Cook Here and Now

Action shots from our December dinner:celebrating the season

Buongiorno -- here are a few action shots from our December dinner, where 44 of us celebrated the opening of Dungeness crab and mussels season. The feast was complete with oysters and mussels, since the season just opened for them as well. Fantastic winter vegetable dishes featured winter squash, spinach, bok choy and their relatives, green onions and potatoes. Amy's wonderful tart above featured all of the season's tastiest fruit: grapes, persimmons, kiwi and pomegranates. Thanks to Jeremy for the hospitality!

Our next event will be in January, but until then, here's a little inspiration for your holiday gatherings...
Buone feste,
Marco Flavio

Jeremy harvested a large amount of fresh mussels in Point Reyes the morning of the event.

Once people arrived at 2:30, we all got to work.

There was a lot of crab to shell...

Here Jody's preparing a wonderful crab and grapefruit appetizer with truffle oil served on endive, paired with Piper Sonoma and Roederer estate sparkling wines.

Even in the midst of the action, there's time for a glass of wine and chatting...

The appetizers came out around 3:30 to tide us over until dinner.

Everyone raved about the tasty Kaddo Bowrani with savory winter squash. Please post that recipe!

Brian and Christina's sensational Dungeness crab sliders were served on brioche mini-buns also made by Brian.

It's hard to leave space in your stomach for main courses with such delectable appetizers:
Dee's Crab Imperial...

...Jeremy's baked, breaded fresh mussels...

 

... and Rochelle's crab tostadas with fresh California avocados.

Here's the ricotta I made with Strauss organic milk, served with homemade whole-wheat bread, topped with Bariani's California truffle olive oil.

15 minutes to dinner time and the stoves are jumping!

By 5.30, all the dishes are rushed to the table: dinnertime.

The mains were worth the wait: strifried Dungeness crab with bok choy and green onions...

 

... gorgeous chilled avocado soup with yuzu kosho and sunchokes...

...Sofia's salad with sweet potatoes, fennel, arugula and flowers from Sigrid's garden...

... and steamed mussels with chorizo.

We get our food and sit down to a proper feast.

We brought a fantastic selection of local NorCal wines to pair with our courses:

 

 

 

... and of course some fruity desserts to refresh our palates after so much seafood. Lisa's grape crisp was a favorite of mine ...

... and everyone found room for pomegranate sorbet and velvety persimmon ice cream.

So ... what will you cook with us in 2009?

A presto,
Marco Flavio

Farmers Market Watch: December 19th

Buongiorno: Even with the cold spell gripping the Bay Area, I'm bundling up and riding my scooter to market to plan a menu for an upcoming holiday party. I'm thinking mushrooms, root vegetables dressed with a balsamic vinegar reduction and truffle salt. Carrots are really outstanding right now: we have several varieties out, with flavor profiles ranging from floral to grassy to earthy.

If you enjoy this Market Watch, please click on the button and Stumble us so we spread the word about  all the good stuff that's still in season:

A presto!
Marco Flavio

What I found this week:

Carrots of all kinds. Try some new recipes, like this Giardiniera (lit. woman gardener) that puts the season's best offerings to good use and is a must-have appetizer at any Roman Christmas Eve dinner. Any leftovers are great piled high in a hefty meat sandwich.

Organic Swiss chard is plentiful and pairs wonderfully with lemon and garlic or nuts. Try this recipe with currants and pine nuts: It's one of my favorites.

 

Fennel is a staple of the Mediterranean diet, but also pairs well with tropical fruits. Try it in a salad with avocados and a few slices of ripe grapefruit for a surprising winter treat.

 

6' tall lemongrass, people! So fresh and tangy ... what are you waiting for? Find a nice fatty fish and poach it with a stalk. Wild salmon, anyone?

 

Organic plum radishes. Earthy and not too spicy - just enough to make your eyes open wide and nostrils flare. Get some to liven up a salad, now that tomatoes are off the menu.

 

The freshest taro root I've seen, with leaves still attached and green -- a rare treat indeed.
Here's a recipe for stir-fried taro leaves with belacan, for those of you craving Malaysian flavors.

 

My favorite California olive oil is back: Bariani. They ran out of the regular oil 3 months ago, but the new crop just came out. Bottled on the 10th! It's very grassy, rich, velvety and a touch bitter, like a new oils should be (they mellow out with age, not unlike people). Get some while it's available!

