ciao samin

COUNTY FAIR: Sunday, June 30th

2013-06-18T14:09:00.002-07:00

Psssst! Tartine & Pizzaiolo are teaming up for a kid-friendly COUNTY FAIR on Sunday, June 30th to raise money for CECSF.

There will be games, music, lots of food and drink, face-painting and all sorts of other crazy stuff going on. Bring the whole family!

Annnnnnnd, there will be a Pie off and a Jam off! Think your sticky delights are all that? Bring them to the fair and let June Taylor and Caitlin Williams-Freeman be the judge of that.

Complete details here. See you there!

Something Out of Nothing: Homemade Almond Extract

2013-06-12T12:36:00.004-07:00

A lot of people aren't into almond extract, and I can totally understand why. I went through a serious period of hating all things almond, except almonds. Marzipan, frangipane, almond extract--I didn't understand their relationship to almonds at all. It was sort of like claiming that grape popsicles were related to grapes. Uh, I don't think so.

Then, I went to Italy. I ate almonds from Sicily, so fragrant they'd make roses jealous. Holy schnikeys were they good. Suddenly, I understood what almond extract was going for.

image source

Eventually, I learned about drupes, the family of fruits that includes both stone fruits like apricots, peaches and cherries, and almonds. I ate peach leaf ice cream at Chez Panisse. (Yes, PEACH LEAF! Can you believe if you steep peach leaves in cream they give off an incredibly faint yet delicious almond flavor?! Talk about making something out of nothing!) As an intern in the pastry department, I'd spend hours liberating bitter apricot kernels, or noyaux, from the pits, so that they could be used to flavor desserts. I think the most delicious ice cream I have ever had is Burnt Caramel-Noyaux from Ici Ice Cream. I can't even begin to imagine how many noyaux Mary had to stockpile to make a few gallons of that stuff. Because that's the thing, you need kind of a lot of them to lend flavor to something.

Anyway, usually, I just crack all of the noyaux from my apricots, throw them in a cheesecloth pouch and cook them into the jam I make each June. But last year, I had a little stash that didn't make it into the jam, so I decided to try my hand at almond extract.

As it turns out, almond extract is actually made from noyaux or other forms of bitter almonds, because they taste more almondy than almonds themselves. Pure almond extract is made by suspending the oil extracted from bitter almonds in water and alcohol. Since I don't have the sophisticated tools to do that on my own, I just cracked all of my noyaux, combined them with some lovely, fragrant almonds from Riverdog Farm, poured a bunch of vodka over them, and put them in a dark bottle in the back of a kitchen cupboard.

I wish we had smell-o-vision (smell-o-net?) so you could experience what I got. Pure heaven. Last night, when I made this year's batch of apricot jam, I added some of the noyaux liquor when it was done and almost fainted from the deliciousness. Yikes. Now, I'm turning all of the new noyaux into next year's extract.

One warning: Bitter almonds do contain a small amount of cyanide, so you're not supposed to eat a whole bunch of them, and I assume that some of the cyanide makes its way into the extract, so please don't go drinking shots of it. A teaspoon here, a tablespoon there in a recipe hasn't killed me yet. But no overdosing on the extract. Got it?

Homemade Almond Extract

30 apricot pits*
2 cups vodka or everclear, though I bet brandy would be nice, too

To extract the noyaux, simply line them on a kitchen towel placed on a counter or on the ground outside (I did it in the driveway), cover with another kitchen towel, and use a hammer to tap each pit until it cracks. Then, remove the kernels. Some will break, and that's ok.

Place in a mason jar or dark glass jar, and keep in a dry, cool cupboard. Give it a shake every day (or as often as you remember). It took mine about 3 months to really get sufficiently almondy, and at that time, I strained out the noyaux and replaced with fresh ones I'd kept in the freezer to really fortify the flavor.

To use, strain the extract through a cheesecloth or coffee filter, and keep in a dry, cool place. Use as you would any other extract.

*If you don't anticipate eating 30 apricots in one sitting, you can freeze the pits until you've collected enough, and then extract the noyaux in one fell swoop.

C U R R E N T (L Y)

2013-05-29T12:28:00.001-07:00

These days, I'm doing my best to get myself settled in a regular writing routine. It's getting a little easier, every week, to come to work and keep regular hours (except for when Little Flower School comes to town and I have to spend four days straight with some of the most inspiring ladies I know).

But naturally, a huge part of sitting at your desk writing all day is wasting time on the internet. Duh. And as such, I'm coming across all sorts of inspiring, interesting, and informative things I'd like to share. So, in the spirit of Heidi's Favorites Lists, and in the interest of not wasting (more) time on elaborate blog posts and ignoring my actual job of writing a book, I hereby introduce:

C U R R E N T (L Y)

illustration by Fiona Strickland

Garden Valley Ranch

So excited about this collaboration

Mooning over these illustrations

Looking forward to Provisions

Working my way through these interviews

SF MoMA is having a FREE 24-hour Goodbye Party; come see me at 8am on Sunday, June 2nd

I am loving my new Everlane tees. Gotta say, they also have incredible customer service.

Check out my Cali-Persian spread in Bon Appetit. Also, this feature on me & orecchiette in Sunset, including a sweet video!

So many of my friends have new books out right now. Loving/can't wait to get to: Gulp, Wild Ones, Cooked & Farmacology.

On the illustrated cookbook front, I am particularly smitten by How to Boil an Egg and The Connoisseur's Guide to Meat.

I will never stop loving Sarah and Nicolette. What they do is so unbelievably beautiful, every single time. So grateful to be in their orbit.

It's time to put our money where our mouths are. People's Community Market in West Oakland is gonna happen, but only with another push of community support. Consider investing (or lending, which is how I prefer to think about it) $1,000 to make this market a reality!

These might be the most beautiful knives I have ever seen.

My Oakland picks for, Meraviglia, an Italian travel mag.

We recently had the best restaurant meal in a long time at Sir & Star.

I am obsessed with St. Benoit's Jersey Milk. It is just so insanely delicious.

I try not to spend too much time or energy coveting stuff, but this spice mill has been taunting me for years.

Hope you're all doing well!

How this happened.

2013-04-23T15:14:00.000-07:00

photo by coral von zumwait for O Magazine

I first heard of Michael Pollan before The Botany of Desire came out in 2002. Someone at Chez Panisse had an advance copy of it and it got passed around from cook to cook, and eventually to me. I devoured it, and started avidly following his career. Next came Power Steer, the story that changed the meat-purchasing policies at the restaurant and far beyond, and of course The Omnivore's Dilemma.

This guy was saying things I could get behind. I, along with pretty much everyone else in my corner of the food world, was thrilled to finally have someone on the national stage speaking so eloquently about the things I spent my days and nights pondering. For the first time since Wendell Berry, we had a calm, studied representative out there drawing people's awareness to the issues we'd devoted our lives to.

For several years after graduating college, every spring I considered applying--or applied--to graduate school. I'd always assumed I'd be an academic, and nearly enrolled in graduate school twice. I wasn't really picky about what I wanted to study. It was more about just returning to school so I could put off having to face real life. At various points in time I considered an MFA in poetry, a PhD in English, an MSc in Biodiversity and an MA in journalism. Like I said, I wasn't picky.

Eventually, I reached a point where I realized it might not happen for me, mostly for financial reasons. So I asked Michael if I could simply audit his class called Following the Food Chain at the Graduate School of Journalism at Cal.

He said no.

