Cooking San Francisco

Marcella Hazan's Simple Tomato Sauce

For those who think that some of the best recipes are also the simplest, this time-honored, classic tomato sauce is for you. It's thick, rich, sweet and is the product of just one of the many authentic Italian recipes brought to us by Marcella Hazan. Mrs. Hazan began publishing cookbooks in the 1970s, with the updated compilation, Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking , hitting the shelves in 1992.  Over the last few years Tomato Sauce with Onion and Butter has hit the blogosphere (see smitten kitchen and orangette to name just two).

So far we've used this sauce on homemade gnocchi, penne pasta, and as a pizza sauce and it's fabulous in a variety of situations. We doubled the recipe so that we would have leftovers to freeze and added a little less butter than the original recipe stated. You can use whatever canned tomatoes you prefer. Generally, we use organic whole tomatoes that we pour directly into the stockpot and crush with our hands to get the desired level of chunkiness. Some family members prefer a smoother sauce so we've also been known to use one can of whole tomatoes and one can of pure tomato sauce.

Marinated London Broil

 

This delightfully uncomplicated recipe comes from our friend Alicia's stepfather Barry. The marinade combines salty and bold (Worcestershire and garlic) with fresh and bright (parsley and lemon) to pack a powerful punch of flavor to the beef. Technically, London Broil is a preparation method not a cut of meat, and meat labeled London Broil is usually top round roast or flank steak. If you use these cuts, be sure to slice the cooked meat thinly and against the grain. We often use Chateaubriand or other large boneless sirloin steaks for this recipe because it is a bit more tender but still has great flavor. It can be more expensive, so if you use a cheaper cut of meat, you can pound it slightly with the flat edge of a meat tenderizer. Also, we find it helpful take the meat out of the refrigerator about an hour before cooking so it will cook more evenly. 

Strata with Mushrooms, Zucchini and Bacon

 

Gale Gand's published this versatile recipe for strata (from her 2009 book, Brunch) in House Beautiful recently. We've tried many different savory strata/bread puddings over the years and we especially like this one because the eggs/milk to bread ratio produces a light and creamy custard that allows room for healthy add-ins like the vegetables mentioned. (In case you were wondering, the distinction between a strata and a bread pudding is as follows: in a strata the ingredients are layered in a baking dish and in a bread pudding all the ingredients are mixed together in a bowl and poured into the dish.)

Meyer Lemon Mascarpone Pie

While we were in a lemony mood (see post of Limoncello) and had an abundance of Meyer lemons from the backyard, we discovered this dessert in Italian Two Easy: Simple Recipes from the London River Cafe by Rose Gray & Ruth Rogers.  We fell in love with this lemon pie at first bite, and the kids were wild for it as well.

Limoncello Sorrento

 

Truth be told, our recipe selection process is usually driven by necessity and expediency, (i.e. “What can we serve for dinner this week?” or “Yikes, 15 people are coming over for Thanksgiving in 3 days!”). However, back in December we had a lot of lemons and felt the need to shake things up a bit, to depart from seasonal turkeys and eggnog and the daily in-the-trenches cooking. With an eye toward Spring and the bright colors and fresh flavors that come with it, we decided to make limoncello. Clearly, this is not a recipe for the entire family, but rather one that takes the adults, at least, back to a simpler time, before consuming responsibilities and crazy schedules rendered the casual sippping of an after dinner drink completely out of the question.

Baked Risotto with Parmesan Cheese

In the dead of winter (yes, even a 50 degrees-with-a-chance-of-rain San Francisco winter) it's hard to beat the creamy, yet chewy nuggets of Arborio rice that have absorbed flavorful chicken broth like
little sponges. We don't make risotto as much as we used to; the small children and their inevitable interruptions have made it challenging (at best) to stand over a stove and carefully stir the risotto until perfect broth absorption is achieved. Which is why we were thrilled to find this recipe in Donna Hay's Instant Entertaining. We discovered this gem of a recipe over the holidays and served it to a crowd on Christmas Eve about an hour after the cat jumped over a lit Duraflame log and ran up the chimney, but that's a story for another day. (He was heroically rescued and survived without a scratch.)

