flour + water

Oh wow! Its been a while since my last post. Daylight savings has came to fast and we are springing forward through 2012. I went to San Francisco in February and had the most amazing time. We ate our way through that city. I mean, what else do you do in San Fran? Its a culinary circus of a city!

The one restaurant I must tell you about was one my cousin took us to in The Mission District.
Its called Flour + Water. Their specialty is pasta but it is not your normal pasta. It is hand cut and made. Most of it is stuffed with the most unusual ingredients and lightly dressed in the most flavorful sauces. The Chef has classical training and before opening Flour + Water he spent some time in a pasta "laboratory" in Bologona Italy, where he honed his skills from only the best pasta artisans. Flour + Water has a staff of pasta makers that come in at 5am to make the pasta fresh every day in the "Dough Room" which turns into a private dinning room for parties of 8-12 people.
We had the pleasure of dining with one of my cousins friends who happens to work in the dough room for private parties. We let her take the drivers seat, and we sat back, relaxed and enjoyed the pasta road trip. We enjoyed everything along the way. Everything tasted as beautiful as it looked. Here is what we had and I apologize if I don't have titles listed for everything. Its been a while.
roasted cauliflower with almonds, preserved meyer lemon & sweet herbs
cured sardine with citrus, puntarella, avocado & shaved radishcrispy pork trotter with slow cooked egg, parsnip & chickweedcitrus & ricotta triangoli with olive & brown buttercelery root cappelletti with golden turnips and brown buttertaleggio scarpinocc with aceto balsamico
I don't remember the name of this but it was topped with Stinging Nettle and was delish.Unknown nametarragon & rutabaga tortelliradiatore with roasted hen, speck & parsnip.
This one tasted like a chicken pot pie. Incredible. garganelli with rabbit sausage & spigarello
squid ink spaghetti with clams, watermelon radish & chili oil
flour + water
san francisco, ca.
415.826.7000

Herbed Baked Eggs

Oh wow it has been a while since my last post! You would think after the Holidays, January would be a month to wind down. Not for me. I worked my last day at the downtown San Diego cheese shop Venissimo this past Sunday. I am sad to go but learned so much. I may go back to fill in a shift every now-and-then. But for now my weekends are being devoted to my own endeavors! Fun stuff!

Many requested this recipe below so I wanted to get it up as soon as I can while you are still craving it! It goes perfect with some crusty toasted bread on the side and some fresh greens. I love having salad and eggs for breakfast these days. But the awesome thing about the dish is you can have it for any meal during the day and any time of the year! I bake the eggs in individual ramekin dishes but you can do it in a small pie dish if you don't have individual dishes.
Herbed Baked Eggs
serves 2
Ingredients
4 organic or pasture raised eggs
2 tablespoons fresh grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves chopped
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary leaves chopped fine
2 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons heavy creme
salt & pepper
Directions
It is best to have everything prepped ahead of time to avoid burning the eggs.
Preheat broiler and make sure the oven rack is right under the broiler.
mix the Parmesan, herbs, salt & pepper in a bowl. set aside.
crack eggs into individual bowls to avoid breaking the yolk. set aside.
add 1 table spoon butter & 2 tablespoons creme to each individual ramekin.
place under the broiler for 2-3 minutes until melted and bubbly. watch carefully to avoid burning.
remove from oven and place 2 eggs in each dish and divide the herb mixture among both dishes and sprinkle on top of the eggs.put eggs under the broiler for 5-6 minutes until the white part is set. watch carefully to avoid burning.
remove from oven and allow to cool for a couple minutes. serve with bread and greens on the side.
Bon Appetite

El Bulli: Cooking in Progress

I can not wait to see this. It is playing at The Ken Theater until Thursday so better check it out while you can. I know I am going to. Here is the official website.
Revolutionary Spanish eatery El Bulli is a Michelin three-star restaurant in Roses, Spain (two hours northeast of Barcelona); each night, it serves a tasting menu of 30+ courses, prepared by over 40 chefs, to a single seating of up to 50 guests. For the current season, its last before transforming into a culinary academy, over two million requests were received for the 8,000 available seats. Head chef Ferran Adrià, who took over the restaurant in 1987 and instituted the tradition of yearly developmental sabbaticals, has become the leading inspiration for avant-garde cuisine worldwide, alternately referred to as a mad scientist or Salvador Dali of the kitchen.
The movie that will bring us inside El Bulli, and we don't have to travel to Spain.
El Bulli, Cooking in Progress = inspiring.

What Are You Doing New Years Eve?

