Food Historian

Thomas Keller is most known for his landmark 3 Michelin star restaurant, The French Laundry in Yountville, California. French Laundry food is famously exquisite, requiring an insane amount of preparation for each dish (if you're curious about just how insane, check out Carol Blymire's now retired French Laundry at Home blog in which she cooked her way through the restaurant's cookbook.) A few years ago Keller launched another restaurant in the area, ad hoc, for patrons who wanted quality, without all the fuss. Home cooking, done incredibly well.

Out of the restaurant came the cookbook, Ad Hoc at Home which made its way to our home last fall, and into my father's hands. Now, normally my dad shows only a mild interest in the various cookbooks that come our way (unless it's a cookbook featuring sauerkraut and pork, in which case he's all over it), but this time, not only did dear old dad read the book cover to cover twice, but he enthusiastically tackled Keller's roast chicken with root vegetables, cooked in a cast iron pan. (I'm guessing it's because the recipe calls for rutabagas and turnips, dad's favorite food group next to sauerkraut and pork.) But for whatever reason, it's now the only way that dad will roast a chicken (at least for the last 5 months).

Continue reading "Keller's Roast Chicken" »

From the recipe archive, for St. Patrick's Day, enjoy! ~Elise

Last year for St. Patrick's Day, my friend Suzanne had me over for dinner with her family and served the tastiest corned beef and cabbage dish. Usually we prepare corned beef and cabbage boiled, but Suzanne had baked her corned beef in the oven, slathered with sweet hot honey mustard, and sautéed her cabbage with onions on the stove top until they were nice and caramelized. I begged her to show me how she did it and recently we spent the day cooking together, making corned beef and cabbage both ways - oven baked and boiled. We did a taste test with the whole family that evening and the baked version won, hands down. Here I present to you both the baked and the boiled recipe versions.

Continue reading "Corned Beef and Cabbage" »

It seems like every culture with a coastline has their version of a seafood stew. The French have bouillabaise, the Portuguese bacalhoada, New England "chowdah" and San Francisco cioppino. In Brazil, they make moqueca (pronounced "mo-KEH-kah"), a stew made with fish, onions, garlic, tomatoes, cilantro, and in the northern state of Bahia, coconut milk. My first encounter with moqueca was a salmon version of the stew prepared by Brazilian blogger Fernanda of Chucrute com Salsicha. So good! We love making fish stew, but had never thought to use a base of coconut milk. Since then, every Brazilian I've met, when the conversation turns to food (as it invariably does), their eyes light up at the mention of moqueca.

Continue reading "Moqueca - Brazilian Fish Stew" »

One of the things I love about making soda bread is that it is just so darn easy. With yeast breads you have to proof the yeast, knead the dough, let the dough rise, etc. But with soda breads, there's no proofing, kneading, or waiting. In fact, because the leavening comes from mixing the base of the baking soda with the acid in the buttermilk (remember those fascinating-at-the-time childhood experiments of sprinkling vinegar onto baking soda?), you pretty much pop it in the oven as soon as you put the dough together. The trick is to use a light hand, just work the dough barely enough to bring it together. It looks like a sheep-doggy shaggy mess, but it bakes up beautifully—lightly browned and crusty on the outside, while soft and tender on the inside.

Continue reading "Caraway Soda Bread" »

Overheard at the market, "I'm a breast girl." "Really? I'm definitely a thigh girl," pause..."dark meat, so much more flavor." Had to laugh, I'm so so so much a thigh girl myself. Here is the secret to fabulous lemon chicken - use bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (or legs, but thighs are easier to eat). Lemon is acidic and greatly benefits from the balance of the stronger flavor of the dark meat in thighs and legs, and the fat from the chicken skin. You don't have to eat the skin (my father doesn't, he gives them to me, score!), but cook with them on for the flavor.

What we most love about this recipe is that it is a classic American lemon chicken recipe without being too lemony. In other words, it doesn't make your lips pucker, it has just the right amount of lemon flavor to it.

Continue reading "Lemon Chicken" »

For those of you out there who cannot fathom even the idea of beets, fine. Truly, I'm a-okay with it. That only means there is more of this beet hummus for me. I ate this entire batch, save one teaspoon that my mother caught just in time, before it was all finished off. (In this family, you snooze, you lose.) Seriously, if you like beets, and you like hummus, you'll love this beet hummus. The ingredients are beets, tahini, garlic, lemon, cumin, and salt and pepper. Use as a pretty topping for cucumber rounds, scoop some up with pita triangles or celery ribs, or just dive in, like oink-oink here, with a spoon, and eat it up before anyone knows what they're missing. Many thanks to neighbor, pastry chef, and friend Evie Lieb, for sharing this terrific recipe with us.

