by Sam Tackeff | Nov 10, 2009 | Asian, Books, Seafood
MAKE THIS SHRIMP.
Jaden Hair, the most fabulous lady responsible for the Steamy Kitchen website, visited San Francisco this weekend for her very own book signing with us at Omnivore Books! I’ve been reading Jaden’s blog for several years now, and she is certainly one of the best out there. So, when word was out that she was finally coming out with a cookbook – I was psyched. Let me just say, her book is AWESOME – this shrimp is only one of the reasons!
Among the other reasons why this cookbook is awesome, and you should get a copy:
1. It’s pretty! And she took all the photos *herself*. This is phenomenal for any cookbook author to be given such control over the layout of the cookbook. Inspiration for any budding food blogger, or really, just perfect for anyone who wants to be instantly hungry.
2. It features tasty and delicious Asian recipes, easy enough that anyone can make, even if you live hundreds of miles away from an Asian grocery and can only shop at a big-box . And, it’s really well organized – entertaining introduction, informative tools and a really great ingredient section where she goes into some depth about creating an asian-food friendly pantry – and helpful substitutions.
3. My copy is signed… in Pink Sharpie! Let me tell you, Jaden is as wonderful in real life as she comes across on her blog and in her cookbook. What a treat!
Isn’t she great? (Photo of Jaden at Omnivore Books, mid-pose, by Inuyaki)
Jaden’s coconut shrimp is delicious. Shrimp, coconut, a little bit of booze – some of my favorite ingredients, period.
Tonight I went into the liquor store and purchased a mini bottle of cognac to use in a recipe, and after making it, let me tell you – I sure as heck wish I had bought the whole bottle so that I can make this one on a regular basis and not have to go back!
Jaden’s Coconut Shrimp (from The Steamy Kitchen Cookbook)
Serves 4 as part of a multi-course meal
(Or two hungry people!)
1/4 cup (20g) unsweetened shredded coconut
1 tablespoon high-heat cooking oil
1 lb (500 g) raw tail-on shrimp, deveined and patted really dry
2 tablespoons butter
4 green onions (scallions), cut into 2-in (5-cm) lengths
1 tablespoon finely minced garlic
3 tablespoons cognac (brandy or rum make good substitutes)
Generous pinch of salt
3/4 teaspoon sugar (omit if you are using sweetened shredded coconut)
1. In a wok or frying pan over medium eat, add the coconut and toast until golden brown. This should only take about 3 to 4 minutes. Take care not to burn the coconut! Once the coconut is toasted, immediately remove to a plate to cool.
2. Wipe the wok or pan dry and set over high heat. When a bead of water instantly sizzles and evaporates upon contact, add the oil and swirl to coat. Add the shrimp to the wok, keeping them in a single layer. Fry for 1 minute, flip and fry an additional minute until almost cooked through. Remove from the wok, keeping as much oil in the wok as possible.
3. Turn the heat to medium, add the butter and , once the butter starts bubbling, add the green onion and garlic. Fry until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Pour in the cognac and add the salt and sugar. Stir and return the shrimp to the wok. Let the whole thing bubble and thicken just a bit – the sauce should lightly coat the shrimp. Remove from the heat, sprinkle in the toasted coconut and toss well.
Wise Note to Self / everyone: I served this on brown rice – which was tasty – but for next time I will split the sauce equally and not hoard it all on my own plate. But it was oh-so-delicious!!!
by Sam Tackeff | Nov 4, 2009 | Books, Restaurants
My mom was in town this weekend, and this being her first trip to San Francisco in over twenty five years meant only one thing – GLORIOUS FEASTING! My parents are to thank for my love of fine dining. Some of my earliest memories are eating at great restaurants – as a toddler I whisked away into the kitchen by smitten waiters on a trip to Germany, as a preschooler I impressed the kitchen staff in Montreal and Paris with my french ordering skills and passionate love of escargot, who often sent me Amuse and samples of desserts as rewards. Then there the day that I asked for the *second* lobster with my family in Ogunquit, Maine (I was five). And those few years of obsession with filet mignon before the age of ten ensured that I wasn’t a cheap date – but I can’t thank them enough for indulging me.
