Mary Ladd

DaViola Pizza Peppers

For heat lovers, the burning question before eating pizza may sometimes be: hot sauce or pizza peppers? When taking the pepper route, there are thankfully new "gourmet" options from the DaViola (meaning to spice or the devil) brand, with products available in grocery stores including Raley's, Albertson's, and Whole Foods. Everything Peppers, who makes the DaViola products, hopes to expand to pizza restaurants soon as well.

We recently sampled their smoky Chipotle, hot Habanero and spicy Ancho crushed chili packets with pepperoni pizza from my current neighborhood delivery standby, Twin Peaks Pizza. When tasting and judging spicy foods, I've learned it's ideal to save the hottest items for last. That way, your palate shouldn't get too dulled and burned until perhaps the end of the tasting. The tasting order for the DaViola products followed that rule accordingly: Ancho, Chipotle then Habanero. Heat was rated on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the hottest.

The pepper blends offer more flavor nuances and interesting heat layers than traditional pizza peppers. They also make a nice compliment to pepperoni pizza. I'd like to add them to pasta, soup, egg dishes, and other savory creations down the road. Better make it fast, since the peppers don't have preservatives. We may even try some with peanut butter and toast per Oscar's request. Notes and analysis from our pizza tasting are as follows:

Spicy Ancho
Level 4 heat
Warm finish felt in the back of the mouth and throat areas.
Smells, tastes fruity and smoky,
Chunky texture is pleasing. The flakes are larger than typical pizza peppers.

Smoky Chipotle
Level 5-6 heat
Consistently warm from bite to swallow and after.
Wimpier eaters may need a glass of milk with this one. Oscar commented, "It's really hot and making me sweat," and felt the heat over fifteen minutes later.

Hot Habanero
Level 8-9 heat
This appears and tastes to be real habanero and is the hottest of all.
Heat catches in the throat during and throughout eating. May cause eater to remove one layer of clothing.

The pepper packets have tape to re-seal after use. Unfortunately the tape on each packet didn't seem to stick enough, and was awkward. I stored all three packets into one plastic container rather than see the contents spill each time I pick 'em up. For ease of use, the pepper shaker sounds better. No tape and plastic to fuss with. Just shake that pizza pepper heat love on!

San Diego vs. San Francisco Burritos. Discuss.

I read but haven't posted comments on the SFist great burrito debate, currently raging. Would I say the San Diego burrito is better? No. It is different and good, though.

Torta Time

Making tortas for a fiesty and hungry De La Hoya-Mayweather crowd turned out tasty results. These sandwiches are served at room temp and promise to be  meaty and satisfying.

Ingredients: Best Foods mayo, refried beans, mashed or sliced avocado, lettuce, pickled jalapenos, shredded pork butt, tomato and/or salsa. A soft  (pick it up and check, or ask if it's soft) roll from a panaderia works best. We bought twenty rolls for five dollars in the Mission. Be sure to not slice the roll all the way through. Otherwise, you may have a mess that will only get worse if you try and pick it up.

Another bonus with making carnitas for tortas is the meat and salsa taste even better the next day.

Sniff this, Super Taster

Someone recently asked me if I am a Super Taster, which is someone with high levels of taste perception. Uh, sure. As a consumer and foodservice product judge, I did receive info that helped fine tune my palate towards Super Taster levels. In those weekly three hour judging sessions, I was required to speak and write my thoughts on what was in the food, as well as a product's flavor and tastes. Going without alchohol, coffee, cigs, garlic and other strong foods in the hours or even night before the session made Super Tasting even easier.

Although the training helped me identify ingredients and tastes, there are other ways to become a Super Taster. Get knocked up! Being four months pregnant** has meant that smells and tastes are stronger for me than they have ever been before. Grilled meat smells fill my nose whenever I walk the Miracle Mile stretch on Mission Street. Those meaty smells are in full effect if it's a Friday and the hot dog vendors are out. (It's easy to have a hot dog and finish with a churro on those Fridays). Salt, smoke, and sweet notes are much easier to catch. I seem to be able to taste salt during and throughout a meal, and am using less of it while cooking. It's probably not that the food is saltier, it's that my tongue picks up the presence of salt quicker and sharper.

