Monthly Archives: May 2010

Get Ready for Star Chefs & Vintners Gala in San Francisco

Posted on by 5 comments

It’s time to pull out that glittery cocktail dress and bespoke dark suit to mingle with celeb chefs, stuff yourself silly with gourmet food and drink, and help a worthwhile cause.

The 23rd Annual Star Chefs & Vintners Gala is the place to be on May 16, when more than 70 top Northern California chefs will converge on Fort Mason’s Festival Pavilion, a short hop from the Fairmont Heritage Place.

Chef Nancy Oakes of the esteemed Boulevard restaurant in San Francisco, returns as gala chef chairperson, to enlist the culinary skills of such chefs as Mourad Lahlou of Aziza in San Francisco, Staffan Terjer of Perbacco in San Francisco, Richard Reddington of Redd in Yountville, and Chris Cosentino of Incanto in San Francisco.

More than 75 leading vintners also will be pouring wines, including J Vineyards and Frog’s Leap Winery.

The evening starts with a walk-around reception, featuring creations at stations manned by more than 30 chefs and vintners. Afterward, enjoy a three-course, sit-down dinner, with each course prepared by one of 27 different chefs.

Read more

A Delicious Mother’s Day Remembrance

Posted on by 32 comments

My Mom was like the Chinese-American June Cleaver.

For those of you too young to remember the 1960’s black-and-white television comedy, “Leave It to Beaver,” actress Barbara Billingsley played Mrs. Cleaver, a devoted wife in suburbia, caring for her hard-working husband, and two sons — the elder, Wally, and the younger, mischievous, Theodore “Beaver” Cleaver.

No matter what scrapes Beaver got into, Mrs. Cleaver never had a hair out of place.

And no matter if she was just vacuuming or tidying up the house, June Cleaver was always decked out immaculately in a fitted shirt, bouffant skirt, heels, and pearls.

My late-Mom may not have gone that far. But she was close.

My cousin Gary jokes that at a family barbecue at his house years ago, where everyone else turned up in T-shirts, jeans, shorts or chinos, there was my Mom — in a smart skirt and blouse ensemble, with a jade bracelet on her wrist.

There were no “Casual Fridays” back when she was working, so this was my Mom’s uniform, so to speak, whether she was at work at her office in San Francisco, or chatting with visiting relatives in her living room at home.

Even when she did housework, my Mom dressed in a simple shift, with buttons down the front or a zipper up the back, which she often had sewed, herself.

The idea of sweats or shorts on the weekends never entered her imagination. I don’t recall her wearing a pair of jeans. Nope, not ever.

In fact, I rarely even saw her in slacks. I think she only owned a pair or two. And they came out of the closet only to be packed in a suitcase when she and my Dad would take a cruise.

I look at old snapshots of her now and that’s the Mom that I see. Graceful, delicate, dainty, and neat as a pin.

Which is why whenever I make her dish of “Prawns with Pork and Black Bean Sauce,” I can’t help but smile, because it’s a bit messy.

Read more

Ma(i)sonry in Yountville — Not Your Typical Tasting Room

Posted on by 12 comments

Are you so over those crowded winery tasting rooms caught in a time-warp with that tired,  faux Mediterranean look?

Then, step inside a very different kind of tasting room at Ma(i)sonry in Yountville (just a block from the French Laundry), where I was invited to take a tour recently.

The historic, stone building that was once a private home is decorated with giant, glittering bird’s nest-like metal light fixtures, vintage Louis Vuitton suitcases, and modern, hefty acrylic tables by Alexandra von Furstenberg (yes, the former daughter-in-law of fashion designer Diane). Practically everything is for sale in this eclectic gallery and wine tasting collective.

There are two small tasting rooms inside, each outfitted with a table and chairs. Feeling parched on a sunny afternoon, the hubster and I took a seat in the  courtyard, an artsy oasis with a fire pit, carved stone pears and pigeon sculptures. At a massive wood table decorated with a bust of Einstein, we kicked back with a flight of Blackbird Vineyards wines, made by Ma(i)sonry’s owner, financial planner-turned-vintner, Michael Polenske.

Read more

Empanada Mania

Posted on by 30 comments

They may not be the next cupcake — yet.

But empanadas, those tasty half-moon-shaped, filled hand-pies, sure are now turning up in a lot of places in the Bay Area.

