Tonight's Menu

Acme Baguette, Triple Cream Brie, Peruvian Scallop Ceviche Marinated in Rocoto and Citrus, Rogue's Dead Guy Ale. Sign me up!

The Lover's Boeuf Bourguignon

So the BOOF was a success! It was absolutely scrumptious and well enjoyed by everyone. The recipe came from a delightful book called The Sharper Your Knife The Less You Cry by Kathleen Flinn. Enough said!

Tomorrow Beuf Bourignon!

Tomorrow The Chef plans to teach me to make Beuf Bourignon and his coconut flan. That coconut flan is one of the reasons that I fell head over heals for the guy in the first place! The creamy sensuality of the coconut milk with the silky mangoes and the fresh mint that accompany it still makes me go weak in the knees and probably always will.

In New York at Mad 61 when Alex must have been about 17 or 18 he had the incredible pleasure of meeting Julia Child. She came to the restaurant and liked her meal so much that she went back to the kitchen and shook every cook's hand. He remembers her as being very tall and exuberant. I cannot wait to learn her beloved Beuf Bourignon, if only cooking was an easy thing for me to learn! Perhaps one day it will all make sense to me- temperatures, sauces, seasoning and textures. I think that the most difficult thing for me at the moment is cooking proteins. I have been reliving the horrid memory of maiming a poor chicken when I was unsupervised. I forgot to pound it into an even submission and it refused to cook evenly- the inside was raw so I was forced to overcook it in the oven. I believe that if the poor chicken gave its life it needs to be respected in the cooking process. It deserves to be delicious and I failed it. My plan is to finally allow Alex to transform me into the culinary genius I was clearly born to be. Beuf Bourignon is the first step, we'll see where it goes from there!!

August West/Sandler

Stopped by August West today for a barrel tasting and fell in love with Sandler Wine Co.'s Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir. The grapes are (obviously) sourced from the Sonoma coast and it is just exactly what I look for in a good Pinot. It was lovely and balanced, with just the right notes of fruit and acidity. Picked up a bottle of the '08, its a year older then what I tasted and I am looking forward to cracking it open with a good group of gals!

Wednesday Night @ Lion Pub

Decided to have a mid-week diversion at the Lion Pub on Divisadero and Sacramento with some of my favorite people. Good playlist, great (cheep) drinks with fresh squeezed juice (current obsession Bloodhound w/ Blood Orange juice & Vodka) they also had a cheese plate set out which was so thoughtful! Cool scenery & a fire going in the background, it was a perfect Wednesday night!

The Great Zinathon

ZAP's Great Zin Tasting was truly impressive. Two enormous Fort Mason buildings housed hundreds of wineries. I had heard about the "Zin Zone" where almost all of the wines would be available for tasting to press and trade, but I saved that for last which turned out to be a very short stay in the Zin Zone because when the tasting is over ITS OVER! I am glad that I decided to walk around, taste and talk to winemakers because that's really what its all about. Leonhardt truly caught my eye-- and my palate! Their Zinfandel produced onsite in the Dry Creek Valley, in fact on Dry Creek Road (my favorite tasting road in Sonoma/Napa) was elegant and complex with beautiful powerful cherry and chocolate notes balanced with spicy black pepper, vanilla and clove. That beautiful flavor brought back memories of sun drenched days of lazily meandering down Dry Creek Road, boat hitched to the back of the truck ready to pick up a couple of bottles and enjoy a weekend on Lake Sonoma. It made me all that more impatient for the beautiful summer months to come. I had passed Leonhardt with its red truck and lions at the entrance but had yet to stop by, I have a feeling that this summer Howard Leonhardt and I will become well acquainted! Of course there were some of my favorite wineries from Good Eats & Zin (This time there was only 2008 Old Ghost) but Leonhardt really stood out. Another reason why I am a fan is their involvement as lead sponsor of the Wine Country Old Fashioned Baseball League, a semi-pro league with 12 teams in Sonoma & Napa county. Half of all game day proceeds go to local charities. What better way to enjoy a summer day then to watch semi-pro baseball and drink wine! Overall the Great Zin Tasting was a wonderful event that I will look forward to next year.

