food, and other musings

unrelated

32 innocent people plus one troubled soul dead in Virginia Tech.
3 shot dead today in a Kansas City shopping mall.
2 killed at NASA.
1 woman dead at CNN Center.

Isn't a death toll of 39 people in just over 3 weeks enough, people?

Do you really think if all these wackos had been packing knives that so many Americans would be dead?

Fuck the NRA. Fuck the 2nd Amendment -- it's not guns that are going to protect us from our government these days.  If we don't support gun control, we can expect more headlines like these.

Presidio Social Club

Get down with PSC (yeah you know me!). Check out my latest dinner at Presidio Social Club over at KQED's Bay Area Bites.

GO TO CAFE MAJESTIC!

Last night, we had the best "new restaurant meal" we've had all year. When a media invite for the reopened Cafe Majestic in Sutter Street's century-old Hotel Majestic popped into my inbox,  I admit I was nonplussed. But it's time again for me to start eating my way through the Northside in preparation for our  3rd annual Best Food issue, and CM is definitely in the 'hood. So I accepted the very nice invitation and in we went last night.

Well.

I mean, wow.

Or, like, SHAZAM!

That was one fine meal. Chef Ian Begg (CM's second, for the record) has been flying under the radar in our fair City (or at least under mine). He is a master of combining flavors -- bitter, sweet, salty, sour, you name it -- as well as textures -- smooth, crisp, chewy, creamy. Nearly every dish hit three or four notes in each category, most in refreshing ways, and each dish was beautifully constructed.

Think soft, pink Hawaiian ono with slightly bitter, julienned pea shoots, sea urchin cream, and chili oil.
Think gnocchi with roasted cippolini onions, asparagus tips, and white truffle oil.
Think raspberry-fleshed venison, tart marmalade, firm fiddlehead ferns, creamy pine nuts.
Think lime in the mignonette for our Marin Miyagis -- a small, but magical change.

Okay, it wasn't a perfect meal from head to toe -- I thought the amuse was too lemony and the dessert far too sweet (dates and honey together just sent it over the top) but the other five courses were about as lovely as it gets in this town.

I fear that being so excited and so exclamatory may backfire on me. It has before. I went in with no expectations -- a local, seasonal Cal/French menu (yawn) in a restaurant I'd never heard of (hm?) with a chef I'd never heard of -- but everyone who was there last night was buzzing about it. The couple next to us even offered us a bite of chocolate cake on the way out, just so we could  enjoy the same pleasure they were. It was a talk-across-the-tables kind of night.

Several of the staff, including our waiter, chef Begg, and the manager, the very enthusiastic Ryan Maxey, have worked together for years (previously at Vignette, I believe).

The interior has been redone, and it's not hip. It's not lime green and orange. It's not loud or retro or modern. It's not even allergic to dresses and heels. HALLE-FUCKING-LUJAH, PEOPLE! Is anyone else as weary as I am of exposed brick and being bullied by SF's slackadaisical dress code to always wear denim?

Cafe Majestic won't be for everyone, I guess. Some people only want to eat frozen bubbles filled with molten seaweed, others are allergic to settings where salt is served in a glass sleigh bed and suits aren't out of place, but the rest of you, the next time you'd like a really nice meal? You go.

Stupid-simple Smoothie

Permit me a respite from the ground-breaking molecular gastronomic recipes I usually post to bring you this here smoothie. I've been playing with smoothies a  lot lately. Blame it on my leaving-the-strawberries-to-rot-itis.  At any rate, the one I whipped up today had me rubbernecking at the glass every time I'd set it down. If I were a comic book character, the bubble above my head would read, "Shazam! It really is that good!" If you can open and shut doors, press buttons, and swallow, consider yourself qualified to make it.

Stupid-simple Smoothie
Makes 1 (because I don't like to share)

Scoff if you must about the frozen fruit, but it makes a better smoothie than fresh fruit because you don't have to add ice, which will dilute the flavor. Greek yogurt is key here -- it's so much creamier and richer than regular yogurt, but if you buy 2% it isn't fattening. (Will someone second the nomination for 8th Wonder of the World?) As for the milk, before you know how much to add, you have to know if you're a spoon or a straw person. Once you decide, add as much milk as you like to achieve the right consistency.

1/2 cup frozen mango
1/4 cup 2% Greek yogurt
1/2 cup 2% milk
1 TBSP honey

Um, whir it all around in the blender. Duh.

Good Germs

Wonder why anyone, much less a germaphobe like me, would eat live bacteria? Find out over at KQED's Bay Area Bites.

