San Francisco-Style Bagels – Taking Things to a Hole New Level

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Okay, first things first; there’s no such thing as a “SanFrancisco-Style Bagel.” This gorgeous city has lots of amazing food traditions,but the bagel isn’t one of them. So, when I accidentally stumbled upon a methodfor making bagels that were structurally and texturally superior, I decided totake advantage of that fact, and the SF-style bagel was born.
Will it catch on nationally? Highly doubtful, but that’sfine. I’ll settle for a simple wikipedia entry. Thanks to a softer, stickierdough, and an alternative boiling method, these unconventional beauties arethinner, crinklier, and toast up like no other bagel I’ve ever had.
How people can eat un-toasted bagels is one of the greatmysteries of the universe. To me, a cold bagel is nothing more than a dense,insipid, donut-shaped roll. What makes the bagel such a wonderful thing isthe interplay between the pleasantly chewy inside and the crisp, crunchyoutside.
Unfortunately, with traditional bagels, there’s often toomuch of the former, and not enough of the later. With these, that’s not anissue. We’ve maximized crusty surface area, while eliminating about an inch ofbready filler. By the way, in addition to being amazing with all the usual shmears, these flatter, sexier bagels also make a world-class sandwich.I hope you give them a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for about 8 Bagels (*depending on size)(Please note: if you use different flours, or yeasts, orboiling methods, or pans, or anything else…I’m not sure what will happen, soyou’re on your own)1 pound bread flour, divided in half1 1/2 tsp dry active yeast1 1/4 cup warm water1 1/2 tsp salt1 egg, beatensesame seeds as needed- Boil in about 2 inches of water, seasoned with a roundedtablespoon of salt, and 2 tsp of honey for 2 minutes per side.- Brush with beaten egg and sprinkle with sesame seeds.- Bake at 400 degrees F. for 25-30 minutes. 

*When the dough is ready to shape, weigh the total batch and divide by 7 or 8, depending on how big you want your bagels. Then weigh each portion out, and you’ll have consistently-sized bagels that will bake evenly.

Peach Melba – Let's Toast to a Great Summer Fruit Dessert

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You know you have mad opera skills when they name not one,but two recipes after you. This spectacularly colored Peach Melba was createdfor Victorian era opera star Nellie Melba, by the greatest chef of the time,Auguste Escoffier, who also named some thin, crispy toasts in her honor years later.
This was kind of a big deal, as Escoffier was known at thetime as "the king of chefs, and chef of kings." He was arguably theworld’s first celebrity chef. His masterwork, Le Guide Culinaire, has over5,000 recipes in it, and is a fascinating browse the next time you’re in a realbookstore (do we still have those?).
Anyway, Peach Melba is a delicious and simple, summer fruitdessert, which is kind of ironic, since Auguste Escoffier was famous for hiselaborate culinary creations. In fairness, his original plating did feature theice cream and peaches being carried in on swans carved from ice, so things havebeen streamlined a bit over the years.
Here we have creamy vanilla ice cream, a perfectly poachedpeach, topped off with fresh raspberry sauce and toasted almonds. This tastes likeI’m sure Nellie Melba’s voice sounded. I do hope you give this historic dish atry soon. Enjoy!



Ingredients for 6 servings: 3 peaches, halved 2 cups water2 cups sugar1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise2 tablespoons lemon juiceFor the raspberry sauce:3 cups fresh raspberries (yes frozen will work)1/3 cup white sugar1 tablespoon lemon juice1 tbsp water1/8 tsp balsamic vinegar

Time Machine Chefs to Air Thursday, August 16th!

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(Left to right): Art Smith, Chris Cosentino, Jill Davie,
Ilan Hall. Photo ABC

As some of you may remember, last year I flew to LA for amonth to help produce a television pilot for a show called “Time MachineChefs.”
Well, I’m thrilled to announce that it’s going to air Thursday night onABC! I believe it’s on at 9 PM, but as they always say, check your locallistings.
Below you’ll see a trailer to get a little taste of thisvery unique cooking competition. Basically, four star chefs head back in timeand are expected to create world class cuisine using only food and equipmentavailable then.

Come on, how are you not going to watch that? You’re going towatch, right? I promised them like half a million viewers, so it’s time torally, people! Enjoy!

