Crushed Fig and Prosciutto Crostinifeatured
This crostini topped with crushed figs, prosciutto, and a balsamic glaze is a take on one of my favorite bites at Locanda.
At the restaurant we use grilled pizza bianca as the base. The pizza bianca is similar to a focaccia, but not as doughy and with more crunch. We brush a slab of it with good olive oil, cut it on the bias so there’s a nice jagged surface area to crisp up, and toss it on the wood-fired grill to toast.
We then take ripe figs and mash them up, releasing all that sweet, jammy, goodness. The crushed figs go on top of the pizza bianca, and it’s crowned with ribbons of melt-in-your-mouth La Quercia prosciutto and a drizzle of fig molasses.
Simple. Sublime.
The dish is a nod to one of Chef Anthony Strong’s favorite staff meals during his time spent in Rome. They would gather up all the over-ripe, stinking, rotting figs (the way he tells it, this actually sounds awesome, I swear), scraps of leftover prosciutto, some bread, and throw it in the middle of the table with a bottle of olive oil.
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High Five Fridays: Summer Grillingfeatured
Hope you all had a fun and food filled 4th of July!
The fireworks may be over, but we’ve got a marvelous long weekend of grilling still ahead of us. So do a few laps and work up that appetite, because this week’s High Five Friday is lookin’ mighty fine:
- Honey Chipotle BBQ Chicken. Saucy. That is the first word that comes to mind when I look at this BBQ Chicken. This may just become a summertime staple.
- Sweet-Sour Balsamic-Glazed Ribs. Adapted from Animal in LA, these ribs promise to be a sweet, sticky, delicious mess. Time to get animalistic. Rawr.
- Potato Salad with Whole Grain Mustard, Scallions, and Dill. This is my all-time favorite potato salad recipe. The tang of the mustard and handfuls of fresh scallions and dill perks everything right up and gives this potato salad dimension.
- Grilled Reuben Dogs. A summertime cookout isn’t complete without some hot dogs on the grill! For something a little different, give your dogs a Reuben makeover.
- TREAT YO SELF: Bourbon Cream Root Beer Floats. Um, yes please. Quite possibly the perfect grown-up ending to a perfect summer day.
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7 Essential Lessons I Learned at San Francisco Cooking Schoolfeatured
Why hello there, long lost friends, how I’ve missed you! I have been deep in the trenches of Cooking School and I have so much to tell you. This update is super belated…I wrote it, meant to post it ages ago, and then I started my externship at Locanda and got a taste of real restaurant life. Apparently working in a kitchen is like living in a bizarre alternate universe where one can go for days without even think of turning on a computer. Mostly because by the end of the day your hands are shot to hell and can at best flop around on the keyboard like fish out of water. Dead hands and all, it was worth it. I’ve learned a lot, accomplished more than I thought I would or could, and well, this weekend, I graduate! Boom. In any case, I have a whole back log of stories to tell you, but let’s start with this. (I know, I’m going all out of order here…this is starting to read like a Quentin Tarantino movie.)
Time travel back with me to two months ago. My in-class time at San Francisco Cooking School has just ended and I reflect on lessons learned as I prepare for the start of my externship…
*****Over the past four months, I’ve developed a new appreciation for pants with stretchy elastic bands. I’ve traded in cute shoes for kitchen clogs. And, I’ve certainly given up on manicures – I’ll consider it a win if my nails are simply clean and don’t smell like onions. Or fish.
I’ve been immersed life at the San Francisco Cooking School, and fat pants and fishy hands aside, I am loving every minute of it.
SF Cooking School came into my life somewhat fortuitously. I had been invited to cover the opening of the school for a preview story and the more I learned about the school, the more I fell in love with school’s philosophy, curriculum, and culture.
A small, intimate class. Hands-on, practical learning. And access to some of the best chefs and resources San Francisco has to offer. Sign me up! I pulled the trigger and so began my adventures in cooking school. It’s impossible to distill everything I’ve learned into a few short paragraphs, but here are a few of the big takeaways:
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The Slanted Door {Giveaway}featured
The Slanted Door is one of those classic San Francisco restaurants that had been on my to-go-to list for years. The flagship of chef/restaurateur Charles Phan’s restaurant group, The Slanted Door has made a name for itself with its modern take on Vietnamese cuisine.
I finally got to check this off my list, thanks to Acqua Panna Natural Spring Water, who so kindly invited me to finally get a taste of what everyone has been raving about. Everyone…like the James Beard Foundation. That’s right, The Slanted Door is a nominee for this year’s James Beard Outstanding Restaurant Award.
As I settled into my meal, I could see that the nomination was well-deserved. The vibe was comfortable yet classy. The food had all the vibrance and freshness I loved about Vietnamese street food, but executed by a refined hand, with an eye towards high-quality ingredients and adorned with lavish touches like grass-fed Estancia beef and wild California uni.
Mmmm…uni.
And a whole lot of it. Eyes widened as this beautiful plate of sea urchin roe came to the table. Delicate pearls of black tobiko topped the uni, which blanketed crisp slivers of cucumber and creamy avocado. Creamy and luxurious, I tried to make this sea-kissed bliss linger as long as possible.
It passed too quickly, as always, but before we had the chance to miss it, new delights appeared.
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