Julia Child

"The only time to eat diet food is while you're waiting for the steak to cook"

-Julia Child

Julia Child

"Such was the case with the Sole Meunière I ate at La Couronne on my first day in France, in November 1948. It was an epiphany. In all the years since that succulent meal, I have yet to lose the feelings of wonder and excitement that it inspired in me. I can still almost taste it. And thinking back on it now reminds me that the pleasures of the table, and of life, are infinite - toujours bon appetit!"

— Julia Child

Totally awesome tool perfect for avocado season

Avocados and the Pitter/Slicer tool

Right now when avocados are in season and the best of them are not a fortune in some markets big ripe and delish - really good ones come from California - is a great time for eating avocado salad's and more...

When it comes to pitting and slicing avocados, this is the perfect tool.One end of the handy device pits an avocado, while the opposite end creates perfect uniform slices of the fruit. The best slicer/pitter that I have found is constructed of stainless steel and heavy-duty plastic.

I have used it to slice avocados onto a tomato salad on a grilled corn tortilla topped with the juice of a lime. Yummers Perfect for sandwich slices

The tool can be purchased at a number of places online. For example:

http://www.google.com/products?q=avocado+slicer+gadget&hl=en&aq=f

Coffee from coast-to-coast: BLUEBOTTLE COFFEE SF Bay Area

THE STORY OF BLUE BOTTLE COFFEE
In the late 1600s, the Turkish army swept across much of Eastern and Central Europe, arriving at Vienna in 1683. Besieged and desperate, the Viennese needed an emissary who could pass through Turkish lines to get a message to the nearby Polish troops. Franz George Kolshitsky, who spoke Turkish and Arabic, took on the assignment disguised in a Turkish uniform. After many perilous close calls, Kolshitsky completed his valiant deed, returning to give the Viennese the news of the Poles' imminent rescue of their city. On September 13, the Turks were repelled from Vienna, leaving everything they brought: camels, tents, honey, and strange bags of beans which were thought to be camel feed. Kolshitsky, having lived in the Arab world for several years, knew these were bags of coffee. Using the money bestowed on him by the mayor of Vienna for his heroic deed, Kolshitsky bought the Turks' coffee, opened Central Europe's first coffee house (The Blue Bottle), and brought coffee to a grateful Vienna.

319 years later, in Oakland, California, a slightly disaffected freelance musician and coffee lunatic, weary of the grande eggnog latte, and the double skim pumpkin-pie macchiato, decides to open a roaster for people who are clamoring for the actual taste of freshly roasted coffee. Using a miniscule six-pound batch roaster, he makes an historic vow: "I will only sell coffee less than 48 hours out of the roaster to my customers, so they may enjoy coffee at its peak of flavor. I will only use the finest organic, and pesticide-free, shade-grown beans. If they can't come to me, I will drive to their house to give them the freshest coffee they have ever tasted." In honor of Kolshitsky's heroics, he names his business The Blue Bottle Coffee Company, and begins another chapter in the history of superlative coffee.

ARTISANAL MICROROASTING
At Blue Bottle Coffee, Artisan Microroasting simply means that we take a hands-on approach to every step possible to discover and preserve the true nature of excellent coffee -- no matter how inconvenient or time-consuming.

We take Freshness and small-batch roasting to an extreme not considered practical anywhere else in the coffee business. We use only the best certified organic coffees, occasionally using beautiful coffees that are farmed traditionally without pesticides.

After roasting, coffee beans exhale CO2 for several hours. Instead of keeping our beans in bins, we mix the blends and bag them within 4 hours of roasting to harness the CO2 to keep oxygen (and, hence, oxidation) out of the bags.

We never preblend our coffees thus assuring the ideal roast profile for each bean used in a blend. All varietals are roasted individually, and then mixed into our blends.

*** Blue Bottle Coffee can be found in the Bay Area: SF Ferry Building, the SFMOMA, Hayes Valley and more…

*** Blue Bottle has a great website: preparation instructions and on-line shopping!!

http://bluebottlecoffee.net/

Coffee from coast-to-coast: New York City Gourmet Street Coffee - The Mud Truck -

From the owner of MUD:

Were we chosen to be the anti-establishment coffee machine of NYC's East Village or did we plan it? A little of both.

Sure it was a bit of a right time, right place story, but it was also a fundamental philosophy.

See, the generic coffee monster already was. Then it was again. Directly across from each other and up the avenue down the street. Nothing but green logos and upscale prices.

