Food Wishes Video Recipes

Scenes from a Thanksgiving Feast

foodwishes@yahoo.com (Chef John) — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 12:21:48 PST

Happy Thanksgiving!

foodwishes@yahoo.com (Chef John) — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 09:12:59 PST

I want to give a sincere thanks to all you smart, funny, interesting, dedicated (and I'm sure very attractive) readers of this blog. You make publishing this blog the wonderful pleasure it is, and thanks to your support 2010 promises to be Food Wishes' best year ever!

Don't be afraid to eat and drink a little too much today. Remember, you can always burn it off by watching football on the couch later. Enjoy!

Canon T1i HD Video Test: Crabcakes Sneak Preview

foodwishes@yahoo.com (Chef John) — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 22:19:00 PST

Huckleberry Jam – Possibly in HD!

foodwishes@yahoo.com (Chef John) — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 21:48:07 PST

I finally got a new camera! A beautiful Canon T1i (thanks for the advice Danielle!). I've been dying to improve the still photography on the blog, as well as have something that can take decent low-light plate shots with when I'm in restaurants.

When I got home from the store I went immediately to YouTube to get some tutorials for using it. Thankfully there were lots of photographers who had posted videos on what all the buttons do (so many buttons), as well as some pretty good SLR photography basics.

It was during this initial research that I discovered something wonderful and unexpected. My new camera apparently has a really nice HD video feature! Bonus. So this quick and sticky video recipe for huckleberry jam was basically done as a test to see how much better the quality would be.

In addition to not really knowing how to make jam (I just winged it from memory of one I made like 15 years ago), I have very little experience with HD anything. Some folks on YouTube already commented on the video, regarding how to save the video in iMovie to take advantage of the higher resolution. I saved it at 640 x 480, but have been told I need to save it at 1280 x 720.

I know I also have to change the movie settings to letterbox to match the camera's video dimensions. If any of you former A/V clubbers want to chime in with recommendations for using this camera for HD video, I'd love to hear it! Thanks and enjoy!

Ingredients:
1 quart berries
4 cups sugar
1/2 lemon
1 box pectin powder (1.75 oz)

* You should refer to the box directions for best results. I was more interested in the camera, and so I just made this from memory. It tastes great, but at the time of this posting it hadn't chilled long enough to analyze the firmness, or lack there of.

What is Up?

foodwishes@yahoo.com (Chef John) — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 17:44:27 PST

I wanted to do a brief post today to get you up to date on all the newest developments, and also to give you a heads-up on my plans for the holidays.

I Guess They'll Let Anyone Write a Cookbook!

If you follow me on Twitter you probably know, but I'm officially announcing here on the blog that I've signed an agreement with Parragon Publishing to do a cookbook!

If everything goes as planned, it will eventually be four cookbooks , all focusing on American food (or at least what I consider American food).

I can’t give any firm dates or titles yet, but you will be the first to know. In addition to the regular distribution channels, I'll be able to sell them here for a special discount price, only available to my loyal Food Wishes fans. Stay tuned for more info in the coming months.

The Open Sky Project

I was contacted recently by an ecommerce start-up call Open Sky, and asked if I would be interested in being a "Shopkeeper" for their Home & Garden category. Their mission statement is "to connect consumers to experts and the products they love and use." Since I get so many emails about what products I use and recommend, I decided to go for it.

My Open Sky store is just getting started, and they only have a few products sourced so far, but eventually you will be able to find a wide range of my favorite kitchen and cooking-related products. By the way, the shopkeepers are given a share of the revenue, but NOT paid to endorse specific products.

One reason I decided to get involved was the company's founder is John Caplan, who was one of the founders of About.com. They've also signed on some very high-profile foodies including one of my blogger role models, Michael Ruhlman. Stay tuned!

Now Warming Up in the Bullpen…

My mother Pauline is having some work done to her shoulder in a few weeks, so I'll be traveling to New York to help her out, and steal more of her recipes. I keep telling her she is too old to become the first female short reliever for the Yankees, but she just won't listen. She thinks this surgery will add at least 5 mph to her fastball, and who am I to argue.

SFQ and a Very Special Surprise Package

I will make the official announcement on Cyber Monday, but this year's "please send me some money because I'm going broke doing free videos" holiday gift offering will include a sneak preview of my wife Michele's soon to be famous San Francisco-style barbecue sauce, SFQ. The package will also include a small wooden bonus gift that will be sure to cause a "stir" (literally, that's your clue).

Last year many of you supported the site by forking over your hard earned cash and purchased the Food Wish Favorites Vol. 1 DVD, containing 12 recipe videos that you could have watched for free online. I hope we can expect the same fantastic effort this year. It makes a huge difference. Stay tuned!

Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

If you've been following the blog for a while you know things always slow down a little bit around the holidays. That will certainly be the case this year, especially with the unexpected travel back east, the cookbook project, gift package sales, and all the other normal holiday distractions. So, if you see a few days go by in between posts, do not be alarmed! I'm fine. Just really busy. Enjoy!

Red Curry Butternut Squash – When it Comes to Side Dishes, the Food Gods Hate a Coward

foodwishes@yahoo.com (Chef John) — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 00:05:23 PST

As you decide on what to include in your fabulous array of vegetable side dishes for the upcoming holiday feasts, keep one thing in mind. No guts, no glory. For some reason, normally adventurous cooks when faced with a house full of hungry relatives, play scared.

It's probably driven by the desire to want everyone to enjoy everything (you know that's impossible, right?). Serving something too exotic just doesn't seem prudent. I take a different approach. Since these holiday meals are one of the rare times we get to serve multiple side dishes, I think it's the perfect occasion for springing a surprise or two.

This lovely red curry butternut squash certainly fits the bill. Sweet, spicy, and mysterious – this turkey-friendly side dish won't be everyone's cup of tea, but for those at the table that let it work its magic, it promises to be one of their favorite parts of the meal.

Like I said, there are plenty of other side dishes on hand, so even if the worse case scenario happens and everyone from little Billy to Grandma Jean agrees this is the worst squash dish ever, so what? There are seven more sides to pick up the slack. Besides, after the third bottle of Beaujolais Nouveau who's really going to care?

