The latest blog I've added to the list is Eric Gower's BreakawayCook.com/blog. This book has definitely started to influence my cooking at home and has helped solidify some concepts that swim around in my head along with all the other thoughts about food that live up there.
Omnivoreherbivorecarnivore.blogspot.com is written by a recent transplant to La Honda who has some serious food writing chops. She has written for the Globe and Mail and the SF Chronicle, and got her Ph.D. in Literature and History at Stanford.
eggbeater.typepad.com is the brainchild of Shuna Lydon, who has been the Pastry Chef at some of the best restaurants in the country, from the Mesa Grill and Gramercy Tavern in NYC to French Laundry, Bouchon, Citizen Cake and Aziza, which is where I fell in love with her work through an amazing concoction of Brown Sugar Ice Cream with Cornbread and stone fruit. For a southerner like me, it was epiphanal take on summer. She offers great tips, techniques, recipes and insight into the mind of a chef (which is not always a pretty thing) on her site.
Amy Andrews (Amysfoodroom.com) and Coastside resident Amy Fothergill (www.theFamilyChef.blogspot.com) both have young children and speak to getting them fed well with as little fuss as possible. They also tag team to teach classes on cooking, and I'm delighted to announce that Amy Fothergill will be doing a demo at Toque Blanche on Saturday, June 7th.
]]>Peas porridge cold.
Peas porridge in the pod,
One day old.
My oldest son came up with that rhyme while stuffing his gob with fresh peas we bought at the HMB Farmer’s Market from Giusti Farms. The Market opened this weekend, and I did a quick pass through early Saturday morning before coming into work. Most of the farmers were still setting up as I was walking along, but it was great to see some familiar faces from last year. And it was even better to see such a beautiful array of fruits, vegetables, and other farmers' market gems, back on the Coastside for another season. Kudos to Erin Tormey for putting the whole thing together week after week and year after year.
And now, you ask, what did we do with all the lovely produce we purchased from the farmer's market? Ibarra Farms organic strawberries made a sweet and refreshing agua fresca that we sampled on Saturday at Toque Blanche. Check out their mushrooms, too. Dee Harley brought a lovely assortment of goat cheeses, including the sublime Goat’s Milk Ricotta (also available during the week at the HMB Wine and Cheese Shop). We had this for dessert the other night with Chestnut Honey (available at TB) and it was delicious. It makes a great breakfast spread, too, with some of our new Fig Jam from Asiago, Italy. Also an Italian delicacy from Asiago, Nocciolata (pronounced “no-chee-o-LAH-tah), is a smooth and creamy organic hazelnut and chocolate spread that tastes like heaven on a spoon. (That’s the way we eat it at our house, but I suppose you could put it on something if you want to.)
Last month I promised you a list of “Blogs I Actually Read.” Turns out they are all local, too.
The latest blog I've added to the list is Eric Gower's BreakawayCook.com/blog.
Eric will be here for a booksigning this Saturday, May 10th, , just in time for Mother's Day. This book has definitely started to influence my cooking at home and has helped solidify some concepts that swim around in my head along with all the other thoughts about food that live up there.
Here's a list of the others, with more detailed thoughts available at www.mytoque.com/blog/index.html
Omnivoreherbivorecarnivore.blogspot.com
www.TheFamilyChef.blogspot.com –see June 7th event below!
I hope this list gets you head spinning with thoughts of food, and that next time you walk the Farmer's Market menus just form in your head! If not, steal an idea from someone else, or come by and tell me what's in the bag and what's in the fridge, and we'll see what we can come up with!
Have Fun Cooking!
Stuart
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First off, a hearty congratulations to Elizabeth Falkner and her Demolition Desserts, nominated for the Julia Child Award for Best First Book. Owner of the much-loved Citizen Cake in San Francisco, and her new restaurant, Orson, Falkner is incredibly talented and surprisingly down-to-earth. We had a great time when she visited Toque Blanche for a book-signing last Night of Lights, and we still have a few signed copies left. (What a perfect gift for Mother’s Day!)
Peter Reinhart’s Whole Grain Breads (Bread and Other Baking Award Nominee) is a must for the bread bakers out there. We are using a version of his pizza dough at home that was adapted by another local author and James Beard Award nominee Heidi Swanson, doyenne of one of the few food blogs that I actually read, “101cookbooks.” (Although personally, I find that number to be a bit limiting…) The improvement in quality of whole wheat flours in the past few years means that you can get the nutrition without that heavy, 1970’s wheat bread feel. I make a recipe and freeze the dough in balls before rising, and then it just takes defrosting/rising on the day you want to make pizza (in the fridge while you’re at work or running errands) and you can throw a pizza together in no time.
