by Sam Tackeff | Jul 13, 2009 | Books
As one might expect, I’m an avid reader cookbooks, food magazines, food writing, and food blogs. Infact, I spent so much time (and most of my paycheck) at Omnivore Books on Food, I’m finally working there part time as a bookslinger! What a treat! Come in and visit me! We are located in sunny Noe Valley (San Francisco) at Cesar Chavez and Church.
Here are a few of the books I’m reading right now (and recommending to everyone):
The Kitchen Diaries, by Nigel Slater: British chef Nigel Slater takes us on a years journey through his dinners, full of recipes, photographs, musings on food. The book reads like a journal, some days with elaborate entries, and other days just a sentence or two on take out bento boxes – it’s a nice study on seasonality, and a good reminder as to how easy it is to be creative in the kitchen and not sticking to the same recipes over and over. I’ve cooked several things out of here, with much success.
The Gastronomical Me, by M.F.K. Fisher: M.F.K. Fisher is the queen of food writing – She was one of the inventors of the genre, and is a delectably witty and progressive woman who can really, really write. I’ve been reading through it steadily, finding myself engrossed, in awe, and giggling an awful lot.
Ratio, by Michael Ruhlman: I’ve been reading this one with my moleskin in hand, taking notes – the basic concept of the book being that the majority of cooking requires the knowledge of a series of ratios rather than recipes. It’s a more scientific approach to cooking that I appreciate as a foundation for my own experimentation in the kitchen.
A Platter of figs, by David Tanis: David Tanis lives part of the year cooking at Alice Water’s Chez Panisse, and the other part of the year in Paris, living the good life, hosting dinner parties in his underground dinner club “aux chiens lunatiques“. His cookbook is a collection of seasonal recipes and menus catered towards a small party of six to eight friends.
How to Cook Everything Vegetarian, by Mark Bittman: A few years ago, I purchased Bittman’s How to Cook Everything, after several years of using his Minimalist recipes from the New York Times. I still use that book almost every day as a reference point, and have been overjoyed to have this Vegetarian version inspiring me similarly.
On my to read list for the next few weeks: The River Cottage cookbooks, Mark Kurlansky’s The Food of a Younger Land, David Lebovitz’ The Sweet Life in Paris, The Big Sur Bakery Cookbook, and the Ripailles cookbook, to name a few.
And I’m always looking for new suggestions. What have you been reading? Which books abut food or cookbooks do you love?
by Sam Tackeff | Jul 6, 2009 | Uncategorized
Doesn’t this fruit look absolutely delicious? Alice Waters brought it to us at Omnivore Books, and my god they were good.
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by Sam Tackeff | Jul 5, 2009 | Farmers Market, Salads, Vegetables
Summer squash is upon us at farmers market! And it’s cheap cheap cheap! I’ve been getting it for a dollar a pound or less, and using it baked, in salads raw, in soup, or just sliced thinly and sauteed with a little bit of olive oil, lemon juice, thyme, salt and pepper.
Today I decided that I’d go for it baked with potatoes and cheese in a little gratin – enough substance for a main meal, served with a little fresh salad of tomatoes, roasted peppers, and fresh herbs. I’ve been trying to make a good amount of my meals vegetarian, and this combo was both tasty and quite satisfying, even for the omnivores.
The trick to this gratin is slicing the potatoes and squash really thinly, so they cook up speedily and the whole dish is cooked through. And for the tomato salad, you want to use really ripe tomatoes, preferably heirloom tomatoes, that haven’t been refrigerated, otherwise you won’t have the burst of flavor that is so delicious in this salad.
Summer Squash and Potato Gratin – serves two as a main course
:: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. On a mandolin or with a peeler, very thinly slice a pattypan squash, a summer squash (or zucchini), and a russet potato into a medium bowl. You want to make sure your potato is paper thin, or else it won’t cook all the way through. Thinly slice a shallot, and add it to the mix. Coat mixture with several good glugs of tasty olive oil, add in a few sprigs of fresh thyme, a good pinch of Maldon or other coarse salt, some fresh black pepper, and a half a cup (or more) of freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Toss well, and somewhat evenly layer into an 8-inch cake pan, lined with foil, cover with another layer of foil, and bake for about 40 minutes. Take the foil cover off, and bake an additional 15-20 minutes until top is slightly browned and crispy.
