Let's cook and eat together: Sunday, September 17th

Saturday, September 2nd update:

There are now only 1 or 2 slots open for people bringing wild-caught salmon entrees.
Thanks to a great response, all other slots are now full.

If you want to participate in the next dinner, please stay tuned.

Grazie,
Marco Flavio

Buongiorno.
First of all, thanks to everyone who came to our meeting on Thursday—it was terrific.
One of the best things about the Bay Area is the diversity we bring to the table, and it was great to see that at our first Cook Here and Now meeting. Next time, we'll get to taste it.

The plan
20-25 of us will cook and eat together on September 17, starting at around 2:30 (details to come).
The dinner will be in San Francisco. Jeremy has kindly offered his company's very large, multiple-range kitchen for our gathering. Thank you, Jeremy, for making this dinner possible.
There will be enough space for us to use the stoves and ovens in a couple of shifts.

Registration will be limited to 25 people (which means that realistically there may be around 20 people, with the California flaking-at-the-last-minute syndrome) and every person coming (including any guests you bring) will either cook something or provide wine and drinks (see below).

We'll divide the cooking among the participants this way (but I am open to suggestions):

2 participants will make appetizers for 20 each (please include some vegetarian options)
10 participants will make main courses for 3-4 people each (please include some vegetarian options)
3 participants will make salads for 6 people each
3 participants will make desserts for 8-10 people each
5 participants will bring 2 bottles of good wine (or one bottle of really good wine plus a six-pack of beer)
1 participant will bring non-alcoholic beverages for 20 (sparkling water, juices, soda)

Please let me know who is coming by name. Once we reach 25 people confirmed, I will close the event. If the slots are full for what you'd like to bring, please choose something else instead. (Don't worry: There will always be another event to showcase your skills.)

Ingredients
We decided to pick these together, so we'll work with what the group decides (Iron Chef-style, only without the competition bit). Jamie suggested wild salmon, which we seemed to agree on (and the season is limited, so let's go for it). Please refer to this guide for the certified sustainable species by the Marine Stewardship Council. Please skip PCBs-laden farmed (or Atlantic) salmon.
Below I've suggested some seasonal September produce; now YOU get to vote the ones you want.  We should pick 3 vegetables and one fruit.

Here are the possibilities: 
Vegetables: chard, green beans, eggplant, summer squash, zucchini, or tomatoes
Fruit: Figs, grapes or plums

So post a comment here letting me know the following:
First and last name
Email address
What you'll be bringing (appetizer, main course, etc. and if it's vegetarian)
Your vote for ingredients (please pick 3 vegetables and 1 fruit from the list above)

I'll tally the results and post a list of the chosen ingredients, and who's bringing what.
If too many people pick the same course, I'll have to assign a different course to the last entrant.
If the votes are tied for ingredients, I'll flip a coin.

This is going to be great! So sign up before we have no space left.
Precedence will be given to the people who came on Thursday night, but please feel free to pass the word to fellow foodies.

A presto,
Marco Flavio

Comments

[Marco Flavio Marinucci]

Marco Flavio Marinucci
cookhereandnow@hotmail.com

I will be bringing a main course, non vegetarian.

Vegetables: tomatoes, summer squash and green beans
Fruit: plum

[Alison]

First and last name: Alison Bing
Email address: thecontentmaven@hotmail.com

What you'll be bringing (appetizer, main course, etc. and if it's vegetarian)
Wine: 2-3 bottles of the really good stuff

Your vote for ingredients (please pick 3 vegetables and 1 fruit from the list above)
Botanically speaking, my picks are all fruit: eggplant, tomatoes, zucchini, grapes

That salmon pic is making me smack my lips in anticipation... can't wait!

[Sarah Roseme]

Hi all, it sounds like this group is really coming together. I am just in the process of ending my job before I start cooking school this October. I will be traveling in Sept. as well, but I hope to join you soon at one of the next events.

Sarah

[Kelly]

I'll do salad, I guess? I don't really know....
veg: green beans, zucchini, squash
fruit: FIGS!!

