Chez Christine

French Laundry in 17 hours and counting...

On a whim, I called the French Laundry for a reservation a few months ago.  The reason?  Getting my first full-time job in 3 years, the fact that we've been married for exactly 6 months, and well, cuz I've been eying it lustfully for years.  No luck getting in, but would I want to be placed on the wait list?  But of course.

Didn't think much of it until this past Thursday, when the reservationist called and said they had an opening for Sunday at lunch.  Did I still want to go?  YES!

I'm actually glad to be going for lunch rather than dinner.  Our last big blowout meal with this many courses was 3 years ago at Guy Savoy in Paris.  We ate there for lunch and then proceeded to waddle around for the next 10 hours not wanting to see another morsel of food.  I can't imagine eating that much food for dinner and then trying to go to bed.  Plus, I always love a dining room filled with natural light, and the opportunity to get up between courses and enjoy the gardens is something you just can't do in the evening.

Tomorrow we'll be making the short drive up to Napa, having what I hope will be a revelationary meal, and then wandering around the little towns before trying to muster up the energy to make the drive back.

For some reason we've made this a celebratory weekend - we've decided to open up a Châteauneuf-du-Pape we picked up while we were students in France to have with dinner, then we'll follow up with Paulette macarons (passion fruit) that we had on our wedding cake.  We've officially started SIT (stomach-in-training), intending to fully line and stretch our stomachs in anticipation of the big meal tomorrow.  This is the best kind of training, no?

Bon Appétit!

Public Demo

Sorry for being absent, I guess that's what happens when you go back to a full-time job!  Feels good, although sometimes I miss typing away in my pajamas at the kitchen table.

It's interesting working in a test kitchen again, the smaller kitchen crew feels nice and I feel really connected to all that we're doing.  Plus, I'm learning a lot about photography, food styling, and editorial in general.

In other exciting news, I'll be doing a demo for CHOW.com at the Saturday Ferry Building Farmer's Market on December 5th at 11:45AM.  (I'm stoked, especially since I got married there just about 6 months ago!)  Still narrowing down what recipe we'll be doing, but I hope you join us for some tasty food and a fun recipe.  Mark your calendars!

Bon Appétit!

Soft-Shell Crabs

While my favorite crabs are definitely Dungeness, soft-shell crabs come in a close second.  In fact, I believe I had a small addiction when living in Boston.  Unfortunately, they are more of an East Coast delicacy and I didn't expect to see them much here.   But as luck would have it, the Berkeley Bowl had them a few weeks ago, and live!

They were on the smallish side, so we bought 4, two for the each of us.  Here they are all lined up to be cleaned.  It's always best to get them live and to clean them yourself for freshness, but if you are using them immediately, sometimes your fishmonger will do it for you.

To clean them, first you flip them over and pull the tab at the bottom (called the apron) out.  Cut off with a pair of scissors.

Then you flip them back over and cut off the face.  While it sounds gruesome, it needs to be done.  Then gently lift up one side of the shell and you'll see the lungs, which are long and stringy.  Cut off and repeat on the other side of the shell. 

Rinse and dry thoroughly with paper towels, and your crabs are ready to be cooked!

My favorite cooking method is to fry them until crispy, served on a soft bun with tartar sauce and juicy ripe summer tomato slices.  However, a salad is also a great accompaniment, as the crab is rich and juicy but begging for some acidity.

Soak in milk, then dredge them in a mixture of flour and cornmeal (for crunch). Fry in a nonstick pan - easy cleanup and less likelihood of the flour coming off and burning on the bottom of the pan.  You can't be stingy with the oil here or your crab won't be crisp!

That night, we served our crabs with a green salad and fresh corn pancakes.  Summer on a plate!

---

Crispy Soft-Shell Crabs
Serves 2

2 - 4 soft-shell crabs (depending on size), cleaned
1/2 cup milk
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cornmeal
Salt & pepper to taste
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 Tablespoon unsalted butter

1. Place milk in a shallow bowl and place crabs in the milk while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
2. Combine flour and cornmeal in another shallow bowl.  Season heavily with salt and pepper.
3. Heat vegetable oil and butter in a nonstick saucepan over medium-high heat until shimmering.  Dip one crab in flour mixture and coat on both sides, pressing to make a thick crust.  Immediately place in hot oil and repeat with other crabs.
4. Cook 2 - 3 minutes on each side until crispy and golden brown.  Place crabs on paper-towel lined dish to drain.  Serve immediately

Bon Appétit!

Studio Cake - The cake of our dreams

Ordering a wedding cake always seemed like it would be the fun part of putting together a wedding.  I mean, you get to taste cakes, frosting, and fillings, right?  What could go wrong?

When H & I were planning our wedding, we had lightly tossed the idea around of a "fake" wedding cake.  Our caterer was known for her lavish dessert buffets, and we felt that most people don't remember the cake anyway.  In fact, we had made a 3-tiered fake wedding cake for my sister last year that fooled everyone (she served cupcakes and had a chocolate fountain instead).  When we got engaged, we received more than one "Are you guys going to make your wedding cake?" (Answer: NO!)