There are drawbacks, of course. Constant faux bread smells from the Subway at my work's entrance make me irritated throughout the day. Subway's bread always smells overly sweet. It's not even close to what bread should smell (or taste) like. Whiffs of other foods that don't belong together are jarring. Take this afternoon. I was enjoying a post-lunch chocolate chip and milk break at a bakery. Sweet, chocolate-y, baked notes made me smile. For a brief little while. The bakery also makes gyros (weird, huh?), and lamb-y spicy notes suddenly swirled around me as the owner prepared an order. Rather than spit my milk out, I gobbled the last cookie bite and hightailed it outta there.

**This will never turn into a pregnancy or baby blog. Gag! Boring! No way!

Sneaky Chef's Techniques are Gross

OK, watching the Sneaky Chef on TV yesterday morning didn't really make me puke, but I was seriously sick. Sick that someone in the media spotlight feels it's okay to enslave oneself to a frickin' blender or food processor in the name of healthy eating. Or that she'd put spinach and blueberries in brownies. Wrong, wrong, wrong!

Sneaky Chef is an attractive female chef who decided to always puree veggies and other "good stuff" and sneak it into her children's food. Oh yeah, she also has a book and classes for other parents who want to be sneaky. She puts these gross looking purees in muffins, doughs, with pasta, mac-&-cheese, and other weird combos. What nutritionist feels that children should be regularly consuming meals that are nearly in a pre-digested state (she used words to this effect)? Mmmm-hmmm.

I don't have a problem with being sneaky, but find it weird that one has to go that far just to include some veggies in a meal. This sets up a host of problems: a lot of work just to hide veggies, with no end in sight. By pureeing everything, a child will never feel he or she has to try new and different vegetables. There are so many easier ways to prepare tasty and healthy food than this sneaky approach.

Sure, it's easy for me to judge because that's what I do. I don't yet have a child and in theory haven't experienced the difficulties there, but I have many family members and friends who have offered a variety of veggies (and fruits, whole grains, etc.) to their kids. Overall results are young eaters with an interest in new and different foods, no puree needed. Eating should have a sense of adventure to it, rather than be a way to cut corners and sneak things past others.

The other weird thing with the Sneaky Chef is she uses those purees all the time. That may be okay for baby food. Other exceptions: in elder care facilities, and for folks who are for medical reasons no longer able to eat firmly textured foods. Sneaky Chef is creating a generation of kids who don't know what good and healthy eating is, and who will be loathe to try and prepare things on their own. It also has a smarmy, self involved whiff of spoiled brattiness to it.

Blueberry Mystery

These aren't the best looking blueberry pancakes I've ever made, but they did taste pretty good. I would definitely not send them out to a paying customer. Making the pancakes with frozen rather than fresh, room temp berries presented an interesting mystery. I defrosted the blueberries in the microwave for twenty seconds. They were smaller and seemed to ooze a lot more water than fresh berries.  If think if I let them defrost in the skillet, the watery mess would still happen. Perhaps I should let them thaw to room temp and then use.  More (tasty) experiments are in order.

Thanksgiving Highlights

Smoked BBQ Turkey, anyone? Since my Dad has long ruled the nine or so rotating stock of BBQ, smoking, & cooking devices in their backyard, we were happy to once again let him devote himself to turkey tasks for Thanksgiving. The results? Smoky, flavorful bird meat that looked a lot like ham due to its pink color.

The rest of the menu included early in the day nibbley-stuff like platters of cheese, salami, hummus, veggies, crackers, smoked salmon, shrimp, and other cream cheese spreads. Our main event was: the aforementioned brined, smoked and barbecued turkey, prime rib, walnut mushroom stuffing, mashed potatoes, green beans with mushrooms, cranberry sauce, and gravy. Sweet endings were apple, pumpkin, and pecan pie.

