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Oronoco Rum

For a few years I've been a devotee of 10 Cane rum.

Today, I may have become an Oronoco convert. Or, more likely, I'll concede that there's a place in the world for both of these excellent products. 10 Cane is slightly less expensive, if memory serves. Both have a deliciously fragrant aroma of sugar, vanilla, and caramel that make them appropriate for either sipping of mixing, though Oronoco isn't quite as sweet.

And because a cocktail does not a dinner make, we had colcannon as well. It's an Irish dish consisting of sauteed cabbage mixed up with mashed potatoes, milk, butter, salt, and pepper, then baked/broiled until crusty and hot.

Benziger Wine event

It was a beautiful weekend to be in Sonoma. Four of us drove up on Saturday for Benziger's annual wine club member open house. This is one of my favorite events of the year: plenty of sunshine and good food, barrel tastings, and a overall great time.

After arriving at the winery, we walked past a lovely garden before reaching the tented event area.

Does anyone know the name of these flowers? The way each flower looks like it's part of a bigger flower ball really intrigued us.

I know, where's all the wine photography? Unsprisingly, N and I were too mesmerized by the french fries to care about much else. They were being fried on site and scooped into paper cones, then topped with garlic aioli. Who could resist? And, surprisingly, the fries paired deliciously with a 2004 Stone Farm Syrah.

The food included a tasty (though cold) mushroom and spinach crepe, scallion flatbread, a very lovely green salad with seared ahi tuna, and an assortment of sandwiches.

The wine winner of the day was the 2005 Tribute, although the 2006 Oonopais Sonoma Mountain Red and the 2004 Stone Farm Cabernet were my two favorite price considered. Benziger's stone farm cabs continue to have a strong earthy tone remniscent of mushrooms. It was the first wine that really illustrated to me the ability of wine to reflect terroir, or characteristics of the soil where its grapes are grown. No other wine, even other Benziger wines, has that lush but dry mushroomy quality.

Andale (Westfield Food Court)

This is why America is obese:

I'm not attacking Andale specifically. Actually, I think their food is pretty darned good, and well priced for food court fare. They were also in Forbes's recent "10 Healthiest Fast Food Chains" list earlier this year. But the meal above is listed as a $7 "appetizer" selection off their menu. Yes, including the beans and rice.

Really, I shouldn't be complaining. with food prices going up everywhere, it's almost impossible to find a $7 lunch anywhere, much less in the middle of downtown San Francisco. As it was, I was full off the chicken taquitos served with fresh, real guacamole and tomato salsa; and I took home enough rice and beans for a snack later.

Eastern Cafe Dim Sum

Missed a photo in my files: here's a flash from the past from a few weekends ago. We felt like trying dim sum outside of Chinatown, and J remembered a place around Geary and 17th. When we walked in, we noticed that the restaurant had been remodelled and given a new name. Consensus: it's as good as ever. The restaurant uses a mix of menu ordering and ordering off trays as the servers pass by. I think it's a good system. You get to order what you know you want, and then see what catches your eye as it floats by.

We had the usual, starting from the left:

• beef wrapped in glutinous rice sheets. This was excellent. I don't usually love this but their version was excellent.
• braised short ribs: okay, nothing special
• pork dumplings: also standard
• braised innards: more standardness
• turnip cake: yay! This is a dish I do go gaga over. As with the first dish, daikon cake is almost always better at restaurants where you order food off a menu because it's guaranteed to come out piping hot.
• shrimp dumplings: quite good! Nice texture on the skin, fat shrimp on the inside.
• tofu skin: also good.

Bacon Vegetable Chowder

Chowder is a great way to use up odds and ends of root vegetables. I realized today that if I made a small pot of it, I would be able to clear out a good portion of my refrigerator. The result:

This makes about two quarts, which is plenty for me to have for lunch and then for us both to have with dinner.