Practical professor that he is, he said I was the lowest priority person on his list, after all of the paying GSJ students who wanted to take the tiny seminar, all of the grad students in other programs at UC Berkeley, and the undergraduates. Community members like me were basically at the bottom of the barrel. But as a consolation prize, I could come to the first day of the class. In the unlikely event that a bunch of enrolled students dropped out of the class and no one else showed up to fill the spots, I could then audit.

No dice. Over 200 people showed up, all thinking the same thing as me. Michael tried to manage the chaos by asking us all to write on an index card why we wanted to take the class. I have no idea what I wrote on there, but I filled it out, stayed for the class, and left knowing there was no hope for me to get in.

A couple of days later, I recounted the whole story to my friend Sarah, then a grad student in Architectural History at Cal. It was obvious how bummed out I was. She looked at me, totally confused, and asked, "What the heck is wrong with you, Samin? Don't know know anything about academics? You have to show him how badly you want this and point out to him all of the ways in which he would be a fool to NOT let you in. This class is about your LIFE'S WORK! Write him a letter and tell him everything you'd bring to the class precisely because you're NOT a grad student, but a COOK deeply involved in everything he's teaching about."

Figuring I had nothing to lose, I did exactly that. And it worked. He shrugged and said, "Okay, you're in."

Taking that class was one of the two or three best things I have ever done for myself. It was tiny--I think there were twelve of us in there--and I forged relationships with many of the writers and journalists who comprise my tightly-knit group of literary friends here in the Bay Area through that class. Most of my officemates, beach buddies, dear friends, and colleagues in this writerly part of my life came to me as a result of that class. And then, there's also Michael.

Michael, who allowed me to browbeat him into letting me into that class, into forcing us to take a field trip to Cannard Farm, into turning my turn to make the weekly snack into a three course meal, has been a teacher, guide, mentor, willing guinea pig, and friend to me for the last seven years.

When in 2009 Michael came to me and said "I'm going to write a book that looks at cooking from all angles, and I'll need a guide. Would you like to be it?" I was ready with a big, fat YES.

We started cooking together on Sundays, sometimes shopping together at the farmer's market on Saturdays, sometimes using leftovers or vegetables from the garden or mushrooms he'd foraged, and always naturally drawing the rest of the family into the kitchen. Each of us quickly found his or her place in the order of things--Michael as the eager student, me as the mess-making teacher, Judith as the keeper of order, and Isaac as the quality-control-know-it-all. After a long afternoon of cooking together, we'd sit down to a lovingly prepared meal. One of my favorite dishes from the whole experience was something we cooked that first time with porcini mushrooms Michael had found in Bolinas the day before--we simmered the trimmings in chicken stock and made a really tasty soup that we ladled over spinach, and then floated duck fat croutons piled with sautéed porcini on top.

We quickly realized cooking for half a day yielded way too much food for just the four of us, and soon Sundays became an excuse for dinner parties with people who, more times than not, ended up joining us and lending a hand in the kitchen.

I did my best to build our lessons around concrete themes, from browning to layering flavors, to specific chemical reactions, to various cuisines of the world, to seasonal ingredients available to us for fleeting moments throughout the year. We cooked paella in the fire pit, roasted whole pork shoulders (and a couple whole hogs!), we cooked grains and meats and all manner of vegetables and fruits, we made mistakes and fixed them, and we had lots and lots of fun. We cooked everything we could dream up and shared it all with wonderful people. I couldn't have imagined a better job.

Michael quickly picked up on my obsession with Salt, Fat, Acid, and Heat and I told him of the book I'd dreamt of writing at the ripe old age of twenty. He encouraged me to write a four-part curriculum for cooking classes and start teaching. So I did, and eventually, he encouraged me to turn it into a book proposal. So I did. And now I get to share what I shared with Michael with the whole rest of the world.

When Michael wanted to learn about bread, I took him to meet Chad Robertson. When we went in to observe the bakers at Tartine, I was so inspired by them I asked if we could collaborate sometime and Tartine Afterhours was born. This experience has given me so much. It's insane. Some might even call it MAGIC.

I can't even begin to explain how wonderfully surreal it is to be captured in print by my mentor, teacher, and friend, who also happens to be a bestselling author and international authority on the subject to which I have devoted my life. But what I can do is share with you one of my favorite bits of the WATER chapter, where I am the main character, teaching him about cooking in pots. If you have ever met me--and even if you haven't--it'll be immediately apparent that Michael managed to get the exact right balance of my intensity, silliness, mischievousness and enthusiasm down on the page:

As usual, Samin had a white apron tied around her waist, and the thicket of her black hair raked partway back. Samin is tall and sturdily built, with strong features, slashing black eyebrows and warm olivey-brown skin. If you had to pick one word to describe her, "avid" would have to be it; Samin is on excellent terms with the exclamation point. Words tumble from her mouth; laughter, too; and her deep, expressive brown eyes are always up to something.

As honored and excited as I am to be one of the main characters of this book, my favorite parts--the ones that make me cry--have nothing to do with me. The introduction (which you can read or listen to here) and the conclusion include some of the most articulate, timely, and sensitive arguments for cooking and eating together that I have ever read. Just as when I first discovered Michael's writing, I feel an ineffable joy at the fact that there is someone brilliant out there advocating my values, arguing for all of the things in which I so deeply believe. The only difference is that now, that someone is practically family.

Today is the publishing date for Cooked: A Natural History of Transformation Michael's seventh book.

You can buy it from any of these fine retailers, or, better yet, your local bookstore. Read it and let me know what you think!
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
IndieBound
Books Inc.
Powell's

Here's MP on the Colbert Report last night. Hilarious.
Here's a great interview with him and Adam Platt in New York Magazine.
Here's another great interview about how Wendell Berry has inspired his work.
Here's a super informative Cooking FAQ and list of resources on Michael's website.
And here's a list of his book events across the country and beyond.

In case you are interested, I put together a list of cooking resources and will continue to add to it as time goes on. And I also updated my Amazon.com store (full disclosure, if you buy anything after clicking on an Amazon.com link I post, I make a small commission on that purchase) with all sorts of basic, useful, and luxury kitchen items and books.

TARTINE AFTERHOURS is back! Wednesday, April 17th

2013-03-26T15:51:00.002-07:00

After all of these months of resting and healing and writing, we are SO READY to bring Tartine Afterhours back for all of our Bay Area friends! I stocked up on the very best mole paste I could find in Mexico on my recent trip, and we are going to have SUCH AN AWESOME PARTY to celebrate our return to these monthly feasts. Heirloom beans, check. Tender roast chicken marinated in mole, check. Warm corn tortillas, check. Micheladas, check! It's gonna be so tasty! We can't wait to see you there!

heirloom beans in puebla, mexico :: january, 2013

WHO: the fab folks at tartine and me
WHAT: a bomb-ass mole poblano feast
WHERE: tartine bakery (600 guerrero st. sf, ca)
WHEN: wednesday, april 17th at 8pm
WHY: to highlight the joy of good food and good company
HOW MUCH: $60 plus drinks and gratuity. cash only, please!
TO RESERVE: please fill out this form to submit your name into the lottery. due to the overwhelming popularity of our dinners, space is extremely limited so we now select guests by performing a lottery. we'll email lottery winners by wednesday, april 10th; if you don't hear back from us, please try again next month!

only in my dreams

2013-03-25T13:42:00.000-07:00

i have dreamed of writing a book since i was a little girl and my aunt, who i looked up to more than pretty much anyone, worked in the university library. i couldn't have been more than six or seven years old when she taught me how to use the microfiche and the card catalog and i'd spend hours upon hours wandering through the stacks. right then and there, i fell in love with books and wanted to create one of my own one day.

