Nancy Berry

Two relatively recent recipes have become favorites in my house. The first is Joyce Goldstein's delicious Pollo Arrosto all'Arancia, Limone, e Zenzero (Roast Chicken with Orange, Lemon, and Ginger). It is a fantastic recipe! Here's a link: Pollo Arrosto all'Arancia, Limone, e Zenzero The second is Patricia Unterman's recipe for Potato Kugelettes, little potato kugels baked in mini-muffin tins. Please try to use schmaltz in this recipe. It really makes the dish better. I also make these for Passover. Here's a link to this recipe: Potato Kugelettes

There's a very good bbq (yes, real bbq, not grilled stuff) place in the park downstairs behind the bleachers. I like their pulled pork plate or the smoked brisket plate. I really like the Cha Cha Bowl (grilled chicken, black beans and rice with pineapple salsa & habanero hot sauce) at Orlando's near the bleachers and the Arcade. I also like the chili dogs on the Promenade level (guilty pleasure) and the grilled sausages on sourdough rolls with sauerkraut or peppers and onions at the Say Hey grills. The garlic fries' quality is variable -- make sure they're hot when you get them and eat them right away -- cold garlic fries are quite unappetizing. Also, the warm glazed walnuts and almonds at stands in various places in the park are really good.

The Alemany Farmers' Market is on Saturdays, NOT Sundays (there's a flea market there on Sundays). It is the oldest market in San Francisco -- it's been in existence since the '40's. The market is right off the Alemany exit of It has much lower prices than the Ferry Building market and a much greater variety of Asian produce than the Eurocentric Ferry Building market. Here's a link to more info re the Alemany Market: Alemany Market Info.

The best peaches I've ever tasted have come from Frog Hollow Farm here in Northern California (Brentwood, to be exact.) They sell their fresh fruit and fruit chutneys and conserves at a number of Farmers Markets and online at the following link: Frog Hollow Farm

I know I'm coming in late in this discussion, but I do have a good way to strip improper seasoning (or dirt from an improperly seasoned pan or from a pan you got at a garage sale, etc.) from any cast iron pan easily. It requires, however, that you have a self-cleaning oven. Just put the pan in the oven, set it to self-clean and run the self-clean cycle. The pan should come out totally unseasoned with a bit of dusty residue in it. Then you can start over (we use vegetable shortening for a non-sticky surface) and reseason the pan. My husband and I teach outdoor cooking techniques and do a lot of cast iron dutch oven and skillet cooking, and this method has worked well for us.

Here are some good San Francisco Bay Area sites: http://www.hawthornelane.com/ http://www.chezpanisse.com/index.html http://www.yanksing.com/index_2.html

I think I saw a recipe for the dessert you described at the following: http://dsc.discovery.com/fansite....16.html Hope it's the right one. --Nancy Berry-- San Francisco

The following is an amazing bibliographic website that will be an enormous help to anyone who is interested in food anthropology and history: RESOURCES FOR THE ANTHROPOLOGICAL STUDY OF FOOD HABITS http://lilt.ilstu.edu/rtdirks/ (Edited by Nancy Berry at 3:29 pm on Aug. 8, 2001)

If you're interested in food history, check out The Food Timeline website at http://www.gti.net/mocolib1/kid/food.html Also check out the Culinary History Timeline website at http://www.gti.net/mocolib1/kid/food1.html

Basil is also excellent mixed with butter on grilled fresh corn on the cob. The following idea came from Sunset Magazine: Put 1/2 cup butter in a small saucepan with 1 clove of garlic, minced and 2 tablespoons of minced fresh basil. Cook over medium heat until the butter melts and the garlic has lost its raw taste -- a couple of minutes is enough. Place 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese in a bowl. Offer grilled corn with butter mixture and cheese.