The San Francisco Professional Food Society Book Club embarked on a worldwide voyage of far-reaching destinations, social introspection and amazing tastes, inspired by Marcus Samuelsson’s Memoir “Yes, Chef”. As we traveled from Ethiopia to Sweden to Switzerland to New York in the path of the author, our culinary manifestations included dishes made with berbere spices or lingonberries or gravlax or Swedish sweets. My contribution was the gravlax. I unearthed a recipe from the Norwegian cruise line of my past – Royal Viking Line – calling for sherry, cognac, salt, sugar, dill and peppercorns. After more than three days of turning the salmon over and over: Voila – Gravlax! The gravlax, Ina Garten’s recipe for mustard sauce and pumpernickel bread culminated in these savory appetizers, happily reviewed as The “delicious food talk of the day” by club members. Thank you Marcus Samuelsson for propelling us with your passion, hard work and never-ending search for excellence!
Tag: San Francisco Professional Food Society
Vanilla Flank Steak
A Master Class in Vanilla, offered by the San Francisco Professional Food Society and held at the International Culinary Academy, motivated my creation of this dinner featuring Vanilla Flank Steak. Vanilla specialists Nielsen-Massey discussed the story of vanilla and presented this recipe, among others, dispelling the thinking that vanilla is only for sweets. This savory recipe combined vanilla with chile sauce, chili powder, ketchup, chocolate, coffee, golden brown sugar Worcestershire sauce and garlic in which a flank steak is marinated for 18-24 hours, then grilled. While the recipe specified the NM essences of chocolate and coffee they offered, I substituted a little cocoa powder and ground coffee. What an incredible new taste sensation! Fingerling fries and pencil-thin asparagus were the perfect sides. So next time you use vanilla, remember to pay tribute to the Totonaco Indians of Mexico, the originators of this flavor. Then think how lucky you are now to choose vanilla from Mexico, Tahiti, Madagascar (or a host of other countries) when you start cooking!
No Ordinary Soup & Sandwich
This casual Saturday night repast included Jamaican Carrot Soup, one of my favorite recipes received years ago from a Project Open Hand newsletter. It tastes different every time I make it! I used a bit more ginger this time than I usually do so it really had a kick to it. The accompanying Tuscan Tuna-and-Bean sandwich is a great recipe from Gourmet Magazine using cannellini beans. I used whole wheat hamburger buns (extras defrosted from our July 4 barbecue) instead of bread to make this even healthier. The wine I selected was a 2006 Dry Reisling from Pacific Rim Winemakers. As a member of the San Francisco Professional Food Society, I first tasted this wine at a food and wine pairing event and really enjoyed it. When I buy white wine, it is usually Chardonnay but I learned at the event how this wine worked so well with seafood or spicy food. Happily, I found this on sale at BevMo for $8.99! Our wine glass was a souvenir from the grand opening of the beautiful Cavallo Point eco-resort in Sausalito. Check it out!