Morimoto. (Chef and Restaurant Category) Need I say more? Morimoto’s artistic, dramatic, and delicious creations usually find him on the winning side of TV’s Iron Chef. Morimoto’s first cookbook is a stunning study of a Master at work, and the pictures featuring his plating are spectacular.
The Oscar award for cookbooks, the James Beard Awards, will be announced July 8th. Be sure to stay tuned to our upcoming newsletters and “Toque Blog” on our website for more info on all the awards and some other great food writing. Full details on the awards are available at www.IACP.com and www.JamesBeard.org.
Author Appearance and Signing
What’s for dinner? I have a real Love/Hate relationship with this eternal question. One cookbook that has really inspired me is The Breakaway Cook by Eric Gower. He uses what he calls “Global Flavor Blasts” to really take a simple recipe, and tweak it just enough to make it different and exciting, but without making it fussy. This book was originally recommended to me by a customer, and I’ve had several people come in that are big fans of Gower. So we are very excited to welcome Eric Gower to Toque Blance for a book signing on May 10th (the day before Mother’s Day…there’s no excuse not to get a gift now that I’ve reminded you twice!). He will also demonstrate how to make his “Flavor Blast Salts” that use Gray Salt, one of our best selling items, Lavender (locally grown in Boulder Creek at Little Sky Farms) and Smoked Paprika from Spain.
]]>I also highly recommend trying some lighter curries from Whole Spice, such as the African Curry. It’s a flavorful blend that works well with all kinds of meats, vegetables, rice, dried fruit, nuts, or lentils. Try finishing with a little coconut milk for a bright but rich dish that is perfect for this time of year. We also have a selection of great herbs for this time of year such as dried Savory, Herbs de Provence and Za’atar.
Toque Blanche is honored to have been featured in an article on cookware in the February issue of Gourmet News, and also selected by TasteTV to host a chocolate event in the store on April 5th. There’s more info below under “events.”
We will be closed Easter Sunday. Enjoy the holiday and meals with your family!
Have Fun Cooking,
Stuart and the Toque Blanche Staff
Two passions in my life are my family and cooking; cooking for my family is (usually) a great joy and a way of showing my Love. Valentine's Day is a perfect time to show your love through food. And whether you're planning the perfect meal, baking a special dessert, or picking up some great gifts for the foodies in your life, Toque Blanche can help.
Discover the World Through Cooking!
Hot off the press, we have several new cookbooks with recipes from around the world…Japan, Australia, China, India, Germany, and France to name a few. All would be a terrific addition to any cookbook library, or a great springboard for planning a new menu item for Valentine's Day dinner.
To help with all your culinary travels, Toque Blanche will be carrying some freshly-ground spices from an incredible spice merchant I discovered on a recent trip to Napa. I will be focusing mainly on spice blends -- including a wide variety of curries and a personal favorite from the Middle East called Zata’ar – and harder to find ingredients, such as Brown Mustard Seeds, Juniper Berries, Sumac and whole Cardamon Pods. If there is a particular spice you are looking for, let me know and we'll try to order it. Look for all this and more from Whole Spice later this month.
Continuing with this theme, Richard Poncini will be teaching a paella class when we host “An Evening in Spain” on Friday February 29th to benefit the non-profit GRACE’s work in Africa. Wine will be flowing and Flamenco artists will be dancing…more details will follow in a special email next week!
And coming in March, we are delighted to welcome back to the Coastside Kim and Albert Katz for a tasting of their new crop of Rock Hill Ranch Olive Oil and Meyer Lemon Olive Oil, a Toque Blanche bestseller.
The guys from Perfect Edge will also visit for another knife sharpening clinic in time for your Easter celebrations. For more details on these and other great events, read more below.
We at Toque Blanche wish you all a wonderful Valentine’s Day cooking for the one(s) you love, even if that person is you!
Have Fun Cooking!