Tasty Tamales: it's all about the Wrap

Hermosa/Manhattan Beach bachelorette update(s) will arrive soon.

"The tamales in the Mission are better," my Mom said last night over dinner. She had a point. When I visit my family in Benicia, I usually try to bring food offerings. Tamales from La Loma Produce in the Mission are one favorite. Because no tamale should ever be served naked, I also pick up lime, avocado, jalapeno, sour cream, radishes and/or cabbage, and salsa ingredients.

Even the best of plans can sometimes be foiled. Shit Life happens. Yesterday, the clock got the best of me. I decided to scratch my usual La Loma Mission stop and instead find a good tamale source in Concord or Pleasant Hill later in the afternoon. Leaving La Loma behind meant I would be on time for fiery Attitude Rolls and other sushi at Jo's Sushi with my brother, Josh, and his friend, Sean Finn.

After a relaxing and satisfying sushi lunch, Josh and I decided Willow Pass Road would net some good possibilities. We both used to eat at Las Montanas Restaurant, but it had been some time since either of us checked it out. Although I used to cruise and party in East Bay towns in my teen and young-ish adult years, food or social visits (anytime of the day) aren't as frequent these days.

We finally found the front door of a huge and pleasant surprise: Las Montanas Market. It's bigger than any Latino market I've been to in the City. I was excited to have more space to walk and shop. Josh and I were easily the tallest and whitest folks in the Market, and received some curious but friendly and amused looks. Listening to the chatter around us, I correctly guessed the market would be a great place to practice and improve my Peggy Hill style Spanish.

There's a food service counter in the Market, but I was looking for a steam table with tamales. (In the Mission, the tamales are usually behind a counter or near the cash register). Success! It was a self serve steam table with 2 compartments and lids. There was a sign that said chicken, pork or sweet corn tamales were available. At $1.50 a pop, they cost the same as most Mission spots.

"No tongs here," Josh said, as I lifted the left side lid. There were stacks of Mexican tamales, and the tamale steam facial smelled great, even if it made me feel hotter in the 90 plus degree heat. There was a pair of tongs in the right side compartment. Figuring out which tamale was which was a bit puzzling, because the three kinds seemed to be mixed together. I wanted 5 pork, 5 chicken, and 2 sweet corn. The way to tell if you are picking a pork tamale is it is usually (not always) darker than chicken, and has orange hues.

Once I had my stash, I decided to look for sour cream (I already had picked up avocados that morning). Although Las Montanas is large and seemed to have many fresh items, I wasn't able to find sour cream. I didn't ask for help or look too hard, because I was pretty tired and hot. As we walked, Josh would look at and pick up items like tamarind, hibiscus flowers, dried corn, and more. I could tell the stuff was interesting and different to him. I offered some explanations on the ingredients, but we were somewhat in a hurry because of the heat and wanting to hopefully "beat the crowds" (the 'rents use this term a lot) of traffic on the Benicia Bridge. We didn't spend much time looking and shopping, which I usually like to do.

The reason my Mom felt the tamales in the Mission are better? The ones from Las Montanas were tasty but a bit dry. A little mental review helped me figure out why. Most Mission area tamales are individually wrapped in plastic wrap and kept in a steam table, where they stay warm and moist. The plastic wrap traps the moisture. Las Montanas' tamales were not plastic wrapped, and the air dried them out. I would still gladly use Las Montanas as a "home away from home" ingredient and meat resource. But, I have to check if the no-plastic wrap is always the tamale procedure there. Maybe yesterday was some sort of fluke.

Las Montanas Market

1725 Willow Pass Road

Concord, CA 94520

Tel: 925-687-7417

The Remaining Zachary's Pizza

Oscar offered me the two leftover pieces of Zachary's Pizza that are in our fridge. Wow, he must really love me. Sure, he's always been the more patient and giving one. But this is almost too much. Note the use of the word "almost" and that I am still taking him up on this offer.