What a year! It was filled with friends, family, new babies, new lessons, changes, and laughter. Loved ones were lost and new loves were found. All and all I feel like 2011 treated me well, my goals were met and I exceeded my expectations of myself which has left me with a great new confidence as I head into 2012. New actions plans are in place and I am ready to conquer with excitement! Bring it on 2012. I am ready for you.

What are you doing New Years Eve? If you are looking for a meal to celebrate the accomplishments of 2011 and the richeness of life then I have the perfect meal for you. I had the pleasure of learning how to make it on Christmas and was taught to me by Carmen Assenti of Assenti Pasta in Little Italy. The best pasta shop in town!
Crab & Lobster Lasagna with Béchamel Sauce
It is so delicious and the perfect meal to ring in the New Year with. Nothing like a rich elaborate meal for New Years Eve. It's something wouldn't make or eat all the time which really makes you feel like you are celebrating.
Ingredients
Bechamel Sauce
1 stick of unsalted butter
1/2 cup and 2 table spoons of flour
4 cups of milk
salt & pepper to taste
ground nutmeg to taste
Lasagna
4 fresh sheets of lasagna pasta
4 cups of fresh spinach chiffonade cut
2 cups of fresh whole milk ricotta cheese
1 egg
2 cloves of garlic
2 lobster tails (steamed and partially uncooked)
2 cups fresh crab meat
2 cups fresh mozzarella cheese
2 cups fresh Parmesan cheese
Now for the Directions
Organization is key. Prepare all of your ingredients and set up your Mise En Place.
Preheat over to 350 degreesMake sure to have all your lasagna sheets cut to size to fit in the pan perfectly. You can always patch things up if mistakes are made so save the extra scraps.Make the bechamel sauce first. Melt butter in a pot over medium-low heat. Once melted add flour whisking constantly till a thick golden roux is formed. Slowly poor in milk constantly whisking. You want to whisk until the sauce is thick and coats the back of a spoon. It can take up to 20 minutes. Add salt, pepper, and nutmeg to taste. Set aside to cool.Lightly beat the egg and add the minced garlic to it.Fold in ricotta cheese to the egg mixture and season with salt and pepper. Set aside. This ricotta cheese is sweet and goes perfect with seafood. Good to enough to eat by itself. Yep...I tried that. Chiffonade fresh spinach. Best way to do this is to roll a bunch together then thinly slice. Set aside.Dice up lobster and set aside in bowl. Place crab in a bowl as well. Once everything is lined up start building your lasagna.Boil lasagna sheets one at a time till al dente. About 2 minutes. Set in a cold bowl of cold water to cool so you can work with it. Lay it down in the bottom of a greased baking dish. Then add a thin layer of ricotta mixture. Next layer crab, lobster, Then add the spinach and drizzle bechamel sauce in rows. Make sure to get it in the corners. Sprinkle a little Parmesan and mozzarella cheese. You don't want too much cheese.Then start the process all over again with another sheet of lasagna. You should end with one sheet of lasagna on top and top that last sheet with bechamel sauce. Cover it with saran wrap and then foil and bake for 45 minutes. If you have left over bechamel sauce you can poor some more over the top when done.Set aside to cool and then cut and enjoy!I hope you have a Happy New Year filled with all the richness that life has to offer.

I leave you in 2011 with a little tune. It is such cute video and love Zooey's voice. It made me really excited to spend my first NYE with him. I can't wait for 2012.
Happy New Year!

She & Him - Baby, It's Cold Outside

Enjoy some music from my favorite Christmas Album. Yep, this Jewish girl loves listening to Christmas music. Have a very Happy Holiday filled with love, laughter, and delicious food of course.
And stay warm.

Roasted Beet & Asparagus Salad with Crispy Shallots and Goat Cheese

Tonight is the first night of The Festival Of Lights. I am so looking forward to celebrating it with my parents, close friends and him. We will light candles, eat, and open presents all while drinking my fathers wines of his choice. One being a 1975 Chateau Mouton Rothschild. I am keeping my fingers crossed that I might be tasting the best wine I have ever tasted and not vinegar. It's bottle has been set up straight so the sediments make their way to the bottom of the bottle, and we are all awaiting its corking.
My mother is making her famous brisket which is the best brisket ever. (who wants to have a Mama's Famous Brisket Throw Down?) Also on the menu are sweet potato and potato latkes served with apple sauce and sour creme. I, myself am an apple sauce kind of girl. I will be assisting my mom with the latkes and making the salad. This salad is fantastic for any day or holiday. It can even be a meal on its own.
Roasted Beet & Asparagus Salad with Crispy Shallots and Goat Cheese
Ingredients
4 beets
3 shallots
1 bunch asparagus
goat or feta cheese
arugula or mixed greens
olive oil
good balsamic vinegar
2 table spoons tiny diced shallots
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon honey
salt & pepper to taste