Then came the orange truck and it parked directly in the middle shining like the sun. It served everybody with a smile and it had fair prices. It made the best cup of coffee in New York City and it didn't discriminate. The smokers smoked, the dogs had bones, and it played sweet soul music. And the chain was broken.

And MUD was, is and MUD will be.

PS....I love the color!

West Village MUD Truck
Sheridan Square
7th Ave & West 4th Street
Mon-Fri 7am-6pm
Sat & Sun 10am-6pm

Astor Place MUD Truck
4th Ave & 8th Street
Mon-Fri 7am- 6pm
Sat & Sun 10am-6pm

Coffee from coast-to-coast: Palm Springs Koffi

Palm Springs Koffi

Imagine a tranquil, yet fun, café setting with a minimalist modern vibe that is exclusively Palm Springs. Koffi represents the best of Palm Springs. And the best of Koffi is a total café experience unlike any other. It's a café experience founded on three principles:

• Source The Best Coffees In The World.
• Prepare Beverages To Exact Standards.
• Serve Them With Style.

They have an on-line store to buy beans and more: http://store.kofficoffee.com/merchant2/

Palm Springs Koffi
515 North Palm Canyon Drive at Alejo
Open Daily at 5:30 a.m to 8:00 p.m.

Coffee coast-to-coast: New Orleans French Market Coffee

French Market Coffee products

I was first introduced to this product by my dear friend Robert. For years, I had enjoyed coffee with chicory as a uniquely "only in New Orleans" treat, however, while traveling together in Mexico Robert pulled a few cans of this “juice” from his bag and I have been hooked since! Now Robert is not the only one to travel with his own coffee.

History: In 1890, the first can of French Market Coffee & Chicory was roasted, blended and packaged. The Bartlett and Dodge families, incorporated as the American Coffee Company, moved that famous coffee to 800 Magazine Street in 1941. In this post-Katrina age of fascination with our city and its history, we recognize the strength of our 117 years of calling New Orleans home. Our customers are fiercely loyal, both individually and institutionally. We are enjoyed in the iconic restaurants of a city known for its cuisine. As some like to say; all the flavor of New Orleans in a cup.

http://www.frenchmarketcoffee.com/

Heirloom Tomato Guide

Heirloom Tomato Guide

While there are over 10,000 varieties – heirloom tomatoes have become very popular and widely available. An heirloom is generally considered to be a variety that has been passed down, through several generations of a family because of its valued characteristics. Since 'heirloom' varieties have become popular in the past few years there have been liberties taken with the use of this term for commercial purposes. TomatoFest Garden Seeds (see the link) has adopted the definition used by tomato experts, Craig LeHoullier and Carolyn Male, who have classified down heirlooms into four categories:

1. Commercial Heirlooms: Open-pollinated varieties introduced before 1940, or tomato varieties more than 50 years in circulation.

2. Family Heirlooms: Seeds that have been passed down for several generations through a family.

3. Created Heirlooms: Crossing two known parents (either two heirlooms or an heirloom and a hybrid) and de-hybridizing the resulting seeds for however many years/generations it takes to eliminate the undesirable characteristics and stabilize the desired characteristics, perhaps as many as 8 years or more.

4. Mystery Heirlooms: Varieties that are a product of natural cross-pollination of other heirloom varieties.

PS….All heirloom varieties are open-pollinated but not all open-pollinated varieties are heirloom varieties.

http://www.tomatofest.com/heirloom_tomato_seed_store.html

Liguria Bakery San Francisco

Liguria Bakery

This San Francisco landmark, opened in 1911, makes focaccia, and only focaccia. Period. No pasta, no pastries, no nonsense. Only focaccia, period. . It's a long standing family run business in the North Beach neighborhood. They make their Focaccia bread by hand daily, like they have since the day they opened. Get here early (before noon) or there won't be much left to buy. They are almost always sold out before their closing time of two o'clock – or whenever they feel like closing.

The original storefront is still in place, including the old phone exchange painted on the window. The storefront is so non-descript and you might pass it if you didn’t know what you were looking for. Inside, you should expect a couple

of cantankerous ladies talking about the people they know (AKA gossip) wrapping your focaccia bread with simple white paper and string. When you buy some, you will be made to feel “lucky” just to get some….but frankly, if luck tastes like this; I am very cool with it.

There are only seven choices of focaccia on the simple sign and they don’t tell you they are sold out until you select what you want. Oh and it’s a cash only. Don’t even think of pulling out some plastic.