i've wanted to write a book since tom dorman, my high school cross country coach and eleventh grade honors english teacher, introduced me to a magazine called the new yorker, gave me great novel after great novel to devour, read me poetry on a daily basis, and passed on his addiction to keeping a journal. to him, there was no other life than a literary life, and so the same became true for me. because of him, i knew i'd enter college as an english major, with ambitions to start writing new york times best sellers immediately upon graduation.

when my uncle got sick and my family went crazy trying to cure him, a family friend came from halfway across the world. he was a healer, and brought with him his toothless, weathered, hindu guru. it was one of the most emotionally wrought times in my life--there was so much anger, so many tears. the guru took me gently by hand to a quiet corner and asked to read my palm. so much good news flowed out from his lips that i assumed he was a total quack. he told me that the dreams of all of the books i'd write, of having a family and children, of being healthy and wealthy and living a long life would all come true. i didn't know whether or not to believe him, so i just wrote it all down.

when i was 20 years old, interning in the kitchen at chez panisse and still entertaining dreams of graduating college only to start writing best-selling chapbooks of poetry, i remember being so overwhelmed by the sheer amount of information that cooks were required to know that i would go home each evening with a headache. on top of all of the techniques, the fact that the menu changes daily according to the seasons meant that i might be assigned a task one day and not repeat it for weeks, months, or even a year. the maze of information seemed impenetrable and i felt like i'd never learn everything i needed to know to become a good cook.

but then, one day i began to see the forest through the trees. i realized that everything we cooked in that kitchen had a few basic things in common: attention was always paid to salt, fat, acid and heat. it didn't matter where the roots of the dishes we cooked lay. salt, fat, acid and heat were always the most important elements to attend to. i decided then and there i'd write a book elucidating these four magical variables for other novices; why didn't anyone ever tell home cooks that understanding how to use salt, fat, acid and heat was enough to get you 90% of the way to deliciousness? my book would be short--twelve pages at most--and clear. after reading it, everyone would be a better, more confident cook.

then i remembered i was twenty and that no one would buy my book. so i shelved that idea. that was thirteen years ago.

in 2009, i started teaching michael pollan cooking lessons as part of the background research for his forthcoming book, Cooked. that's its own whole story, and i'll write about that eventually, but michael quickly picked up on my obsession with these four elements and asked me about it. i explained to him the way i think about them every time i set out to cook, and he encouraged me to turn my philosophy into a four part series of classes, and then a book.

since october of 2011, i have been working on my book proposal. it's been through not one, but four iterations. in that time, i have been to china and cuba, torn my meniscus, been doored on my bike, had knee surgery, cried sixty four days in a row, spent months eating mostly dried beans in an effort to save money, and alternately tried to be michael pollan, tamar adler and john mcphee to no avail. i also drove myself insane trying to find the "perfect" agent.

i also started stalking, with great intensity, the inimitable wendy macnaughton, and begged her to consider illustrating my book. i've been a fan of hers for a few years, and just knew in my heart that we could make an AMAZING book together one day.

and then a series of extraordinary events led me first to the legendary binky urban, who gave me loads of invaluable advice, and then to kari stuart, my magical, brilliant agent from heaven. i met with her in november (more than a year after i'd started writing) and showed her what i had, what at the time seemed to me to be a complete and utter mess that would never come together in any sort of meaningful way. kari, like one of those crazy rubik's cube masters, sat down with me at city bakery and drew a few lines on a piece of paper that somehow turned a pile of a hundred pages of blathering into a structured outline and proposal. she sent me on my way to put on a few finishing touches and continue stalking wendy, and i left with a goal to finish by the end of january.

so after cuba, i came home, hid underground, and wrote my heart out. and i continued stalking wendy. finally, she gave in and agreed to illustrate the book. i'd imagined that an illustrated book about food would be a tough sell, so i really wanted to have the proposal illustrated to give the publishers the same experience i hope to give my readers. so wendy and i collaborated on a few charts and illustrations, she hand-lettered all of the titles and headings, and my angel-friend sarah adelman (née pulver) designed it all into an amazingly gorgeous document.

three weeks ago today, kari sent it out to the world. the very same day, we started getting enthusiastic YESes back from publishers asking to meet. so i used a kajillion points to buy a ticket to nyc for a super secret whirlwind trip, and i got there two monday mornings ago on the red eye. i went straight to my friends' house, took a shower, and rushed to meet kari at haven's kitchen. we jumped around for a minute about the fact that there was SO MUCH INTEREST in my book, and then we were off, to meeting after meeting after meeting.

as someone who has been devoted to books my entire life, the experience of going to all of those meetings at publishing houses was pretty much the most life-affirming thing i have ever done. for three and a half days, i met with people who love, make, and understand books better than anyone else. i sat in rooms filled floor to ceiling with books. i was given stacks and stacks of books as gifts. and most amazingly, i was addressed by people i have respected my entire career as a person who has many books in me. they told me i have a way with words, and my heart almost exploded from joy. they saw me as a WRITER, and i started to believe that it could really be true. more than once in meetings i teared up from the joy of being seen as what i have wanted to be my entire life.

and as if that wasn't enough, they all loved the proposal. they all got it. i'd shown up ready to have to defend many of my unorthodox choices, but never really had to. not once. they all got my vision. for the first time, my ambition wasn't something to be ashamed of, but rather something to be proud of. it was incredible. there was just so. much. praise. if this had happened at another time in my life, i might not have been strong enough to take all of the praise. one editor emailed my agent to say, "i might die if i don't get the chance to publish this book." take that and multiply that times 1,000. that's what was going on for an entire week.

selling a book is like the most insane game of poker you could ever imagine. there is so much secrecy and strategy. i could never be in that business for a living, but kari is brilliant at it. she looks so unassuming, a lovely midwesterner at heart with the best new york style. she looks so sweet. but really, she is an evil genius. offers started to come in, and she was just stone-faced. i was having meltdowns multiple times a day, and she never faltered. the whole thing, meetings and all, lasted a week. my auction was last monday, and luckily i was working 24/7 from the minute i got back to california on thursday night, because otherwise i would have gone insane waiting things out.

i was also lucky to have connected emotionally with so many great editors, but there was one in particular i couldn't stop thinking about. mike szczerban at simon & schuster. he's young, hungry, and so very intelligent and thoughtful. i left his meeting feeling like he was the kind of person i'd be stoked to talk about books with for the rest of my life. i knew we had an amazing intellectual connection, and that we could make a really beautiful book (and more!) together. all weekend long, i was rife with nerves hoping he'd come back and fight for me.

on saturday, i saw michael p. and he told me to be smart, to not get swept away in all of the amazing stuff they were all telling me they'd do for me, and to make the decision of which editor to go with based on what would benefit me most in the long run. he also said, somewhat quixotically, that once all of the bids were in, the best choice would become clear. sunday night, i had an incredible chat with my friend laurel braitman and she gave me similar advice: choose who you can see yourself making the best book with. the pr, the money, all of that other stuff is secondary.

my whole life, i have made decisions based on who i want to work with and what kind of work i want to do. i've turned down a lot of six-figure jobs because i knew i'd be unhappy doing the work they involved. i've consciously entered times of financial struggle in order to do the work i want to do most. neither writing or cooking are financially lucrative, but in both i have careers that fulfill me and bring me into the company of people who inspire me on a daily basis. and so, i knew that i could never make the decision of which publisher to go with based on money or praise or promised fame.

i went to bed knowing that i'd choose mike. and on monday morning, that's exactly what i did.

i called wendy and we melted with laughter and disbelief.

i had breakfast with alex and she read aloud the four-page letter mike had sent with his offer while i sat in the garden crying.

i went to work and jumped up and down with my writer ladies.

then i went and had a massage. when i got out, kari said i could finally call mike.

so i called him and we squealed together for ten minutes. we traded stories of how anxious we'd been over the weekend, and just celebrated that we get to work together. now, i get to write the book that has been in me for thirteen years. now, i get to do the thing i have wanted to do more than anything else my entire life. I GET TO WRITE A BOOK! and i get to do it with a team of people i couldn't love or respect any more--kari, mike, meg, marie and of course wendy.

i have never been so happy. i'd thought that this kind of thing would happen only in my dreams. it turns out, my life has become the very best kind of dream.

if you are wondering...

