J'aime manger (I love to eat)

Can It All Be So Simple... Granola

2019-04-06T12:14:00.000-07:00

I've always been on the fence about granola. When I was a kid, it was more of a "health food" or disguised as such in bar form (we steady had Quaker chocolate chip granola bars and my mom's favorite-- Nature Valley Crunchy Bars in the pantry). But regular granola as a cereal substitute was always just fine to me and never something I would regularly choose on my own.

That is, until I had the best granola of my life. A take home gift as part of the incredible experience that is dining at Eleven Madison Park (I happened to eat there the year they won #1 San Pellegrino Restaurant in the World, so everything was on point and beyond), was a jar of the most amazing granola I had ever had. It was light, incredibly crispy, sweet but not too sweet, and could hold it's own to accompaniments: yogurt, milk, etc. Ever since, that has been my measure of quality granola and I hadn't been able to find it retail. So I decided to make it myself.

Below is my recipe for my almost-as-good-as-EMP granola. You can sub different nuts and dried fruit, or not have any if you prefer. I like the added crunch of nuts and the texture of dried fruit, but to each their own. The one ingredient you cannot miss is the toasted rice cereal. I buy brown rice cereal, because it's available in bulk at my local grocery store, but it's this ingredient that keeps the granola light and crispy.

The key is to not cook these items with the oat mix, and add them in at the end. The other key is to be patient, cook the oats slow and rotate them regularly. During rotation, you want to turn the sheet pans 180 degrees and also rotate the rack position. This will give you an even, golden brown finish and the most consistent granola through and through.

Enjoy!

Can It All Be So Simple Granola
Yield: About 2.5 quarts
Shelf Life: About 1 month in a air tight container, kept at room temp. Though it rarely lasts that long in our house

Ingredients

280g toasted nuts (I like to mix almond and pecan. I always buy whole, toast at 325 for about 10-12 minutes until golden brown. Cool then chop into large pieces)

170g honey
156g maple syrup
52g coconut oil
28g unsalted butter (or 49g evoo but I prefer the flavor of butter)
1 t vanilla extract
1/8 t almond extract (optional, but I like just a little bit to enhance the nuts and dried cherries if I'm putting those in)

400g old fashioned rolled oats
50g toasted brown rice cereal (regular rice cereal like Rice Krispies can work as well)
55g flaxseed (I like golden flax and I grind into meal but you can use any kind of flaxseed and leave whole if you prefer)
30g chia seed
15g unsweetened, shredded coconut
30g oat flour (If you can find in a health store, buy it. Otherwise, you can make yourself by grinding oats in a blender until finely ground.)
1 1/2 t ground cinnamon
pinch of salt

80g assorted dried fruit (I recommend raisins and dried cherries. But be creative and do whatever sounds good!)

Method
Preheat your oven to 300 degrees.

Heat the honey, maple syrup, coconut oil and butter or evoo in a small saucepan over medium low heat until the coconut oil has melted. Off the heat, add the vanilla extract and almond extract. Set aside.

In a large bowl, mix all of the dry ingredients together until well combined. Add in the honey mixture and mix really well until the dry ingredients are well coated. I recommend using gloves for a thorough mix.

Line three half sheet pans with parchment paper. Split the granola mixture evenly onto the three sheet pans and spread into one thin layer.

Bake the granola and rotate pans and rack (see note above) every 6 minutes until granola is evenly golden brown. About 24 minutes, but may differ depending on your oven. When you rotate the pans, also stir the granola well to evenly cook the mixture. I pull the parchment paper to gather the mixture in the center of the sheet pan, then spread into a thin layer.

When the granola is done, it will be a deep golden brown and you will be able to feel the texture change from moist and clumpy to dry and the oats will feel more separate.

Allow to cool completely on the sheet pans. Once cool, toss in a bowl with your toasted nuts and dried fruit. Store in air tight containers and enjoy!

fantaisie (fancy)

2015-01-12T23:36:00.002-08:00

"I'm so fancy... you already know..." Ok, not my favorite song, but it leads me to reflect on fancy and how it relates to food. I've been listening to lectures on culinary traditions and all pre-modern food is based off of and completely driven by this concept of "fancy". Where has that gone in current day when the culinary leaders are serving the seemingly opposite; potatoes cooked in fallen leaves, ants and bugs as garnish?

Uni with caviar, courtesy of David Chang via Instagram

From the Renaissance era (or what is considered pre-modern as far as food is concerned), dating all the way back to pre-Jesus time, fancy food was considered luxury; ingredients that the common person could never dream of affording, never mind utilizing in everyday cooking. Spices, chilies, exotic meats from abroad were all symbols of wealth and prestige. In my old days (circa early 90's), these symbolic gestures of wealth came in forms of caviar, lobster, foie gras and sauces drenched in butter. And while some chefs are leaning toward these novelties again (I've seen David Chang, Mario Batali recently post caviar-laden dishes on Instagram), the main fundamental of 'luxury' seems to lack any hint of wealth, expense or rarity.

Are we perhaps living in a time when ingredients are so easily accessible and diners more willing to shell out $1000 per meal, therefore justifying any potential cost, that the luxury is presented to us not in the form of ingredients, but in technique? I recently had a "once in a lifetime" meal at Meadowood and the best dish of the evening was a potato. In retrospect, it's pretty ridiculous that the star dish of a 12-course dinner was a potato cooked with mint, but it was indeed the best dish of the evening (props to Ben Shewry, who for the record is one of the nicest people on the planet. Yeah, I just name dropped!). But why? Yes, of course, the quality of the potato was insanely high, but it was the method in which the potato was prepared that shed new light on this common place ingredient. We see the same in menus across the world in restaurants that are defining the culinary present and future. But if we are to repeat history as it were, are we doing ourselves justice as diners and as cooks to not seek the ultimate pinnacles of the available 'luxury'?

I suppose it's simply explained in our access to information, or perhaps excess in access, that has driven the movement into finding new ways to shock the diner. As an example, people have been eating foie gras for hundreds of years but because of the information to the cultivation of this once deemed luxury ingredient, people are shying away from it. The value has become less about the ingredients and more about the novelty or cache associated with the chef preparing the meal. Noma has opened it's temporary relocation in Tokyo for 2 months and people are flocking at ridiculous lengths to get a taste.

