august in the hamptons

Well dear reader, I am a very lucky girl. Oh sure, I've been to many beautiful places, local and far away, but there is something that works on your imagination about a place like the Hamptons. I had a few preconceived ideas of what to expect, and for the most part they were pretty close to reality. But there is a level of lifestyle and wealth that just can't be put into words, right there on an island called Long.

Besides the quaint beauty of the area, you are knocked out by the sheer history. Southhampton was established in 1640. Visions of colonists and Indians come to mind and a life in a simpler time. Alot of that simple lifestyle remains. There are still cornfields, windmills and vineyards. Don't expect to book a flight and a room at the local Hilton--it doesn't exist. This is a community reserved for homeowners and summer renters. And what homes they are. Tucked down half mile gravel drives and surrounded by 10 foot hedges immaculately trimmed, homes front the ocean as far as the eye can see. Pools are de riguer surrounded by an acre of manicured lawn.

I was invited to visit by my dear friend Michael Perricone and his partner George Schleier at their summer rental, Pond House. Joining us was another friend, Miriam Solomon. This charming home is located in Watermill, just steps from South Hampton. Some of the best part of the Hamptons is the wonderful way to relax, utilizing the huge amount of high quality, fresh food available--and that means a bit of a food fest.

The first day we planned our menus and off to the grocery store we went. Michael made a wonderful pasta with shrimp and broccoli seasoned with cumin and lemon. It was delicious. I found out George loves apple pie, so pie a la mode it was. French toast with honey butter one morning and fresh scones the next made for great breakfasts. Our day trips were a combination of open house lusting, sandwich wraps and frozen yogurt by the boats at Sag Harbor, checking out the antiques in Bridgehampton and seeing the movie "Julie and Julia" in Easthampton. Star sightings were limited to character actors, names unknown. Afternoons were followed by floating around the pool with cocktails and a little more cooking. Not too shabby. A Saturday night supper of sauteed swordfish, fresh corn and roasted baby red potatoes was finished off with George's blueberry crisp and late night conversation in the pool. I slept very well.

It was very hard to part company with my friends at the train station. Wistfully I must hope that I will be invited back for another visit to this almost imaginary place called the Hamptons.

beautiful, healthy northern chinese cuisine at heaven's dog

I have been a follower of Charles Phan and Slanted Door in San Francisco since the days when he was first located on Mission Street. I remember when Bill Clinton dined there, we were all a flutter and I had a birthday party there shortly after.
I love the food at Out the Door in the Westfield Center and the kinetic energy of Slanted Door at the Ferry Building.

Now, Charles Phan and executive chef Andy Wai of Heaven's Dog have developed a menu based on Northern Chinese cuisine and local seasonal products. Asian cuisine is my weakness—all that crispy goodness, chili oil this and deep fried that, with few healthy choices in between. Heaven's Dog delivers the variety we crave and the fresh, healthy ingredients we need.

First, this modern space inside the SOMA Grand has great visual appeal—a small and intimate dining room with orange leather and woven wood is flanked by a curved bar. There is also an open kitchen with counter dining and a private room that on the day I visited was used for communal dining. The restaurant uses quality ingredients such as Prather Ranch meats and organic produce from nearby farms such as All Star Organics.

On the day I dined I had a reservation for lunch and the dining room was comfortably full. I started with Shanghai dumplings ($8), steamed and light with an interior of pork and broth that you eat out of a spoon so you don't lose any broth goodness. This was flavored well with a hint of soy and vinegar. There are plenty of vegetarian choices as well, such as Chinese broccoli, organic kale, spicy green beans, and organic pea shoots. I chose a unique dish of spicy organic cauliflower ($9). These crispy florets were perfectly sauteed with honshimeji mushrooms and lots of red pepper done in a Hunan style. The attentive waiter suggested a side of Massa Organics brown rice ($3) which matched perfectly. I tried one noodle dish called dan dan mein ($7), seasoned with chili, pressed tofu and spicy peanut sauce. Although tasty, I felt the flavors ran together and the tofu was barely visible. I washed it all down with Lakewood organic pineapple juice ($5) which I had made spritzer style with sparkling water.

There is a very sophisticated cocktail list but perhaps the most interesting is “Freedom of Choice” ($10). Let the bartender know if you like your cocktail citrus driven or spirituous and he will surprise you. You can find all this and many more delicious details at http://www.heavensdog.com/.