2013-02-05T12:07:00.003-08:00

where i am, i'm hiding, in a little hole, until i finish my book proposal. i've already dragged this mofo out for a year and change, and it's effffing time to finish!

mini mexico city.

2013-01-22T12:44:00.000-08:00

i went to mexico city last week to visit aaron, who was there doing research. we mostly walked, went to churches and museums, and ate. but we made time to see some markets, too. i could spend six months there on vacation and never get sick of it. there was so much beauty, so much color to take in.

piloncillo. of course i bought 3 kg of it.

we had pozole at la casa de toño twice. so good.

beautiful candle shop in puebla.

there are rotisseries everywhere. the street food--aaron wouldn't let me have any--was incredible looking.

i was obsessed with these huge, sad piñatas near our casita, left over from the holidays.

beans in puebla. the heirloom bean situation is out of control. of course i bought a few kilos of those, too.

it wasn't squash blossom season, but we saw a few here and there.

banana leaves for tamales.

quinceñera dress shop.

octopus at contramar.

i spent the last morning with several huge diego rivera murals.

ceramics.

cooking.

natural dyes.

more natural dyes.

DF recommendations

Tamales at Tamales Emporio

Pozole at La Casa de Toño

La Merced Market for anything and everything--we bought old cleavers, linens, spoons, mole paste, chiles, dried beans, piloncillo, and all sorts of other stuff there and we barely made a dent.

Casa Victor and Fonart for lovely, beautiful things like ceramics, textiles and jewelry

Juice and Tortas at Jugos Canadá: Get guanabana juice and squeeze in a bunch of lime.

mini cuba.

2012-12-31T12:37:00.001-08:00

here's a tiny visual cuba update, since if i don't put something up now, it may be months before i get anything "perfect" together. i took lots of film photos, and we're all planning to get together and exchange photos and videos, so there is A LOT more to come. please keep in mind, these are from when i actually managed to get the camera out and shoot, so there are a lot of times when we were working that i didn't actually capture anything.

from the moment we landed, we were fully there, fully IN CUBA! diesel fumes on the tarmac, uniformed taxi drivers, and warmth from every direction. we befriended nearly everyone we crossed paths with.

miguel, who varun dubbed the "bob cannard of cuba," who makes his own charcoal in the most beautiful way.

some of the best meals we ate (not this one, actually) were in driveways and patios, with mamas cooking in the garages and serving us our platillos right there.

the cars were really excellent.

the organiponico we sourced most of our stuff from was on the outskirts of havana, called alamar. beautiful, beautiful produce.

jerry was fully consumed by sugar cane after our cod project at parsons.

so much incredible produce. amazing, amazing herbs!

there was so much eggplant, we all used it in our menus.

cuban children are the most beautiful children in the world.

i managed to avoid eating this noni fruit, which tasted like blue cheese. UGH.

the cubans seem to have a really special relationship with onions.

this was the "animal farm" where we sourced the meat for our dinners. when we stopped in to choose the animals for slaughter, they were throwing a birthday party for a family member, complete with a pig roast!

could she be any more beautiful?

unsurprisingly, turtle befriended every child we met, not to mention this horse! and she got all of the girls to ride in the carriage with her.

artechef, the culinary institute where we taught a workshop.

the herb delivery from alamar at the last minute was stunning. made me feel so utterly at home in such a foreign place.

chef jerry.

so many incredible home gardens.

cooking our first dinner, at le chansonnier.

in what i think was perhaps the greatest feat of the trip, charlie and steve sullivan snuck into a government run bakery to bake bread for the dinners, with a mixture of flours we found in havana and some that steve brought, as well as some sorta scary cheese i got at the fancy grocery store. steve had made the dough in his hotel room bath room, monitoring temperature and humidity as only a master bread baker is wont to do.

also, this photo is really washed out--the bread was gorgeous.

i became obsessed with the artist Guayasamín for multiple reasons, not least of which was the similarity of our names. he was pretty incredible, though.

i think the best meal we ate, and this may be telling, was in chinatown, at the luna del oro. it was insanely fun, especially after the elvis impersonating guitar player showed up to seranade us.

our favorite event was our "pop-up," where we took over a friend's fritura stand for the night and cooked food and gave it away to neighborhood folks. we grilled chicken and onions and made a bunch of different kind of fritters. it was by and large the most "real" experience we had. we were all exhausted, and going a little looney, but it was fantastic.

we all laughed so much our cheeks hurt.

this woman has the most amazing voice ever. she sells peanuts by singing an amazingly catchy tune, and everyday her outfit has a different theme color. we fell in love with her.

there was an incredible amount of beautifully decrepit colonial architecture to take in. so much beauty amongst the brokenness. i came to feel like they couldn't exist independently.

sorting through beans.

on our last night we made it to a baseball came. it was so alive, so lo-fi, so fantastic!

Home Ec: Thanksgiving Basics--Pie!

2012-11-19T21:19:00.000-08:00

photo: peden + munk

Dorie Greenspan's Pecan Pie

1 9-inch pie crust, blind baked and cooled
3/4 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
3 large eggs at room temperature
2 teaspoons instant espresso powder (I sometimes just use a shot of espresso)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups (about 7 ounces) pecan halves or pieces
3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 425°F. Put the pie plate on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone mat.

In a large bowl, whisk the corn syrup and brown sugar together until smooth. Whisk in the melted butter, then add the eggs one at a time, beating until you have a smooth, foamy mixture Add the espresso powder, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt and give the batter a good mix. Rap the bowl against the counter a couple of times to pop any bubbles that might have formed, then stir in the pecans and chocolate. Turn the filling into the curst.

Bake the pie for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, make a foil shield for the crust by cutting a 9-inch circle out of the center of an 11- or 12-inch square of aluminum foil.

Lower the oven temperature to 350°F. Place the foil shield on top of the pie crust--the filling will be exposed, the crust covered by the foil. Bake the pie for another 15 to 20 minutes (total baking time is 30 to 35 minutes), or until it has puffed (the middle and the edges should be fairly evenly puffed), is beautifully browned and no longer jiggles when tapped. Transfer the pie plate to a rack, remove the shield and cool to room temperature.

Heirloom Squash and Sage Pie

1 blind baked 9-inch pie crust
1 medium or 2 small pumpkins and/or sweet winter heirloom squashes, such as Triamble, red kabocha, or butternut (about 1 1/2 pounds total), cut into halves and seeds removed
Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
3 large eggs plus 2 large egg yolks
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup packed dark-brown sugar
2 tablespoons brandy
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh sage
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Sage leaves for garnish
Lightly sweetened freshly whipped cream, for serving

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Drizzle pumpkin and squash wedges with olive oil, and roast cut-side down on a rimmed baking sheet until tender (times will vary). Remove from oven, peel when cool, and allow to drain in a cheesecloth-lined sieve, weighted, for at least 2 hours or preferably overnight. Once drained, puree in a food processor until smooth. You should have 2 cups puree for the pie. Any leftover is perfect for ravioli or soup!