I thought the nice simple plan for our dinner would be we each get a slice of the deep dish pie, and I'd make some fresh salad to go along with it. I triple checked when he offered both pieces to me. "Are you sure?! You're sure?" and he kept saying calmly and sweetly into the phone, "Yes, go ahead. I'll have a tuna sandwich." Those who have had Zachary's may understand my elation. It's thick, deep dish pizza that is filling, fresh, and tasty. Even at a day old, it is gooey and cheesy. I haven't felt this excited and happy since yesterday, when we sat down to our table at Zachary's and started ordering.

Pizza Pirate, Surrender the Booty

Seems like young writer's shops, fashion and news magazines, websites, and junk email surveys ("Pirate Surveys: Do you like Pirates of the Caribbean?") are stocked full of pirate related material. Johnny Depp and his gang of pirates have likely helped further this trend.

Growing up in Benicia, I was exposed to pirate goodies via Pizza Pirate. It was the place to hang out on weekends. Locals made a huge deal over the Pirate, even though there have always been other weaker pizza places around. Pizza Pirate had a dark and cozy atmosphere-dark wood, thick ropes hanging, ship and pirate gear on display. There's even a back room called the Captain's Quarters that is perfect for birthday parties and sports team celebrations. When I turned sixteen, my family let me take two friends and we all ate in the Captain's Quarters. I wore white Guess? jeans and a Limited shaker knit sweater, with my hair crisp from a curling iron and Aqua Net hairspray. How many more fashion clues do you need?

Now when I visit, I shudder at how light it is at Pizza Pirate. Sure, it's an upgrade that brightens the place, but I am wistful for the old times: Where are my Pac Man and Frogger games? Who will line up their quarters to play me? A life size creepy pirate sometimes sits above the "galley," and during the holidays, a giant glorious stocking stuffed with candy and toys is raffled to kids twelve and under.

Don't let the pirate theme fool you. Their dough is handmade from scratch, and turns out unbelievable crust. Sauce and toppings are also fresh. Heaping plates of pasta are available, along with sandwiches and daily specials. Draft beer is served in chilled hearty glass mugs. They were one of the first restaurants to install a salad bar (later covered by a sneeze guard) in the late seventies, when the owners were serious joggers and windsurfers.

I visit or have Pizza Pirate delivered whenever I'm in Benicia visiting family. My current favorite t-shirt is from Pizza Pirate. The front shows a gang of surly pirates drinking beer and eating pizza around a dark wood table. They make it look so fun and bawdy. One of the pirates has an eye patch, and they all wear a doo-rag or pirate's hat. Direct your eyes to the back, where it reads in large antiquated font, "Surrender the Booty." Give me yer pepperoni pizza, arrrrrrrrr!

Pizza Pirate, 72 Solano Square, Benicia, CA.
T: 707-745-1667

Root Beauty-MarketBar's Turnip Gratin

Lord knows a turnip is an odd creature. It's a hard root vegetable with a tough purple mottled skin and a striking white interior. Not likely to induce convulsions of pleasure on first glance for most. But baked and bathed in bechamel sauce? Mmmmmm, now we're talking.

Turnip Gratin marks a fabulous way to introduce and eventually transform this unknown ugly into a shining beauty. The turnip tastes slightly sweet and potato-ey, and seems light-making it a perfect foil for creamy, decadent bechamel. Like most root vegetables, turnips benefit from roasting or baking, to fully develop the flavors.

We ate turnip gratin at MarketBar in the Ferry Building on Sunday night with a group of writers, artists, an architect, art dealer, film makers, and other interesting folks. I didn't know what to expect from the salon put on by an in-the-know local writer. Would we be judged on our ability to regurgitate New Yorker and San Francisco Chronicle story lines? Not to worry.

Conversation topics ranged from George Bush rants, the definition of co-ed, how to kill a trout in a European kitchen (wrap in a towel and smash the head on a counter), to facial hair grooming for men and whether or not men should have pre-conceived notions about what to visually expect in their lovers nether regions... as in, is a Brazilian wax all that? I didn't miss our usual HBO-centric Sunday night too much by keeping up with this group.