If you've never worked with red curry before, be careful. It's really spicy, and you can always add more as it cooks. To be safe, you can even cut my measurements in half for the spices and then adjust. I hope you give this interesting butternut squash side dish a try. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
3-4 pounds butternut squash, peeled cut in 1-inch cubes
1 bunch green onions
1 tsp cumin
1 tbsp red curry powder (I used McCormick)
1 tsp red curry paste (I used Taste of Thai)
2 tbsps tomato paste
1 can coconut milk
1 rounded tbsp brown sugar
3 tbsp fish sauce (or sub to-taste with soy sauce or salt)
1 tbsp vegetable oil
3 cloves garlic
1/4 cup torn fresh basil leaves
*adjust for salt and heat before serving

Do You Feel Lucky? Well, Do You? Carnation Evaporated Milk's Loaded Potato Potluck Favorite

foodwishes@yahoo.com (Chef John) — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 13:02:58 PST

I'm not sure how popular potluck dinners are these days. You don't hear the term as often as you used to. Maybe it's our litigious society… "Hey, your baked beans made me sick, you own me one billion dollars," or maybe it's just not called a potluck anymore.

Potluck was kind of an odd name, implying that you would be damn lucky to get anything edible. Well, this loaded potato casserole recipe from Carnation Evaporated Milk would certainly improve everyone's odds of getting at least one thing that was delicious.

Who doesn't like a loaded potato? I mean, besides people that don't eat cheese and/or bacon. This super simple, but ultra satisfying retro American classic is sure to make your fellow potluckers smile.

Since this video was sponsored by Carnation, I followed their original recipe pretty much exactly, but this type of casserole screams out for personal customization, so feel free to jazz it up as you see fit. Enjoy!

A Message from the Sponsor:

It's that time of year when we’re all looking for a little more inspiration in the kitchen. You’ll find plenty of that in this Holiday Recipe Guide from Carnation Evaporated Milk, sponsor of this post.

One delicious idea is to substitute Carnation Evaporated Milk for regular milk in your go to recipes. It makes all kinds of dishes richer and creamier.

Get your Holiday Recipe Guide as a downloadable PDF or by email.

Ingredients:
8 medium potatoes (about 2 1/2 to 3 lb. total), peeled and cut into equal chunks
1 cup Carnation evaporated milk
1/2 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 cups (8-oz. pkg.) shredded cheddar cheese, divided
6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled, divided
sliced green onions (optional)

Cheese Blintzes and My Empire State of Mind

foodwishes@yahoo.com (Chef John) — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 11:02:36 PST

There's nothing you can’t do, now you're in New York.
These streets will make you feel brand new, the lights will inspire you,
Let's hear it for New York, New York, New York.
– Lyrics from Empire State of Mind by Jay-Z, Rapper and Trophy Husband

There are certain recipes that change the way you think about food – for me, cheese blintzes is one of them. I was raised on the traditional American suburban breakfast repertoire of pop-tarts, cereal, eggs, bacon, etc., so when I was told these odd looking cheese-filled bundles sitting on the dark pool of fruit sauce were "breakfast," it took a few moments to register such a thing was possible.

In addition to helping me realize there was a whole new world of breakfast options out there, cheese blintzes also fed my fascination with New York City. My father grew up in New York, but the small town in which he married my mother and started his family was about as far removed from the City as you could get.

His colorful stories (many of which were true) about growing up in New York City often included mentions of strange and exotic foods from his childhood. I loved these stories, and fell in love with New York through them.

On the occasions when I would get to taste things like knishes, lox, pastrami, and blintzes, it was more than just something to eat; it was a visceral connection to another place.

Ukrainian immigrants (John senior was half Ukrainian) brought these wonderful cheese-filled crepes to New York City, and the Big Apple is now considered the blintz capital of the world (Photo (c) Flickr user kennymatic).

As you watch this video recipe, it may seem a little complicated, but while it does have several steps, they're fairly simple and so worth the effort. This video was shot for About.com during my trip to NYC a couple months ago, so when you click on the video below, you'll be taken to the recipe page there.

Cheese blintzes are a perfect special occasion breakfast or brunch dish, and can be made up ahead of time and finished at the last minute. I hope you give them a try. Thanks Dad. Enjoy!

Learning the Easy Way at Kingsford University

foodwishes@yahoo.com (Chef John) — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 22:40:44 PST

This past week, Michele and I just spent three wonderful days at something called Kingsford University. "KU," as it's called in charcoal-related academia, is an event sponsored by Kingsford Charcoal in which food writers and bloggers are brought together to learn all about how charcoal is made, watch demos on the finer points of grilling and barbecuing, and of course enjoy lots of great food and wine.

I'm happy to report we all passed with flying colors (although a few of the other bloggers paid some nerds to do their homework). We even received a diploma! After I finish this post I'm going to start looking into some grad school options.

The master of ceremonies was world champion pitmaster Chris Lilly. Chris is vice president of the legendary Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q in Decatur, Alabama, and Kingsford Charcoal spokesperson. He was really fun to listen to, and I learned quite a bit. I've sprinkled in a few videos of Chris below, so you can get a little taste of what we enjoyed.

The trip began Tuesday evening. After checking into the beautiful Claremont Hotel in Berkeley, we headed out to dinner and introductions at Pican in Oakland. We met our fellow bloggers (a complete list of attendees with links to their blogs will be added to the bottom of this post as soon as available!), Kingsford reps, and other dignitaries, and enjoyed a delicious dinner prepared by Chef Dean Dupuis.

Dinner began with a perfectly crispy fried chicken appetizer (now that's the way to start a meal!). I was even asked to demo my now famous chicken wing de-boning technique. I assume they were mocking me, but I did it anyway. Will this chicken wing trick become my "Freebird?" (FYI - that was a vague, dated Lynyrd Skynyrd reference)

I enjoyed a nice piece of grilled Loch Duarte salmon with root veggie puree and smoky savory cabbage. Michele had the southern classic, shrimp and grits. Everything was great, and as we ate we chatted with our fellow foodies – discussing the differences between food blogging and food writing, and how it's been years since any of us has actually had a hot meal.

At these affairs, no one eats until the pictures are taken, lots of pictures, at every conceivable angle and composition. This shouldn't be taken as a complaint – it's a very small price to pay for the great food and even better company.

The next morning we headed to the Clorox Technical Center in Pleasanton, CA to learn all about charcoal briquets. I'll be honest, of all the things I'd always wanted to learn more about, charcoal briquets wasn't one of them. But I was honestly fascinated by the process, and what could have been a long morning went by quickly.

