28 Feb 2012 10 Comments
in Observations, Starlets, Yoga Students & Quinoa (stories) Tags: Ernie Demontreux, Fanny Bay oysters, mussels, New Jersey, Oscars, Ringling Brothers, Topanga Lumber, Weehawken
We live in a colorful neighborhood. The day before a dinner at our friend Ernie’s house, I was out talking a walk and met Ant Patty (who is not a true aunt so she drops the “u”). “Ernie’s been working on his dinner for days,” she said. “but he’s not doing it for us, he’s doing it for you.”
Ernie at his stove
I don’t think he’s doing it for me. I think he’s doing it because he loves to do it. And he loves to share it with people — fortunately including me. More
24 Feb 2012 10 Comments
in Observations Tags: Big Bear, cooking, food, France, skiing, Sur la Table, utensils, wooden spoon
I’ll admit, I’m a bit of a creature of habit. I find a shirt I like, and I wear it a lot, for a really long time. I’m like that with kitchen utensils, too. So it was with great alarm that I recently realized I couldn’t find my favorite wooden spoon.
After my knife, the wooden spoon is the most important tool in the kitchen. If a man’s home is his castle, and the kitchen my throne room, then the wooden spoon is my scepter. Sometimes I hold it when I’m not even cooking, like a security blanket. More
20 Feb 2012 8 Comments
in Recipes Tags: Mario Batali, pesce in saor, pesciolini in scapece, Roman cooking, Rome, salt cod, sardines, Venetian cooking
Sardines are not a fence sitter’s fish. Like anchovies, people tend to either love them or hate them. But in the hater’s camp, I usually find folks who have only encountered small tins of the tightly packed, long-deceased fish. And I aim to convert them with the revelation that is a fresh sardine.
Most people have never seen a fresh sardine, with its sleek profile and pearlescent silver and blue skin. A favorite food of large baleen whales, sardines are one of the most abundant fish in the sea, swimming in massive shoals numbering in the millions. More
17 Feb 2012 4 Comments
in Recipes Tags: Australia, butter, Italian, lobster, Perrier Jouet, recipe, risotto, saffron, seafood, wichity grub
I do a lot of shopping. I go to farmers markets, Japanese markets, Persian markets, Vietnamese supermarkets, Indian spice stores, Mexican carnicerias, Chinese poultry shops… And on the way home, I usually stop at the regular old grocery store. It’s where I get staples — sugar, cheese for the kids, bananas, hamburger buns, etc. Our local one has reasonably good produce, an excellent wine department and a nice view of the Pacific Ocean across the street.
Butter-poached Australian lobster with saffron risotto and lobster sauce
On Valentine’s Day afternoon, I dropped by the local overpriced seafood market to see if anything caught my eye to serve with the bottle of Perrier Jouet I had chilling in the fridge. And everything was, well, overpriced. More
14 Feb 2012 8 Comments
in Observations Tags: beets, canning, duck confit, Glennis Waterman, ketchup, pickles, preserving, relish
Like the good book says, it is a fine thing to love thy neighbors. Especially if thy neighbors share your love of food.
We love Chris and Glennis, who live next door. I’ve written about Chris and his smoker, his epic pork shoulders, in previous posts. And now there was time and cause to give his wife her due turn.
Canned good from next door neighbor, Glennis
I’ve got a great admiration for people who preserve their own foods. There’s a guy here in our canyon who sets up an umbrella on the side of the road, a few homemade signs, and sells his “Soon to Be Famous Hot Sauce.” I often stop — I like the guy and it’s good sauce. My friend, Tracy, in Nashville apparently makes “world famous” hot sauce, although my efforts to get her to send me a bottle have been met with abject failure. (“Can I at least get on a waiting list!?” I inquired…) More