This salad is done in several steps but once the ingredients are prepped and ready to go you throw it together and it makes a brilliant salad.
Balsamic Vinaigrette
Add mustard, honey, 2 tablespoons diced shallots, and vinegar to a bowl and whisk until it emulsifies. Slowly poor in the oil while continuously whisking until thick. Add salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.
Roasted Beets & Asparagus
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Boil water in a pot, wash the beets, cut off the tops of them, add them to the boiling water for about 15-20 minutes. In a cold ice bath of water remove the beets one by one and use your hands to peel the beets. This should be easy. If its hard add the beets back to the boiling water. Make sure to keep your hands and beets under the water to avoid your hands from dying red. Dry the beets and cut them into 6-8 wedges and add to a baking dish. Add 1/4 cup of the dressing and coat the beets. Roast for about 30 minutes until they caramelize. When done set aside to cool.Cut the asparagus in to thirds. On a baking sheet toss with some olive oil, salt and pepper and roast for 20-30 minutes till done but not soggy. Set aside to coolCrispy Shallots
Thinly slice the shallots. In a non-stick pan on high heat with 2 tablespoons of olive oil add the shallots. Make sure there is 1 layer of shallots they all brown evenly. Flip once brown and brown on the other side. Set aside to cool.I used feta cheese in this salad but goat cheese would be a fine choice as well.To assemble salad place lettuce on a platter, layer with the beets first, asparagus and shallots, then goat cheese. Toss with dressing and serve at room temperature.
Enjoy and I hope your 8 nights of Hanukkah are happy and crazy ones.

TDF 's Top 5 Sweet & Savory Gifts

Tis the season for eating and I have been doing a little too much of it the last week.

Holiday parties, the cold weather, and it doesn't help that I am working at a cheese shop and constantly snacking on the best cheeses in the world. I am being exposed to amazing condiments, chocolates, and snacks. I have discovered some of my favorite holiday treats and even though its a little late I know there are some last minute shoppers searching for the perfect gift. Well look no more! Not only are these decadent delights great gifts but a must to have in your own kitchen too.
Enjoy, and go out and get-em now!
NUMBER 1
Chocopologie's Burnt Caramel & Hawaiian Sea Salt chocolate Bar by Knipschildt Chocolatier.This the the best chocolate bar I have ever had. The sweet caramel that oozes out of every square and crisp crystals of salt every so often really give your mouth a roller-coaster-of-a- ride.
NUMBER 2
The next best thing on my list is White Truffle Honey. Yep, sweet sticky honey with truffles. It is an fantastic appetizer. I brought it to a holiday party last night and served it with a German blue cheese Cambozola Black Label (one of the hosts was from Germany), a drizzle of truffle honey and a fresh baguette.
It is also fantastic drizzled on vanilla ice creme or aside a bread pudding. If you know a real foodie get them this. They will be thanking you forever.
NUMBER 3
My next favorite treat is made by The Girl + The Fig in Sonoma, Ca. It is their Apple Raisin, Fig Mustardo. It is made with 2 kinds of raisins, apples, figs and toasted mustard seeds and seasoned with flavors of ginger, rosemary, Cinnamon and coriander. It is amazing on a grilled cheese sandwich (my discovery at work) or serve it a top a roasted pork tenderloin. The options are endless with this one. You should also try their Red Onion Confit. Its sitting in my pantry waiting for the perfect turkey and cheese sandwich.
NUMBER 4
Wabash Valley Farms Amish Country Baby White PopcornI bought this popcorn at World Market and no other popcorn has compared since. I pop it fresh with a little olive oil in a pot and drizzle melted butter and salt on top of it. It is simply the best.
NUMBER 4.5
This one kind of ties into number 4.
Truffle SaltSprinkle this rich salt on popcorn, ricotta cheese atop a crispy baguette or burrata cheese.
Delightful in every way.
NUMBER 5
And the fifth sweet and savory gift is my new favorite cheese. Prima Donna. This cows milk cheese is from Holland and has the sweetness of parmigiano and nuttiness of Gruyere. Also a great melter for a grilled cheese sandwich. Every person that tries it loves it.

So that sums it up. Off to work out now because tomorrow begins the Festival Of Lights. Nothing like fried latkes.
I wish you a Sweet and Savory Holiday Season.