Like most wannabe backyard grill masters, I already use Kingsford charcoal and really didn't need any convincing it was superior. My own anecdotal evidence the few times I've had to use the bargain brands showed that this stuff is clearly better, but I didn't know why. Now I do.

We watched them make a batch from scratch, and also got to see this really cool room were they do hundreds of burn tests a day. They were really excited to show off a newly designed, "ultra briquet" that promises even better performance despite being lighter and more eco-friendly.

We were not allowed to take photos inside the labs where they showed us the secret proprietary methods with which Kingsford charcoal is made and tested, but outside we did see live comparison demos and testing verses the alternative brands. It wasn't even close. Give or take a few minutes, their briquets lit twice as fast, were ready in half the time, and lasted twice as long. Class dismissed.

After lunch we headed up to the gorgeous Hotel Healdsburg, located in the middle of Sonoma's beautiful wine country. The remainder of KU was held at the Seghesio Family Vineyards and hosted by Peter Seghesio and the rest of his amazing family. The family has been making wine in the area for four generations, and to be able to enjoy their wine during the next two days of classes and demos was a great treat.

We attended a special dinner prepared by Chef Jon Helquist, formerly of the venerable Chez Panisse, in the winery's beautiful Redwood Room. The food was classic northern California fare – fresh, local, seasonal food simply prepared and served family style.

The highlights included Chris Lilly's barbecued pineapple sweet ribs, grilled Tuscan-style game hens, locally foraged wild mushrooms, and charcoal grilled fingerling potatoes with salsa rustica. Chef Jon's offerings were paired with an array of Seghesio's highly regarded Zinfindels.

That evening Chris Lilly showed us his famous low and slow method for cooking pork shoulder (see video). In between his many tips and tricks, we were treated to some very entertaining war stories from the championship barbecue circuit. A live band and s'mores cooked over small fire pits brought the evening to a sweet and smoky end. By the way, this is a man clearly willing to suffer for his art, as he had to get out of a warm bed and come back at 3 AM to tend the fire!

Chris Lilly's Low and Slow Barbecued Pork Butt

Note: this video shot with an iPhone in the dark.

The next day we enjoyed the fruits of Chris' late night labor with what was probably the tastiest and most succulent pork butt I've ever had. After being pulled and chopped, the moist, smoky meat was turned into slaw-topped sliders. Speaking of fruits, they were served with chili-rubbed skewers of grilled banana, pineapple, and persimmon. I thought this was an ingenious and inspired pairing.

After lunch we participated in two hands-on demos. We got to blend our own Zinfandel varietal with the help of Pete Seghesio and his talented team, and yes, it was as fun and interesting as it sounds!

We also formulated our own custom dry-rub spice mix. Chris Lilly showed us a great 4-step process for making a spice rub, which I will explore in more detail in an upcoming article for my American Foods site.

Kingsford University came to a delicious and interactive end as we made and grilled our own pizzas over charcoal. After Chris demo'd an insanely tasty Asian-influenced spicy shrimp pizza (see video), we headed around to the back of Seghesio's wine cellar where a long line of kettle grills waited for us with already glowing charcoal topped with pizza stones.

Chris Lilly's Charcoal Grilled Spicy Shrimp Pizza

After everyone had made a pizza (or three), into the wine cellar we went to share our offerings with each other. The meal was made complete with an impressive array of salads and side dishes from Chef Jon's kitchen, as well as more of Seghesio's delicious wine. What a special way to end a very memorable experience.

Special thanks to Chris Lilly and everyone at Kingsford Charcoal! Who knew learning about charcoal and grilling could be so fun and delicious? I'd also like to extend a very special thanks to the Seghesio family for being such gracious and generous hosts!

You can find a lot more information at the Kingsford Barbecue Facebook page. Enjoy!

Kingsford University Class of 2009!

Cooking Turkey for Chickens! A Two-Part Thanksgiving Turkey Tutorial

foodwishes@yahoo.com (Chef John) — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 09:33:18 PST

By knowing just a few basic tricks, you can guarantee yourself a moist, delicious, and beautiful Thanksgiving turkey every time. The two videos posted below were done last year, and according to the many emails and comments I got, they proved very helpful to lots of your fellow foodwishers.

If you don't have one, make sure you buy a meat thermometer before thanksgiving. They're only a few dollars, and on Thanksgiving at least, it's the most important tool in the kitchen. Other than that, these turkey and sauce techniques don't require any special skills or equipment, and you probably have everything you need already.

As I said in the original post, with these videos you can proceed with confidence, joy, and the knowledge that since you are cooking the turkey you won't have to wash any dishes! See you on the couch. Enjoy!

Thanksgiving Turkey Part 1: Prepping and Roasting

Thanksgiving Turkey Part 2: It's All About the Gravy

To get the ingredients, use these links from the originals posts for Part 1: Prepping and Roasting and Part 2: Making the Gravy.

Apple Swan Instructions Now Playing!

foodwishes@yahoo.com (Chef John) — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 11:51:31 PST

Thanks for your patience! The full version of the video I did for How to Make an Apple Swan has gone live. Click on the video player below to see the technique in normal speed, with narration of course. Enjoy!

Oh Fudge! Carnation's Classic Chocolate Fudge

foodwishes@yahoo.com (Chef John) — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 11:50:20 PST

This video recipe for chocolate fudge is the first of two I've been commissioned to do for Carnation Evaporated Milk.

They've hooked up with a select group of food bloggers to promote this classic American ingredient for the holidays.

I don't want to spoil the surprise for what the second video will be on (and I have no idea yet), but the choice for this first one was very easy. When I think of Carnation evaporated milk, I think of chocolate fudge.

There are hundreds of different recipes for chocolate fudge, most requiring a candy thermometer and a good bit of finesse to achieve that elusive rich, creamy-smooth texture. This recipe does not. As you'll see in the video, this is boil, turn off, stir, chill, and cut.

The holidays are a time of celebration, but with the festivities comes the occasional need to "bring a dish." What better way to impress your hosts than with a plate of chocolate fudge? Remember, it's not about how much effort you spent making something special for your friends and family, it's all about how much effort they think you spent. Enjoy!

A Message from the Sponsor:

It's that time of year when we’re all looking for a little more inspiration in the kitchen. You’ll find plenty of that in this Holiday Recipe Guide from Carnation Evaporated Milk, sponsor of this post.

One delicious idea is to substitute Carnation Evaporated Milk for regular milk in your go to recipes. It makes all kinds of dishes richer and creamier.

