Knead To Know

The underground restaurant ring is something that is taking SF by storm.
Some of the best food I have ever eaten was cooked for me by a man who had been laid off from his job as a lawyer a few months prior to starting his own underground restaurant in his living room in the city.
I was blown away, and I wanted in.

However, his was fine dining, and for those of you who know me you don't I don't do fine dining. I'll eat it, but I won't cook it.
I wanted to do something that would make it worth my customers time and effort to leave their homes for on a Winters night. So for me A pizzeria was a no-brainer.

A lot of friends, pizza and cheap wine made for a great night.
Thanks to all that showed, you definitely made me feel that it was all worth while.
Hope everyone had a good time.

To market to market to buy a fat pig...

Autumn is my favorite time of year.
You can't beat an Autumn in Ireland, but San Francisco comes pretty close.
The sun keeps shining but there is a distinct chill in the air that only comes at this time of year.
Apart from the obvious foliage that comes with the change in the season we can't forget the most important thing that Fall brings, and that great produce.
Strolling through my local farmers market recently I was inspired by the beautiful array of fruit and vegetable. I'll admit I could recognise a lot of it and have no idea what to do with a purple cauliflower but its fun finding out.
I had just made a chicken stock and wanted to use it wisely so everything I bought was intended for a big stew, and since my Mammy is miles away I was going to have to make it myself.

Enjoy this season while it last.

Tea and cake!!!

This recipe has always been very well received over the years as I have taken it from one place to another. I usually don't hand over my master recipes with out a fight but to be fare I can not take the credit for this as it is easily available in the Avoca Handweavers cook book. One of many that are my go to recipes for any occasion.

For those of you who don't know, Avoca Handweavers restaurant is a gem that can be found nestled in the Wicklow Mountains. Very similar in style to Ballymaloe's food its the best kind of comfort food around. I would always set out early when heading from Wexford to Dublin just so I would have time to drop in to grab a coffee and scone for my road trip.



Carrot Cake

400g/14oz caster sugar
4 eggs
400ml/14floz sunflower oil
400g/14oz self-raising flour
1 teaspoon mixed spice
1 teaspoon salt
400g/14oz carrots, grated
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Icing

175g/6oz butter, softened
Juice from ½ a lemon
350g/12oz icing sugar, sifted
2 tsp vanilla extract

Method

-Whisk eggs, sugar and oil in an electric mixer using a balloon whisk until thick and pale
-Turn down the speed to low and mix in the flour, mixed spice and salt.
-Fold in the carrot and vanilla extract.
-Pour the mixture into two 2lb loaf tins greased and lined with parchment paper.
-Bake at 170oC/325oF/gas mark 3 for 1 hour or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.
Cool in the tin for 15 minutes then turn out on a wire rack to cool completely.
-To make the icing, beat the cream cheese, butter, lemon juice and vanilla until combined, then add in the icing sugar and mix until light and flurry.

Sunday Brunch

One of my most favorite meals is Brunch. I think this is also the same reason I love the Castro. If there's something the guys there know is how to make a good brunch, and pull off leather hot pants but thats a different blog.

I decided to have friends over on our deck for Brunch.
Good food, good company and good mimosas, What more do you want on a lazy summer Sunday.

Pizza Heaven

Pizza is one of my all time favourite things.
It ticks all the boxes of what you want from a meal. It has carbs, rich tangy sauce, veggies, meat, and as my friend Lauren would say 'HELLA cheese'.

Good pizza recipes are few and far between. They are made predominantly from plain yeast bread dough but this can prove difficult to work with and to manipulate when rolling.

I have run the gammit on pizza doughs but finally I have gathered my own little repetoire of pizza dough recipes that serve their purpose depending on what I'm using them for focaccia, calzone or flat bread.

Here's a recipe I'm fond of. Its easy to make,freezes well and the final product is a crisp buttery dough.
This dough is versatile and I have used it to make bread sticks,flat breads and even a baguette. Its amazing what you can pull out of your hat when you have to.
A little bit of fine cornmeal on the table when rolling the dough gives the base a nice texture and you don't end up with a floury base.



Olive Oil Pizza Dough

1tsp dried yeast
225ml water (body temp)
50ml olive oil
25g butter
1tsp salt
15g sugar
450g strong white flour

~In a large bowl put the flour, sugar, salt.
~Rub in the butter until it resembles bread crumbs.
~Stir in the dried yeast.
~Mix to a loose dough with the olive oil and water. Leave to relax for 5 minutes.
~Turn out the dough onto the counter.
~Knead by hand for around 10 minutes until it forms a smooth dough. Or mix for 5 minutes in a food mixer with a dough hook.
~Put the formed dough in a greased bowl and cover with cling film. Leave to double in size for an 1 ½ hours in a warm spot.
~When the dough is ready punch the air out of it and cut into 6 pieces. Shape into balls and leave to relax on the counter for 30 minutes lightly covered with cling film.
~Use straight away or put in oiled sandwich bags and refrigerate or freeze
~Cook the pizza on the highest temp on your oven. I cook mine at 500of.
~Preheat a tray in the oven and then slide your pizza on to it or put your pizza directly on the bottom of the oven,trust me it will be fine and give a great pizza base.

Everything but the oink!!!!

One Markets weekly beast is a fantastic way to experience the Michelin star restaurants cuisine without paying the a la cart prices. They offer a five course tasting menu for a modest $49, with wine pairing it's $69.

Our weekly beast was a suckling pig. There is only one thing tastier then a pig, and that's a baby pig.
For me the first and last course were the highlight of the meal, which I suppose is the best way to have it. Thee pig head and foie gras croquette was almost sinful. The meat was rich in flavor and the foie gras velvety in texture, a combination that makes for damn good eatin'.