[Mini Kahlon & Rajeev Patel]

I'll use this as an opportunity to cook mustard 'salmon' - bengali style. The fish "Hilsa" is normally used, but Salmon is considered a reasonable substitute. (The Bengalis are extremley fussy about their fish)
Vegetables: Beans, eggplant, tomatoes
Fruit: Plum
Raj & I can make this a combo for Entree - i.e. we both cook together, sufficient for 6-8 people. Or, I cook and Raj brings wine and beer combo.

[Dan Schuster]

Hello! I was out of town and missed Thursday's meeting. I look forward to meeting you all.

I'll bring some home cured and smoked salmon for an appetizer. I make some every few weeks to keep my family happy, I'll just make extra. I can smoke on site but it requires specialized gear - Jeremy - do you have a smoker? Email me if you do...

I'll also make a vegetarian main dish, say Polenta with a vegetable ragu. This will not be vegan - what is polenta without cheese?

My vote for ingredients: Mid September is the end of fruit season (tomato, eggplant, peppers, stone fruit, etc.) and the beginning of winter veggies (chard, leeks, cole family, etc). I suggest the choice of fruits & veggies be determined by what is good at the Farmers Market that Saturday and what will go well with fish.

Hmmm, Bengali mustard salmon - I've never heard of this dish much less tried it. I look forward to learning about it, watching you cook it and and then eating some. Sounds great!

[Amanda Darnell & David Joud]

Hello Marco-
Unfortunately I could not find parking on Thursday so I was not able to attend the meeting, but I would love to attend the cooking get together on Sept 17th.

I could prepare a salad or appetizer and I will put David, my boyfriend,down for dessert. He makes incredible tart tatin.

For veggies, I pick green beans and eggplant. For a fruit figs is David's first choice and plums is his second choice. He has incorporated figs with a tart tatin before and it is heavenly. I am predicting that plums would be pretty delectable also.

We look forward to meeting and cooking with you all!
~Amanda Darnell & David Joud~

[Jodi Louws]

Im new to blog and group. My name is Jodi Louws, jmlouws@yahoo.com.

What you'll be bringing: Id like to bring a bottle of wine and beer. Im also a coffee roaster: does anyone care for after-dinner french press? I have a 6-cup (espresso size) press, if anyone has additional press to bring along?

Vegetables: chard, eggplant, summer squash
Fruit: Figs

[Melanie]

Sounds great and if I am in town I definitely want to come but I may be headed to Portland Oregon so. to avoid being accused of California flakiness which I hate, I will wait a bit before I give a definitive response but if I can come I would like to bring salad and I vote for

figs, tomatoes, eggplant & green beans

A presto!

[Mini Kahlon]

Good resource for figuring out where to buy the wild salmon in SF. http://www.salmonnation.com/food/wild_salmon.html#MktSF

[Joanna Tong]

My info:
Joanna Tong (San Francisco)
email: joanna_12@hotmail.com
Appetizer
Veggies vote: zuchini, eggplant, tomatoes
Fruit: Plums

My decision is also based on a public transport accessible location (to be environmentally conscious if possible!).

thanks,
Joanna

P.S. Parlo italiano un po.

[Tara Hui]

I'm growing zucchini, green chili, bell pepper and figs so I naturally would vote for zucchini and figs :)

Does zucchini bread count as a dessert? I make very good zucchini bread; often toast a slice and eat it with plain ol vanilla ice-cream for dessert. If it counts, I'll bring it and have Chait make Chai.

Btw, if anyone uses eggs as an ingredient, I can bring some from my hen; same goes to the peppers too.

Tara
tarahui@hotmail.com

[Benny]

2 of us, very excited to go September 17th!

Name: Benny and Lyora Zadik
We'll bring a vegetarian main course and a dessert.
We vote for eggplant, zucchini, and tomatoes
Fruit: Figs!

grazie Marco, a presto!

[Amanda Darnell & David J]

Hello Marco-
Unfortunately I could not find parking on Thursday so I was not able to attend the meeting, but I would love to attend the cooking get together on Sept 17th. I would like to register myself and my boyfriend David for the event.

I could prepare a salad or appetizer and I will put David, down for dessert. He makes incredible tart tatin.