Get your Holiday Recipe Guide as a downloadable PDF or by email.

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
2/3 cup evaporated milk
1-1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups (4 ounces) miniature marshmallows
1 1/2 cups (9 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts, optional

The First Annual Foodbuzz Blogger Festival: The Greatest Food Blogger Event in the History of the World.

foodwishes@yahoo.com (Chef John) — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 15:22:35 PST

I'll say right up front that this is the only food blogger festival I've ever attended, but I can't imagine there has ever been anything to match this weekend's level of fantastic food, extraordinary drink, and amazingly diverse group of attendees.

When smart, creative, fun people plan an event, it should come as no surprise that the event ends up being smart, creative, and fun. That was certainly the case this weekend as I attended the First Annual Foodbuzz Blogger Festival.

It was a smashing success on every level. Super delicious food, thought-provoking seminars and demos, and best of all, a chance to meet and mingle with the finest food bloggers in the country.

They were all there; from fast-growing newcomers to food blogger royalty like Jaden from Steamy Kitchen, Pim from Chez Pim, and Elise from Simple Recipes (it was Elise's blog that first gave me the notion that blogging professionally could be a reality).

It was a glorious weekend of eating food, while talking about food, while talking pictures of food – for a food blogger, that's the ultimate experience. That, and getting a link on one of the aforementioned blogs.

The following recap is woefully incomplete. I made a conscience effort to stay in the moment and enjoy the food and people without being consumed with trying to get every shot and record every bite. Besides, with hundreds of the greatest food bloggers attending, I knew I could just link to their recaps later!

What follows is a collection of highlights and pictures from a weekend I will never forget. Thank you Foodbuzz!

The festivities began on the 8th floor terrace of the Hotel Vitale. The views were incredible, as were the cocktails provided by Skyy Spirits. Bloggers from all over the country greeted each other, sharing similar tales of crazy commenters, blogroll slights, and annoyed spouses. Joie De Vivre chefs Nick Balla and Michelle Mah provided plenty of tasty tidbits, including a spicy bacon-laced mac and cheese that had the crowd buzzing.

Then we all walked across the Embarcadero to the beautiful Ferry Building for a S.F. Street Food Fare. We were greeted by plates of Chicharrónes (crispy puffed pork skin fries). This one was expertly passed around by Kiersten from Foodbuzz, and one of the festivals driving forces. I've never been to a party where Chicharrónes were passed around that didn't turn out to be a great time, and this was no exception! (photo from Joel at Six By 10 Tiny Kitchen)

Street food is huge in the City these days and some of our finest practitioners were there, including; Tacolicious, Spencer on the Go, 4505 Meats, and my favorite Roli Roti’s Porchetta. The porchetta sandwich you see here is simpy one of the most delicious things in the entire city. Succulent pork, crispy skin, caramelized onions, tiny peppercress – it is a masterpiece of culinary engineering. (Photo from Jo Boston at Taking Over the World One Bite at a Time)

The next set of photos is from the Saturday Tasting Pavilion at the Metreon's City View. Over 40 participating food producers, wineries, chefs, and bakers, shared their offerings to throngs of camera wielding food bloggers. It was a blast meeting and re-meeting bloggers here from all over – trading likes and dislikes, business cards, and many laughs.

This marinated squid and scallop dish from Fuego at the Maya was every bit as delicious as it was beautiful.

Bertolli was a major sponsor of the Foodbuzz Festival, and this simple crostini was one of my favorite bites. Caramelized onions, pinenuts, gorgonzola, and one of their prepared sauces made for a simple, but very satisfying snack. Using prepared sauces as a base for quick appetizers like this is a great trick for holiday entertaining.

Rouge Beer was sampling something called Morimoto Soba Ale. I didn't know the taciturn Iron Chef was so into beer, but it makes sense, to me there's nothing better with simple, clean Japaneses food than a tall, cold beer. I didn't get an exact translation, but I believe the characters on the bottle read, "It's always Beer-thirty somewhere."

Pranther Ranch Meats were serving these perfectly portioned hot dogs. With all the "fancy" food we had over the course of the weekend, it was great biting into a reminder of what my inner-most foodie always craves. And look at those mustard racing stripes! Perfect.

I didn't have one of these beautiful mini cupcakes, but the way the cloudless blue sky was reflecting off the white tray made me feel happy. Mini cupcakes are huge.

I also attended a fun wine tasting seminar by Alder Yarrow, celebrity wine blogger and proprietor of Vinography.Com. It was called "Underappreciated California Merlots." Alder started the class by saying, "We're here today because of a comment some asshole made in a movie called Sideways." We tasted four great Merlots, and the take-away was it's now safe to buy and serve Merlots again.

After a 10-mile run and a brief nap (only one of those is true - guess which), it was off to the Foodbuzz Farm-to-Table Dinner & Blog Awards. We enjoyed an incredible dinner by Outstanding in the Field, which was served family style on one long table that snaked around and through the Greenleaf Produce Warehouse. The feast was prepared by Chef Dennis Lee of Namu and featured an amazing array of fresh, local, seasonal ingredients.

There was a passed amuse bouche of Ahi tonnato on buttery toasts, garnished with gochukaru and parsley. Speaking of gochukaru, for the rest of this post you are going to see lots of strange sounding ingredients listed. Feel free to google them, I'm getting ready to head up to Sonoma for a press trip and just don't have time to research them. All I know is they were GREAT. It was a very memorable meal to say the least.

There were wooden plates of marinated vegetables on all the tables. Beans, greens, roots, shoots, and my new favorite thing, kim chi. Every meal should start out this way. The cold, tangy crunch of the quickly pickled vegetables revived our weary tastebuds like a charm. I was now ready for the magic to come.

Next was a super-light mushroom dashi. The clear soup a perfect vehicle for the earthy array of maitake, shimeji, enoki mushrooms.

Next came an Udon noodle (is that redundant?) topped with grilled Monterey calamari with a browned butter ponzu reduction, cucumber, kaiware, frisée, yellow pear tomatoes, chojang and sesame vinaigrette. It was spicy, but not so much as to cover the staggering layers of flavors these ingredients produced.

This was one of the weekend's highlights for me, and brought about a sadness that came from knowing I could never make this myself. The chef had told me earlier that the squid was grilled over imported Japanese white oak. Where the hell am I going to get Japanese white oak?

We enjoyed refreshing seltzer water from these cool blue bottles. Take that regular water!

