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Perfect job for the cast iron pan

It’s supposed to be sunny and warm outside- it’s mid-May in California after all.  The sun is coming, we just have to wait several more days.  For now, keep calm and roast a chicken! There is something so satisfying about knowing how to roast a chicken.  It’s simple, comforting, and can produce meals for days and broth for weeks.  Zuni Cafe’s late Chef Judy Rodgers is credited for this easy technique for Roast Chicken and it’s so easy to replicate at home.  All you need to do is plan ahead and make sure to salt that chicken the day before.  The old saying goes- you get what you pay for. Buy the very best whole chicken you can afford. It will pay dividends with the meat and the quality of the broth.  Some chickens have a nice clean poultry flavor, and some just do not.

Meal #1

This chicken gets a lot of use! Meal #1 includes cut up chicken, roasted veggies and a side salad. Meal #2 takes the chicken off the bone and gets stuffed into chicken tacos with black bean and corn salsa or gets used as the star of a cobb salad. Meal #3 turns into a risotto dish with herbs and mascarpone once you make that homemade broth!

Risotto with Spring Peas, Herbs, and Mascarpone- this was a hit with my family!

Speaking of broth- this is one of the few reasons I own an Instant Pot.  I’m not a huge fan, but definitely use it for a few kitchen tasks that would otherwise take constant monitoring or more time than I want to spend. This chicken broth is a great base for many future recipes.  In cooking school, I learned the best chicken stock is a neutral stock- one without garlic, ginger or even salt.  This way it can be used for a variety of dishes and seasoned appropriately according to the intended dish. In true wannabe Barefoot Contessa style, these quart containers of chicken broth live in my freezer and it makes me happy knowing they are there.  

Cheers,

Christina

Spring has definitely sprung in Northern California! The temperatures in the Bay area have my kids barefoot and jumping in the chilly pool after school.  In the non-food world, Spring to me means baseball season is in full swing, NBA playoffs are underway, it’s light outside until after dinner, and the windows and doors are open from morning till evening.  In the food world, it means- local strawberries (with fresh whipped cream), blueberries (eaten straight out of hand), rhubarb (makes a delicious fruit crumble or simple syrup for a mixed drink), and spring onions, green garlic, and asparagus (delicious in a frittata)- all popping up at the farmer’s market.  

Over the beautiful spring weekend, we celebrated our daughter’s Confirmation.  Because we needed to keep the meal short and sweet in order to get to the church on time, I decided on an easy, make-ahead meal that satisfied adults and kids alike.  It needed to be ready when guests arrived, not too messy as we were all in dresses and suits, and not too heavy as we were going to be sitting for the ceremony for nearly 2 hours.  The following menu was a hit!

Menu planning and a prep list is key to a relaxed gathering!

I feel instantly better when the table is set or the serving pieces are ready

The more I think about this menu, the more I think it would be a great Easter or Mother’s Day menu, too.  And, the bonus is that local salmon season is almost here and I read recently that it is on track for being a prolific season with lower prices than in the past.  I’m looking forward to sharing some of my favorite salmon recipes!

Gougeres

Gougeres with Gruyere Cheese- light and airy and addictive 

These tasty little French cheese puffs are so easy and an impressive start to the meal with a glass of champagne. They are a bit more impressive looking and seem to have more “puff” when they are piped from a pastry bag, but I can assure you that just scooping them with a small-sized ice cream scoop will work just fine- they taste the same!

Macaroni and Cheese

That delicious crunchy top

Any homemade recipe will do, but in cooking school, we made some pretty tasty versions- one of my favorites was with roasted poblano and scallion.  Whatever version or add-ins you include, be sure to: put the macaroni mixture in a buttered casserole dish and top with crunchy panko breadcrumbs that have been toasted in a pan with butter and garlic and then tossed with grated parmesan cheese.  Bake at 400 degrees till golden and bubbly.  *I made this for the kids but the adults didn’t mind a little pile next to their salad with salmon!

Slow Roasted Salmon

Slow Roasted Citrus Salmon

Alison Roman’s Slow Roasted Citrus Salmon with Herb Salad is the recipe I pretty much went off of.  However, I used a sheet pan, half the amount of olive oil, turned up the heat to 400 degrees for the last 5-7 minutes and skipped the herb salad on top.  I served it on top of an arugula salad with sliced strawberries, toasted almonds, shaved manchego cheese, and balsamic vinaigrette. A perfect light Spring main dish.

