Lemon drop cocktail

There is a tradition at my brothers house of serving lemon drop cocktails for any reason, I am sure that he being a liqueur distributor and his wife being of Russian decent have nothing to do with it? Anyway they are very good and its hard to count how many you have had.

Olga's Lemon drop cocktail
fresh squeezed lemon juice
simple syrup (50% sugar/50%water dissolved)
good quality vodka (try lemon flavored)

Mix equal parts with ice, shake to chill and strain into a martini glass with a sugar coated rim, serve at once and you better make more quick!

This post is number one hundred!

The idea for doing this blog is my answer to writing a book without dealing with publishing companies, also there is not a clear format to this blog other then food related topics. Maybe one day there will be a book, but for now this will have to do. I have found that I cook more from scratch now then ever before, I get more enjoyment from my own pasta, sauce or breads, its all about the quality of each ingredient.

Christmas Posole Soup

Posole soup is a Christmas tradition in Mexico and its becoming one here too, at least at my house. Its a soup of pork or chicken with the addition of hominy. Hominy is corn that has had the outer layer of skin from the kernel removed. The flavor of the soup is like a liquid corn tortilla. The best part is that you have a steaming bowl of soup that you finish with your choice of shaved lettuce, cilantro, jalapeno, avocado, fried tortilla strips, tomato and a squeeze of lemon or lime. I like mine spicy with tons of cilantro and avocado.

Clement Street fish market

Here is some recent shots taken from a fish market on Clement Street in San Francisco. Clement Street is a long street on the Western side of the city and its a big mix of mostly Asian businesses and restaurants. Its known as the non touristy Chinatown for locals. I shop the Clement street neighborhood all the time and this fish market is really good because of the freshness and high volume.High important when buying fish because its not sitting on ice for days waiting for someone to buy it. This market has all the normal tanks of live fish, crabs and prawns as well as a huge display of local fresh fish on ice. By the way the live frogs and turtles are not for pets if you know what I mean.

Ribollita, Vegetable Soup Italian Style

Its the holiday season and everyone is eating a lot of unhealthy foods. Here is a good winter soup that is made for cooking in big batches and reheating.Ribollita is a very rustic Tuscan soup who's name translates to "reboil". Its simply made with diced carrot, celery, fennel, onion and garlic. Saute in olive oil till soft then add precooked white beans and water or chicken stock. Add roughly chopped chard or kale. Simmer for about 30 minutes, check seasoning and serve with crusty bread and a splash of extra virgin olive oil.

My newest kitchen toy

I have been really into making breads and pizza's lately but what I have been lacking is a oven stone to devolp a crispy crust. With a big well stocked restaurant supply store near work it was a easy decision to buy one, they run around $50 dollars and you just put in on the lower rack. I crank up the oven to 500F and wait for about 20 minutes for the stone to absorb the heat.Then using a pizza peel dusted with corn meal I slide the pizza's off and on to the stone. In less the 10 minutes its brown and crispy with the cheese bubbling.

Risotto of Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Sage

Next to making pasta with what ever you can find in your house, a basic risotto is easy. It can be flavored with anything you have on hand. In the Summer it can be fresh corn, peas or maybe asparagus. The long winter season is perfect for comfort ingredients like root vegetables. This risotto was just whole oven roasted sweet potatoes with the cooked pulp removed and added during the last cooking stage of the rice. Finished with fresh chopped sage and shaved Parmesan cheese. Great by itself or as a side to maybe roast pork.

Easy Bread

Some people like the smell of fresh baked cookies, but I love the smell of bread right out of the oven. I always keep a supply of good quality locally ground flour and dry yeast packets for when I want to bake. Having a kitchen aid stand mixer with a dough hook is also a big plus. I most often just make a basic flour, water, olive oil dough, allow to proof once then spread out on a sheet pan, then more olive oil and sea salt sprinkled over the top. Let it proof a second time then place into a hot oven, 15-20 minutes later its bread!

