Cookbooks in the Kitchen of What's Happening Now

Part 1: The San Francisco Chronicle food staff listed their all time favorite cookbooks recently. Two of my favorites were on their lists: Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cookery for Everyone; Rose Levy Beranbaum's The Cake Bible.

Deborah's book was published in 1997; I purchased it 10 years ago.  It has been so used that it is falling apart. Her tone in the book is the ever present teacher wanting to share everything she knows about cookery in the plainest way possible. Her explanations and descriptions make sense and are easy to understand. The best part has been plunging in on faith, and coming up with some spectacular dishes.  She gives you great combinations for flavor and texture.  Her section of pancakes and waffles is one of the best. I have made just about all of them.

A year ago I started buying organic produce from Mariquita Farms and was faced with a bevy of unfamiliar goods.  Deborah to the rescue! Now, tatsoi (baby bok choy), mustard greens, Italian parsley have made it to growing in pots on the rooftop garden....things I never ate before.  I do enjoy a good piece of beef, chicken, pork, fish, but the day to day cooking is continual experimentation with vegetables.  Grated raw beet salad! Shredded brussels sprouts with horseradish! Wild Rice gratin!

The KITCHEN OF WHAT's HAPPENING NOW

A good deal of what is created in my kitchen depends on ingredients that are available in the refrigerator, the freezer, or on the shelves. 

A current project - today!- of creating Fresh Lime Curd is coming from a generous gift of fresh frozen lime juice from Ron Hildebrand and Syndi Seid when they had to leave their Nob Hill digs, and that included the lime trees in one of the most wonderful open space gardens on Nob Hill.

I found out the other day, that multiplying a recipe correctly, gave me 11 cups of lime curd, promptly stashed in Mason jars.  I am creating a festive, frothy wire edge ribbon decoration for the jars, which will be on sale at the annual Holiday Showcase, sponsored by my gang, The Professional Women's Network, taking place every year in one of the banquet rooms at Marine's Memorial. This Friday, Dec. 5, 2008.

While the jars are boiling, I will get out the last of my stash of pureed applesauce from the freezer and make Spicy Oven Roasted Apple Butter, for the same event. The name comes from figuring out a turkey roaster in the oven can do twice the job than making apple butter in  pan on top the stove. You do get a more subtle flavor when things are roasted, even Apple Butter.

Next, I found a good-sounding recipe in the newspaper for Pumpkin Butter, made with maple syrup. Irresistible.  I will let you know.

THE KITCHEN OF WHAT's HAPPENING NOW

COCKTAIL -A guest brought a bottle of chardonnay wine all chilled and ready to go.  I was polite but really did not like it. Next night I turned it into a delicious cocktail by adding Quady VYA red vermouth and a few drops of FEE whiskey barrel fermented bitters. (Thanks to SFChronicle for telling me its in my neighborhood wine shop, Blackwells, on Geary and 21st avenue.) Very tasty. A drink without the big punch of distilled alcohol.

APPETIZER - I was looking for tinned fruit pastes for a long time.  At the recent New Zealand wine tasting in the Presidio, there is was paired with some strong white cheeses.  Soon afterward there was a Baker's Dozen luncheon at the Foreign Cinema and I saw again, the grocery store across the street that said  it specialized in Central and South American delicacies, or things, or something.

I found 2 pastes, guava and quince, 2# tins under $5.00 each. I presented the guava paste with 2 white cheeses (placed on grapevine leaves from my rooftop garden) with a homemade bread on a marble tray, part of a celebration for a wedding this week, held in a glorious penthouse with amazing views.

Today I made delicious appetizers with the guava paste sandwiched between the Monterey Cheese and a fresh apple slice. I like the milder cheese in this combination. Another step away from crackers!  More on that later.