I can imagine pork and beans in a can if I know how the beans were grown and that the pig was well fed. ..I'm not sure what I think about Fritos...I'm not talking about eliminating hot dogs in America... There is nothing better than a good bowl of soup...We need to use words like relish more...I am not paying you to pull weeds, or am I? -Off the record traveling with Alice Waters
Life changing umami: During the coronavirus I was always looking for simple ways to up my food game. I bought State Bird Provision's cookbook and it's an amazing assortment of flavors and textures. Their preserved Meyer lemons changed my life.
Life changing desserts: It only happens to me every five years. I remember when it happened in Denver at Mercantile Dining and Provisions in Union Station. I was sitting at the bar, eating alone and decided to go for the dessert. Then there was the dessert by Ramael Scully, Yottam Ottolenghi's former sous chef in London. Susan Fairchild was with me. Extraordinary and unusual combinations that just worked. On the summer solstice I celebrated my anniversary and it turns out you don't have to go far to experience a life changing dessert: lemon posset. What is a posset? Creamy dessert made with lemon (acid), sugar and cream. Impossibly simple. With fresh blueberries and a blackberry and blueberry syrup.
My current obsession: Learning how to make Sichuan food. You really cant find many places that use the numbing pepper properly. If you find Sichuan restaurants, I find that they just load up on chiles and you just taste heat. I've been reading and eating my way through Fuchsia Dunlop's The Food of Sichuan. It's a great book for basic ingredients, methods and has some of my all time favorites: dan dan mien, "fish fragrant" pork slivers and dry fry green beans. She meticulously accounts the 23, yes 23, official flavors of the Sichuan culinary canon at the end. I adjust the spices accordingly (most of her dishes are too hot for the average person) but it's an excellent starting place. Once you get the pattern and the way you combine vinegar, sugar and umami flavors and heat, it'll change the way you cook Chinese food. Good luck finding the Prickly Ash Powder in an Asian store near you!
Next on my shelf: I just bought Arabiya by Reem Assil. I'm going to cook my way through that entire book this summer.
Surprised me: Last week I tried salted duck at Noodles Fresh in Berkeley. It's a strange thing I admit. It looks like steamed chicken but it's duck. The skin isn't crispy like roasted or Peking Duck. But it was good.
Life changing pickles: Kelsey Kerr at Standard Provisions has the most amazing pickles. I love making pickles out of chinese vegetables like Yu Choy. Pickled onions dress up any meal and make it look like you took way more time than you did on pork shoulder. My current obsession is with pickled jalapenos and carrots. My son and I are debating the best method.
On bread: I learned how to make bread in South Africa. I had lots of time, hot weather to make the yeast bubble. My husband sent me an artisan break book and I made bagels for the village! And bialys the Zuckerman's who let me shower and do laundry at their house when I was in town! My current obsession is pita bread. Did you know that you actually need to roll it out to get the pocket? The secret is not to break the top skin and I use a flat iron griddle in my oven to get it as hot as I can!
Finding a restaurant: People always ask me where I eat. Honestly, I google "good eats near me" when I'm in a new city. I do ask a few local experts to get a second opinion and describe my values so they steer me in the right direction. I always end up somewhere delicious. Here are a list of my favorites:
Bay Area. Dumpling Time in SF for Shrimp Toast and Sui Mai; Noodles Fresh in Berkeley for Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup; Pho Ga Huong Que in Oakland for Chicken Pho and Chicken Rolls; Fournee Bakery near the Claremont for Chocolate Almond Crossiants; Delica in the Ferry Building for spicy burdock root salad, eggplant ma po dofu & pork cutlet; Daughter for Thai fried chicken; Tartine for the Lemon Meringue Cake with Dulce de Leche
Los Angeles. Yuca's on Hillhurst for cohinito pibil burritos and jalapenos; Pork and Spoon on Sunset for anything fried brussel sprouts and pork belly; Stamp for the Bison meatloaf sandwich and chopped salad; Marionberry donuts at Sidecar donuts on Fairfax; spicy wonton and potstickers at Din Tai Fong in Glendale.
Seattle. Sea Wolf Bakery for the crossaint brittle; Skillet for the fried chicken sammy and kale ceasar; Dough Zone for the dumplings and dan dan mien; Musangs for Filipino; Tavolata in Belltown for pasta; Sushi Kappo Tamura for all things sushi
Philadelphia. Suraya in Fishtown thanks to Rob and Pat!
Boston. Soframitz for middle eastern salads.
Washington DC. Baan Siam for Thai especially for the the kanom krok and chicken tapioca dumplings.