Hest88

Digest: San Francisco Chronicle Food Section for Wednesday, May 17, 2006 GRATINS FROM THE GARDEN, Georgeanne Brennan With this sweet or savory dish, almost anything goes Recipes: Raspberry & Blackberry Gratin with Cointreau Strawberry-Rhubarb Gratin with Ladyfingers & Meringue Apricot & Almond Gratin Artichoke Heart & Prosciutto Gratin with Buttered Breadcrumbs Gratin of Spring Vegetables & Lamb with Herbed Potatoes Green Garlic & New Potato Gratin with Fontina Cheese Spring Gratin suggestions New book from a working cook, Stacy Finz Recipes: Pizza with Arugula & Prosciutto Chicken Breasts with Sweet Potato Fries Microwave-Steamed Sea Bass with Asparagus & Black Bean Sauce Tips for the working cook, Tara Duggan THE ROVING FEAST, Marlena Spieler Every artichoke has its thorns Recipe: Saganaki me Anginares What’s New: Beard Papa Weather could limit asparagus Alluring alfajores Taster’s Choice, Carol Ness Pom Wonderful pops to the forefront Bistro draws from dual heritage, Amanda Berne 6 Degrees on Solano in Albany THE INSIDE SCOOP, Karola Saekel Nob Hill's Watergate closes up shop...Chef leaves Postrio for Town Hall...New chef at Fork...Roosevelt's Tamale Parlor's new Annex...New life for Rib Shack in San Bruno LETTERS TO FOOD Organic is worth it in so many ways

I don't have a problem with well-behaved children anywhere. My only issue is that when children get to be about 3-5 up to their late teens it can be hard to have adult conversations knowing that the kids are listening. It pretty much means anything sensitive, controversial, or raunchy needs to be censored. I know some parents don't care what their children hear, but I certainly care what I may be exposing children to if I'm not careful!

How weird. It's one thing to do it with noodles or rice plates, but if ordering dishes with separate (communal) rice it would be very strange!

Wow! That sounds great! Thanks for the report back.

#1 category, if it has re-opened from its remodeling---Canteen. Which is probably a different experience than any of your other casual choices #2 I agree that Zuni isn't fine dining. It has more of a casual feel. I'm tempted to suggest Ame, if you like seafood.

Congratulations! My precious, 15 year old wok is also carbon steel. My brother actually seasoned it for me and gave it to me as a present. (I'm thinking he did it on the stove instead of baking it, being a Chinese chef.) I also use a plastic scrubber thing, and sometimes a copper one, which I find I can use more pressure with than the bamboo brush. I use mine only when steaming or making soup. I've learned to compensate even when using my round-bottomed wok on an electric burner.

Unfortunately, in my experience, treating admins or waiters well--especially during the interview process--merely means that someone has enough social skills to act properly at proper times. What happened *after* they're hired can be completely different. After all, one usually doesn't get very far up the corporate ladder if one doesn't know how to kiss up and be charming when necessary.

Hi! I keep meaning to reply to your other thread but I keep getting distracted! The reason is simple: Ame is new and Ron "Iron Chef" Siegel took over the Dining Room in 2004 (?). So, in essence, both restaurants in their current state are new.

Pea shoots are Asian, and were quite common in local Asian markets for quite a long time before they were "picked up" by non-Asian restaurants. Pea sprouts started becoming common in Asian markets just a few years ago. I remember when I could only get them in Vancouver.

Your tutorials are always great...and always make me hungry! Typical male, though, to cheat when making the won-tons. The women in our family make the "nurse's hat" won-tons as well, but my dad likes to use your "squish and boil" method too!

It may not be 90% but I still think it's pretty high. Yogurt can often be tolerated by lactose-intolerant people because of the live bacteria. The National Dairy Council, which has a vested interested in milk consumption, cites on their Web site at 25% of Americans and 75% of adults world-wide are lactose intolerant---figures that seem to be in line with the stats that sheetz cited above. More info from the Dairy Council site:

The food is fine for what it is, but the flavors are really "dumbed down." Type of safe place you take out of town business associates who want something ethnic.

