eve. Farewell 2006, hello 2007. What better way to celebrate than with good food in the company of good friends? We closed the year with our friends at Nibblers. I selected the Champagne tasting menu: five courses of celebratory cuisine paired with sparkling wines from around the globe. John stayed closer to home culinarily -- going with a taste of Napa. Because we believe the joy of food is largely in sharing it, we ended up experiencing a ten-course tasting menu.
   
5. Regular readers are already aware of Monday's adventures with ravioli, detailed here.
   
6. While we assembled the aforementioned ravioli we snacked on mushroom & goat cheese tarltettes hot from the oven and a selection of cheeses and crackers.
   
7. St Benoit yogurt can be rather difficult to find in my part of the bay area. So when I saw it last week at Whole Foods I eagerly stocked up. And I've been enjoying a crock of honey flavored yogurt for breakfast all week.
   
8. Sometimes a simple seasonal Satsuma Mandarin orange or two IS the perfect ending to an evening meal.
   
9. I'm indulging in an obsession with broccoli this winter. Steamed. Roasted with lemon. Sauteed. Stir fried. Creamed in soup. I can't get enough of it.
   
10. Panera's new Turkey Caprese sandwich is a great antidote to lunch-on-the-go, and even at over 600 calories, it *feels* more virtuous than the drive-thru.
    
11. After a morning full of mind-numbing meetings, a little sashimi salad is just the ticket to decompression. Buttery hamachi. Firm, flavorful tuna. Soft unctuous salmon. Shredded lettuce & sweet rice. A splash of soy sauce and a small dollop of wasabi. Better than Calgon. Less risky than a liquid lunch...
    
12. Christmas Eve with John's family several of us were still medicating that stubborn winter cold and weren't sure we wanted to indulge in champagne. Enter Trader Joes' Blood Orange Soda. Which now has a permanent home in my refrigerator. The perfect foil to everything from a four course Mexican holiday menu to a sandwich and kettle chips.
    
13. And lucky thirteen - Reed's Ginger-flavored ice cream -- Sweet but not sickly-so -- this is a great grown-up ice cream.
    

And now for the Links to other Thursday Thirteens!

Take the time to follow the links below... you might discover some great new blogs!

1. Lisa shares 13 ideas for tackling insomnia on her Scenic Road to Joy.
2. Laura expands our reading list: 13 titles to add you your Amazon wish list.
3. Taking "obsession" to a new level, Nathalie agonizes over 13 frustrations planning a vacation.
4. Sanni's recently remodeled her blog, and shares the 13 add-ons she enjoys the most in her new space.
5. Janie (who shares my obsession with Top Chef) introduces us to 13 famous people she's met. Sadly, none of them is Harold Dieterle. :)
6. For those of you who need to catch a nap in your cubicle, Raggedy provides 13 ready-made excuses if you get busted.
7. Get an iPod for Christmas? Looking for upbeat music as you trudge back to the gym in January? Samantha's got 13 songs guaranteed to get your heart pumping.
8. Thomma Lyn shares 13 stupid words and phrases that drive her nuts. A neat list. I'm not sure I could stop at 13. :)
9. Caylynn offers her 13 favorite leisure activities. What resonates with me about her list is the balance she achieves through a variety of hobbies that fuel her mind, her body and her spirit.
10. Aimee offers 13 more ecclectic musical selections for new iPod owners.
11. In a fascinating psychological study, Christie ponders 13 of the oddest Google searches that have led readers to her blog.
12. Michelle explores the magical world of strange baby names.
13. Suburban Mum seeks balance through her insightful resolutions for a happy & fulfilling 2007.
14. Pam posts an ecclectic list of online reading material sure to keep you busy as you web surf through the lunch hour.
15. Crystal shares her goals for 2007.
    
16. In an ode to my favorite pastime -- procrastination, teachergirl ponders the things she should have gotten done.
17. My maternal ancestry is Pennsylvania Dutch, so I read Gem's list of superstitions with great interest.
18. Moma's World's list defies verbal explanation -- you'll just have to go see for yourself.
    
19. You could be here. If you're participating in the January 4 Thursday 13, leave your link in comments, I'll add you here!

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. ItÂ’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Technorati Tags: Food | Cooking | Recipes | Dining Out | Memes | Thursday Thirteen

Flour & Eggs, Chard & Ricotta...

Look how WE spent New Years Day!

Technorati Tags: Food | Italian Food | Recipes | Food Memories | Holiday Traditions

Happy New Year

Wishing all my blog friends best wishes for a happy, healthy and tasty 2007!