Grilled Lemon & Rosemary Lamb Chops – Classic Inditalian

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When it comes to grilling lamb loin chops, I usually go oneof two ways. Usually, I take an Italian approach, and marinade the meat withlemon, garlic, and herbs. Or to change things up, sometimes I’ll go with moreof an Indian style, and use a yogurt-based marinade along with theassociated aromatic spices like cumin, cinnamon, and coriander.
I love both styles, but was having a hard time choosingwhich one to use this time. Eventually I gave up and decided to combine bothinto one uber-recipe. As the footage of me slicing through the pink, juicy meathopefully illustrates, it worked wonderfully, and really did capture the magicof both methods.
By the way, be sure you’re buying “Loin Chops” and not“Rib Chops.” Loin chops look like thick, little t-bone steaks, while the ribchops have a single eye of meat and a long bone. The Loin chops are not onlymeatier, but work way better on the grill. They cost about the same, so be sureto ask the butcher.
Of course, some people don’t eat/like lamb (poor bastards),so feel free to use this “Inditalian” marinade on any other grillable meat. I’mgoing to try it on some half chickens next, and I’m predicting it’s going torock. I hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients:8-10 lamb loin chops1/2 cup plain yogurtzest and juice from 1 large or 2 smaller lemons1 rounded tablespoon ground hot chili sauce, like Sambal orCalabrian chilies4 cloves garlic, crushed fine1/4 teaspoon cinnamon1 tsp dried oregano2 tablespoons minced fresh rosemary1 tsp salt1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
*Marinate for 4 to 10 hours for best results *Optional: season chops before grilling with salt and pepperto taste

Rib-Eye alla Fiorentina with Orange Pickled Shallots

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Working at a public high school is a job that I thoroughly enjoy. Seriously! I like talking to teenagers, and their parents. My job is challenging, with just the right amount of fun, and my day flies by really fast.

Each school year seems to go by faster and faster, and the hard work is rewarded with one month off (without pay).  During my summer break, we had an unexpected treat. Craig's college age niece came to visit us, from Missouri.   She's been enduring triple-digit temperatures--so when I apologized for the overcast and cloudy 60-ish degree weather, she responded that she was thrilled to have a chance to cool off.

At last the sun came out, and it was time to do some backyard grilling. Miss Becky has never had rib-eye steaks. Tsk, tsk.   I needed to expand her college menu, so I bought some rib-eyes, and asked Craig to fire up the Weber grill.   Then I remembered... I had bookmarked a recipe in the June 2011 Cuisine at Home issue. The front cover photo had my mouth watering, and I made a mental note to make it.  The time had come!

According to Cuisine at home, Bistecca alla Fiorentia is one of the most celebrated dishes in Tuscany.  In doing a little bit of internet research, I see that a Porterhouse cut of beef is most traditional.  I think that a Rib-Eyes is a great alternative choice, because it has a lot of marbling. As the interior fat melts, it keeps the steak flavorful and moist-- which is a great failsafe, in case you overcook a bit longer than you intended to.

I realized that I had all of the ingredients to make this recipe, so off I went to make this recipe! I've never been to Tuscany (and it's on my bucket list), so I decided that  Tuscany was coming to our own California backyard.

I always have shallots in my refrigerator, and the pickled shallots are made with fresh orange juice, white wine vinegar, salt and pepper. NOTE: Zest the orange, first, because you'll use it for the steaks. Easy peasy.

 Bring the liquids to a boil, and remove from heat.
Add the shallots, sprinkle with salt, add some pepper, cover and let sit for at least 15 minutes (or make it the night before. Done.
Chop some fresh mint and basil, and add to extra-virgin olive oil and orange zest.(I almost didn't add the mint, because my husband claims he doesn't like it-- more on that, later.)
Add some fresh minced garlic, salt and pepper and add this to a shallow dish. Set aside.
Grill the steaks for about 5 minutes, each side.  The steaks I bought weren't 3-inches thick, so these took about 6 minutes to cook to medium.
 Set the steaks into the olive oil mixture, cover with foil and allow to rest for five minutes; flip the steaks over and serve with the pickled shallots.
Pour your choice of beverage to go with this steak. Serve the steak with the pickled shallots-- which Becky wasn't quite willing to try.  (Kids... even at 21, she's slowly branching out from loving grilled cheese sandwiches.)

VERDICT:  It think that Becky's critique of the steaks speaks volumes-- "these are the best steaks I've ever had in my life!"  (All 21 years...hahaha)
For me, that's the ultimate compliment.  Craig loved the steak, too.  I loved the look of surprise, on his face, when I told him he just ate mint. You see, Craig has always shunned the idea of mint in any kind of food. He says it's too overwhelming.  Ha!  The mint, orange and basil is lovely combination and has a perfect summertime balance of flavors.  Yes, I'd make this again, and I hope you try it.
My summer break ended two weeks ago, and I'm one very busy little worker bee.  Things are starting to settle down, so I can share recipes more often with you.  Yes!
A printable recipe card is at the end of this post.