A Craving for a Juicy Pork Chop

Its rare when I look in the meat case for a dinner idea, normally its some kind of fish or shellfish. There was some nice thick pork chops calling out to me so I took them home. I preheated my stove top cast iron pan while the chops were seasoned with kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper. The cast iron is excellent for searing meat because it will retain heat. Its the original non stick pan. A dash of olive oil in the pan and it was time to sear.The chops only took about five minutes per side while I sauteed sliced onions and cabbage to go with them. When the chops were platted with the cabbage and quick saute of peeled sliced apples in butter became the sauce. Its a good cold weather comfort dish that is really not as fatty as you would think. So go for it.

Quick & Easy Pizza

So you have two chefs making Thanksgiving dinner for themselves and its lunch time, what do you make to go along with the beers? Pizza of course! A quick whole wheat crust, fresh grated mozzarella cheese, sliced tomatoes and chopped Oregano from the garden. 30 minutes to prep and 15 minutes in a 450F oven.

Prickly Pears

On a recent Napa Valley road trip I came across these nice Prickly Pears, they are the edible fruit of Cactus plants. Mostly used in making desserts and drinks. They have large thorns and need to be peeled before use. I think I might have to get some for a Prickly Pear Margarita!

Not so traditional Thanksgiving

This year a co chef from work was the guest and co-cook for the day, He being Jewish and having chef cooking experience from Israel came up with a Kosher thanksgiving menu. Basically its the same food but using a Kosher fresh turkey from a Kosher butcher shop in San Francisco, I knew I was in the right place with a Rabbi standing in line with me. There is too much to explain now how and why food is Kosher, but the rules regarding kosher food are very complex and strict, So another time. The menu was roast herb and citrus turkey, rosemary roasted red potatoes, caramelized root vegetables, celery and apple stuffing, orange cranberry compote, natural pan gravy, simple green salad and freshly made apple pie. Everything was made from scratch in a few easy hours, a glass of wine and beers always within easy reach. We even made fresh pizza for a snack while cooking (good with the beer) When it was all done, it looked great, but was way too much food, a few phone calls to find more eaters didn't work out either. The turkey itself was amazing, perfectly cooked and very moist with a lot of flavor. Never going back to non kosher. Also for the meal to be Kosher it could not include any diary, so not having any cream or butter made it very healthy.

Miso Glazed Sea Bass

There is a fish recipe made famous by the Japanese chef Nobu the chef/owner of the chain of restaurants by the same name. It is fish that marinates in a mixture of Miso, Sake, Mirin and brown sugar. It has a amazing flavor of sweet and salty with the flavors of the Sake and Mirin rice wine. Here I took a nice fillet of California Corvina sea bass and marinated it for a day then roasted it in the oven till golden on the outside while still being moist inside. I served it with lemongrass infused jasmine rice and pickled cucumbers and peppers.

Artic Char

There is a Fish called Artic Char which is in the same family as salmon but also resembles a big trout, its a Northern fish from Artic regins around Norway and other Northern Countries. It has orange flesh with a beautifully colored skin. Its best when cooked like Salmon. Here is a dish I made with Pan seared Char using brasied white beans and flavors of orange and fennel.

San Francisco road trip

Not a real road trip, but just across the bridge for a afternoon adventure in the city. While taking the kids to the zoo, we came across a Russian church with a booth in front selling home made piroshki. We stopped and bought the two kinds they were selling, ground beef and mushroom. They were both really good and only $2 dollars each. Next for a restaurant at lunch time it was a visit to the Asian district of upper Clement street. Packed with lots of small markets and restaurants, we headed to my daughters favorite Pho noodle house and ordered the usual pot stickers, Hong Kong crispy pan fried noodles with beef and vegetables and a big steaming bowl of chicken noodle pho which comes with a plate of vegetable and herb garnish to add for a flavor boost. We skipped desert and headed to one of the bigger Asian markets for Japanese mango mochi treats. The fog burned away leaving a warm afternoon as we headed back across the bridge home.