My buddy Jesse from Beer and Nosh (who won Best Beer Blog!) smuggled in a few bottles of home brewed beer which he shared with the table. It was fantastically funky and a great treat. Next year he needs to sneak in some beer mugs, these wine glasses were just too dainty for the muscular brew.

People kept saying how awesome the salmon was, but it was actually sea trout. It was cooked very rare on dashikombu and topped with fried garlic and Japanese curry powder. It was phenomenal! I could have eaten a pound of this with very little effort.

The sea trout was served with a creamy risotto made with koshihikari rice and topped with crispy maitake mushrooms. Wow. In a perfect world, crispy maitake mushrooms would replace popcorn as the snack of choice for watching movies. Can someone work on that?

Wines for the dinner were provided by Randall Grahm of Boony Doon, a very legendary California winemaker. If you want to read a very intersting story, google "Le Cigare Volant" and read the history of how this wine got its name. These wines were a close encounter of the best kind! (that last line only makes sense if you know the story)

I have no shots of the last course, which was a soy braised beef cheeks and oxtails served with baby carrots (you can see the carrots below) and fingerling potatoes. It was incredible, but the roasted brussels sprouts with ponzu fried garlic, guanciale, and bonito fakes stole the show. They were perfect. By the way, as soon as my fellow blogger start uploading photos I'll snag one to place here, so you can see the whole course.

UPDATE: Thanks to Brooke at Foodwoolf, we now have photographic evidence of the aforementioned beef cheeks and oxtails course! Thanks Brooke!

The dessert was Koshihikari rice pudding with cookie crumble and warren pears. Unfortunately, I didn't have any as the nominees for the First-Annual Foodbuzz Blog Awards were asked to approach the stage for the moment of truth. The collection of food blogging talent was staggering, and I realized just how special it was to be among the nominees.

When Director of Community & Managing Editor Ryan Stern and co-Mistress of Ceremonies, Jenn Di Piazza of The Leftover Queen, announced I had won the Award for Best Video Blog, I made my way to the stage with one simple goal. Do not fall down. Mission accomplished!!

The weekend ended Sunday morning with a sunny brunch with Nature's Pride Bread at Restaurant LuLu. The gathering included a make-your-own Bloody Mary bar, and not surprisingly no usable photos were taken. It was sad saying goodbye to all my new friends, but it was time for everyone to get back to "real life." I hope I get to see them all again next year!

A million thanks to Foodbuzz and all the sponsors that made this magical weekend a reality. I met so many inspiring bloggers from all over the country, and have a renewed sense of purpose for my blog. Thanks to everyone who voted, and stay tuned as I add links to the bottom of this post to other recaps of this wonderful event. Enjoy!

A Classic American Apple Pie – Warning: This Video Recipe is Almost All Filler

foodwishes@yahoo.com (Chef John) — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 00:06:05 PST

I really wanted to do a from-scratch apple pie video, complete with my Aunt Angela's famous homemade crust, but with my chicken wing video blowing up all over the web, and the Foodbuzz Blogger Festival this weekend demanding my time and attention, I took the easy way out (I'm looking at you Sandra Lee), and used a pre-made pie dough.

Besides, if you're not an experienced pie baker (and let's face it, you're not), there's nothing wrong with a little ready-to-use dough, as long as it's filled with this fantastic apple pie filling.

What will strike you about this filling is just how few ingredients go in it. Sliced apples baked with sugar taste really, really good, and we don't want to mess with that too much. For me, a little pinch of nutmeg and some cinnamon is all this timeless combination needs.

The other key here, compliments of my mother Pauline, is to use multiple types of apples. There are subtle differences in flavor and texture with the wide variety of baking apples (basically defined as anything except Red Delicious). This is a classic case of the whole being greater than the sum of the parts.

You can see the apple blend I used in the ingredient list below, but there are an endless number of combinations (not literally! I know how you math people are – you were so going to send me an email, weren't you?)

Anyway, I hope you give this delicious apple pie filling a try, and if you were going to shock the world and bake a homemade pie for dessert for one of the upcoming holiday meals, this would be a great choice. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
6-8 baking apples (depending on size) I used 2 Granny Smith, 2 Braeburn, 2 Fuji
1/2 lemon, juiced
1 cup white sugar
3 tbsp cornstarch
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon
very tiny pinch of salt
2 tbsp butter
1 egg, beaten
ready to use pie dough (I used Pillsbury)

Food Wishes Video Recipes Wins "Best Video Blog" at 2009 Foodbuzz Blog Awards!

foodwishes@yahoo.com (Chef John) — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 08:50:57 PST

It's with much joy, pride, and humility (well, two out of three ain't bad) that I officially make the announcement this blog has won the "Best Video Blog" at the First Annual Foodbuzz Blog Awards! I think Homer Simpson put it best when he said, "Woo Hoo!"

I can't express how much all your support over the last year has meant to me, not because I can't find the words, but because I'm way too hung over. I also have to run off to the last event of the weekend, a farewell brunch at Restaurant LuLu, featuring a make-you-own Bloody Mary(s) bar, which should really help with this headache.

Speaking of which, I haven't had the time or brain waves to find any real photos of the event, so I grabbed this picture of some guy named Rick Best posing with a borrowed Oscar statue at 1989 Academy Awards to simulate the scene. A million thanks to Foodbuzz and everyone involved. Stay tuned for a recap and links to the other winners!

Here is the actual iPhone video footage I took of the announcement:

Photo by Alan Light

It's Foodbuzz Friday!

foodwishes@yahoo.com (Chef John) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 10:08:03 PST

The Foodbuzz Blogger Festival begins in San Francisco tonight, and it's looking to be an amazing weekend of food, fun, and furious networking with fellow food bloggers from all over the country. I will be busy at events throughout the weekend, including the big awards dinner on Saturday night where Food Wishes has been nominated for "Best Video Blog."

Needless to say I'm very excited and just found out that nominees even get to wear a special gold laminated pass. That's very cool, but I was really hoping they would have used my suggestion that instead of the regular wine glasses, nominees would get to carry around and drink from jewel-encrusted pimp cups.

I'll be tweeting live from the event, in case you want to follow along, as well as taking lots of photos, and maybe even a little video. Stay tuned for updates, and have a fantastic weekend.

Pastrami Chicken Wings – A Delicious Failure

foodwishes@yahoo.com (Chef John) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 23:26:39 PST

Have you ever been enjoying a nice pastrami sandwich and thought to yourself, "This is good, but I really wish it had some bones in it." Well, this recipe was an attempt to solve that age-old desire.

