White Bean and Fried Sage Crostini

It is always hard to find appetizers that are seasonal, delicious and bite size. I love the white bean crostinis at Otto, Mario Batali’s pizza place in New York. They are drizzled with olive oil and hot pepper flakes. I used to only go to Otto’s on Tuesday, because that’s the only day they have them. So, I decided to make my own. I used Rancho Gordo beans. They are the most fabulous beans and honestly, if you try them, you will never want to eat a canned bean again. Yeah, they take a little bit of work, you have to soak them for hours and them cook them for another hour or so. But your hard work pays off. I think when people realize the versatility and diversity of legumes; they will be bean lovers for life. My boyfriend has become one, and it makes me really proud.
To honor these delicious white beans, I like to keep it simple to really taste the creamy interior. I mashed them up slightly with garlic and garlic oil, as well as the oil the sage was fried in, topped with crispy fried sage and hot pepper flakes, just like Otto’s. Serve them on the finest slice baguette you can find, quickly toasted. (I like Acme bread in San Francisco; you can’t beat it.) This makes such a perfect nibble before dinner. And with leftover beans, you can make salads or soups.

RECIPE:
I didn’t really measure, but I will do my best. You can use cannellini, butter beans or navy beans, any white bean will due.
1. Soak a bag of beans in water, at least 2 hours. But this depends on freshness. If the beans are relatively fresh they only need to soak 2 hours, if not, they need longer. If you don’t have dried beans, skip to step 3.
2. Strain the beans and put into a stockpot, cover with water, add 2-3 garlic cloves, some black peppercorns and bay leafs. Do not add salt during cooking, this toughens the beans up and they will take much longer to cook. Simmer beans uncovered (this allows the gas to release – so you don’t later) until tender. Add salt when beans are tender. And drain the beans.
3. In a small pan, add garlic cloves and oil and do not let them brown. Cook until soft. Pour the oil and garlic and mash with white beans.
4. Fry sage in a small sauté pan with olive oil. Remove when crisp and drain on paper towel. Season with salt when removed from oil. They should be crisp and have turned a darker green. Add oil from cooking sage to mash the beans. Mash the beans, but keep some whole, you want to see some shape and keep their integrity. Season with salt and pepper as desired.
5. Slice baguette, brush with olive oil and toast in a 400 degree oven. Bake until golden brown.
6. Place bean mixture on top of baguette, sprinkle with red chili flakes and top with fried sage.

If you like a smoother mixture, puree in a blender. And for an added kick, drizzle aged balsamic before adding the fried sage.
Enjoy!

Rancho Gordo Beans
Farmer's Market at the Ferry Building (San Francisco)
www.ranchogordo.com

The Shrimp Cesar

Shrimp marinated in lime, sautéed until lightly golden pink perfection with home made croutons, romaine, sliced thin red onion, and Parmesan curls all tossed in my white balsamic and tangerine oil vinaigrette. This salad is inspired from a Martha Stewart Living recipe, but then re-interpreted by yours truly. It is light refreshing, bursting in fresh flavors. The citrus livens things up, but you still get that Cesar salad fix. It makes for a perfect light meal, that is sure to please.
I have to take a second and talk about the olive oil that I use in this recipe; it is just incredible. It is tangerine olive oil from StoneHouse. It is a bright orange color with a sweet citrus-y aroma, still having the full-bodied complexity of olive oil. It livens up salads, or could be drizzled on top of fish or seafood. I used it in my re-interpretation of this Cesar salad, but I just recently used it on some roasted beets.
Here is a quick recipe for Shrimp Cesar; I don’t think it needs much explanation:
De-vein and peel wild gulf large prawns and toss with salt, pepper, lime juice and lime zest.
Sauté quickly in a sauce pan over high heat until pink and lightly caramelized. Be sure not to over cook.
Cut cubes of baguette, toss with olive oil and salt and bake at 450, until golden brown. I love homemade croutons, and it is a great way to use up day old bread.
Chop romaine and thinly slice red onions. Combine with croutons and toss with a vinaigrette of tangerine oil and white balsamic. (If you don’t have this fantastic olive oil, feel free to add orange zest, with a little orange juice to red wine vinegar and olive oil). Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Add shrimp and Parmesan curls. Plate, Serve and EAT!

