ScottyBoy

Oh yeah, we always just say East Ocean. Bay Bridge under construction, the new one should be awesome.The picture doesn't do the view justice, and imagine the sun setting behind the Golden Gate, in every sense of the word EPIC.

Great that I can be of inspiration to you. The sauce is easily plated with duck as well. Hmmm, duck confit raviolo, foie sauce and truffle.....winter is coming....

If you can get a slice of torchon the sauce is a breeze...

Oh yes, every section has a great aroma I love the tomatoes when it's at the height of the season! Lobster mushrooms are in full swing right now.

Especially the trimmings you may come up with from a torchon or when you clean the lobes...waste nothing my friends.

I really look forward to every post man, keep it up!

Hit up some late night tacos with my friend at our favorite truck, Guadalajara. Doesn't hurt that it's on the way home from the Oakland A's stadium Cabeza (cow's head), tripas(stomach), langua(tongue), carnitas(fried pork). I like mine with the Mexican crema on top and plenty of radishes to snack on once the heat hits you. There are A LOT of taco trucks in the Bay Area as you can imagine but I think they do it all perfect here. The cabeza is my favorite, so rich with beef flavor and gelatinous.

Yes please...

Thank you! You can also charge that sauce into an iSi and make a killer mousse with it. I hope my "recipes" are OK. I never really measure most of the time and I'm making an effort to weigh, measure and write down (which I should be doing in the first place). Also I'm just kinda betting for people on this forum to know the basics so I only have to describe some of the technique...

Making gnocchi with foie gras sauce. Sauce 150g Salt cured foie (small dice) 150ml duck demi glace 150ml cream (cold) 50ml marsala wine Heat the wine and demi until simmering. Pour into a blender and add the foie to emulsify. Pour in cream just until blended. Strain through fine sieve. Gnocchi 3 russet potatoes 70g grated parmasean 3 egg yolks pinch of salt 100g flour Bake the potatoes at 400 for an hour or so, until fully cooked. Run through a tammis or a ricer. You only need 250g. Using the "well method" incorporate all the ingredients. Folding and not kneading, adding more flour when needed. When it's not sticky an dry enough cut into 4ths and roll into long 1/2" logs. Cut into little pillows. In salted water boil them until they just rise to the top, I like to fry them in brown butter for 5 seconds. Or you can just heat in the sauce to finish.

Yup, they're also called sea asparagus since up close the spears look just like it. After I discovered I could get purslane and such all over the place I've really gotten into foraging. There was a huge food festival in downtown Oakland over the weekend. As always I was too busy to make it down this year. My friend Jenny works for KQED's blog and has agreed to link this great article. Will Wait for Good Food: Eat Real Festival 2011

Really trying to catch up with everything that's happened in the last week. Dim Sum at East Ocean with my friend Chris and his AWESOME Aunt and Uncle last Saturday. Chilled marinated beef and jelly fish Pai gwat, pork spare ribs with fermented black beans and peppers. Chris's favorite since he was little. Cha siu bao. Shrimp dumplings similar to ha gao but with green chives Ha gao: shrimp dumplings Egg, shrimp, and dao mue (bean sprouts) over lai mein (egg noodles) X.O. sauce Ja leung made special: chinese donut stuffed with shrimp paste and wrapped in a rice roll. with sesame seeds and sweet soy. My favorite! Wu gok: taro root dumpling And the view from the restaurant, really awesome.

Just to add the final recipe to my "candy bar" desert on the last page, salted caramel. 1 1/2C sugar 1C cream 5T unsalted butter 1T kosher salt Melt everything but the sugar and keep warm. Cook the sugar until a deep golden brown. Turn off the heat and whisk in the cream mixture. Let cool in a container, put on everything.

We are of the same blood, I hit up Ao Sen and Pho King for BBH. My friend Chris is going to be stoked when he reads this, those are our spots!

Lunch with my friend Chris at Pho Ao Sen. We searched all of Berkeley and Oakland for the best Pho and have found it. Chris calls it "God Broth". Two things I like about this place as well, the special sauce of fried shallots, chilis and fish sauce and the long green herb on the garnish plate. Some fresh local Sonoma foie gras $37/lb. I'll soak it in milk to leech out any impurities, devein then pack it in salt to cure for 4 days. I use it like salted "meat butter" then blending it into sauces and such. Then some pictures of the new Berkeley bowl, it's all nice and bright. I actually prefer the old one since I have the entire store memorized.

Hehe, I'm sure anna marie just sent them one of there signs they use locally.

Good eye, yeah that's the idea. Kind of a no-brainer but I like to match main ingredients with garnishes that will compliment them. Sea beans and scallops, peas in the puree and the shoots from the plants on top... Off to pick up some foie gras and document the beautiful new Berkeley Bowl while I pick up groceries for cooking today, see you soon blog!

Personally, I really like a european style of knives because of the confortable hilt to grip.

The Sous Vide Index is your friend as well. As mentioned Chicken breast is a revelation sous vide correctly. I just had the best piece of beef I ever have. Kobe top sirloin cap at 131 for 12 hours...

The search function is your friend I am using wustof ikon and love it.

Shelby - Yes I keep the wings from butchering but also buy wings. Around here they aren't that expensive (a lot of great local chicken farms), of course more than bones or backs but what I'm looking for is skin surface area to get as much of that fried brown flavor as I can. I was wondering what people would think of it. Maybe try it out sometime. Since there is so much fat that renders from the skin there's no need to oil, the fond that is produced is awesome! djyee100 - I'm really stoked I can showcase all the local spots that we have frequented. I just remember getting pushed around in a shopping cart at the original Bowl. I was really young so I just remember it being dark and musky with weeeeird fruits and vegetables

My god percyn those breakfasts! You are a mad man! Cheesesteak for breakfast....ugggghhh

Sorry that I've missed a couple people's questions. The soup shrooms are just wiped clean. If I was presenting on a plate whole instead of pureed I would put more time into cleaning and trimming.

Never had a lobster roll, I always see pictures and TV with then and drool... 7.99 for lobster in chinatown right now hmmm....

A little unconventional but when I make chicken stock I pretty much just make chicken water... I just like to have a very basic meaty brown liquid I can work with and add vegetables and aromatics if I think it needs it and easily reduces to a pure chicken jus. I use it straight when I make that mushroom soup. Just a couple pounds of chicken wings in a 400 degree convection oven for an hour to get as much brown on them as you can without scorching, no oil just the wings, reglazing the pan of course. Then into the pot with water for 4 hours, skimming along the way.