cooking

I can't help it. I love to experiment with recipes. But when it comes to canning, experimentation is not always a good idea. For safety sake, my canning recipes are usually just very minimal tweaks to recipes that I trust. When my second batch of fruit from Washington State Stone Fruit arrived last week I made low sugar nectarine preserves from one of my pal Sean Timberlake's recipes. Sean is the brains behind the do-it-yourself site Punk Domestics  and a canning expert. I also made a combination peach and nectarine butter from another recipe I'd used in the past.  I�m always eager for opportunities to adapt recipes and put my own spin on them and when it came to these recipes I was inspired to use some samples of bitters and an amaro from Greenbar Distillery . While it's typical to use them in cocktails, I asked Sean about the safety of using these ingredients as well as a bit of spice in canning. Here�s what he said, �Adding a small amount of alcohol or spice...

Is a spiralizer necessary? I got one to review, but truth be told I�m unconvinced. It turns out there are lots of ways to get strands and ribbons from vegetables and fruit. The most common kitchen tools, a grater and a vegetable peeler work remarkably well. I'm also a fan of the  mandolin  which can be used to make many more types of cuts.  But if you really enjoy creating these textures and want a single gadget, the Deiss Pro Julienne & Vegetable Peeler is really a three in one. It�s great for peeling potatoes and carrots, but it�s also good for creating those slithery ribbons and shredds for salads. It also has a nifty feature on the side that allows you to remove the "eyes" from potatoes without resorting to a paring knife or use it to create a peel strip from citrus fruit.  I�ve been using this gadget on zucchini. I use the larger ribbons with chunkier pasta and the shreds with skinny noodles. I blanch the zucchini for a minute or two with the pasta...

When I think of the wines of the Alsace I think white wine. After all 90% of the wines produced in the Alsace are white. But there�s growing interest in one particular red wine, Pinot Noir. This is a recent development, in part due to changing climate conditions. The Alsace already has a staggering 15 different soil types and now it has a longer growing season. Limestone and clay ensure that Pinot Noir will develop the right acidity and tannins. Good Pinot Noir never happens by mistake! I recently enjoyed a wine dinner with a number of different bottles of Pinot Noir from the Alsace. They had all the characteristics I expect from Pinot Noir�notes of strawberry or raspberry, smoke, leather, sometimes spice, fresh acidity. Some were fresh and vibrant, others more complex and earthy.  But the wine I enjoyed the most? Allimant Laugner Cr�mant d�Alsace Ros�. It's bright with strawberry and lemon, and deliciously fizzy and can be found for under $20. I love sparking wines and...

Chef Rachelle Boucher shows off our cherry jam If you�ve been to the store or maybe the farmers market recently you might have seen cherries. The sweetness of bing cherries is both intense and fleeting. Cherries don�t last long after being picked, unlike apples or oranges. That's why I'm glad to be a part of the Canbassador program. The past few years I�ve received a crate of fresh sweet cherries from Northwest Cherry Growers . Every year I experiment preserving something different. I�ve prepared cherry barbecue sauce , canned cherries for pie, put up bourbon cherries, made cherry  vanilla  shrub and even dried and frozen cherries. This year I decided to make cherry jam. It turned out to be a very special cooking experience for me because I wasn�t in my kitchen, but over at the Miele showroom in San Francisco, with my pal Chef Rachelle Boucher. She kindly invited me over to do a little cooking. To be honest, working with Miele appliances will spoil you. Here�s how it w...

Here's one of my strategies for dinner in a hurry--tweak a classic dish by loading it up with vegetables and creating a one pot meal. Recently I worked on a  shrimp and feta recipe , it started out very much the same as many other recipes, but I added lots of fresh fennel. Basically this shrimp curry recipe started with a simple coconut curry recipe to which I added sugar snap peas, bell peppers and cherry tomatoes. I happened to have some sugar snap peas from Mann's produce (another great time saver because they are stringless and don't need any prep), but I could have added broccoli or sweet potatoes or some other study vegetables. Just add rice or noodles and dinner is done! This recipe comes courtesy of  American Shrimp Company , they kindly sent me some more of their fresh wild gulf shrimp. The shrimp are bursting with flavor and can be used in so many dishes. They arrive clean, deveined, peeled, fresh, not frozen, perfect for when you don't have much tim...

