Coaching Cooking

I can’t say enough how much I love going to a new restaurant. It’s a child-like excitement that I develop as we’re driving over like I’m quietly jumping up and down in my seat. We drove over, myself, AB and our great friend Lanny, and

Palace BBQ Buffet sits amid a myriad of Asian restaurants and a grocery store in a crowded strip mall. We arrived just before the rush of families and young adults.

Carnivores will be well served at a Korean bbq buffet. I have never seen so much raw, marinated meat in my life (yeah, yeah, insert all jokes here). To me, Palace BBQ was the perfect place to have a grilled surf and turf. Choices at Palace include marinated, beef short ribs, thinly-sliced marbled beef, whole prawns, marinated pork, pork stomach, beef tripe, chicken teriyaki and much more.

Note: this is not a good place to visit if you don’t like to see the meat before it is cooked. However, this is a great place to visit if you like to cook your own meat and if you feel like channeling that inner-cliche caveperson.

Here are a few links for the KBC (Korean-bbq curious):

Korean BBQ Dos and Don’ts by Food Section: This link gives you everything you need to know about visiting a Korean bbq restaurant along with some helpful pictures.

More information on the Korean bbq scene plus some restaurant links.

Enjoy! �기십시요!

Fridays are great entertaining days because it’s a chance to have a casual dinner with friends or family.

BBQ Friday Menu:

Mini quiches (try some quick frozen ones from Trader Joe’s or Costco or your local market)
Fresh fruit
Beer and soda

Barbecued burgers on brioche buns
A platter with lettuce, sliced onion, sliced tomato, sliced pickles and condiments (ketchup, mustard, mayo)
Oven-roasted potatoes (see recipe below)
Grilled corn (see recipe below)

Notes: Prepare the barbecue and cook the burgers first. Then add the corn on the cob just as the burgers are finished cooking. Roast the potatoes about 45 minutes to an hour before cooking the burgers so everything finishes cooking together.

Oven-Roasted Potatoes
These potatoes are a great alternative to french fries. The garlic adds a lot of flavor and parsley also adds some nice color (although parsley is optional…you can also try adding some flavorful herbs like fresh thyme or rosemary)

Ingredients:

About 6-8 medium-size potatoes
1 medium onion, sliced thinly
3 cloves of garlic, minced
3-4 tablespoons of olive oil or canola oil
5-6 sprigs of flat-leaf parsley, chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Prepare the potatoes, onions and garlic. Mix these three ingredients together with the olive oil, salt and pepper in a roasting pan. Cook the potatoes in the oven for about 45 minutes (mix the potatoes about halfway through cooking so the flavors blend and the potatoes cook evenly). Test the potatoes with a knife to see if they are tender. If they are not ready yet continue to roast the potatoes for 15-20 minutes more. Then, switch the oven temperature to high broil and broil the potatoes for about 10 to 15 minutes until the outsides are crispy and lightly browned.

Grilled Corn on the Cob

Ingredients:

4 large ears of corn, silk and husks removed and corn cobs split in half
salt to taste
3-4 tablespoons of butter
aluminum foil

Clean the corn cobs and split each one in half. Tear off eight medium pieces of foil and place a half corn cob in the center of each one. Sprinkle salt over each corn cob piece and add a half tablespoon of butter to each foil square. Bring the corners of each aluminum foil piece up and twist together, sealing each corn cob in its foil packet. Barbecue the corn cobs on the grill for about 20-30 minutes until the corn is cooked thoroughly and lightly browned. Serve immediately and pass around more butter if needed.

Our barbecue was a great success. We ate deliciously grilled burgers with buttery brioche buns and sharp, aged white cheddar (plus all the fixins!). Our only casualty was a large bottle of raspberry beer that was left by me in the freezer. Beer pops, anyone?