The full menu, served family style, also included:      

Castelvetrano Olives-plump, meaty, green, with a tangy sweet finish.

Yucaipa Farms Fava Bean Crostini, Parmigiano Reggiano-fresh, seasonal, balanced.

Roasted Beet & Little Gem Salad, green goddess dressing-classic, earthy, good.

English Pea Ravioli, porcini mushroom sauce-just one is not enough

Roasted Hawaiian Walu, carrot puree, black olive relish-the bright orange carrots looked and tasted sweet and flavorful.

Chenin Blanc, Bonny Doon, California, 2004-refreshing white, perfect for a warm evening and long meal. I can't help but remember my childhood friend named chenin blanc after the wine her parents consumed when she was created. TMI at a young age, for sure.

Veronese, Pallazzo Della Torre, Italy, 2001

Sumer Berry Crisp, vanilla ice cream

I am determined to use turnip in a home cooked dish soon. Until then, the gratin beauty memory lingers.

Sopranos Saucy Sundays-Tagliatelle with Porcini, Bacon, & Peas in a Cream Sauce

It's been tomato overload lately-Pizza Chicago on Friday, a decadent slice of stuffed Patxi's pizza for lunch on Sunday. Eating all that red saucy stuff put the kibosh on plans for osso bucco (veal shanks in a tomato sauce) for this week's edition of Saucy Sundays at Casa VillaLadd. Carbonara sounded interesting, but we opted for a faux carbonara, without the egg.

Using porcini mushrooms was a treat, but any mushrooms will do if you're on a budget. Be sure to cook them in good butter or olive oil. The bacon was from Drewes Meats, and added warm smoky notes that played off the peas' sweetness. Tagliatelle came in a store packet, and cost almost $4, with promises of "like Momma used to make." I liked that I didn't have to chop and prep a lot of ingredients for this meal, since we were zombies from running around and adjusting to the springing forward of the clocks.

Homemade garlicky bread upped the pungent factor, causing pleasure inducing licks.

TAGLIATELLI COOKING INSTRUCTIONS:
Half an hour before cooking, place 2 ounces of dried porcinis in 1 cup water.

Cook 1 pound bacon in cast iron skillet, in batches. Dry cooked bacon on a plate with paper towels. When cool, cut into 1/2 inch pieces. Pour out some of the bacon fat, and use 1/8 cup (or more) to cook the porcinis.

While the bacon cooks, put the water on for pasta. Insider tip: the water warms up much quicker when a lid is on the pot.

Microwave one pound of peas with 1/2 cup water, covered, for 3-5 minutes, checking for doneness. Cover to keep warm.

Check mushrooms. If soft, squeeze gently and chop up. Reserve 1/3 cup of the mushroom water. Cook the mushrooms for three minutes in warm bacon fat.

In a small pan, pour one cup heavy cream, to cook at medium heat. Don't let it burn, overflow or bubble too rapidly. Grate 1/2 cup parmesan cheese. Chop finely 1/2 cup fresh Italian parsley. You can use less if you like, but it adds nice texture and flavor to the completed dish.

Egg noodles cook quickly, and become velvety and limp when done. Drain the pasta. Combine the bacon, mushrooms, reserved mushroom water, peas, parmesan, cream, and parsley. Stir. Serve immediately with garlic or other bread. You'll want bread to sop up the extra sauce.

Mega Mouth Fries with a Mitchell's chocolate shake

Strong cravings for salty fries had me calling Oscar at work, borderline begging for him to make a pit stop at Mega Mouth burgers on his way home. I was craving the fresh, chunky fries, washed down with a chocolate shake. Their fries are a marvel-thick cut with just enough brown skin left on, crispy on the outside, tender and hot on the inside. We went through a lot of ketchup dipping our fries, but we still weren't able to finish two orders, piled high on a big plate. An hour later, our apartment still smelled like fried potatoes, which made me smile and sigh with pleasure even more.

