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Bond Girl

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Posts posted by Bond Girl

    Perfecting Gnocchi

    in Cooking

    Posted

    I think there are two camps to the Gnocchi preference. I like them light and airy (think Hearth) while my insignificant other likes them thick, hearty and gummy because his mother made them that way. I'm not sure if the latter type of gnocchi will drop off in taste if you freeze them. But, I made a huge batch of the kind of gnocchi I like once and double sealed them in two ziplock bags. A week later I dropped some in a pot of boiling water and scooped them out the minute they start to float. There were no drop off in quality and came pretty close to the restaurant version that I like. The advice that I was given was that you scoop out the gnocchi the minute they start to float and you eat them while it's hot. They aren't so good even when they get cold on your plate.

    Farallon and Quince

    in California: Dining

    Posted

    I have that same book, but hasn't had much success at the recipes without tweaking them. Then again, it could just be my lack of culinary techniques :smile:

    The service at Quince was perfect: attentive and not too cloying. The servers were very knowledgeable about the food and recommended a versatile pinot noir to go with my dinner.

    Farallon and Quince

    in California: Dining

    Posted

    I'm sorry to hear that you didn't really enjoy Farallon, as I was one of the people who recommended it on the other thread.

    Based on everything I have heard from you, Squeat and others I am looking forward to trying Quince next time I am in SF. And there will be a next time sooner rather than later.

    Farallon was an experience. And, for what it's worh, I'm glad that I went there because now I know that details are important in a restaurant, and it will help when I decide to own my own place.

    Farallon and Quince

    in California: Dining

    Posted

    Having only a limited amount of time in San Francisco, I decided to visit two very different restaurants: Farallon and Quince.

    I picked Farallon because as someone who has never acquired a taste for any meat other than fish and shell fish, I am particularly interested in upscale seafood restaurants, especially those that has been around for ages. Besides, it will give me something to compare with the upscale seafood restaurants that I adore on the East Coast. I wasn’t so sure what I was expecting. And, may be it was unfair to compare East Coast standard to the West Coast but Farallon definitely did not come close to some of my favorite seafood places in New York. The five course tasting dinner that my friend and I had consisted of:

    Sashimi of Hawaiian Opakapaka with a Meyer Lemon Cucumber sauce toped with Radishes. The overall concept was this dish was good as it attempts to convey a taste of spring like lightness to the dish by augmenting the freshness of the fish with the green taste of the cucumber and Meyer lemon. But for some reason, the finished product lack distinction in taste, and the flavor are generally wimpy.

    Nest up was a broiled Australian King Prawn with Tempura Haricot Vert and Paprika Vinaigrette. This one was better with the sharpness of the Paprika vinaigrette lending its flavors to the green beans.

    Then we were served two pieces of grilled Tuna on a bed of red beets mixed with lentils and topped with a kumquat frisee salad. This was one dish that suffered from bad composition. Each part of the dish was great by itself, but together the combination was just odd.

    Perhaps it was the Dungeness Crab stuffed Skate Wing that worked the best. The artichoke mousse complimented the sweetness of the skate wing beautifully and the Duxelle sauce lends a woodsy favor to the whole mix. The only problem was I couldn’t taste or find the crab anywhere in this dish.

    Dessert was a creamsicle semifreddo on a pistachio cookie, which out shined all the dishes that came before and it cleansed the palate nicely without any pretense.

    In general, I didn’t dislike Farallon, I just wasn’t impressed by it. Each dish we had of the tasting had some wonderful ideas in it, but nothing was well thought out, and the execution was mediocre at best. The service, like the food, was haphazard and unexceptional. The place was simply too big and the kitchen too over stretched to produce anything of quality.

    By contrast Quince was the exact opposite of Farallon. Thanks Squeat for the great tip! The food we had there made the best use of the wonderful Californian produce, and everything was prepared with the greatest care. I arrived at the small 45 seat restaurant with my friend and her husband, and we started with the appetizer of; Cardoons and Beet Salad, which was beautifully prepared and made my best friend a cardoon convert; a Fava Bean with Serrano Ham and Pecorino cheese, which tasted like spring; and a Shrimp and Crab Crostini with watercress and Navel Orange, where the citrus freshness of the orange balances the green bitterness of the watercress and provided a great contrast to the creaminess of the shrimp and crab mixture in the crostini.

