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Ugh. So I caught a cold. A nasty wiped me out kind of cold. And since I rarely get sick, I did not handle it well. I mean, I handled it like a dude – which is to say whined about every little part of it and made it worse that it was. But thankfully, that part lasted only a day. And so when I was feeling better, but still not great, I was pleasantly surprised to remember that I had just made a batch of stock and had a few pieces of homemade bread left.
Since we all know that good soup makes you feel better even when you aren’t sick, I figured I should make a batch.
Growing up, my mom made a mean french-onion, and so it has always been one of my favorites. (What – another favorite? Well, she made a lot of good things, and I obviously like a lot of things, so it works out).
But seeing as how I hold firm in my beliefs that homemade stock, even the wrong kind, trumps the store-bought stuff any day, my onion soup often uses chicken stock – and therefore, it isn’t too traditional, or “french.” Although I would gather that many French women would agree with me, but that is neither here nor there.
The real thing with onion soup, French or otherwise, is you have to let the onions cook for a really long time. And when you think they are done, let them keep cooking. At least an hour. Maybe and hour and twenty. You want them really carmelized – dark, sweet and reduced down to almost nothing. You can’t rush it. Some recipes include a touch of sugar part way through the cooking, but I like to just let it happen with time, and the butter of course.
From there, it doesn’t take much to turn it into something special. Stock, wine, thyme – and of course the bread and cheese!
If you have ever read a food blog, you have likely seen Jim Lahey’s No-Knead Bread 1, 100 or 1,000 times. But since I know I have some loyal fans (Hi Mom! Hi Dad! Hi Aunt Jenni!…) that aren’t likely trolling the web for recipes, I figured I should share it with them. And you.
Plus, I have been meaning to try it out for years (literally – the recipe was originally posted in the New York Times in 2006).
So this past Sunday, when it was drizzly and I was already making stock, I decided to get downright pioneer-ish and make bread too. I mean – who am I? Homemade stock and bread on the same day? Yowzers! Don’t worry, I’m sure it was done with a little vino in hand too.
And let’s not kid ourselves – neither stock nor this bread require much ‘active’ time – which suits me just fine, especially if I can then brag about making stock AND bread this weekend, without, you know actually having too do much.
But back to the bread. There is a reason it became such a sensation. It requires NO work. Just measure, stir, wait and bake. Seriously.
A quick detour for the ‘celebration of friends’ portion of life.
My lovely friend Maria Korovilas participated in her very first Mercedes Benz Fashion Week last week. And from everything I have seen, heard, and read, she was an absolute KNOCKOUT! (So wish I was there to see it in person…ah, yum!)
Maria participated in the show as a recent {standout} grad from The Academy of Art in San Francisco, where she learned the tambour beading that was showcased in her collection. Beading that took over 600 hours to complete. That is basically a month’s worth of beading. Not counting sleep or any breaks. Holy schnikes!!
I could go on more about her work, but I think she does a better job of it – the pictures cleary speak for themselves.
But in case you want a bit more, here is an interview with Maria, and some reviews from SF Gate, Women’s Wear Daily and Stylist.com.
Cheers Rege and CONGRATS! Can’t wait until we can all buy your pieces in stores!
xx
Images via her facebook page, although I’m sure she got them from a fancy photog or fashion website. Alas, I did not. :)
I have tried to write about this salmon since Sunday, and I keep getting stumped. There wasn’t much of a backstory or cute little tale and it wasn’t inspired by anything interesting. Simply enough we wanted fish for dinner and Whole Foods was having a killer sale on amazing looking salmon.
But sometimes that is all you need. Beacuse that is how things really happen.
As I have mentioned before, we don’t cook a ton of fish at home so I don’t have 1,001 different preparations ready to go in my head {unlike say, chicken}.
So for a different take on the lemon/dill/caper version, I did the obvious and looked for a recipe. I was thinking miso-something and a quick google search led me to a Bobby Flay miso-ginger grilled salmon. With a few slight tweaks and an adaptation for stove/oven vs. grill and I figured we’d be set. And I kept the adjustments to a minimum, because as much as I enjoy it, it was my first time cooking with miso, and I didn’t want to botch it.
Now, not to toot my own horn, but this was seriously good. Like restaurant good. And since my forays into fish are few and far between, it really blew my expectations out of the water!
Last week I felt like a good little blogger and went to a book signing for a new publication that I have seriously been excited about (or rather “a new publication about which I have been seriously excited” – but who are we kidding, I don’t say that).
I have been following Georgia Pellegrini (via her blog and twitter) for a while, so when I saw that she was having a signing for her new book Food Heroes in SF, well I figured I should go and say hello. And this way instead of ordering the book online, I was able to pick it up from a pretty awesome bookshop and get her John Hancock all at the same time.
I have a feeling that extra step will be well received when the holidays roll around. (What – you didn’t think I only bought one copy? Please.)
The book highlights 16 local artisans and what they are doing to preserve the traditions in food. And as a bonus, there are a few recipes at the end of each chapter. It has been perfect bedtime reading, and I am pretty bummed that I have almost finished it. I want to learn more about these food heroes – their craft, their passion, their knowledge. I’m sure it was an unbelievable experience to interview them each first hand, and I am loving this little peek that we can all enjoy.
I did not cook what you see here. I wish I did. Because it was damn good.
This past weekend Catie and Jimmy had a few friends over for a little end of summer dinner. And to say we feasted on summer’s finest would be an understatment.
It was one of those lovely dinners that just happened, with everyone helping to get things done, but nothing was so difficult that it required a recipe or couldn’t be made with vino in hand.
Catie and Genevieve brought out all the stops. Fresh tomato sauce made with local heirloom tomatoes and finished with basil and parmigiana served over fresh whole wheat linguine from the farmer’s market. Heaven.
Billy has quite possibly the biggest sweet tooth imaginable. If he could, he would have cookies, cakes and cupcakes for breakfast everyday. Or at least sugary kid cereals. But since those aren’t really options, I think the only reason he likes oatmeal is because it is the last holdout for a socially acceptable breakfast food that he can douse with brown sugar.
And since we had a peach on the counter that was past the point of eating as is, and it was Saturday, I figured I’d sugar-up something else that he could add to his steel-cut oats.
With a super-ripe peach pitted and halved (and placed in the cutest teeny-tiny cast iron pan), I dotted it with a lil’ bit of butter, brown sugar and a pinch of vanilla salt. Cinnamon would be great here too, if it didn’t turn out that we were fresh out.
In a shocking turn of events, I went to Napa and bypassed all wine tastings. That is not to mean that I skipped the wine-drinking, but rather I didn’t do any actual tastings at wineries.
We were up in the valley for a family wedding, and the only time in my schedule that would’ve allowed for winery stops was Saturday afternoon before the wedding. And not wanting to show up too-tipsy, we passed on the outing.
Instead, we had a lovely afternoon bike ride and al fresco picnic. My dad, aunt, cousin and I rented bikes in Yountville, picked up snacks and vino at Oakville Grocery and had a lovely afternoon under the oak trees near the vines.
So in that spirit, here’s to a long weekend of bike rides with friends and/or family, impromptu picnics and celebrating the end of summer!