Read more about Heaven's Dog at my column at Body Mechanix Fitness Cooperative.

perfect half-sour pickles

Dear reader, as you know, I get on kicks--or cravings, or the hunt for, etc . . . Well the latest has been a search for a great, crispy, bright green deli pickle. I always called them dill pickles. Sounds right, but I had no idea how they were made--oh sure, vinegar, dill, spice, sealed in a jar? No. The pickle I was looking for was different. Garlicky, crisp, briny, with no vinegar. I discovered that the pickle I was craving is called the half-sour, a staple of east coast deli's.

I did some research and found that the half-sour gets its flavor and its name from a very quick (and fairly simple) fermentation process. I liked the idea of not canning anything, so I thought that this is the pickle recipe for me. I adapted the recipe from at least 4 web recipes that had very similar ingredients and instructions. I assumed that at least 4 people could not be completely wrong. Half the fun was shopping for the ingredients--it gave me an excuse to go to the new Berkeley Bowl West, 920 Heinz Avenue, Berkeley, CA. and believe me it was worth it. The produce selection is bar none and the prices are very reasonable. A 2 quart Mason glass jar with locking lid and I was good to go. Since the fermentation process involves leaving your cukes at room temp for a few days, please be sure that every surface and utensil you use is very clean to avoid any unwanted contamination.

The ingredients:
8 cups cold, filtered water
1/4 cup kosher salt (no iodine)
1 bunch of fresh dill, stem end trimmed off
6 garlic cloves, cut in half
10-20 black peppercorns
1/8 tsp fennel seeds
2 tbl pickling spices
1 small dry red chili (optional)
10 small-medium Kirby cucumbers (not Persians)
2 grape leaves

Don't cut down on the spice. The cucumbers absorb alot of flavor. Clean the cucumbers well and trim off any attached stem. Place the cucumbers lengthwise into the jar. Dissolve salt in the filtered water and pour over the cucumbers to cover. Add all other ingredients and stir gentle to mix. Place a small saucer or bowl in the opening of the jar to keep the cucumbers submerged. You may need to add a weight to the plate to keep it down. The cukes cannot have contact with air or they will rot. Do not close the lid, but place a loose piece of plastic wrap over the opening. The idea is for some of the natural bacteria in the air to react with the brine. The grape leaves have been found to give the crispness you want in the final pickle.

Place the jar in clean area with the temp about 68 degrees. Since this is a low salt half-sour pickle, the cucumbers remain unrefrigerated for only 3 days. A slight cloudiness will form, and a few bubbles, a sign of the fermentation. After 3 days, skim any foam on top, check pickles to see if they are bright green, with a great dill/garlic smell. They should look and smell good. If it smells funky or the pickles are slimy, discard. When in doubt, discard. Otherwise, seal the lid and refrigerate for 5 days. They are now ready to eat! They last a month refrigerated .

historic requa inn and dining at steelhead lodge in klamath, ca.

Ah, June 21st, a day that has always been the best birthday, clear, sunny and the longest of the year, a day to stretch out as long as you can . . .So this year it's Father's Day too, and we decide to take a drive from Crescent City to Klamath up the scenic Requa Road to the mouth of the Klamath River. First stop on the bluff overlooking the river sits the Requa Inn, 451 Requa Road, a quaint, rustic bed and breakfast first built in 1914 as a 22 room hotel. Now with 10 unique rooms with spectacular views, this inn is included in National Geographic Traveler magazine's 2009 stay list of 129 "hotels we love" in North America, Mexico and the Caribbean. The inn features a hot tub, custom made breakfast and a carbon neutral footprint adding a little modernity to this historic property. Check out their web site at http://www.requainn.com/ .
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So, back down the hill, across the highway and into the Klamath Glen. Winding through the redwoods with houses tucked in the trees, you reach the Steelhead Lodge. Located at 330 Terwer Riffle Road, this a favorite of locals with good reason. I love things that remain traditional--old school--I've mentioned that before in the search for classic Mexican. Steelhead Lodge certainly does that.

You start with a great all wood bar with captain chairs and fishbowl size classic cocktails. The dinners are all inclusive of the generous kind, with an alderwood burning grill and grill master right outside the door! A salad of iceberg lettuce, shredded carrot and red cabbage served family style begins the meal. You know the one--the classic American salad. The dressing is a creamy house made ranch blended with blue cheese. It can't get any better. Lovely, soft, flaky rolls top it off.

