Monthly Archives: July 2020

There are elegant recipes for classic French Pommes Anna but I prefer to make these simple, individual stacks of pressed potato layers. It’s so nice to have another easy potato recipe that can be made the day ahead. By roasting them in individual ramekins first, and then placed directly on to a baking tray, excess butter can ooze out unlike when baked in one large dish.

Featuring organic, multi-ethnic cuisine, the internationally-known Nora opened in 1979 and has been praised for its delicious, high quality food and healthy approach to eating. Nora’s second restaurant, Asia Nora, serves uniquely interpreted dishes from across Asia using organic ingredients. In April 1999, Nora became the first certified organic restaurant in the country: this is living proof that one can successfully run an upscale restaurant that is good for you and for the environment.

There are few moments more rewarding than when you come back into the house after planting plump flower bulbs on a brisk, sunny fall afternoon. And there are few lunches more heartily enjoyed on such a day than a steaming bowl of Rich Creamy Tomato Soup with cheddar and fontina grilled cheese sandwiches. For a spiced up version, lightly sprinkle ground cloves into the soup (like Sharon's grandmother) and spread a thin layer of fig and ginger jam on to artisan peasant bread before grilling the compound cheese sandwiches. You'll be all set to get back outside and finish planting bulbs in anticipation of a glorious spring garden!

This is one of my favorite little surprise salads to serve with Mixed Grill Sate or other hot-spicy main courses. It is easy to prepare and is delicious, with a surprising taste, texture and haute cuisine spa attitude.

Chez Panisse
Berkeley, California

Because this salad is so simple, its success depends on the quality of its three main ingredients.

Housed in a century-old fieldstone foundry in St. Helena, CA, Terra ignited the transformation of Napa Valley into the culinary Mecca it is today. Reinvigorate your recipe repertoire with 175 of their favorites in this highly regarded cookbook. Or, call (707) 963-8931 for reservations and a romantic, elegant dinner in a stone-walled dining room. Tip: “...radicchio can have a bitter flavor. Before you use it, taste a leaf. If you want to reduce the bitterness you can soak it for up to 30 minutes in cold water. Any leftover salad can be sautéed (in its dressing) and served as a side dish with meat or game”.

The simple truth is that the Dutch men in our family always disliked both the smell of Turnips cooking on the stove and the taste~they said that back in Holland, Turnips had been considered pig, and not human, food. But this recipe for Puréed Turnip Clouds changed the mind and taste buds of at least one of our Dutch men. He still doesn’t like the smell of them cooking, but he admits that he likes to eat them. Success.

There is nothing that I like more than to savor the goodness of homegrown vegetables and herbs through winter’s cold, dark months. Like serving my own pesto bubbling atop warm goat cheese with crackers. Or sneaking into the freezer for my choice of herbed butters. Or serving my Pumpkin Créme Caramel on Thanksgiving.

2003 Award Winning Recipe!

A specialty gardener and lover of fine regional wines and cuisines, Joe discovered the Pequillo while in Spain visiting family friends with his wife Robin. This kaleidoscopic salad is superb with grilled pork. (Their adored Olde English Bulldogs, Brutus and Caesar, also love a taste of the pipiranna.)

Over the last three decades, Chez Panisse has cultivated a network of local farmers who share the restaurant's commitment to sustainable agriculture. In 2001, Chez Panisse was named best restaurant in the US by Gourmet Magazine. Alice Waters initiated the Edible Schoolyard project in 1995 which incorporates her ideas about food and culture into the public school curriculum. She is the author of eleven books. For reservations, call (510) 548-5525.