My Kitchen My Table

Julie/Julia

by Louie DuMonde

Since the du Monde is always in a state of “must be seen at night” in bars of the world, you’ll think it odd that I attended a movie last night. But Julie/Julia is worth an evening of sobriety in a dark theater for a fabulously well done movie about one of my heroes, Julia Child.

Writer-director Nora Ephron adapted two memoirs for the screenplay – Julie Powell’s “Julie & Julia” and Julia Child’s “My Life in France.” Meryl Streep does a fantastic job of portraying Julia Child. As I watched the movie I couldn’t distinguish the Streep character from my memory of The French Chef television show that I used to watch on public television with my mother.

As the movie probably has a limited audience because of the niche subject matter, get out to the theater soon before this gem goes away. Then I highly recommend having a look at the original Julie Powell blog, the other half of the story. It’s a fun read especially after seeing it in the context of the movie.

Fired Up for Football Season

Classic Uncle Pete gets the Trojans fired up while punkin’ the team with an appearence and compelling message from a real class act.

Get ready for USC football. Game on! Fight On!

A Platter of Figs

The next MKMT Cookbook is A Platter of Figs and other recipes by David Tanis, long time leading chef at Chez Panisse.

A truly gorgeous book; it is impossible not to page through and be hungry to get into the kitchen and cook up one of his seasonal menus then invite your favorite people over to gather around the table to nurture with food, wine and conversation.

The photography jumps off the pages and the styling is simple and rustic. The book is printed on matte paper – a trend I’ve found in the last few cookbooks I’ve bought.

Since it just arrived I haven’t had a chance to cook from it yet, but I’ve read through and love how each season is organized by menus. David Tanis is thorough in the forward explaining his methodology about food and cooking and each recipe is full of thoughtful instruction and how to wisdom. Throughout the book there is enlightenment about techniques (How to cook a rabbit) and ingredients (Parsnip Epiphany) making it both a pleasure to read and a volume to learn from for cooks of all levels.

And, as expected from the chef at Chez Panisse, all menus are driven by fresh and seasonal food and created to maximize the flavors of the ingredients.

I plan to try menu nine tonight. Shaved Summer Squash with Squash Blossoms, Grilled Halibut with Indian Spices and Yellow Tomatoes and Peaches in Wine. How’s that for a seasonal summer menu?!

Dinner Tonight

I am so enjoying my dinner tonight. It is the perfect blend of fresh, seasonal, and easy. I took the rosemary focaccia that I bought at the Alemany farmers market yesterday and topped it with fresh mozarella, sweet 100 tomatoes and basil from my garden and drizzled some McEvoy Ranch olive oil over the top. Popped it in the oven @425 degrees and while it cooked for 12 minutes tossed together arugula and the last of the lettuce from the garden with olive oil and balsamic sprinkled with s&p. When the focaccia came out of the oven I put the salad on top and poured a glass of chilled Sauvignon blanc and was good to go. Here is what it looked like half way through. The iPhone photo won’t do it justice so you’ll just have to believe and try for yourself. Buon gusto.

Veggie Trader

What do you get when Craig’s List crosses an abundant fruit and vegetable harvest? Veggie Trader! What a brilliant idea – created to connect people who have more veggies than they can manage themselves with people who will trade for or buy the surplus.

While there isn’t a lot of trading going on in my zip code or 10 mile radius, this is a great idea and I have high hopes that the Veggie Trader will catch on.

Shake Shack

Who would believe that New Yorkers would stand in line for 1+ hours for a burger, fries and shake? This I had to see for myself so I plugged the address into my iPhone, got the walking directions from my Times Square hotel and started out to Madison Square Park, home of the original Shake Shack. I entered the park and at first, the line didn’t strike me… and then…. I saw it…. In fact, on the website, there is a Shack Cam that helps diners “plan accordingly”.
the line wrapped around one side of the park and there was a steady flow of people queuing up.