Reduce oven temperature to 325°F. Whisk pumpkin and squash puree, eggs, egg yolks, heavy cream, sugar, brandy, sage, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, cloves, nutmeg, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper in a bowl.

Pour filling into pie shell, and smooth top using an offset spatula. Garnish with a few sage leaves, if you like. Bake until just set but still slightly wobbly in the center, about 1 hour (filling will continue to set as it cools). Let cool on a wire rack. Serve slightly warm, at room temperature, or chilled, with whipped cream.
Note: I wrote this recipe for the November 2011 issue of Martha Stewart Living. If it looks familiar that's why.

And of course: Aaron's pie crust

Home Ec: Thanksgiving Basics--Spatchcocked Turkey with Herbs and Butter

2012-11-19T12:00:00.000-08:00

photo source: Martha Stewart Living

Spatchcocked Turkey with Herbs and Butter

1 14-16 pound turkey

8 ounces (2 sticks) of butter, sliced lengthwise into 4 slices each

¼ cup sage leaves, picked

¼ cup parsley leaves, picked

8 sprigs thyme

Salt

Pepper

Two days before you plan to cook, spatchcock and season the bird.

First, remove the neck, giblets and liver from the bird. Reserve the neck for stock, and if you like, the giblets and liver for gravy or another use.

With heavy duty kitchen shears, snip down along both sides of the spine (the underside of the bird) to remove it. You can start from the tail or neck end, whichever you prefer.

Once you’ve removed the spine, reserve it for stock as well.

Lay the turkey flat on the cutting board and push down on the breastbone until you hear a pop.

Place a few whole sage leaves, parsley leaves and thyme sprigs on each slice of butter.

Season the bird on both sides generously with salt, and if you like, pepper.

Flip the bird over so it’s right side up and from the bottom of the breast, gently wedge your fingers in under the skin to separate the skin from the membrane which holds it to the meat. Work gently so as not to tear the skin.

Carefully slide 3 or 4 slices of butter, herb-side-up under the skin over the breast. Replace the skin.

Place the turkey in a plastic bag and return to the fridge.

On the day you plan to cook the bird, remove it from the fridge 4 hours in advance to come up to room temperature.

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Place the bird, breast side up, in a large roasting pan on the bottom rack. After 30 minutes reduce the heat to 375°F for another 45 minutes, turning the pan 180°. Once the bird is golden brown, reduce the heat to 350°F and continue cooking until the juices at the thigh joint run clear (or the temperature registers at 160°F on a meat thermometer), about another 30-45 minutes.

Let rest, covered with foil, for 10 minutes before carving.

Serves 14-16

Home Ec: Thanksgiving Basics--Fried Sage Salsa Verde

2012-11-16T12:00:00.000-08:00

The Thanksgiving table is always shy of acid and herbs, if you ask me, so salsa verde is a great way to reintroduce a bit of that into the meal. Delicious on roast vegetables and turkey alike, this version works in that crucial fall flavor: sage.

photo souce: sarah at the delicious life

Fried Sage Salsa Verde

Serves 8

2 bunches sage, leaves picked

1 bunch parsley, leaves picked and chopped finely

1 shallot, diced finely

Salt

Peanut or grapeseed oil for frying

Red wine vinegar

Extra virgin olive oil

First, macerate the shallot. Cover with red wine vinegar and set aside.

Next, fry the sage. In a deep saucepot, bring 2 cups of frying oil to 360°F. Drop in a scant handful of the sage and fry for about 20 seconds, or until the bubbles slow down. Remove from the oil and drain on a pan lined with paper towels. Repeat with remaining sage leaves.

When the sage has cooled, it will be crisp. You can either chop it with a knife or crumble it with your fingers. In a large bowl, combine the parsley and sage and cover with olive oil. Season with salt.

When you are ready to serve the salsa, combine the shallots, but not the vinegar, with the herbs. Taste the salsa and adjust for salt, and if needed, add some of the leftover vinegar to taste.

Home Ec: Thanksgiving Basics--Working ahead

2012-11-16T09:00:00.000-08:00

Planning and prepping ahead--and thinking like a professional cook--is the key to getting the entire Thanksgiving meal on the table at the same time without committing either seppuku or homicide.

photo source: the amazing andrea gentl of hungry ghost food + travel

The trick is to spread out tasks that take lots of time, lots of oven space, lots of stove space, or make big messes so that you aren't out of space at the last minute. So choosing dishes that reheat well, or that taste good served at room temperature, is crucial to making Thursday go smoothly.

Here are a few ways you can work ahead for next week:

Before Tuesday:

Make pie dough and freeze
If using a frozen turkey, defrost so you can season or brine it on Tuesday
Make turkey or chicken stock and freeze for gravy

Tuesday:

Season or brine turkey
Buy bread to use for stuffing, or make cornbread for stuffing

Wednesday:

Make cranberry sauce
Wash herbs, greens and lettuces
Roast pumpkin for pie if using fresh squash
Measure out ingredients for pecan pie filling, pumpkin pie filling, etc.
Tear croutons for stuffing and dry out in oven
Clean green beans
Make soup, if planning to serve
Peel potatoes and keep whole in water
Peel onions and carrots that you might use in any dishes, such as creamed corn, creamed spinach, stuffing, etc.
Make any caramel sauces or things like that that you might need to garnish desserts
If you're insane enough to want to make homemade ice cream, get it in the freezer by tonight.
If you are using fresh chestnuts, get them boiled and peeled.

Thursday:
Early morning

Pull turkey out of fridge to come up to room temp
Blind bake pie doughs
Brown sausage or bacon for stuffing
Prep vegetables--trim and halve Brussels sprouts, peel squash, peel any root vegetables, clean and trim cauliflower or broccoli, etc.
Roast vegetables that might need roasting--these do well at room temperature!
Cook off onions or any mirepoix
Make creamed spinach--this reheats well.
Do anything like seeding pomegranates, peeling persimmons, toasting nuts, or making vinaigrette that might be necessary for the salad

Heading into the afternoon and dinner time

Roast the turkey
Make the gravy with turkey drippings
Bake off pies
Make mashed potatoes and keep warm in double boiler
Assemble and bake stuffing/dressing

Right before dinner

Reheat dishes that need to be reheated, like soups, creamed spinach, or gravy
Toss the salad greens
Carve the turkey

Before dessert

Whip cream
Portion pies

Home Ec: Thanksgiving Basics--Roasted Vegetables in Agrodolce

2012-11-15T12:00:00.000-08:00

Though this recipe is for brussels sprouts and butternut squash, it'll work with any dense root or vegetable, such as sweet potatoes, parsnips, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, onions or even green beans!

photo source

Roasted Butternut Squash and Brussels Sprouts in Agrodolce

Serves 8-10

1 pound Brussels sprouts, outer leaves removed

1 large butternut squash, cut into 1-inch slices, skin on , seeds discarded

¼ cup red wine vinegar

1 tablespoon sugar

½ medium red onion, sliced thinly

½ teaspoon red chili flakes

1 clove garlic, pounded

¼ cup fresh mint leaves

Salt

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Season the squash lightly with salt, drizzle with olive oil and place in a single layer on 1 or 2 cookie sheets.

Halve the Brussels sprouts and season lightly with salt. Drizzle with olive oil and place in a single layer on 1 or 2 cookie sheets, cut side down.

Place vegetables into the preheated oven and cook 20-24 minutes, until tender and caramelized.

Meanwhile, stir together another ½ cup extra virgin olive oil, vinegar, sugar, onion, chili flakes, and garlic and season with salt.

Check on the vegetables to make sure that they are browning evenly, rotating pans to control the heat. When you are satisfied that they are cooked, remove from the oven and mix in a big bowl. Pour marinade over and allow to sit for 20 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.