Big Mouth Burgers, 3392 24th St (near Valencia), SF. T: 415-821-4821.

Baked Ziti: Saucy Sundays with the Sopranos

There are enough surprises in store from the final season of the Sopranos. We don't want any surprises or frou-frou food for a Sunday night meal. Our Italian themed Sopranos menu must be hearty, tasty, and relatively straightforward to prepare (this is afterall a team effort). A base of excellent ingredients from Lucca Ravioli and the Mission produce markets set us up right.

Making Baked Ziti with Turkey Meatballs didn't go smoothly. The heat sensors in our LOUD fire alarms kept going off, and we had a mess to clean up when the (as Oscar predicted) Baked Ziti boiled over in the final five minutes of cooking. Although our apartment smelled wonderful, it became smoky. Opening windows would solve that, but it was hailing and raining outside. Once we turned the fan on and opened some windows, things calmed down just in time for the show opening. It was comforting to have a steaming bowl of meaty-cheesy goodness as we made bets on the fates of the Sopranos.

The below recipes are from epicurious.com, via Gourmet magazine. We used a blend of fresh herbs rather than use dried. Expect a crispy crunchy exterior from the cheese melting and ziti drying out in the oven.

BAKED ZITI WITH TURKEY MEATBALLS

For meatballs
1 pound ground turkey
1 large garlic clove, minced
3/4 cup fresh bread crumbs
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
3 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted, cooled, and chopped
1/2 cup minced fresh parsley leaves (preferably flat-leafed)
1 large egg, beaten lightly
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
4 tablespoons olive oil

1 pound ziti or penne
1 1/2 cups coarsely grated mozzarella cheese (about 6 ounces)
1 cup freshly grated Romano cheese (about 3 ounces)
about 6 cups winter tomato sauce
a 15-ounce container ricotta cheese

Make meatballs:
In a bowl stir together well turkey, garlic, bread crumbs, onion, pine nuts, parsley, egg, salt, and pepper and form into meatballs about 1 inch in diameter. In a large heavy skillet heat 2 tablespoons oil over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking and cook half of meatballs, shaking skillet, until browned and cooked through, about 4 minutes. Transfer meatballs to paper towels to drain and brown remaining meatballs in remaining 2 tablespoons oil in same manner.

Preheat oven to 375°F. and oil a 3- to 4-quart gratin dish or other shallow baking dish.

In a kettle of salted boiling water cook pasta until just al dente, about 8 minutes, and drain well. In a small bowl toss together mozzarella and Romano.

Spoon about 1 1/2 cups tomato sauce and half of meatballs into prepared dish and spoon half of pasta on top. Spread half remaining sauce and half cheese mixture over pasta. Top with remaining meatballs and drop dollops of ricotta over meatballs. Spread remaining pasta over ricotta and top with remaining sauce and remaining cheese mixture.

Bake ziti in middle of oven 30 to 35 minutes, or until golden, and let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Serves 6 to 8.
Gourmet
February 1994

WINTER TOMATO SAUCE

1 1/2 cups finely chopped onion
1/3 cup finely chopped carrot
1/3 cup finely chopped celery
3 large garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon dried basil, crumbled
1 tablespoon dried oregano, crumbled
1 bay leaf
3 tablespoons olive oil
2/3 cup dry red wine
3 tablespoons tomato paste
two 28- to 32-ounce cans whole Italian tomatoes, drained, reserving juice, and chopped

In a heavy 5-quart saucepan cook onion, carrot, celery, garlic, basil, oregano, bay leaf, and salt and pepper to taste in oil over moderate heat, stirring, until vegetables are softened and add wine. Boil wine until most is evaporated and stir in tomato paste and tomatoes with reserved juice.

Simmer sauce, covered, over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, 35 minutes and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, 15 to 20 minutes, or until thickened. Discard bay leaf. Sauce may be made 2 days in advance and kept covered and chilled.