Because we knew we would have a lot of desserts, we opted for a small wedding cake to give people a small taste that would go well with our other selections.  Small cakes look more delicate and less overwhelming, and we cared much more about design than size. 

Then came the difficulties: what should it look like, and who would make it?

Since we met in Paris, we had hoped for a few French elements in the ceremony and food, and my eyes landed on the Pierre Hermé bags that I had squirreled away every time we went for macarons: "How about a macaron cake?"  (Yes, they are so over-hyped nowadays, but I like to think that I became fascinated with them well before the current craze.)

I snapped a few photos of the bag for inspiration and started calling cake designers.  And the fun began.  "We don't do cakes that small."  "Oh, we don't do tastings for cakes that small, you'll just have to pick the flavors."  "We don't deliver cakes that small, but we can send a courier."  "Well, I GUESS I could do a sketch for you."  "Give me an email or a call in a few weeks for a design."  "Our cake person only comes in on weekdays."

It seemed like nobody wanted our business.  I was close to just picking a place that wasn't that friendly but begrudgingly said they could do our cake, until my maid-of-honor (who works for Brides magazine in NYC) suggested Studio Cake, which is conveniently located near H's workplace. 

My first email was quickly answered and I fell in love with her website and designs.  They had even recently been featured on Martha Stewart.  Nothing frilly or old-fashioned, but not too wacky either.  Just delicate, classy, carefully crafted cakes that were each unique yet showed a lot uniformity in technique and professionalism.

BethAnn set up the first meeting to talk about concepts and to get a general sense of who we were and what we wanted our wedding to be like.  To our surprise, she sent us home with a box full of cake tastings!  This was even before we signed on, relieving us of the pressure of signing a contract just to taste the cakes.  She was relaxed, fun, and truly wanted to know our ideas.

Our colors were silver and blue, but we knew that the signature Pierre Hermé orange had to be somewhere.  The delicate leaf cut-outs on the bag also sparked her imagination, and she told us that she would send some sketches along for us to get the ball rolling.

I love sketches.  I love being a part of the process.  Below is her sketch, and we ended up choosing the bottom one.  This is one of my treasured souvenirs from the wedding planning process:

 

After a second cake tasting (we must be gluttons), we decided on a ginger cake with passion fruit buttercream.  Light, airy, and a bright burst of fruit.  Studio Cake never freezes their cakes and makes them all from scratch - what more can you ask for?  She also provides cake stands or cake boards if you need them.

I also secretly commissioned her to make a groom's cake, which became the hit of the evening.  The Red Sox fan in my life couldn't believe his eyes, and the children pleaded, "You can't cut it!"  But cut it we did, marveling at how realistic it was and how fun the cakeboard decorated like a base was.

Some things are just meant to be.  If you turn the Pierre Hermé logo upside down, you get our initials, H & C.  When BethAnn shrewdly discovered that, we secretly patted ourselves on our backs at how awesome she was.

Last but not least, I searched high and low for the perfect macarons.  Shipping them from France was out of the question, but luckily, Paulette Macarons had just opened in Hayes Valley.  After pestering them about their spring flavors, we lucked out with the exact color we wanted, bright orange macarons that had just come out for the season.  And guess what, they were passion-fruit flavored!  Sometimes the stars align just for you and you feel blessed.  I love the little silver dots that she put between the macarons that just added a little more subtle sparkle.

Our finished cake was breathtaking, especially with the cake table accented by our florist  I only got a bite of cake that night, but we froze the top layer and are currently enjoying it (we did save a chunk for our anniversary, don't worry!). We were lucky to have Studio Cake & BethAnn as one of our vendors and wouldn't have had it any other way.

*photos taken by Gregory Bartning of Sweet Smile*

Studio Cake
104 Gilbert Ave.
Menlo Park, CA 94025

Bon Appétit!

Thursday Ferry Building Farmers' Market

A Thursday in San Francisco means the new Thursday Farmers' Market at the Ferry Building, 10-2.  If you can, you should go earlier before the lunch crowd takes over.  A few produce stands like Lucero & Dirty Girl, with lots of tomatoes and peaches right now.  Please pardon the amateurish-iPhone pics.

Namu's Korean BBQ Beef Tacos: toasted seaweed, rice, Korean beef, kimchi, and some kind of addictive special sauce.  $2.25/1, $4/2.  They are amazing, could have been a little warmer though.

Pizza Politana's Margherita Pizza, $8: Very thin, crispy crust with loads of flavor.  Made to order in a portable wood-burning oven!

The beef sandwiches from Roli Roti, $6 looked good.  Will have to try next week.  Roasted potatoes are also available there, but no chicken, porchetta, or lamb.  Mexican place called Tacolicious, and some intense sorbets from Scream Sorbet.

And of course, the "only in San Francisco" picture of the day belongs to the guy who parks his pets in Union Square.  Yes, it's a cat with a white rat sitting on top of a dog.  They all seem to get along!

Bon Appétit!

Private Cooking Lessons

Here's some info for those of you in the SF Bay Area interested in private cooking lessons with me!

Bon Appétit!