2006 in words and pictures...

Got this idea from Frectis, who I found through my midday surfing of holildailies.

1. -
2. I never know how to start these things...
3. Somewhere between the "Gorton's fisherman" Fridays of my childhood (complete with a commercial tartar sauce my brother euphemistically referred to as "pickles and puke") and my later discovery of (and ultimate obsession with) all things sushi, I think I lost touch with the whole Lenten sacrifice thing.
4. Friday finds us Nibbling again.
5. Day one of the Eat Local Challenge finds your heroine headed to Whole Foods -- for perhaps the very first time without a shopping list -- on a quest for foods produced locally.
6. What to do with halibut caught locally in Half Moon Bay?
7. “Some people wanted champagne and caviar when they should have had beer and hot dogs.” (Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1890-1969)
8. August in Northern California brings some of my favorite colorful fruits and vegetables to the table.
9. In the scheme of things, it's rather plain and unassuming.
10. Somehow I made it through...Didn't know how lost I was until I found you...
11. Welcome to November.
12. I remember the moment like it was yesterday.

There you have it. The first sentences of the first posts for each month of 2006. It's been quite a journey through the magical, mystical world of food. (And you can bet I'm going to be pondering my first words of 2007 carefully...

Technorati Tags: Memes | Holidailies 2006

Tastes of 2006 - The Recipes

As 2006 draws closer to a close, I find myself reviewing the many dishes that have emerged from my kitchen (only a fraction of which I've succeeded in capturing in these pages). In "Tastes, Part II" I reflect on some of the recipes I've tried -- and the inspiration behind them.

Some people believe cooking for one or two people is more effort than it's worth. I'm glad I at least occasionally made the effort:

• In February I rediscoveed how delightful it can be to spend a day or two in the kitchen with someone you love.
• Sometims a little self-indulgence when you're sick is the best medicine of all.
• In an attempt to recreate a Kentucky Fried favorite, we tried out this recipe. Interesting, but not what we were looking for. Back to the drawing board.
  
• Who needs takeout? Proving that food elitists we are NOT, nachos and beer are the perfect accompaniament to a Friday night at home with the remote control.
• After a month of out-of-town eating in March, I was eager to play a little Whole Foods roulette -- and quite pleased with the results.
• And I'm proud of this springtime solution for using up leftovers.
  

Google This! With a virtual cookbook library at my fingertips, I've drawn inspiration for weeknight dinners from all over the Internets:

• Last spring I committed to a month of "eating locally" from ingredients sourced within a 150 mile radius of home. In the process I learned a lot, and discovered some sensational recipes I know will be "repeaters" in my kitchen. Halibut Olympia was just one of many new favorites.
• I reminded myself that just because a recipe doesn't turn out pretty doesn't mean it doesn't TASTE great when I made a Ginger Scented Pear Cake I found during a web search for pear recipes.
• Emeril may be an annoying furry little troll, but his recipes have never failed me. July's Black Cod with Basil Cream Sauce was simple and satisfying.
• Black Cod was a recurring theme on my menus this year. My favorite sprintime preparation was Sablefish with Strawberry Balsamic Sauce. Simple, satisfying, sexy AND scrumptious.
  

One of the most rewarding things about creating in the kitchen is sharing the output with friends and family:

• While I don't have recipes to share, helping the Nibblers team to feed Thanksgiving dinner to the homeless was an experience I'll never forget.
  
• For April's supper club dinner we contributed a sensational salad to the Italian feast.
  
• November 18, 2006 was our 6th annual open house -- a chance to visit with friends before the hectic holiday season gets underway. We cook for days in preparation - two of many superstar recipes on this year's menu are Dom's Mom's Meatballs and Peabody's amazing Pumpkin Cheesecake.
  

When I found myself searching for inspiration, I could count on my fellow food bloggers gave me the energy I needed to get back in the kitchen and try something new.

• It's probably the Iron Chef fan in me. I love the challenge of working with a set of prescribed ingredients to come up with a recipe. I did it twice this year. The Monthly Mingle challenge for October was to create a recipe using zucchini and sage. Taking inspiration from another blogger, I made a Roasted Zucchini Soup with Fried Sage that turned out to be one of my favorite recipes of the year. In July I took a couple ears of corn, a handful of pinenuts, a tablespoon or two of coriander and with a little internet reserach, created Coriander-Scented Coconut Creamed Corn. Say THAT five times fast!
• A call for autumn inspired salads prompted me to pull out an old favorite: my 1000 Calorie Salad. A fair amount of effort, but worth it.
  
