An Ode to Braised Meat

I have long loved braised meats, or any manner of cheap/fatty cut which requires long cooking in a large pot.  Until recently, though, it had been awhile since I cooked anything.  I think because I think of braises as cold-weather foods, and, although many will disagree, I don't feel San Francisco is ever cold.  Chilly, yes, but not really cold, like an East Coast fall or winter.  Lately, though, it has been endlessly rainy and very cold, as in 40s cold, and for weeks on end.  I finally had to shut my windows at night, and turn the heat on (gasp!).  Thus, the braising.  I should admit that it was initiated by a late Friday evening venture into the Salumeria to buy dinner.  Given the time, there weren't many options, outside of a large, delicious looking osso bucco.  Thus began the braising.  Although I got into a slight bit of trouble for providing dinner close to 11, it was a huge hit.  Capped off by slurping up the marrow from the large veal bone.  Despite the reminder of work (another topic entirely), it was amazing; I adore bone marrow, of any kind.  I ended up reusing the braising liquid for a large beef shank I bought the following week, which, though tasty, was not quite as good.

Then there was the carnitas; amazingly simple, I had no idea.  Who knew milk, stock and an orange could generate such a beautiful pot of perfectly caramelized meat?  Then last night, there were pork ribs.  I am a fan of the braise, no question.  See attached recipes, no modifications.

Osso Buco
Pork Carnitas
Orange and Soy-Pork Ribs

Salumeria

Flour + Water is my neighbor.  Whenever I happen to be outside near my apartment round 5, there is, without-fail, a line extending down the block.  How can this be?  There are so many amazing restaurants in San Francisco, I can barely decide where to eat.  Regardless, I must somewhat ashamedly admit, I have never been to Flour + Water.  It is not that I am disinterested, or that I am doubtful it is worth the wait.  It must be, given the omnipresent line.  It is that when I want to go out to dinner, I want to go out, not just walk across the street.  Especially if it requires planning, which this evidently does.  Who puts in place a plan to walk across the street?  I can't, it just seems wrong.  I could wait in the line, but this also seems absurd to me, given I could just as well sit at home on my sofa (or sprawled flat on my back in the center of the living room, which seems to be my favorite place of late).  If they had pick-up, I would have probably bought at least 10 pizzas at this point.

Back to my point, though; the Salumeria, which was recently opened by the owners of Flour + Water.  I love to live in the city for countless reasons, but near the top of the list is that I like to walk to wherever I am going.  Friends tease me about this, because within a 2-mile radius, I will nearly always walk to my destination.  If I am not in the mood to walk, I won't go.  If it is an appointment, and there is no choice but to take some other means of transit, I will do so, but very, very irritably.  When I run out of coffee beans, I walk to Ritual, or Four Barrel.  Recently, more so to Atlas cafe for Stumptown, because it is oh-so-close, and I cannot be out of coffee, and never think ahead.  I will walk to Rainbow Grocery, or Bi-Rite, and out to dinner in the Mission no matter what vertiginous heels I am wearing  The Salumeria, though, is now my neighborhood best friend, and by a long-shot.  After work, if I can make it home in time, I drop by and get a salad.  I nearly always get some wedge of cheese, and if I can rationalize a treat, the duck liver mousse or a slice of terrine.  I have bought jars of pasta sauce, and cartons of berries; prosciutto.  It is expensive, but all of it is good, and it always gets eaten, and not wasted.  On weekends, I like to get espresso, and sit in the courtyard of Central Kitchen.

If you live in SF, or are even just visiting, you should go.  You may see me there.

Salumeria, Mission SF         

green goddess

I did not realize this originated in San Francisco until I got a sudden-onset, rapid craving to have a jar sitting in my fridge always. To put on sliced radishes, roasted broccoli, chicken; apples, even. It was initiated by a salad I ate from the recently opened Salumeria two blocks away, which I now frequent at least once weekly. I perused a number of recipes, but I essentially made mine up because I was too lazy to go to the store again.