Garnish with torn mint leaves before serving.

Home Ec: Thanksgiving Basics--Cranberry Sauce Two Ways

2012-11-14T11:00:00.000-08:00

Cranberry sauce, with its color and its acid, is one of the most important dishes on the Thanksgiving table. It's also pretty much the simplest dish to make.

Here are two versions--one basic, and one a bit more complicated. Both are perfect on that leftover turkey sandwich.

photo source: cranberry squircle, by Muffet

Super Simple Cranberry-Orange Sauce

Serves 12

12 ounces (1 bag) fresh cranberries
1 cup water
6 tablespoons sugar

3 bay leaves

1 orange, juiced and zested finely
Pinch of salt

In a medium, non-reactive saucepan, combine all ingredients, bring to a boil, lower to a simmer and cook, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Stir and taste as it cooks, adding water, sugar and salt as needed.

Once it cools, it will set up a lot. Add water or fresh orange juice, if desired, to thin it out. Serve warm, at room temperature, or cold.

Cranberry Sauce with Quince and Bay

Serves 12

5 quinces (2 to 2 1/4 pounds), peeled, cored, cut into 1-inch chunks
3 cups water
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons finely grated lemon peel
3 bay leaves
8 ounces cranberries
3 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Salt

Bring first 5 ingredients to a boil in heavy large saucepan over medium–high heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Reduce heat to medium–low. Cover and simmer until quinces are soft, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes. Pour mixture into large strainer set over bowl; reserve juices.

Return quince mixture to same saucepan; mash with the back of a wooden spoon. Add cranberries; cook over medium heat until most of berries burst, stirring frequently, about 8 minutes. Season with salt and lemon juice to taste. Transfer sauce to bowl. Before serving, stir enough reserved juices into sauce to thin to desired consistency. Serve sauce cold or at room temperature.

Home Ec: Thanksgiving Basics--Charlie's Prune and Sausage Stuffing

2012-11-13T13:10:00.001-08:00

This is Charlie's sausage and prune stuffing, which I have whole-heartedly adopted as my own. The prunes and wine offer much-needed acid to balance out the sweetness of the vegetables, and everything else on the Thanksgiving table.

This stuffing is SO GOOD when fried up the next day, served with a poached egg for breakfast. Total heaven.

photo: Aya Brackett for Martha Stewart

Ingredients
1 loaf (2 pounds) day-old country bread, crust removed and bread torn into 1-inch cubes
4 cups chicken stock
12 ounces prunes, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 2 cups)
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more if needed
2 bunches hearty leafy greens, such as Tuscan kale, stemmed and coarsely chopped (about 8 cups)
2 pounds sweet Italian sausage, casings removed, crumbled
5 celery stalks, chopped
4 carrots, chopped
2 onions, chopped

Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme

3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh sage

1/2 cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces

Preheat oven to 250°F. Bake bread on a baking sheet in a single layer until dried but not browned, about 15 minutes. Remove bread, and let cool. Raise oven temperature to 350°F.

Bring stock to a boil in a medium saucepan. Remove from heat. Add prunes, and let soak for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large high-sided skillet over medium-high heat. Working in batches, cook greens until tender, seasoning with salt as you go, about 10 minutes, and transfer to a plate. Let cool. Wipe out skillet.

Heat remaining tablespoon oil in skillet over medium heat. Brown sausage, stirring occasionally, until just cooked through and no longer pink, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl using a slotted spoon. Add more oil to skillet if needed, and cook celery, carrots, and onions until tender, about 6 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Drain prunes, reserving poaching liquid. Add prunes, bread, greens, and vegetable mixture to bowl with sausage. Gradually add reserved poaching liquid (about 2 1/2 cups) and wine, stirring to combine. Stir in parsley, sage and thyme. Season with salt and pepper. The mixture should be really juicy, salty, and balanced with the acid from the wine.

Divide stuffing between two buttered 9-by-13-inch baking dishes. Dot tops with butter. Bake until browned, about 45 minutes.

Home Ec: Thanksgiving Basics

2012-11-13T11:21:00.000-08:00

photo source: Martha Stewart

Alright, guys!

So, here are some Thanksgiving basics I owe my Home Ec students. I thought all of you might benefit from these tips and recipes, so I'm posting them here over the course of the week.

Ordering a Turkey:
My favorite turkey these days is the BN Ranch broadbreasted bird. Raised to the highest protocols, they still come with all of that fabulous white meat perfect for sandwiches, which is the real reason we all love turkey in the first place. BN Ranch also has the finest heritage turkeys to be found.

Other birds I'm into:
Mary's Organic
Willie Bird Organic

Sources for turkey in the Bay Area:
Bi Rite Market
Magnani's Poultry
Berkeley Bowl
Cafe Rouge
The Local Butcher Shop
Avedano's Meats
Marina Meats
Belcampo

PLACE ORDERS NOW, FOLKS!

How big a bird to order?
Well, for meat on the bone I usually order 1 pound per person for plentiful eating. For plentiful eating, plus leftovers, I order more like 1.25 pounds per person.

Tip: Rather than getting birds much bigger than 16 or 18 pounds, I prefer to get two smaller birds, which tend to cook more evenly.

Cooking the turkey

In general, you can calculate that a turkey will take 12-13 minutes a pound to cook. So, a 14 pound turkey will take about 3 hours to cook at about 350°F. The only way to know to sure is to check, either with a thermometer or a knife. If the juices at the thigh joint run clear, the leg is cooked. Temperature-wise, I cook to 160°F in both the breast and the leg.

I usually start the bird at 400°F for 30 mins, then down to 375°F for another 30 minutes, then finish at 350°F, though now I am thoroughly intrigued by Jacques Pepin's steam and roast method.

Tips:

Salt the bird generously at least 2 days in advance of cooking. If your bird is frozen when you receive it, let it thaw for a couple of days in (or out of) the fridge, then salt it.
Remove the neck, liver, giblets, and neck skin and reserve.
If you wanna stick herbs and butter under the skin, go ahead and do that when you season it.
If you're gonna truss the bird, do it right then, too, and then you'll be done messing around with the bird.
If you want to spatchcock it and cook it flat, remove the spine before salting so you can really get salt in on both sides.
If you want to remove breasts and legs and cook separately, then do that before salting, too, so you can let the salt penetrate more thoroughly.
You can put (virtually) anything you want into the cavity, like veggies, a halved orange, or herbs. But I don't think any of that makes much of a difference.
Most importantly, on the day of cooking, take the bird out of the fridge at least 4 hours before cooking to let it come up to room temperature. This will allow the bird to cook much more quickly and evenly!

And of course:

Cuban Pig Roast & Dance Party

2012-10-25T14:31:00.000-07:00

What:
Cuban Pig Roast and Dance Party with Tito y Su Son de Cuba

Where:
Pizzaiolo
5008 Telegraph Ave.
Oakland

When:
Sunday, November 18th
5pm pig roast
7pm dance party

Who:
Planting Seeds: a group of Bay Area chefs, educators and artists traveling to Havana for a cultural exchange between two local food communities

Why:
Raising money so we can GIVE EVERYTHING AWAY to the folks we interact and exchange ideas with in Havana. We want to give all of the food we cook away for free, as well as stock up the classrooms at the local culinary school where we'll be teaching with all sorts of excellent tools and ingredients. We want to bring tools and seeds for the urban gardeners we'll be meeting and working with, too! Help us make this happen!

How much:
$40 for dinner, dancing & a drink
$20 for kids under 12
$20 for dance party & a drink

Cash bar featuring drinks made with Agricole Rum from St. George Spirits

BUY YOUR TICKETS HERE!