I took my place and pulled out Vanity Fair to read about Jessica Simpson and the tell-all interview with Bernie Madoff’s secretary and prepared to wait. There was a party of 6 friends behind me who had been before and this time they had come with beer. I had been told that it could take anywhere between 20-60 minutes to reach the front of the line and with the warm night of perfect weather it was looking like the longer side of 60.

With a limited number of items on the menu, ordering is easy. I went with the cheeseburger, fries and a beer. 10 minutes later, my order was up and I had found a bistro table under a tree to enjoy the fare.

Apparently people like to feed fries to squirrels because there were several running patterns around the tables looking for the most likely offering. The burger was good and so were the fries. I typically prefer thinly cut frites for fries and was slightly concerned when I saw the crinkle cuts sitting alongside the burger but they were tasty and nice and salty. Were they worth the >60 minute wait? Probably not again but for the experience, sure, why not.

When I got up to leave I checked out the line figuring it would have dissipated by then but to my surprise, it had doubled… did this mean the people at the end were in for a 2 hour wait? Only in New York….

Boccalone Friday Food Cart

The food cart phenomena is sweeping the nation… well at least the last two cities I’ve traveled to, NY and Portland, OR and where I live, San Francisco.

Appropriately so, the Boccalone cart arrived in front of my office, – how adorable is the delivery dude in his red hat and Boccalone bike shirt?!

Several of us queued up in anticipation a good 15 minutes before the scheduled arrival time knowing that supply is limited and the previous week, the goods were gone within 5 minutes. My image of what I was waiting for was quickly squelched when the retro red bicycle rode up the sidewalk with a metal cooler attached like a basket. (I was either expecting the roach coach to putter up the street and park curbside or the push cart with grill and bell that I knew from living in LA years ago.)

Packed in the cooler were 30 mortadella sandwiches with spicy mustard on fresh Italian Bread accompanied with a few sliced pickles. The first 10 people got lard chips. Sadly, I was the 14th person in line but I heard that the lard was good. Is that the same as everything tastes good with bacon? Not sure, I’ll have to try the chips at the Ferry Building and get back about that. The crunchy pickles and sandwich were scrumptious and the excitement of the food cart was a welcome break to the monotony of the average lunch hour.

To find out where the Boccalone cart will show up next follow their Twitter feed @boccalone

FOOD, INC.

Food, Inc. Trailer from TakePart on Vimeo.

Go and see Food, Inc. I hope that it will inspire you to make socially conscious changes as it has me.

First, some facts…

The average person eats 200 pounds of meat per year.
Cows are herbivores; they do not naturally eat corn.
Corn makes cows fat.
Cows get ecoli from corn.
If a cow is taken off of corn and fed grass 10 days 80% of the ecoli in his gut goes away.
Our government subsidizes farmers to grow corn and use it for feed.
It takes 48 days for a chicken to grow before it is large enough slaughter.
They live on top of each other in complete darkness for those 48 days.
Corn is found in Motrin, diapers, and batteries.
In the 1970’s there were thousands of slaughterhouses around the US. Today there are 13.
They are all owned by corporations who have strong ties to the government.
Policy is made to favor these corporations… at the expense of food safety for the people.
Each year contaminated food causes millions of illnesses and thousands of deaths.
These companies exploit migrant workforces.
Monsanto is like Microsoft; they own the intellectual property of seeds.

So now you are horrified like I was, here are Ten simple tips to spring into action…
Buy organic fruit and vegetables
Eat sustainably raised meat
Support local growers by shopping at farmer’s markets
Cook and eat dinner together with friends or family
Read labels and know what is in the food you’re eating
Go without meat one day each week
Support legislation supporting healthy food programs in schools and nutritional information at restaurants

It is time to take action.

