Jalapeño Girl

Hot Stuff Food Section & Book Round Up

Book tidbits and food section round up is on SFist today.

With the world's spotlight on China, Fuchsia Dunlop's new book Shark's Fin and Sichuan Pepper: a Sweet-Sour Memoir of Eating in China hits the spot. Her tales of eating and cooking are enticing. I can't stop thinking about her time in China, and how she pushed her way into kitchens and restaurants, to find out how to cook her favorite dishes. She eventually came to love the taste and texture of chicken feet, and other dishes that take some mental work for a non-native. She feels that learning to appreciate these weird textures are critical to truly enjoying Chinese food. I only wish she had included hints or even stories of love interests. It seemed odd to not know who she liked and loved during her fifteen year journey to China.

Bob Spitz's The Saucier's Apprentice is another interesting travel/cooking/eating memoir. He decides to pack up and learn to really cook after finishing a book on the Beatles and going through a divorce. Smart move. His journey to some of the finest cooking schools in Europe is funny, tasty, and touching. The characters-from fist fighting cooking school guests to hostile women folk are hilarious. Spitz experienced first hand that not every cooking school is worth shelling out money for, but he ultimately finds the recipes and knowledge, along with self acceptance and love, that he is seeking.

HDO me

HDO is short for Hors d'Oeuvres, which are passed "butler style" by waiters at events. I love servers who offer to clean the platter (using water and vinegar) when they return to the kitchen. That's much better  than handing it back all smeared and messy. I notice and appreciate the help; sample nibbles for you, good server!

Here's a recent sampling of HDOs served at a Bay Area event:

Endive & asparagus spears with dijon sauce

Butter lettuce with shrimp, toasted coconut, shallots, ginger, lime, peanuts, and a smidgen of jalapeno

Artichoke cake with sharp cheddar and onions, baked

Ancho Chili Chicken Skewers with guac dip-the leftover tasted great the next day.

Asian Fusion Feast with author Min Jin Lee

I would attend this one if it weren't our wedding anniversary....

Special Event: An Asian Fusion Feast with the Author Min Jin Lee ($95)
Wednesday, April 30, 2008, 6:30 PM
Ponzu Restaurant, 401 Taylor Street, San Francisco, 94102

Naomi Epel Presents

Cosponsored by American Institute of Wine & Food
and Asia Society of Northern California
Min Jin Lee
(author of Free Food For Millionaires)
and an Asian Fusion Feast

April 30 • 6:30 pm • $95 per person/ $175 per couple (AIWF & Asia Society members receive a discounted rate of $90 per person or $170 per couple)
Includes an autographed book, tax, tip, & house wine. Feel free to bring your own wine, too--there will be no corkage fee.

Location: Ponzu Restaurant, 401 Taylor Street, San Francisco, 94102

For tickets: call 415-927-0960, ext. 239,
or click on the order button below.
 

Join us for an Asian fusion feast honoring Min Jin Lee, author of Free Food For Millionaires. With a sharp eye and articulate voice, Min Jin Lee deftly introduces a memorable cast of characters that are as colorful as they are troubled and as complex as they are familiar. “After 20 years as a literary escort, I find Min Jin Lee to be one of the novelists I most admire.” Naomi Epel, author of The Observation Deck and Writers Dreaming.

*****
Menu:
Small plates to share…      

Pajeon
Egg Pancake with Green Onions, Manila Clams, Soy Vinegar Dipping Sauce

      

Galbi
Pork Spareribs with Gochujang Glaze and Toasted Sesame

      

Bimbap
Ahi Tuna, Pickled Daikon and Bean Sprouts in Rice Rolls

      

Yukhoe
Beef Tartare with Soy, Sugar, Sesame, Green Onion, Topped with Quail Egg Yolk

      

Large Plates to Share…
Served with Kimchee Fried Rice

      

Jajangmeyon
Noodles in Spicy Black Bean Sauce with Seasonal Vegetables

      

Jeongol
Spicy Seafood Stew with Eggplant and Straw Mushrooms

      

Bulgogi
Flank Steak Marinated in Chlli with Wilted Mustard and Pickled Bean Sprouts

    

Accompanied by Chef’s Selection of Dessert Coffee, Tea, and House Wine

   

No corkage if you’d like to bring your own wine!

"We're Sorry"

"Sorry. We didn't know," the catering boss lady said at the start of a recent shift. She was apologizing because of the clients. I had arrived early in the morning at a Peninsula location. We were providing breakfast and lunch for a group that had vastly different beliefs from my own. Other staff members were appalled and even disgusted, too. We checked out their literature and hand outs and stifled giggles and sneers. But it wasn't going to be fun. We were warned there was high security for this event, and to expect protesters and perhaps other disturbances. Great.