Raffle tickets:
$5 each or 5 for $20
**Raffle prize winners need not be present to win! We can send you (mailable) prizes via USPS.**

With amazing prizes from:

Restaurants & Bakeries
Tartine Bakery
Bar Tartine
Cosecha Cafe
Josey Baker Bread
Acme Bread
Chez Panisse
Pizzaiolo

Designers
Dosa

Artisan Foods
Oaktown Spice Shop
Good Eggs
Studebaker Pickles
Three Twins Ice Cream
Inna Jam
Bi-Rite Market & Creamery
Blue Chair Fruit:
Four Barrel Coffee
One Ninety Seven
Belcampo

Artists & Photographers
Leah Rosenberg
Aya Brackett
Creative Growth

& More to Come!

The Peace of Wild Things

2012-10-25T13:47:00.000-07:00

When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children's lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.

— Wendell Berry

Tartine Afterhours Book Signing with Adam Roberts: Wednesday, October 17th

2012-09-28T16:34:00.001-07:00

We're thrilled to announce a very special Tartine Afterhours Book Signing dinner with Adam Roberts of The Amateur Gourmet!

I am beyond honored to have been included in his new book, Secrets of The Best Chefs, along with some of my mentors and heroes, including Alice Waters, Charles Phan, Lidia Bastianich and Nancy Silverton. It's an even bigger honor to be hosting Adam's only Bay Area dinner event!

Last year, Adam and his photographer Lizzie came by for a little shoot on Valentine's Day, and the results are gorgeous! I am humbled to have some of my words and dishes printed alongside recipes and kitchen secrets from over 50 of the country's other beloved chefs. Published by Artisan Books--one of my favorite cookbook publishers--this book is beautiful. Congratulations, Adam!

When Adam and Lizzie came over, we made pasta and roast chicken, my two favorite things to make at home, so we'll be cooking those dishes for Tartine Afterhours, along with a dessert inspired by the book. We'll also have lots of special snacks, piles and piles of Tartine bread, and plentiful wine to pour while Adam makes his way through the dining room and kitchen to sign books and chat.

This dinner will sell out quickly, so sign up soon!

The all-inclusive ticket price includes hors d'oeuvre, three-course family style dinner with wine, gratuity, sales tax, and a signed copy of Adam's new book, Secrets of the Best Chefs. Just pay here and show up ready to party!

The Details

WHO: Tartine Bakery, Adam Roberts & Samin Nosrat

WHAT: A dinner celebrating Adam's new book, Secrets of the Best Chefs

WHERE: Tartine Bakery (600 guerrero st. sf, ca)

WHEN: Wednesday, October 17th at 8pm

WHY: To highlight the joy of good food and good company

HOW MUCH: $110 ticket price includes hors d'oeuvre, three-course family style dinner with wine, gratuity, sales tax, and a signed copy of Secrets of the Best Chefs ($110 = $50 dinner + $14 wine + $28 book + $10.18 gratuity + $7.82 sales tax)

TO RESERVE: Purchase tickets here!

quotes for safe keeping

2012-09-18T11:50:00.001-07:00

i'm cleaning up a few things around the house, and taking down a quote board that i need to get rid of. but i want to save the quotes, so here they are:

I believe that we learn by practice. Weather it means to learn to dance by practicing dancing, or to learn to live by practicing living, the principles are the same. In each, it is the performance of a dedicated, precise set of acts, physical or intellectual, from which come shape of achievement, the sense of one's being, the satisfaction of spirit. One becomes in some area an athlete of God. Practice means to perform over and over again, in the face of all obstacles, of act of vision, of fait, of desire.
--Martha Graham

I.
What we call a beginning is often the end
And to make an end is to make a beginning.
The end is where we start from.

II.
We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.

--T.S. Eliot

Today, like every other day, we wake up empty
and frightened. Don't open the door to the study
and begin reading. Take down a musical instrument.

Let the beauty we love be what we do.
There are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground.
--Rumi, translated by Coleman Barks

Small acts, when multiplied by millions of people, can transform the world.
--Howard Zinn

It may be that when we no longer know what to do

we have come to our real work,

and that when we no longer know which way to go
we have come to our real journey.

The mind that is not baffled is not employed.

The impeded stream is the one that sings.

--Wendell Berry

To live in this world

you must be able

to do three things:

to love what is mortal;

to hold it

against your bones knowing

your own life depends on it;

and when the time comes to let it go,

to let it go.

--Mary Oliver

Who is the authentic seeker, but someone who has understood that there is nothing to do but practice? Enthusiastic or discouraged, he or she continues, no matter what.

--Lee Lozowick

something out of nothing: basic chicken stock

2012-08-22T08:49:00.002-07:00

image source: emma christensen for apartment therapy

every time i teach a pantry or salt class, we end up on the topic of chicken stock. so after salt class the other day, i promised to put up a recipe, or more accurately, a basic guide for how to make and keep it.

here's the thing: as a restaurant cook, i was trained to think that freezers are exclusively meant for storing ice cream, and maybe a few other little things. and it's true--who wants to pay all of that money to eat in a restaurant only to be served reheated frozen foods that were made days, or even weeks, ago? no one.

as a result, i applied my restaurant-cook snobbery to my home-cooking philosophy for a long time. and let's face it, as a restaurant cook, i wasn't really making dinner at home on a regular basis, so i didn't really realize what home cooks are up against.

since i left restaurants three years (!) ago, i've really changed my tune. big time. now, there is no bigger proponent of the freezer than me. and the number one thing i use mine for is chicken stock, and chicken stock to-be. because if you have chicken stock on hand, you're options for a quick dinner are practically endless: broth with spinach and a poached egg, noodle soup, stracciatella, pho, bean stew, risotto, paella, brown rice or quinoa cooked in stock, panade, stuffing. i mean, seriously. don't make me list all of the uses for stock here.

every time i roast a chicken, i cut off the neck/head, feet, and wingtips (and lately, the backbone) before salting it and throw them all into the freezer in a plastic bag. then, after cooking it, i add the carcass into the plastic bag. since one chicken carcass isn't really enough to warrant a pot of stock, i save up three or four and make stock every month or two. i also save onion ends, the last stalk of celery that's about to go rubbery, parsley stems, and carrot bits in a bag in the freezer. when my freezer can no longer contain the mess, i empty it all out into a big pot and prepare to make stock.

if all i have is roasted bones, then i'll trek out to the butcher shop and buy a pound of gelatinous chicken heads and feet, or some wingtips, which will add a ton of body and richness to the stock. otherwise, i literally just clean out the freezer, and anything appropriate from the fridge, and go for it:

3-4 carcasses worth of chicken bones, including some raw ones, ideally
one large or two small carrots
one rib of celery
one large or two small onions (peel on is fine)
a few peppercorns
a sprig of thyme, if i have it
a bay leaf, if i have it
some parsley stems, if i have them
a leek, if i have it
a head of garlic, halved, if i have it (unpeeled is fine)

i'll get out a nice, big pot, throw all of that in there, and then cover with water.

bring it up to a boil over high heat, and then turn down to a simmer. at this time, i'll add a splash of vinegar to help draw out nutrients and minerals from the bones into the stock, but you can skip that if you want.

skim the scum with a ladle if you feel like it. sometimes, i'm too lazy to do that. just make sure the stock doesn't boil, and that too much water doesn't evaporate. the bones should always remain submerged.

i like to leave the stock on overnight (don't tell the landlord). i'll cover the pot to ensure it doesn't all boil away, and leave it over the lowest flame possible, and let it go for 6-8 hours. if this is completely terrifying for you, then do it in the daytime, for at least 4 hours from the time it comes to a boil, but preferably longer (that's when the bones really start to break down and let all of their goodness into the broth).

once you're satisfied that the stock is done, strain out the bones and let it cool. now, you can let the whole pot chill and skim the hardened fat off the top, or try to skim the fat off the top with a ladle. if it's near passover, save the chicken fat for your matzoh balls.

i like to pour the stock into old yogurt containers and mason jars and freeze it. i like having different amounts available for quick use, so i'll put away some pints and some quarts, and some larger containers, too. if freezer space is a big problem, you can reduce the stock by boiling it down after removing the fat from the top, and freeze smaller containers of the more potent stuff (ice cube trays work well for this, too), then just add some water back into whatever you're cooking later.

if you freeze mason jars, leave plenty of headroom for the stock to expand, and use wide-mouth jars to prevent breakage and headaches in the future. you can also process mason jars of stock in a pressure canner, and then they'll be shelf-stable and you can avoid the freezer altogether.

now, you can start saving chicken bones again for the next round of stock.

