ProfessionalHobbit

I wanted to share a recipe I devised last year for Thanksgiving. It was such a hit that it will definitely make an appearance this year. Begin with your usual tray of halved and quartered brussel sprouts that have been seasoned with olive oil, salt and black pepper. Roast at 350 F for one hour, making sure to stir the sprouts every so often. Hat tip to @weinoo for the stirring tip, which is something I didn't know before. Dice some pancetta or if you don't have any, I imagine some thick-cut bacon would be really great. Or guanciale, which is even better. Like so. Sprouts after roasting. Fry your pancetta until the fat is rendered and they become crisped. Once the pancetta is ready, add: 1/2 cup golden raisins that were plumped in boiling water (soak in boiling water for 30 minutes, then drain) and the roasted sprouts. Stir in 2 tbsp. sherry vinegar. Taste for salt and pepper. Cook on medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve immediately. Or, if you want, refrigerate overnight. The flavors develop marvelously over time. The amount of food pictured was for 4 people.

So tonight, we tried a new version of pollo alla cacciatora that doesn't involve tomatoes or peppers which is how most Americans seem to know this dish. B pronounced it a "keeper" and I agree. We'll still make cacciatora the other way, but for now, this recipe will probably be the one we turn to the most. Clockwise from center: 2 sprigs worth of rosemary; a container of pitted Kalamata olives; 4 minced garlic cloves; 1 cup pinot grigio; 2 tbsp. red wine vinegar; a pinch of red chile pepper flakes. Not shown are 4 chicken legs and 4 chicken thighs that were seasoned with salt and black pepper an hour in advance. Warm 5 tbsp. olive oil in a heavy-bottomed skillet or cast iron pan over medium heat. When the oil shimmers, place chicken in pan, skin side down, and fry until a golden crust forms. Turn pieces over and repeat. Long, slow browning is the key. This process will take at least 20-25 minutes. If you don't brown the chicken long enough, it'll carry over to the finished dish in terms of color and flavor. Don't rush it. When the chicken has browned, sprinkle the garlic, chile pepper and rosemary, then pour over the wine. Cover the pan, then reduce heat to low and braise for 45 minutes or until the thighs are easily pierced with the tines of a fork. Every so often, check the pan and turn the pieces over with tongs. If the liquid in the pan has reduced too much, add more wine. Once chicken is done, sprinkle red wine vinegar over, then add olives. Serve. I added some chopped parsley for color. Pollo alla cacciatora, adapted from "My Kitchen in Rome" by Rachel Roddy, pages 195-197. Rachel's book is amazing ... hmm, maybe I should start a thread on it. This is the fifth or sixth thing I've made from it; all have been smash hits. Her blog is here: https://racheleats.wordpress.com/ -- worth bookmarking when you have the time.

I have a feeling it's kimchi that's been liquefied and turned into a drink. ETA David Chang is a big proponent of pureeing kimchi...so it's not entirely out of left field.

I'm sure these will be a hit at work tomorrow. Clockwise from bottom right: 1 1/4 cups AP flour, 1/4 cup chopped dried cranberries, 1 tbsp. Cognac, 3/4 tsp. kosher salt, 2 tbsp. unsalted butter, 4 tbsp. duck fat, 3/4 cup sugar. In a small saucepan, combine the cranberries and Cognac. Warm this mixture over low heat or until the dried fruit has absorbed the Cognac. Remove from heat and cool. Cream the duck fat, the butter and sugar until smooth. I added 1/2 tbsp. vanilla extract at the last minute. I was going to omit the vanilla originally but changed my mind in the end. In a separate bowl, whisk together the AP flour and sugar. Combine the flour mixture with the creamed butter mixture. Add the cranberries. Stir until the dough comes together. Form into a ball, then turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Gradually form the dough into a rectangle, then slice lengthwise. Form into two logs, approx. 6" in length. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill in your fridge for at least 30 minutes or preferably overnight. When ready to bake, preheat your oven to 350 F (180 C). Slice the logs into cookies approx. 1/4" thick. Place cookies on a parchment-paper lined cookie sheet or tray. Bake for 12 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. When cookies are done, remove from the oven and cool. Keeps in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Duck fat cookies ("sablés à la graisse de canard"), pages 297-298.