Opera Cake garnished with gold leaf

Don't get me wrong, I as well have jumped on the bandwagon and want to experience meals that I've read about. But is that just because it's all relative? Only time will tell, but I'm excited for the possibility of chefs taking a step back and bringing some not only perceived value but monetary value to the meal. Give me some truffles and osetra and gold leaf*! Bring it back old school and show me who's really fancy.

*Side note: I've always scoffed at the use of gold leaf in food. It seems so goofy and superfluous; absolutely unnecessary and bringing nothing to the plate. I learned that it was in the renaissance period in which gold was introduced as a culinary ingredient to bring the symbolism of light to the meal. The light was intended to bring upon virility, intelligence and positivity to the diner. Dark foods were frowned upon and seen as negative. Go figure!

je suis votre airelle (i'm your huckleberry)

2014-02-20T21:39:00.000-08:00

I understand that my tolerance level and expectations are very high, and while I enjoy dining out as much as the next person, I very rarely leave an experience feeling 100% satisfied. Every detail, every component is under my microscope where my mind, palate and tummy work together to determine whether something is delicious. At the same time, I feel that I am very forgiving in my opinion, and that it simply is that; my opinion and I don't think that my humble opinion is the end all be all for anything, or anyone. However, I do believe that in a city of culinary caliber such as San Francisco, there are some things that are simply unforgivable.

The dish: a modern take on Lemon Meringue Pie; lemon curd cake with pickled huckleberries and black pepper crumble. The dish arrives and it looks promising; a perfectly cut little rectangle of a cake with little dollops of piped meringue nicely bruléed, black pepper crumble strewn across the plate and two little piles of huckleberries on either side. Upon closer look, many of the huckleberries have their little tiny stems intact. For those of you that aren't too familiar with this fruit, it is a tiny wild berry that grows throughout North America. Due to the delicate nature of the fruit in tandem with their short

Huckleberries: delicious and special... notice the little stems though!

picking season, most of us enjoy huckleberries cooked from frozen state into a sauce, thick jam or other cooked application. They are incredibly expensive as they are often foraged or hand picked, and the yield of whole, intact berries is quite low. Additionally, they are so petite yet carry a lot of flavor so a little goes a long way and like my momma always said, the best things come in little packages.

So what's the big deal? They left the stems on the huckleberries, so what? Well, these huckleberries were intended to be eaten as a sauce for the cake, so stopping to pick the teeny tiny stems off each berry was not a welcome option as a self-proclaimed high expectations diner. But it shouldn't be for a diner with less culinary expectations either; this is a demonstration of pure laziness. Yes, it's a tedious job to carefully pluck each stem from it's tiny globe without breaking the delicate skin, but a critical one. No one wants to pick these things out of their teeth!

The disappointment was twofold. The choice to pair lemon and huckleberry makes sense; the two love each other. But if one is too lazy or indignant to prepare them properly, why menu a huckleberry? You are getting them frozen anyway; there are plenty of other choices to provide an acidic component on the plate. So on top of you making a lazy choice to not take the time required to properly prepare the ingredient, you also did a piss poor job of handling it all together. The trouble when fruit is frozen then defrosted is that the cellular structure of the fruit is compromised and changes. The skin becomes incredibly water logged, causing a rough, leathery texture that is unappetizing, never mind cumbersome to chew through. This is the reason most will cook the frozen huckleberries. Instead of doing this, these huckleberries were "pickled" which in this case, were clearly quick pickled given the semi frozen state of the berries on the plate. Lazy from start to finish.

Masquerading behind an un-lazy facade does not excuse the fact that laziness was present. It's incredibly frustrating that a restaurant (who will remain nameless at this time) who is receiving a lot of great press and buzz would try and pull a fast one on its diners. It feels like a slap in the proverbial face and I won't stand for it. Doc Holiday wouldn't either.

leçon de texture (texture lesson)

2014-01-30T23:07:00.001-08:00

Texture is such an important vessel of flavor. As previously discussed in the ice cream discussion, texture can 'separate the boys from the men'. Changing the way you prepare an ingredient could completely change the way you taste it, opening your palate and mind to a whole new world.

The other day I was eating an orange. I peeled it, separated the segments and commenced citrus devouring and for some reason I decided to remove the membrane off the segment and ate the orange as such. The texture of the separate, individual jewels of orange was so incredibly delicious and different than I had ever experienced before. I spent the next 20 minutes enjoying my orange this way. The flavor was the same as I had ever known it to be, but the delicate texture delivered the citrus flavors in such a unique, refreshing way. It is not unlike modern molecular gastronomic tricks of suspending liquids into semi solid forms: simply a way to deliver flavor in a different, unique texture.

This revelation led me to think about different ways to look at other foods and how possibly changing the texture could in turn change the flavor. I was reminded of a trip to Nojo where we sat at the counter, right in front of the garde manger station. We watched the cook hit a Japanese cucumber with a small wooden rolling pin and asked why he was pounding it. He explained that by gently pounding the cucumber, it opened up the insides allowing the dressing to really penetrate throughout, whereas cutting the cucumber would greatly limit the amount of dressing that could be absorbed. Such a simple, yet effective trick.

I then thought about bread; tearing it rather than cutting it with a knife greatly changes the overall texture, especially in a rustic loaf or a crusty baguette. The smooth texture created by a knife closes up the nooks and crannies, leaving them tighter while tearing the bread opens it up and provides a softer, fluffier texture. Both are good and desirable, but effective in different applications.

Then there are obvious reasons to cut certain ingredients in different ways. Smashing garlic roughly versus finely mincing it will achieve more or less surface area thus more or less exposure to oxygen, changing the degree of flavor. Slicing meat with the grain as opposed to against the grain will have an effect on the way the meat's texture will be when you chew it.

I suppose what this exercise demonstrates is that food is so simple; it is what it is and does what it does naturally. Vegetables have cellulose that has a defined structure. Cut it this way or tear it that way and you are going to have a different experience. Smash a cucumber or slice it, and it will inherently take a vinaigrette in varied rates of absorption. Or eat an orange sliced, wedged, or carefully removed from it's natural casing for the most delicious snack. Either way, look at your food in different ways and it just might surprise you.

panier de consommation (market basket)

2013-10-15T07:44:00.000-07:00

A lot of people ask me what I cook at home. I have been constantly struggling with a way to chronicle all of the thoughts, meals, inspirations that come in a given week. So I thought it might be interesting to share a week in the life of our kitchen and see if it doesn't provide an insight as to how to sustain meals off one trip to your farmer's market.