Tartine Afterhours: Wednesday, August 29th

2012-08-15T12:02:00.001-07:00

It's time for another Low Country Boil, complete with Pimento Cheese, Tartine Cornbread, and newspaper-covered tables piled with freshly shucked ears of corn, shrimp and andouille sausage. We're working on getting a bluegrass band, too. Come, eat with us!

photo source: maria erin photography

The Details

WHO: the fab folks at tartine and me
WHAT: an old-fashioned low country shrimp boil
WHERE: tartine bakery (600 guerrero st. sf, ca)
WHEN: wednesday, august 29th at 8pm
WHY: to highlight the joy of good food and good company
HOW MUCH: $50 plus drinks and gratuity. cash only, please!
TO RESERVE: please fill out this form to submit your name into the lottery. due to the overwhelming popularity of our dinners, space is extremely limited so we now select guests by performing a lottery. we'll email lottery winners by thursday, august 23rd; if you don't hear back from us, please try again next month!

Summer HEAT: skillet cornbread

2012-08-15T11:20:00.000-07:00

photo: kiwiasia

people tend to assume that things at chez panisse must always have some sort of upper-crust lineage, but what i love about that restaurant more than almost anything else is the way it values quality, regardless of its source.

buttermilk fried chicken--or quail, or rabbit--is on regular rotation on the menu in the cafe, and often, it's served with skillet cornbread. i remember the first time i got to prepare the dish. i was instructed to get out the tattered, barely legible notebook kept in the end hutch with the knives left behind by stagieres and look up the recipe for cornbread. i thought perhaps i'd find something written in scott peacock's handwriting, or notes attributed to edna lewis. instead, i found the back of an alber's corn meal box.

yep. the cornbread recipe at cp is basically copied off the back of the box. it's the recipe i've used ever since, with the baking powder and sugar proportions slightly reduced, and the cornmeal proportion increased. and of course, at the restaurant they always use the most delicious cornmeal they can find, weather it's mais pignulet from piemonte or anson mills cornmeal, or red flint cornmeal from community grains.

i just made this the other day with blue cornmeal from full belly farm, and it couldn't have been any sweeter or corn-ier tasting. so. effing. delicious.

it's also really, really tasty slathered with salted honey butter. or, with some lightly sauteed fresh corn kernels folded into the batter.

skillet cornbread

2 1/2 cups corn meal
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 teaspoons salt, or 4 teaspoons kosher salt
2 cups milk or buttermilk
2/3 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs, lightly beaten
butter, bacon fat, or lard

preheat oven to 400°F.

combine cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. combine milk, oil and egg in a small bowl;, mix well. add milk mixture to flour mixture and stir until just blended.

over a medium flame, heat a 10 or 12-inch cast iron pan. drop in a generous lump of butter, bacon fat, or lard and let it melt. pour in the prepared batter and let it sizzle for a few minutes over medium heat, until the edges just start to set. throw the whole pan into the oven and let it bake for 20-25 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

immediately flip the cornbread out of the pan onto a cutting board. serve slices warm, slathered with butter or honey butter.

p.s. for you skillet phobes, check out my post on cast iron pans over at good eggs

Summer HEAT: grilled sweet corn & pepper salad

2012-08-13T12:56:00.000-07:00

photo: colin price

hello, loyal blog readers and patient home ec students! here's the first of the recipes i promised, from the summer round of home ec: understanding heat. i've been eating one version or another of this corn salad almost every night. SO DELICIOUS!

this salad is perfect with grilled steak, chicken, braised pork, rice/beans/tortillas, scrambled eggs, or really anything. eat it all summer long!

Grilled Sweet Corn and Pepper Salad

3 ears sweet corn, shucked
A couple of huge handfuls of sweet peppers, such as Jimmy Nardello's Frying Peppers, gypsy peppers, or even Pimientos de Padron, which aren't always sweet, but are quite excellent
one spring onion (either red or white), or red onion
a few cloves of garlic
a couple of spicy little peppers, like serrano or jalapeno
lots of limes--at least 4
a couple of big handfuls of tomatoes...i've been using dry-farmed early girls, but heirlooms or cherry tomatoes would be fine, too. just make sure they are sweet and tasty!
2 big or 4 small cucumbers
2 avocados
1 bunch cilantro
salt
good olive oil
red wine vinegar, if you have it

First, peel, slice and macerate the onion in red wine vinegar.

Now, grill the vegetables that need to be grilled. If you have a grill at home, get the coals going, and plan to cook over fairly hot coals. If it's a gas grill, then preheat the grill and cook over fairly high heat. If you don't have a grill, then do what I do, and get out ye olde cast iron pan, heat it super hot, and blacken the corn and peppers in there in batches, letting them get nice and brown. If you don't have a cast iron pan, crank your oven to a million degrees, throw a cookie sheet in there and let it get really hot, then toss in a single layer of peppers or corn at a time, after they have been tossed with olive oil and salt. If you don't have an oven and a cookie sheet, well, then, I'm not sure you're reading the right blog.

Ok, back to the grill. Basically, just toss the corn in a bowl with olive oil and salt, until it's lightly but evenly coated with oil. Then, do the same with the peppers. Grill the corn and peppers separately in batches, making sure not to crowd the grill or create a pile-up, allowing the skin to blister and blacken, and the flesh of the peppers and corn to cook through. Over a sufficiently hot grill (or cast iron pan), this should take just a few minutes for each batch of peppers, and about 8-10 minutes for the corn. But, I'm not there at your house, so it might take longer or shorter. Ok? Just use your judgement.

Peel and cut the cucumbers into chunks. I like big one-inch chunks.

Core and wedge the tomatoes. I like pretty big chunks here, too. Muy rustico.

Chop the cilantro, including the stems. Just get rid of any woody parts first.

Pound the garlic with a little salt into a fine paste.

Thinly slice the spicy peppers.

Strip the kernels of corn off the cobs. Discard the cobs.

Get out your biggest bowl, and throw in the grilled peppers, corn, tomato and cucumber wedges, macerated onions (but not the vinegar), cilantro, the right amount of spicy peppers for your taste, a bit of the pounded garlic, some salt, some good olive oil, and the juice of 2 limes.

Toss it all together-- use your hands!--and adjust salt, acid and oil as needed. It might need more vinegar. It might need more lime juice. It will definitely need more salt. Might also need some more garlic and spicy pepper, too.

Once you're almost there, tastewise, halve the avocados and scoop them in in big, rustic spoonfuls. Adjust the salt and acid again, taste, adjust, taste, adjust, and serve!

If there is any left, it's delicious the next day, too!