David Eyre's Pancake

This classic puffy pancake was introduced by David Eyre via Craig Claiborne and the New York Times in 1966, and we can't believe we missed it until now. In the past, we have relied on more complicated German pancake recipes that were reserved for weekend breakfasts. If we get up just few minutes earlier we can actually pull off this recipe on a weekday morning, much to the delight of our kids. We like to use a stainless steel or cast iron skillet for this dish, but any oven-proof frying pan will do.  We've also made it with white whole wheat flour which works just fine, though the resulting pancake is not quite as puffy. If you have a few minutes, do check out Amanda Hesser's 2007 piece in the New York Times Magazine on this popular pancake and it's history, including the fact that the pancake was originally intended to be served for dessert. Ms. Hesser recommends limoncello, an Italian lemon liqueur, as an accompaniment. Excellent idea!

Butternut and Acorn Squash Soup

The original recipe found in the December 1996 issue of Bon Appétit magazine explains, “In France, this soup would be prepared with a baking pumpkin. A mixture of butternut and acorn squashes mimics the French pumpkin's exceptional taste and texture.” It's true; the flavor of the two squashes simmered together with fresh herbs produces a great soup. However, we won't lie; peeling and cutting the squash is a bit of a pain. To make things much easier, though slightly more expensive, you can purchase 8 cups of pre-cut and packaged butternut squash at Whole Foods (as much as we love Trader Joe's for many grocery items, we don't recommend their pre-cut, bagged squash) and omit the acorn squash. You might not end up with the aforementioned perfect French pumpkin flavor, but you will still have a satisfying and healthy winter soup. Alternatively, you could bake the acorn squash beforehand and scoop it out when it is tender (see baking instructions below).

Also, we omitted the sugar in the original recipe and substituted yogurt for whipping cream and we preferred both the taste difference and the health benefits. The croutons are a nice crunchy, salty addition, but we have served the soup without them when pressed for time.

Soup
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
1 large onion, finely chopped
4 large garlic cloves, chopped
5 1/2 cups low-salt chicken broth
4  cups 1-inch pieces peeled butternut squash (about 1 1/2 pounds)
4  cups 1-inch pieces peeled acorn squash (about 1 1/2 pounds)
1 1/2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme
1 1/2 teaspoons minced fresh sage

1/4  cup thick, 2% fat Greek yogurt

Croutons
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
24 1/4 inch-thick baguette bread slices
1 cup grated Gruyère cheese
1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme
1 teaspoon minced fresh sage

Melt butter in large pot over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and sauté until tender, about 10 minutes. Add broth, all squash and herbs; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until squash is very tender, about 20 minutes.

Turn off the heat and puree soup with a hand blender. (Alternatively, working in small batches and being careful not to fill the container too full, puree soup in the blender. Return soup to same pot.) Whisk in the yogurt and bring to simmer. Season with salt and pepper to taste. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Chill. Reheat over medium heat before serving.)

For croutons:

While soup is simmering, preheat broiler. Butter 1 side of each bread slice. Arrange bread, buttered side up, on baking sheet. Broil until golden, about 1 minute. Turn over. Sprinkle cheese, then thyme and sage over. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Broil until cheese melts, about 1 minute. Ladle soup into bowls. Top each with croutons and serve.

Variation: Baking acorn squash
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Halve squash and remove seeds.  Place cut side down on a baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes, or until tender.

Serves 8

Prep Time: 30 minutes to 45 minutes (if cutting and peeling squash yourself and making croutons)
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes

Cooking SF New Year's Resolutions 2010

Coming up with New Year's resolutions is like celebrating Valentine's Day, dressing up on Halloween or going out on New Year’s Eve, you either love it or loathe it. We happen to be in the “love” camp when it comes to resolutions. We love the fresh start that a new year offers and the opportunity to evaluate and re-prioritize our to-do lists. We'd like to share three simple resolutions this year that we hope will be easily achievable and good for our planet and our families.

