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Thanksgiving Countdown

Thursday, November 8th, 2007

Here’s my dining room table, already set for Thanksgiving. Well, I *did* co-write a book about organization (with San Francisco interior designer Randall Koll) and what could be more organized than setting a holiday table two weeks early?.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; [...]

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Halloween Fare

Wednesday, October 31st, 2007

Halloween in downtown Los Altos, where ya could die from the cuteness. Chiquita Banana.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; }

Gorgeous Green Bean.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: [...]

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Shortcake like Mother Never Made (unless Mother was an Italian Pastry Chef)

Saturday, October 6th, 2007

Amongst shortcake fans you have your biscuit-lovers and your sponge-cake devotees. Cake people are wrong, of course; in shortcake, biscuits are better. But every once in a while even my strongest convictions have to be altered.After the Strawberry & Peach Shortcake I had recently at Willi’s Seafood & Raw Bar in Healdsburg I [...]

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Souffle Tuesday — two days late

Thursday, October 4th, 2007

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When it comes to matters culinary I’m pathetically suggestible. Let one of my food gurus mention an unusual spice or helpful gadget or pricey pan and I immediately NEED it. Occasionally I don’t have [...]

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You Say "Flatbread;" Soif Says "Farinata"

Thursday, September 27th, 2007

No matter how many “small plates” I order at Soif, I always include the farinata — the luscious little chick-pea flour lovechild of a crepe and a pizza crust. Similar to a French socca, it’s cooked to order and arrives at the table piping-hot. Usually perfumed with fresh sage, last Sunday’s version sported fresh basil. [...]

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Souffle Tuesday: Chocolate Challenges

Tuesday, September 25th, 2007

Those tidy little dishes in the first picture? They’re the “Before.” No way are you seeing the “After.” Suffice it to say that my previous proclamation about always filling souffle dishes to the rim should be ignored with this recipe — unless of course you want to make them for a luau [...]

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Under the Saratoga Moon

Sunday, September 23rd, 2007

Now *this* is the way to cook a whole pig/lamb/ox/water buffalo: on a sturdy grill with a rotisserie that actually turns and an experienced pro standing nearby. (Contrast with the lamb-on-the-beach July entry on this blog.) The resulting roast pork was just one course of a splendid wine harvest dinner I attended [...]

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Souffle Tuesday: Lemon Souffle Gratineed

Tuesday, September 18th, 2007

I know. I know. This photo is DARK, but I wasn’t about to mar the candle-lit Friday night ambience at Bistro Elan with a camera flash. Yet this little souffle was so amazing, I had to capture its image.Fresh huckleberries were nestled between two layers of lemon souffle and then a crackly [...]

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Mmmm: Meatball Sandwich

Monday, September 17th, 2007

No, I did NOT eat this entire sandwich. but I could have. The piece I *did* consume could serve as a Platonic ideal for sandwiches — moist meat, sauteed onions, fresh basil, roasted red pepper sauce, provolone cheese and arugula. The layers of flavor and freshness of ingredients were typical of the [...]

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Souffle Tuesday: How Not to Write a Recipe

Tuesday, September 11th, 2007

Seduced by a gorgeous photo in “Gourmet’s Menu Cookbook” and my immoderate affection for leeks, I decided to make the book’s hazelnut and leek souffle. I quickly discovered that the actual recipe was ridiculously vague about the main ingredient: “Chop finely 10 trimmed leeks (let’s not even go into the grammatically incorrect [...]

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