• Surely you've heard of Sugar High Friday? Jennifer the Domestic Goddess created this tribute to sucrose and her sisters -- a monthly opportunity to indulge in the sweeter side of the kitchen. Indulge I certainly did. For July's international ice cream social, I pulled out the ice cream attachment to my trusty kitchen aid and made Meyer Lemon Gelato. Sans-oven, my surprise for September was that Sugar High Friday became Sugar High Monday -- but my Ginger Spice Cakes with Pumpkin Pastry Cream were a hit at the office. And decided that truffle-making really belongs in the hands of professionals.
  
• October 16, 2006 was World Bread Day, and the food blogging world celebrated with a momentus bread bake-off coordinated by a blogger in Germany. My contribution: focaccia.
• Over the course of the year, my food blogging friends in Australia introduced me to one of my newest inspirations: Donna Hay. I eagerly jumped on the bandwagon and "Hay, Hay, it's Donna Day" became one of my favorite monthly events. I braved bruchetta. Spawned some Sassy Savory Tartlettes.
  
• The holiday season brought a Festive Food Fair, for which I dusted off my dad's recipe for Persimmon Fruit Cake.
  

Technorati Tags: Recipes | Food | Cooking

Cookies for Santa

Another food-focused writing prompt from Holidailies participant Planet Pooks: A recipe swap. The directive is to post a favorite holiday recipe, explaining its significance. Since I covered the Persimmon Cake in November and plan to tackle Touthlatch (Ravioli) after the first of the year, I thought I'd share a new recipe -- one I discovered this year that will be have a recurring role on my holiday cookie plate.

Chocolate Pine Nut Cookies
as published in Fine Cooking Magazine

1/2 pound (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
4 1/2 ounces (1 cup) confectioners sugar (more for dusting, optional)
1 ounce (1/3 cup plus 1 Tablespoon) unsweetened natural cocoa powder
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
pinch of table salt
1/2 pound (1 3/4 cup) all-purpose flour
3/4 cup toasted pine nuts, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts, for garnish

heat the oven to 325. With a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla and salt until smooth and creamy. Add the flour and chopped pine nuts and mix on low speed until well combined.

Shape 1 tablespoon scoops of dough into round balls and arrange on parchment-lined baking sheets about 1 1/2 inches apart. Flatten each slightly and press 3 pine nuts into the top of each cookie.

Bake cookies until the tops look dry, about 18 minutes. Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes before transferring cookies to a rack to cool completely. Dust with confectioners sugar, if desired.

Yield: 46 cookies.

Enjoy this grown-up take on the peanut butter cookie!


Technorati Tags: Recipes | Holiday Recipes | Cookies

Indulging my inner list-geek: a taste of 2006 (Part 1)

Here we are again, approaching the end of one year and the beginning of another. Presenting list geeks everywhere with the opportunity to assess the state of the world in one of our favorite formats. Yep, you got it: Lists! Lots and lots of lists!

Today I reflect on the restaurant meals we've eaten over the course of the past year:

• In spite of a statistically significant number of Friday nights spent at Table Number Eleven, we did manage to sample many other bay area eateries.
• Post-bocce dining proved a mixed bag: some wins, some losses.
• When we weren't Nibbling, we were often exploring the sushi scene. We've enjoyed Nigiri sushi. Maki sushi. Stunt sushi. Trendy sushi. Expensive sushi. Cheap sushi.
• Fine dining was also a hit or miss proposition. Piatti Locali was a hit. Espetus and The Melting Pot, not so much so.
• We returned to some perennial favorites, even when they didn't always live up to our expectations.
• We explored the cuisines of many cultures near and far...
• Dined like royalty on the vacation of a lifetime...
• And enjoyed plenty of pizza, burgers and the occasional hot dog closer to home.

Stay tuned for part two: the recipes we prepared at home.

Technorati Tags: Restaurants | Reflections

Chestnuts roasting? Figgy pudding?

Finally the folks at holidailies have come up with some food-focused writing prompts. Today's query comes to us from The Write Coast: What's the one food it simply wouldn't be [your winter holiday of choice] without?

You can forget the eggnog. Don't bother preheating the oven for a marathon of cookie baking madness. And I've already explained my feelings about fruitcake. It's not a perfectly trimmed tree, mistletoe and holly, sparkly yard lights or piles of packages in festive wrapping.

For me, the holiday season's not complete until we break out the pasta roller and assemble my father's Aunt Lena's legendary ravioli.