• 3 slices of bacon, diced
• 1 large onion, diced
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 2 medium carrots, diced
• 2 medium russet potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 3 long sprigs of thyme
• 2 dried bay leaves
• 2 Tbs flour
• half a quart or so of leftover vegetable stock, plus enough water to make it a full quart
• a cup or so of milk
• salt and pepper

Sautee the bacon over medium heat until they're crispy. Use the oil to sautee the onions until soft, then add the celerty, carrots, potatoes, thyme, and bay leaves. Sautee for two or three minutes until the vegetables are warmed through, though there's no need to cook them. Stir the flour into the mix, coating the vegetables well. Cook for another three minutes, until the flour is completely invisible.

Slowly add the liquid while stirring, then bring to a boil and then down to a simmer for at least half an hour or until the vegetables are cooked through. Fish out the bay leaves and thyme sprigs, then salt and pepper to taste.

Put half of the soup into a blender and blend thoroughly. Pour the puree back into the soup pot, then rinse out the blender jar with half a cup to a cup of milk and add it to the soup. Taste again for salt and pepper, then serve.

Hot Dog Buns

Don't say I didn't warn you. Hot dog buns! Anyone who's ever stepped into a Chinese bakery has seen these. They're basically dinner rolls studded with hot dog slices, shredded dry pork, green onions, and/or canned corn. I'm far from perfecting the recipe, but these are pretty tasty. I think Chinese bakeries use a dough recipe that has far more butter in it, because their buns are usually flatter and more tender (read: more fat).


The dinner roll recipe from a few days ago is perfect for making these. The dough recipe was enough for eight good sized buns. I formed most into balls, let them rise for half an hour, studded them with hot dogs, let them rise another half hour, and then brushed them with an egg wash and sprinkled green onions on top.

To mix things up a little, I saved two balls of dough and rolled them into a rectangle about five inches by ten inches, then sprinkled the whole thing with green onions and rolled a hot dog into it. I let that rise for an hour, seam down, then baked it into something that would be easy for J to eat at his desk.

The Treats of Spring

This post seems a little out of place since it's gone from sunny to freezing in 24 hours, but oh well.

This post demonstrates why I love farmers' markets. For $9 I got: two medium heads of broccoli, a large bunch of ong choy, an even larger bunch of pea shoots, a small head of butter leaf lettuce, some giant green garlic (extremely fragrant!), three amazingly crisp apples, and a mountain of button mushrooms. To me, this beats any Safeway in both price and quality.

We had a nice chenin blanc "cocktail" since neither of us really loved the wine. One slice of juicy navel orange and a sprinkling of chopped strawberries later and it was fruitily delicious.

And this weekend's dessert project: frozen yogurt! This approximates the taste and texture of Pinkberry, but is much healthier since it's made with real yogurt and pure cane sugar, not chemical powder.

The recipe is simple: one tub of Trader Joe's Greek Style yogurt, about half a cup of sugar (more or less depending on your sweet tooth; I used less), and a splash of milk (probably less than 1/8 cu). Stir the ingredients together until the sugar is distributed, then refrigerate it overnight to make sure the sugar completely dissolves into the yogurt. Give it a good stir before putting it into an ice cream machine for about 20 minutes, or until it's the consistency of a thick milkshake. Scrape into a container, freeze for at least four hours, and dig in!

Classic Steak and Kidney Pies

J takes the credit for finding and adapting a bunch of recipes into something that looked good to us. The results? See for yourself!

Steak and kidney pies are a traditional British treat that J first tried on a trip to Cambridge. Since then, he's scoured both San Francisco and Los Angeles for a comparable rendition. So far, he says ours is the best!

INGREDIENTS

• 1 1/2 lbs chuck steak, cut into 1/2 inch dice
• 1/2 lb ox, lamb, or calve kidney (I used a full pound)
• 2 onions, chopped (I chopped one and pureed the other)
• butter
• one pound mushrooms, cut into thick slices or large cubes
• 2.5 tablespoons flour
• 1 teaspoon tomato puree (which I didn't have)
• ½ teaspoon garlic salt
• 2 bay leaves
• 3/4 pint veal stock or beef stock (or water and stock cube or granules)
• ¼ beer (Guiness or Pale Ale)
• worcestershire sauce
• salt and pepper
• 1 egg, beaten, for glazing
  

For our first attempt, we used veal kidneys for their mild flavor. Little City Market at the intersection of North Beach and Chinatown was able to order fresh, high quality kidneys for us at a very reasonable price.

