ProfessionalHobbit

In addition to leftover oxtails, there was also this: Spaghetti with leftover sugo from last night's dinner, dusted with pecorino cheese.

The payoff to tonight's dinner is a quart of sauce, part of which will be for tomorrow's lunch. OMG.

Tonight (Sunday night), we had: Coda alla vaccinara ("Roman-style oxtail stew"), from "I Heart Rome", pages 178-179 Green salad, shallot vinaigrette Caramelized Oro blanco grapefruit for dessert Happy New Year, folks!

Omelette (2 eggs, salt, black pepper, water, butter), croissant. Served with unsalted butter, peach conserves, blackberry conserves, and ginger tea.

Baked salmon with tomatoes and onions (the onions were fried in lard for 30 minutes before adding the tomatoes) Pearl couscous with cauliflower, preserved lemon and garlic Muhallabieh (Lebanese milk pudding with pistachio, coconut and bay syrup)

Yup One of these days I will be brave and buy some cardi instead of ogling them with my camera. I could spend all day photographing them.

today - Oro blanco grapefruits (they're the ones pictured above; a cross between a pomelo and a grapefruit that's not as bitter and twice as sweet), mesclun, spinach, tatsoi, FRESH BAY LEAVES!!!, carrots, cauliflower, Meyer lemons, salmon then we went inside the Ferry Building and bought some oxtails, pistachios, canned tomatoes, onion and garlic. And sweet peppers.

Shakshuka, served with Greek yogurt. Unfortunately I had overcooked the eggs by a minute. Otherwise very good.

I'm not sure I understand... You can easily shoot great pictures with low-budget tools as well as high-end tools. The device I currently have costs about $325. None of the cameras I've owned have been over $350. Having a great eye and access to quality lighting is more important IMHO than a pricey camera.

I don't remember the model number. I'll have to look for the instruction manual when I get home.

Partly. A lot of it has to do with the quality of lighting. Most of the above were shot in natural light or surroundings that were well-lit (i.e., the wild boar bacon in the last pic), where I didn't have to do as much post-processing. I'm not a food blogger who likes using artificial lighting (e.g., lamps that simulate daylight). I feel that's way too much effort for a snap, but then again, my livelihood isn't dependent on digital pixels.

Just a selection of pix shot throughout 2017. I stopped blogging a while ago and have since transitioned to social media but I keep the old site around as storage space for old photos and also for inspiration. B and I went to NYC in late April and it was there that my camera zonked and died. Since my camera is my baby - even more important than my cell phone, I dragged my hubby over to Best Buy to pick up a new device - a SONY that I was initially skeptical but have since gotten used to. The below are pix from our kitchen, along with shots from farmers' markets and stores in New York and San Francisco, and food from excursions to local restaurants. Enjoy.

Some more pix Garlic bread - was one of the things I forgot. Made from a recipe published in 1961. The pudding was made 10 days ago and steamed for 8 hours, then re-steamed for 2 hours today, soaked in brandy and flamed prior to service.

Today is one of those "spare-the-air" days in San Francisco, otherwise we'd make use of our real fireplace. Birthday lunch for six: Caesar's salad (made tableside, with romaine lettuce, anchovy, garlic, coddled egg, croutons, etc.) Bouillabaisse Chocolate dump cake Christmas pudding with brandied custard sauce Think there might be a couple more things I'm forgetting....

Hardly any cooking this weekend which is rare for me but understandable given that today is my birthday. Anyway, last night B and I went to a Japanese New Year celebration. This spread was not as Japanese-y as in other years but there were still some favorites. Clockwise from center, foreground: chirashi with ikura, tamago and edamame; tangerines clementine oranges; kurikinton (mashed chestnuts and sweet potatoes, topped with sweet chestnut); cherry and apple pie; red bean soup with green tea mochi and regular mochi; fruit salad; cheese plate (blue cheese, brie and Gouda); salmon two ways (lox and broiled); spiral sliced ham; white chocolate with matcha powder; toasted rye bread; beef stew with potatoes, carrot and onion. Not shown are spring rolls with chicken and cheese.

Leek omelette The vegetables were sweated in butter and duck fat, then deglazed in wine and vegetable stock and braised for 20 minutes.