Mo (and presumably Lena before him) called them "toothlatch". No amount of googling has satisfied my curiosity about the origin of the name. The result as Mo made them were pillows of ricotta & swiss chard-stuffed pasta slightly larger than traditional ravioli. Adorned quite simply in melted butter and grated parmesan, sprinkled with toasted pine nuts.

My must-have holiday kitchen tradition's going to be a little late this season. Sickness and scheduling issues have pushed the production back a week. Stay tuned -- we'll be making ravioli (and I'll share the recipe and the process) on New Years Day....

Technorati Tags: Food | Food Memories | Holidailies 2006

For the first time

"Minor things can become moments of great revelation when encountered for the first time" -Margot Fonteyn

There's something magical about 'firsts'. First words. First steps. First kisses. First tastes of something brand new.

John and I are ten years and many wonderful memories past our first kiss. And not ready to dive into the commitment required for first words or steps -- except perhaps vicariously through our nieces and nephews. So -- especially given our shared passion for food -- we rarely pass up the opportunity to share a first taste.

Enter Chris. At eighteen, he thinks he might want to be a chef someday. But not a pastry chef because in his estimation pastry chefs don't get women. Okay, so he's got a lot to learn...

But that's another story for another post. A typical teenager, Chris loves meat. But he's cautious about anything he perceives as ethnic food -- Asia and South America reside of different planets in Chris' culinary universe.

John and I are on a mission to change that. And what better way to introduce a teenage carnivore to the many flavors of Asia than a field trip for Korean Barbecue, a cuisine whose cornerstone Ruth Reichl has described as "Bulgoki... the barbecued beef of the Far East"?

So Saturday morning, we loaded up the cars and caravanned south for The Palace Korean Barbecue Buffet in Sunnyvale. On arrival, the hostess surveyed our party for several seconds, clearly not sure what to make of us: Nine Caucasians -- four adults, two teenage boys two giggly adolescent girls and a fifth teenager, quieter and more mature than the others. Clearly not their average Saturday afternoon clientele. As she seated us at two tables toward the back of the restaurant, I suspect she had reservations about leaving the young people alone with open flame. Hmmm. Perhaps before we introduced Chris and Company to the concept of Korean BBQ, we should have reviewed the rules?

In the end, they did just fine. As we were seated and the waitress fired up the tabletop grills, John explained the premise: Three "buffet" lines. One for the raw meat you'd bring back to your table and cook. Sweet & salty bulgogi. Rich & succulent kalbi, or short ribs. Teriyaki chicken. Spicy pork loin. Marinated calamari. For the more adventurous: chicken gizzards, tripe, tongue, pork belly, and baby octopus. A second buffet line for the Korean side dishes (and a couple of buffet-style Banchan) - spicy kimchi, pickled cucumbers, meatballs and the ubiquitous eggrolls among the many selections there. Between these a mountain of clean plates (since you'll want to segregate your raw meat from the side dishes and the cooked meat) and a small salad bar. The kids nodded and off we went.

We returned from the buffet to stake out our real estate on the grills and found the waitress had delivered our beverages and supplied each table with tongs for managing meat on the grill and scissors for cutting your meat bite-sized. Since the kids had opted for their own table, John did double-duty -- eating on the adult side and drifting to the other table to make explanations, answer questions and take pictures. It was rewarding to watch as the teens -- especially the boys -- open their minds to things they'd never experienced before. They loved the cook-your-own aspect and were soon sworn devotees of the kalbi. We'd done it -- Chris was hooked on his first foray into Asian cuisine.

Okay fine, but where's the review? What about the food?

While it's not fine dining, The Palace certainly one of the best buffets in the greater bay area. We don't do buffet-style dining very often. When we do, a key to getting us to return is consistency -- a hallmark at The Palace. For $15.00 (at lunch, slightly higher for dinner), you can expect a clean environment (critical for a buffet), friendly, courteous service and high-quality fresh fare for barbecue. The side dishes are admittedly (but again consistently) mediocre -- but you're not going for the sides. When you DO opt for a salad or a small plate of noodles, you can be assured that while they're not local/organic/sustainable or for the matter much more than iceberg or chow mein -- they've also not been sitting in an ice bath or under a heat lamp for hours... or days. So if you're in Sunnyvale and in the mood for good quality Korean barbecue, be sure to check out The Palace.

The Palace Barbecue Buffet
1092 E. El Camino Real, Sunnyvale |

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Technorati Tags: Food | Restaurants | Korean Restaurants | Bay Area Restaurants