Andres Franklin, 38, grew up eating empanadas in his native Puerto Rico. For years, he also made them at his Bay Area home for friends and family, using his Mom’s recipe.

In Puerto Rico, he could easily satisfy his empanada cravings anytime, anywhere. In the Bay Area? Not so much.

Whenever he’d go out for a quick lunch during work, he’d find plenty of sushi, sandwiches and burritos — but never empanadas. So, the Haas School of Business grad, who went on to be senior director of development for LeapFrog for five years, gave up the corporate life this past January to launch his own food company, Mas Empanadas.

For a month, he worked with San Francisco Chef Joey Altman to perfect dough and fillings for these baked empanadas, which are designed to be large  enough so that one makes for a satisfying meal on the go.

The first week, Franklin sold 24 empanadas to cafes and grocery stores. Two months later, he was up to nearly 800 sales a week.

Now, you can find his 11 different empanadas (savory ones such as roasted chicken and sweet ones such as a pineapple-mango-banana-coconut one) at Real Food Company locations in San Francisco and Sausalito; Blue Fog markets in San Francisco, Apollo Cafe in San Francisco, and Mill Valley Market in Mill Valley.

The empanadas are made fresh four days a week at a commercial kitchen in San Rafael. At 5 a.m., a cook starts making them all by hand. By 1 p.m., Franklin is loading up his car to personally deliver them to wholesale outlets, which sell them to the public for about $5 each.

Read more

Filipino Cuisine Symposium, Dessert Festival, Wine Dinner & More

Posted on by 14 comments

In San Francisco:

Japanese, Chinese, Indian, Vietnamese, Thai and Malaysian cuisines.

Been to those restaurants, eaten that.

But when it comes to Filipino food, just how much have you experienced of this bold, pungent cuisine with its Chinese, Polynesian, and Spanish influences?

May 15-16, explore “Filipino Flavors: Tradition + Innovation,’‘ a celebration of the foods of the Philippines organized by the Asian Culinary Forum.

The weekend events, featuring chefs, scholars, writers and winemakers, will take place at the International Culinary School at the Art Institute of California in San Francisco, a short stroll from the Holiday Inn Civic Center.

May 15 kicks off with a hands-on cooking class with New York Chef Amy Besa ($85 per person); followed by a seminar on pairing Filipino foods with wines, hosted by Master Sommelier Reggie Narito ($45 per person). Next, a panel of scholars and writers will discuss the social, political and cultural touchstones that have shaped what Filipinos eat around the world ($15 per person; $10 for students). Finally, enjoy an “Adobo Show-Down,” where cooks will do battle with their best version of Filipino adobo for prizes ($20 per person).

May 16 starts off with a chocolate tasting with chocolatier Tonet Tibay (free to all symposium pass holders); and ends with a chefs panel all about the future of Filipino food ($40 general, $30 students).

Register here for tickets to individual events or for an all-symposium pass ($180).

Enjoy an intimate dinner with renowned wine importer, Kermit Lynch, May 6 at Absinthe Brasserie.

Lynch, who has made his Berkeley wine shop a vino lover’s destination for decades, will be pouring selected vintages from two of his benchmark producers, Domaine de Cherisey and Domaine Les Pallières.

Executive Chef Jamie Lauren will prepare a four-course dinner, which will include hamachi crudo with pickled green garlic, curried salt and pappadums; and braised beef cheeks with maple syrup-glazed smoked yams.

Price for the event is $150 per person. For reservations, call (415) 551-1453.

Foreign Cinema restaurant in San Francisco throws open its doors May 6 for a benefit auction for Creativity Explored, a San Francisco art gallery and studio for artists with developmental disabilities.

Original art, as well as an array of luxury items will be auctioned off that night, as Chefs Gayle Pirie and John Clark serve up small plates, cocktails, wine and beer. Guests are encouraged to come decked out in chromatic clothing to play up this year’s theme.

Tickets are $125 in advance or at the door. Or reserve by May 5, and pay $225 total for a pair of tickets. Call (415) 863-2108.

In San Jose:

Enjoy beer — a lot of beer — at brunch, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. May 15 at Left Bank Brasserie in San Jose’s Santana Row.

Read more

« Older Entries Recent Entries »