Summer Herb and Tomato Salad
:: In a bowl, slice a few really good heirloom tomatoes, about a cup of roasted red peppers, and a good handful of chopped basil, parsley, and mint. Dress with a simple balsamic vinaigrette – one part balsamic to about three parts olive oil, and a dash of salt and pepper. You can add some green lettuce, optionally. If you don’t have roasted peppers – make some – preheat the oven to 400, and pop the peppers onto a foil lined baking sheet, turning every 10 minutes or so until they have charred slightly on the outside. Let ’em sit for ten minutes or so until they are cool enough to peel, then peel, and remove the inner seeds and the stem. If you still don’t have peppers – just add a few more tomatoes, and maybe a few cubes of fresh bread if you want. Almost like panzanella. That’s about it.
by Sam Tackeff | Jul 2, 2009 | Pantry Staples, Seafood, Uncategorized
I’ve been reading the Pioneer Woman religiously for several years now, and she is always reminding me of the beautiful things in life – love, the land, family, food, and friends.
Last month her friend Pastor Ryan of This is Reverb came to visit her, and made the most delicious looking shrimp risotto – I knew I had to try it. I had just purchased some beautiful asparagus at the farmers market, and decided to add that to the pot. This stuff is so incredibly good I can’t stand it.
Pastor Ryan is a hip, tattooed, man of god, with the most adorable daughter Ava Beans – he also happens to cook exactly how I want to cook – flavorful, painfully delicious food that is created without recipes, but with a basic foundation for your starting point and then just go! He’s been advocating Michael Ruhlman’s book Ratio – which is next on my to read list.
Aren’t they beauties? I was so excited to use them. A note on choosing asparagus: These were not too thick (sometimes the stalk gets really thick in late summer, in which case I would have used a vegetable peeler to peel them so that you aren’t trying to gnaw through the tough exterior), and the tips were tightly together, rather than splayed out or slimy or soggy which is a sign that they aren’t fresh.
This dish seems labor intensive from the recipe, but don’t let it scare you. The entire process takes about 45 minutes from start to finish, and it just requires gentle coaxing and will reward you immensely.
Shrimp and Asparagus Risotto
adapted from Pastor Ryan of This is Reverb
serves 2 (plus one lucky person for lunch)
For the shrimp:
4 tablespoons unsalted butter (or salted)
several good glugs of worcestershire sauce
3 cloves of garlic
1 lb. peeled and deveined shrimp, ends removed
a lot of seasoning of your choice (lemon pepper, old bay)
For the risotto
a few good glugs of olive oil
1 large shallot, finely chopped
1 cup Arborio Rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
4 cups organic chicken broth
1 bunch asparagus, steamed, cut into inch long pieces
Method:
1. In a small pot, warm the butter on low heat, and add in the worcestershire sauce, and a few cloves of garlic. (I smushed ’em with the heavy side of my knife and then chopped them really finely before dumping them in.) Let that all mellow together on low while you peel the shrimp (and devein them – although I usually like to purchase them cleaned) – and then in a shallow bowl, spoon the sauce over the shrimp and let sit while you start your risotto.
2. In a heavy bottomed pot, sautee the large shallot in a few good glugs of olive oil. After a few minutes, throw in your arborio rice, and a half cup or more of white wine. Now this is a bit of a process – add your broth in, about a half cup at a time, stir, and let it cook down slowly (a few minutes each time) before adding the next half cup. – this whole process takes about 30 – 40 minutes or so – but don’t feel like you have to be stirring the whole time. (when you have about a cup of broth left, start back on the shrimp)
3. Shrimp, part two. Now that the flavors have been mellowing, heat up the grill. (Or in my case, a grill pan). Before puttting the shrimp on, toss in some of your favorite seasoning into the shrimp mixture – I used my grandmother’s super special seasoning mix – but lemon pepper or old bay would work absolutely fab here. Toss them onto the grill, and cook just a couple of minutes on each side. When done, chop up about three quarters of the shrimp, and save the rest whole for garnishing.
