Author Archives: foodgal

A Twist on Chicken Pot Pie

Posted on by Leave a comment
Creamy, comforting chicken pot pie -- with a different topper.
Creamy, comforting chicken pot pie — with a different topper.

Take your favorite fruit crumble — but skip the apples, berries or stone fruit, and give it a hearty savory filling instead.

That’s just what this chicken pot pie is delightfully like.

That’s because “Chicken Pot Pie with Savory Crumble Topping” swaps out the usual puff pastry or buttery pie crust topper for crunchy, toasty, Parmesan-laced crumbles strewn over the top that act almost like croutons — adding bits of crispiness that also deliciously sop up the creamy sauce underneath.

This recipe is from “The Savory Baker” (2022), of which I received a review copy.

Version 1.0.0

The cookbook by America’s Test Kitchen includes 150 recipes for baked items that lean savory, not sweet, such as “Manchego and Chorizo Muffins,” “Cast-Iron Skillet Calzone,” “Blue Cheese and Chive Popovers with Blue Cheese Butter,” and “Pizza Monkey Bread.”

If all you know is the mass-produced pot pies in your supermarket freezer case, this version will be a huge step-up.

Read more

Messy But Good: Garlicky Roasted Shrimp with Cumin, Ginger & Sesame

Posted on by 2 comments
You'll need a stack of napkins to eat these, but they're worth it.
You’ll need a stack of napkins to eat these, but they’re worth it.

Not shrimp boil, but shrimp broil.

That’s what “Garlicky Roasted Shrimp with Cumin, Ginger & Sesame” encapsulates.

Prepare to get down and dirty with this quick and easy dish. That’s because not only do you have to rub seasonings all over and into slit, shell-on shrimp before broiling, but of course once cooked, you have to then peel them to eat.

But like Dungeness crab in-season, these shrimp are well worth the effort and cleanup afterward.

This recipe is from “America’s Test Kitchen 25th Anniversary Cookbook: 500 Recipes That Changed the Way America Cooks” (2024), of which I received a review copy.

Believe me, you’ll get a workout just lifting this 711-page book.

Read more

Europe Meets South America On the Plate At Morella

Posted on by Leave a comment
Dungeness crab sorrentinos at Morella in San Francisco.
Dungeness crab sorrentinos at Morella in San Francisco.

There’s been no shortage lately of prominent fusion cuisines — born not of confusion, but of history.

Nikkei cuisine originated when thousands of Japanese immigrants settled in Peru at the end of the 19th century. Indian Chinese food developed when Chinese immigrants for work to Kolkata. And Italian and Spanish influences began to flavor Argentinian cuisine in the 19th and 20th centuries with a wave of immigrants from those countries.

Morella, which opened in the Marina District last November, is one of the city’s first of late to celebrate that melding of Argentinian, Italian, and Spanish flavors.

The bar.
The bar.

It is the newest concept from the Proof Positive group that owns and operates such San Francisco establishments as Thriller Social Club and Wilder.

Read more

Zahav’s Braised Lamb Shanks with Sour Cherry & Cola

Posted on by Leave a comment
Lamb shanks braised low and slow with soda and juice. Yup!
Lamb shanks braised low and slow with soda and juice. Yup!

I am not a soda drinker.

But I am someone who likes to cook and bake with the stuff.

It’s curiosity that draws me, imagining what the fizzy, sweet drink will add to a particular dish or treat.

That’s why “Braised Lamb Shanks with Sour Cherry & Cola” leaped off the pages of the new “Zahav Home” (Harvest, 2024), of which I received a review copy.

The book is by Chef Michael Solomonov and Steven Cook, co-owners of the Philadelphia hospitality group, CookNSolo Restaurants, of which the flagship is Zahav. In 2019, that restaurant became the first Israeli and first Philadelphia restaurant to win the James Beard “Outstanding Restaurant” Award. They now own 23 restaurants in three states. Their Zahav Hummus is now sold at Whole Foods Markets across the United States, too.

Read more

Take Five with Chef Douglas Keane of Michelin-Starred Cyrus, On His Revealing New Memoir “Culinary Leverage”

Posted on by 2 comments
Chef-Owner Douglas Keane in the kitchen at Cyrus in Geyserville. (Photo by Cynthia Glassell)
Chef-Owner Douglas Keane in the kitchen at Cyrus in Geyserville. (Photo by Cynthia Glassell)

You may know Chef Douglas Keane as a victor of “Top Chef Masters,” and the owner of Michelin-starred Cyrus in Geyserville. You may even know the brutal ups and downs he faced when the original Cyrus closed in Healdsburg in 2012 following a landlord dispute and his ensuing 10-year struggle over five different properties to reopen the restaurant in a new location.

Despite all of that, Keane, his 20-year business partner Nick Peyton, and longtime chef Drew Glassell, managed to bring that vision to fruition to open the new Cyrus in 2022 in a modern glass, steel, and concrete building among vineyards on the grounds of what was once the home of a Sunsweet prune packing plant.

Through that whole ordeal, he was also busy writing a memoir, “Culinary Leverage’‘ (Koehler Books), which debuts Feb. 25.

It is at points illuminating, frank, brave, jarring, and hilarious. And yes, there are even a handful of recipes included at the end. I had a chance to chat with Keane about his reasons for writing the book, and on revealing so much about himself and the restaurant industry.

Q: What made you want to write this book?

A: At first, I just thought I had some interesting stories to tell, that a lot of weird shit had happened to me that I should just put down. But everyone’s story is unique, so that’s not what this became about. I wrote the book to make changes in the industry, to illuminate why I got to the dark, weird places.

Q: There are definitely some very dark and intense moments in this book, especially at the start of it, which will surprise people. Did you think twice about including those?

Read more
« Older Entries Recent Entries »