Food and Zin at Its Finest

The cavernous Fort Mason Center stretched before the Chef and I as we entered last night. Rows of tables full of tempting food and luscious Zinfandel invited with the warning that without caution we could find ourselves prematurely full and drunk before we were able to experience the best the evening had to offer. Right off the bat Knickerbocker Catering's Wild Boar Sliders delighted with a sensuous robust sweetness that set the evening into motion. The first Zin that I fell for was Acorn's 2006 Heritage Vines Zinfandel. With an irresistible blend of 78% Zinfandel, 10% Alcante Bouschet, 10% Petit Sirah and 2% Field Blend I was drawn in. A rich bouquet of ripe berries and fresh ground pepper with toasty vanilla notes was delightful, the depth of flavor took me off guard with deep blackberry intertwining with cocoa, coffee and spicy black pepper. Betsy and Bill Nachbaur were sweet and inviting and responsible business owners with their estate grown, sustainably-farmed wines. Moving on I came across Klinker Brick Winery. Right away there was something interesting about the labeling of their Old Ghost wine, so like a good reporter I decided to investigate! Their 2007 Old Ghost is available for sale, but they had brought some bigger guns out of the arsenal venturing into their thrilling library to delight me with their 2005 and 2006 Old Ghost which are not available for purchase. Each vintage of this old vine zin was unique in its own right. The 2005 had a surprisingly dry finish which I found to be refreshing with all of the overly powerful and jammy zins that I was faced with throughout the evening. The 2006 was by far my favorite vintage which I found to be true for many different wine brands. The Old Ghost 2006 was a little bit lighter on the palate with a breathtaking medley of brambleberries, spiced cherries, mint and even notes of effervescent eucalyptus and licorice on the end. Mustards was there with a lovely Pork Tostada with Spicy Salsa. This was absolutely succulent and paired with the deep red fruits of Outpost Estate Wines was a knockout! Thursday night was packed with impressive food and wine, it is an event that I will look forward to next year.

Other Zap Events

Flights: A Showcase of Zinfandels, a seated tasting with in-depth seminars focusing on limited-production Zinfandels, takes place on January 29 from 10:30 a.m. until 1:00 p.m., at The InterContinental Mark Hopkins Hotel’s Peacock Court (1 Nob Hill, San Francisco, 94108, 415/392-3434. Flights will cover the history of the Zinfandel varietal and current trends in the production of Zin including blending. This promises to be luscious in both information and good Zin!!

Evening With The Winemakers: A Benefit Live Auction & Dinner, takes place on January 29 beginning with a reception-tasting at 5:00 p.m., at the InterContinental Mark Hopkins Hotel in San Francisco (1 Nob Hill, San Francisco 94108, 415/392-3434). Dinner followed by a Live Auction and of course lots of Zin sounds like a Zinstravaganza to me!

The 19th Annual Grand Zinfandel Tasting takes place on January 30 from 2:00 until 5:00 p.m. at the Festival and Herbst Pavilions at Fort Mason (Marina Blvd. at Buchanan, San Francisco 94123). This will test how much Zin the Chef and I can handle after a weekend of drinking Zin! Based on our shared love of Zinfandel I think we will come out victorious.

Stay tuned for coverage of Good Eats & Zin, Flights and the Grand Zin Tasting. Hope to see you there!!

Good Eats at ZAP!

On January 28, 2010, from 6:00 – 9:00 p.m. at Fort Mason Center you will find me drinking Zinfandel and eating delicious food executed by a slew of talented chefs. Color me excited when 50 Bay Area restaurants pair their food with 50 wineries. Zinfandel or the delicious full bodied red wine that comes from those adorable fat stubby little vines just so happens to be one of my favorite varietals. Needless to say I will be in foody/Wine-O heaven this weekend. Tickets are still available through www.zinfandel.org or 877-772-2545 for all of this weekends events. Some of the pairings that get me the most excited in the Good Eats & Zinfandel pairing are ABSOLUTELY ANYTHING from famed Hawaiian chef Beverly Gannon, the proprietor of the Hali'imaile General Store. Chef Gannon will bring to the table dishes such as succulent Crab Cannelloni with Saffron Cream Sauce and Joe's Favorite Meatloaf with Hawaiian Sweetbread Role. She will be pairing with Zins from Three Wine Company & Peachy Canyon Winery. Some other exciting looking dishes are Pork Rillette with Pickeled Red Onions and Saba from Rose's Cafe and Beef Braised in Dry Creek Old Vine Zin Served Over Polenta... these are just some teasers but come see for yourself this Thursday!