For veggies, I pick green beans and eggplant. For a fruit figs is David's first choice and plums is his second choice. He has incorporated figs with a tart tatin before and it is heavenly. I am predicting that plums would be pretty delectable also.

We look forward to meeting and cooking with you all!
~Amanda Darnell & David Joud~

[Unhei Kang]

Hi Marco,

My name's Unhei Kang (unhei@yahoo.com)

I'd like to bring an appetizer - Caprese (tomato, basil, mozarrella).

My husband, Ben Khoo (benkhoo@pacbell.net), will bring two bottles of wine.

vegetable: tomato, fava beans, eggplant
fruit: figs, definitely!

I look forward to cooking with you all.

Unhei

[Chait Diwadkar]

Marco, thanks for organizing this group and also thanks for the meeting last Thursday. Tara will sign up for us for the Sep 17th dinner, she's the 'real' cook. I just came across this article in The Nation and thought you and others might be interested.

http://www.thenation.com/doc/20060911/forum

Looking forward to more articles by you and also to Sep 17.
Best,
Chait

[Lindsey Roberts]

I will be out of town attending a wedding at the time of your first dinner. However, I would love to make it next time. I hope your inaugural feast is a smash!

[Erin O'Donohue]

I will bring a salad or vegetarian side dish.

My vote is for eggplant, tomatoes, chard, and figs.

I'm looking forward to it!

[reshma vasanwala]

hi...sorry i couldn't make it to the meeting last thurs and meet everyone. I am looking forward to the dinner...i will bring the non-alcoholic drinks.

my pick for fruit: FIGS

reshma

[Jeremy]

The dinner location is in the Bayview, off 3rd street. You can take public transit if you are hardy- otherwise I suggest driving- there is loads of parking. Looking forward to cooking a great dinner together.

[Mini Kahlon]

Raj and I will be driving in from Oakland - please let us know if we can pick up anyone in SOMA/downtown, etc. - for example at at downtown bart station. Mini

[Melanie]

Hi that is weird my post above got switched with the one of Jodi....hmm.

I will not be going to Prtlans so I am in and will bring a salad.

Are we bringing stuff already prepared or preparing it there? I am confused

Thanks

Melanie

[Mike]

by my crude tally, we have
Ap 2
Main 4 (2 veg)
Wine 3
Salad 3 (I'm counting caprese as a salad)
Desert 2
NonBev 1

Still Need:
6 main
1 salad
1 dessert
2 wine

I'm thinking cold melon n' mint soup, granita, or a spiked aqua fresca.

I'm also thinking aspic, but let's see if I have time for stocks.

But we need mains...hmm...so maybe a salmon aspic with veg choices? If I don't do the consomme...then probably some kind of tea braised salmon.

If I decide to do stock...is there anyone that would want to use any for their dishes? Fish consomme perhaps?

Jodi, we do have a couple of french presses in the office, but for 20 people we may have to make a couple rounds.

veg choices: tomatoes, summer squash, and zucchini

fruit choice: Fig

[Mike]

After a conversation, it's possible that we may not want to eat aspic.

I can do a consomme if people will need stock or consomme for their dishes. Otherwise, I'll take an assignment and fill in a hole for the dinner.

[Marco Flavio Marinucci]

Buongiorno.
We should cook there what we feel comfortable cooking in public and if it does not require too much time (no 5-hour braising). If you can do some prep cooking at home, that would work well. We do want to eat within a 2-3 hours from gathering, so plan accordingly.
Thank you,
Marco Flavio

[Dan Schuster]

Melanie (and other confused readers)

I think I figured out the posting visuals... the Poster's name is below the dashed line.

So the name & link that's inside the lines that frame your post is really for the message above your post.

Melanie's post (That looks like Mini's)
"Hi that is weird my post above got switched with the one of Jodi....hmm. "

[Bakie Lee]

Helllo I was not able to make the Thursday meeting. Since I would like to help cook but am not sure where I fit in I will bring some Wine & Beer. I'm at a play which starts at 1pm and I'm not sure when it gets out but I'll head over after that. Awesome!