So when my mom finally planned her trip out here, it was my greatest pleasure to plan a weekend of voracious eating and drinking some of my favorites in the city. This included:
:: Coffee at Philz – one of the best caffeine injections in the city (I favor the Mocha Tesora)
:: Salted Caramel Ice Cream with Fudge (berry sorbet for me) at Bi-Rite Creamery
:: Shrimp and pork wonton soup, crispy imperial rolls, and grilled tiger prawns over rice noodles at the Slanted Door
:: a Macaron from Miette (I chose pistachio, she had rose)
:: a trip to Cheeseboard Pizza in Berkeley for some live jazz, the last heirloom tomato pizza of the season, and a gingerbread cookie
:: An animal style cheeseburger, fries, and a vanilla shake from In-N-Out.
The most exciting meal however, in retrospective honor of his new cookbook, was an impromptu trip to Thomas Keller’s “casual eatery” Ad Hoc, in Yountville. Or shall I say, and Ad Hoc trip to Ad Hoc? Sorry guys, I had to. Ad Hoc is the perfect spot to eat Keller’s phenomenal food, with limited negative effect on your piggy bank. The four course meal comes in at $49 a person, and you certainly don’t leave hungry. Our dinner at Ad Hoc was one of the few meals I’ve had in the past several years that I’ve enjoyed so thoroughly from start to finish, down to the smallest details. The food was impeccable, the waitstaff (all of whom have been on staff for two years or more) were kind, attentive, and with good humor, and our fellow patrons were all entertaining as well.
Our first course was Polpettini Soup – with veal meatballs, broccolini, celery root, pickled red onions, sweet carrot coins, and a crostini with bellwether farm’s ricotta on top. To say I’m a soup lover would be an understatement, and this was perhaps my favorite course of the evening. The broth was rich and well developed, and the meatballs were shining stars – moist, balanced in flavor, texture, and really perfect in every way. Shucks, just thinking about this makes me tear up with longing.
Next came the Roast Colorado Lamb Leg, topped with a mint salsa verde, alongside romanesco potatoes, with a side of black and pearl barley, with braised autumn squash, pumpkin seeds and brussels sprouts. Lets talk about this barley dish. It was texturally exciting. It was well balanced flavor. If only everyone could eat brussels sprouts like these ones, I swear they would be the nations’ favorite vegetable. I’m going to try to recreate this one at home, because it’s a killer combination.
And the lamb and potatoes – perfect. Perfectly cooked. The potatoes, oh god the potatoes – crisp on the outside, perfectly soft on the inside. I know it’s rude to stare at other customers, but one of my favorite moments of the evening was watching the woman across the way eat her first potato cube – and a wave of complete ecstasy passed over her face, her eyes widened, and it was like she had experienced culinary nirvana. After further inquiry, we learned that the technique for these involved a primary fry in peanut oil, a secondary fry in canola, and a final treatment of butter and herbs. Well, that explains it!
The cheese board was a trio of cheese – including a sheepsmilk cheese, the Humboldt Fog (in the middle), and possibly old chatham blue, although, at this point I was still so enamored by the potatoes that I promptly forgot when we were told… The cheeses came with marcona almonds and Marshall’s farm blackberry honey – which I ended up eating on the cheese, almonds, bread, and stirring into my jasmine almond tea.
Last but not least, came dessert – brownie trifle with huckleberry sauce and vanilla diplomat cream. A light and flavorful ending, that left me completely fulfilled. Leave it to my camera to focus on the surroundings and not those perfect brownie bits, but I thought I’d include this anyway.
We were sad to leave Ad Hoc, and have been dreaming about it all weekend. Fortunately, the Ad Hoc cookbook is out, and filled with brilliant recipes, beautiful images, and plenty of inspiration for my own table until I can get back to eat at theirs. I’ve been reading through it at work, and it, like the restaurant, is not to be missed. It’s the perfect gift to yourself or any food lover on your list.
by Sam Tackeff | Aug 24, 2009 | Books, Ice Cream
I have the most marvelous news to share:
David Lebovitz is coming to visit us at Omnivore Books in San Francisco from 6-7 pm on September 28th. This is possibly the greatest thing that could ever happen, because, well, it’s David Lebovitz! DAVID LEBOVITZ!!!!!
I’ve been gushing about it since Celia found out! And I nearly died when he became friends with the bookstore on Twitter.
If you don’t know who he is well, in quick summation – he’s a most amazing man who used to live in San Francisco and do pastry at Chez Panisse under Lindsey Shere, until he decided to take his chances on living a fabulous life in one of the most beautiful and dare I say delicious cities in the world – Paris.
And he blogs about it, and he tweets about it, and he captures the idiosyncrasies of the French quite perfectly in his new book: The Sweet Life in Paris: Delicious Adventures in the World’s Most Glorious – and Perplexing – City. It made me giggle the entire way through. And then I went to the store tout de suite to recreate the well chosen recipes in each chapter.