1/2 lb. zucchini, grated with a food processor blade, then squeezed dry with cheesecloth. Combine zucchini with: 1 egg, lightly beaten; 1/2 tsp. kosher salt; 2 tbsp. minced chives; freshly ground black pepper; 1/4 cup AP flour; 1/4 tsp. baking powder. Mix well. Deep-fry in olive oil, or another oil of your choice. I usually deep-fry with olive oil whenever possible. Fry for 4-6 minutes on one side, then flip and fry for 4-6 minutes on the other side. Remove to a paper towel-lined plate. When the fritters are done, transfer to a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and place in a pre-heated 200 F oven for 10-15 minutes so that the fritters can crisp even more. Recipe adapted from: http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/zucchini_fritters/ Zucchini fritters, Chelsea cherry tomato salsa, green salad with nasturtium flowers. Good morning!

It's been a while since we had some minestrone... 1 cup Rancho Gordo Marcella beans and 5 cups water. Bring to a boil and simmer, covered, over low heat or until beans are cooked. If the water gets too low, add some more. Takes about 90 minutes. These beans were NOT soaked. You can use a pressure cooker to cut the time substantially, but I prefer preparing them this way. As a bonus, I also have 4 cups of bean broth which I'll be putting to good use. 1 onion, finely diced. 3-4 carrots, peeled and diced. 3-4 celery stalks, diced. Incidentally, I thought I'd show you the two knives I use most often in our kitchen. The knife on the left is a silicon-bladed knife I use for most tasks. The one on the right is a Japanese chef's knife from Bernal Cutlery that slices and chops like a dream. Bernal Cutlery -- http://bernalcutlery.com/ Back to the recipe... 1/2 lb. new potatoes, peeled and diced 1/2 lb. each green and wax beans, trimmed and diced. Not shown are two bowls filled with 2 bunches shredded Swiss chard and 1/2 lb. diced zucchini. 2 large heirloom tomatoes, rough-chopped. Not shown is a 28-oz. can of crushed San Marzano tomatoes. Warm 1/2 cup olive oil in a large pot over low heat. Add 3 tbsp. unsalted butter. Melt butter. When the butter foams, add your diced onion, carrot and celery, and if you like, 2-3 tbsp. minced Italian parsley. Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, or until the vegetables begin to soften and color. This will take about 10-15 minutes. This is about right. Next, add the potatoes. Season with salt and black pepper. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Next, add the green and wax beans and the zucchini. Season with salt and black pepper. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Next, add the tomatoes, the crushed tomatoes and the Swiss chard. Mix well. Season with salt and black pepper. Raise heat to medium so that the liquid in the pot bubbles a little bit. Cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add 6 cups water, and if you want, a small piece of rind from a wheel of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and cover. Simmer for 1 1/2 hours or until the vegetables are meltingly tender. Towards the last 30 minutes of cooking, add the cooked dried beans to the pot. When the soup is done, fish out the rind and discard. Transfer 2-3 ladlefuls to a blender and puree. Add the pureed soup back to the pot. Taste for salt and black pepper, then serve. Minestrone, garnished with freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. We skipped adding any pasta or fried bread. It didn't need it. This recipe is sized for 8-10 people and takes about 2 1/2 hours, including prep. Cooked beans can be prepared in advance.

We wanted something other than the usual eggs we always seem to have for breakfast... Chelsea cherry tomatoes. I used about 1/3 of the amount shown here. 1 lemon cucumber -- it's an heirloom variety that tastes like a normal cucumber. 1 shallot, minced and macerated in 2 tbsp. red wine vinegar along with a pinch of kosher salt. Macerated for 5 minutes. 3 tbsp. finely minced chives, oregano, mint and Italian parsley. Diced cherry tomatoes, Green Zebra heirloom tomatoes and lemon cucumber. Added the shallots, red wine vinegar, herbs and 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil. Seasoned with salt and black pepper. Tomato and herb salad. We served that with croissants, French butter and a couple of apricots.

today: Chelsea cherry tomatoes, lemon cucumber, Romano beans, yellow wax beans, zucchini, herbs (oregano, Italian parsley, chives), apricots, chard, celery, chicken, new potatoes, salad greens, nasturtium flowers then I popped inside the Ferry Building and bought some Rancho Gordo chickpeas.

The version that sticks in my mind is a little bit on the sweet-and-sour side. I haven't had one that matches lately. The quest continues...

Ever since I moved to San Francisco, I've despaired at having acceptable versions of potato salad in restaurants. The most recent violation was which is the version sold at Wise Sons. http://wisesonsdeli.com/ That picture is a crime against potato salad: no acidity, or anything remotely of interest other than a boatload of dill. So I decided to make my own for a change. 1 lb. Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks. 3/4 cup sour cream, 1/4 cup organic mayonnaise, 2 tsp. stone-ground mustard. Shortly after this pic was taken, I added a pinch of salt and some black pepper. 1/4 cup minced scallions. 1/2 cup sliced celery. \ 1/4 cup chopped Vlasic dill pickles. Potatoes were cooked in lightly salted water until fork tender (after about 20 minutes), then drained and rinsed in cold water. Then stirred in 5 tbsp. dill pickle juice. 1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley. 5 rashers fried bacon, which I eventually diced. Fold potatoes into sour cream mixture, then add remaining ingredients (celery, green onions, bacon, pickles, parsley). Taste for salt, black pepper and pickle juice. This recipe is sized for 4-6 people. Recipe: http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/potato_salad/ PS. B pronounced it "perfect". PPS. It could probably have used a touch more acidity, come to think of it. Or maybe what I'm really pining for is a German potato salad.