Carrot Sheet Cake

There are dozens and dozens of really tasty carrot cake recipes out there.  Layered, chock-full of nuts, pineapple, raisins, etc, 3 layers, 5 layers- I love them all!  Since we had more kids than adults at our dinner celebration, I thought it best to have a simple single layer carrot cake with nothing else in the batter but warm spices and carrots and a nice thick layer of cream cheese frosting.  It was a hit with kids and adults alike and the best part- it’s SUPER simple to make!

My favorite single layer carrot cake comes from America’s Test Kitchen Complete Series Cookbook (pretty much my kitchen bible) and if you have access to this- be sure to try this recipe! I cannot easily share the recipe because it’s in a cookbook and even the digital version requires a paid membership (which I personally think is well worth the money, along with a subscription to NYT food app, but this one from Fine Cooking (my favorite cooking magazine) is pretty close if you leave out the nuts and currents!

Whatever your family celebrates- religiously, culturally or traditionally, I hope you enjoy this beautiful weekend and great food with your friends and family.

Cheers!

Christina

We’ve been home from a Hawaiian vacation for less than 24 hrs and the relaxation is already a distant memory! Sound familiar? So much fun, sun, sand, water, and wonderful family memories were made this spring break, but back to dreary, cloudy skies is enough to suck that pineapple brain and tanned skin right from you!

Maui Shores

Never get tired of Hawaiian Sunsets

Pink Perfection

Delicious Gin and Hibiscus Cocktail at The Hideaway, Kapalua Bay

The other part of returning home from vacation usually means piles of laundry and most annoyingly, an empty refrigerator.  Life of hours on the beach or in the pool can quickly be forgotten when you get bombarded with such immediate downers such as laundry and grocery shopping.  While I don’t have any great solutions to the laundry situation except for the fact that I’m happy to say my kids are old enough to tackle their own laundry now.  I do, however, have a great solution for never coming home to an empty refrigerator again.

For the past few years, I’ve gotten in the habit of spending 30 minutes on the last day or two of our trip to make a meal plan and grocery list for the first few days home.  The last thing you want to do is grocery shop to restock milk, eggs, and other essentials. Or worse yet, have to go out to eat at one more restaurant or get take out. Indulging on vacation is one thing, but I don’t know anyone who doesn’t come home from a fun vacation to “reset” their food and alcohol intake.  No Mai Tai’s and onion rings with banana ketchup on my meal plan!

Such a welcome sight on our front porch! And, our guard kitty- 16-year-old Jasper

Enter Good Eggs food delivery! Years ago I used other delivery services such as Instacart and Safeway, but I have to say I am most happy with Good Eggs.  They deliver all the staples that I need- milk, eggs, veggies, fruit, chicken and most are local brands that I’d buy at my local grocery store or farmer’s market and FOR THE SAME PRICE! I’ve done some cost comparison with a few items just to see what the markup is, and I cannot really find much difference.  My 32 oz container of Straus Organic Whole Greek Yogurt is $7.99- same as two local grocery stores. And, a half gallon of Clover 2% milk is actually a dollar cheaper than I can find locally. Anyhow, I would actually pay a small premium to have my groceries sitting on my front porch when I arrive home from a trip.  They have been packed perfectly with reusable, returnable, and recyclable materials and can sit outside for hours in case our arrival is a bit delayed. Happy camper to say the least!

And for the meal planning strategy- I take a few minutes and scroll through my saved collection of Instagram recipes (because my cherished cookbook collection is at home!) and select three to make a grocery list from.  This week I decided on one vegetarian Buddha bowl, one hearty salad, and one soup. This gets us three dinners that I don’t have to think about when we return home. The rest of the grocery list is filled in with fresh fruit, veggies, yogurt for smoothies, bread, cheese, milk for coffee, etc.  It definitely doesn’t fill in all the holes but buys us enough time for me to make my weekly or bi-weekly trip to Trader Joe’s or Costco.

A good start on restocking the refrigerator! 

The following recipes are the ones I selected to make for dinner for the next three days.  I haven’t made any of them yet but all are super simple and healthy and I know my family will enjoy them.  I’ll report back on any that we deem keepers!

Sweet Potato Budha Bowl

BBQ Chicken Salad with Creamy Avocado Ranch

Chicken and Rice Soup with Garlicky Chile Oil

For now, rain rain go away!!

Cheers,

Christina

The ultimate goal of Restaurant Week, beyond showcasing our new skills and amazing food, was to get us ready for our externships and working in a restaurant for 2 months.  