This week's basket:

gypsy broccoli, 1 head
garlic, 1 head
bitter greens mix (radicchio, frisee, escarole), 1 handful
walla walla onions, 2 small
Hood honey, 1 oz jar
red romaine, 1 small head
tokyo turnips, 1 bunch
broccoli + flowers, 1/4#
brussels sprouts, 1/2#
yellow haricot vert, 1/4#
rutabaga, 1 medium
matsutake mushroom, 5 small
hyssop, 1 bunch
princess grapes, 1 small bunch
heirloom apples, 3 each
beets, 4 each

Leftovers from last week's basket:

broccoli on broccoli, sunchoke leek puree
and my beautiful olivewood laguiole steak knife

leeks, 1 bunch
breakfast radish, 1 bunch
asian pear, 1 each
small canary melon, 1 each
sunchokes, 5 each
baby mustard frill, 1 large bunch
walla walla onions, 4 small
butter beans, 1/4#

Sunday, dinner:

homemade ravioli filled with mustard greens + onion, butter bean, lemon butter broth

Monday, dinner:

broccoli "steaks" with broccoli + flowers + calabrian chili over sunchoke + leek puree

salad of shaved beet, asian pear, bitter greens and beets roasted with coffee

Stay tuned for the rest of the week!

9 june, 2013, dinner

2013-06-18T19:33:00.000-07:00

Meal: The ultimate Sunday supper

Menu: quick cucumber pickle / quick asian pear pickle / home made yuba stuffed with tamago / home made bao with spicy eggplant, crispy tofu (also home made), hoisin, kim chi (yep, home made!) / shiitake broth

Notes:

When the only thing processed on the table is the hoisin sauce, one feels pretty damn good about themselves. Everything else used to prepare the meal was made 100% by us. And that's pretty

the Sunday suppa' line up

incredible. And delicious.

The meal was prompted by our first batch of kim chi. My love has made lots of batches of chi at work,
but this was our first time doing it at home, and boy oh boy was it good. And worth having a meal designed around celebrating the delicious spicy, fermented cabbage condiment.

Our weekly Sunday suppers have recently included our good friend, who happens to be vegetarian. While typically the thought of perfectly steamed bao calls for crispy duck or pork, we had to think of something vegetarian. The solution? Quickly cooked eggplant with crispy tofu; the tender, meaty-ness of the eggplant with the uber light crisp of cornstarch coated firm tofu seemed like a nice way to mimic the flavors and textures one associates with the animal counterparts.

crispy tamago-stuffed yuba

When making tofu the day before, my love decided to try his hand at yuba, bean curd skin, and we decided to stuff it with a thin, light omelet. We rolled it, then pan fried it to make this crispy delicious side dish.

Results? An incredibly delicious meal from the pickles to the buns themselves to the assembled dish (holy moly I swear the eggplant and tofu together really felt like eating perfectly cooked peking duck, it was amazing), to the intensely earthy and light shiitake broth, this dinner was one for the record books.

la fabrication du pain: les dernières heures (bread making: the final hours)

2013-06-16T18:49:00.001-07:00

stage 1: leaven + water + flour

And the final day of bread making... baking the bread, has arrived. My starter is now three weeks old (I was supposed to make bread last weekend, but in a rush to get out of work left my cast iron dutch oven at shipping & receiving, so bread making was postponed one week. damnit), and funky as all hell. But in a good way: sour, flavorful and deepened in flavor. I've been very attentive, feeding it every night like a diligent student. And today is final exam day, and I'm nervous and excited and giddy. So here we go.

I prepared the leaven last night (a little bit of my starter with water and more starter feed), which was a little scary. I dumped the rest of the starter, so this is it. Either this is going to make bread, or it's not
which means I'm going to have to start all over again. I guess those are the breaks. I give the leaven a kiss goodnight and go to bed.

This morning I check on the leaven and it looks alive and well. Phew. Time to make bread!

Leaven + water + flour (this time 90% AP flour, 10% whole wheat), rest.

bulk fermentation, hour 1

Add salt, more water... begins bulk fermentation. 3-4 hours, every 30 minutes turning the dough. This is technique developed by Chad Robertson to not overwork the dough; it's a knead-less process, but a waiting game one as well. At the end of 3.5 hours, the dough looks ready: it's fluffy and light, air bubbles forming on the sides and smelling like sweet dough.

bench rest

Very little flour added during the forming process, a few quick turns and another rest (aka the 'bench rest'). Then slight stretching of the dough for the final form. This, I believe in tandem with the 3 hours of turning, is to develop the gluten and texture. This process is no-knead, so the delicate moments of turning the dough to this final step of slightly folding the dough onto itself creates the strong, yet delicate 'guts' I have come to love so much. Into lined and flour dusted baskets for a final rise of 4 hours. Finally... bake time!

final 4 hour rest in baskets

This is it... three weeks of anticipation, research and patience have come to this moment. The oven is ready, the dutch oven is heated and ready to go. In goes the first loaf, slash the top and into the oven. He has developed a technique to create steam not by spray bottles or ice, but a lid which creates enough steam needed for proper crust development. 20 minutes, take the lid off, finish baking and boom: Tartine bread at home.

my beautiful loaf

I'm quite amazed by the results: the crust is thick, crispy yet tender. The guts are littered with beautiful air pockets, a medium crumb and mild in flavor (due to the young starter, but as the starter continues to live and thrive, the flavor will only deepen). It looks like a fucking loaf of Tartine bread! Proof that he is a true artisan and expert in his field; someone who dedicated years into trial and error, research and development to not
only create a commercial product but to develop a recipe that translates for the home. And I'm

lovely guts... no kneading!

certainly thankful for his commitment to bread, as this process has been an education and introduction to what is now a life-long commitment (I have leftover leaven in the fridge as the new starter for future breads that will need to be fed every once in awhile); one I look forward to sustaining for as long as I possibly can.

prendre des notes (taking notes)

2013-06-16T18:36:00.000-07:00

We've been pretty project heavy recently lately, which means a lot of reading and research in preparation for said projects. I noticed that in this process, I take notes, including a short-hand recipe and method. As I re-read my notes, the process seemed a little odd to me and I wondered: why do I do that?

my notes for Tartine bread...
10 book pages condensed to my own notes

Cooking, just like any other exercise, is muscle memory. So in reading a recipe, or reading an article about a dish, writing down my own abbreviated version of the recipe with notes is more the learning process than anything else. Because for the most part, a new trial (especially with baking), requires some form of structure, i.e. a recipe or formula, to guide you through the process. I find that the act of writing the process down on paper, again not so much for the preciseness but the act of writing it down, is an incredibly useful tool.