I apologize in advance for the quality of some of these photos. We arrived early, and they didn't seat us until 50 minutes later, 20 minutes past our reservation time. When I asked what was taking so long, I was told "Well, you arrived early." That's not the point -- we had a reservation time of 9 pm and it's now 9:20 -- does everyone who comes here get seated this late? Edited to add that my hubby mentioned something they did not do which should have been done, and that was that the maître d'hôtel should have come over to us while we were sitting at the bar and apologized and/or informed us that it would be a while before our table was ready -- that I should *not* have had to go over to him by myself to inquire about our table's status. Strike #1. Strike #2 was that it took nearly 5 minutes *after* being seated before we received the menus, and when they brought us the menus, they also brought us the first amuse-bouche. It felt like a weird combination of: (1) we're being rushed and (2) we're being punished. "Thai soup" -- while it reminded me of tom kha gai and hit all the right flavor notes, I was asking myself why are we eating pseudo-Thai food in this restaurant? Buckwheat blini, salmon, osetra caviar. Well-made blini -- perfect, actually. Like butter-flavored clouds. Seared foie gras, caramelized onion, poached rhubarb. Plating doesn't inspire confidence, a theme you will see repeatedly throughout. Was prepared well though from what little I tasted. Figs, arugula, fennel, Gorgonzola cheese. Average salad, nothing special. Seared scallops, morels, English peas, Madeira. Excellent, from the bite or two I stole off of my hubby's plate. Lamb loin with farroto, Medjool dates, carrots and chermoula. The lamb was well-cooked. The plating sucked, the sauce was oversalted (basically, if you can taste it, it's too much), and the accompaniments slapdash. WTF is it with all the square plates? Cheese cart. Sauternes. Louisiana butter cake, peaches, huckleberry compote, vanilla ice cream. Amateurish plating. Cake itself was "fine". Maybe I ordered wrong. Flourless chocolate birthday cake. Mignardises. Total bill came out to $294 (with a 20% tip). Based on this initial visit, I found GD underwhelming. It validates my theory that San Francisco is a city of mostly mediocre restaurants. Better luck next time at the restaurant roulette wheel?

That was at my favorite ice cream parlor in San Francisco, http://theicecreambarsf.com/ Worth checking out if you're in town. Nice pasta.

The chicken with mustard and the leeks with bacon vinaigrette are recurring guest stars at our dinner table. Next up are his recipe for madeleines, perhaps this weekend. There's an upcoming dinner party we're having next month, so that will be good practice.

Roasted leeks, fried egg and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese; cucumber, sesame and ricotta crostini. Good morning!

ty Okanagancook

Another diet difference is that I eat pasta fairly infrequently these days. I see no problem with having pasta for dinner 4 out of 7 days a week. But it's not up to only me anymore... Cauliflower florets seasoned with olive oil, salt and black pepper Cauliflower greens and cherry tomatoes seasoned with olive oil, salt and black pepper Roasted at 375 F for one hour. Clockwise from foreground right: 1 tbsp. minced fresh basil; 1 garlic clove, thinly sliced; 2 heirloom tomatoes, diced; a container of pickled cherry peppers; 1 tbsp. Kalamata olives, pitted and chopped. Battuto of garlic and flat-leaf parsley in olive oil... Added the olives and some slivered cherry peppers. Let that cook for a few minutes -- basically transforming a battuto to a soffrito via the process of insaporire. Added the tomatoes, then salt and black pepper. Had it cook down until it started to resemble a loose tomato sauce. After about 15 minutes simmering on medium heat. At this point, I added a ladleful of pasta cooking water, then eventually cooked drained mixed pasta (spaghetti, orecchiette, penne), the roasted cherry tomatoes and cauliflower greens and 1 heaping tablespoon of salsa verde. Finished cooking the pasta in the pan as it absorbed the sauce. Pasta con cavolfiore e pomodorini Roasted cauliflower with salsa verde So you see, @cakewalk and @Anna N, some things haven't changed all that much. (I like the fact that you can now tag people on eG. That is totally cool!) Side note and a little bit off-topic: today, B and I went to look at open houses. For those of you who don't know what these are, whenever a realtor wants to show a house that's on the market, he or she shows the house to interested buyers. Anyone can show up to tour the place. It's just something to do, as B and I weren't interested in buying. But if you're curious how the 1 percent lives, it's free entertainment. This is a kitchen from an apartment that had an asking price of $1.8 million: And these two photographs are of a kitchen in a house that had an asking price of $8 million:

Warm brownie sundae with roasted pineapple ice cream and crème fraîche ice cream

8 chicken legs and thighs, seasoned with salt and black pepper 4 rashers bacon, diced 1 1/4 lbs. new potatoes, peeled and cut into wedges, seasoned with 2 tbsp. olive oil and a generous pinch of salt 1 medium onion, cut into chunks 5 pickled sweet cherry peppers, halved and seeded Brown chicken in olive oil in batches, remove to a plate when browned. (In retrospect, I should have probably browned them for longer than 10 minutes.) Add bacon and fry until nearly crisped. Remove and reserve. Pour off most of the oil and drippings except for 2 tbsp. Add the potatoes along with any accumulated olive oil in the bowl. Fry potatoes on medium heat until they form a crust. You might have to move the potatoes around a bit so they don't stick to the pan. If you do, try not to break them apart. After about 10-15 minutes, add the onion, 2 rosemary sprigs, and the pickled peppers to the potatoes. Fry for 1-2 more minutes, turning the potatoes every so often. Return chicken and bacon to the pan, along with any accumulated chicken juices. Cover. Cook for 15 minutes, turning the contents of the pan every so often. Uncover, raise heat to high and cook for 10 more minutes, or until most of the liquid in the pan has evaporated and the potatoes have crisped and become golden brown. Pan-fried chicken with new potatoes, pickled cherry peppers, rosemary and bacon Steamed zucchini with salsa verde Recipe for the salsa verde is in today's post in the Breakfast thread.

lol ty chefmd

For breakfast today: Two-egg omelette, and a side of chorizo sausage with leeks and cherry tomatoes. I had some baby leeks and spring onion that had to be used or discarded... Trimmed and sliced into rounds. These were part of today's haul at the Ferry Building farmers' market. I used about 1/3 of the amount shown here, halved. Leftover lamb chorizo sausage, stripped of its casing. Warmed some olive oil in a skillet, added slivered garlic and then after the garlic became fragrant, the leeks. Sautéed the leeks for a few minutes, seasoned with salt and black pepper, then added the tomatoes. You can stop here and this would make a perfect vegan side. Just sauté until the tomatoes wilt before serving. I removed the vegetables, then in the same pan, added olive oil and the chorizo. Fried the chorizo for a few minutes, then added the vegetables back in and cooked for 3-4 more minutes before plating. I also made a batch of salsa verde. In a food processor, combine: basil leaves, mint leaves, flat-leaf parsley leaves, 1 clove of garlic that's been smashed, a tablespoon of capers, 1-2 anchovy fillets and the juice of half a lemon along with its pulp. Pulse for a few seconds, then add extra-virgin olive oil. Process until desired consistency has been reached. I like mine a bit chunky. We use it in everything -- with fish, with pasta, on roasted meats, tossed in vegetables, drizzled on omelettes, as a savory topping for oatmeal, as a sandwich spread.

Here's a pic, looking in from the door to our back deck. It's my favorite room in the flat.

Still addicted, yes. LOL.

We usually try to get to the Ferry Building farmers' market every Saturday. Today: cherry tomatoes, heirloom tomatoes, zucchini, cauliflower, Sunset peaches, new potatoes, herbs (rosemary, basil, Italian parsley), chicken, eggs, onions, garlic.

Hi Arey, I'll post pix later. My NYC studio had a kitchen that was 6' x 7'. The kitchen in our flat is 4-5x as big.

Ijji is a little (17 seats!) restaurant that is now one of our go-to sushi places in San Francisco. It's that good, with a level of attention to detail that I haven't seen outside of Japan. Pristine fish, well-balanced rice, sensible portion sizes. We had the omakase dinner pictured below. Paired with a glass of sake, it's quite a bit of food and you'll leave feeling stuffed to the gills. Ijji 252 Divisadero Street (Haight Street) Lower Haight Asari clams, lotus root, sesame oil and shiso. Amberjack. Wild sea bass, hijiki, yuzu vinaigrette. Wild bonito. Kelp-cured wild sea bream. Live scallop. Wild barracuda. Wild filefish. Copper River salmon. Japanese snow crab, crab butter. Sea urchin. Soybean ice cream, adzuki bean paste, roasted soybean flour.