Monthly Archives: February 2013

Delicious Doings For Chinese New Year

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Don't miss the noodle-pulling demonstration by M.Y. China's chef at Bloomingdale's. (Photo courtesy of Blair Heagerty)

M.Y. China Ushers in the Year of the Snake

Martin Yan’s M.Y. China restaurant in the Westfield San Francisco Centre will be offering two special menus, Feb. 1-26, for the Chinese New Year celebration.

The first menu, $88 for two people,  includes: “Juicy Dumplings Sampler”; Peking duck (1/2 duck two ways –“Skin in Sliders” and stir-fried meat in lettuce cups); “Seafood Treasury” (shrimp, scallop, and calamari with mixed greens and mushrooms); “Forbidden Fried Rice”; and sugar puffs.

The second menu, $68 for two people, includes: “Seafood Dim Sum Collection (shiu mai, har gow, spinach dumpling); Peking duck (1/2 duck two ways — “Skin in Sliders” and stir-fried meat in lettuce cups; green pepper beef rib eye; vegetable egg white fried rice; and sugar puffs.

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Go, Niners!

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The "Kaepernicking" cocktail at Ame's Lobby Bar. (Photo courtesy of the restaurant)

Cheer on the 49ers with a “Kaepernicking” Cocktail

Oh, yes, you can. And it’s available at Ame at the St. Regis in San Francisco through Feb. 3.

The $14 cocktail is named for the team’s star quarterback, Colin Kaepernick, of course.

The “Kaepernicking,” available in the Lobby Bar, is appropriately gold colored with a rim of red. It’s made with El Jimador Reposado Tequila, Fees Lemon Bitters, orange slices, lemon juice, and a dash of Hefeweizen-style beer. The glass is rimmed in li hing mu powder (pulverized salty dried plum that’s sold at Asian and Hawaiian markets).

If you want to make your own, here’s the recipe:

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Brown Butter Apple Tart with An Emphasis on BUTTER

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The apples are a supporting player in this tart. It's the butter that's the star.

Pretty rounds of apples arrayed all over the top of this tart catch your eye first.

So much so, you’d think they’d be the star of this dessert.

But that’s not the case.

The real hero of this tart is butter.

Browned until it’s nutty and oh-so fragrant.

I’m almost afraid to tell you how much butter there is. I know my family members almost fell over when I told them as I served them slices.

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Scenes from Chefs’ Holidays, Part II: With Lucques, Peet’s, CulinAriane and Wilshire

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The grand dining room at the Ahwahnee in Yosemite National Park.

YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, CA — You may know that Chef Suzanne Goin of Lucques, AOC, the Tavern and the Larder, all in Los Angeles, is married to Chef David Lentz of The Hungry Cat in Los Angeles.

But you might not know exactly how the two met.

I knew part of the story, but not all of the details — until I asked Goin about it when I was the moderator for her cooking demo at the 28th annual Chefs’ Holidays event at the Ahwahnee Hotel.

Thankfully, she was a good enough sport to spill the beans before a rapt audience.

Chef Suzanne Goin of Lucques on the demo stage.

“So, Suzanne…” I asked, “David just happened to be dining at Lucques. And your sister just happened to be dining next to him that night? And the two of them just started talking?”

Goin chuckled and said, “There’s a part of the story that David doesn’t like me to tell, so don’t tell him I’m telling you all this. He thinks it makes him sound like a stalker.”

Suzanne Goin's curried cauliflower with roasted carrots and tahini yogurt.

She went on to explain that in 1999, she was named one of Food & Wine magazine’s “Best New Chefs.” She appeared on the cover with the other honored chefs. She was the only woman among them.

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Scenes from Chefs’ Holidays, Part I: With Sons & Daughters, The Meatball Shop and The Hungry Cat

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Seared albacore with yogurt, dates and blood orange by Chef David Lentz of The Hungry Cat.

YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, CA — Serene, peaceful and magical. That’s what it’s like here in this winter wonderland.

But inside the grand Ahwahnee Hotel, the national historic landmark that opened in 1927, it’s a hive of activity at this time of year, as some of the most noted chefs from around the country make a pilgrimage here to give demos and to cook gala dinners for the public.

Yours truly was honored to be invited to be the host for two of the sessions last week for the 28th annual Chefs’ Holidays, which takes place each year throughout the month of January.

For the chefs, it’s always a fun time. They bring their spouses and kids to make a working holiday of it. For some of the chefs, it was a return visit. For others, it was their first time to Yosemite.

The Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite National Park. When it opened in 1927, rooms could be had for $5-$50.

Yosemite Falls.

All of them pulled off their demos like the pros that they are. You’d never know how nervous a few were before they took the stage. One chef said he started prepping extra early because he was so jittery he couldn’t sleep the night before. Another chef said she’d rather cook three gala dinners in a row than do one cooking demo because she always gets so anxious beforehand.

(L to R): Matt McNamara of Sons & Daughters; Duncan Holmes, chef de cuisine of Sons & Daughters; Daniel Holzman of The Meatball Shop; David Lentz of The Hungry Cat; and Lentz's son.

Matt McNamara, co-chef and co-founder of Sons & Daughters in San Francisco, kicked off the session by demonstrating how to make “Squab with Marcona Almond Puree, Pickled Fennel, and Citrus” and “Roasted Baby Beets with Pickled Mustard Seeds and Vadauvan.”

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