Stuart
Thanks to all of you who stopped by for gifts or just to say hello during the holiday season. Now that the holidays are over, we all look forward to slowing down and taking a breather after the December rush. And how do we do this you might ask? We think of food and cooking of course! This time of year is perfect for long, slow cooked meals such as stews and braises, risottos and soups. They are warm, satisfying and with some simple technical foundations, easy to put together. We have several books to help you learn these techniques, including Braises and Stews by Torie Ritchie; Braise by Daniel Bouloud; and the classic on it’s subject, Risotto by Judith Barrett and Norma Wasserman. And if time is not on your side, we have solutions for that as well. Pressure Cookers are a great way to get those great, slow cooked flavors in a fraction of the time, and I will be doing a demonstration with them on February 16th.
We also continue to look for new items, and I am pleased to announce that the new crop of Olive Oils will be released sometime around the end of the month; the next batch of Katz' Gravenstein Apple Cider Vinegar should be available around the same time. We also are eagerly planning our next cooking class, which promises to be as tasty and fun as our previous classes. Stay tuned for a special email with the details on that.
Knife Sharpening services will continue the first and third Thursdays of the month...please drop off knives to be sharpened by 6:00 PM the day before. All of us here at Toque Blanche -- Charles, Pauline, Max, Jake and I -- wish you a very happy and tasty 2008! We look forward to serving you and all your home cooking needs any day of the week and seeing you at our Saturday events.
Stuart and the Toque Blanche Staff.
Have Fun Cooking!
]]>For the bakers out there, a must have book is Elizabeth Falkner’s Demolition Desserts. And lucky for you and them, Ms. Falkner will be here signing copies on Night of Lights Shopping Night, Thursday December 20th. The book is full of inspired visions, many influenced by her film background and her very playful nature.
For the “tiny chefs” in your kitchen, What’s Cooking? A Ratatouille Cookbook is a kid’s cookbook with real recipes that are approachable, healthy, and give kids a background in some classic cuisines, without losing a sense of fun. Some great books for this time of year, and bestsellers here, are Yummy Potatoes by Marlena Spieler– the title says it all; Braises and Stews; Everyday Slow-Cooked Recipes by Torie Ritchie -- a world tour of cold weather comfort food; and Vegetable Soups by Deborah Madison -- a personal favorite, with her Black Bean and Coconut Milk soup becoming a new standard at our house.
Everyone needs a warm drink in the morning to help clear the fog – at least in our heads, if not outside. Capresso’s Cordless Water Kettle is a work of art, as well as a very quick way of heating water for tea, and the Finum Tea Brewing Basket is the best way to get maximum flavor out of your loose teas. It fits right in your mug, and gives the tea leaves all the room they need to extract maximum flavor. For the coffee lover in your life, we have it every which way but decaf! We are now featuring the Toque Blanche Blend from Outland Java; this coffee blend has the rich, smooth sweetness from Guatemalan beans, and earthy, leathery notes from sun-dried Ethiopian Sidamo beans, creating an exquisite blend that works great both in the morning, or after dessert in the evening. For brewing your beans, we carry French Presses from Bon Jour, the Aerobie Aeropress (from Los Altos!) and Capresso Coffee and Espresso machines.
Some of the most innovative products we’ve seen this year have been made from Silicone. The Chef’n Silicone Steamer Insert has been a best seller since it came out; it is a far superior product than the old metal style steamer inserts, as it won’t scratch your pans, won’t rust or break, it’s dishwasher safe, and because it doesn’t have a lifting post in the middle, you can even steam a fish filet in it. Poaching Pods for eggs are another customer favorite, and for a truly exquisite breakfast, try sprinkling some Truffle Salt over your eggs. My favorite Pastry Brush is by Swissmar; it won’t leave bristles in your food, and with its feathered silicone, it does a great job of picking up and dispersing both solids (bits of herbs and garlic) and liquid (egg wash, butter or oil) and is super easy to clean. Another customer favorite is the Kuhn-Rikon Magic Cover, universal lids that can be used on the stovetop, in the oven or microwave, and create an airtight seal for storage in the refrigerator. We also have a variety of collapsible colanders, funnels and measuring cups for the spatially challenged.
Come by and our wonderful staff, Stuart, Pauline, Max and Jake will share some of their favorites with you, be it tools, cookware, food (many available for sampling) and our great selection of knives. If after all that, you still can’t decide on something for the cooks and foodies in your life, we have Gift Cards available in any denomination.
Extended Holiday Hours
December 20th Night of Lights 9:30 AM – 9:00 PM
December 21st-22nd 9:30 – 7:00
December 23rd 9:30-6:00
December 24th 9:00-5:00
Have fun Shopping and Cooking!
Happy Holidays,
Stuart and the Toque Blanche Staff