Yes, the group seemed to be outrageously nutty to me. I could think of rebuttals to every point they made throughout the day. But I remained quiet and kept working. I wondered who the attendees were. I was surprised such a large group existed in the Bay Area. Their program was piped into the kitchen. We decided to listen, even if we all STRONGLY disagreed. I thought I might learn something, and I did; some sad souls are out there.

"Why didn't you leave? I would've!" my friend said, as I recounted who the clients were. I shrugged. She has the luxury of a full time job, with benefits. That's not how catering works. The clients weren't a group of anti-abortionists or white supremacists. Truth was, I didn't want to jeopardize my standing with the catering company, and leave them hanging. Plus, I needed the money.

When I left, there were about twenty people marching on the sidewalk. I wanted to honk my horn, roll down the window, and say, "I'm with ya!" But I had my chef pants on. It would be foolish to make trouble for my employer, too. So instead, I turned up the news radio and sped away.

Dining Out For Life in SF

Dining Out for Life takes place April 24 at various San Francisco restaurants, during lunch and/or dinner. Twenty five per cent of the food sales go to the STOP AIDS project. Last year, over 200K was raised.

Hot Stuff Food Blog Round Up

Time for pizza, salt, and Ma Po Tofu over at SFist.

Chocolate Salon at Fort Mason this Sunday

Yum! The second annual San Francisco Chocolate Salon is here on Sunday. Tickets are $20 and include lots of chocolate and espresso samples. It's enjoyable and worth the trip for any chocolate fiend.

Dinner to Die For at Grandma Mary's Farm in El Cerrito

This event on Sunday April 12th, sounds interesting and tasty. It's neat that the organizers are using veggies that also have dyeing capabilities. That's something I do not think about, probably ever.

SOIL TO STUDIO
FARM TO TABLE

Join us for a very special evening at Grandma Mary's Farm in El Cerrito.

Sasha Duerr, founder of the Permacouture Institute ( www.permacouture.org), is going to conduct a plant-based dyes studio workshop. Following that, I am going to serve a five course vegetarian dinner using many of the same plants used to make the dyes.

April 12, 4pm-10pm

Address in El Cerrito will be included with your  RSVP confirmation
BYOB
Live music by Clark Meremeyer   ( www.myspace.com/meremeyer)

$70 - $120 sliding scale. This is a benefit for the permacouture institute.

RSVP to sashaduerr@gmail.com

Menu:

Mache, orach, upland cress, watermelon radish, kumquat, walnut, and andante chevre

Soup of princess laratte potato, golden turnip, knoll green garlic, star route baby favas, saffron, and berkswell

Knoll rapinis, dandelion, various kales, black trumpets

Dirty girl chioggas with puree of stinging nettles

Riverdog asparagus with gold nugget mandarin and Strauss brown butter

Rancho Gordo tepary beans with red cabbage, avocado, fennel, coriander, sesame, ginger, and hemp

Strawberry, young coconut, lemongrass, blossom bluff dried stonefruit confit, Cowgirl Creamery creme fraiche,  maple, tonka bean

Cut Me!

If you work in catering, you will eventually probably hear and use the term "cut," which is a term for a caterer who gets off work early. Staff gets cut in waves, sometimes, depending on the event's flow, budget, and/or start and end times. Example: tonight, I was working at an event that was slow, and asked if anyone would be "cut early." My boss looked at me and smiled. "You can be the first," she said.

Cipriano was my main reason for wanting to leave. How can I resist that mug? Also, I was bored and wanted to get home to feed him, and hang out with Oscar. The clients were not eating, and I was only cranking out food for twenty minutes of a two hour party. The rest of the time, I was working solo at cleaning, washing dishes, and putting things away (per the request of the boss). I don't mind working alone, but I do prefer to stay busy. My station was a tiny kitchen in a downtown corporate high rise building. If I was cut, I'd miss out on an hour of waiting around for the party to end. When I weighed the prospect of cleaning and doing major heavy lifting versus being home early, my family won out. 

The boss lady agreed to cut me, but I first had to finish washing dishes, tidy the kitchen and help clean the other culinary space. There were three other men to help with everything, and they put away the two heavy stoves. I am not sad that I later missed loading a bunch of carts to fill the elevator, multiple times. After the carts reach the receiving area-a big parking garage on the entry floor-then we move each box and item back into the catering van. It's super important to lift things safely and not tweak your back. Some smart caterers also bring sturdy garden type gloves, which is a good idea.

Yes, I would make more money if I didn't ask to be cut. But it's super hard to think in those terms when there isn't a lot of work to do and the only thing in store is boredom followed by major physical work.