Las Vegas Bound

I'm off to do my "day job" at my semi-annual trade show in Las Vegas.
Watch this space for a write up of all the tasty doings I somehow always manage to do after work is through.

I'm in a Magazine!

A few months ago a reader left me a comment to get in touch. She enjoyed my blog and wondered if I would like to write for a British food magazine. The result is in this month's issue of Olive Magazine, a food magazine published by the BBC.

Olive is available in the U.S., and it is one of my favorite reads, especially for its food travel articles. You can read more about my affection for British food magazines here. You can find Olive in the magazine sections of some larger chain and independent book stores.

The above is a photograph of the pdf I was sent. I participated in a series called "Eat Like a Local" and contributed the write up of my memories of cioppino, the recipe and and photos of the dish and San Francisco's Fisherman's Wharf. (My son took the photo of me buying the crab.) My article appears on page 111 of the January 2008 issue. (The January issue should still be available here in the States, although the website now features the February issue.)

It was a learning experience having to convert recipe measurements to metric and required some retesting to make sure everything would turn out okay. There were just a few minor word and recipe changes, for example the quantity of the chopped fennel fronds. I had specified 1 tsp. Olive's version advised readers to reserve the all fronds from the fennel and use them without giving a measurement. I'm hoping fennel is sold with very little frond attached in Great Britain!

It was also a learning experience to develop the recipe, writing and photos and send them off and not have final control over them. Everything had to be clear without being in the context of a personal blog. I had some severe word limitations, even for the recipe, and worked hard to make it all work within that context.

Many bloggers have that day dream of someone reading their posts and offering them a chance to write for a wider audience. Mine came true thanks to Olive Magazine.

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Olive does not have a link to my recipe, however my Provencal Fish Soup offers some of the same tastes.

DINE AROUND TOWN 2008

In San Francisco from January 15th to the 31st?

Then check out the specially priced "dine around" menus at participating restaurants and enjoy a three-course lunch for $21.95 or a dinner for $31.95.

Click here for a list of restaurants from A (A-16) to Z (Zingari).
You can also select by cuisine or neighborhood and make a reservation directly from the site.

Just visiting? Try a meal (or two) at the Waterfront, Forbes Island (a manmade floating island), Sutro's at the Cliff House or Scoma's at Fisherman's Wharf for a meal with a view. There are a lot of quality favorites, ethnic choices, a few new eateries and more on the list. Check it out!

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Also if you are just visiting, check out Blog Appetit Does San Francisco. It's a new blog to help people explore S.F. and the Bay area.

Go For the Bronze: Sweet and Sour Cabbage Soup with Butternut Squash

I almost never make just a little soup. I usually make enough to feed us for a week. My husband calls this stockpile of soup "liquid gold." I was thinking about that as I made this week's soup, the color of which is more bronze than gold. No matter what the color, though, this soup is golden when it comes to its rounded, sweet and sour taste combined with the squash and cabbage.

The taste profile for this soup was influenced by a pumpkin and onion side dish I had recently. The ingredient choice was influenced by what I had in my fridge and pantry (a butternut squash leftover from my brief fling with Planet Organics and a beautiful Italian cabbage that seduced me with it's pale lavender-green leaves at the farmer's market. (To be honest, while the cabbage was fantastic in the soup, I should have saved it for a preparation that would have showed off its colors. Plain green cabbage or a savoy cabbage will work fine in the recipe.)

Sweet and Sour Cabbage Soup with Butternut Squash

Serves 8

2 tbs olive oil

1 cup of chopped onions

2 minced garlic cloves

2 celery stalks, chopped

2 medium carrots, chopped

2 cups of peeled, cubed butternut squash (cut into about 1/2" cubes)

1/8 tsp red pepper flakes

1/4 tsp ground dried oregano

1/4 tsp ground dried thyme

1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper, plus more for later

4 cups good quality or homemade chicken or vegetable stock (I used chicken)

Bay leaf

6 cups chopped green or savoy cabbage leaves

1 15 oz can tomatoes, chopped with juices (I used Italian San Marzano tomatoes)

2 tbs tomato paste

1-2 cups water

Salt

2 tbs balsamic vinegar

1 tbs sugar

In a large pot, heat oil over medium high heat. Add onion and saute until beginning to soften, add garlic and saute until just beginning to become golden. Add celery, carrots and squash and saute until squash cubes have begun to caramelize. Add red pepper flakes, oregano, thyme and black pepper and saute a minute or two until the seasonings' aromas are released.