The Alembic Bar

In the quest for good cocktail bars here in San Francisco, we finally stumbled upon The Alembic Bar on Haight.  Never mind that it was only 2 in the afternoon, the bar was full and we were in the good hands of the friendly staff there.

Food here is California cuisine meets comfort food: pork belly sliders, mussels with chorizo, pickled quail eggs, and balanced cocktails to match.  Trust me, we'll be back.  And the great photos are courtesy of H, playing with his new camera!  Hopefully I'll learn how to use it and my pictures will improve.

And who can resist bartenders with smiles like this?

The Alembic Bar
1725 Haight St.
San Francisco, CA 94117

Bon Appétit!

Crêpe

Awesome

Bon Appétit!

Green & Black Surprise

Last Saturday, we made our weekly tour of the Ferry Building Farmer's Market, poking around and nibbling as usual.  When we first arrived, there was a line of people waiting to get free samples from the Gourmet booth set up.  Turns out it was their Follow The Farmers Market Tour.  As much as the sample of olive oil intrigued me, the line was just too long for my patience.

After we finished our shopping, we happened to find ourselves near the booth again, this time with a much shorter line.  I jumped into line, eager to quickly get my hands on some of the body products and olive oil.  Come on, who can turn down free stuff?

But the line didn't budge, even though I was within reaching distance of the first basket.  An ornery (and I mean ornery!) old lady was blocking the entire table with her body and her wheeled shopping cart, snarling at the couple behind her if they got too close.  She was grabbing all she could while firing questions at the poor Gourmet staff person behind the table:  "What is this?  What's in there?"

She then proceeded to move 2 inches down the table before turning around and grabbing her cart, muttering, "Excuse me!  I need my walking cart, don't try to cut me" when clearly she hadn't needed it for the last few minutes.  The poor couple was quite intimidated by her, and I was getting annoyed because she showed no concern for the patient people behind her.

Anyway, she finally moved away and I swiped my samples, disappointed that they had run out of olive oil.  I entered my name in their drawing basket without having a clue as to what the prizes were.  And to my surprise, I get an email from Gourmet saying I had won a Green & Black Organic Chocolates package!

It arrived speedily in the mail in a box packed snugly: 13 different bars of chocolate (including baking chocolate), and a canister of hot chocolate and a canister of cocoa powder.  I can't wait to start exploring and tasting, though the first task will be to figure out which bar to give to my nice concierge downstairs who loves chocolate and whose face lit up when I mentioned what the package was.

So I guess the lessons I learned this weekend were to be patient and always enter drawings because you never know what might happen.  What a delicious surprise.

Bon Appétit!

The Sentinel, San Francisco

Everyone always gets jealous when they find out I work from home.  True, there is a lot of freedom, I can wear pajamas all day or watch TV while I work, and I test recipes when I get bored of sitting in front of the computer.  But there is little social interaction and sometimes it's hard to get motivated.  I do miss teaching and having the kids in my class always surprising me with something funny or unexpected.

Luckily, I can pretend that I'm part of the bustling downtown San Francisco workforce since it's a short walk away.  I go to the Thursday Crocker Galleria farmer's market and act like I too am using my lunch hour to pick up what's in season.  The one thing I refuse to do, though, is to wear white sneakers with my "office" outfit when walking around the city!

Besides the market, I am still trying to figure out the downtown takeout lunch scene, which is surprisingly bleak.  There are tons of delis and random takeout places, but it's very hard to figure out where to go and what is good.  I'd read about The Sentinel, and as it's quite close to Crocker Galleria, I decided to try it out.

It's a little difficult to find since it's a tiny storefront on a corner with no real signage.  But the smell of fresh-baked bread was the clear indicator that I was in the right place.  Well, that and the line snaking around the corner.  Lots of people making sandwiches in a miniscule kitchen with barely room to breathe.

Opened by Chef Dennis Leary of Canteen, this is his breakfast / lunch spot.  Fresh pastries in the morning, a short list of sandwiches and a soup, as well as some specials.  It has quite an old-fashioned feel to it, and I loved the fact that the sandwiches choices are deliberately done for you, you don't pick your meat, cheese, and toppings from a long list - you let the chef create a combo he thinks is interesting.

I opted for the corned beef sandwich, which was on crunchy flatbread (more like focaccia) topped with Gruyère cheese, homemade Russian dressing, and caramelized onions.  There also seemed to be some kind of sauerkraut- like cabbage on top which added some acidity.  In the takeout box was a big pickle spear (not too sour, would've liked it more tart), and an Andes mint.

Don't expect thin New York-style corned beef, these were thicker slices with some chew to it.  Overall, I liked the sandwich but ended up adding some whole-grained mustard for a little more contrast to the all the richness, as the Gruyère was quite strong.  It was a big portion, and while it was $8.50, not too bad for a downtown lunch that could've been enough for two meals.  The only hard part is finding a place to sit around there if you don't work nearby.  You could head over to Crocker Galleria and use their tables and chairs, but otherwise, pray for a nice day so that you can sit outside!

The Sentinel
37 New Montgomery Street
San Francisco
Mon-Fri 7:30-2:30

Bon Appétit!