I've taken a spice rub traditionally used on a beef brisket to make pastrami, and applied it to America's favorite appetizer, chicken wings. This resulted in a pretty nice chicken wing recipe, which tasted nothing like pastrami.

I guess I'm asking for trouble calling it "Pastrami Wings." If your palette is set for some rich, fatty, smoky pastrami, you will be disappointed. As I joke in the video, a chicken ain't a cow, and no chicken wing will ever taste like real pastrami.

Having said that, so what? They're just chicken wings. Perfect for this time of year, since for sports fans this is the ultimate sweet spot on the calendar. You can watch baseball, football, basketball (I wish the Bay Area had a team), hockey (Go Sharks!), golf, and several other minor sports (like college football).

What better way to veg on the couch for 14 hours, than with a plate of chicken wings that don't taste like pastrami? Honey, can you grab me another beer? My fingers are all greasy. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
1 tbsp vegetable oil
2 1/2 pounds chicken wing sections
2 tbsp fresh ground black pepper
1 1/2 tbsp ground coriander
1 tbsp smoked paprika
pinch of cayenne, optional
2 tsp kosher salt, or to taste
2 tsp flour
*serve with Russian dressing as a dip

Note: I thought these were fairly mild, and would actually increase the spice amounts next time. If you experiment, please let me know the results!

Chef John Teams with The Salvation Army this Holiday Season and Would Love Your Help!

foodwishes@yahoo.com (Chef John) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 10:18:40 PST

I'm teaming up with The Salvation Army this holiday season to help spread the word about all the amazing work they do, as well as how you can help. I was able to spend a day in their main San Francisco kitchen with Executive Chef Anthony Pardi, and it was an eye-opening experience.

The quantity and quality of the food Chef Pardi and his team put out with the limited resources they have to work with is impressive to say the least. In my small, sheltered world of star chefs and celebrity foodies, I sometimes forget that chefs like Anthony exist.

These are the chefs that forgo fame and fortune, and use their skills to make a difference for so many. This video was shot on location, and is intended to give a very brief glimpse into The Salvation Army's kitchen operation, as well as give me the opportunity to tell you how you can help out.

The Drive Thru Turkey Drop

Like most of you, when I hear "drive thru," I think of someone handing me a bag of fast food (of course I want fries with that!), but on Saturday, November 7th, from 9AM to 3PM, you can flip the script by dropping off much needed turkeys at 850 Harrison Street @4th here in San Francisco, at the annual Drive Thru Turkey Drop.

While they will be perfectly happy with you just dropping off one turkey, multiple birds would be even better. In fact, I haven’t even told them this yet, but whichever car drops off the most turkeys (my team of engineers has crunched some numbers and have determined you can easily fit 18 frozen turkeys in a mid-size car), will have a thanksgiving side dish recipe named after them! Just imagine… "Glazed Carrots ala [insert your name here]."

How You Can Help

I realize most of you don't live in San Francisco, and it's a lot to expect you to move here, buy a car, buy some turkeys, and come to the drive thru – so we have other ways you can help.

You can click on iconic red kettle graphic in this post and donate directly. Or, you can grab the logo yourself (just drag it on to your desktop), and post it on your food blog with a link to The Salvation Army's donation page. Either way, they can really use the help, especially considering this year's increase in demand.

A very special thanks to The Salvation Army, and Chef Anthony Pardi for all the great work he does year-round. Also, a huge thanks to Antonio White at Vedaquest.com and Dennis Minnick, who did all the video production on this project.

This is the extended 27 minute "Director Cut"

Note to Foodies

I will be posting all kinds of holiday recipes including complete demos of the stock, gravy, stuffing, and turkey prep you saw glimpses of in this video. So stay tuned!

Just Call Me King Wing – My "How to Eat Chicken Wings" Video Goes Viral!

foodwishes@yahoo.com (Chef John) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 09:15:44 PST

You just never know. What was intended to be a short goof of a demo, has turned into a bona fide internet sensation! My little "How to Eat a Chicken Wing" video has just gone over 120,000 views on YouTube, as well as been featured on such high profile websites as lifehacker.com, seriouseats.com, buzzfeed.com, yelp.com, and consumerist.com, among others.

Thanks to everyone who had a part in spreading the word! By the way, the pastrami-rubbed chicken wings recipe from which this sensation was born is ready to post tomorrow. Stay tuned!

Hey Ladies, Show Me Your Wings!

I just received this video from my good friends Jude (left) and Juliana from Brand New Entertainment, showing off their new-found chicken wing skills. Hey, if a couple television producers from L.A. can do it, so can you! ;-)

Michele's Chili Chocolate Cookies – I'd Love Them Even If She Wasn't My Wife!

foodwishes@yahoo.com (Chef John) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 23:27:35 PST

The recent post which featured Denise from ChezUs' beautiful dark chocolate macarons with bittersweet ancho chili ganache reminded my wife Michele that it'd been a while since she'd whipped up a batch of her famous chili chocolate cookies.

These dense, dark, and dangerously addictive cookies feature a dose of black pepper and cayenne, which to some may seem like an odd addition. But one taste and you'll understand the method to this madness.

Just like adding a pinch of salt to dessert recipes makes them even sweeter and more delicious, the addition of pepper in this cookie really makes the chocolate even more chocolaty. The cookies aren't really "spicy," but you can definitely tell something strange and wonderful is happening.

I'm terrible with keeping my secret ingredients, secret. As soon as someone says, "Hey, what's in these?" I spill the beans. However, if you're one of those sadistic cooks that loves tormenting your foodie friends by not telling them what that certain something is, then this recipe is for you, since the spices are very hard to identify.

A couple notes about the recipe ingredients below. I use kosher salt for just about everything, but I always have to remind myself that it has a much flakier, larger grain, so 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt is really like 1/4 teaspoon of fine table salt. The measurement below is for fine salt, so double it if you also use flake-style kosher salt.

Also, Michele decided to reverse the chocolate blend in the original recipe by using 2 parts unsweetened chocolate to 1 part bittersweet. If you like really sweet cookies use 2 parts bittersweet to 1 part unsweetened.