This post is dedicated to my dearest LMC who is moving to Chile for the next eight-plus months. I wish you all the best, middle sis!! Have a wonderful time and bring me back some pisco sours and great new appetizer recipes…

Here’s an example of a great small plates gathering:

Red and white wines (I like Sauvignon Blanc, Syrah, and especially Bonny Doon’s Big House White or Big House Pink)

A favorite cocktail: I’m partial to the Lemon Drop but try this too

Small plates:

Grilled shrimp with an apricot/hoisin/sesame glaze
Rumaki
Thai lettuce wraps: This recipe is one of my favorites and it can be adapted to include anything you like. I especially like to have fresh bean sprouts, fresh cilantro and grilled chicken served with a Thai peanut dipping sauce. This is a great appetizer or light dinner to have with friends. Serve it with a favorite white wine (I like Bonny Doon Pacific Rim Riesling or a Sauvignon Blanc).
Zucchini squares

This has been going on for a while. Now you can go to a restaurant and eat a lot of little plates full of many different flavors and cuisines. Tapas bars have been going on in Spain and elsewhere and the craze hit the U.S. at least a few years ago. Other restaurants have also bought into this trend of offering small tastes of different dishes. To me, this trend makes perfect sense. I grew up in a family who strategized on the entrees and even the appetizer portions of any meal when we dined out. No one could order the same dish and it was mandatory that everyone offer and try everyone else’s dishes. As my friend Natasha puts it, being Chinese also means having the choice of lots of flavors. This struck me as hilarious, but also true for me and for my family’s habits. We love having a little sweet, a little salty and a little crunchy as the flavors and textures of our meals. There has to be a bit of meat and grains and vegetable in every feast and we always made sure to order a bit of everything.

This becomes particularly clear to me when I eat at Chinese restaurants with my family. We have to order a seafood dish and a beef dish. There has to be a green vegetable which invariably shifts between dry sauteed string beans or quick sauteed pea shoot greens with garlic or asparagus with beef. A soup is usually ordered as part of the meal and this must either be hot and sour soup or chicken with corn soup or, on special occasions, shark fin’s soup. Then we order a whole fish or prawns with honeyed walnuts or both. Plus the quintessential part of the meal: steamed rice. We might also order sweet and sour pork (my little sis’ favorite) or a specialty dish such as cornish hens stuffed with sticky rice and Chinese sausage. Everyone picked their favorite dish and we always had such a perfect balance of flavors. I always remember feeling sated at the end of these meals because of the array of choices and the great variety of dishes.

The concept of small plates drifts back in my mind to those dinners at Chinese restaurants with my family. We always had such a great variety of dishes. Dining at restaurants with small plates allows diners to sample such a great selection of foods. Recently I celebrated with AB at Cascal in Mountain View. We ate crab and shrimp tostaditos with guacamole and pico de gallo. Our mouths watered at the sight of the pancetta-wrapped dates stuffed with Cabrales (a Spanish blue cheese). We savored a delicious Spanish-style cassoulet with garbanzo beans and spicy sausage. Although all the flavors were translated from Spanish dishes, we enjoyed the ability to pick several dishes with different flavors (rich, spicy, sweet, citrusy). AB always picks the best desserts so we finished the meal with a perfect carmelized plantain dessert and vanilla bean ice cream.

The small plates trend could easily extend to home entertaining. Pick four to six dishes that can be divided into small plates or that can be served in bite-sized pieces. Pick a few wines to enjoy or mix some great cocktails. Have a great cd playing tunes in the background and set out small plates and napkins. This type of eating makes for a great, casual party or a fun evening with a few friends.

Stay tuned tomorrow when I post an example of a great small plates menu.

Ladies who brunch convened again this weekend where we proceeded to eat ourselves silly aided by some tasty mojitos which have become our signature brunch drink. The star of this feast is Kareasa’s amazing biscuits and andouille sausage gravy. They were the breakout star of our feast. The flaky biscuits combined with a flavorful, creamy sausage gravy sent us all into foodie heaven. The recipe link is included below.

With my friends, the consensus is that food coma is best developed with people you know. Lying on the floor after too many carbs is much more comfortable when everyone knows you’re too full to talk and can let you have a moment to snooze the afternoon away.