My dinner posts are going to be limited to the weekends since I tend to wok work long hours during the week. This was last Sunday's dinner. Definitely more mundane than the above. Yogurt chicken curry served with mango pickle Roasted cauliflower Pearl couscous cooked in vegetable broth with preserved lemon, onion and cilantro Fresh pineapple for dessert

So it's been a while, right? We went to Californios last night for a birthday dinner. Definitely was worth the expense. Now I remember why I don't drink. Last night was my birthday dinner so we overindulged, and now I have a headache that will inevitably fade. B was impressed - in addition to the Sancerre pictured above, they gave us a taste of some pinot grigio-like wine at the beginning that I cannot remember for the life of me what it was. Horchata - Koshihikari rice, almonds, black cardamom, cinnamon. Scallop chicharrón, scallop ceviche, crème fraîche. Jicama empanada, shiso, pumpkin, salmon roe. Smoked mushroom taco with pickled wild mushrooms. Dungeness crab tostada, sour orange segments, sour orange-habanero salsa, Castelfranco radicchio, tarragon. Pineapple guava sorbet. Persimmon, habanero honey, tarragon. Tasmanian trout ceviche, dashi, Granny Smith apple. Aguachile, parsnip, red bell pepper Tamales steamed in banana leaves, with salsa. Smoked squab broth, pomegranate seeds, cilantro flowers. Tres frijoles ("three beans") with sturgeon caviar, shallots and edible gold leaf. Black cod, salsa verde, green grapes. Wagyu beef, pickled onion. Smoked squab breast served with spiced cranberry sauce, quince simmered in cranberry juice, pickled Japanese turnips and charred scallion, and sourdough flour tortillas Yes, it's the same squab from which the broth was made. Foie gras churro, with foie gras mousse, cinnamon sugar, served with hot milk chocolate infused with cinnamon, Lustau sherry and coffee. By the time I remembered to take a pic, I'd eaten half of the churro. Dunk the churro into the chocolate. Dulce de leche spooned atop pear sorbet with chunks of Asian pear, macadamia nut butter Pecan ice cream, candied pecans, shortbread cookie, apples, clarified butter The cookie was on top of the apples. Break the cookie and spoon everything over. Cherry extract digestif, vermouth, sweet Mexican lime Lemon verbena tea We'll definitely return. I'm an instant fan. Californios 3115 22nd Street (South Van Ness) Mission District San Francisco

375 F, 2 1/2 hours. Washed chicken, patted dry. Salt, black pepper inside and out 24 hours in advance. Herbs stuffed in cavity -- flat-leaf parsley, rosemary, thyme. We trussed the chicken if memory serves. That's about it. Served with green beans, potato and heirloom tomatoes sauteed in olive oil and garlic, with a bit of salsa verde stirred in.

She asked " Has anyone successfully roasted a free-range chicken that spent its life running around and otherwise working out?" I was just answering her question. I said nothing about whether the provenance of said chicken mattered...not sure why that elicited your response. Sorry I bothered.

Maybe. I prefer free-range chicken and buy from our farmers' market whenever possible. Never had a problem.

Doubtful, unless Melissa lives in San Francisco and she's not telling us.

We had one on Sunday as a matter of fact. I haven't yet posted the pix in the Dinner! thread, but it came out moist and juicy, with well-flavored meat and tissue-paper crispy skin. We devoured part of the leftovers last night, and the carcass will give up the rest of its goodness this weekend after an exercise in stock-making. Much better than an order of Blue Apron 100% of the time -- this is totally OT but I couldn't resist.

If I had my way, every square inch of my flat would be covered in cookbooks. The fact that it isn't means that I've managed to exercise some form of self-control. I'm considering getting rid of some of my non-food books to make room for more cookbooks. It does help though that I am extremely picky. Otherwise I'd have run out of room a long time ago.

This was yesterday: Top: eggs benedict, home fries Bottom: cornmeal buttermilk pancakes with maple syrup, two eggs overeasy, sausage, bacon and home fries. Total for $25. More like $35 (added in the prices for hot chocolate, coffee, tax and tip) but still relatively inexpensive given the food prices in San Francisco. Kate's Kitchen 471 Haight Street (Fillmore Street) Lower Haight and this was today: Insalata cruda e cotta ("salad of raw and cooked vegetables"), served with leftover tonno sott'olio ("tuna preserved in olive oil with herbs and spices") and hard-cooked egg.