    For the pasta course, I got a Garganelli with Peas and Butter, my friend got a Squid Ink Pasta with Baby Squid in a Hot Pepper Sauce, and her husband ordered a Pasta with Tomatoes and Tuna. While none of these dishes will win the culinary creativity award, it certainly impressed me in technical execution. These pasta dishes will inspire even the most culinary challenged to make their own pasta. Because after tasting these dishes, the average store bought pasta just seemed pedestrian in comparison. My garganelli was so light it was almost translucent, and stood up to the sweetness of the peas. My friend’s squid ink had a rich sea like intensity that was simply delightful. While none of us thought the combination of tomatoes and tuna would work, it did and complimented the pasta quite well with a slight taste of chili in the sauce.

    My friend’s husband ordered the Duck with Carrot and Peas for the third course while my friend and I shared a Halibut with Fava Bean Puree and Orange Sauce. While the halibut was tasted clean and sweet, the combination of this dish did not work very well. It lacked definition in the overall taste. Since I don’t eat duck, I have to rely on my friend’s husband’s opinion, who thought the duck was fucking good and finished everything on his plate.

    Dessert was a Strawberry Short cake, which was decent but on the chalky side, and a lemon sorbet, which was the better dessert of choice.

    Quince is a restaurant that I would go back to again and again.

    SF's Local Scene

    in California: Dining

    Posted

    Thanks everyone for all the advice on my weekend. I had a wonderful time in SF, and Squeat is totally awesome in showing me the Farmer's market and pointing me to Quince. The food there is what Californian cuisine ought to be. I also had a great time at the Tartine Bakery. I met some interesting people and bought macaroons for my friends in New York. Now I can't wait to go back.

    Cooking for One

    in Cooking

    Posted

    Whenever I set out to cook for myself I invariably ended up cooking my neighbors who would call asking me what I'm making. Last night, I made a goat cheese tart with ramps, thinking that I would have it for a few days. This morning, I barely have enough for a lunch meal.

    Chef's Theater

    in New York: Dining

    Posted

    Not really so. On my way home, I stopped by First for some Tiny Tinee to congratulate myself for surviving the evening and got some Rice and Beans from the loacl cuban takeout for some real dinner.

    Chef's Theater

    in New York: Dining

    Posted

    As a self obsessed non-culturally oriented New Yorker, I was totally unaware that there is actually a show called Chef Theater, until a friend of my invited me to it. (Hey, it was his birthday and you are supposed to humor your friends on their birthdays right?) Anyway, how bad can it be when you get to watch a chef prepare a meal on stage and eat the meal at the same time? It's sort of like watching food TV with the food. And, I may learn something.

    So, I went to the Supper Club tonight to watch Tyler Florence cook dinner. Tyler is the chef of the week, and future chefs include Michael Lamonaco, Ed Brown and Douglas Rodriguez. We first had to sit through a kitschy song and dance number to get to the main gist of the show-Tyler showing us how to cook. The first course was a Seared Tuna with Avocado on Soy Lime Vinaigrette. Tyler didn't really show us how he made that dish but simply talked about it. It sounded pretty simple but the dish that was served to me contained a few slices of Tuna on top of huge chunks of hard avocados that was brown from oxidation. The overall dish didn't taste bad but it would have been much better if the avocado were more ripened and if the Tuna were of a more flavorful variety such as big eye, for instant, than the typical yellow fin tuna.

    Tyler went on to demonstrate how to make a pan roasted poussin on top of a garden puree, which is actually a puree of ricotta cheese with blanched green beans, asparagus, sugar snap peas and hericot vert. Tyler blissfully explained that these vegetables actually tasted better blended together than individually. It's not my thing to eat mixed up vegetables, but I am willing to reserve my judgement until I tasted the dish. On stage, the thing simply looked like the green globby mess you see in the Exorcist movie. Up close, despite the dim lights, the Exorcist-ish appearance did not improve, and it didn't taste much better either.