[SYDNEY PETERS`]

Hi, I'm a friend of Dan Schuster and his family (our daughters go to school together). I have been baking and cooking since I was 5 yrs. old. I have always wanted to be in an eclectic cooking group and would love to attend on the 17th. My real passion is baking so I would love to make a decadent dessert. I don't know what yet but I have about 200 baking cookbooks and will start my research ASAP.
I'm thinking of a cake with fruit (whatever looks good at the market). P.S. Dan's smoked salmon is scrumptious.

[Scott Weitze]

Hi, my name is Scott, and I'll be new to the group. Sounds like you have a great bunch of interesting and eclectic people and tastes. I'll bring one bottle of very good wine and one bottle of good wine.

I'd vote for:
vegs: summer squash, tomatoes and green beans
fruit: grapes (concord grapes? mmmm...)

[Marco Flavio]

Hey people,
we need some entrees. I know we all want to eat, but we also need to cook. Come on, show us what you've got!
ciao,
Marco Flavio

[SYDNEY PETERS`]

Will everyone bring copies of their recipes? It would be great to share all the goodies. I also have a coffee press but it is a small one. See you all on the 17th.

[Nancy Chan]

Hello all! I was at the first meeting, and this sounds really exciting! Here's the info:

Name: Nancy Chan and Max Chen
Email: fungping2@yahoo.com
Bringing: Main Course
Veggie Picks: green beans, tomatoes, chard
Fruit Pick: plums

Thanks for organizing, Marco, and see you soon.

[Amanda D]

Marco. I am hoping that you are geting my postings. My name seems to be going with other's people's postings. I am trying my other email address in hopes of reaching you. Here is my original posting from August 28th.

Hello Marco-
I would love to attend the cooking get together on Sept 17th. I would like to register myself and my boyfriend David for the event.

I could prepare a salad or appetizer and I will put David, down for dessert. He makes incredible tart tatin.

For veggies, I pick green beans and eggplant. For a fruit figs is David's first choice and plums is his second choice. He has incorporated figs with a tart tatin before and it is heavenly. I am predicting that plums would be pretty delectable also.

We look forward to meeting and cooking with you all!
~Amanda Darnell & David Joud~
amandamore10@hotmail.com

successfully.

[Amanda D]

Thanks Dan for figuring out the posting system. I was kinda' beginning to feel pretty dorky not knowing all of this "techie" culture stuff like blogging, which I suppose this is????

Ummm I think it is time for me to spend less time typing official documents and answereing company emails, and shamelessly start spending endless hours on-line gaming and surfing the net.
Sincerely,

"Another I am not so Confused Anymore Humaniod"
(a.k.a Amanda Darnell)

[Julia]

Another new person.

First and last name: Julia Kochi
Email address: julko@excite.com
What you'll be bringing: main course (non-veg)
Veggies: chard, tomatoes, green beans
Fruit: plums

I'm a little confused because I missed the meeting. Is the main dish supposed to be salmon?

Looking forward to meeting everyone!

[Marco Flavio Marinucci]

Hello,
thanks to your great response, we only have 1 entree spot left.
That is it.
Looking forward to it.
Grazie,
Marco Flavio

[Samsara Oberle]

Hello Foodies!!

First and last name: Samsara Oberle
Email address: samsara@covesta.net
What you'll be bringing: main course (wild-caught salmon)
Veggies: chard, tomatoes, summer squash
Fruit: figs

Looking forward to meeting everyone!

[Judy McCarthy]

I have just learned of your cooking group. I would like to come on September 17th and will bring wild salmon for 3-4.
Will reference options of preparation or use my own simple but grand, butter, herbs and salt and pepper.

Looking forward to it!
Judy

[Mini Kahlon]

I'm just confirming whether Raj & I are doing 2 entree portions or 1, with Raj bringing beer/wine. At this point, I'd prefer the latter ... thanks. Mini

[Margherita Navarro]

Ciao Marco,
I hope that finally you can get this post. I tried 4 times. We'd like to come and bring a large wild salmon (6 or 8 people).
We look forward to meeting you.
Grazie!