Yesterday I wrote about Pecorino Romano , today Pecorino Toscano and Pecorino Sardo , two other kinds of  Protected Designation of Origin (PDO)  Pecorino you are likely to find in the US. Pecorino Toscano I ate the fresh version of Pecorino Toscano practically daily when I lived in Tuscany. In Florence, fresh Pecorino Toscano was like the Italian version of Monterey Jack, the cheese I grew up eating in California.It's mild, slightly herbal, sweet, approachable, easy to love. It's really great in a sandwich--either cold or grilled. Pecorino Toscano is made from milk produced in Tuscany, Lazio and Umbria. As with all cheeses, it gets harder and drier as it ages. In the US it used to be much easier to the find the aged versions than the really fresh soft ones. The fresher version is particularly mild and creamy. The aged version is buttery, sometimes nutty with a peppery finish It�s just a great table cheese, perfect for an antipasto platter. Even aged it tends to be m...

Pecorino Romano and Pecorino Gran Cacio Etrusco Knowing Italian is sometimes a help in the culinary realm. But not always. Pecora means sheep in Italian providing the clue that Pecorino refers to sheep�s milk cheese. But after that it gets complicated. There are 6 kinds of Pecorino with Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) in Italy but only a few you are likely to find in the US. First up is the most commonly found Pecorino cheese, Pecorino Romano and tomorrow, Pecorino Toscano and Pecorino Sardo. Pecorino Romano is the easiest to find Pecorino cheese in the US. The name is a bit confusing however. It�s not just a cheese from Rome or even Lazio as you might assume, but is also produced in the province of Grosseto in Tuscany and in Cagliari, Nuoro, Oristano and Sassari on the island of Sardinia. In fact, Sardinia is the biggest producer of Pecorino Romano, go figure. It�s an ancient cheese and it was mentioned by Pliny the Elder almost 2,000 years ago. It was such an importan...

Lovely Lillet always reminds me of Summer . I first drank it in France one magical Summer when I spent a week with friends at their country house in the Loire Valley. Afternoons melted into evenings over an aperitif or two. Sitting by the pool I sipped on my Lillet and felt very chic. While there's a red and rose version of Lillet,  You can use any of the versions of Lillet in cocktails or to make creative versions of sangria (combine it with Sauvignon Blanc and grapefruit or orange juice and maybe some fresh berries or stone fruit like peaches or nectarines). I�m still most fond of the blanc version, either over ice or in a spritz with equal parts Lillet and tonic or sparkling water, garnished simply with either a slice of lemon of lime.  Lillet blanc is made from 85% S emillon from  Bordeaux, and 15% citrus liqueur with both sweet and bitter oranges. It was created in 1872 and originally had a more bitter flavor profile thanks to the addition of quinine which...

Recently I got a delivery of Pacific Grenadier from Real Good Fish . Grenadier has the unfortunate reputation as a "junk fish" because it's by catch--caught unintentionally by fisherman going after black cod.  It's a deep water fish, with a long body and a very thin tail. Pacific Grenadier has a delicate texture similar to cod, snapper and orange roughy, and a very mild flavor. The thin fillets cook very quickly and need to be handled gently.  Because it's not a large commercial fishery you may have trouble finding specific recipes for it, but you can use pretty much any recipe that calls for snapper or orange roughy.  This is yet another recipe inspired by what was in my refrigerator. It's a little fussier than I would like because you have to cook the leeks and onions in a skillet before transferring them to a baking sheet to form a bed for the fish. But I like the combination of a savory olives, sweet onions and leeks and juicy tomatoes. Lately I...

I recently wrote a story about mandolines on Tasting Table . I�ve had a lot of experience with mandolines and yes, some of it involves band-aids. Here�s the thing, a mandoline is a serious tool. I was once sent one that had so many blades and was so big and heavy it scared me. I�ve used a low end model for years, but frankly the blades are getting dull and there isn't an easy way to sharpen them.  BEST FOR VOLUME AND PRECISE CUTS IN A VARITY OF THICKNESSES OXO has been making and perfecting their high end model for years. The  OXO Good Grips Chef�s Mandoline Slicer 2.0 has lots of features that make it really worth considering. It sells for $79 Here are what I consider the highlights:  1. The hand guard is really well designed and stores conveniently under the slicer. It is spring loaded so it grips the food firmly. Still, you might want to consider using a cut resistant glove . 2. The dial on the side allows you choose the thickness of yo...

