Squeat Mungry

Thanks, Brooks! Enjoy!(I meant to add that, now that corn is gone and tomatoes are almost gone, a nice fall version of the risotto is to add chunks (or a puree) of roasted squash at the end. This version is nice finished the traditional way with some butter and parmesan. Of course, so is the other version. I mean, what isn't? )

Okra is great when it's roasted in the oven. Edna Lewis and Scott Peacock have a great recipe in their wonderful book, The Gift of Southern Cooking. GG PM me if you want their recipe -- it's at home and I'm at work. (Or, if I paraphrase the method, I can post it here, right?) Even simpler is to just toss okra in olive oil, salt it and shove it in the oven. Roast it for 15 - 20 minutes, shaking the pan every once in a while, until it's golden brown. I like to serve this with a freshly-made raita, or just sour cream and dill. Another way I love to prepare okra is to make a risotto. Cut up 4 or 5 slices of bacon and fry them until crispy. Remove them and reserve. In the bacon fat, saute 1-1/2 - 2 cups or so of okra, sliced into rings, for 5 minutes or so. Add your rice and toast it in the bacon fat. Proceed as usual for risotto, using chicken or vegetable stock. Towards the end, stir in a cup or so of chopped tomatoes and the crisp bacon pieces, maybe some fresh corn if you have it. Yay! I love okra! Squeat

Wow, Anna! Thanks for the great blog. That soup looks delicious. And radish sandwiches are among my favorites. I want one now! Keep up the good work. Cheers, Squeat

Um... I seem to have had a major relapse: Coastal Carolina Cooking by Kathy Hart and Nancy Davis Hoppin' John's Lowcountry Cooking by John Martin Taylor The New Low-Country Cooking by Marvin Woods North Carolina and Old Salem Cookery by Beth Tartan North Carolina Barbecue by Bob Garner Good Old Grits Cookbook by Bill Neal and David Perry (Anyone notice a pattern there?) Plus (sigh): Indian Home Cooking by Suvir Saran and Stephanie Lyness Anthony Bourdain's Les Halles Cookbook by Himself, Jose de Meirelles and Philippe Lajaunie because how could I not? and finally (yeah, right): Cook 1.0 by eGullet's own heidihi, Heidi Swanson (congrats, Heidi!) So nine more for me. Ugh. At this rate, I'm going to have like 45¢ to spend on my vacation! Yikes, Squeat

This is exactly what I'll be having in front of the television tonight as I watch the Yankees move on to the World Series! (During the series games I try to emulate the ballpark food experience, except no Coke for me -- make mine coffee. Oh, and the knish -- you can't get a decent knish here for love nor money.) Cheers, Squeat

Today was our first rainy cold bleak day of the season, and it was a doozy! Rained like a monsoon this morning and took out the subway, so I (and thousands of others) had to walk miles through absolutely dumping rain to get to work. By the time I got home (subway thankfully back in somewhat working order), all I wanted was soup: leeks, potatoes, bacon. Warming and soothing as it was, it proved to be cold comfort, though, as I watched to my horror the Yankees lose yet another game to the Sox. What is up with that? Squeat

I would serve them the delivery and take-out menus.

I wonder, what, if anything, is different and unique to the San Francisco Bay Area in this regard? I ask because when I saw this topic, I thought, "Huh! Lots, if not most, of my favorite local chefs are women!" The following immediately sprang to mind: Alice Waters (And I beg to differ with those who do not consider her a chef. She opened Chez Panisse a few years before she became hands-on chef in the kitchen. It was not until then that the place really began to get the attention of the critics and the culinary world. She was and is primarily a teacher, but she certainly is a chef.) Judy Rodgers Nancy Oakes Mary Jo Thoresen Annie Somerville Traci des Jardins Jacqueline Margulis Lindsey Shere Melissa Perello Sue Conley and Peggy Smith Suzanne Goin (now in LA) Each of these women fits Rogov's definition of "eminent, distinguished, illustrious and possibly even important". These are the names at the helm of some of the San Francisco area's most famous and esteemed restaurants. I haven't tried, but I'm not sure I could come up with that many local male chefs who I think fit that definition off the top of my head. (Well, okay, I probably could, but not a whole lot more.) Actually, I think at least part of the answer to my question above is Waters herself. At least three of the others listed are CP alumnae. I don't know how many of these women have raised or are raising families. I do know that Waters has cited her daughter as one of many reasons she never decided to expand CP into a "culinary empire" of many restaurants. And yet look at how much else she has been able to accomplish. I think there is one woman, though, to whom all present-day women chefs, at least in major American cities, owe a debt of gratitude, and that is the late Leslie Revsin, because prior to the '70s I don't think it can reasonably be denied that there was indeed a "glass ceiling" for women at the upper echelons of high-end restaurant kitchens. Also, though I have not read the entire book (just glanced through it at the library), Chef Ann Cooper's A Woman's Place is in the Kitchen: The Evolution of Women Chefs examines this very topic in depth, including a look at the effect of the brigade system as being rooted in (male) military regimentation, and the family/professional duties balancing act. Cheers, Squeat Edit: Oops! I see Cooper's book has already been cited. Carry on.