The steak portion was chuck roast, cubed and lightly pounded.

Fry the steak and kidney in batches, browning the meat on all sides. Remove the meat to a pot as you finish browning it, and then use the butter to pick up the remaining bits and pieces. Use the butter to fry the onions over medium heat until soft.

Place the saucepan on medium heat, stirring in the flour, and allow it to cook for two to three minutes. Add the bay leaves and mushrooms (which I didn't have this time). Pour in the stock and ale and bring to a simmer, skimming off any impurities. The meat should just be covered with the stock; if not, top with a little more stock or water. Simmer gently, partially covered, for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. During the cooking time it may need to be skimmed several times. 4After 1 1/2 hours, check the meat for tenderness. If not quite soft enough, cook for the additional 30 minutes. If the meat is cooking gently, it will not need to be topped off.

Make enough pie crust for two 9 inch pies while you wait for the filling to cool to room temperature. I'm not going to get into the details here, but I rolled out a few medium pies and a few small ones. The ones in the picture above were made in muffin tins so I could keep them in the freezer for a quick snack. Aren't they fun? They remind me of Mrs. Lovett's pies from Sweeney Todd. Of course, I'm pretty sure these wouldn't be the worst pies in London!

You can make pies with both bottom and top crusts, or with just the top crust like this one. Fill the pies with lukewarm filling, top with the crust, bake, and eat!

Overnight Rolls

We have a winner! I had a hankering for fresh rolls on a Saturday morning, but certainly wasn't going to slave away in the kitchen for two or three hours after waking up. So I found a bread recipe that requires a long rise. All I had to do in the morning was shape the rolls and let them rise while my oven pre-heated, and bake them while I brewed myself a nice cup of tea. The best part? One bite and I knew this dough is what Chinese bakeries use as the base for most of their savory creations. So look out for hot dog green onion rolls, shredded dried pork buns, and so on!

INGREDIENTS (I halved this but would do the whole batch in the future)

• 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
• 1 cup warm milk (about 110 degrees Farenheit, or very warm but not steaming)
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs, beaten (plus one for glazing, if you wish)
• 1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 cups all-purpose flour

In a large bowl, mix together yeast, milk and sugar. Let stand for 30 minutes.
Mix eggs, butter and salt into yeast mixture. Mix in flour, 2 cups at a time. Cover loosely and let stand at room temperature overnight. I put the bowl in my oven with the door cracked open since it was quite chilly.

In the morning, preheat the oven to 375 F. Divide the dough in half. Roll each half into a 9 inch round circle. Cut each round into 12 pie shaped wedges. Roll up each wedge starting from wide end to the tip. Place on parchment lined (or greased) baking sheet and let rise for ten minutes or until puffed up. NOTES: you can create one large circle with all of the dough if you want croissant sized crescents. Alternatively, you can roll the dough into a rectangle, cut it into strips, and make big bread knots. Or, as I plan to, you can form the dough into balls the size of small oranges and fill or top with meats. This time, my only variation was to sprinkle half the dough with chopped green onions. It made the kitchen smell amazing.

Brush the rolls with an egg wash if you want a shiny glazed top, then bake them for 12 to 15 minutes until golden brown. Shave two minutes off if you plan to freeze the rolls and reheat them in a toaster oven. Add two minutes if you've added toppings that contain some moisture.

This is a VERY easy recipe; give it a try! J liked the green onion crescents enough that he ate five in one sitting. And he is no bread fiend, usually.

Salt House

In a nutshell: this is a lovely restaurant that I wouldn't hesitate recommending to anyone. At the same time, it doesn't reach the heights necessary to be a place I'd return to again and again. That's just the nature of being a restaurant in SF--too much great competition!