 

 

Chayote has hit the stands, and can be eaten raw or cooked. Sigrid made us a great salad with it using a tangerine dressing. Try it out!

 

Don't forget your organic satsumas. Choose little ones that are the perfect size for a snack, but save some to make the dressing for the chayote recipe.

 

Sugar cane offsets savory winter flavors with tropical sweetness. Try this Vietnamese sugar cane shrimp recipe.

 

Finally: enjoy winter-blooming flowers that make cold houses a bit more bearable.

 

Enjoy!
Marco Flavio

Farmers Market Watch: December 9th

Buongiorno! What a warm, dry fall we're having. The balmy weather shows on the market stands: peppers, eggplants and the occasional heirloom tomato are still hanging in there, alongside the usual fall offerings: persimmons, oranges and a multitude of Asian cabbages.
I also found pungent sage brought in from Miramonte Farms. I'm not sure you can cook with it, but I couldn't pass up that powerful scent and desaturated green color on those large leaves. Just look at it  above ...

Our December dinner is just a few days away, and with this December bounty I'm looking forward to many inspired dishes!

If you enjoy this Market Watch, please click on the button and Stumble us so we can spread the word:

A presto!
Marco Flavio

What I found this week:

An Asian cabbage about the size of a Napa cabbage that's new to me: Dia Gia Choy.
If you cook with it, let us know how you use it in the Comments section.

Napa cabbage is everywhere. This cabbage is traditionally used in East Asia in stir fries, as an addition to dumplings, to line a bamboo food steamer and as the main ingredient in Korean kimchi. Don't let the name fool you: this is not a New World hybrid, but a widely used import from Asia at the turn of the last century. Try one of these coleslaw recipes from Allrecipe or this funny photo tutorial on kimchi preparation.

Sunchokes (they're the root of a sunflower) a.k.a. Jerusalem artichokes - a real foodie favorite.
With the texture and color of a Yukon gold potato and the appearance of ginger root, they have a complex, sugary, nutty flavor, and are great roasted or sautéed. Wach out if you'll be making these for guests: they do create gas in the digestive tract. Here are some steps you can take to avoid this problem. Recipes from Allrecipes.com or Epicurious.com.

Organic Marathon Broccoli from Tomatero Farms. You can recognize them by their small, tightly packed florettes and savory edible leaves. Chop or stir-fry the whole thing: you'll get different textures and flavors in your final dish.

Sweet potatoes are everywhere - the #1 best food you can eat, according to the Center for Science in the Public Interest. Try using them instead of potatoes. They roast and braise beautifully, and that color...

Pears of all kinds. There's a common misconception that they're gritty in texture, but that depends on their harvest time. Summer and autumn pears should be harvested before they're fully ripe, while they're still green. If left to ripen and turn yellow on the tree, the sugars will turn to starch crystals and the pear will have a gritty texture inside ... one more reason to go to the farmers market and try before you buy.

Plenty of Fuyu persimmons around to enjoy in salads and desserts. Make sure you taste them. Sometimes we get hachiya persimmons, which are tangy and astringent. They may not be your favorite hand fruit, but they're perfect for baked goods ... cookies anyone?

Plenty of fresh, juicy Valencia oranges for your after-holiday-party mimosas. Get them from Bernard Ranches: they're tangy and aromatic, never dry.

A bounty of fall colors in a persimmon and Valencia orange tasting.

Bernard Ranches also carries my favorite Lisbon lemons, which are the most tart lemons with very little pith - perfect for crafting a marmalade. That became my post-market afternoon project. Colleen made it for me a few months back, and I've been craving more marmalade ever since.

The lemons before cooking: look at that greenish gold color...

Here's my liquid gold: I'm set for a while.

Enjoy!
Marco Flavio

Let's cook and eat together: Sunday December 14th ALL SLOTS FULL

Buongiorno,
Thank you for your enthusiasm, this is fantastic! All our slots are full (it took about an hour, a new record).
If your name is not listed in the comments section of the previous post, please stay tuned -- we'd love to have you next time. If you wish to be on the waiting list, please leave your email address and name as a comment to this post. I'll contact you if anyone cancels.

Ciao e grazie mille,
Marco Flavio

Let's cook and eat together: Sunday December 14th

Buongiorno from sunny Sonoma.
We're ready for our December pre-holidays dinner -- and since the season just opened the theme is Dungeness crab!