Continue reading "Beet Hummus" »

Unlike much of the country, Sacramento isn't blanketed in snowy white in the dead of winter. We are blessed instead with plenty of green, with flowery shows of red and pink from camellias, and displays of bright orange and yellow from the grapefruit, lemons, kumquats, and oranges decorating the citrus trees that grow everywhere around here. Citrus season is the winter, and when nothing else seems to want to grow, we have an abundance of fruit. In fact, many of the boulevards in downtown Sacramento are lined with Seville orange trees, which anyone can pick, and which produce a sour fruit perfect for zest, marmalade, orangeade, and for baking. For this recipe I used a couple navel oranges from our tree, but truly any orange will do. It's the zest that has the highly flavorful orange oil that you need for this quick bread.

Continue reading "Orange Bread" »

One of the things I love about butternut squash, or any winter squash for that matter, is that they're practically indestructible. They last for months. You can harvest one in November and still find it perfectly good to eat in February (as long as you store it in a cool, dry place). For the last month I've had a hankering to make curried squash soup, and for the last month the squash I picked out for this purpose has been greeting me from the kitchen counter every morning. Well, the stars finally fell into proper squash soup making alignment and the result was this lovely curried squash soup. The trick is to brown the cubed squash bits first, in a little oil and butter. That really brings out the squash flavor. The trick to that, of course, is effectively cutting a very hard squash. For this you need a large, sharp knife (current favorite is this Shun), and a sharp vegetable peeler (I recommend using one with a carbon blade). Some stores sell butternut squash already cut up too.

Continue reading "Curried Squash Soup" »

My friends are so very patient with me. BFF Steve-Anna first emailed me this spicy, peppery shrimp recipe, a favorite of hers, four years ago. And then again, at least two or three more times, when I declared I couldn't find it, and would she please-pretty-please send it again. Hey Stevie, we finally made it! Just in time for Lent. Dang, what took us so long? Love the shrimp. It certainly packs a punch though, with all of the black pepper the recipe asks for. Feel free to cut back on the pepper to tone it down a bit. The recipe also calls for a tablespoon of brandy. This I think is an essential ingredient for the recipe. (Actually with so few ingredients, they're all essential.) There is no substitute. If you simply cannot cook with alcohol, add a dab of butter to the olive oil. It will change the flavor of the finished dish, but it should still taste great.

Continue reading "Peppery Garlic Prawns" »

To make cheese puffs, first you make a pâte a choux dough (pronounced "pat ah shoo"), which, if you've never made it before, can seem a little weird. Weird because most of us who bake are used to mixing dough ingredients together and then plopping them in the oven. With a pâte a choux dough, you essentially half cook the dough first, by adding flour to boiling water and butter, and stirring like a madman until you have a ball of dough the consistency of playdough. Then you mix in eggs and then the dough goes in the oven, where it puffs up as the water in the dough turns to steam and expands into air pockets. The dough is used for making cream puffs, eclairs, cheese puffs (gourgères), beignets, and even churros. David Lebovitz has a recipe for making a French tart crust with what looks to me to be essentially a pâte a choux dough, that has been getting raves. So, it's a useful technique, and pretty easy, though the dough can be a little stiff to work by hand.

Continue reading "Cheddar Cheese Puffs" »

Guest contributor Hank Shaw of Hunter, Angler, Gardener, Cook shares one of his favorite pasta dishes. Sensuous and savory, this simple pasta and duck recipe is perfect for a romantic dinner. ~Elise

This is one of my favorite things to do with duck confit or the easier, slow-roasted duck version of it. This is a sumptuous pasta dish that has its origins in old Venice, where it was done with the Italian version of preserved duck. Despite this, it is an easy dish to make – the only tricky part is getting the garlic browned but not burned.

Traditionally this is served with tagliatelle, a long, flat pasta both wider and thinner than the more familiar linguine. Could you use another shape? You bet. Don’t go too thin or too thick – angel hair or ziti aren’t right for this dish.

Continue reading "Pasta with Slow Roasted Duck" »

Please welcome guest contributor Hank Shaw of Hunter, Angler, Gardener, Cook as he shares his method for making what he affectionately calls "ghetto duck confit". So easy, and outrageously good. ~Elise

Duck or goose confit (con-fee) is one of the most luxurious of foods in French cuisine. Gently cured duck legs bathed in their own fat and slowly cooked to falling-off-the-bone perfection. Then the skin is crisped in a pan or oven, giving you the sinful combination of silky meat and crackling skin. It’ll roll your eyes back it's so good.

Real confit takes more than a day to make. But I have a work-around that takes just a little more than two hours, and is nearly as good. And it’s easy – I mean super easy.

Continue reading "Easy Duck Confit" »

Please welcome guest author Garrett McCord of Vanilla Garlic as he prepares for the year of the tiger with Chinese almond cookies. ~Elise

Chinese almond cookies are a trademark in Chinese-American cooking. Often relegated as a second string sweet to the more entertaining fortune cookie these don't get the respect they deserve. Sure, they don't tell you what a charming personality you have or offer a string of lotto numbers, but they do have a crisp bite and delightfully sandy texture. Almond flour, almond extract, and slivered almonds ensure that you get an intense flavor that will eclipse any paper filled treat.