To get StoneHouse oils, check out www.stonehouseoliveoil.com or visit the Ferry Building and stop by their stall.

Nettie's Crab Shack

Nettie's Crab Shack is situated in the Marina of San Francisco, a place I rarely visit, due to its infamous reputation of elitist snobbery, without the good food to match. But when Michael Bauer, SF food critic mentioned his new top picks for 2009, Nettie’s crab shack made the list. With enticing descriptions of fresh crab and a modern take on American classics it sounded delicious and perfect for my crab addiction.
Nettie’s Crab Shack is a simple, slightly nautical themed restaurant with an open kitchen and blackboard specials. The cocktails are nothing short of fun and whimsical like a Boston freeze with bourbon, a spiced Louisiana lemonade, and a stellar bloody Mary. All delicious!
We ordered the manila clam steamers, which were highly aromatic with bay leaf and celery. A few clams had a little grit, but it wasn’t too bad. With the clams, we ordered a pail of shoestring potatoes, super crispy and rosemary scented.
I tried the crab roll served with pickled vegetables and homemade potato chips. The crab is simply prepared in tossed in drawn butter served on a soft fresh brioche like bun. The pickled vegetables added some needed acidity. And who can beat home made potato chips. The crab Louis salad, a San Francisco salad was re-invented with lil’ artichokes, beets, green olives and crab tossed in a peppery vinaigrette. The olives and beets worked really well with the crab. All the crab was succulent and fresh.
I also tasted the whole grilled petrale sole served with sweet and sour onions and roasted brussel sprouts. The whole grilled fish was light and flaky and the onion “marmalade” made the dish!
While Nettie's is no fine dining, it does classic American Crab shack well, really well.
Desserts were retro and cute, but nothing special. Pictured are the little lady caramel apples, the best ones we tried. But common, I was here for the crab anyways. Plus try Crab Sunday which offers a bountiful spread with a whole crab per person.

Nettie's Crab Shack
2032 Union Street
San Francisco, CA
415-409-0300
www.nettiescrabshack.com

Root Beer Chocolate Bundt Cake by BAKED

What better way to start the New Year than indulging? To be honest, I made this before the New Year and brought it to a Benefit Concert at Death by Audio (a Brooklyn venue), and who ever donated money got a slice. It is good to give. This chocolate root beer bundt cake is supremely moist and flavorful. Root beer is used not only in the batter but also in the frosting. We used the best root beer we could buy: Virgil's. It isn't made with corn syrup, it is micro-brewed and you can truly taste notes of wintergreen, vanilla and sasparilla. I am not sure it was necessary to buy the best root beer, since it is going in the cake. Hey, never hurts to start with quality. And for all those who cannot make it to Baked, the wonderful shop in Red Hook Brooklyn, you can now try their decadent sweets. Baked is all about whimsical and retro desserts, plus they taste amazing. The root beer chocolate bundt cake is no different, delicious and sumptuous. Even my grandmother has been begging for the recipe.
The root beer flavor was more present the first day, even though they say in the cookbook it will be stronger the next. This cake is slightly decadent but a sure crowd pleaser, plus it makes everyone feel nostalgic and wonderful (well maybe a little bigger in the waistline.)
You can either buy the Baked Cookbook or just click here for the recipe.

Happy New Year!

Also, I am writing about my culinary school adventures on a great website called Chef’s Blade, a resource center for culinary professionals. I talk about my culinary experiences… the people I admire, techniques and fundamentals. If you can’t get enough of me, go check it out.

