I Heart Chicharrones / Foodbuzz Blogger Festival 2010featured
Chicharrones two ways, in one evening. It was a good omen. This was going to be one great eatfest of a weekend.
The 2nd Annual Foodbuzz Blogger Festival kicked off at Fort Mason Friday evening with streetfood from some of my old faves, including Roli Roti and Namu. Before we even made it through the door though, we got sidetracked at Off the Grid, which oh-so-conveniently was going on at Fort Mason at the same time. Coincidence? I think not.
It was like trying to get to the Emerald City with intoxicating poppy seed fields seducing you at every turn.
I tried to hold out, but my will power quickly deflated once I caught a glimpse of the taco from Adobo Hobo that Elaine (VirgoBlue) made a beeline for. Total food envy. I had to get one of my own before I ate it out of her hands.
The Filipino-Mex Pork Sisig Taco creation hit the spot, and the crispity crumble of golden chicharrones? Totally brilliant. The entire package worked, from the juicy, tender, vinegar-seasoned pork, to the jalapeno kick, cool crema, and chicharon crunchies, right down to the warmed tortilla.
Arnold (Inuyaki) gave me a little history lesson on how sisig came to be. Traditionally made from parts of the pig’s head (cheeks, ears), it was invented as a result of all the surplus pig heads that Clark Air Base (a former US Air Force base on Luzon Island in the Philippines) used to give away to intrepid local cooks in the 1970s. Interesting, huh?
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SF Food Wars: The Essential New York Times Cookbook Brunchfeatured
What was that warm tingling sensation glowing from the back of my throat? Was it my imagination, or did my pulse just quicken a touch? I retraced my steps to Richie Nakano (Hapa Ramen) and shot him a quizzical look. “You felt it, huh?” he said, reading my mind. Yes, Richie. I felt it. What did I just eat?
Oh you know, your standard crostini, spiked with nicotine. Nakano’s dish started out innocent enough: toasted slices of crusty bread topped with Straus Family Creamery ricotta made fresh that morning, and butternut squash seasoned with thyme and oregano. Here’s where it gets interesting. He roasted the squash over tobacco leaves. Sourced from Happy Quail Farms, the leaves are typically used to wrap cigars. Used for cooking…the result is a unique, sweet, spicy, smoky flavor, with some interesting physical reactions. Nakano made sure not to put too much of the butternut squash on each crostini (and don’t worry, this was a 21+ event). He did warn that if trying this innovative method at home and you’re tasting a lot as you cook, be careful that your heart doesn’t explode.
Hapa Ramen was just one of the 11 restaurants who participated in Sunday’s SF Food Wars: Ultimate Potluck Cocktail Brunch edition with Amanda Hesser. The sold-out event was the official West coast launch party for The Essential New York Times Cook Book. Hesser spent six years cooking her way through the New York Times’s recipe archive, testing more than 1,400 recipes from across a 150-year period. For the potluck brunch, each local chef prepared a dish inspired by recipes from the cook book. Here are a few highlights:
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Butternut Squash Soup with Gingerbread and Brown Butterfeatured
I recently revisited one of my favorite cozy neighborhood gems, Firefly, and was just smitten with their Fairy Tale Pumpkin Soup with Gingerbread Crouton, Golden Sage and Brown Butter. The flavors were spot on. Roasted butternut squash pureed to a luxurious, velvety texture, seasoned with brown butter and caressed by warm sage notes. It reminded me right away of a soup I discovered awhile back in Thomas Keller’s Bouchon.
TK’s Butternut Squash Soup with Brown Butter, Sage and Nutmeg Creme Fraiche had a similar weak-in-the-knees-good effect on me with its layers of rich, harmonious flavors and that ethereal silkiness. (I connected the dots when I learned that Keller influence wasn’t incidental. Firefly’s new chef, Henry Zamora, previously trained at the French Laundry.)
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Foodista Best of Food Blogs Cookbook Giveawayfeatured
I’m excited to announce the release of the Foodista Best of Food Blogs Cookbook…featuring yours truly!
Remember my recipe for Coconut Israeli Couscous Studded with Pomegranate Seeds from way back when? It got published!
I am honored to be a part of what is being called “the first grassroots cookbook to emerge from social media.” Inspired by a discussion at last year’s International Food Blogger Conference, the cookbook is a crowd-sourced collection of 100 “best of the best” recipes, reflecting a wide variety of cultures, tastes, and interests of food bloggers from over 20 countries. The book is published by Foodista, a public wiki for the culinarily-inclined.
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