If you're not sure, make 4 or 5 batches and experiment with different combinations. You really can’t practice too much when it comes to these strange, but spectacular cookies. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
1/2 cup dried currants
2 tablespoons Kahlua
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
2 room temperature eggs
3/4 cup sugar
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup chocolate chips

Note: Special thanks to Sigve Hoel who gifted me a sweet new set of OXO mixing bowls! He saw them on my Amazon Wish List (in the sidebar in case you're wondering). Thanks Sigve! We LOVE them.

There are Chocolate Cookies in Your Future

foodwishes@yahoo.com (Chef John) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 20:09:47 PST

Just a quick Sunday night tease picture from the extremely chocolaty video recipe Michele and I just finished. These are her famous chili chocolate cookies, and let me warn you... they're so good, you may have trouble controlling yourself. Stay tuned!

Choosing Pizza Over Immortality - The Part of Being a Vampire that Really Sucks

foodwishes@yahoo.com (Chef John) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 19:04:59 PST

This was posted last year, just as vampire mania had started to sweep across America. Since it's Halloween I thought I would re-post it, along with the poll that asked if you'd give up food for immortality.

I think the results are fascinating! I know people love food, but we're talking about immortality. How did you vote?

The original post from 10/9/08 follows:

Those of you still able to afford HBO may be familiar with the new series, True Blood. It's an entertaining tongue-in-cheek, fangs-in-neck series about vampires and their attempt to assimilate into mainstream society. I guess I should state that this is a fictional show, just in case.

I was watching an episode recently and one of the vampires said something that sent a cold chill through my soul. Vampires don't eat food. Everyone knows they have to drink blood to survive, but did you know that they don't eat anything else? Think about it, would the kinky sex, great strength, immortality, and killer dental plan, be enough to give up eating food forever?

So here is a little Halloween poll: If you had to choose between a normal human life, and life as a vampire (able to live forever, but unable to eat and enjoy food), which would you chose?

Photo (c) Flickr user *davierae*

Making the World a Better Place, One Chicken Wing at a Time

foodwishes@yahoo.com (Chef John) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 09:46:36 PST

I could never work at Hooters. Not because of my hairy legs, or my just slightly too-small boobs, but because I couldn't bear to watch people eat all those chicken wings. It's not a problem with what they're eating, but rather how they're eating them.

Chicken wings come in two parts: the "drumette" and the "flat." There's only one way to eat the drumette part, and I have no issue with that, but it's watching people eat the flat part of the wing that makes me crazy.

People sort of gnaw around it, nibbling tiny pieces of meat off the two thin bones, and then trying to suck the remaining flesh from in between. It's not pretty. Not only do I find this esthetically unpleasant, but practically speaking, it's a terribly inefficient way to go.

This short video is from the end of a pastrami-rubbed chicken wings recipe I'm currently editing. I decided enough was enough, and that I needed to share my patented flat wing eating technique. This method ensures that 100% of the meat will be captured, and as you'll see, it looks really cool when you dip the perfectly boneless wings into the sauce.

Anyway, the new recipe will be up soon, and when it is I expect you to master this method no matter how many batches it takes! Enjoy.

Only 28 Shopping Days Until Thanksgiving!

foodwishes@yahoo.com (Chef John) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 13:28:01 PDT

Thanksgiving will soon be upon us, and with it the annual anxiety of what to cook, and how to cook it.

I'll be doing my part to help by posting and reposting any and all holiday video recipes from my extensive library, as well as filming new ones.

Thanksgiving shouldn't be dominated by long, stressful hours in the kitchen. Your menu should never get in the way of what the holidays should really be about; drinking too much and telling your relatives what you really think of them.

If you have a particular holiday recipe you really want to see, please comment here and I'll see what I can do. Thanks, and stay tuned!

Q: How do you like them apples? A: They're alright, but I wish they looked like swans.

foodwishes@yahoo.com (Chef John) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 09:19:31 PDT

This very quick and completely useless apple swan video is a little tease for a demo I'm producing for About.com. That upcoming version will be much slower and include step-by-step instructions. I know some of you won't wait, and will give this a try, so here's some advice: have band-aids nearby.

Dark Chocolate Macarons with Bittersweet Ancho Chili Ganache from ChezUs

foodwishes@yahoo.com (Chef John) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 21:50:20 PDT

I've had more than a couple email requests for a macarons recipe, but I just haven't been able to do one yet.

In the meantime, it's my pleasure to bring you this fantastic recipe from my friend Denise at ChezUs, for dark chocolate macarons with bittersweet ancho chili ganache.

This was her entry in something called the Daring Bakers’ challenge, which you can read all about on her blog. You'll also find lots of yummy photos and the complete recipe should you decide to attempt these without the security blanket of a video nearby. Enjoy!

Note: not sure if you've noticed, but I've put a measurements converter widget down on the sidebar. Parts of Denise's recipe are in Metric (I know. I'll have a talk with her later), but you can easily convert them using the new tool!

Photo (c) ChezUs

Seared Scallops with Orange and Jalapeno Dressing – Hot, But Not

foodwishes@yahoo.com (Chef John) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 23:35:11 PDT

For someone that doesn't eat a lot of spicy food, this video recipe for Seared Scallops with Orange and Jalapeno Dressing may seem pretty intimidating.

Along with the orange "supremes," a very healthy amount of diced jalapenos form the base of this great appetizer.

Jalapenos are not a super spicy variety of pepper, especially if they are prepped the way I demo here. We want the pleasant bitter-sweet heat of the fruit, but not that burning sensation that many associate with jalapeno.

Those sliced peppers you had on the nachos were unpleasantly hot because they retained the seeds and white membranes that contain all the capsicum (the substance that gives peppers their fire). By the way, this does make a great excuse for why you drank so much beer.

If you use the technique I show in the video, you will be amazed at how mild, and great tasting jalapenos can be. Once cut correctly, in a "Brunoise" as I joke about during the recipe, the peppers make a perfect partner to the sweet orange and crusty seared scallops.

This would make a very cool first course for those upcoming holiday parties, but make sure you watch the searing technique carefully. A very hot, very good quality pan is critical, as are dry, wild day boat scallops.

If the scallops are wet, and/or the pan is not hot enough, you will get the dreaded "boiled" scallop – a pale, shriveled knot of disappointment. Done properly however, this is one fantastic seafood recipe. Time and money allowing, maybe even practice before the big day. Enjoy!