Pumpkin Gnocchi with Brown Butter and Sage

During the holiday season, there is no shortage of pumpkin puree, whether a can or freshly pureed. With extra pumpkin, I decided to make gnocchi. I always eat gnocchi when I go out, like the ricotta gnocchi at Zuni’s or chard gnocchi at Café Eloise, but I have never attempted to make it myself. There are different methods to making it. I made a pate-a-choux type dough, cooking in a pot, until it forms a smooth orange ball. This is the recipe I used as a basis for my pumpkin gnocchi. In this recipe, they use shaved white truffles in their brown butter. I was not so fortunate to acquire these. Rolling out all the gnocchi took some work, but it was well worth it. The gnocchi turned out excellent, delicate soft pillow with a wonderful pumpkin flavor. The sage gets nice and crispy and imparts an earthy herbal tone to the nutty butter. Brown butter is simply with the milk fats becoming caramelized, this doesn’t mean burnt, but brown, smelling nutty and fragrant not acrid. The only challenge in the dish is trying to serve a crowd at the same time, due to the fact you need to cook the gnocchi in batches. If you have a solution, other than making people wait, let me know. And enjoy some gnocchi!

Buttery Biscuits, just like EGG

Inspired by the delicious biscuits from EGG, I was on the mission to recreate it. I wanted that buttery, mile high, flaky and tender biscuit that I munched on just a few weeks ago. After scouring the Internet (ohh.. Internet, you supply me with endless recipes), I stumbled upon a true perfect biscuit. Click here for the recipe. I use lots of sweet butter. Make sure that the butter is as cold as possible and don’t overwork it. The butter should remain in pea size chunks in order to give it its flakiness. And remember, do not over-roll, the biscuits should be nice and thick.

I served these delicious biscuits with orange butter (which was made from a simple syrup with orange zest and a little juice) and maple butter (maple syrup). But endless variations can be made, or simply top with fried chicken, or incorporate some chopped chives into the batter. This biscuit is one I can stand behind or at least eat about ten. Does it match up to Egg, it was pretty close, and you know until I get their secret recipe this is good enough for me.

What would you add to the dough? And what would you serve them with? And if you have a recipe to beat, please send it along.

EGG - Where the South meets Brooklyn

Egg, a small restaurant in Williamsburg, is as simple as its name. A hipster, farm house setting with the chefs sitting outside talking amongst each other on less than crowded evenings (they just opened for dinner). Communal tables, all white walls, and simple florals adorning each table. It is my ideal setting, now all I need is a little farm to supply all the food. Oh wait, they do that to. They bought a farm in upstate New York to supply them with an ultra local supply of fresh produce.
Egg explores not only the egg, but also the chicken who laid it. Fried chicken reigns at this egg shack. The chicken is crispy, succulent and reminiscent of my favorite little nook in Brooklyn, Pies and Thighs. Pies and Thighs, with homemade donuts, honey butter, perfect biscuits and mouthwatering chicken…I miss it so much. That is why I am so glad Egg snatched up the fried chicken master (the chef) from Pies and Thighs, so I can taste some of that goodness yet again.
The fried chicken is perfectly crisp, golden brown and ultra moist. It is served with fluffy, ultra buttery biscuits and smoky delicious collar greens.
Yet, egg is known not only for what hatches from it, but the egg itself. The sampler plate highlights how this restaurant got its name, with two egg preparations, pickled eggs and deviled eggs served with ham, pickled beets and green beans. The pickled eggs were delicious, just enough brine to give the egg a nice acidity. The deviled eggs are extremely flavorful with fresh herbs. And of course, the country ham was thickly sliced served along side farm fresh cheddar and tomato jam. Plus who doesn’t love picked veggies.
I also tried the duck and dirty rice with figs, which was a nice modern southern dish.
Served with two preparations of duck, a dug leg “confit” which was falling off the bone, the seared duck breast was good but not as good as the confit. Delicious succulent slices of fig (slightly gooey and a whole lot of sweet) were the complement to the duck. The dirty rice was slightly sweet with little crispy bacon pieces.
Overall, Egg is simple rustic southern flare, but with a Brooklyn attitude. Egg is the kind of down home cooking you crave even if you don’t have food memories associated with it. And be sure to try the fried chicken….