Monthly Archives: April 2008

New “Tools & Techniques” Book For Budding Cooks

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The new “Williams-Sonoma Tools & Techniques” (Gold Street Press, $34.95) book is a gold mine for gadget lovers.

This handy reference book starts out with a primer on every pan, tool, knife, and small appliance imaginable. Yes, with its lovely pictures of each item it almost resembles a Williams-Sonoma catalogue on steroids. Almost all the implements probably can be purchased at Williams-Sonoma stores. But along with the gadget pics comes lots of useful information for picking and choosing what you need in your kitchen.

Pyrex glass pie dishes? Yes, they’re great for seeing how a crust is browning. But because tempered glass doesn’t conduct heat as well as metal, bottom crusts may take as much as 15 minutes longer to bake, according to the book. Buying a cleaver? Choose one that feels heavier than you first think is comfortable, the book advises, because the weight of the blade actually helps you cut through things more easily.

The book also outlines basic techniques every cook should know — from skinning a fish fillet to trussing poultry. In addition, 50 basic recipes are included for everything from buttercream to chicken stock.

May 3, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., get a chance to see some of these techniques in action when the Purcell Murray Culinary Lifestyle Center  in Brisbane hosts, “Tools & Techniques: Vegetables 5 Ways.” The class will concentrate on five different ways to prepare vegetables, including braised fennel with tomato, and grilled ratatouille.

The class includes lunch, and a book-signing by Jennifer Newens, executive editor of “Williams-Sonoma Tools & Techniques”. Price of the class is $45. To reserve a spot, call (415) 330-5557.

Meantime, enjoy this recipe from the book:

Citrus curd

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A Meat-y Opening

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Atkins lovers will be in heaven

Pampas, the first churrasco-style restaurant in the South Bay, opens its doors tonight at 529 Alma St. in downtown Palo Alto.

For $44, carnivores can enjoy more than a dozen meats in unlimited quantities, carved at the table from traditional churrasco-style skewers. Oh my! For lighter eaters, a la carte entrees ($18-$36) are available.

Skewers at the ready. Photo by Chris Schmauch.

Pampas also features creative cockails, and one of the largest collections of cachacas (Brazilian brandy made with sugar cane) on the West Coast. Cheers to that!

Three Big-Name Chefs With Big Plans

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Michael Symon

Robert Irvine’s stupidity is turning out to be Michael Symon’s gain. Symon, the Cleveland chef who beat out the competition to become the newest member of “Iron Chef America” on the Food Network, will take over Irvine’s hosting duties on the network’s “Dinner: Impossible” series, according to the Associated Press.

Let’s just say, it’s never a good idea to fib on your resume. And it’s really, really not a good idea to make up such doozeys as being knighted, being a former White House chef, and being best buds with Prince Charles. Uh, yeah, right…

Irvine hosted “Dinner: Impossible” for four seasons before his wild exaggerations came to light. Symon, chef of Lola and Lolita restaurants in Cleveland, began taping episodes last week. Those will begin airing this summer.

Chef Michael Mina, will open a new concept this summer next to his eponymous high-end restaurant in the Westin St. Francis hotel in San Francisco’s Union Square. Clock Bar, in the hotel’s lobby, will be his first cocktail lounge. It’ll feature creative, handcrafted cocktails and food pairings of small plates to share.

Back in the day, “Meet me at the clock” was a familiar phrase for San Franciscans who gathered at the hotel’s landmark grandfather clock. Mina is hoping to revive that timeless tradition.

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A Visit to Napa’s New Oxbow Public Market

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The Oxbow Public Market is a food lover's paradise

Think San Francisco’s Ferry Plaza Marketplace, but on a cozier scale. That’s what Napa, a once-sleepy town of 75,000, now boasts in the Oxbow Public Market.

The similarities are only natural. Steve Carlin, founder of the Oxbow Public Market, also was project manager for the Ferry Building Marketplace. He has the goods on all things gourmet, too, having co-owned the Oakville Grocery stores for 20 years.

Situated along the Napa River and next to Copia on First Street in downtown Napa, the 40,000-square-foot Oxbow Public Market is a block-long foodie’s playground that opened in December. Eighteen merchants and restaurants already have settled in, including a branch of the ever-popular Taylor’s Automatic Refresher, the Fatted Calf (an artisanal charcuterie), Whole Spice Company (where you can buy a multitude of spices in any amount you wish), and Five Dot Ranch (the first retail site for sustainable beef raised by the Swickard family, seven generations of cattle ranchers in Northern California).

Enjoy a taste at Taylor's Automatic Refresher

May 2, the marketplace’s 10 farmstands will officially open, selling everything from figs from Knoll Farms in Brentwood to citrus from Guru Ram Das in Esparto to cherries from Frog Hollow Farms in Brentwood. The farmstands  will be open 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily.

Still to come are a branch of the Hog Island Oyster Bar (with fresh-as-can-be oysters harvested from Tomales Bay), and Kanaloa Seafood (a market run by a Santa Barbara seafood company owned by a biologist and oceanographic researcher that will sell only sustainable seafood).

It’s definitely worth a detour off of Highway 29. If you visit, here are a few things not to miss:

The world's smallest winery?

Folio Enoteca & Winery: At 80-square-feet, it may very well be the world’s smallest bonded winery. No crushing or bottling are done here, but wine is indeed aged in barrels on site. Enjoy a taste, along with a grilled panini or crisp salad.

Model Bakery: The original bakery has been a landmark in downtown St. Helena for more than 80 years. Carb lovers will swoon over the Asiago cheese bread, piles of fresh-pizza slices, and chewy ginger molasses cookies. It’s the housemade English muffins that steal my heart, though. Made from ciabatta dough then griddled with cornmeal, they toast up crispy on the edges and pillowy in the nooks.

David Wong demonstrates the art of tea

Tillerman Tea Company: Former Clos du Val Winery Chief Executive Officer David Campbell has joined with China scholar David Wong to open this striking tea cafe and emporium. Each day, a different “house flight” of five teas is offered for tasting. Customers also can book private tea tastings.

Tea time

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Gourmet Asian Fare Fund-Raiser

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Chefs from Betelnut, Three Seasons, Junnoon, Poleng Lounge, Red Lantern, Straits Cafe, and other top Bay Area Asian-cuisine restaurants will be dishing up their specialities for a good cause at 7 p.m. May 8 at San Francisco’s historic Ferry Building.

“East West Eats: An Evening with the Bay Area’s Best Chefs” is a fund-raiser organized by the Asian American Journalists Association San Francisco Bay Area Chapter to raise funds for student journalism scholarships. Each year, the organization doles out about $15,000 in scholarships to high school and college students interested in pursuing a career in journalism.

Emcees for the event will be ABC7 anchor Alan Wang; and ABC7 “View From the Bay” host Janelle Wang. Tickets are $85 for AAJA members; $100 for non-members. After today’s early-bird discount expires, prices go up to $100 for members and $115 for non-members. Tickets can be purchased, by clicking here.

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