As I have had practice with hosting brunch, I’ve noticed a few things that really make it fun and special. Here are a few tips:

**Make sure to have a pitcher of ice water (and include lemon slices and/or cucumber slices for refreshment)
**Make a fresh fruit platter. I used whole strawberries, blueberries, pineapple and sliced blood oranges and arranged them on a large, rectangular platter.
**Have two tables set up: one for the fruit and smaller dishes and one for drinks, silverware, plates and the main dishes
**Delegate: everyone can bring something to brunch. It doesn’t have to be cooked: one person can bring pastries, coffee or orange juice. A few people can bring dishes to heat up at your place. Then, while everyone munches on pastries and fruit, the others can prepare the main dishes.
**Have at least one great drink: this doesn’t necessarily mean the drink has to be alcoholic. My brunch girls love the mojito with a passion rivaling a new religion. I also think mimosas a perfect choice. This time around I also had orange juice and mango lemonade (thanks to Trader Joe’s) on hand.

Brunch Menu for the Ladies Who Brunch (Thanks Kati, Kareasa, Rachel and Annie!):

Mojitos (see this recipe)
Orange juice
Mango Lemonade

Ice water with lemon slices

Fruit platter
Assorted appetizers from Trader Joe’s: feta and carmelized onion tarts and spinach puff tarts

Biscuits with andouille sausage gravy (I’m still locating the original recipe…here are few to try: Tabasco brand chipotle sausage gravy and Emeril’s Smothered andouille sausage and shrimp gravy)
Scrambled eggs with sautéed onions and mushrooms served with salsa, sour cream and guacamole

Long live the ladies who brunch (and occasionally bitch…yeah, you can blame that on the mojitos)

One of my nearest and dearest starts his new job at Wine Globe in a few weeks so we headed to Illusions in Palo Alto for a wine tasting with his new company (plus many singles from the likes of Yahoo and beyond). The ballroom had a disco ball and several televisions and a wall screen. Many tables were set up for the various wines and the bar had a lavish selection of appetizers ranging from baba ghanoush to falafel, pita and hummus. The hummus was sprinkled generously with olive oil and pomegranate seeds. The baba ghanoush had the perfect blend of tahini and roasted eggplant and the pita bread was toasted and warmed to perfection.

Wine Globe provided us with tasting note sheets so we picked a table and AB grabbed our wines for us from the nearby tasting tables. We tried a few whites including Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. The Sauvignon Blanc had a fragrant nose and flavors included rose and apricot/peach. There were many more reds to try from Cabernet Sauvignon to Petite Syrah to Zinfandel. My favorite of the evening was the 2005 Adobe Zinfandel. It had a juicy sweetness with walnut on the nose and a long, cherry finish. To be blunt, it tasted damn good!

Tasting is subjective so AB and I enjoyed comparing notes and fraternizing with our tablemates. Our one, strong agreement was that one of the wines had flavors of Band-Aids and chlorine on the nose. So, clearly, it was NOT our favorite wine.

My favorite part of the evening, of course, was trying the wines while eating some great Mediterranean food. I never turn down freshly cooked falafel, warm, soft pita or tangy baba ghanoush. We left the tasting sated and happy with some new wines to add to our collection (and wines that we hope to drink very soon!).

A sante!

Brunch is one of my favorite meals because there is time to linger over a late morning feast with beloved friends. It’s also a great time to celebrate with mimosas and rich, but vibrant food. We drank mimosas, sangria and gossiped over coffee and tea while dining on eggs, fruit and buttery pastries.

The menu below (and early-in-the-week posting) gives you plenty of time to shop and to plan for next weekend’s fabulous brunch. I suggest going to a farmers’ market for gorgeous flowers, fresh fruit (and juice) and bread.

Our brunch:

Mimosas (pick your fav champagne plus your fav orange juice)
White sangria (check out this one for red sangria)

Assorted fruits: raspberries, mango, pineapple, kiwi fruit (or see Friday’s post on kiwi berries), oranges…

Smoked salmon scramble with chives and parsley (Barefoot Contessa has a great recipe or try this one)
Zucchini squares (see recipe below)

Assorted pastries
coffee and tea

Recipes:

Zucchini squares

Ingredients:

5-6 small zucchini
1 small onion, chopped (I use white onion)
2-3 cloves of minced garlic
1 cup of Bisquick
4 egg, beaten
1 cup of grated Parmesan cheese
3 tablespoons of dried parsley (I’ve also used fresh parsley with good results)
1/2 teaspoon of dried marjoram

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Slice the zucchini thinly and place in a large bowl. Mix together all of the other ingredients. Pour into an oiled 9″ by 13″ pan. Bake zucchini squares for 30-35 minutes. Cool the zucchini squares for about 20 minutes and cut into squares. This dish can be served cold or hot.