After meeting with the founder of our school, Jodi Liano, we were carefully and thoughtfully placed in a restaurant that would work with our food interests, style of kitchen, schedule and location preferences.  My classmates and I were placed at some of the best establishments in the Bay Area! Our school has such a good reputation and puts out such kitchen-ready cooks, that it’s no surprise we got such wonderful placements.  

I was thrilled with the restaurant where I was placed.  Flea Street Cafe in Menlo Park is where I just finished 2 months learning directly from the Executive and Sous Chefs.  It is a small kitchen where I did day prep in mostly organic, local, California cuisine; exactly what I wanted. I have been a fan of Flea Street for many years.  My in-laws gave my husband and me a gift certificate for our anniversary when we were first married over 18 years ago.  I knew my father-in-law was a big fan of this food and I quickly became one as well.  He also gave me a signed copy of the owner Jesse Ziff Cool’s first cookbook  which I have cherished for many years.  Years later when her most recent cookbook came out and was on display at the restaurant, my husband bought me a copy.  I’m a lucky girl.  These cookbooks, along with Michael Pollen’s Food Rules and Barbara Kingsolver’s Animal, Vegetable, Miracle shaped my view on food and time spent in the kitchen and I am forever grateful.  

Love these books

Some of my favorite dishes: Smoked Trout (Chef’s homemade chips are amazing), Rice and Beans (trust me on this!), Ricotta Gnocchi and Which Came First crispy chicken dish (signature Chef creation)

16 quarts of butternut squash soup a few times a week at the restaurant- I think I can make it in my sleep now 🙂

Of course, on my days off I missed making soup, so I made it at home! Butternut squash soup with creme fraiche, pumpkin seed oil, Aleppo pepper, and chive- vegan without the creme fraiche

Inspired by making soup at work- a simple and tasty dinner at home. Broccoli Soup (vegan, minus the parm) with parmasean cheese, olive oil, Aleppo pepper and smoked flaked sea salt; Tartine Bakery’s country bread and seasonal cara cara oranges

More inspiration from Flea Street- short ribs in red wine

Learned this technique at school and used it at the restaurant as well and now at home. A parchment lid called a cartouche- used when you want to cook food covered but want some evaporation

This was not a bad dinner at home- Zinfandel-Braised Beef Short Ribs, Sherry Trumpet Mushrooms, Arrowhead Braised Cabbage and Parsnip Puree

As I’ve told many people, I sure hit the jackpot with this placement.  The Chef and Sous Chef are just nice people. They allowed me to work in their small space, listen in on debrief of the service the night before, allowed me to make mistakes and correct me in a respectful manner, treated me kindly and trusted me to try new projects (testing some stuffed cabbage rolls, making a cioppino-style fish sauce, harissa sauce, crab cakes, parsnip puree, braised cabbage, cauliflower saute to accompany the gnocchi dish and many other components to their delicious dishes) as well as take the wheel on a recurring dish on their menu (butternut squash soup and then broccoli and cauliflower). 

They were a great balance of fun, entertaining and laid back during day prep and serious, focused and took great care in the food that was prepared for their guests each evening. They are so talented and make killer food. The optimistic person that I am, I assume all kitchen are this way. But, I know better. I know that some kitchen environments are hostile, rude, ego driven, and not female friendly.  Thankfully, I don’t know that kitchen first hand. As I said, I hit the jackpot.

While I am finished now and more than thrilled for a little break, I already miss the Chefs and staff at Flea Street.   I also miss seeing my classmates. We gathered two weeks ago for graduation, celebrated together, and will continue our fun group text chat to keep in touch.  Everyone will go on to do a variety of food industry jobs, and we will continue to support each other any way we can. If someone is throwing a dinner party or a pop up, we’ve got 13 other willing and talented professional cooks to jump in.  I’ll not call myself a Chef, but rather a professional cook or professional chef (with a lowercase c), because Chef is an earned title, one that I must earn over time, or relevant setting.

San Francisco Cooking School Fall 2019- Culinary and Pastry Arts classes

Feeling accomplished! Going back to school in your 40s with three kids and a busy household is a whole post in itself- tough but very do-able and rewarding

I’ll spend the next bit of time practicing all my new kitchen skills on friends and family.  I’ll dive in to a few new cookbooks that have been taunting me on the shelf, begging me to open them, but with little time to do so.  At some point, I’ll look for teaching opportunities in the area, as that is my true gift and passion and I’ll kick up my food blogging.  But for just a little time, I’ll give my poor elbows a much needed rest and a chance to recover- double tennis elbow is no joke nor is cooking for 6 hours a day for 6 months. (A nice shot of cortizone and some CBD balm have helped wonders!) I am so grateful for the opportunity I had and my supportive family cheering me on.  