1. Embrace Composting.

San Francisco has set a goal to have zero waste by 2020. We loved the idea but the mess in the big green bin by the end of the week, not to mention the confusion about exactly what can be composted, was not working for us… and deterring a lot of our friends from composting. After a little investigation, we found some great solutions to the first problem. One happy discovery is BioBags which we've found at Whole Foods, Real Foods and Standard Ace Hardware in Laurel Village. If you have a large family or doing a lot of cooking you can use the trash can size to put the food scrapes in or for smaller needs use a bowl with the small Biobags. We like to use the bowl on the counter while we are cooking and then tie it up and throw it in the big compost bin at the end of the night. Another trick is using a milk carton, opening the lid completely and throwing the scraps in. When you have filled the milk carton close the top and toss it all in the compost. Brilliant!

Regarding our second issue, we found a handy flyer on the SF Recycling website that notes in painstaking detail what goes in the green bin. We keep a printout taped on the inside of a kitchen cabinet door so that the list is handy at all times.

2. No more Plastic Bags!

We all have them, plastic bags from the grocery store that we swear we are going to re-use but they collect like lint blankets in the dyer. Sure, plastic is convenient but what a mess it is making of the environment! Out of pure serendipity we stumbled on two happy solutions. In the produce section at Whole Foods we found Tazzy Totes. They are mesh see-through bags that you can use for your veggies, fruits and bulk foods. They even have the weight of the bag on them so the checkout person can deduct the weight. We love them because when you get home you can toss the fruits and vegetables right in the crisper. The mesh bags allow your produce to breathe so it does not build up moisture in the bag. We tried to get more but they are flying out the door so keep an eye out for them in the produce section. Albany-based Flip and Tumble also has really nice produce and shopping bags as well, and you can order direct from their site. The produce bags are sold out until January 20th 2010, so check in with them later in the month.

Tazzy Totes

Flip and Tumble



3. Buy Locally.

Buying seasonally and locally is pretty easy in San Francisco. One of us has a ritual Saturday visit to the Farmer’s Market at the Ferry Building. The other participates in various produce CSAs (Community Supported Agriculture), including Frog Hollow Farm  and a organic grocery delivery service, SPUD . For those unfamiliar, CSAs deliver a seasonal box of produce to a central location (school or someone’s home) to be picked up at scheduled intervals, or in some cases will deliver to your home for maximum convenience. This allows you to get the freshest produce, eat seasonally and try out new fruits and vegetables while supporting local farms. It is a win-win for all involved. This year we've decided to take it a step further and try a meat CSA. We are presently looking into the Marin Sun Farms CSA for their 100% grass-fed and pasture raised livestock. We will let you know how the venture goes. If you know of any great CSAs let us know in the comments section.

Eggnog Bread Pudding with Panettone

For the last few years we've been using leftover panettone for a flavor-packed French toast, but this year we've taken the eggy, fruity Italian bread to a new level and tried it in a bread pudding. Panettone, for those not familiar, originates in Milan and is served during Christmas and New Year's. It has a brioche-like quality and is studded with raisins and candied fruit. Soaked in eggnog custard, it makes a pudding bursting with holiday flavors that not only makes a great Christmas breakfast (or dessert, for that matter) dish, but also makes use of some leftovers from the night before. Another added bonus is that you need to make it the night before you want to serve it and you start baking it in a cold oven, so all you have to do is pull it out of the fridge and turn on the oven. You certainly could make this bread pudding without the panettone, or conversely, without the eggnog, using just milk instead. We also tested a citrus and cardamom version of this creamy, comforting pudding, so stay tuned!

12 ounces day-old panettone bread, cut into 3/4-inch pieces
6 large eggs
2 cups eggnog
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Butter a 11x7x2-inch glass baking dish or deep-dish pie plate. Place bread in dish.

2. Whisk eggs and next 4 ingredients in medium bowl to blend.  Pour over bread in baking dish.

3. Using spatula, lightly press down on bread to moisten completely.  Cover with foil and chill overnight.

4. Place foil-covered dish in a larger baking pan and pour enough hot water in the larger pan to reach halfway up the side. Place both a cold oven. Set oven at 350°F and bake 30 minutes. Remove foil and continue to bake until pudding is puffed and golden brown, about 35 to 40 minutes longer. Remove pudding from oven and serve warm or at room temperature.

Serves 6-8

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour, 10 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour, 25 minutes