How Does My Garden Grow

Each time I go to my garden I am amazed by how much things have grown in such a short period of time. Lately, there is always a strawberry or ten to pick and pop into my mouth and the lettuce and arugula has grown so quickly that I no longer buy lettuce at the store. The tomatoes are turning red and there are dozens more blooms that should produce fruit. The cucumber has gone from 1 inch to 8 practically overnight. All of the herbs – parsley, chives, basil, thyme, mint and tarragon are growing like weeds and I bring some home to cook with, for salads, and for garnish each time I go to the garden. I’ve even been giving away the parsley it’s growing so quickly!

In this picture, from left to right is lettuce – the little gem mix plus butter lettuce farther right, Japanese cucumber in the top, tomatoes on the far right and on the bottom from left to right is parsley. thyme (flowering), chives tarragon, arugula, red pepper and the cosmos.

While there are grand plans for what to plant next, I am currently at capacity and will enjoy the bounty through the summer and then revisit what to plant for fall.

GOOP, Tomato Sauce and Eggplant

When did Gwyneth Paltrow become a lifestyle guru with her website GOOP? And more importantly, what compelled me to sign up for the news letter? Of that I still can’t explain other than sheer curiosity. A few weeks ago, an email appeared in my box that had recipes for Gwnnie’s favorite tomato sauce, Eggplant Parmesan and Penne Arrabiata inspired by Giancarlo Giametti, Valentino’s longtime partner who is apparently a dear and longtime friend.

I’ll admit that reading the recipes left my mouth watering and inspired me to make my own batch of tomato sauce and Eggplant Parmesan. It just so happened that there was a can of whole tomatoes in the cupboard and everything else necessary to make my adaptation of the sauce. While it was simmering I went to the store and picked up the ingredients for the eggplant. Here is my version of tomato sauce and eggplant parmesan inspired by Gwennie who was inspired by GG… is it a stretch for me to call myself a friend?

First, make the sauce. Making your own sauce using canned tomatoes gives you the control to season it exactly to your taste. So much better than pre-made sauce from a bottle.

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
Red pepper flakes to taste
2-3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
1-28 oz can whole tomatoes
Kosher salt
Freshly ground pepper

In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil and cook the garlic and red pepper flakes for 3-4 minutes until it smells really good. Add the basil and stir until it is coated with olive oil. Add the tomatoes and juice and bring to a boil. Season with salt and pepper and reduce heat so that the sauce simmers at a low level for 45-60 minutes.

Then, make the Eggplant Parmesan

3 eggplants
1 cup flour
Extra virgin olive oil
tomato sauce from above recipe
2 ½ oz fresh mozzarella, sliced into cubes
2 oz smoked mozzarella, sliced into cubes
1/3 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
2 oz grated Parmagiano-Reggiano cheese
Kosher salt
Freshly ground pepper

Pre-heat oven to 350°F

Slice the eggplant into rounds 1/3-1/2 inch wide. Thoroughly sprinkle each side with salt and place in a single layer between two kitchen towels. Place a cookie sheet on top and weigh it down with something heavy so the water is squeezed out of the eggplant. This should take 20-30 minutes.
Put the flour on a flat dish and lightly dredge the eggplant slices on both sides. Heat 1/4″ of olive oil in a large skillet over high heat. When the skillet is hot, add the eggplant in a single layer, turn the heat to medium-high, and cook for about one and a half minutes on each side or until golden brown. Place the eggplant on paper towels to drain and repeat the process until all eggplant is cooked adding olive oil to the skillet as necessary.

In a 13″ x 9″ baking dish, arrange as many slices of eggplant as can fit snugly in a single layer. Drizzle 1/2 of the tomato sauce over the eggplant until it is covered. Sprinkle 1/2 of the mozzarella and smoked mozzarella over the top then sprinkle half of the basil leaves. Season with a little salt and pepper then add a second layer the same way as the first using remaining ingredients.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until the cheese is melting, tomato sauce bubbling, and the top begins to brown. Serve with crusty Italian bread to mop up excess sauce and a crisp green salad.