Cheers,

Christina

With just days to go before we had to begin preparing for our big Restaurant Week finale, we enjoyed a few super fun days at school.  Early December in San Francisco calls for Crab (and Octopus!) Day. It is one of our founder’s favorite foods and the mascot of our school, afterall.  

Our little mascot, before the pot of hot water

Ice bath

Caught only hours before and delivered to our kitchen, we learned how to boil and roast dungeness crab before cracking it for its delicious meat.  Also, using Matthew Dolen’s method from 25 Lusk in SF, we blanched, poached and grilled the octopus. Kokkari’s famous lemon vinaigrette was served with this tender octopus dish.

Crab Sautéed in Spicy Black Bean Sauce

Crab Cakes

Octopus, blanched then poached

Then grilled and topped with Kokkari’s lemon vinaigrette

And for the final fun day before we went head’s down in menu development, we celebrated with Donut and Burger Day.  Yes, on the same day! This is only achieved by an early morning workout and a light breakfast. Donut Day began with our surprisingly easy yeasted dough being mixed, kneaded, cut out and proofing overnight in the refrigerator.  The next morning happen to be Burger Day with our pastry friends, so this is how the 2018 collision of Donut Day and Burger Day occurred.

Yeasted Donuts

Who needs Krispy Creme, these were delicious

Fun with glaze- cinnamon sugar, maple, lemon-thyme, red current 

The Zuni Cookbook way: salt chunks of brisket and chuck the day before, then grind at home

An impressive burger bar with homemade potato rolls from the pastry class and several burger sauces to choose from

With our final exam behind us, which I’m happy to say was my best exam yet, we were able to focus on the culminating event of cooking school- Restaurant Week.  This is where members of the community, guests of students, visiting chefs, etc. come in for lunch. It is run like a restaurant- there are two seatings, servers, line cooks, head chef, etc.  We played all the parts (except head chef!) and it was definitely eye opening for me. At the time I had zero experience in the front of the house or back of the house of a restaurant, but nearly all of us felt more comfortable in the back of the house.  This may seem obvious, we are professionally trained cooks, but the front of the house details are what really make a restaurant run smoothly. Serving people good food is a lot easier (to me!) than understanding someone’s dietary restrictions, remembering to bring them their second glass of wine, bringing a fresh spoon for dessert, keeping their water glass full, delivering the right plate to the correct person (darn you person at table 2, seat 3 that moved to seat 5!), removing their dirty plate in a timely fashion, etc.  It’s no joke. I have a whole new appreciation for all people that work in restaurants with this experience.

Delicious menu items

Lime green (one of my favorite colors) and the school’s signature color of orange make a pretty lovely combo

Ready for showtime!

To prepare for Restaurant week, our class took a few days to brainstorm any and all dishes that we’d like to consider putting on the final menu.  We narrowed down the list, and came up with an amazing menu: amuse bouche, 4 appetizers, 4 main dishes, 4 desserts and a little give away treat for guests to take home.  I learned so much with the process of menu development. I learned that while some dishes are tasty and so fun to make or eat, not all dishes make for an easy one to prepare ahead of time and finish on the line during service.

My favorites from each category: Scallop Crudo (Mezze was a close second), Poblano Pork, and the Banana Panna Cotta

Amuse: Winter Camponata

Oxtail Agnolotti Dal Plin

Scallop Crudo

Grilled Gems

Mezze

Chicken Milanese

Poblano Pork (my mouth is watering just looking at this)

Miso Glazed Steelhead 

Farro Verde

Early Citrus

Banana Panna Cotta

Chocolate Cake

Santa’s Cookie Plate (photo cred: SFCS)

I must say, the final menu that was developed was pretty impressive.  The plating was carefully planned, the balance of dishes thoughtfully considered, and there was a great deal of recipe testing to end up with our final dishes.  They were beautiful. They were tasty. And we were proud to make and serve them. What an experience!

My team for Restaurant Week- these people are rockstars! 

A cheesy balloon arch left over from an event the prior day, the crew, and our Chef instructor (missing Lauren and Oliver in this pic!) I miss them all!