For some reason, writing in sharpie also makes the process stick even more. Perhaps it's the permanence of the pen itself, whatever the case, writing in sharpie is my preferred method. This is especially true when creating prep lists or to do lists; writing in sharpie makes me remember exactly what needs to happen when. I thought I was the only loonie to feel this way until I read Blood, Bones & Butter by Gabrielle Hamilton. She also discusses the act of creating her prep lists with sharpie and I realized that perhaps a cook's mentality is just that; instinctual, resourceful and committed as forever as permanent marker is.

Are there others out there that do it too? Holler at me and let me know...

8 june, 2013, dinner

2013-06-08T23:57:00.000-07:00

Meal: Dinner

Menu: caesar salad / pretzel bread

Notes:

Pretzels are nothing new. I've made them plenty of times before. But this time I took it to the next level and messed with lye instead of baking soda. I ain't gonna lye (there I go again with the puns!), but I was a wee bit scared to use the caustic stuff. I mean, after all, they used it in The Wire to eat up those bodies in the vacants! But this is the traditional way to do it, and people have been doing it for years so how bad can it be? And more importantly, why is the lye mo' betta than baking soda?

Well, the results were proof in the pudding. The color of these pretzel rolls was legit: deep amber. It also had that semi-hard crust that I've never been able to achieve in the past. Safe to say these pretzels were the ones.

So the question is why... and how... Well, the scientist in me led me to believe that it had to do something with the proteins and sugars reacting in the basic environment provided by the lye. And this is exactly what happens. The maillard reaction is accelerated in an alkaline (or basic) environment and so there you go! Maillard = nonezymatic browning (or the chemical reaction between an amino acid and a reducing sugar in which many flavor and aroma compounds are also formed), and this is what you want from a pretzel. The amino acids and sugars in the flour will brown eventually on their own, but before they would achieve that deep brown color the insides would be overcooked. This is also why one brushes the top of pie crust or other baked goods with an egg wash or cream, because those ingredients achieve the maillard reaction (or simple caramelization) much more quickly on their own.

In conclusion...Lye can be used to help some of our favorite villains cover up their bad deeds, or help delicious baked goods be extra delicious.

5 june, 2013, dinner

2013-06-08T23:03:00.003-07:00

Meal: Dinner

Menu: little gems with dill 'ranch' dressing / late-spring melange (morels, porcinis, baby carrot, artichoke, spring onion, roasted butterball potatoes (garlic, rosemary, lemon, evoo & butter), quick veg stock)

Notes: Morels are fucking delicious. That's all I can say; tasting of the earth, spongy... soaking in all

late-spring melange

the goodness it's cooked in. They are the sign that we need to embrace and enjoy the little bit of spring that is left. And if this is the way we say goodbye to spring and welcome summer then shoot... I'll say goodbye any day.

4 june 2013, dinner

2013-06-08T22:45:00.002-07:00

Meal: Dinner

Menu: little gems & mixed greens salad, peaches, spring onion, balsamic vinaigrette / crispy cauliflower with calabrian chili, caper, garlic, orange / bucatini pomodoro / peach cobbler

crispy cauliflower

Notes: Sometimes the simple things in life are too delicious. It was an odd week at the market, so we didn't come home bearing a bountiful basket of vegetables as we usually do; fruit was the big star this
week. Cauliflower, a can of tomatoes and pasta from the pantry and a classic combo of peaches and balsamic and a simple, satisfying dinner was served.

A quick talk on quick tomato sauce: I like using whole, peeled canned tomatoes as they tend to be just tomatoes and salt. Diced or crushed tomatoes often have additional items added to slow down the degradation of texture, and I like the versatility of a whole tomato. Start with thinly sliced garlic in a cold pan with evoo on low heat. Just as you can start the smell the garlic, increase the heat and add some heat (I usually like red pepper flake but we didn't have any so I smashed two calabrian chilis right into the pan), then add the tomato, reduce the

bucatini with quick tomato sauce

heat. Season with salt and pepper, and if needed, a little sugar (sometimes canned tomatoes will be really acidic, so I like to balance the acid with some sweetness), reduce the heat and simmer. Sometimes I add wine before I add the tomato, and if I do, I'll omit the sugar.

peach cobbler

Using the Joy of Cooking recipe for cobbler topping, I prepped my peaches the same as I did for the peach pie I made the other night, this time leaving the skins on which create a beautiful pink juice, and top with a super soft, fluffy cobbler/biscuit topping for a quick, impromptu dessert.
Cobbler Topping Recipe courtesy of the Joy of Cooking

I would easily use this shortdough recipe for a biscuit or shortcake. The results are a very tender, supple and flaky dough; the possibilities are endless!

Ingredients:

1 1/3 c all-purpose flour

2 T sugar

1 1/2 t baking powder

1/2 t salt

5 T cold, unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

2/3 c heavy cream OR 1/2 c whole milk

Sift the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Cut in the butter, using your fingertips or a pastry blender, until the mixture resembles coarse cornmeal or breadcrumbs. Add the cream/milk and mix just until the dough comes together. Gently knead the dough in the bowl 5 to 10 times until you can pick up the mixture (it will be really soft and sticky. Dust the top and bottom with a little flour then roll or pat the dough until it's 1/4" to 1/2" thick. From here, you can cut biscuits, roll to fit the size of your baking dish (for a cobbler), or cut into different shapes (also for a cobbler). Brush the top with cream or milk, and sprinkle with sugar (I like a large crystal sugar, like turbinado. If using dough for biscuits, you can sprinkle with sea salt, or leave plain with the milk wash).

If you are using the dough as a cobbler, make according to your recipe, usually about 45 minutes. If you are using the dough as biscuits, bake at 375 for 10-15 minutes, or until golden brown.

2 may, 2013, dinner

2013-06-04T21:03:00.000-07:00

Meal: Dinner

Menu: homemade soft tofu with condiments (ginger, green onion, radish, tamari, marinated persian cucumbers, maldon) / tokyo turnips, summer squash a la "Mission Chinese" / 'bulgogi' braised kale tamari, ginger, garlic, onion / mini peach pie

Notes: We've made tofu at home before, and decided to get 'bout it 'bout it again this weekend. Starting with one gallon of freshly made soy milk, we thought soft tofu would be a nice way to start.

soft tofu... delicious

Using gypsum to coagulate the milk (derived from alabaster, the sulfate is commonly used to lower the pH in beer making), and then steaming and allowing the proteins to set, a short hour later and tofu is ready. Topped with traditional accoutrements, this was a delicious start to Sunday supper!