Stand With Haiti

One of the poorest countries in the world has suffered a grave disaster and I believe that it is our moral duty to do something about it. Unfortunately in times of crisis some of the most visible organizations are the ones allocating funds to marketing and PR and not to solving any problems. A few even profit from tragedy. One organization that I have followed for years that is making a dramatic difference is Partners in Health(PIH), an organization founded by Dr. Paul Farmer. For over 20 years PIH has been running free clinics all around the world, the first in Haiti's Central Plateau- one of the poorest parts of Haiti. He believes that medical care for those who need it most should be free and that life saving drugs should be free. After the earthquake because of their deep seeded involvement in Haiti, PIH was one of the first organizations to respond, mobilizing to ship in doctors and medication to confront the tragedy head on. Chef's Lover Catering has donated to PIH and I urge you to do the same if you are looking for a credible organization that will use your donation for good. They have long term plans to rebuild a stronger Haiti, and Chef's Lover Catering, myself and Alex (the Chef) support them wholeheartedly. Stand with Haiti in this time of crisis.

The guy who invented "the pill"

So today I had the strange experience of meeting the guy who invented the birth control pill. In addition to running Chef's Lover Catering I am also a Maitre'd at the Hayes Street Grill, and today for lunch a super old guy came in. After I seated him the owner came up and informed me that that was the man who invented "the pill." On his way out of the restaurant I said "on behalf of women, I thank you for your invention." He smiled and winked and was out the door. Honestly, the pill has been around for a while and I had no clue that the guy who invented it was still breathing- but it goes to show you that you never know who's going to walk through the door of your restaurant!

The Chef on View From the Bay!

Hey there,

See the Chef for yourself on View From the Bay, he cooked an amazing dish from the Yucatan called Cochinita Pibil click on the link below to see him working it!
Alex on View From the Bay

For more information about having the Chef cater an event for you, please check us out at Chef's Lover Catering www.chefslovercatering.com We hope to hear from you soon.

Chef Alex on TV!!

The chef himself will be on View From the Bay tomorrow afternoon 11/10 at 3pm on ABC channel 7 cooking a very traditional dish from the Yucatan called Cochinita Pibil. This dish is close to his heart because it holds in it a lot of the history of his Mexican culture. He feels like those incredible flavors should be celebrated and not forgotten! Just imagine that this incredible chef could be cooking for you! visit www.chefslovercatering.com to learn more

Sabor of Spain Dinner

The conversation:
Dad- "hold on, I gotta order lunch. I'll have a goat cheese and pear salad and lentil soup. Margot are you still there?"
Margot- "Yeah i'm here, where did you get that it sounds delicious."
Dad- "oh you know Maiden Ln? Some little lunch place over here."
Margot-"wait the Maiden ln. in San Francisco?"
Dad- "yeah, didn't you get my email?"
Margot- "uh obviously not..."
Dad- "let me check... oh I just got an email from Matt Kenney I guess i've been sending him all of my emails to you."
Margot- "great"
Dad- "well, what are you guys up to tonight?"
Margot- "we have a media dinner in Marin... uh you wanna come?"
Dad- "ok, sure sounds like fun"

So that was the premise for bringing my dad to the dinner at Sabor of Spain, he had a great time we got him nice and tipsy before his redeye cross country flight. Sabor of Spain is a gorgeous restaurant in San Rafael. The chef paired an exquisite menu with fantastic old and new world wines for a spectacular preview of his creations for the film festival.

The first course was a gold beet, fennel and red onion salad with sweet sherry vinaigrette. This was paired with Altas Cumbres Viognier 2007 Argentina. The salad was light and fresh, the beets had a wonderful sweetness that was complimented by the sherry vinaigrette. The Viognier was lovely, light with light notes of citrus. I was thrilled to see Argentine wines on the menu as they are my current obsession.

