To me it’s foodie heaven, 30 cooks under one roof in San Francisco frantically making dinner…together. Once all the food is prepared, everyone eats together and has a chance to taste and indulge in a really spectacular spread. Hosted each month by the founder, Marco Flavio,
Cook here and Now events promote seasonal, local produce amidst a fun, frenzied atmosphere.
The idea is brilliant: Marco provides a list of select items and those who sign up (or are lucky enough to get in the door) are on the hook for an entree, salad, main or dessert utilizing one or more of the listed ingredients. This past Sunday’s ingredients included all poultry (except chicken) lemons, kiwi, onions, chard and mushrooms. The dishes which were churned out were just plain amazing.
Pictured below are just some of the creations; there were really too many great things to capture. In addition to the great dishes, the camraderie of the cooks really make this event a winner. Next up from Marco: a pie social (but sadly it’s filled).
Swiss onion pie.
- This was one amazing lemon meringue pie.
- It’s hard to find words to express how amazing this appetizer was!
Simple but delicious cheese souffle.
This list is a little late since most of this information has been out for some time. And, while many trends are not surprising, lists vary depending on your source which is why I’ve compiled them into a larger “Yummly-ized” version for easy reading.
If you stop by Yummly in the near future you will see some of these trends appear as blog topics. As always we’d love to hear about any you’ve seen in your local area or neighborhood.
Finally, sorry to say I left off one trend (fried chicken) because although I love it, I feel like it’s been covered in the past. Happy to add it in if anyone disagrees!
Yummly’s interpretation of 2010 trends (dining and eating):
- Back to basics – think canning, pickling and basic techniques
- Beer – craft beers everywhere, also taps into the “new Austrian” trend
- Smaller portions (restaurant meals, desserts) – mini whoopie pies
- Burgers – chains will strive for better, premium burgers
- Children’s healthy food options – more for the home
- Cocktails – local liquor and culinary creations
- Casual dining – potlucks
- Eggs – the new bacon
- Asian + Latin – a dynamic duo (LA Kogi taco trucks)
- Farm branded meats – “Denver Steak”
- Lamb – the new pork
- Local, seasonal – check out the Cook Here and Now concept (Bay Area)
- Meatless meals and party foods – even for non-vegetarians
- Sustainable seafood, different varieties – Branzino, Arctic Char
- Superfruits – mangosteen, rambutan, goji berries, acai
- Sweeteners – stevia, turbinado, agave (and real sugar in sodas!)
Dungeness crab: seasonal and fresh.
To celebrate the new year AND tie into the list of trends, try the Celery Cup recipe below. It’s a refreshing, culinary delight.
Celery Cup #1
- 1 ½ oz. Square One Cucumber
- 1 – inch fresh English cucumber
- 2 – inch celery stalk
- Palm-full of cilantro
- 1 oz. fresh lemon juice
- ¾ oz. organic agave nectar or simple syrup
- 1 celery stalk (garnish)
In a mixing glass, muddle the cucumber, celery, cilantro and lemon juice into a pulp. Add remaining ingredients, cover in ice and shake hard for 10 seconds. Strain into a tall glass over fresh ice and garnish with a piece of celery.
Recipe courtesy of Elixir and Square One.
Happy new year (again)!
The focus at last week’s market was brassica, or cruciferous vegetables. These are vegetables in the mustard family like brussels sprouts, cauliflower, broccoli or kohlrabi (basically all the things I didn’t love as a kid!) In addition, there were colorful persimmons, satsumas, and pomegranates on display. On this day, however, I had my eye on the brussels sprouts.
While I love the idea of bacon and brussels sprouts, for a change in taste and texture try roasting with just olive oil, garlic and salt. Roasting brings out the “meatiness” and depth of flavor (sometimes referred to as umami) in the sprouts. Also consider a salad of chopped roasted sprouts, cooked pancetta and hard boiled egg drizzled with a red wine vinegar dressing.
Garlicky Roasted Brussels Sprouts
- 1 lb. Brussels sprouts, sliced into ¼ inch disks
- 1 clove garlic, finely minced
- Olive oil – enough to coat, about 1 T.
- Salt & pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Slice the brussels sprouts into thin disks (see picture). Mince the garlic. Toss together with enough olive oil to coat (1-2 T) and add salt/pepper to taste. Roast sprouts and garlic for 15 minutes, and then toss. Roast for another 15 minutes and turn off the oven. Let rest in oven another 10 minutes or until tender. Enjoy!