Inspired by delicious peaches, I used pie crust remnants I saved in the freezer and made a teeny tiny little peach pie (about 4"). I peeled the peaches and sliced them, tossed with vanilla sugar, cinnamon, ground ginger and a little flour, filled the pie crust and made a baby lattice on top. So fun to use up old things! And

My little baby peach pie!

delicious too.

la fabrication du pain: l'alimentation du démarreur (bread making: feeding the starter)

2013-06-04T20:40:00.001-07:00

Day 1 of feeding

Feeding a starter is probably more intense than having a pet; it requires precise attention and monitoring, especially in these early stages. I have been carefully watching the progress, waiting for the right time to start feeding it (after 3 days), and feeding it each day, around the same time. But watching the evolution of flavor, texture and seeing the life in it is rewarding and slowly building the anticipation of the great event to come.

Day 1 of feeding I was pretty nervous... What if I do it wrong? What if I don't feed it enough? Will I have to start all over again? I discard 80% of the mixture and add back more water and flour, covered it and hoped for the best.

Day 2, after feeding

Day 2 and the starter looked good! You could see bubbles on the surface; an indication that the bacteria is doing its thing by fermenting the sugars in the flour. As I discarded the 80%, I could feel the texture of the mixture changing, becoming more elastic and pillowy. I fed it again (water and more flour) and put it to bed.

Day 3 and it looks great; the color is darkening, slightly less bubbles, but as I mix it up for the feeding, the texture is even more elastic and getting a softness. I taste it and it is FUNKY, but in all the right ways. It is sour, slightly tangy and a raw yeasty-ness.

Day 4 and same to report... I'm confident that by this Saturday (12 days of starter development) that bread will be made!

Day 3 of feeding, notice the darker color

la fabrication du pain: le commencement (bread making: the beginning)

2013-05-30T21:45:00.001-07:00

Bread making has been around since the beginning of time, so what I am embarking on is not anything new. But I thought it would be fun to chronicle the beginning of a new endeavor, if not for anyone but myself. Perhaps mistakes to grow upon for the next round, or documenting achievement along the way; regardless of the outcome, I am excited to share with you my jump into the world of bread making at home.

all natural starter: day 1

As you know, I love me some bread. And more than anything, I love me some Tartine bread. So what better place to start then buying the Tartine cookbook? I proceed to read the chapters on basic country loaf with vigor and soak all the information in. The next day, I purchase all I need to get it on and poppin': 2.5# of AP flour and 2.5# of whole wheat flour. After mixing them together, I fill a pint container half full of water and put enough flour to create a thick batter-like consistency. Cover with a towel and set in a cool place and cross my fingers that my starter will, well, start.

Day 2 I unveil my starter to check in on it and there's an odd 1" of brown, sludgy water floating on top. Doesn't look too good. I discard the water and remix my baby, cover and cross my fingers and light a candle in hopes that I haven't ruined it

day 2, after giving it some help... bubbles appear, which
is a good sign!!

before it's even started. A couple hours later I check in and things are looking hopeful!

day 3, definitely more activity and liveliness!

Day 3 is spent worrying a lot about my baby; after all, the starter is everything to this bread. All of the flavor, all of the energy to make the bread to it's thangy thang are resting on nature's ability to work. I come home and take off the "blanket" and am pleasantly surprised at the transformation that has occurred in less than 24 hours! The starter is definitely alive and doing good things, and one whiff tells me that lactic acid is being produced which means my bread is going to be tassssty.

So stay tuned as I continue to share with you the process of taking flour + water to make what is hopefully the beginning of something beautiful.

29, may 2013, dinner

2013-05-29T23:18:00.000-07:00

Meal: Dinner

Menu: Little gems salad with red quinoa, persian cucumbers, baby radishes, whole grain mustard vinaigrette / peas + morels etc.

peas, morels, maitakes, new crop potatoes (roasted over spring onion tops), carrots, spring onions (butter poached with green coriander and citrus peel), garlic whey "foam"

Notes:

Cooking with whey is awesome.* It's fairly neutral in flavor, but provides the same properties that milk would, only less rich on the palate. Rich in protein (think of whey protein powders one would add to a protein shake post workout), yet still containing enough natural sugars, whey does incredible things to various culinary applications. We've used it to cook beans or other legumes for an added depth of flavor (also seems to make them more tender), and added to water for cooking pasta. Whey can also be used in baking when liquids such as buttermilk are called for. Dried whey is often used in commercial baking applications. Whey can also be used to assist in the production of lacto fermented foods like sauerkraut or other pickles. No matter which whey you use it (tee hee), don't throw a-whey (there I go again!) the whey when making cheese or yogurt at home! Use it in everyday cooking applications for a subtle, yet incredibly delicious addition to your meals.

*Whey is the liquid by-product from making cheese or yogurt. When making tofu, soy "whey" is also created. This whey was leftover from making ricotta for our BBQ Ravioli.

Ricotta

4 parts whole milk (You can use a combination of whole milk, cream and/or half and half. They key is to use good quality milk, as this is where all of the flavor is going to come from.)
1 part buttermilk
lemon
salt

Mix everything in a pan and heat on medium low heat until the liquid reaches 180 degrees. Remove from the heat and cool to 140. Skim the solids and hang in cheesecloth. The remaining liquid is the whey: reserve for later use.

restes (leftovers)

2013-05-29T22:52:00.000-07:00

As you may recall, I am not a huge fan of leftovers, but we have been awfully creative in re-purposing leftovers into new meals. The creative aspect of trying to take someone's "trash" and turn them into treasure along with not wanting to waste anything that has been prepared has proven to be not only fun, but equally delicious.

Garbanzos, 4 ways...

Taking the leftover garbanzo beans from Saturday night's dinner, we re-purposed them in three other applications. Twice in a salad with various accoutrements (once with couscous also leftovers! and the other with cucumber, and as a quick main course with the addition of peas, artichokes, carrots and spring onions.