Makes 6 cups.
Gourmet
February 1994

 

Chef Marc's Turkey Stuffing

Marc Vogel is a larger than life chef who can cook. He has been a proponent of high heat cooking for many years. Part of the fun of cooking with him is watching him interact with guests (ladies especially), using his big voice and easy laugh. Chef Marc has managed the Pointer Sisters, worked with Francis Ford Coppola on his Francis Cooks events, and cooked for heads of state.

Helping prep and cook his Turkey Stuffing for KGO radio personality Gene Burns's San Francisco holiday fiesta a few years back, and again at a private holiday soiree, gave me practice peeling casings off sausages, toasting pecans, and coring apples. The fun part is stirring and folding hot stuffing by hand, although those food safety gloves can make fingers feel like they're cooking, too.

Tip: use Swanson's reduced sodium broth, to avoid the blue vein arms and mild headaches that Swanson's normal chicken broth may bring. Also, don't skip toasting the pecans. Five minutes of time in the oven gives the final dish added crunch and deeper nut flavor. I agree with Chef Marc that it's best to cook the stuffing outside the bird, rather than in the cavity. The stuffing is more likely to achieve an ideal moist texture with a slight crunch on the edges.

Chef Marc's Turkey Stuffing

Ingredients

Giblets and neck from turkey, approximately 1 lb. No livers.

2-3 large cans low sodium chicken broth

1 1/2 lbs. mild Italian sausage

2 sticks unsalted butter

1/4 cup olive oil

1/2 lb. fresh mushrooms, sliced

3 cups coarsely chopped carrots

2 cups finely chopped onions

1/2 cup celery, cut in 1/2 inch diced pieces

1 leek, white part only, chopped fine

2 bags stuffing mix (1 mix cornbread and 1 herb)

2 cups chopped toasted pecans (put on cookie sheet and heat at 400 degrees for five minutes)

1 large Granny Smith apple, peeled and diced in 1/2 inch pieces

1 cup chopped dried cranberries (craisins)

2 generous tablespoons of Herbs de Provence

1 tablespoon kosher salt

Directions
1. Cook giblets and neck in 1 can chicken broth on a low simmer for approximately 3 hours. Cool, pull meat off neck bone, and chop giblets in small cubes; discard bone, but reserve broth.

2. Remove casing from sausage. Saute in a medium pan over medium heat until browned. Break up chunks (can be done in food processor). In a pre-heated medium saute pan melt 1/2 cup butter and 1/8 cup olive oil, and cook mushrooms over high heat until lightly browned. Transfer to a plate and set aside. Add remaining butter and oil to saute pan and saute carrots, onions, celery and leek over medium-high heat for about 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned.

3. Immediately: in a large mixing bowl, combine the dry stuffing mix, cooked sausage, vegetables, pecans, apples, cranberries, herbs and salt. Boil the reserved chicken broth and add to mixture, stirring and folding, in gloved hands, until dry stuffing mix is moist. (You may want to add more hot chicken broth if needed). Put in baking pan and cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.   

Smoked Duck Dinner

Duck is on my mind. Every since I bought some smoked duck breasts at the Made In France warehouse sale, the goal has been to eat-this-duck-now. The duck breast is chewy and rich, with a decadently fatty mouth feel. While Oscar set about cleaning our bathroom late one night, I scurried around the kitchen. I listened to him spray, run water and scrub (Atta boy!) while I set about chopping. He popped his head out of the bathroom fifteen minutes later, and said, "What is that delicious smell? Ooh, wow!" his eyes lit up when he saw the duck on the cutting board.

For his bathroom slave efforts, I made duck in a sherry vinegar sauce with mushrooms, rice, and carrots. The first step is to set about cooking two cups of long grain or other rice. Keep the rice covered over medium heat and let it cook until at least five minutes have passed. Next, clean up four carrots, cutting them into 1/4 inch chunks. Into the steamer basket and Le Creuset 3 1/2 quart pot they go, with a sprinkling of salt before covering and steaming.