Roasted brussels sprouts.
Breathe new life into chicken or turkey leftovers with Tetrazzini.
Wondering what to do with turkey or chicken leftovers? Tetrazzini makes good use of what you’ve got on hand and turns it into a savory dish of comfort for 8.
Turkey Tetrazzini
- 1 lb. spaghetti
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter or margarine
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons dry Sherry or Madeira
- ¾ cup freshly grated parmesan
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ¾ pound mushrooms
- 3 scallions
- ½ cup diced canned or bottled pimientos (I substitute olives instead)
- 4 cups ¾-inch cubes cooked turkey or chicken breast (about 2 pounds)
- Fill an 8-quart kettle three fourths full with salted water and bring to a boil for spaghetti. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly coat a 13 by 9 by 2 inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.
- In a 2 quart heavy saucepan heat 3 tablespoons butter or margarine over moderate heat until foam subsides. Add flour, stirring until smooth. Stir in broth and simmer, stirring constantly, until thickened and smooth, about 3 minutes. Stir in cream, sherry or Madeira, ¼ cup parmesan and pepper. Simmer sauce, stirring, 2 minutes more and remove pan from heat.
- Cook spaghetti in boiling water until ad dente and drain in a colander.
- Thinly slice mushrooms and scallions. In a large heavy skillet heat remaining 2 tablespoons butter or margarine over moderate heat until foam subsides. Add mushrooms and scallions and cook, stirring until softened, about 3 minutes.
- In a large bowl toss spaghetti with sauce, mushroom mixture, pimientos (or olives) and turkey or chicken. Transfer Tetrazzini to baking dish and scatter remaining ½ cup parmesan evenly over all.
- Bake Tetrazzini, uncovered, in middle of oven 20 minutes or until bubbling and top is touched with brown. Makes 8 servings.
Recipe courtesy of the late great Gourmet magazine.
Panettone is festive whether served simple or dressed for dessert.
As we head full swing into December I can’t help but think about desserts and all things sweet. And speaking of sweets, right about now you will see stacks of panettone in your favorite grocery store (or online
!) These are the big, festive boxes loaded with fruit studded bread – perfect for desserts (bread pudding) a holiday version of french toast or mini panettone and pear sandwiches.
Cheers to the season of friends, fun and food. Enjoy!
Panettone Bread Pudding with Amaretto Sauce
Sauce:
- ½ cup whipping cream
- ½ cup whole milk
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- ¼ cup amaretto liqueur
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
Bread pudding:
- 1 (1-pound) loaf panettone bread, crusts trimmed, bread cut into 1-inch cubes
- 8 large eggs
- 1 ½ cups whipping cream
- 2 ½ cups whole milk
- 1 ¼ cups sugar
To make the sauce: bring the cream, milk, and sugar to a boil in a heavy small saucepan over medium heat, stirring frequently. In a small bowl, mix the amaretto and cornstarch to blend and then whisk into the cream mixture. Simmer over medium-low heat until the sauce thickens, stirring constantly, about 2 minutes. Set aside and keep warm. (The amaretto sauce can be made 3 days ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Warm before serving.)
To make the bread pudding: lightly butter a 13 by 9 by 2-inch baking dish. Arrange the bread cubes in the prepared dish. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, cream, milk and sugar to blend. Pour the custard over the bread cubes and press the bread cubes gently to submerge. Let stand for 30 minutes, occasionally pressing the bread cubes into the custard mixture. (Recipe can be prepared up to this point 2 hours ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Bake until the pudding puffs and is set in the center, about 45 minutes. Cool slightly. Spoon the bread pudding into bowls, drizzle with the warm amaretto sauce and serve.
Recipe courtesy of the Food Network, Giada De Laurentiis
Two layer cheesecake with cranberry orange compote
Growing up our Thanksgiving table was full of the usual items like turkey, gravy, stuffing and cranberries….from a can (insert sound of record scratching or nails on a chalkboard here.) If I close my eyes I can still see the indentations in the jelly-like stuff and the wobble every time someone bumped the table leg.
Although I actually admit to eating and liking the cranberry jelly then, I now find myself hoarding bags of fresh cranberries when they appear in stores. Well-suited to the freezer, cranberries are versatile (desserts, meat dishes) healthy and just plain delicious.