BBQ Chicken + Grilled Veggies

After a little get together at our new abode, we had a fair amount of leftovers; mainly BBQ Chicken (brined, then seasoned with a simple spice rub), a few homemade sausages from a friend, roasted pork shoulder (marinated in beer with green coriander and onion), roasted fingerling potatoes (simply seasoned and roasted underneath the pork shoulder so they absorbed all the delicious porky-ness), BBQ-y beans and various grilled vegetables.

Meal 1: Hash for breakfast: Chopped up some of the potatoes, sausages and veggies + scrambled egg for a delicious, quick breakfast the morning after.

BBQ Ravioli, garlic whey sauce, evoo

Meal 2: "BBQ" Ravioli: finely chopped the chicken, pork, sausage and veggies + homemade ricotta + homemade pasta dough for a fun way to use leftovers. We made a sauce with garlic slow poached in really achieve "BBQ pasta".
the ricotta whey, then blended to finish. As this was prepared on a semi-whim, post dinner realized that the dish could have been taken to the next level (or more complete thought) with the addition of a corn sauce and some sort of quick pickled vegetable (perhaps okra, or cucumber) to

Meal 3: The last of the potatoes were sliced and pan sautéed with onions and bacon (leftover from the bean preparation), topped with a soft scramble and with some leftover toasted bread for breakfast.

Meal 4: Just when we thought we couldn't get enough of these 'cue remains, we take the last of the chicken and reheat them in the beans. Served over rice, the last of the leftovers completes the cycle three days later.

--

I have to say, for two people who dislike leftovers, we sure did the damn thing.

21, may 2013, dinner

2013-05-28T19:56:00.001-07:00

Meal: Dinner

Menu: white polenta / collard greens with ham hock / mustard greens & little gems salad, Dijon vinaigrette

Notes:

Polenta prepared with veg stock: tastes good, but lacks the creaminess both visually and texturally.

Collard greens braised slowly in ham hock broth, onion, garlic and our homemade beer vinegar = nom nom nom

19, may 2013, dinner

2013-05-28T19:52:00.001-07:00

Meal: Dinner

Menu: soft scrambled eggs, maitakes, olive "relish" / roasted beets, apricots, green coriander, foraged mint (from the backyard!) / peas, favas, zucchini, parmesan, lemon / salad with little gems, baby radishes, whole grain mustard vinaigrette

Notes:

beets, apricots, green coriander and mint

I've never had green coriander before, which is the flowering seed of cilantro/coriander. It is incredibly floral, spicy and grassy; and lends an incredible flavor uppercut combo to dishes. Suggest to use sparingly as the flavor is very intense, but incredible all the same.

soft scramble, maitakes, olive relish

Soft scrambled eggs are one of my favorite things to eat, especially for dinner! Quickly browned maitakes in garlic and evoo, topped with roughly chopped olives, herbs and calabrian chilies, this I could have eaten alone and been completely satisfied.

Nothing is more spring than peas and favas. And who do these two love? Parm and lemon.

A simple, fresh and light meal. Delicious

18, may 2013, dinner

2013-05-18T23:08:00.001-07:00

Meal: Dinner

Menu: Red leaf butter lettuce, red wine vinaigrette / couscous / stewed garbanzos / tomato braised kale / paratha / "raita"

Notes:

paratha made with whole wheat & AP

My love loves flatbread with stewed beans and tonight decided to make some in lieu of purchasing some. With curry in the garbanzos as inspiration, he opts for paratha: an unleavened flatbread, typically filled with vegetables or meat. We decide to keep it plain and simple. The dough is prepared and left to rest, then portioned and rolled thin. Clarified butter is brushed on top, folded in half, more butter and folded again. Then it's rolled again and we repeat the steps (this is typically when it is filled) and the twice buttered and folded flatbread is shallow fried. The results? A perfect vessel for sopping up garbanzos and kale.

final plate

échalote (scallion)

2013-04-02T21:33:00.000-07:00

As a woman, I am a firm believer of accessorizing. Be it earrings to pop off an outfit, a fun shade of eyeshadow to bring out the sparkle in your eye; a small detail can be the game changer. Garnishes on a dish are the same and perform the same duty; they shouldn't be an after thought, or just something to give a plate of food color. It should be thoughtful and bring that little extra oomph to take a dish from good to spectacular. And in my last few months of eating, I have found that ingredient. The slept on herb that is subtle enough but brings enough star power to really make a difference. And that, my friends, is the scallion.

The first time I really realized the complexity the scallion can bring was in PDX at Olympic Provisions as a garnish for roast chicken. It was sliced uber thin and the heat from the chicken took the edge off the scallion and brought out that inherent sweetness an onion has. When the plate was dropped, I was a little skeptical because it was covered with a blanket of scallions, but it was so herbaceous and imparted a delicate flavor to the dish that I was like hey, scallions when used properly can be incredibly

delightful!

And again this evening, at my beloved Bar Tartine, scallions were used to garnish the pickled beets with buttermilk and the smoked potatoes and in both cases, perfectly utilized to enhance both dishes. I think it is in the care of preparation of said garnish (thinly sliced on a deep bias) and the appropriate ratio make the use of such a looked over ingredient a special one.

So think of scallions outside the realm of Asian-based cuisines and slice them as thin as you can and top them to enhance a dish. I guarantee you will not be disappointed and perhaps, find your favorite new food accessory.

impressions durables (lasting impressions)

2013-03-29T20:53:00.000-07:00

I spent five days in Baja and while it is certainly not a foodie's destination by any means, I left inspired with three brief encounters with a young man that I will probably remember for the rest of my life.

It was our first night and we were hungry. Again, our food expectations were quite low, given that Baja is not really what one would call 'Mexico'. Yet as two people that are foodcentric, we refused to have our first real meal of the trip be at the local restaurant where one can order not only chile rellenos, but a rib eye steak with mashed potatoes. There has to be a better option.

Despite my qualms about driving at night, we hop in the car and head north to a small town called Puerto Nuevo, where we are told is the lobster capitol of Baja. Sure. What we found instead was a tiny roadside stand selling tacos. Sounds better than crappy lobster. We bust a bitch and park right in front and the place is poppin' for a Monday night: locals on locals on locals. It has to be good, right?

Good is not even the beginning. But before I get into the tacos themselves, allow me to explain what we're dealing with here. There is a 3' x 6' raised counter with a grill about 1' x 2' and a small plancha to the right of it. In front of the grill is a small counter, just barely wide enough to hold small bowls filled with radishes, pickled red onion, grilled green onions and charred jalapeños. To the left of the grill some more taco accoutrement: salsa, creamed avocado, cilantro and onion mix and a small teeny tiny tv playing some awesome Telemundo soap opera. And that's it. A few rickety stools strewn about the front of the counter, to which we were prompted to pull up to the counter, two four tops of plastic patio furniture and this entire operation is in total about 10' x 10'. Talk about damned efficiency models up in this bitch.