Set out a plate of these for the upcoming Chinese New Year. Almond cookies symbolize coins and will be sure to bring you good fortune. Gung Hay Fat Choy!

Continue reading "Chinese Almond Cookies" »

From the recipe archive, just in time for the big game. For more Super Bowl recipes from food blogs, check out Food Blog Search ~Elise

So, what are you serving up for Super Bowl Sunday? Here are a few of our ideas, as well as a several rather inventive Super Bowl recipe twists from some of our favorite food blogs. Enjoy the game!

Continue reading "Super Bowl Recipes!" »

Updated, from the recipe archives. First published 2006. ~Elise

There's something about winter that just begs for the making of split pea soup, wouldn't you agree? Like the proverbial groundhog, who failing to see his shadow, retreats into the comfort of his burrow, in the chilly, foggy dampness of what is Sacramento winter, I stick my head out the door, only to make a quick retreat back into the house, wanting nothing more than to make a big pot of this hearty soup. Made with dried "split" peas, and cooked up with flavorful, smokey ham hocks, split pea soup is warm, satisfying, and great for leftovers.

Continue reading "Split Pea Soup" »

This recipe is not for the food-queazy. If that's you, you might want to just skip this one, or instead check out some of our chicken breast recipes.

What? You're still with us? Okay, don't say I didn't warn you.

My first recollection of beef tongue was when I was about 8 years old and there happened to be a huge one in the refrigerator. It looked, and felt (I touched it, who could resist?) like a ginormous tongue. Just like my little 8-year old tongue, but oh my gosh, it was so big! And then my parents cooked it and made us eat it. (No idea how they prepared it.) The texture. It was so, so tongue-like. All too weird, even for me.

Fast forward a couple decades (okay, more than a couple) and I'm in Mexico when my bud Matt announces that there's a crowd around the lengua tacos in the buffet line. I get there just in time to scoop up the last of the day's lengua for my taco and I'm in tongue heaven. So tender, so perfect in a taco.

Continue reading "Beef Tacos de Lengua" »

I'm in serious weather denial. With what seems like the fourth storm this week to hit California (is Noah building his "arky arky" yet?) I'm still puttering around the house in shorts and flip flops, and dreaming of good times in warmer weather. But there is only so much denying one can do, before the shivering reality sets in, and then it's time for stew. Lentil stew in this case. My friend Clara and I were inspired to make this hearty lentil stew today, in the midst of yet another downpour, based on Clara's family recipe. It's made with bacon and sausage, a mirepoix of onions, carrots, and celery, and topped with parsley. The amounts are approximate (except for the liquid to lentil ratio, 6 cups liquid per pound lentils), feel free to experiment, more or less bacon, sausage. We made a double recipe, to make sure that Clara's family had plenty for leftovers during the week.

Continue reading "Lentil Stew with Sausage" »

Lamb braised in milk. Huh? Okay, yes, I know it sounds weird (at least it did to me at first) but hear me out. It's just a spin on a traditional Italian recipe of pork braised in milk, in which the milk reduces down to a rich and creamy white sauce. For you I-don't-eat-lamb types, check out the links at the bottom of the recipe to a few excellent recipes for pork variations. For you lamb-lovers (and yes I admit that here in the US we are definitely in the minority) I urge you to give this treatment a try. My friend Peg made this for a few of us the other day, served over farro, and I couldn't wait to make it. She got the recipe from Mario Batali, and I tweaked with it a bit. So good! Especially over the farro, though I'm guessing it would be just as good over brown rice (for the nutty dimension) or even mashed potatoes.

Continue reading "Lamb Braised in Milk with Fennel" »

From the recipe archives, perfect for cold weather. ~Elise

My mother grew up in a house where there was constant entertaining. My nana was somewhat of a social bee and even I remember how every night was a party night when as a child I came to visit during the summer. Mom and dad were reminiscing the other day about one of their favorite recipes of my grandmother's, her pulled beef, braised in BBQ sauce. Mom remembers Nana once feeding 80 people this dish at her small adobe house in Tucson. It's terribly easy to make, you can easily double, triple, quadruple the recipe, making it perfect for serving large groups of people in an informal gathering, and it's absolutely delicious.

Continue reading "Braised BBQ Beef Sandwich" »

So much of our enjoyment of foods comes from the memories they evoke, don't you think? Cinnamon toast. Just saying the words and I see myself 8 years old sitting at our dining room table with assorted siblings, elbowing each other while we greedily reached for the sugar and cinnamon to sprinkle on our warm buttered toast. (My sister probably doesn't remember this, but she would skip the cinnamon and just sprinkle on sugar.) Cinnamon toast was a treat. It took skill; if you weren't careful holding that spoon you would end up with hilly clumps instead of an even spread.

Continue reading "Cinnamon Toast" »