Ever since I got my new Kitchenaid Icecream Maker attachment last month (THANK YOU MOM!), I’ve been working through David’s recipes from his book “The Perfect Scoop”.
His recipe for nectarine sorbet has been a favorite, because we have been blessed with delicious crops of nectarines and peaches here in California – so I’ve made this twice now. I used really, really ripe fruit – almost on the verge of turning, and the final products were so painfully delicious.
I’m posting the recipe verbatim (something I never do), only because it’s really quite perfect, and I think it captures his personality quite well. (My only notes are – that I skipped the skinning step when making peach sorbet, and it still worked out just fine – also, do make sure to put the kirsch or lemon juice, because it helps to form a smoother sorbet and avoid ice crystallization).
Nectarine Sorbet
makes about 1 quart (1 liter)
There’s a curious custom in Gascony, a region in the southwest of France known for its full-bodied red wines (it’s famous neighbor is Bordeaux). When they’ve just about finished their soup, the locals tip a little bit of the red wine from their glass into their soup bowl, mingling the wine with the last few spoonfuls of the broth.
I later discovered that this custom is equally good with a goblet of sorbet when I was scrambling to figure out a way to make this rosy nectarine sorbet a bit more special for an impromptu dinner party. I simply scooped sorbet into my guests’ wine glasses at the table and let them pour in as little (or as much) red wine as they wished. It was a big success. If you have time to think ahead, prepare a big bowl of sweet, juicy berries and sliced nectarines, and let your guests add some fruit to their sorbet too.
6 ripe nectarines (about 2 pounds, 1kg)
2/3 cup (160 ml) water
1/4 cup (150 g) sugar
1 teaspoon kirsch, or 1/4 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
Slice the nectarines in half and remove the pits. Cut the unpeeled nectarines into small chunks and cook them with the water in a medium, nonreactive saucepan, covered, over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until they’re soft and cooked through, about 10 minutes. Add a bit more water if necessary during cooking.
Remove from the heat and stir in the sugar. Let cool to room temperature. When cool, puree the mixture in a blender or food processor, until smooth. Stir in the kirsch or lemon juice.
Chill thoroughly, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
Variation: For Peach Sorbet, substitute 7 large, ripe peaches for the nectarines. Remove the skins prior to cutting them into chunks.
Perfect Pairings: If you like the idea of red wine with Nectarine Sorbet, pair it with the Raspberry-Rose Sorbet (page 130), or simply serve it in goblets and pass a bottle of fruity red wine, such as Beaujolais, Brouilly, or Merlot.
by Sam Tackeff | Jul 13, 2009 | Books
As one might expect, I’m an avid reader cookbooks, food magazines, food writing, and food blogs. Infact, I spent so much time (and most of my paycheck) at Omnivore Books on Food, I’m finally working there part time as a bookslinger! What a treat! Come in and visit me! We are located in sunny Noe Valley (San Francisco) at Cesar Chavez and Church.
Here are a few of the books I’m reading right now (and recommending to everyone):
The Kitchen Diaries, by Nigel Slater: British chef Nigel Slater takes us on a years journey through his dinners, full of recipes, photographs, musings on food. The book reads like a journal, some days with elaborate entries, and other days just a sentence or two on take out bento boxes – it’s a nice study on seasonality, and a good reminder as to how easy it is to be creative in the kitchen and not sticking to the same recipes over and over. I’ve cooked several things out of here, with much success.
The Gastronomical Me, by M.F.K. Fisher: M.F.K. Fisher is the queen of food writing – She was one of the inventors of the genre, and is a delectably witty and progressive woman who can really, really write. I’ve been reading through it steadily, finding myself engrossed, in awe, and giggling an awful lot.
Ratio, by Michael Ruhlman: I’ve been reading this one with my moleskin in hand, taking notes – the basic concept of the book being that the majority of cooking requires the knowledge of a series of ratios rather than recipes. It’s a more scientific approach to cooking that I appreciate as a foundation for my own experimentation in the kitchen.
A Platter of figs, by David Tanis: David Tanis lives part of the year cooking at Alice Water’s Chez Panisse, and the other part of the year in Paris, living the good life, hosting dinner parties in his underground dinner club “aux chiens lunatiques“. His cookbook is a collection of seasonal recipes and menus catered towards a small party of six to eight friends.