I love chapeau! It's one of my favorites. The owners are wonderful, as is the food and the staff. Hmmm... time to go back! Squeat

I almost never, ever make a list, preferring to see what looks good at the market and go from there. Occasionally though, I'll see a recipe I want to try, like I did on Saturday, and I'll make a list of things I don't have and trot off to the grocery store. When I got there on Saturday, I found I had left the list at home, so I decided to see if I could remember everything. I wound up buying about fifteen things. When I got home and checked, exactly two of them were on the list, and I had completely spaced on about ten! I made something else. Cheers, Squeat

And I think this is reflected in the latest trend in fast food advertising (which spends a great deal of time and money researching and scrambling to keep up with Americans' food fads and trends). The blatantly anti-social Carl's Jrs.' "Don't bother me, I'm eating!" has progressed into downright paranoid food hoarding, with people fending off imaginary predators of the latest McDonald's "chicken" whatevers. It's revolting.

This reminded me of the late Herb Caen's (I think it was him) vision of puzzled future archeologists trying to put together a picture of life in the 20th century based upon such bits of evidence as a piece of a red and orange plastic sign reading, "Please speak into clown's mouth"! (Actual quote from the Jack-in-the-Box drive-through menus back before they "blew up their clowns", which of course was well before they brought one back from the dead and made him CEO.)

Thanks, Ronnie. Can't wait to have this show here!

Apparently San Francisco will be getting its own local version of this show next year. Can someone describe the format a bit more? Is it a talk show kind of deal where three people sit around and discuss three restaurants each week? Are they in the studio the whole time or does the camera crew visit the restaurants? What is Singh's role? Does she guide the conversation? Give an insider's perspective? Both? Thanks in advance. I think this could be pretty cool. Squeat

Carrie, thanks so much for the beautiful and moving post. Add my condolences and congratulations to the list. Somewhere close by your mom is beaming with pride. See you soon, Squeat

Melissa, one way to make candied beets is to first roast them, then peel, slice and arrange them in a baking dish, cover them with maple syrup, and bake them for twenty minutes or so. (I've also done this using a mixture of honey and orange juice -- I'm sure simple syrup or cane syrup would work, as well.) I usually toss them with some toasted walnuts and serve (warm or at room temperature) drizzled with some balsamic vinegar. I'd think you could find the golden beets either at WF or the FMs. There are also white beets around -- the three make a nice-looking combination. Sorry, no ideas about the coulis... could it just have been a green peppercorn cream sauce? Cheers, Squeat

I second this suggestion. In fact, you could combine this with the rice idea and do a roasted beet risotto.Great blog, Rachel. Thanks!

The article. The usual suspects, but a few things struck me as odd about the article: 1. The French Laundry is on the list, but no mention is made of Per Se? 2. The author seems to think the French Laundry is in San Francisco. Do other people think of the French Laundry as being in San Francisco? I mean, it doesn't say "near San Francisco" or "outside San Francisco", it says "French Laundry in San Francisco". Weird. I mean, it's an hour and a half drive away. 3. "We judged the restaurants by determining the average cost of a meal per person with one glass of wine and tip, using data from the Zagat Survey." Um, well there ya go. Even so, I think you'd be hard pressed to have a meal and leave a decent tip at the French Laundry for $135, even if you did have only one glass of wine! Cheers, Squeat

I've been twice now. The first time I met JAZ there for lunch and got a carnitas taco which was quite good. The tomatillo salsa in the taco was excellent, but oddly we both thought the red sauce on the table tasted exactly like Crystal hot sauce!I went again for lunch last week and had the quesadilla. This was delicious, made with fresh masa, epazote, three kinds of cheese and poblano peppers. Yum! I really like this place. It's a tiny bit pricey for a taqueria (I think my taco was $4+), but I hear des Jardins doesn't pay anyone who works there less than $10/hour which I think is great, plus she uses only top-notch ingredients (like Niman pork). The tortillas are made on the premises (you can see them being made), and are wonderful. Recommended. I want to go back on a weekend for brunch when they serve things like huevos rancheros and chilaquiles. Cheers, Squeat

Bocadillos -- Gerald Hirigoyen's new(ish) tapas/sandwich place on Montgomery Mijita Cocina Mexicana -- Traci des Jardins' new(ish) taqueria in the Ferry Building Chow -- old standby in my neighborhood all in San Francisco

It's in a bottle, and I agree: it's great! Squeat

Aha! Of course, that's it. Thanks, Brooks.

Cool. Let us know how you like it. Sorry, I'm no good for around the airport. I don't drive, so it's always a straight shot in a cab to the airport and back for me, with no dining stops. Hopefully others will chime in with suggestions.

Yeah, I live alone, too. But my rules are a little bit different: 1. There shall be clear paths no less than 14" wide connecting all rooms to the hallway. 2. The dishes in the sink shall be piled no higher than 8" above the edge of the sink and shall be no more than three days old. 3. There shall be no more than three empty pizza boxes stacked in the kitchen, and no more than 10 chinese take-out boxes in the fridge. 4. At least 5 square inches of countertop must be visible. Okay, it's not quite that bad, but I really do need to hire a cleaning person. I just HATE cleaning so much that so much of it just never gets done! Squeat

Thanks, Papaya! Well, he's certainly following every trend, isn't he? (What an irritating website!)