Today, I ventured out into the hills for a bit of research with Farley from Wine Outlook. We met in downtown Los Gatos for some winetasting at Backyard Wineries, a new tasting room at 45 West Main Street that pours wines from the Fleming Jenkins Winery and Clos La Chance. Claire, the tasting room diva, answered all of our questions plus she had a fantastic music selection. I love my Beastie Boys with some 2004 Fleming Jenkins Santa Cruz Mountains Syrah!

Then it was lunchtime and we headed over to Savannah-Chanelle Vineyards for a picnic lunch and some good ol’ winetasting with our snappy host whose witticisms and old-school personality added some great humor to our experience.

The picnic lunch included some great bread from La Brea Bakery in addition to delicious picnic fare from Whole Foods. I have always loved the curry chicken from Whole Foods because it combines generous chunks of chicken wtih raisins, whole almonds and just the right amount of curry and other spices. Farley made a great appetizer spread with green olives, fresh chopped garlic, cream cheese and a touch of mayonnaise. We ate our picnic near the winery with a fine mist sprinkling over us (not quite rain, but getting close).

Teeth chattering and arms wrapped around our freezing midsections, we sought refuge in the tasting room which is housed in a quaint, farm-like structure with a large, sloping room and gorgeous, exposed ceilings. We also drank a tasty Syrah port to a classic Nirvana tune. So far, my purchase of the day: 2003 Savannah-Chanelle Estate Zinfandel Santa Cruz Mountains.

On to Thomas Fogarty’s where Farley introduced me to Mort, the cat, and to some great wines. I bought two bottles at this lovely place including the 2005 Gewurtztraminer and the 2002 Sangiovese Santa Cruz Mountains. We chatted up the manager who had some great restaurant recommendations for the SF Bay Area. And we looked out over the mist which made me long for this song (just played once and combined with the Gerwurtztraminer).

Thanks, Farley! I had a wonderful time. The fog and mist parted into a brilliant blue as I sailed down the windy road to Highway 9 and then home on 85 with Ok Go playing quirky tunes on my stereo and the faintest traces of wine still clinging to the corners of my mouth.

A little competition is healthy, right? Okay, that doesn’t include competing with the dude in the car next to you to see who can get closer to the pedestrian crosswalk. That’s just silly….

Instead, try competing with your foodie friends by staging a little Iron Chef competition.

Recipe for Iron Chef Competition:

Ingredients:

Several foodie friends (about 6 or so…make teams of two)
An ingredient (try something basic like rice or something more challenging like chocolate…think of something you all want to cook)
A large kitchen
Several more foodie friends (the ones who don’t like to cook) to serve as judges
Bottles of wine (to get the judges drunk so they vote for your dish)
Scoring sheets (categories can include: taste, presentation, use of ingredient, overall score…have fun with the categories!)

Directions:

Assemble a group of people who love food, love cooking and love to compete. Make a trophy or decide on a suitable prize (gift certificate or crazy trophy made of canned food for example). Then find a kitchen to use and set up several workstations for each team. Each team should have a name that befits their personality (Tuna Madness, the Chefs who Ate Manhattan, Sexy Sushi, whatever names you like…). The judges should have a separate table where they can lounge and to which each team’s dish can be served. Have plenty of scoring sheets and someone to keep time.

The teams should have time to decide what they’ll make. Give everyone at least a few days notice. Decide on the rules (do the recipes have to be original? Can teams use pre-cooked foods or do they have to make everything from scratch? How much time should the teams have to cook?).

Note: This is supposed to be fun. It shouldn’t be stressful! Make sure everyone is well-hydrated with water and cocktails. Bring a camera to photograph the cooking madness.

Have fun and eat well!