How to Cook Everything Vegetarian, by Mark Bittman: A few years ago, I purchased Bittman’s How to Cook Everything, after several years of using his Minimalist recipes from the New York Times. I still use that book almost every day as a reference point, and have been overjoyed to have this Vegetarian version inspiring me similarly.
On my to read list for the next few weeks: The River Cottage cookbooks, Mark Kurlansky’s The Food of a Younger Land, David Lebovitz’ The Sweet Life in Paris, The Big Sur Bakery Cookbook, and the Ripailles cookbook, to name a few.
And I’m always looking for new suggestions. What have you been reading? Which books abut food or cookbooks do you love?
by Sam Tackeff | Jun 12, 2009 | Baking, Books, Cookware, Pantry Staples
Dear world, I’d like a Le Creuset French Oven (medium or large), and a braiser. Any color will due, although, extra points are given for ‘Carribean’, ‘Cobalt’, or ‘Onyx’. Perhaps you have an extra lying around, or your dear great aunt in San Francisco has a stockpile of them in her kitchen and can’t really lift them anymore because they weigh a ton. Perhaps you are reading this from the Le Creuset or the Sur La Table corporate office, and think to yourself, today, this very lucky young lady in Noe Valley will have a package shipped to her. If you are any of these people, don’t hesitate to contact me. I can barter, trade, and provide you with tasty sustenance in return. Your generosity will be greatly, greatly appreciated.
* * * * *
One difficult thing about moving across the country in a couple of suitcases – taking your kitchen with you.
The easiest to bring are the little tools, which can be boxed and arrive in no time flat: like David Lebovitz, I’m a big fan of my scissors, and I love my tongs, my Kyocera ceramic knife I picked up at Zabars, and my knife set, and my little stovetop espresso maker, my graters, my Moulinex, my Silpat, my whisk, my measuring cups, wooden spoons, silicone spatula, williams and sonoma kitchen towels, and silicone pinch pots. Along with these came my collection of bento making supplies: boxes, rice presses, tiny fish shaped soy sauce holders, mini utensils, silicone muffin cups, and box bands.
My expansive spice collection was also shipped, and I have since supplemented with a collection of spices and spice rack from Martha Stewart which was on sale at Macy’s for under twenty dollars. I couldn’t live without my spice mixes from Penzey’s, my Super Special Spice Mix from my grandmother in Istanbul, my assortment of curry powders, garam masala, five spice powders, mace, turmeric, corriander, and excess of cumin.
Fortunately, I am blessed to be living with someone who was given a very, very nice set of calphalon pots – so I didn’t have to shlep my slightly shoddy pieced together collection of pots and pans with me. He also came with a lovely red tea pot which, I’m glad to say gets significant amount of daily use.
He also gave me the very best present on earth for my birthday, a Martha Stewart Blue Kitchen Aid mixer, and in the next few months I will be saving for attachments… I think he deserves to be rewarded with the results of the Ice Cream maker attachment, and after several attempts of homemade pasta made with a rolling pin, I’m looking forward to the pasta attachment.
Bakeware is also a pain in the neck to ship, but fortunately for me, I live close enough to the Recycled Cookware store on Divisadero that I managed to pick up things like bundt pans, baking sheets, and loaf pans, and even a gently used coffee grinder for a few dollars a piece. My mother this weekend was a very kind soul to donate two Madeleine pans from her cupboards to my “cause”, because after six months of searching for “affordable” Madeleine pans, I had determined it a failed quest.
I’ve been a fan of Cook’s Boulevard, which, being right in the neighborhood, is useful, when, say, I’m in desperate need of ceramic bakeware for my herb baked eggs, or last minute meat thermometers, silicone popsicle makers, or, really great three dollar peelers.
Ikea has been a savior for a new mortar and pestle, a digital kitchen scale, and glass jars in which I keep all of my bulk supplies – dried beans (currently I have Christmas Limas, flageolet, yellow indian woman, and popping corn, all from Rancho Gordo) rices (jasmine, arborio, sticky, and plenty of brown), whole grains (wheatberries, farro, bulgur), nuts (almonds, walnuts), chocolate chips, flours (white, wheat, cake, wheat bread flour, wheat bran, corn meal), and sugars (white and dark brown).
And of course, rounding everything out is my collection of cookbooks – most every Jamie Oliver tome, and an ever growing collection of signed books from the weekly talks at Omnivore Books on Food, the only cook book and food book store in San Francisco, and currently my favorite bookstore in the world.