    Through out the demonstration Tyler repeated the importance of using kosher salt or sea salt, why everyone should have a pepper grinder, how to use lemon juice to wake up a dish and the importance of using fresh herbs. In between the courses, there were more song and dance numbers from the performers,and a basic wine lesson from Danielle Nally- Sommelier of Daniels. And, before Tyler showed us the dessert course-a panna cotta with passion fruit sauce, we were treated to his rendition of "The Summer Wind" in Frank Sinatra style. Who knew that he had so much talent?

    Judging from the response of the audience, there is obviously a great fan base for Tyler and the show. And, people seemd to generally have a good time. But, at the core, Chef Theater with Tyler Florence is a musical of cooking 101. If you know a thing or two about food, you probably won't learn anything you don't already know. It's really theater more than anything else. It's highly entertaining for someone who's into musicals, they just have to eat somewhere else.

    SF's Local Scene

    in California: Dining

    Posted

    Thanks everyone for the great recommendations, looks like I will have to visit my God Daughter more ofter now....Squeat has recommended coffee to bring back to New York, I know I am definitely going to bring home some huge crabs, and of course Myers lemon if I can find them.

    I'll bring you some Meyer lemons from my tree, BondGirl, providing I can make it. Otherwise, I've seen Meyers at my local Trader Joe's (here in Santa Cruz).

    What are your dates again?

    I will be there from 4/23 to 4/26 and I will figure out a time, when do you guys generally get up there, as a New Yorker, I am at the farmer's market at 8:30 in the morning, what's the usual time for the SF get together there? I am really looking forward to this....

    SF's Local Scene

    in California: Dining

    Posted

    JS, do you think you can harvest some of those woild artichokes for me? I'll be over nest week to collect them. :laugh: For us East Coast folks, artichokes are little and usually browned at the tips unless you are paying over $4 for each.

    As for the Crabs, I've taken them back to NYC before, so I don't really need to do it again, but they sure are good though....May be I'll settle for a huge bag of myers lemon and other produces indigenous to California. (Damn, I know I should have moved there many years ago.....)

    SF's Local Scene

    in California: Dining

    Posted

    Thanks everyone for the great recommendations, looks like I will have to visit my God Daughter more ofter now....Squeat has recommended coffee to bring back to New York, I know I am definitely going to bring home some huge crabs, and of course Myers lemon if I can find them.

    Cooking for One

    in Cooking

    Posted

    Frankly, cooking for one for a few days?  Get take out of your favorite places and couple of nights, and make everything your boyfriend hates but you love.

    I like that attitude, Hill Valley!

    I'm bad, I'm bad, I'm really, really bad. Laziness ruled last night and even salami and cheese seemed too much trouble. I had microwaved Jolly Time Blast O Butter popcorn :shock: . With Two Buck Chuck Sauvignon Blech. Now I know why it's so cheap. :angry:

    I could never get away with that if The Boyfriend was around!

    Actually, that's what I eat when my insignificant other visits.....who has time to cook when there are other things to do :laugh:

    Cooking for One

    in Cooking

    Posted

    As a single woman living in New York, I spend a lot of time eating out because of work, and I actually get depressed when I go for a long period of time without cooking in my kitchen. The fact is a lot of the food I had is mediocre at best and I get especially pissed off when I pay a lot of money for mediocre food.

    Contrary to Phaelon56, the best time for me to experiment with complex dishes is when I'm cooking for myself. This way there is no one to document my failures if I screw up. I put some danceable music on and dig into my Charlie Trotter cook books. The other thing is the chellenge of coming up with something new with a lot of the spare ingredients in my kitchen. Then there are days when I just want something fresh and easy, and I just tossed a salad and get some good bread at the local bakery. The staple of simple things I make when I am alone are:

    Diver scallop tossed on Frisee with grapefruit slices and preserved lemon

    Pasta with spicy tomato sauce or Pasta with sauteed wild mushrooms

    miso cod with rice

    Thai curry of anything in the fridge

    Beer steamed fresh shrimps (I eat these with bread)

    Pan seared black bass with stired fried baby bok choy and cocomut rice

    Of course, I can always live on extra spicy gumbo for days....

    SF's Local Scene

    in California: Dining

    Posted

    I don't drive but my friend does and I think Copia might be a nice place when you have children, unless, I'm being totally off the wall here.....I will definitely add Farallon to the list, since Seafood is about the only thing I do eat.

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