4. Steam the asparagus – just cut them into couple inch long pieces, put them in a pyrex in the microwave for five minutes with an inch of water and covered with a lid or some saran wrap.
5. Ok! Back to the risotto! I hope you have been stirring occasionally! Now add in your chopped shrimp, and your steamed asparagus – take a little taste – and season with some salt and pepper if it needs it. (The flavors from the shrimp should usually do it, but it might need just a tad more. Pastor Ryan adds in some green onions here… but I erm… don’t like them very much, so I omit them. I’m sure they would be good if you enjoy them though!
Serve, with the whole shrimp on top – man the stuff is good.
Thoughts – for next time – I think I might add in some chopped kielbasa – and you could theoretically do this with any seasonal vegetable you have and it would be pretty delicious. You could also do it with lobster I would think – that is if you are living on the east coast and it’s 5.99 a pound rather than more than double that here in California!
Thanks Pastor Ryan! Thanks Pioneer Woman!
For a foundation on cooking risotto, you can look at Ree’s post on Basic Risotto.
by Sam Tackeff | Jul 1, 2009 | Soups
Last weekend we had lovely guests – Devon’s dad John and his wife Patti, who came not only with gifts of garlic from Gilroy (home of the garlic festival), but a copy of Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything – Vegetarian which I have been lusting after for the past several months and haven’t had the chance to acquire.
We took them to our favorite thai restaurant, Regent Thai, which happens to be a block from our house, and has blissfully delicious Tom Kha Gai, thai coconut chicken soup, and then on Sunday morning we went for breakfast burritos next door at Toast – which are enough to sustain you for the majority of the day. I’ve been working diligently to re-create the Tom Kha Gai soup at home – I’m still tinkering, but I’ll post it when I get it up to speed!
After going on a wandering adventure in the car over to the East Bay, our guests suggested that I make dinner (something that I concede I hadn’t even considered doing at the time of our market trip.)
And so it’s a very good thing that my new habit has been to go through cookbooks and magazines, and food shows and write down the recipes I think I will enjoy in my little moleskin, which ideally I will have in hand at the market if I have to shop for something at the last minute. This has proven to be very useful, because if my menu planning is left to the last minute, I end up fretting, ravenous, and very cranky – or – as in this case – heading to the market with guests a 4pm without a thought having been given to cooking.
We ended up at The Berkeley Bowl – my first time in this fabled food purveyor. The Berkeley bowl is a supermarket that has a produce section much more akin to a farmers market than the vegetables and fruits being relegated to the lackluster outer edges of your everyday super chain. I was excited to find some fresh shellbeans and oyster mushrooms – the perfect additions to Coq Au Riesling – a lovely chicken stew.
I must admit – I hadn’t actually tried this recipe before serving it to guests – but I trust Nigella, and indeed it turned out lovely. It’s definitely one I’ll keep on hand!
Coq Au Riesling
adapted from the lovely Nigella
serves about 4, with a smidge of leftover
Ingredients
a few tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, smushed
a leek, chopped (or an onion)
1/2 cup chopped bacon
8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
5 ounces (or more) oyster mushrooms
1 cup fresh shellbeans (I used cranberry)
3 Turkish Bay Leaves
1 entire bottle Riesling
– Cream (heavy or half and half) – optional, but tasty
– a few tablespoons chopped fresh dill
– Papardelle Egg Noodles (to serve)
Method
1. Heat the oil in a large french oven or soup pot, and fry the bacon until slightly crisp. Add the smushed garlic and chopped leek for a minute or so.
2. Cut the chicken thighs into two or three pieces, and dump them into the pan with the bay leaves, torn up oyster mushrooms, and fresh shellbeans. Pour in the entire bottle of Riesling (unless you want to reserve a half cup or so for the chef….)
3. Season with salt and pepper, and bring to a boil, cover the pan, and turn down the heat to simmer gently for about 45 minutes – or until the shellbeans are cooked through and soft. If you’d like, finish with a quarter cup or so of cream for the last few minutes.
4. Serve over the Papardelle egg noodles, and be sure to sprinkle with fresh dill. It’s delicious.
Note: This tastes really good right when you make it, but even better the next day!