Add stock and bay leaf. Cover pot, bring to a simmer and lower heat to keep soup simmering. Add cabbage. Simmer until cabbage has begun to soften. Add tomatoes and tomato paste. Stir well. Add 1 to 2 cups of water until soup is at desired thickness. Cover and simmer until vegetables are softened. Taste soup and add salt and more pepper to taste. Let simmer a bit until seasoning is incorporated, then add balsamic vinegar and sugar. Mix thoroughly, let simmer a minute or two and taste. If the soup should be sweeter, add a bit more sugar. If it needs more sour punch, add more vinegar. Remove bay leaf before serving.

Serve with optional topping (see below) if desired.

Polenta-Cheese Soup Crouton Rounds

Oil a baking tray. Slice a prepared polenta tube or log into 8 (or however many you need) 1/4" slices. Brush tops of slices with olive oil. Bake in a 350 degree oven until just toasted. Remove tray from oven. Set oven to broil. Sprinkle grated cheese over polenta rounds. Put under broiler (watching carefully) until cheese is lightly browned and bubbly. Float one on top of each bowl of soup, or serve on side.

Note: Use vegan cheese or skip cheese entirely for vegan option.

New Year's Revelations

To catch you all up ....

Birthday celebrations continued Friday night with dinner with Mr. Blog Appetit and the Future Pastry Chef at A Cote in the Rockridge district of Oakland, CA. The restaurant is one of my favorites, with some of the best fries (which we had) and mussels (which we skipped this time) around. It is also accessible by BART and in a great neighborhood for exploring.

I started out with a cocktail from the restaurant's very creative list. I chose one made with figuon, a fortified wine with figs, vanilla, and herbal and citrus flavors in it, mixed with lemon juice and vodka. I found it an intriguing and very satisfying and will be buying a bottle of my own as soon as I can.

For dinner, the FPC had chicken saltimbocca which I wasn't overly impressed by. Mr. BA had the short ribs, which I didn't try, with potato-turnip puree, which I did taste and totally approved of. I had the seared scallops, which I swooned over. They were warm and juicy inside, crusty and caramelized on the outside with the zing of black pepper throughout. I was less enamoured of the sides, especially an overly sweet beet risotto as well as a side of golden beets. (Note, the scallops were only $16, but there were also only three nice sized ones to a serving.)

Saturday night we had dinner with our ethnic food buddies, Mona and Vishu. We went to a Pakistani place with the most incredible food. I hope to do a whole post on Kabana (in Berkeley on University at San Pablo) sometime soon. If you are a fan of authentic Indo-Pakistani food, and don't mind a wait or the lack of ambiance in this almost a hole-in-the wall restaurant, I can't recommend it enough.

Sunday night, it was downtown (in downtown Berkeley, right near the BART station). Most of my friends had the halibut, which they loved, but Gary (aka Mr. BA) and I jumped at the chance to have fresh grilled sardines, which were very good. I especially liked the side of pumpkin and onions in what seemed to be an Italian sweet-sour saauce. The real hit of the evening for me was the artichoke. Served slightly fried (alla Romana), stuffed with garlic aoili and on a bed of Meyer lemon dressed greens, it was a wonderful combination of tastes and textures. The slice of prosciutto ham underneath it all didn't really seem incorporated into the dish but it was very tasty.

Monday night was New Year's Eve. We were no longer officially celebrating my birthday, but we partied on. I brought a tortilla espana to our event with a surprising ingredient -- Potato Chips. (A surprise in that it seems unusual and a surprise in that it worked so well.) More on that next time!