We selected the 26oz. rib eye for 2 (but enough for 3) 39.00, an absolutely perfectly medium rare, smoky, tender steak with little bits of caramelized fat at the edges. You could choose a side of rice pilaf or chili, but the standout is the potato cooked in it's skin at the grill and rubbed lightly with oil and sea salt. Really divine. Steelhead Lodge does fresh cod, snapper and lobster, but a real show stopper that flew by me was a rack of pork ribs stacked with a half of a grilled chicken. A large bowl of steaming mushrooms in wine and butter was right behind. It's a simple menu done very well. Visit their website at http://www.steelheadlodgeklamath.com/ .

It was very satisfying on this longest day of summer to know that little gems in pristine settings still exist in this world.

recipe for a summer shrimp salad sandwich

Have you ever entered a recipe contest? There appears to be a whole culture out there that really knows what they are doing. Whether a cooking competition or just a recipe, many of the same names reappear. Me, I know nothing. Oh sure, I have sent in the occasional cookie recipe and I did win a stuffed potato contest back in the late 80's except I think I won out of default. True contestants understand the nature of what the judges are looking for, past recipe winners, mass appeal and how to follow the contest rules to the letter. Those darn rules, they seem like such a distraction.

So I thought I would give the Mezzetta "Make That Sandwich" contest a try. This seems like a good fit for a novice like me. I am sandwich lover from way back. Well really a bread addict. Ok, I like the stuff in between too. If I had to pick one food to have on a desert island it would be the contents of a deli--the combinations are endless. So it's been a week of testing, testing, testing all those sandwiches. It's rough but I think I came up with a good one. I'm not going to tell you about that one but I do want to share a delicious, easy and fresh shrimp salad sandwich recipe. I can't use it because it doesn't meet, you know, the rules.

SUMMER SHRIMP SALAD SANDWICH

8oz. of frozen fully cooked, tails off 50-70 shrimp, defrosted
2 stalks celery, sliced
2 green onions, sliced
1 tsp dry dill weed
1 tbl lemon juice
1/4 cup mayonnaise
salt to taste
black pepper to taste
2 soft hoagie rolls
butter lettuce

Make sure the shrimp is patted dry. Chop into chunky pieces.
Add all other ingredients and mix gently.
Remove a little of the bread from one half of roll. This creates a well.
Place butter lettuce leaf into well, fill with shrimp salad and add the top of the roll.
Eat and enjoy!

paradise on earth . . . cabo san lucas

Well, I did it. After hem-hawing, maybe yes, maybe no, should I, shouldn't I, I went to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico earlier this month. I made the right decision--I knew it immediately when I stepped off the plane (24 passengers on a 196 seater) and there was a certain welcoming, like we are so glad you are here, we are OK. And they were. Not a single sniffle in sight.

So imagine a flashback to a Cabo of an earlier time--quiet streets, cafes with open seating, the marina with just a few strolling couples, and wide open white beach with not a cruise ship in sight and you have a beautiful, if a little eerie, vision of Cabo past.

Of course the food is always memorable. One of the best and most famous of quaint spots is Mama's Royal Cafe at Hildago and Zapata downtown. We ate there twice--the first time for the
outstanding breakfast. I ordered a green chili frittata that comes with guacamole, sour cream, refried beans and fresh fruit. Warm flour or corn tortillas on the side. I like to build a taco out of my breakfast--warm tortilla topped with a hunk of the frittata, beans, guacamole, sour cream and salsa--and I roll that up into a breakfast taco. Delicious, every bite!

It is wrong to really call their beans "refried." They are really a garlicky, simmered, chunky pinto bean much different from the smoother variation we are used to. Mama's is also known for their salsa bar, with about 30 varieties that vary from as simple as pico de gallo and roasted habanero, to cucumber crema and garlic jalapeno.


At dinner, they feature one of the most famous dishes of mexican haute cuisine, "Chiles en Nogada", which is a beautiful poblano chili stuffed with ground pork or beef, batter dipped and fried in a relleno style and smothered in a walnut cream sauce studded with pomegranate seeds.
The results are mouth watering. If you have ever eaten at Guaymas in Tiberon, you may have had this dish.

