Is It Spring?
Hedgehog Mushrooms
Here in the Bay Area we have yet to have a winter and last night I was able to make a very Spring like meal. On the menu:
~Monterey Bay Squid Salad with Arugula, Cara Cara Orange, Fingerling Potatoes and Fennel
~Local Halibut with Hedgehog Mushrooms, English Peas and Spinach Ragout
Uchi- The Cookbook
When I visited the restaurant Uchi in Austin Texas a few years ago I was very impressed by their innovated take on modern Japanese cuisine. I had a great meal there and now I can try to replicate those dishes at home with chef Tyson Cole’s new cookbook.
This is my pick for cookbook of the year for 2011. I like the section on “components” where you can create “an accessory” or “yakumi” that you can use to accompaniment other kinds of dishes. The book is beautifully photographed and has inspirational recipes to try creating at home. Like last years cookbook pick from NOMA, a lot of the ingredients will be hard to find. I would’ve liked to have seen a sources list to help me find the obscure ingredients.
Eat Real Festival
It was a great weekend at the eatreal festival in Jack London Square in Oakland. The food truck trend was in full swing and there was a great variety of different foods from the many venders. If you missed it, make sure to put it on your calendar for next year. My favorite plate was the fish tacos from Cholita Linda.
The Changing of the Seasons
I’m a little late updating my seasonal ingredient list on my website, but hey, spring and summer were also late in the Bay Area.
Waning ingredients include all stone fruit, berries, melons, corn, and all of the summer produce that was deprived of sunshine this year.
Ingredients to look for in the near future that will be coming into their peak will be chanterelle mushrooms, grapes, pomegranates, shelling beans, apples, and hard squashes. Stay tuned for the change of the produce seasons.
Cooking Bacon
When I cook bacon at home with friends, I’m reminded from their perplexed reaction, that people aren’t familiar with the basic restuarant method of cooking bacon that is commonplace in a professional kitchen.
When people cook bacon at home on the stovetop, it is very messy and time consuming and requires constant attention. In a professional kitchen it is often necessary to cook large amounts of bacon with limited time.
So I thought it was worth posting this method for people unfamiliar with the “secret” way of cooking bacon and who are looking for an easier, cleaner way: THE OVEN. Simply lay out the strips of bacon onto sheet pans and put into a 350 degree oven for 15-25 minutes depending on the thickness and how crispy you like your bacon. It’s best to drain off the grease halfway through and turn the strips over. You can also cook the strips on a wire rack over a sheet pan but that leaves one more thing to clean.
