• robm on February 04, 2011

  Wonderful recipes from the food pages of the San Francisco Chronicle, many from some of San Francisco's world famous, innovative restaurants!

Notes about Recipes in this book

• Chilled cucumber soup

  • mjes on April 24, 2018

    This is the first cold soup I learned to make. In my cooking, raita and cucumber soup have slowly become more of an issue of texture & density than flavor. This recipe uses dill which is not my favorite herb. I frequently substitute - cilantro, basil, lovage, shiso. I've even tried ginger instead of garlic. If you taste as you go, it is difficult to mess this recipe up.

• Mexican pasta soup

  • Westy2 on December 02, 2013

    Very good. Light and warm but not heavy.

• Sorrel and potato soup

  • mjes on April 24, 2018

    In 1970 my standard soup was a leek potato soup which I felt was so sophisticated. Then I tasted it with sorrel and fell in love. I did not like using spinach as a substitute; I have not tried dandelion greens. Make sure to use a high quality broth and you'll have a spring soup you can use for formal dining to family lunch.

• Turkey congee

  • anya_sf on November 29, 2020

    I'd never had congee before, so didn't know quite what to expect, but it turned out as I'd imagined. The ginger flavor wasn't noticeable in the stock, so I added ginger while the rice cooked as well, and also added some salt with the rice. Stirred in some chopped baby bok choy and cooked turkey meat at the end, along with the other condiments (except crullers). On its own, the congee was quite bland, but improved greatly with the condiments, plus some chili oil. Soothing comfort food - perfect if you're under the weather or have overindulged.

• Fennel coleslaw

  • mjes on April 26, 2018

    So glad I pulled out this old cookbook. It inspired me to make some old favorites from the recipe rather than from casual memory. For this, I made a few changes even when "following" the recipe. I used Napa cabbage for the green cabbage as I like the variation in texture between it and the purple cabbage. I used Japanese (kewpie) mayonnaise as that is what is usually in the house; I used a little less than called for. I debated over what curry to use. Given the age of the recipe, I assume that Madras was expected. However, I went to World Spice Merchant's Sri Lankan curry with its fennel seeds instead. A very tasty slaw for a crowd ... a big crowd. The drawback of the recipe is that the fennel and two types of cabbage make it difficult to scale down to the amount of slaw I normally make.

• The iceberg salad

  • mjes on April 27, 2018

    I tend to forget how good the crisp iceberg lettuce can be as I've long favored the more strongly flavored greens. But this salad, when made with a good blue cheese (Rogue Creamery offers several) and tasty tomatoes roasted, is a winner. And, yes, despite what Mother taught me and the instruction say, I cut the iceberg rather than tearing it (GASP!!). My defense - it was being eaten immediately by family members who wouldn't notice the difference?

• Lotus root salad

  • mjes on April 28, 2018

    Most of the lotus root salads I've known include a bit of heat either from chiles or hot sauces. This counts on fresh ginger and sesame oil to give the salad a bit of "kick". I find people unfamiliar with lotus root are more willing to try this version. Think of this as a substitute for the vinegar style cole slaw.

• Papaya chaat salad with pine nuts

  • mjes on April 29, 2018

    For the chaat masala, I used Chaat masala from The Spice Bible. For the onion, the sweet onion I used was nearly flavorless and added little to the salad. Next time, I'll follow the instructions for a white onion. This recipe is less inventive than it was in 1997 as the flavor profile has spread throughout American cooking. But this still is an enjoyable salad.

• Ditali with asparagus

  • mjes on April 30, 2018

    Continuing through this cookbook in the possession of a huge bundle of asparagus. Yes, this is an ultra simple recipe but it is tasty. Because my asparagus was not thick, I guessed when to put it in. And before seasoning, I added a few drops of Colatura di Alici which is not called for in the recipe but it sounded good today. Yes, this recipe is worth repeating.

• Fusilli with mushrooms and strong greens

  • mjes on April 30, 2018

    This recipe has become a standard. I sometimes toss in some Italian sausage and call it a meal for myself. I replace the red pepper flakes with fresh chile chopped finely.

• Pasta all'Amatriciana

  • anya_sf on December 30, 2023

    Good, simple pasta dish. Not super saucy. I left a bit of bacon fat in the pan and also did not rinse the pasta, but added a little pasta water along with the pasta into the sauce.

• Ken Hom's fresh pasta with cilantro, ginger and basil pesto

  • mjes on April 30, 2018

    I'd forgotten where I'd found this Asian pesto. Be sure to use Thai basil and Chinese parsley (cilantro cultivar). And don't try to cheat and use all peanut oil - the toasted sesame oil is the right touch. This is very versatile - I love it on cold noodles for a salad.

• Japanese moon-viewing noodles

  • mjes on May 01, 2018

    This was a family favorite until a son started hating egg yolks, especially runny ones. That was the end of moon-viewing

• 10-minute pasta and green beans with goat cheese and olives

  • Wlow on December 05, 2021

    Very good even with ripe CA olives

• Braised green lentils with ginger and lemon

  • Wlow on November 20, 2021

    Delectable. Didn’t have peanut oil or cilantro, used less ginger, beluga lentils instead of green. Serve with rice, yogurt, and chutney as suggested in head notes.

• Black bean chili

  • mjes on May 01, 2018

    I find it odd that this recipe does not toast the dried chipotles, if using. Obviously, I wouldn't try toasting the chipotle in adobo substitution. While this is not my favorite black beans recipe, that title goes to Black beans with pork in charred chile sauce (Chilmole de frijol con puerco) from Yucatán, this is a standby vegetarian/vegan version. No, I don't always make my vegan nephew cook if he's around and, yes, he enjoys cooking and showing us vegan can be tasty.