Below is recipe for cheesecake composed of two layers; one a traditional Philly cheese and the other a blend of sour cream and Greek-style yogurt. It’s the perfect carrier for the tangy, sweet cranberry orange topping. Enjoy!
Two layer cheesecake with cranberry orange topping
Graham cracker crust
- 4 T unsalted butter
- 3 ½ oz. graham crackers, crushed into crumbs
First layer
- 2 – 8 oz packages Philadelphia cream cheese
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup sugar
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
Second layer
- 1 1/4 cups sour cream
- 2/3 cup thick Greek-style yogurt
- 2 ½ tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Cranberry orange topping
- ½ cup sugar
- 3 tablespoon water
- 1 t cornstarch, dissolved in 1 tablespoon water
- 2 cups fresh cranberries
- ½ teaspoon grated orange peel
Preheat oven to 375. Finely grind the graham crackers in a food processor. Melt the butter and pour over the graham cracker crumbs. Mix thoroughly. Pour mixture into a buttered 9-inch springform pan. Beat the ingredients for the first layer together thoroughly. Pour over the base and smooth on top. Place on baking sheet and bake in the oven for 20 minutes or until just set. Set aside for 20 minutes to firm up.
Mix the ingredients for the second layer and spoon evenly over the first layer. Return to the oven for 10 minutes then take out and cool.
Refrigerate for at least 6 hours or overnight.
For the topping, stir sugar and water in medium saucepan over medium-low heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat to medium; add cornstarch mixture and simmer. Add cranberries, cook until beginning to pop, stirring often, about 3 minutes. Stir in orange peel. Cool completely.
Cheesecake recipe adapted from Fiona Beckett’s Cheese. Cranberry orange topping courtesy of Epicurious.
- Fuyu, Fennel and Arugula Salad
If you are like me, you’ve seen persimmons at your local grocery store or farmer’s market and wondered about their uses. Many people will tell you they know someone who loves them but “you have to get them at the right stage of ripeness”.
To set the record straight, there are two basic versions seen most often in our area (Bay Area, CA). They are the hachiya and fuyu. The hachiyas are often used in baking (breads, cookies) and yes, this variety must be fully ripe for enjoyment. When fully ripe they will feel almost like jelly in their casing. We’ve used these for flavoring ice cream and they impart a delicious, mellow flavor along with a beautiful orange color.
The Fuyu are sturdier with a thick skin. The nice man at the farmer’s market said many people covet these for use in salads and I can now see why. Peeled, thinly sliced then adorned atop salad greens the fuyu add substance to salad (a little like avocado in texture) and color to your dinner palette. The flavor pairs well with stronger flavors like arugula or rocket and citrus.
If you’ve got an idea for using persimmons, please share it by posting a comment. The more the merrier!
Fuyu Persimmon, Fennel and Arugula salad
Dressing
- 3-4 tablespoons rice wine or apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons orange juice (or orange juice concentrate – thawed, if you want a stronger flavor)
- 1 tablespoon Dijon
- ½ cup olive oil*
- ½ teaspoon honey
- 1 shallot, finely minced
- Salt
- Pepper
Mix the orange juice, vinegar and Dijon. Gradually pour in the olive oil while whisking briskly. Add the salt and pepper to taste. Drizzle over the greens.
Cook’s notes:
*walnut oil can be substituted for a milder flavor
Salad
- Fennel – sliced thin
- Persimmon – sliced thin
- Arugula
- Slice red onion (optional)
- Toasted hazelnuts (optional)
Fuyu Persimmons
Sugar Pie Pumpkins
About mid-October I start to think about my costume for Halloween (it’s usually something food-related, what a surprise) and the amount of candy I need for the trick-or-treaters (and myself of course). This year I pondered the idea of a pumpkin to sit on my front porch and scare away the goblins. Instead I wound up with two
sugar pie pumpkins and an open list of options for using them.
Most people are familiar with Jack O’Lantern pumpkins or the stuff out of the can for pies. The Jack O’Lantern variation is great for carving but not so good for eating because they are fibrous, bland (I’m told) and have a “low flesh to cavity” ratio. Although I might add here that the Seattle Woodland Park Zoo has found their inhabitants (in particular the hippos) don’t seem to mind.
