SF Chefs 2012: Tasting Tent Highlightsfeatured
Union Square transformed into an eating extravaganza this past weekend at SF Chefs as over 200 of the city’s finest chefs, winemakers, brewers, and mixologists strutted their stuff.
Do you ever feel overwhelmed by the number of restaurants to try in this culinary powerhouse of a city? At SF Chefs we got the chance to try bites from places we’ve had our eyes on.
Here are highlights from the Saturday Afternoon Grand Tasting:
AQ Restaurant & Bar had one of my favorite dishes of the day with their Peaches and Burrata served over almond butter and smoked ham. The peaches were at the height of summer ripeness, lush and juicy, accented with sweet woodruff, a leafy green whose oil has a vanilla-fig flavor. I’ve been wanting to try AQ for some time now and this just sealed the deal.
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High Five Fridays: Weekly Meal Plan (8.03.12)featured
Today’s High Five is full of things I love. Sweet summer corn, one pot meals, a treasured memory from Barcelona, the perfect summer supper, and *SPRINKLES*.
- Yotam Ottolenghi’s Sweet Corn Polenta with Eggplant Sauce. Whaaat?! Polenta made from fresh corn? Revelatory.
- Chicken Marabella. Mediterranean flavors of olives and capers play well with sweet prunes and a slow braise.
- Palmira’s Pescada a la Vinagreta. So excited to dig this old recipe up! Señora Palmira was a doll. And her pan-fried fish scattered with pine nuts is a keeper.
- Clams in a Light Fennel and Shallot Broth. This and a hunk of good bread is all you’ll need.
- TREAT YO SELF: Jessica always knows how to channel my inner squee. Funfetti Icebox Cake. There’s cake batter pudding involved. And So.Many.SPRINKLES. {squeeeee!!!}
Bon weekend my darlingtons!
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Bacon, Bean & Avocado Salad Tostadas from Top Chef Masters Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Fenigerfeatured
The Too Hot Tamales. Have you heard of them? This spicy duo is comprised of Border Grill’s co-chef/owners Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger. Maybe you recognize them from a little show called Top Chef Masters.
I recently attended a demo featuring this dynamic duo and California Avocados. These ladies KILLED it. I mean really. They slaughtered it. Seared it. Made a homemade stock out of it. They were phenomenal. I’m a little in love.
First of all, they successfully pulled off the entire event in the middle of a power outage (pros). Second of all, they were pure entertainment, playing off one another, finishing each other’s sentences, and dropping knowledge all over the place, all the while cooking up some seriously delicious food (bad ass).
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Frozen Key Lime Piefeatured
This Frozen Key Lime Pie is a sure thing. I have yet to meet a person who hasn’t died over this.
This is the kind of dessert that turns heads. It’s the kind of dessert that disappears 2.5 seconds after it hits the table, even after everyone is stuffed from a full meal. This Frozen Key Lime Pie will elicit moans and lip smacking, and a cacophony of utensils scraping up every last bit from the plate. This pretty little number is going to win you a lot of friends this summer.
Come to think of it? You should probably just plan a party right now so you have an excuse to make this. It’s the perfect dessert for summer entertaining. The texture is fantastic (like soft ice cream).
The cool key lime custard filling is sweet, tart, and refreshing. Billowing poufs of vanilla whipped cream brings an impressive volume to the dessert. The graham cracker crust is crunchy and buttery. And best of all, you can make it all ahead of time. Just pull it out of the freezer when you’re ready for dessert…and look like a totally put together rock star of a hostess.
Oh, this ridiculously delicious, beautiful dessert? I just whipped it up. No biggie…
(Cue: shower of adoration and kisses).
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