Digest: San Francisco Chronicle Food Section for Wednesday, April 5, 2006 To market, to market: Catering to the demand for gourmet fare, Stacy Finz Food halls are sprouting throughout the Bay Area to satisfy appetites for artisan products Passover gets to the root of the matter, Melissa Wagenberg "A long root with coarse tan skin and white flesh, horseradish stems from the mustard family and exudes a sharp heat that hits you in the nasal passage as opposed to the palate." Recipes: Cinnamon-Scented Artichoke Chicken Saute Firefly Bicolor Horseradish THE INSIDE SCOOP Keller expands empire...Bronx Italian-style Joey & Eddy's...The Food Emporium at Westfield San Francisco Centre...and more. WHAT'S NEW, Dabney Gough, Lynne Char Bennett, Carol Ness, Linda Murphy, Karola Saekel BASEBALL BEAT...OPENINGS...MARKET WATCH...CHEEP THRILLS...SHOPPING CART Chef school steps up St. Helena programs, Carol Ness Culinary Institute of America coming to Napa. SOUTH TO NORTH, Jacqueline Higuera McMahan "I have fallen in love with pan-roasting as a cooking technique because the resulting caramelization brings out sweetness and concentrates the vegetables' flavors." Recipe: Roasted Caramelized Vegetables Sponge cake sweetens Passover table, Flo Braker Recipes: Sponge Cake with Fresh Rhubarb-Strawberry Compote Fresh Rhubarb-Strawberry Compote Diners can learn new tricks at Rogue Chef, Mandy Erickson "Seated at a bar overlooking the kitchen in Half Moon Bay's Rogue Chefs, I watched cooks grab bottle after bottle to ooze out smoked tomato vinaigrette, balsamic reduction or creme anglaise." New faces, changes in Food coverage, Miriam Morgan "To keep up with the Bay Area's increasing passion for food and wine, The Chronicle continues to ramp up its coverage, including the addition of two new reporters."

Is this a new study? I thought they'd concluded this long ago.

This is bringing back unpleasant childhood memories of the kinds of things my mom would make me drink when she thought I needed some fortification. BTW, my mom's preferred method right now is a crockpot. If I really have to make something I tend to just stick it on the stove with the lid placed askew so it doesn't bubble over.

Digest: San Francisco Chronicle Wine Digest and 96 Hours section, Thursday, March 23, 2006 Gold Country's rockin' Rhones, Tim Teichgraeber Winemakers turn out French-style varietals in the Sierra foothills THE CHRONICLE'S WINE SELECTIONS, Linda Murphy Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon under $50 Carnivores, rejoice: Napa Cabernets cry for meat, Joyce Goldstein Recipe: Glazed Short Ribs The perfect cheese for a fern bar, Janet Fletcher Wine grapes turn into vodka, Stacy Finz A vintage collection of Gourmet essays, Linda Murphy Cakebread wins popularity contest, Cyril Penn "Rutherford's Cakebread Cellars was named the most popular wine brand in America's top restaurants by Wine & Spirits magazine." Ride a bike and picnic for charity. Brand names to remember, Leslie Sbrocco "Often the most difficult thing about buying wine is remembering what you drank...If you jot down the names of the following four producers, you won't need to remember much more." Oakville's Screaming Eagle Winery sold, W. Blake Gray 96 Hours Restaurant Roundup "Here are recaps of restaurants our food critics have reviewed in the past." Bargain Bite: Lao-Thai Kitchen, Karola Saekel CRITICS' PICKS: Talking Tofu "Versatile tofu has long been used in Asian cultures, but savvy Bay Area chefs are now using it on Western menus to offer their vegetarian and vegan diners a high-protein dish." Tofu grows up, Amanda Berne "Tofu, or soybean curd, comes in various levels of texture -- from soft and custardy to firm and sliceable -- making it easy to use for everything from appetizers to entrees or desserts." Dining Update: Frisson, Michael Bauer Dining Update: Don Pico's, Miriam Morgan

I like the crab cake idea, but I agree you should forgo the blackened fish. I think it's just going to get too dry for her tastes.