• Vegetable tian

  • Frogcake on October 22, 2016

    Very nice recipe. I have to admit that I deviated significantly in not adding nice sun-ripened tomatoes. Instead, I added five of the fifty-odd green tomatoes I picked from my garden this morning. While my tian admittedly did not taste like Provence, it was very acceptable rendition of an eastern Ontario/western Quebec end-of-season tian.

  • mjes on May 04, 2018

    This was my introduction to a tian, made by a friend who majored in French/Provençal and spent considerable time in France. He said it was reasonably authentic so I believed it. With good vegetables, this is a very nice and versatile recipe. It uses cheese as a topping if you are serving it warm, breadcrumbs if you are serving it cold. I like it with my favorite Argentine Asiago style cheese. When serving it hot, I have occasionally added lamb to create a one-dish meal. This is worth having in your repertoire.

• Wild mushroom ragout over toast

  • mjes on May 08, 2018

    Ran into this old favorite and now can hardly wait for wild mushrooms to show up in the local farmers' market. I like this recipe because of its reduction of the mushroom broth, wine and butter and slight thickening with flour. It retains the flavor without soaking the toast.

• Polenta with sautéed chard and bell pepper topping

  • mjes on May 08, 2018

    I much prefer white ribbed Swiss chard over other forms of chard, perhaps for no better reason that I grew up on it. It generally is more mild in taste, I believe. I have made this with a variety of other greens or green mixtures with considerable success. Note the recipe requests red & yellow bell peppers i.e. after they have ripened and sweeten - this is critical. The cheddar here needs to be carefully chosen - too sharp and it overpowers the greens and peppers - too young and the polenta is blah. Get the balance right and this is a real winner. And the misses only make you appreciate perfection more when you hit it perfectly.

• Asparagus with wasabi-miso dressing

  • mjes on May 08, 2018

    This recipe works well for green beans as well. This was a favorite recipe until my cousin went to work for the FDA in the salmonella section. Then a few years ago, Epicurious had instructions for pasteurizing egg yolks in your microwave. Eureka! I could return to this recipe and not endanger anyone. This recipe lightly coats vegetables with a rice vinegar-shoyu-miso-wasabi dressing. Absolutely delicious. And, yes, I used the faux wasabi here although with the right appreciative guests, I might break out real wasabi.

• Stir-fried burdock root with carrots (Kimpira)

  • mjes on May 13, 2018

    Burdock root is believed by some to have medicinal properties. However, it is worth eating on its own which in the 8:1 ratio between burdock and carrots given here it practically is. I actually vary the ratio of burdock to carrot depending upon what I have on hand. A nice, basic recipe to have in one's repetoire.

• Gratin of cardoons, anchovy and cheese

  • mjes on May 13, 2018

    Don't laugh. I had my eye on this recipe for years without finding cardoons. I finally had to grow my own to try this recipe. I liked it very much - I just need to find a more reliable source of cardoons than myself.

• Parsleyed carrots

  • mjes on May 13, 2018

    Don't laugh at this recipe. Yes, it is as simple as the title makes it sound. But if you are teaching a child knife skills, this is a very useful recipe to have at hand.

• Double-corn spoon bread with green chiles

  • mjes on May 17, 2018

    The blend of Monterey Jack and cheddar together with the addition of sour cream makes this an excellent recipe.

• Eggplant Parmesan, garden style

  • mjes on May 17, 2018

    This recipe is very special when you have truly flavorful, field-ripened tomatoes. It relies primarily on Mozzarella not Parmesan. There is nothing to interfere with the taste of excellent ingredients, and nothing to hide inferior ingredients. So yes, this is a version that I keep available rather than make regularly.

• Braised bitter greens

  • mjes on May 17, 2018

    I'm so used to vinegar-mustard/horseradish-salt pork for greens, that I need to run into actual recipes to remind me of other options. This garlic-anchovy-hot chili recipe is one I'm glad to have run into each time I make it. I'm still working on how to shape it as sushi shops do for spinach so that it could easily be part of a antipasti tray.

• Tamale pie

  • mamacrumbcake on June 06, 2016

    My family doesn't care much for cornmeal mush of any sort, so I only make the meat portion of this dish. It's really good, comforting, homey fare. It's very flavorful but not spicy--definitely kid friendly. When my kids were little, they ate this with rice. I think it would also be good with mashed potatoes.

• Hispanic American meat loaf

  • Westy2 on November 13, 2013

    Not especially delicious. Surprisingly blad.

• Cafe Beaujolais coffee cake

  • mamacrumbcake on June 06, 2016

    I love this cake! The combination of cinnamon and ginger is delicious. And it has a great streusel topping. The batter is made with oil, not butter, so it mixes up very quickly, you could even mix it by hand if you wanted to.

• Gingered persimmon and Asian pear crisp

  • anya_sf on December 03, 2021

    I made 2/3 of the fruit with the full amount of topping and was happy with that ratio as the topping quantity wasn't that generous. I substituted Fuji apple for Asian pear and orange for tangerine and used old-fashioned rolled oats for "whole oats" (not sure what that meant). Despite the relatively small amount of sugar, the crisp was plenty sweet. I baked the crisp an extra 5 minutes for better browning. Ginger, persimmon, and orange went very well together. I liked this a lot, but apparently my family doesn't love persimmons that much.