The second course was lemon infused bosc pear wrapped in jamon serrano and a basalmic reductio. The wine was Pares Balta Blanc de Pacs 2008 Spain. The pear was crisp and lovely with just a hint of sweetness and the jamon serrano had a delicately salty quality that balanced the dish wonderfully. The balsamic reduction added just the right hint of acidity. I found the Blanc de Pacs to not be as successful. It tasted vaguely like flat champagne and lacked flavor. It was a very one note wine for a lovely multilayered dish.

The third course was chicken/chorizo/ginger won tons with sweet sour pimenton dipping sauce. They were paired with a Monte Oton Garnacha 2008 Spain. The won tons were delicious and had a melt in your mouth quality. the chorizo and ginger gave it a nice spice and the dipping sauce was also delicious if slightly reminiscent of a plum or barbecue sauce. The Garnacha was lovely and light with a hint of spice as well that was a lovely compliment to the won tons. I could picture a happy evening of watching a Law & Order marathon in my PJs popping these won tons. In that sense they were delicious and playful but lacked sophistication and refinement. With a bit of work on presentation and execution this could be a very successful dish.

The fourth course was spicy marinated skirt steak with basil oil and cabrales blue cheese. This was paired with an intense and delicious Terrapura Cabernet Sauvignon 2008 Chile Venganza de Diablo. The steak was cooked to perfection and was very nice with the blue cheese which I don't typically like. I didn't detect much spice to the dish but there were lovely subtle flavors that seemed to play around on my palate. The Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon was incredible. The depth and layers of flavors enveloped my senses the way that lovely ballsy reds tend to do. This was a wine that lingered on the palate demanding to be recognized and remembered. What was shocking to me was the 2008 vintage. I have been disappointing in the past with recent vintage Cabs mainly from the Napa Valley. They have a very unnerving tannic quality that makes your tongue feel like its made of velvet. This Chilean Cab was silky smooth with lovely strong qualities that earned it the title "Venganza de Diablo." This dish breathed sophistication and the chef's depth of understanding of flavors and pairing.

The final course was an incredibly rich espresso chocolate mousse with rosemary infused strawberry coulis/marscapone cream. This delight was paired with a Favaios Moscatel de Duoro Portugal. The mousse was pure decadence. Layer upon layer of flavors, unfortunately the one that I was unable to detect however was the rosemary in the strawberry coulis. The moscatel was far to syrupy and sweet for me, I have never had much of a sweet tooth and this pairing took me far beyond my threshold for sweetness. I think that separately the mousse and the moscatel would be lovely but together they were too much for me.

Overall Sabor of Spain was a wonderful experience, the one question that nagged at the back of my mind was why not call it Sabor de Espana? However that is a personal thing that links back to the fact that I am a massive dork of all things Spanish or Latin American. I would recommend Sabor of Spain without hesitation. It is a lovely restaurant with a very intelligent chef. This shines through in his wonderful interpretation of the flavors of Spain.

Blue Angles @ Aloha

Da boys at Aloha have done it again! Amazing party yesterday for the Blue Angles. Unfortunately the Blue Angles couldn't be bothered to do more then a 5 minute fly-through but the BBQ was a blast. Imagine barbecuing at a seafood company, the freshest most delicious seafood you could fathom keeps getting pulled out of the walkin! It was seriously badass. From live shrimp (oh yes, pull off the head & legs as it squirms and eat it raw) to fresh Dungeness Crab thrown on the grill (so sweet and tender) to squid, bluefish, Arctic Char, Rock Cod.... I could go on. It was a amazing. Next week Mitch will meet with Alex & I at Cumulus Radio and possibly set up a radio spot on KNBR, the Bone or KFOG. We are so thrilled to work with these guys, because we care about the integrity of product and we KNOW you care where your seafood is coming from. Aloha helps us at Chef's Lover Catering do our part to minimize the negative effect we have on our oceans by using Environmentally Safe & Sustainable Seafood. Thanks boys it was a blast!!