We order two tacos: asada, take our seats and watch the magic happen. There is a small, tiny woman standing kitty corner to the plancha and her job? Make tortillas. To order. She has a ball of masa that she expertly portions onto her tortilla press, flattens and pops on the right spot on the plancha. Every single fucking tortilla was the exact same size; it was incredible to watch. Forget the tortilla machine at Chevy's, this woman is the tortilla machina. Carne asada is grilled, chopped and just as the tortillas are coming off the griddle, homeboy asks us, "con todo?" with everything? Oh hell yes, con todo por favor! He grabs a small piece of paper and cups it in his hand, tortilla on top, asada, sprinkle of onion and cilantro, scoop of salsa rojo, and in one swift motion tops the whole thing with this creamy avocado and cups the whole thing into a perfect little taco shape, places it on a plastic bag wrapped plate (no dishwasher here... genius!) and hands me the plate. From start to finish? I'd say about 1 minute, 30 seconds of well practiced, efficient motions. Three bites for my love (about 5 bites for me) and this is the most incredible little taco I've ever had. Period.

We continue with tripe tacos and finish with chorizo ones, each one increasingly more delicious. Washed down with 'dos cocas' and this is an incredible meal. As we drive away, bellies full, I am left mesmerized and impressed by the efficiency displayed by the young man working the taco stand. I wonder if he has dreams of working in a real kitchen, because he would KILL it. I wonder if he will take on the family business and continue to run this little gem of a food stand. I wonder if he walks down the street and people think to themselves, "homie makes a good ass taco". To say he made an impression on me is an understatement.

We return to the spot three more times, each time enamored by the food and by the young kid. Despite the fact that each time we went he was doing different tasks, I could not help but be drawn to him. The way he helps his parents run the stand, the way he talks to kids ordering tacos, the way he sharpens his knife before slicing adobado off the rotating spit. The kid is talented and special, and I wonder if even he is aware of just how special he is.

I hope to return to this little taco stand one day, and while a part of me will hope he is there, a bigger part of me hopes that he isn't. I hope that he will leave the small fishing village and on to bigger and better things. Sometimes you just meet a person and see the sparkle in them and hope that others have the opportunity to experience it as well. And despite the fact that we were unable to communicate with him, his ability to speak to us through his food proves that sometimes, in the most important ways, actions speak much louder than words.

plus dramatique (over dramatic)

2013-03-24T18:59:00.001-07:00

Just because a loaded gun is sitting on the table, does that mean you have to pick it up and shoot someone? While this may be extreme, I urge you to use this philosophy when shopping for food stuffs. Just because you can buy tomatoes, doesn't mean that you should. Or that they will taste like anything of a tomato. This is one of the disadvantages to living in modern society where convenience and the "luxury" of being able to have food shipped to our doorstep makes the selection process almost brainless and people shop merely by what's pretty instead of what's tasty.

I was walking the market today and passing by the stands hawking their strawberries. Why? It's friggin' March. The berries were all so large, maybe 7-9 berries in a pint, all with a ring of yellowish green flesh at the top. What does that tell me? That the berries will taste nothing of a sweet, summer strawberry and that it will be watery and tasteless. The kid wants to try one anyway, so we let him and I take a nibble, just to see if I'm correct in my visual assessment. Verdict? Tasteless, watery, might as well be eating an ice cube.

Now while I practice the ethos that if it's at the farmer's market it's more than likely 1. good 2. in season and 3. what I should be eating now, there are a few exceptions. Knowing that it's just not hot enough to produce enough sugar to give me perfect strawberries, I know that my favorite fruit, despite it's presence at the market, is just not gonna be good. On the same note, one of our favorite farmers at the market who grows in Half Moon Bay will typically keep selling English peas and favas long before their competition has called it quits. And will I continue to buy these despite the late season? Yes. Why? Because as my love likes to say, "it's always spring in Half Moon Bay". So what am I getting at here? Know your farmers, know the typography and seasonality of weather of said farms and do a little research. And if that's too much work for you, then taste and sample as you shop. If it doesn't taste good, despite the temptation, learn to walk away. You will save your money and be much better off this way, trust.

Yet I saw many a shopping bag filled with strawberries and it left my heart hurting a little and oddly super annoyed and frustrated that people would toss their money to eat something that just isn't good. Yeah, I'm a little sick of citrus too and ready for a change, but blood oranges? Still kickin! Navels? Sweeter than they've been in a few years. Enjoy the bounty of the harvest that is happening NOW and in a few months enjoy those strawberries by the flat-full. So yeah, I suppose a loaded gun sitting on the table does in fact make me want to pick it up and shoot someone. Call me theatrical, call me over dramatic, but just don't buy strawberries in March.

ma bien-aimée asperges (my beloved asparagus

2013-03-15T22:19:00.001-07:00

My beloved asparagus,

A few weeks ago, I was walking through the market running my fingers over bunches of kale, chard and collards: all of winter's friends. And yes, they've sustained me and have been delicious, and please don't tell brussels sprouts this but if I see another one I will throw it out the window. My body, my tummy and my palate have yearned for you so badly... I could literally feel my body craving you.

And finally, you have arrived. Your presence at the market this past weekend along with your friends green garlic and spring onions have rung in the changing of the seasons in a beautiful song, much like a song you heard 15 years ago and when you hear it now it makes you feel just the same.

I ate you simply: blanched in a lemony, sugary, salty bath. Topped with a carefully shallow poached egg and parmiagiano reggiano. Each bite your tender stalks, flavor rich, tightly knit tips made me fall in love with you all over again. They say spring provides new beginnings and this year brings that meaning to a whole new level. Oh how I've missed you.

I look forward to the next few weeks of enjoying you and having you grace our table. Be it the star of the show, or simply a supporting act, the fact that I know you will be along for the spring ride makes me incredibly happy, thus the necessity for me to write you this note. Sometimes we just want to be reminded that no matter what happens, spring will always come and with it, you will be there, reminding me of all that is good. And delicious.