Egg salad with homemade mayonnaise

When I was a kid, egg salad ranked right up there with shots, spankings, and creamed chipped beef on toast. But now I love it.

I made a batch after Easter and again this week, trying to get my recipe just right. I thought a bit about Heidi's notion that you only need a touch of mayonnaise, just enough to wet it.

I think I've got the recipe down. This time I was able to use homemade mayonnaise, my first batch ever. I was stressed because I've heard that the emulsion can very easily break, but it was a cinch in the food processor (though I thought the little motor was going to poop out on me before I got all the olive oil in drop...by drop...by drop). I wanted crunch, which I got from celery and shallot. The former isn't a favorite of mine -- I like the clean fresh flavor it imparts but only in small doses -- so I minced it super fine. Ditto the shallot. I wanted a hint of spiciness, so I used cayenne pepper instead of black pepper. There's also a fruity, peppery kiss from the mayo. Choose your olive oil carefully for that one -- it really affects the flavor.

Egg salad
Makes 3-4 sandwiches

4 hardboiled eggs (12 minutes is how long I cook mine)
1 TBSP mayonnaise (recipe follows)
1 TBSP mild Dijon mustard
1/4 cup finely minced celery
1 TBSP finely minced shallot
salt and cayenne pepper to taste

Smoosh the eggs with a potato masher or a fork. (It's fun -- good for working out your frustrations.) Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Taste for seasonings and adjust if necessary.

Homemade mayonnaise
Makes about 1 cup
From The Gourmet Cookbook

1 large egg, left at room temperature for 30 minutes
1 TBSP fresh lemon juice
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp white pepper (it's only for esthetics, use black if it's what you have)
1 cup olive oil

In a food processor, blend the egg, lemon juice, mustard, salt and pepper. With the motor running, add the oil in a s-l-o-w and steady stream. The mayonnaise should be thick and smooth. Refrigerate until needed.

Sweet Pea & Ricotta Crostini

Friday night, I cooked dinner for two friends. As usual, I bucked the old adage to avoid trying out unfamiliar recipes on guests; when the hell else will I ever get inspired to make something new?

The strawberry ice cream and peanut tuiles drew rave reviews, but for me the hit dish of the night was the app. I think I'm going to make these sweet pea and ricotta crostini for every party I have as long as it's pea season. They're quick and easy and almost everything can be done ahead of time. Plus, they disappear fast.

I'd initially planned to make a fava bean puree,  but I couldn't find any at the market on Tuesday. What I did find was a squat paper bag overflowing with fat pods of shelling peas. After Adam made such a fuss over some fresh ricotta he tried at Cowgirl Creamery last weekend, I popped in and sampled two, one made from sheep's milk, the other from Jersey cow milk. The latter was almost golden, like butter, and you could taste the cream in the milk. Cha-ching.

Sweet Pea & Ricotta Crostini
Makes about 40 crostini

I made the pea puree ahead of time, but I left it out of the fridge so that it would be at room temperature. I think you could serve it warm, cold, or in between depending on your preference. Don't be alarmed if you taste the pea puree alone and find it too lemony or garlicky; when you assemble the final toasts, you'll find that the mild ricotta cheese smooths everything out just so.

1-2 sweet baguettes, sliced
olive oil
1 1/3 cup peeled and cooked fresh peas
1/2 cup olive oil
1 clove garlic
juice from half a lemon
2 TBSP grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup best quality ricotta cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Make the crostini. Preheat the oven to 400º. Lightly grease a rimmed cookie sheet. With a pastry brush, give each piece of bread a good dab of olive oil. Bake until golden brown, about 6 minutes.

Make the sweet pea puree. In a food processor, blend the cooked peas, 1/2 cup olive oil, garlic, lemon juice and Parmesan cheese. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Assemble the crostini. Top each crostino ("i" is plural, "o" is singular, right?) with a spoonful of ricotta cheese. Top with a smidge smaller spoonful of pea puree. Grind fresh pepper over top and serve.

Pres a Vi

Does this make you hungry? It wouldn't if you ate it. Find out about my recent lackluster meal at Pres a Vi over at KQED's Bay Area Bites.

nonsense

1. Sanjaya got booted. Thank God there are still institutions we can believe in.

2. Pres a Vi sucks. Apparently Larry Birkhead is working the host stand, and he's not happy about it. (And the food? Pluhhhhhh.)

3. Grey is the new black. For real.

Over and out.

TWO

Lately, TWO has been the talk of the town. Find out what I thought about it after two visits in my first post for KQED's Bay Area Bites.