The Secrets of Success Cookbook: Signature Recipes and Insider Tips from San Francisco's Best Restaurants by Michael Bauer

    • Categories: Salads; Appetizers / starters; Vegetarian
    • Ingredients: eggs; olive oil; sherry vinegar; shallots; all-purpose flour; panko breadcrumbs; thyme; peanut oil; arugula; Parmesan cheese; capers; portobello mushrooms
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Notes about this book

  • Jeanniesf on October 19, 2021

    The date and celery salad was a surprise and quite good. I made it because I happened to have the ingredients on hand, and we really enjoyed the result.

Notes about Recipes in this book

  • Potato skins with smoked salmon and horseradish crème fraîche

    • mjes on May 07, 2018

      Depending on how many people you are feeding, unless you are much faster than I at making fried potato skins, this is not a quick recipe. However, the onion relish and horseradish crème fraîche come together quickly. Assembling the dish is a breeze ... not sampling a plateful is a bit more of a problem. Worth keeping in mind for casual entertaining or family treats.

  • Turnip spread (Hudhud ghanoush)

    • mjes on May 07, 2018

      This recipe is for a turnip version of baba ghanoush; it can also be used for other vegetables e.g. potatoes, zucchini, cauliflower . . . Offering a variety of ghanoushes is a surprising and very enjoyable twist for casual entertaining - especially if you have enough left over for a few lunches.

  • Medjool date and celery salad

    • Wlow on May 21, 2024

      May be signature salad of 42 Degrees restaurant. Original 1995 recipe from SF Chronicle (outstanding) uses lemon juice.

  • Butter chicken

    • Cheri on July 05, 2011

      actually liked the Indian Butter Chicken from Mommie Cooks Blog better - same flavor, quicker, easier. More of a winter dish.

  • Salmon curry

    • mirage on July 20, 2014

      Pretty.

  • Petrale sole with brown butter and toasted capers

    • mjes on May 25, 2018

      I have been known to follow this recipe and actually serve with spinach, shrimp, and croutons. However, I keep coming back to this recipe for the simple brown butter and capers treatment of the petrale sole - today served with mango chutney. This has been a go-to recipe for decades.

  • Vegetable brochettes with marinated tofu

    • ashallen on December 11, 2019

      I haven't made the brochettes, but I've used the tofu marinade from this recipe multiple times. Great marinade with a very nice flavor. Can be reused per instructions in recipe and frozen between uses.

  • Warm wasabi house noodles with grilled pork

    • anya_sf on January 30, 2022

      Worried this would be too spicy, I just used a pinch of red pepper flakes. However, my wasabi turned out to be very mild, so there was just a hint of spice. Next time I'll sample the wasabi and add more to taste. Otherwise I loved the flavors. I added sauteed spinach for more veg.

  • Buttermilk pancakes

    • stockholm28 on September 15, 2013

      Pretty basic buttermilk pancake recipe.

  • Mushroom quiche

    • anya_sf on October 14, 2019

      Although this recipe is from Bouchon, it isn't the same as the one in the Bouchon cookbook. The crust seemed to call for too much butter relative to flour; I slightly altered the proportions, using 200 g of each. I made the dough in the food processor, since the Bouchon cookbook states that it's important to have small pieces of fat so the crust maintains its integrity. Blind baking the crust took nearly 45 minutes (not sure why). I used more mushrooms - 1 lb chanterelles + 1/2 lb button mushrooms - and would do so again. I sprinkled the bottom of the baked crust with a bit of shredded cheese to help keep it crisp. The quiche leaked a small amount of liquid, but nothing noticeable once we sliced into it. The crust was oh, so buttery, and the filling creamy and decadent. We can't eat this too often, but it was quite the treat!

  • Kirov lemonade

    • anya_sf on January 16, 2026

      Bracingly tart. To be fair, I did not have superfine sugar, just granulated, which might not have dissolved enough.

  • Saturn cocktail

    • anya_sf on November 23, 2019

      A lovely, tart, citrusy cocktail

  • Ima gimlet

    • anya_sf on June 15, 2017

      Makes a very strong drink (2 1/2 oz vodka!) but it's delicious. The mint is very refreshing. The triple sec is subtle, but definitely adds something.

  • Fresh apple cake

    • LouiseQuasiChef on December 25, 2022

      This is an excellent recipe I have made repeatedly over the years. People exclaim how moist it is (thanks 1-1/2 c oil!). It's beautiful as a bundt cake -- I just sift some confectioners sugar on top. I never made the caramel sauce -- though it looks good and easy -- because I generally bake this cake to take along to a party, picnic, etc. Note: 3 c. apples is about 1 #. Use any apples on hand.

  • Baked lemon pudding

    • stockholm28 on August 25, 2013

      Tasty and easy tart lemon dessert. This same recipe is in "Big Small Plates" by Cindy Pawlcyn.

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  • ISBN 10 0811825027
  • ISBN 13 9780811825023
  • Linked ISBNs
  • Published May 25 2000
  • Format Paperback
  • Language English
  • Countries United States
  • Publisher Chronicle Books

Publishers Text

The San Francisco Bay Area and neighboring Wine Country are home to some of the world's finest restaurants. Ever wished you could recreate one of these fabulous restaurants' dishes in your own kitchen? Michael Bauer, esteemed food critic for the San Francisco Chronicle, has spent years twisting the arms of the Bay Area's best chefs for the secrets to their signature dishes. Now they're all collected in this cookbook. Filled with anecdotes, insider tips and techniques, plus over 300 great recipes from all over the Bay Area, this must-have book will help you dazzle your dinner guests from the first course to the last. Whether it's a spoonful of cocoa powder in Bistro Jeanty's Coq au Vin or the double-baking technique for Zax's Goat Cheese Souffle, The Secrets of Success Cookbook offers the inside scoop on bringing the taste of Northern California's most-prized culinary delights to your own table.

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