Love always,
Me

l'negroni (the negroni)

2013-03-15T22:02:00.000-07:00

I am a testament that New Year's resolutions are hard to keep. I vowed last year to write one post a day for a whole year and failed about 5 months in. So this year, I kept it clean and easy: something non-committal but important nonetheless. The goal? To find an adult beverage I wouldn't be ashamed of ordering in a classy joint, and something I'd equally enjoy. What I found is that the journey is often more important than the results, even if the results are utterly delicious.

I recall once having a whiskey sour on a cruise in college and I remember is being somewhat palatable. I decide a whiskey sour is a little too... too... old lady, so I decide to try a Sazerac, which consists of whiskey, absinthe and bitters. It's tasty, but just too much heat. By the time I finished the cocktail, I was too warm and fuzzy to continue drinking with my meal. Mission not accomplished.

My love has been trying to get me to drink a Negroni (gin, campari and vermouth) for the last two years. I had always shied away due to my hatred of gin (the first time I ever got drunk, it was off of gin and juice and since then my affinity for gin is always associated with the first hangover of my life). But in an effort to achieve my goal, I give it the old college try.

We go to Locanda, which is known for their cocktail artistry. We each order one and ask the bartender to give us different gins. After all, we're on an experimental journey, right? We are served one with Plymouth and one with Hendricks, and we analyze the differences. Our friendly, informative bartender brings us another round, this time on the rocks. In his opinion, this is the way to enjoy this cocktail; the ice, as it melts, changes the flavor of the drink from start to finish and you get different flavor profiles throughout. AWESOME! It's like the gift that keeps on giving! He also prepares one cocktail with Aperol, Campari's sweeter, less bitter cousin. We chat the bartender up about all of our different options and we are left curious about the endless possibilities. But the verdict? I'm a Negroni fan.

True to form with our inquisitive ways, we decide to dedicate a recent trip to Portland to our search for the perfect Negroni. We try different gins, different Vermouths and amaros (bitters). So many possible combinations! In one night between the two of us we sample 8 different combinations, each time chatting up the bartender for new 411. Interesting thing? Good bartenders want to talk to you about booze! And you'll end up getting some free samples of different things you'd probably never try!

So what's the final ultimate combination? Well for starters, I realized that gin is in fact, very delicious. Booze is like any other food stuffs: start with a good quality product and you're not going to lose. There are many different types of gins; neutral ones, herbal ones, fruitier ones, medicinal ones. I tend to lean towards the more neutral with a hint of spice: Hendricks, Plymouth, Old Tom's. Campari has no substitute. There is something about the citrus peel, the slight sweetness and intense bitterness that no other liqueur has. And for vermouth? Carpano Antica: sweet, smooth and the perfect compliment to the other components. On the rocks, no question, twist of orange zest and I have, in three months, achieved my resolution of finding the quintessential adult beverage. And as I've learned in the past, it is more often the experimenting and seeking of knowledge that makes the results that much more sweet.

bar tartine (bar tartine)

2013-03-15T20:13:00.000-07:00

I have touted the excellence that is Bar Tartine, but two nights ago we had the most incredible experience that I just had to share.

We sit at the bar, which is beautiful: white marble, and extra wide. Plenty of room for multiple plate sharing and several glasses of beverages with plenty to spare. We order and sit back for what we know will be an excellent meal. First plate is dropped: dill pickled beets. Crunchy and tasting that of a proper 'kosher-style' dill pickle, with all of the complexity and sweetness that a beet provides: a perfect amuse.

the most incredible potato bread, Bar Tartine

We continue to enjoy ourselves and bread is brought with deliciously room temp butter: one of our personal faves the Sesame loaf, along with one of their ancient grain loaves that we had sampled semi-recently with poor reviews. Good news? They seemed to have improve their ancient grain recipe and the bread was simply devine. Without even noticing, the next course is dropped, our beloved Potato Flatbread with soured cream and garlic. Chef brings over the baby kale salad with sesame, sunflower seeds, tahini, yogurt and rye; as an apology from the kitchen. Apology for what? Apparently food was coming out slower than desired, not that we even noticed. Conclusion? Potato bread was as delicious as always, but the kale salad had us moved. The kale was perfectly cooked, just the rawness taken off and sliced thin over a blanket of yogurt and tahini, topped with what appeared to be an almost frightening amount (think a bird's dream offering) of seeds and nuts. But in tandem with each other, each bite had you wanting more. The different textures of the seeds alone was enough to get your palate excited, but the balance between the creaminess of the tahini yogurt blanket to the perfection of the kale with the uber crispy bits of toasted rye and seeds: this dish was perfection beyond perfection.

As we are scraping the last bits of the salad, we are treated with a complimentary round of drinks. How odd, but who are we to say no? We compliment the food to our wait staff and tout the awesomeness that is Bar Tartine. Then the next course is dropped: the Smoked Potatoes with Ramp Aioli. I don't really know how else to explain the beauty of this dish other than to say that you just have to try it for yourself. And today's version was the best ever (this is our third visit). There is a layer of what I am calling the 'adobo' sauce: vinegary and sweet, cooked down garlic and onion. Heaven.

We prepare ourselves for the next dish and we are treated with YET another round of drinks! I am poured a Hungarian wine that he thinks will pair nicely with the tripe. I take a sample and am a little underwhelmed, but appreciate the gesture and hope that the pairing will be as intended. The tripe hits the bar in all it's glory. Again, best rendition of the dish that we've had to date. My love compares the tripe to that of Korean BBQ: garlicky, sweet and just the right amount of smoke, swathed in a bath of a paprika and onion rich broth. I now understand the wine pairing! Hungarian wine... paprika... and it's incredible the way the wine changes and becomes complex and completely complimentary to the dish. Fabulous.

We are on such a roll that we decide to get dessert: cultured ice cream with pound cake, amaranth and chestnuts. We are, yet again treated, with another gift from the kitchend! An off-menu dessert; one of blood orange gelee, tangerine gelee, black pepper gelee, goats curd sorbet and what appears to be some short of shortbread on top. The desserts were good, but nothing to be compared to the previous courses. While we appreciate salt in our desserts, these dishes were both... salty... But still tasty and a perfect way to end a perfect meal.

I can't find any other way to say that everyone needs to have a meal here. It is incredible in it's simplicity, humbleness yet intricacies and level of difficulty all in one bite. They say it's more difficult to cook simple food and this is a testament to that. Even their assumption that their service was too slow and providing us with no reason to even question it, were all certainly part of the experience but nothing in comparison to the shear quality of the food. This is San Francisco's must have meal.