September 2010
Big News! Hereafter is set for release on October 22nd!. If you don't already know, three scenes in this Clint Eastwood (Director) Matt Damon movie were shot in the kitchen in January. Tracy and I did the food styling, as well. If you go back to the archives, you'll see some shots of us with Clint and Matt in the February newsletter. Once the movie's out, I figure I can publish a few more of the many pictures we took, so in the November issue of In the Kitchen, you'll get a peek behind the scenes during shooting.
Summer Events Wrap-Up
I have to give Tracy, and our wonderful assistant teacher and good friend Samantha a huge round of applause for the success of year two of Cook! Culinary Programs. Total enrollment of excited, happy kids just about doubled from last summer. Feedback has been tremendous, and we have families clamoring for more—so Tracy's busy designing holiday camp and planning for next summer, as well. Want to learn more about the camp? Visit the website, and look at the many hundreds of pictures Kevin, our intern and blogger, took throughout the camp sessions. You can read his blog for a teens-eye-view—you can even get in on the fun and try some of the recipes the kids made.
Meanwhile, in the quiet weeks that always seem to mark the end of summer, we've deep-cleaned, made repairs, built a new closet (thanks Samantha!), and recharged our personal batteries for the upcoming busy fall and holiday season. The economy is uncertain, so we don't yet know what this fall and holiday season will bring—the books are not as full of jobs as they were this time last year, but after Labor Day we hope to see a surge in interest. We're here to listen to your ideas, and help you plan whatever party or class or work event you desire!
Things You Can Do IN Our Kitchen
- You can invite your friends and/or family for a cooking party. We love birthdays, rehearsal dinners, family reunions, class reunions, girls/ boys/date nights out, and just about anything else you want to celebrate.
- You can bring your co-workers to come play in the kitchen for a team-building event. Let us know if you want us to email our presentation of brochure, sample menus etc. to your HR person, your boss, or yourself!
- You can have us cater your party or meeting, holding the event in our spacious kitchen
- You can gather a group of like-minded individuals and make a cooking class, where each individual pays his or her own way
- You can give us an idea for a class or event, since we love to take part in inventing new, fun ways to play!
- Email or call us (510.594.1104) for more information. Take a minute to watch our video for inspiration.
We'll Also Take It On The Road
Yes, we'll take our cooking parties on the road if you have a good spot for one—a picnic in the park, or class in your own spacious kitchen. We are also happy to cater for you. We've catered parties and business events all over the Bay Area. We'll come with the food, the staff, and the know-how to make your event a smooth one, as well as totally delicious. We specialize in group events for at least 30 people (or 300, if you want)—although we've been known to do smaller, we aren't as cost-effective since we prepare every item on your menu fresh and to order, shop the farmers market, and even at the store, we pick out each item that goes into making your menu special. Our ingredients are always top-notch, and our preparations are made with care. Email or call us (510.594.1104) for more information!
By the way, we're very proud of our reviews on Yelp! They're all 5-star. We work very hard to make every event, class, and catering job better than our clients and students would expect, and want to thank those of you who've given us these great reviews.
Classes
Rosetta has room in her next few classes! A rare thing, and once the book comes out in November, it will be even a rarer event. Do sign up if you have a desire for some great Italian food. September's classes are on two consecutive nights—so maybe you only want to come to one. Will it be Festival del Peperoncino class, or The Calabrian Pantry? Or, will you make a weekend of it and try both! After these classes, her next is not until October 15th—a Ricotta class. Learning how to make ricotta is fun, easy and rewarding, because so many great dishes use it. Homemade is just better than store bought. Rosetta and her mom, Maria, taught me how to make it, and I use it all the time.
Selome's recent Ethiopian class was a big hit, with an enthusiastic group clamoring for more. The food was totally delicious. Check the calendar in the next few weeks for the next class, since Selome was unable to give me a listing in time for the newsletter. Rumor has it that next time we'll get some meat in the menu—the last class being vegan. I know I'll be there!
My Thanksgiving Dress Rehearsal seems a long way off on November 7th, but really, the holiday is just around the corner. Time to sign up now—so I am sure there are enough of you to make a class. You'll get the inside info on making a stellar Thanksgiving feast, pure classic and purely delicious.
The next night, November 8th, you can sharpen up your carving knife—Eric E. Weiss has his quarterly Knife Sharpening class.He's the Master of the blade, and an excellent teacher so you can keep your own knives in shape. You get a stone of your own, too.
In the Market
We never had much of a summer. Now we're heading towards Harvest time, with shorter days, and maybe even a bit of warmer weather. Looking back at the newsletter from last September, my figs were already ripening. This year, they are totally green (they're purple Mission figs). A lot of farm produce has been late to market—good tomatoes really didn't show up until mid-August, for instance. Rosetta even had to postpone the Calabrian Pantry class, originally scheduled last month, since it's based on preserving the harvest and the tomatoes were not yet ripe.
When you go to the farmer's market, don't forget the eggs. Those local, free-range eggs are very nutritious. With all the controversy over salmonella right now, you've got an even better impetus to buy local, rather than using eggs trucked in from giant chicken factories far away. Those distant chickens are crowded by the thousands into their houses, fed a feed formula (in the case of the salmonella outbreaks, a formula that contained the salmonella in the form of animal feces). Our local farmers move their chickens all around the farm, where they feast on bugs and worms and have a good life. The eggs are more expensive, yes—but high in nutrition and very delicious. And, safe from bacterial infection.
Harvest time brings everything from apples to zucchini. A feast for the eyes and the tastebuds awaits all of us at the markets! Peppers and carrots and squashes of every color, okra, bushy bunches of basil to pair with the heirloom tomatoes—peaches, plums, nectarines, figs both purple and green, the last of the bright-flavored summer bush berries (the strawberries will be around all autumn, but the blues, raspberry and blackberries will get more tart and finally, disappear for the season, as will the peaches by the end of September), the list is long. Pair some local cheese with grilled Anaheim or Poblano peppers for rellenos, make a bright, green vegetable soup, indulge your desire for fruit cobbler—celebrate all the rich culinary possibilities around you.
Marketing at the Store
I often do flavor challenges with the team building groups and classes, comparing various foods from the farmers market with their supermarket look-alikes. Some bring dramatic contrasts, for instance, a blind tasting of supermarket tomatoes vs. farmers market varieties, but there are some stores that mute the differences by bringing in their produce from local farms, and skipping the middle-man aspect of the delivery system. Berkeley Bowl, of course, comes to mind—but many small stores that are dedicated to quality do the same. Village Market and Star Market are two local small stores with a dedication to such quality. At each, you'll find the farmers have dropped off a load of their great produce, so if it's inconvenient for you to shop the farmers market, check out these great stores. Each also has a great fresh meat and fish counter, and management that spends a lot of time and care with stocking their shelves intelligently, and listening to their customers. Just like we love to support the local farmers, we also like to give our small family markets a boost.
Recipe of the Month
Don't forget to check out the recipe archives, which cycle the seasons with some great recipes for each month of the year.
Baked Stuffed Artichokes
There are plenty of good artichokes in the market right now, so it's a good time to make this easy dish. Serve it as a hearty appetizer with medium artichokes, or as a vegetarian entree with larger ones. I love it with feta cheese, but it's also good with parmesan. You can play around with seasonings and cheeses to find your own favorite.
See the recipe »
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