Simple. Classic. Delish.

Liguria Bakery
1700 Stockton Street @Filbert St on Washington Square Park - San Francisco, CA 94133
Hours: Monday-Friday, 8am-2pm Saturday, 7am-2pm Sunday, 7am-noon

Brenda's French Soul Food in San Francisco

KILLER FOOD - Especially breakfast - Brenda's French Soul Food in San Francisco - Polk street and Eddy - only 40 seats - no reservations but worth the wait....

Chipotle Chile Pepper Rub

Yummy Yummy Yummy……

Chipotle Chile Rub (its really easy)

Makes 1 ½ cups

* 5 garlic cloves, peeled and really finely chopped or crushed through a garlic press
* ½ cup mild paprika – just not sweet – using smoked paprika is yummers
* 3 tablespoons pure ground chipotle Chile powder
* 1/2 tablespoon sugar
* 2 teaspoons ground black pepper
* 2 ½ tablespoons sea salt

In a bowl, stir together all of the ingredients until thoroughly blended. Or use a mini chopper to grind it all down to the same size. If you use the chopper, do the pepper, salt and garlic until fine and add the rest and really mix well. Scoop into a container, cover with an airtight lid (I use mason jars) and store in the refrigerator for up to a month

I use it as a rub on fish, veggies, chicken, meats – I also use it mixed into cooked rice or corn or mashed potatoes or cooked beans
I also like it in a Bloody Mary

Its strong so use a little, let the flavor disperse and mellow, taste again and see if you should add more.

Eat Well

Perfect for 4th of July!! - Tuesday Fried Chicken

When the Lee Bros. stepped into my life; their no-nonsense approach to fried chicken freed me and I have not looked back since!

From The Lee Bros. Southern Cookbook:

People get baroque with fried chicken, seasoning it with fancy brines, chile, honey, tamarind paste and battering with all manner of dairy products to make it crusty. We believe fried chicken at its most minimal, delicate and crisp is its finest expression.

We hear people say they don't fry chicken at home because they don't want to live with the grease, and our answer to that is this: we've fried in galley-sized kitchens with no ventilation whatsoever, and it's rarely been a problem. If you were running a fried-chicken restaurant from such a kitchen, there might be cause for concern, but you're not. So just open your windows wide and fry away. You'll be glad you did.

I have made the Lee Bros.' Sunday Fried Chicken recipe, which involves a good 4 hours of brining, but I have been working a slightly modified version of their Tuesday Fried Chicken for some time and have had great results. It’s the perfect way to brighten the end of a long day. It’s really not hard to make – try it – it may just set you free!

Tuesday Fried Chicken from the Lee Brothers Southern Cookbook

3 cups peanut oil – I only fry in this
1 recipe all-purpose Fry Dredge (below)
3 pounds chicken legs and thighs (bones in)

Essential equipment: candy thermometer

Preheat the oven to 250º F.

Pour the oil into a 12-inch skillet and heat over medium-high heat until it reaches 325º F on a candy thermometer. [Note: if you use a different size skillet, make sure you've got 1/3" of oil in order to ensure proper frying.] USE a cast Iron Skillet!!!! Its simply the best way to do it. If you must, god knows I have, use a good home heavy duty fryer. But its yet to be as good as a seasoned Cast Iron Skillet.

Place the fry dredge in a medium bowl or in a large, sturdy plastic bag. Dredge the chicken thoroughly by rolling it in the bowl or shaking it in the bag. Shake off any excess dredge. Using tongs, transfer 3 legs and 3 thighs to the skillet, skin side down, and cover. Fry the chicken, maintaining a constant temperature of 325º F or higher, until the chicken is golden brown, about 6 minutes. Uncover the skillet, turn the chicken pieces with the tongs, and fry 6 minutes more, until the chicken is golden brown all over. Turn it and fry for another 3 minutes, then turn again and fry for 3 more minutes. The chicken should be an even dark golden-brown all over.

With the tongs, transfer the chicken to a paper-towel-lined plate and place in the oven to keep warm. Repeat above steps with the remaining chicken.

When all the chicken is done and serve immediately!

Serves 4 people

All-Purpose Fry Dredge

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
3 tbsp stone-ground cornmeal
2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
A dash of paprika

In a medium bowl, sift the flour, cornmeal, salt, pepper, twice. Use as directed.

Makes 3/4 cup.

Thanks again to the Lee Bros. Southern Cookbook