Around the corner from Mama's, by the pool at the Siesta Suites Hotel, (a charming hotel with just a little seediness,) is Salvatore's, a little Italian transplant for when you are craving something other than Mexican.

This romantic outdoor space is the property of a Portland, Oregon family that fell in love with Cabo, named it for their grandfather and feature his family recipes as well. Please go with a big appetite, because everything at Salvatore's, besides being delicious, is HUGE. The crispy calamari rings come with an unusual spicy berry aioli. The caesar salad is perfect to share with full leaves of romaine lightly dressed, not gloppy, shaved parmesan and very crisp garlic crostini. The house specialty, lasagna, is served Wednesday and Friday and is not to be missed! It is a five inch high mountain of pasta layered with ricotta, herb infused bolognese sauce, and chunky italian sausage.

They only do two desserts--one of which is tiramusu--literally the best I have ever had, light as air genoise, delicate coffee flavored cream, and a touch of chocolate and liqueur. This warm night now a pleasant memory.

Eat well dear food lover, and please visit Mexico again in the near future, it really is a paradise on earth.

the great american dinner party

There has been a gradual food revolution in America over the last 40 years. Entertaining at home has evolved. What used to revolve around a couple of kinds of events like holiday dinners, barbecues, and cocktail parties has become the great dinner party. My grandmother was a wonderful cook and she made warm family dinners on Sundays and holidays, but I don't ever remember her having a dinner party for no other reason but to have over a group of friends. Not an option. So, what's different now? And how did we become such discerning cooks and entertainers?

A couple of things changed really. Cooking became popular!  It became trendy. Then it just became lifestyle. Julia Child kicked it off with the concept that you can cook "restaurant" at home. Alice Waters let us make it simple and very fresh. Voila, the food "industrial complex" is born. We are a nation that takes cooking classes from star chefs, invests in dozens of cookbooks, watches hours of the Food Network, and spend our evenings interpreting top recipes for our friends. (My mother's favorite, sit-down theme dinners for 12.)

The second thing that changed was the concept of what comprised family. If you have moved away from home (like myself) and can't be at every family dinner, your friendships, which can span dozens of years, become the new family dinner.

I became so much more aware of this recently. Actually, my friends made the point very clear and it became the idea about how even in economically challenging times the dinner party evolves again. They made the suggestion that rather than ever cut back on our dinners , we all contribute in one way or another, wines, liquor, even cash, pooled. Not that we didn't contribute before, its just more purposeful. Its about maintaining the time together.

So I did just what the great American cook would do: I made panini appetizers from Harry's Bar in Venice, veal osso buco by Tyler Florence and blackberry mousse right out of the Silver Palate Cookbook. Sound familar? Yes, once again it was shock and awe!

organic gourmet burger at pearl's deluxe burger on post

You know, one of the great things about San Francisco is the little gems of restaurants that are tucked into this corner or that all over the city. Pearl's Deluxe Burger (pun intended) is just such a gem. The original Pearl's Phat Burger is from Mill Valley, specializing in top quality beef, plus buffalo and organic beef on request. I stumbled onto it completely by accident when I was searching for great sweet potato fries. You don't see them around too often, and a friend said you have to try this new place on Post. (It has since been there a couple of years and I have been there several times.) It's not far from my house so it was a no-brainer to try it on the way home. It's a small place with seating for about 15 maxed out and pristinely clean. I think they do a crazy take-out business.

The basic pearl deluxe is a 1/2 lb beef burger on a sesame seed bun with curly leaf lettuce, mayo, onion and tomato. This isn't anything we haven't seen before, but the key is the very fresh ingredients. They also do a mini pearl that is a 1/4 pounder. But believe me you can have it anyway you want it with any number of combinations such as the Phat Bob with bacon, onions, jack cheese and bbq sauce, to a hamburger with a hotdog on top called the "King." Fries and onion rings are available but the sweet potato fries are the house speciality. They do a dead on perfect dill pickle spear that is cold and crispy like a refrigerator pickle. Have as many as you like--they are serve yourself. In case you are still feeling a little weak with hunger, there are dozens of gourmet milkshakes to choose from such as blackberry, chocolate chip, pumpkin, or peanut butter. No it isn't that cheap, but it is a nicely done handmade product--and I hear a rumor there may a 2nd location in SF in the works. Hope you get lucky enough to have it in your neighborhood. . . . till next time.