We'll be featuring Northern California's Dungeness crab, and add oysters and mussels (the season just opened for them as well) to round it up.

Vegetables will be winter squash, spinach, bok choy and their relatives (there's a nice selection at the market), green onions and potatoes.
Fruit will be grapes, persimmons and pomegranates.

A presto,
Marco Flavio

The plan
35 of us will cook and eat together on December 14th, starting at around 2:30.

The dinner will be in San Francisco. Jeremy has kindly offered his company's very large, multiple-range kitchen for our gathering at the last event. There will be enough space for us to use the stoves and ovens in a couple of shifts.

I'm letting only 40 people register for this event, so act quickly, but please reed what's already been taken. Every person coming (including any guest you bring, or your other half in a couple) will have to sign up for a slot and either cook something or provide local wine and beer (if beverages slots are available, see below).

Since participation is limited, please let us know at least four days before the dinner if you're not going to be able to make it, so we can invite someone else to join us. If you cancel closer to 4 days to the event, you can't join us for the following 2 events. If you didn't show at all, you can't join us for the next 3. Canceling on short notice (or not at all) is unfair to everyone, especially the people who wanted to participate and couldn't because all the slots were taken.

16 participants will make main courses for 3-4 people each (including some vegetarian options)
6 participants will make appetizers for 8 participants each ALL SLOTS FULL
4 participants will make salads for 8 people each ALL SLOTS FULL
6 participants will make dessert for 8-10 people each ALL SLOTS FULL
7 participants will bring at least 2 bottles of good *locally produced* wine per person (not per couple) and some *locally-brewed* beer. Consider that most cooks spend $25-50 (and up!) just on their ingredients. If you're not cooking, you should be prepared to spend at least this much on beverages, out of respect for your chefs. ALL SLOTS FULL
2 participants will bring non-alcoholic beverages for 20 (sparkling water and juices, locally produced when possible) ALL SLOTS FULL

Please let me know who is coming by name. Once we reach 40 people confirmed, I will close the event and start another post for the waiting list. 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.)

So post a comment on the blog (do NOT email me directly) under the call-for-participation post letting me know the following:
First and last name
Email address
What you'll be bringing (appetizer, main course, etc.) 
If you brought wine last time, you should now cook something (unless you cooked as part of a couple and made a large entree).

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 the spaces are gone.

A presto,
Marco Flavio

Farmers Market Watch: December 2nd

Buongiorno. Now that Thanksgiving is behind us, I can start thinking about food again. Dungeness crab season (see above) has begun, and the first arrivals are in from Half Moon Bay. Start thinking up some recipes, because our December event will feature this West Coast delicacy.

Got any suggestions for vegetable pairings? Just add them as comments to this post. The announcement for our dinner will go out in a day or two.

There's a new feature on the blog: check out the right-hand column on the blog, and you'll find a green box labeled Cook Here and Now: Seasonal Recipe Server. This server compiles recipes from food sites I find reliable, and I applied filters to find seasonal recipes featuring ingredients mentioned in Market Watch (it can also be placed on most blog platforms and social networking sites just by clicking on the options tab under it). Try it out!

A presto --
Marco Flavio

What I found this week at the San Francisco Alemany Farmers Market:

The last zucchini of the season. Enjoy them while they last. They're still good -- unbelievable.

 

Organic fingerling potatoes are begging to be oven-roasted. Could be good for our December dinner...

Organic beets add color to any soup or hand-made gnocchi.

 

Organic kale can be braised or roasted to accompany savory meat dishes.

 

A rare treat: Bloomsdale spinach. This is an exceptional heirloom varietal with almost no trace of bitterness, so even your kids will love them. They're a bit spendy, but organic and the growing season is short.

 

We're in full Satsuma season: don't miss out.

 

Organic seedless grapes of all kinds are on the stands. Enjoy their colors and flavor differences, and don't forget to roast some to add to your favorite cereal -- so much better than raisins.

 

 

Kiwis are back in season just in time for the cold season. More Vitamin C than an orange, and so tasty...

 

Guavas have just arrived. I eat them straight from the fridge after a run: extremely refreshing.

 

California's Hass avocados are here, with their buttery, velvety texture. Good for grilled panini.

 

Enjoy!
Marco Flavio