1 1/2 cups sliced mushrooms and 1 bay leaf go into  a pan of hot melted duck fat. Let them brown while setting about slicing the duck breast. Taste the mushrooms and add salt and pepper to taste. Once the carrots are finished (watch that steam when removing the lid, yeow!), put them in a bowl and cover with a plate, to keep warm. Stir in 1 Tablespoon of sherry vinegar and the duck breast into the mushrooms. Stir occasionally.

For rice, fruit and nuts add that great combo of sweet, salty, crunchy, and chewy when paired with savory duck. Add 1/2 cup raisins and diced apricots to the rice and stir. Let the rice finish cooking, turn off the heat and add 1/2 cup chopped pecans. Chopped glazed or raw pecans, pistachios, or walnuts would also work, but I just used raw pecans. Add them to the rice and stir, letting the rice-fruit-nut flavors meld.

Season everything with salt and pepper (taste to see how much it needs), and pour everything into the Le Creuset, and stir. The rice will have a purplish tint from the sherry vinegar, and the carrots and fruit add color. Another way to serve could be to not combine all the ingredients into one pot. Plate the rice first, fan the duck breast, and arrange three carrots in front of the duck. You won't hear any complaints regardless of which option you choose.

Posh Bagel Jalapeno Spread

Posh Bagel has a good jalapeno cream cheese spread. It has vibrant red and green chunks that are firm and fresh. I believe the jalapenos are of the young variety, since they offer significant heat, and have a strong pungency.

Try the jalapeno spread with an everything, egg, or plain bagel. Although the everything bagel offers the most complex flavor with its sesame and poppy seeds, and garlic chunks, it also leaves a trail of crumbs in its wake. Flavor purists will want to stick to plain bagels, to really get the jalapeno cream cheese notes.

Many bagel places use canned or jarred jalapenos in their spreads. This gives weak flavor and mushy texture. It also brings to mind a rice casserole that was popular in the eighties that was a creamy, (too) mild blob with grayish green peppers. Escabeche style jalapenos, when done right, have their place at home and in taqueria condiment bars. But I have yet to find a bagel spread with vinegary jalapenos that works.

Posh Bagels does fresh jalapenos with cream cheese right. As I worked my way through a recent bagel with black coffee, I felt a familiar warmth, and began to sweat a little. I became chatty as the heat and caffeine kicked in, and my lips were a little peppery. It's good when it's hot.

Posh Bagels has numerous Bay Area locations. Their website is under construction. Check local listings in SF, Menlo Park, Los Altos, and Mountain View. 

Arinell pizza gone wrong

Many NY style pizza lovers fawn over Arinell pizza in SF, saying it's close enough to the real thing. I like their pizza because it's not too doughy, and can be folded over while eating. Bonus that they play punk or rocker music, which helps me feel edgy, tough and cool as I sit at the counter and eat. At $2.50 a slice, the price is right. My only complaint is they don't deliver.

Today, I had a stomach turning experience while eating a pepperoni slice. The twenty something rocker dude who had taken my money and served me my slice decided to take a beauty break. He took off his hat, and started rubbing his greasy, dirty looking hair. This went on for a good thirty seconds. He moved over to look at himself in the mirror, unaware that I was groaning and lurching from his display.

After rubbing and scratching his dirty locks, he began digging in the corner of his eye, followed by hard rubbing all over his forehead. More rubs across the hair-it looked spiky, ratty and dirty-wasn't that what he wanted? Did he have to torture me so, with my Safety-Sani ways? I watched to see if he washed his hands, but he just walked over to his high stool, and sat down, staring blankly at the stoves.

Not only is his behavior gross, it worries me, as I have a history of seeing fellow diners fall ill. Best example is my friend Erica became grossly ill after a pizza/gelato food prep worker did a double health violation of picking at his face and not washing his hands after going to the bathroom. We know about the not washing hands part because she was in the unisex bathroom when he exited.

Back to Arinell. Maybe I should have said something to the vain pizza dude, but I don't want to start war in a pizza place. I may just wait til my next stop there.