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Just a note: I don't do restaurant reviews for a variety of reasons. The main one is that I feel you need to have several visits and try many things and I don't usually meet my own criteria for that. I do write about my individual experiences, however, so please take into account these are just my opinions based on my limited exposure and not formal restaurant reviews.

About the photos: Scallop with beet risotto at A Cote and grilled sardines with pumpkin at downtown.

It's My Birthday I Can Post if I Want To

Yes, it is my b-day today and to celebrate I've launched a new blog -- Blog Appetite Does San Francisco. It's my attempt to provide some Here for those who live Elsewhere. The first real post is gives some trip planning links including the best place to see a sunset and how to pay less for a cable car ride. I am also looking for good links, so if you write about the SF Bay Area or know of a good resource, please let me know.

Eventually I hope to write up some more personal experiences and insights, but right now I am focused on providing basic (and not-so-basic) info on food, sights and sites.

Other b-day bits:

My friend Dianne took me out to lunch at Cafe Madrid in downtown Oakland. Specializing in bocadillos (sandwiches) and some tapas, the cafe's offering were flavorable and authentically Spanish. Servings were large, prices were low and the owner, Maurice, incredibly friendly. It is near the 19th street BART station and the Paramount theater. No website yet, but you can read more about it here. Cafe Madrid, 2001 Broadway (at 20th Street), Oakland; (510) 271-0001.

And

I just read that the author of Joy of Cooking published her first cookbook (the first edition of that erstwhile cooking tome) when she was my (new) age. I take it as a sign!

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About the photo: Flowers from my husband

Weight Watcher Zero Points Recipes

Veggie Venture, one of my favorite blogs and bloggers, offers a number of Weight Watcher zero and low point vegetable based recipes.

Recovering from holiday excess or trying to limit calories in advance of your New Year's splurges? Check out those recipes here.

Blog Appetit knows how to watch its calories, too. Most of my soup recipes are low or fairly low in Weight Watcher points and calories. Click here to pursue them.

Don't Call It Cassoulet -- French Savory Bean Stew

Don’t call it cassoulet.
Much like I try to avoid the “what is a true bouillabaisse” question, I similarly avoid the “what makes a true cassoulet” debate.

Not having a ready supply of duck confit nor the desire to make it, I have almost always made less than classic versions. For many years my favorite was a version with lamb shanks.

I have seem some abominable adaptations that were co-opting the name of this famous southwestern French dish for pretty much a dish of hearty stewed beans. I have had what was touted as an authentic version in Paris in a café in Montmartre renown for the dish. There it was served stuffed full of duck confit and pork sausages and with piles of freshly made potato chips on top instead of the bread crumb topping I expected. It was truly gilding the lily.

For the uninitiated, I guess I should back up and define a cassoulet. According to Herbst’s Food Lover’s Companion, it is “a classic dish from France’s Languedoc region consisting of white beans and various meats (such as sausages, pork and preserved duck or goose). The combination varies according to region. A cassoulet is covered and cooked very slowly to harmonize the flavors (page 106, third edition).”

It is the ultimate winter comfort food and pretty much defines the phrase “sticks to your ribs.” Serve it with plenty of crusty bread and follow it with a green salad. Don’t plan on too heavy a dessert; no one will have room or the fortitude for it!

While I’m sure my version would horrify a purist, I’m hoping Kate Hill of the blog of the same name and French Kitchen Adventures would find it an acceptable variation, since it was her donation to Menu for Hope 4 (a handmade cassole, or cassoulet pot, with beans and recipes) and her passion for the food of southwest France that made me hunger for some kind of cassoulet. Here is a recipe she published in her blog. Please check out her sites for more on making authentic cassoulets, including Camp Cassoulet and other classes.

Usually, I use small white beans (French ones if I have them on hand) and start with soaking and cooking them. The “quickie” version below relies on canned white kidney beans (also known as cannellini beans), but you certainly could replace them with fresh cooked beans or even with the small white navy or pea beans if you have them. I based this version on what I had in the pantry, fridge and freezer since I didn’t feel like making a trip to the store. That and my natural inclination for adding a bit more spice and seasoning and including more vegetables make this more of a California-inspired dish than a French one, perhaps. I used a North African-style sausage I happened to have in the house. I have had this sausage in French bistros here and there and enjoy the bite of heat and exoticness it adds to this dish and others. Substitutions are listed in the recipe. The result is a hearty dish with a melt-in-the-mouth texture and a real depth of flavors.