I loved the space. The chalkboard specials and unpainted pine tables paired with exposed brick and iron railings gave it a rustic bakery meets urban loft feel. We sat at a table overlooking the first floor--probably the best seats in the house! The vibe is lively but not so noisy we couldn't chat; though I would strongly suggest everyone avoid the tables just across the bar and under the stairway. I apologize for the lack of photos. We were dining with a friend I don't know that well, and I didn't want to seem like a total freak. Besides, I forgot my camera and the Blackberry takes really hideous photos indoors.



The service was lovely. Both our drink orders and food arrived briskly (perhaps even a little too briskly--is Salt House responding to early reviews that the kitchen lags?); and when the server heard J's beer order incorrectly, she didn't even blink an eye before offering the first glass as a gift and rushing off to bring the correct beer.



Poutine: steak fries covered in white cheddar and a beef gravy. This dish was so comforting and so delicious. I loved it, yet could have been so much more. I want to see cheese a little more akin to milk curds, and a more flavorful gravy. Don't get me wrong, this was tasty. It just had the potential to knock my socks off but did not.



Baked oysters: very nicely done. The layer of bread crumbs on top of the oysters was lightly toasted, not at all greasy, and the oysters themselves were hot but not cooked all the way through.



Crispy egg: the server raved about this, but I regretted getting it and not the foie gras done two ways I saw at the table next to us. The crispy egg was very interesting and quite tasty, but at the end of the day it was $15 for a batter fried soft boiled egg on a bed of peas and carrots. Hm.



Petrale sole: they split this for us without our asking, but I forgot to check if they charged us a split plate fee. In any case, it was a perfectly done piece of very fresh fish. No complaints whatsoever.



Seared ahi tuna: I didn't get a bite of this, but it looked beautiful. Salt House does a lovely job of plating. It doesn't sound like much, but the food really is a little more beautiful than at a lot of places.



The damage: before drinks, tax, or tip, the three of us spent $100. Not bad for the experience, but we'll be moving on to something new next time.

Homemade Lemon Yogurt

Delicious, healthy breakfast food:

I've tried my hand once before at making yogurt, and what I created was a petri dish of bacteria. But that was in Los Angeles. I swear there is something so wrong with the air there that yeast won't behave properly. The entire time I lived there, I was unable to make decent bread, yogurt, and kombucha. Thank goodness I'm not living in the worst polluted American city any longer.

I made the yogurt with a quarter cup of Saint Benoit's, the most amazing French yogurt I've ever tasted. The milk was from Straus Dairies, though next time I think I'll downgrade to something less expensive. The result was a mild, smooth yogurt with a consistency akin to really good dessert tofu (you dim sum lovers will know what I mean). I cooked some sliced lemons with a little sugar and used it for the topping.

Basic yogurt drill:

• heat up a quart of milk to 180 degrees. Do not let it boil over! This step kills any bacteria in the milk.
• cool the milk down to about 110 degrees. Speed up the process by putting the pot in a container of iced water and/or stirring constantly. This step brings the milk down to a temperature tolerated by microorganisms.
• add a quarter cup of yogurt that contains live cultures. This introduces yeast and healthy bacterias to the yogurt.
• let sit in a warm spot (above the fridge, in an oven with the pilot on), covered loosely. The yeast will start to eat the sugars in the milk and reproduce.
• After anywhere from four to eight hours, you will have yogurt! The longer you leave the yogurt, the more firm and sour it will become. So you decide how you like it!

It's Begun

The frozen yogurt craze is coming to SF. I can't even remember all the variations of Pinkberry I've seen in the last few months. There's one near Union Street whose name I can't remember at all, a place called something Melon in North Beach, GoCup! in the Financial District, and who knows where else. I don't know that I really miss Pinkberry enough to feel any kind of excitement about this phenomenon, but I'm not going to complain about more eateries opening up near me.