 Who could not love a dressing called Goddess anyhow?

2C. basil
1C. spinach leaves
1/2 avocado
2 anchovies
2 cloves garlic
2T olive oil
1/2C. greek yogurt
1/4C. lemonaise


Add basil, spinach, garlic, anchovies, olive oil to blender, then puree.  Add remaining ingredients, then mix.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

salad

I love salads. I've grown adept at throwing together really good ones very quickly for dinner. These two are especially amazing, I think.

arugula salad
arugula or mache
sunflower seeds
avocado
blue cheese
roasted/salted almonds
dried sour cherries

splash of balsamic vinegar, hazelnut oil

kale salad
finely sliced raw kale, preferably purple kale
3T dried blueberries
3T balsamic vinegar
1T rice vinegar
1T honey
1t salt
1/2C. grated parmesan
1T olive oil
roasted, sliced almonds

macerate berries with vinegar an hour or so in advance. in a large bowl, mix vinegars, oil, honey and salt; add to kale with berries and let sit 20min. add parmesan and nuts.  avocado is also a good addition, or chickpeas.

san francisco chicken salad

Best chicken salad ever (to date)

left-over roasted chicken
lemonaise (to taste)
greek yogurt (to taste)
savory (fresh; to taste))
mustard (to taste)
dijon diced radish (1-2)
hot sauce (splash)
pinenuts - ~2T, lightly toasted
salt + pepper (to taste)

Dice or shred chicken. Add lemonaise/yogurt until it is as creamy as you wish it. Add remaining ingredients to taste. Mix and eat on bread, crackers, or sliced pink lady apples (as we did, tonight).

San Francisco Restaurants: Part One - Italian

Just as I was moving here, I read an article in the NYTimes about San Francisco and Italian food . At that moment I was, and had been, pursuing an obsession with pizza. Cooking it, but eating it. We had been making crust from scratch, sauce from scratch, and whipping out pizza margheritas from the grill. We also near-perfected a pizza with sauteed broccoli raab (near-perfect meaning our crust was about as good as we could get, but could not reach the quality of a brick-oven/other 5000deg beast). I was also at that time travelling to SF on a work expense account, so I could eat out. It started out with eating at 54 Mint , which was really good. Specifically I recall eating an amazing panna cotta with balsamic glaze, which was stunning. I also loved the plaza so much I considered moving in there, except that I would have had to stay in the plaza for my own comfort and safety level. This was rapidly followed by a trip to Una Pizza Napoletana, of NYC fame. Una Pizza lacked glamour, but the pizza was outstanding, with perfectly charred crust, and hard-to-make spot on margherita. When I moved to Potrero Hill, I became enamored with Piccino , at that time a tiny maybe 10 tables haunt with an excellent short wine list, pizza, a handful of delicious desserts where one could nearly always score a table with two people. This has changed since Piccino expanded to a larger, and decidedly more upscale space down the block. The pies are still excellent, but I have to admit missing the smaller, more neighborly, cafe-style space. Having moved to the Mission and tried Delfina's Pizzeria, I have to say that it's margherita cannot be beat. It's the pizza I dream of when I've been here by myself and have no one to split it with, though I could regrettably down a whole one myself if I dared. Moving on from pizza, I have been to SPQR, Perbacco, but for amazing pasta and atmosphere to-die-for, Farina is my pick. You could not ask for a more stunning interior space, and the fettuccine with pesto is the best I have ever eaten. Even in Italy.

moving west

I've moved west! There are infinite food possibilities here. Unfortunately, I've mostly been eating lately. And riding my bike. I should say bikes, as I have two - a kawasaki ninja as well as my old specialized. But, I vow to start cooking again soon. More than a tamale out of a bag from the grocer on the stovetop, or a poached egg on greens. Or, worse, a peanut butter pretzel clif bar with a glass of milk. Followed by a glass of pinot noir with a chunk of mt. tam a few hours later. I have developed a wine problem, although I would prefer to call it an appetite. More on that later. SF food is better, everywhere. Trust me.