While I am calling this a stew, it is much drier in texture than that, it shouldn’t even be barely liquid and the stock and wine should be completely absorbed. If you make in it in advance (which I advise, the flavors will really meld and deepen) you’ll have to add more water or chicken stock to thin it out as it reheats. (FYI - If you are using an oven-proof pot, once the meats are browned and the vegetables sauteed you could make this in the oven instead of the stovetop.)

Don’t Call it Cassoulet – Savory French Bean Stew
Serves Six

For the stew:
6 chicken legs OR thighs
½ pound lamb merguez sausage OR mild Italian sausage OR smoked sausage
Grape seed or other vegetable oil
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
Pinch or more of red pepper flakes
2 carrots, cut into large dice
2 stalks of celery, cut into large dice
1 medium red or yellow pepper, cut into ½ inch cubes
3-15 ounce cans of white kidney beans, drained and rinsed
32 ounces chicken stock
1/3 cup slivered dried tomatoes (drained if packed in oil)
2 tsp herbes de Provence seasoning
2 tbs tomato paste
8 ounces of red wine
½ pound small fingeringly or new potatoes, sliced into ½ inch rounds
Salt and pepper to taste

For the topping:
2 thick slices (about 1 1/2 inches total) of fresh artisan or other crusty bread, enough to make about a cup of bread crumbs (I used a sweet French batard).
1 clove garlic
2 tbs fresh basil OR parsley
Salt and pepper to taste

In a large, oven proof sauté pan, Dutch oven or similar, brown chicken, remove from pan. Brown sausage, remove from pan. Set aside. Add oil to pan if needed. Sauté onions over medium high heat until beginning to soften. Add garlic and red pepper flakes, sauté until beginning to color. Add carrots, celery and red or yellow pepper. Add beans, dried tomatoes, stock and Provencal seasonings. Mix well to combine. Add the tomato paste and red wine, stir well and bring to a simmer. Add the potatoes. Stir well. Lower heat to medium low and let cook covered until the mixture is thickened and the potatoes are almost soft. Slice the sausage into thick rounds and add the slices and any juices to the stew. Add the chicken pieces. Stir and cook covered until meat is cooked through. (If the mixture is too dry, add a few tablespoons of water or stock. If it is too liquid, finish cooking with the lid off.) Add salt and pepper to taste. (You can add the pepper earlier if you like, but be careful with the salt -- the sausage, the stock and the beans are all potential sources of salt.)

For the topping:
Note: If making ahead, reheat and make topping right before serving.
Preheat broiler. Toast the bread pieces until golden brown and let cool a bit. Rip into small pieces. In a food processor or blender, mince garlic with the basil. Add bread pieces and salt and pepper and process until the mixture is like that of bread crumbs about a quarter the size of a pea. Sprinkle on top of the cassoulet and put under broiling for a few minutes, watching carefully that the crust does not burn. Remove when the crumb topping is golden brown and serve.

Happy Holidays from Sunny California

Menu for Hope 4 Reminder -- Event Ends Dec. 21

Menu for Hope 4, the food blogging world's fundraising project to help combat hunger, has already raised more than $51,000. You can help. Please click here for more info on how and where to participate.

From the event organizer, Chez Pim here's why:

"The amount we raise will go to support the school lunch program in Lesotho, Africa. We chose this particular program in Lesotho because the WFP (U.N. Worrld Food Programme) is pushing an initiative to supply the program by buying directly from local farmers who practice conservation farming methods. We help feed the kids (which keep them in school) and support their parents and community farming. This sustainable approach to aid is something we believe in and strongly support."

Pim also has lots of info on the event and Lesotho itself on her site.

(Please note, the event ends on the 21st, but I can't find the cut off time, so if you are planning on donating do it now!)