Our Photographer

The Chef & I just came back from a meeting at Heaven's Dog with a Photographer named Craig Lee. Craig was the lead Food & Wine photographer for the San Francisco Chronicle for years and has recently branched out on his own. Check out his photos and get in touch with him at craigleephoto.com. We are so excited because this Monday we are leaving the city with Craig at 5:30bloodyam to go bounce around Sonoma taking pictures. Hopefully he can find the right moment because both the Chef and his Lover are very awkward when it comes to being photographed! I will keep y'all updated and upload some of the photos onto the blog when we get them.

Happiness

Tonight happiness just envelopes me. I had the most ass-kicking workout EVER. I came home, treated myself to a Modelo Especial with lime/salt/tapatio and made myself a Vietnamese noodle soup with an amazing garlicky, sour, spicy broth and I am watching the incredible sunset from my apartment which happens to have a killer view of the Marin Headlands and the ocean. I am spending this Friday night by myself, in my apartment working on my brand new catering business. The Chef is in Pittsburg (CA) teaching a culinary class at Contra Costa College and at the moment I feel completely at peace with myself, comfortable with my own company and in my own skin. A feeling overpowers me that this is an incredible time in my life where at 22, my destiny is in my hands. I have been despairing for months about the way that the economy has been affecting my life and my ability to get a job. Out of crisis comes opportunity if you are open to it. Now I am not wasting away in a feeling that I am not good enough for the jobs out there, I am rising up to the challenge that I have been thrown and building an empire from a dream. There is some fear and doubt associated with building a small business but I have decided to kick them to the curb. I am fully invested in building Chef's Lover Catering and revolutionizing the catering industry. Well, perhaps it is not that I am interested in revolutionizing the industry, but we would like to give our clients something they have never experienced before in catering. The experience that we provide is fun, interactive and flashy. We are all about the show, plating to order instead of dropping off big vats of buffet food. We believe in integrity of product and presentation and use only local, sustainable product. The feeling of building something that will sustain the chef and I in many profound ways is a transformative feeling. There is something powerful about simplicity and that is the kind of night I am having. I feel true happiness at this moment and I'm ecstatic that I can share it with you.

Aloha Seafood

Stopped by Aloha Seafood today, our wonderful seafood purveyor. Mitch and "da boys" bring "da best" quality of environmentally safe and sustainable seafood. Can't wait to BBQ with them and watch the Blue Angles from pier 45! Chef's Lover Catering works only with local, sustainable purveyors and Aloha certainly fits the bill. With so much depleating our oceans and seafood population it is refreshing to work with a company that understands our impact on the earth and wants to do their part to save our oceans!

Chef's Lover Catering

The Chef & I are thrilled to announce the birth or our lovechild: Chef's Lover Catering. Our company is dedicated to local, sustainable California cuisine and working with our clients to customize the perfect menu and service for their event. From passed hors d'oeuvres to multi course tasting menus we exist to make your event a success. For inquiries please contact Margot Kenney, Event Planner at margot@chefslovercatering.com or 415-283-5299. www.chefslovercatering.com

Sun Warmed Farmer's Market Heirloom Tomatoes

My parents always made this dish when I was growing up and I always hated it. In fact I hated all tomatoes. That is until they started to use homegrown ones from their garden... This lovely dish is how I discovered good tomatoes.
This morning upon discovering that San Francisco was having an uncharacteristically beautiful August Sunday, and discovering that all of my friends seemed to have other plans I decided to walk down to the Farmer's Market in the Inner Sunset for inspiration. I went around 1pm, right before they closed and scored big! For $22 I purchased 2 heirloom tomatoes, a yellow peach, 2 cucumbers, 3 heads of broccoli, a poppy seed baguette, green beans, an olive tapanade and an artichoke-lemon dip. The trick is that right before they close, vendors are so eager to get rid of their goods that they are willing to negotiate.
My recipe for Sun Warmed Farmer's Market Heirloom Tomatoes is:

1. slice up an heirloom tomato and layer on plate as shown
   
2. sprinkle salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
3. chop up a few leaves of basil and sprinkle on top (the more the better!)
4. drizzle extra virgin olive oil on top
5. enjoy!