All of my immigrant relatives who came to the U.S. later in life avoid cheese. The younger ones, like young ones everywhere, eventually develop the taste for...pizza. When immigrant relatives my age or younger start eating pizza I know they've definitely become Americans. ;-)

Digest: San Francisco Chronicle Food Section for Wednesday, March 15, 2006 DOWN TO A SCIENCE, Carol Ness Marion Nestle, the nutritionist and author the food industry wants to muzzle, is speaking freely at UC Berkeley THE ROVING FEAST, Marlena Spieler A big spoonful of Mary Poppins Recipe: Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious Banoffi Pie THE INSIDE SCOOP, Amanda Berne Waters planning Slow Food expo TASTER'S CHOICE, Carol Ness Bakers of Paris palmiers find sweet success WHAT'S NEW, Rebecca Williams, Dabney Gough, Amanda Berne, Carissa Remitz La Cocina's concoctions...Foster Farms hatches meals...Sushi and sashimi at Sebo...Bakeries roll out soda bread for St. Patrick's Day Slick chick celebrates wearing of the green, Linda Furiya Recipe: Wasabi Pea-Crusted Chicken Thighs DOWN TO A SCIENCE, Carol Ness Michael Pollan's forthcoming book, "The Omnivore's Dilemma," and Marion Nestle's "What to Eat." DOWN TO A SCIENCE, Carol Ness Renato Sardo and Slow Food JZ Cool dishes up comfort food on the go, Mandy Erickson JZ Cool Eatery in downtown Menlo Park offers sustainably produced food in a casual format. Benefit for North Beach homeless "North Beach Citizens, an organization founded by Francis Ford Coppola, will hold its annual benefit dinner April 23." Translating Spain for home cooks, Carissa Remitz "The New Spanish Table," by Anya von Bremzen Recipe: Salt-Baked Pork in Adobo

Gosh, I love Sa Cha sauce. I used to buy that brand in college, and we could go through the large size really quickly. It's been a few years now since I've cooked with it but I think it's time to re-visit my old friend!

Digest: San Francisco Chronicle Food Section for Wednesday, March 8, 2006 A fresh take on croquettes, Georgeanne Brennan Classic fried fritters get a boost from new fillings, coatings Recipes: White Sauce Lentil Croquettes Rolled in Pumpkin Seeds Braised Beef Braised Beef Croquettes with Cornichons & Capers Celery Root & Potato Croquettes Shrimp & Lemon Croquettes Chicken-Almond Croquettes It doesn't get more Irish than colcannon, Karola Saekel Recipe: Colcannon WHAT'S NEW, Carol Ness, Laura Compton, Karola Saekel In praise of local Slow Food...TASTINGS / Pass the salt, and pepper...SHOPPING CART / Sowing new grains...SHOPPING CART / Feeling your oats THE WORKING COOK, Rachel Marshall A breakfast dish that works for dinner Recipes: Artichoke Feta Frittata Spicy Tofu Burgers Assertive flavors linger at Kirin in north Berkeley, Karola Saekel Traditional Irish fare goes upscale, Carol Ness "Two recent books can take you beyond the hackneyed corned beef and cabbage."

Therese, great account. I'm taking notes for our Oct trip. Can't wait for the next installment.

Are we talking about blanching or boiling? Because I've blanched with tiny amounts (inches) of water just by throwing in the veggies, flipping them over once, and then chilling. They've been bright and crisp. Granted, I've also cooked veggies that way as well, by throwing them all in slightly more boiling water. Although of course the water stops boiling, all the veggies benefit from the initial blast of heat and when the water comes back up to boil the veggies appear to have cooked the same as if I'd thrown them in a big pot of boiling water.

We just went through this process. I have a number of apartments I was looking into in the 6th and around the Marais. Do you have a price range? One of the apts I was interested in that was unavailable is: www.sant.com

Another vote for the Dining Room at the Ritz. We like Gary Danko, but our last meal at the Dining Room blew all our Danko experiences out of the water. Danko is a good, solid experience, but the Dining Room is something really special.