Ingredients (for 4 scallops):
2 small jalapeno, brunoise cut
1 sweet orange, sectioned
1/4 cup rice vinegar
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp sambal (Asian red chili condiment), optional
1 tbsp vegetable oil
4 day boat scallops
salt to taste

Begging and Teasing on a Sleepy Sunday Afternoon

foodwishes@yahoo.com (Chef John) — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 13:46:50 PDT

The beautiful plate you see here is from a just completed video recipe for seared scallops with an orange and jalapeno dressing. This simple appetizer will blow your socks off (if you wear socks, which I really prefer you do). It will be airing soon, so stay tuned!

Please Vote for Food Wishes for the 2009 Foodbuzz Blog Awards "Best Video Blog"

Time is almost up to vote for Chef John for the 2009 Foodbuzz Blog Awards, so if you haven't voted yet, please follow the link and tell them this site is your pick for "Best Video Blog!"

I'm honored just to be nominated, but a win would help raise the profile of the blog even higher. Thanks!

Catching a Foodbuzz with Black Box Wines at Spruce

foodwishes@yahoo.com (Chef John) — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 12:36:31 PDT

Wednesday night I attended another fabulous Foodbuzz Community Table dinner hosted by Black Box Wines at Spruce. The food was delicious, the wine was great, and the company utterly enjoyable.

The only way the evening could have been any more entertaining was if David Chang had crashed our dessert course and delivered a drunken rant about our cheese plate.

"F*cking come on, San Francisco chefs! Do something with your f*cking cheese!
Hey, can I get some f*cking figs?"

That didn't happen, but even so, the night was a fun-filled feast featuring a four-course meal of fresh, local, and thoughtfully prepared food paired very nicely with an array of Black Box wines.

The evening started with some beautifully presented charcuterie in Spruce's "Library." This was my kind of library – sliced meats, crusty bread, wonderful wine, crackling fireplace, and absolutely no books. We were also allowed to speak above a whisper, which really works out great for me.

I enjoyed several glasses of Black Box's 2008 Columbia Valley Riesling as I chatted up my fellow Foodbuzz Featured Publishers. Seeing that most of the others were drinking the 2007 California Merlot, I wondered if my cold white wine was the best choice for the house-cured meats. I would have looked it up, but like I said, there were no books.

We moved from the Library to a handsome private dining room in the back of the restaurant. This was a good thing since there's nothing more annoying than trying to enjoy a romantic, softly lit meal, only to be subjected to the strobe-like flash lighting from a couple dozen cackling food bloggers.

There's a certain special something about having a meal in a private room like that. The food tastes better, the wine pairs more perfectly, and the conversations seem even more interesting. It's no wonder meetings about launching companies and plotting murders are held in such spaces.

Our first course was a visually arresting beet and pear salad. The deeply colored, carpaccio-style sliced beets were topped with aged goat cheese and walnut vinaigrette. The sweet, soft pear proved a perfect liaison between the sexy salad and the accompanying 2008 New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc.

Next up was a perfectly roasted halibut, served atop chanterelles and fennel frond broth, finished with a subtly sweet, jam-like puree of fennel bulb. This course was paired with two Black Box chardonnays– a 2008 Monterey County and a 2008 Napa Valley Reserve.

I really enjoy chardonnay paired with mushrooms, and thought both worked very well, however, when we were asked which we thought was the better match, I chose the Monterey County, as did Black Box's wine guru Steve Hosmer. Take that, bloggers that liked the other one better!

The main course was an impeccably presented bavette steak with sauce bordelaise, served with a stack of duck fat fried potatoes. I'd like to type that again… a stack of duck fat fried potatoes. A few thought this a bit too safe of a pairing with the 2007 California Cabernet Sauvignon, but I defended the decision by simply repeating, "yeah, but duck fat potatoes," over and over.

The dessert course was a trio of cheeses served with honeyed almonds, and dried cranberries. It's at this point in the evening when I stopped asking questions like, "what cheese is this again?" – I put away the camera and pen, and just enjoyed the end of a great meal. Talking food, laughing, winking, and just being in the moment.

Throughout the dinner the sommeliers would explain what we were drinking and why it was paired with these ingredients. Usually, to this old chef's ear, these course introductions sound like, "…blah, blah, tannins, blah, blah, oak, blah, blah, vanilla," but I actually tried to pay attention to the whys and what fors. There really are reasons certain pairings work and other do not.

It was impossible not to notice how prideful the folks from Black Box are when they talk about their offerings. They know they have some great wines, and you can see how much they enjoy the fact it's packaged in a black box.

Due to the facts that it was decanted for service, and so damn food-friendly, not once during the entire evening did the thought, "we're drinking wine from a box," cross my mind. To me, that's the best compliment I can give.

Thanks to Foodbuzz for another wonderful evening! Thanks to Black Box Wines for (see above), and thanks to Spruce for all the wonderful food!

Check out some of my fellow food blogger's recaps of this event:
Danielle at Bon Vivant
Denise & Lenny at Chez Us
Janet at Pretty Green Girl
Joel at Six By 10 Tiny Kitchen
Jesse at Beer and Nosh

Experimental Ricotta Meatballs Prove to be Paradoxically Delicious

foodwishes@yahoo.com (Chef John) — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 10:16:50 PDT

I was at it again – taking a perfectly good recipe and putting in way too much of something just to see what would happen. In this case it was a basic meatball recipe that was the object of my curiosity.

I wanted to know what would happen if I put in a relatively large ratio of ricotta cheese. What happened was tasty, very tender, and fairly light meatballs. I feared the extra mixing required to incorporate the ricotta make the meatballs tough and rubbery. I'm happy to report it did not.

The cheese actually gave the meatballs a very nice texture, and ironically, this recipe could end up being a cure for the chronic over-mixers among us. A recipe that eliminates the problem of over mixing by using an ingredient that forces you to over mix it? Is that a paradox?

While you're googling "paradox," I'm going to finish off the last of these delicious meatballs that I served with the customary spaghetti. And, by customary I mean in America, since our Italian friends still refuse to admit how great these two things are together, and remain adamant about serving them at different courses. Hey, their loss! Enjoy.

1/2 onion, minced
2 tbsp olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup ricotta cheese
1/4 cup chopped Italian parsley
1 egg, beaten
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt (or 3/4 tsp table salt)
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
cayenne to taste
1 pound ground beef (85% lean)
1/3 cup plain breadcrumb
1 (28-oz) jar prepared marinara sauce
1 cup water

Which lifestyle would you choose?
	I would stay a human. I know I would die someday, but I really like nachos.
	I would become a vampire and live forever without eating food again. I'm not that great a cook anyway.

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