Cuisine Carolaise

My Favorite New Kitchen Tool November, 2011

Japanese knives are the new kids on the (chopping) block.

For more than 25 years, I’ve used an assortment of German knives for all my chopping, slicing, and dicing, believing these were the best knives in the world. I even gifted German knives to friends and relatives for weddings and anniversaries and recommended them to everyone who asked for my opinion as a professional food editor.

BEST PROBLEM TO HAVE: TOO MANY RIPE TOMATOES! August, 2011

Everyone should have such a dilemma.

In my garden, I have 20 heirloom tomato plants, which, in high season, produce as many as 6 pounds a day of spectacular, ripe fruit in a variety of shapes and colors.

Mostly, I arrange them in colorful slices (purples, oranges yellows and greens – all when ripe) on large platters for dinner. I also add them to salads, or for lunch, slice and pair them with a hunk of crusty bread.

But back to the dilemma. Some days, I just have too many tomatoes to devour fresh so I look for new ways to serve them.

Simple Summer Salads July, 2011

Last week I had dinner at San Francisco’s hottest new restaurant, Locanda, which serves up the most delicious Roman food this side of the Coliseum. The restaurant is run by Craig and Annie Stoll, who run another of the city’s best restaurants, Delfina.

As good as all the food was at Locanda, which specializes in Roman cuisine, the dish that stood out for its originality and great flavor was the artichoke salad.

Dinner: There is an App For it! June, 2011

Tired of the same-old, same-old, when you need to put out apps for guests? To avoid any confusion, I’m referring to the culinary kind of apps! You know, cheese, bread, olives, crackers, the usual suspects.

These days, to get away from routine, I’m making appetizer platters of mixed roasted vegetables that are getting rave reviews in my home. They look beautiful, they’re low in calories and they can be made well ahead of time. Best of all, they do what an appetizer is supposed to: they whet your appetite without being filling.

Simple and Fabulous April, 2011

Yes, Italy is the home of great pasta, but while visiting Rome last fall, I found that potatoes were another cherished ingredient and, like pasta, offered on nearly every menu.

Many of my favorite restaurants served a variation of roasted potatoes, often scented with fresh herbs and garlic and drizzled with flavor-rich olive oil. I came back to Napa Valley and, after a week at home, I started to miss those fabulous golden nuggets.

In Praise of Onions March, 2011

Pity the poor onion. It gets so much bad press. People complain that onions are tricky to peel, they make you cry, they give you strong breath or even indigestion.

No one will believe this is a diet-friendly dish February, 2011

Having started a WeightWatcher’s New Year’s diet, I have been adapting my favorite recipes to my new regime.

I recently reconfigured my Steamed Clams With Italian Sausage and Fennel and no one can believe that the new version is actually a diet dish. The flavors are rich and complex and the portions are HUGE. And yet, if you follow my recipe, each portion is only 11 points on the new PointsPlus program. That includes the grilled bread!

Sardinian Chickpea and Fennel Soup January, 2011

There are three reasons to love this dish:

1. Plain and simple, it’s delicious.

2. It’s quick and easy to make

3. It’s clean, healthy and low in fat.

Okay, if you still need another reason to try this dish: maybe you’re into the habit of serving at least one meatless meal a week. (If you’ve been following the food headlines, Mario Batali, the famed Italian chef, is now serving meatless Mondays at all 14 of his restaurants across the country.)

And finally, this dish is comfort food.

A Cherished Tradition December, 2010

When my husband’s mother passed away, he turned to me and said, “I can’t believe that we’ll never have her brisket again.”

Brisket was the dish she was best known for, the recipe cherished by all who knew her. Up until that moment, I had never cooked brisket. There was no reason to. Hers was the ne plus ultra.

My Most Requested Recipe November, 2010

When it comes to cuisine, simple wins every time.

Not too many ingredients, not too many pots and pans, not too many hours in the kitchen.

In fact, many of my all-time-favorite dishes can be put together in a relatively short period of time. And it turns out these are among the most requested recipes by guests at my table.

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Cuisine Carolaise