While my pumpkins are ultimately destined for ravioli in a sage browned butter sauce there is the matter of my favorite part…the seeds. We opted to use a light coating of oil, a dusting of 9-spice curry and a sprinkle of salt. Toasted in a 350 degree oven for about 30-45 minutes (test for doneness) the result was a deliciously crunchy snack or quite possibly an addition to a salad or bowl of soup.
Toasted, Curry Pumpkin Seeds
- 1 cup seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon 9 – spice curry (or curry powder)
- 1 1/2 teaspoon vegetable oil
Bake at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes, tossing every 15 minutes to coat.
Hope you have a happy – and safe – Halloween!
Toasted Curry Pumpkin Seeds
Basil
I spent the summer fixated on my herb garden or to be more precise, the basil growing in front and cordoned off with a small trench containing snail-discouraging material (ok, slug and snail bait.) Sorry if I just ruined the visual here but past experience has taught me this is one necessary step. And yes, I could eat them – the snails – since someone published an article about cleaning the pests last year but basil is so much tastier when it becomes PESTO!
By late August my work paid off and I had enough basil to start my annual pesto assembly line. First, I gently toasted the pine nuts so as not to burn them, and then set up the garlic, basil, nuts, salt, pepper, cheese and oil all in a line on my dining room table. I assigned a friend to be the food processing engineer and quality assurance taster (not too much salt or oil) and with a push of the pulse button we whirred our way to pesto production. While the entire process always seems a little labor intensive, most of the work is in the ingredient preparation stages. Once we swung into action the whole process took a fast hour to complete.
Many tubs of pesto – lodged securely in my freezer – later, we participated in the ultimate taste test. We whipped up a batch of fusilli pesto and marveled at the activity of the day. For me, it’s another annual food ritual which captures a bit of summer to save for a rainy, cold Northern California day (and yes, it DOES get cold in California!) Next up, chili and pumpkin ravioli – yum!
Pesto
3 large garlic cloves
1/2 cup toasted pine nuts
2 oz. Parmigiano-Reggiano, coarsely grated (about 2/3 cup)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
3 cups loosely packed basil
2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
With food processor running, drop in garlic and finely chop. Stop motor and add nuts, cheese, salt, pepper and basil then process until finely chopped. With motor running, add oil, blending until incorporated.
Cooks’ notes:
For pasta with pesto: put 2/3 cup pesto in a large bowl and cook 1 pound linguine or spaghetti until al dente, then whisk about 1/3 cup pasta cooking water into pesto. Add drained pasta to thinned pesto with salt and pepper to taste and toss well. Serve with additional grated Parmigiano-Reggiano.
Pesto keeps, its surface covered with plastic wrap, chilled, 1 week.
Fusilli Pesto and Tomato Pasta
Golden Delicious Apples
It takes a two-hour plane ride to Seattle and then another 2+ hours to drive east of the mountains (Cascades) for the annual Apple Cider party our friends have each year. And every year I think how crazy it is to travel so far for this fall ritual which involves a decent amount of sweat equity and the ability (this year) to brave the cold. My attitude seems to change midstream once I have my first glass of freshly pressed, unfiltered sweet – but tart – cider. It’s the best ever and at that point I am one happy camper (or worker, in this case.)
This year we used a blend of apples; Golden Delicious, Reds (not related to Goldens) and Granny Smith which, according to reports, the Beatles Apple records adopted as their symbol. Really? In any case, the combination of apples used for our cider produced a sweet flavor which was infused with a decent “bite” of sour (probably the Grannys) for a totally delicious, refreshing treat.
It’s hard to convey just how good fresh cider is but suffice it to say I’m quite bitter that I can’t bring it on the plane ride home. In past years I would bring a few gallons home despite the odd looks from the other passengers (how do you explain “I’ve got two gallons of cider here – but don’t worry, they’re in the overhead and oh yeah, your seat is right below…”)
While you probably won’t be setting up your own cider processing line soon, you might want to try the apple dip recipe below. It was provided by the “cook” at the cider party who said it’s her son’s favorite. Enjoy!
Ardie’s Apple Dip
- 8 oz. cream cheese (low fat is ok)
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Mix ingredients together and add 3/4 cup toffee bits. Dip tart apples!
- Pressing the apples
- The filling station
- The finished product (86 gallons!)