The 3 courses to follow were lovely in their own right, but my favorite was the grand finale, bacon and waffles. A breakfast that seems to drive Americans wild and I can now see why. A soft mini waffle,maple butter and caramelized bacon, heaven. This is my kind of fine dining. When the chef takes something that people are familiar with and puts their own creative spin on it. Dishes like these transport you back to particular moments in your life. Food memories are my favorite kind of memories.

I always shied away from tasting menu's. The reason being I feel the customer doesn't always get the same standard and care that customers ordering off the a la cart menu get. This is just my personal experience from kitchens I have worked in. However this was not the case here.
I'm delighted I stumbled across One Markets "Weekly Beast" and will be keeping my eyes open for the upcoming animals to tantalize my taste buds. I highly recommend you check it out, and make life easier on yourself and go for the wine pairing. They are Californian wines which suites me because I'm a new world wine kinda gal.

I would like to take a moment and give honorable mention to the salted caramel petit fours. Ever since this night I have stormed SF candy stores for something similar but nothing could hold a candle to these salty golden nuggets of greatness. Alas, the search continues....

groupon.com

Check out www.groupon.com/
It's a great free website that sends you an email with their daily deals.
It is usually for restaurants and food vendors in the city but it does cover hotels,spa treatments ,yoga classes etc.
Unlike other similar companies you don't have to pay for the coupons and they usually don't have to be used straight away. Most deals are discounted 50% or more. The terms and conditions are in black and white and very straight forward.

It's well worth signing up. I'm saving my coupons for when I'm short on cash but want to treat myself to dinner out. Also it's a great way to try out restaurants you might never have known existed.

Recently Groupon.com sold a coupon for afternoon tea for two in the Fairmont hotel for $36, a steal (ttp://www.fairmont.com/sanfrancisco/). Unfortunately I missed out but I will not make the same mistake again. They sold out at over 3000 coupons early in the day.

So keep your eyes peeled and your credit card to hand.

The Mission is a funny place.
I've discovered that the best place for me is on the outskirts of the Mission where it is bright and pretty and the cafes and restaurants around are likewse. I'm not brave enough to venture into the depths of it to find my next meal as I'm not sure what I might find. I am up for recommendations of places by friends but going by past experience of getting a burrito at 3am in a random place is a big no bueno.

Tartine on Guerrero street is a beautiful little bakery/cafe in the Mission district and when the mood strikes for a warm pressed sandwich this is the place to go.
Their country levain bread is so far some of the best bread I've had in the city. For me this bread with similar characteristics of a ciabatta and the slight flavour of a sourdough makes for a great pressed sandwich.

I'm a fan of the spicy sopressata, fontina and broccoli rabe pesto. The oil from the pesto oozes through the bread during toasting and makes it all the better, and whomever came up with a broccoli pesto, genius!!

As a baker and a foodie Tartine for me is a great place to lunch when you have time to sit and relax and watch the world go by.

So I get cravings for certain random things like nobody's business. Like fried mushrooms,a baked potato and Heinz beans, scrambled eggs and smoked salmon, baked banana's etc. I have even gone as far as reconstructing dinners I had in boarding school (mashed potato, sausage rolls and tinned spaghetti) but I left the lumps out of the mash.

Anyway recently I have craved roast chicken. Where better to go in the city and get roast chicken then Zuni cafe on Market. Done in their wood fired brick oven their roast chicken for two is their signature dish. It takes an hour to cook so be prepared for the wait.

Being the smart girls that we are instead on filling up on bread in this time myself and my friend Amanda decided it best to save our appetite and get liqueured up right nice on their hose Cab Sauv instead. Thus saving our calories and wetting our appetite for our chicken.

When the wait was finally over our chicken arrives portioned on top of a bread salad with pine nuts and currants surrounded by frisee lettuce (don't get me started on frisee lettuce).

The bread salad had great texture and flavour but the currants and pine nuts were few and far between.As for the chicken, it was just that, a chicken. The skin wasn't crispy and it didn't have exceptional flavour that I would have hoped for.

For $48 I expected the chicken to do a dance on the table. However Zuni is a great restaurant. The ambiance, decor and staff make it a lovely dining experience so I will be going back, just not for the chicken.

FYI -The menu on line is a sample menu in case you go thinking you are having creme brulee for dessert only for the waiter to tell you its not on this present menu. I was devastated but I didn't want the waiter to see me cry so I held it together and had rhubarb crumble instead.

Growing up in Ireland and in a household where my Mum always had a home cooked meals for us was something I was very fortunate to have growing up.
It taught me that food didn't have to be complicated nor did you have to spend your whole night cooking to produce a good meal.
The greatest gift my Mum gave to me and my siblings was that she showed us how to cook from a young age,An invaluable life lesson that can be passed on not only through generations but to the people close to you too.

My career and my travels have brought me to many different countries to experience different cultures and cuisines.
Since finishing my studies in Professional cookery in Ireland I have traveled to Oz where I work in the snowy mountains, Tuscany where I worked as a Personal chef, and Tahoe, California where I worked as a baker. Now I find myself in one of thee best cities in the world for food, San Francisco.
This city and the great quality and diversity of cuisines has reignited my passion for food, and was the inspiration behind this blog.
This blog is for everyone who loves food, so we can share recipes, food stories, tips on where to get the best burrito, great spots for mid week dining, which farmers market to check out, review restaurants, the list goes on....

Commonly said in the Emerald Isle a pig is a Pretty Irish girl, most commonly said by kids under 10 but how and ever. And I think a pigs association with food needs no explanation.

Buon Appetito!!!