Lugana is  a small Italian wine region that you�ve probably never heard of before.   It straddles Veneto and Lombardy, right around the Southern shore of the the stunning Lake Garda. It's neighbors are Soave and Valpolicella and there are just a little over 100 producers. Lugana wines are  made from an indigenous varietal called Trebbiano di Lugana or most accurately Turbiana which is related to Verdicchio.  The clay soil adds a touch of salinity and savory quality and t he wines are zesty and bright with lemon, grapefruit and tangerine and sometimes sweeter notes of peach, almond and even mint. I visited Lake Garda and Lugana in the Fall of 2015 and  Cantina Castelnuovo  winery. I was struck by how much more delicious and compelling the wines were than the more common and often insipid Pinot Grigio.  The most challenging thing about Lugana white wines  is finding them in the US.  The un-oaked Lugana DOC wines are fun and fresh...

When I see a recipe repeatedly I sometimes feel compelled to give it a try. Salted Tahini Chocolate Chip Cookies from Danielle Oron's Modern Israeli Cooking is one of those recipes. It was published in the New York Times a little over a year ago, then Food52 got in on the act and reprinted it as well.  Just recently David Lebovitz published his version of the recipe, which he had adapted and then raved that they were "some of the best chocolate chip cookies to ever come out of my oven." His goal was to make the cookies a bit more chewy and to increase the chocolate. Those are goals I thoroughly support. While I pretty much used his recipe, I took it a bit further. Instead of using one half cup of light brown sugar in place of one half cup of white sugar as he did, I used one half cup dark brown sugar. I also increased the chocolate. While Lebovitz uses chocolate chunks, I used chocolate chips and the whole bag, why not? It�s 12 ounces and 340 grams of semisweet...

I have made many versions of shrimp and feta over the years and maybe you have too. Sweet shrimp and salty feta is such a great combination and while you really don�t need a recipe to make it, this one is a particular favorite. I�ve simplified the steps�no need to saute and bake as many recipes require. The recipe also uses mostly pantry staples. Keep some good quality shrimp in the freezer and with just two purchases�feta and a fennel bulb, you can make this dish in no time flat. Speaking of shrimp, the gorgeous shrimp I used for this dish came from the American Shrimp Company an online retailer of wild caught American shrimp. They are mostly sourced out of the Gulf and Southern Atlantic. If you purchase them online, they arrive in perfect condition, fresh and ready to use. I used half the shrimp I received right away and the other half I froze to use later. I am a strong believer in using the best quality ingredients you can afford, especially when it comes to seafood. Americ...

If you�re looking for something fun to do this upcoming holiday weekend, I have a suggestion. Chang beer , one of the leading beers in Thailand is sponsoring Chang Sensory Trails , a free un-ticketed festival in San Francisco that focuses on Thai food, art, music and of course, plenty of beer. The festival has taken place in Los Angeles, London and Singapore and is coming to San Francisco for the first time this year. It�s taking place on Saturday May 27th 2017 from noon until 10 pm at Fort Mason Center�s Festival Pavilion.  But even if you won't be able to make it to the festival, I think you will find it interesting to learn a little bit more about Thai food from Chef Duangporn Songvisava, or �Bo� as she�s more commonly known. She was chosen Asia�s Best Female Chef 2013 and runs the Bangkok restaurant Bo.Lan with her husband Chef Dylan Jones (it's ranked 19 on the list of Asia's 50 Best Restaurants 2017). Chef Bo along with Chef Dylan helped to curate the food for t...

Do you know a chef who is making a difference? The Basque Culinary World Prize is a competition not based on the typical achievements of the kitchen and dining room, but on  a �transformative project� in gastronomy that has had a positive impact on society. This could be through culinary innovation, a commitment to social responsibility, sustainability or the economic development of their community. Nominees for the prize must have a background as a professional chef though they don�t currently need to be a chef and they can be from anywhere in the world.  The winner will receive �100,000 to devote to a social project of their choice that demonstrates the wider role of the chef in society. Credit: Cassie Borreson   Back in March I attended an event with Dominique Crenn and Joxe Mari Aizega, the Head of the Basque Culinary Center , the host of the competition, to kick off the nominations in the US. They both emphasized the importance of setting a positive exa...