TrelayneNYC

I know that there are good restaurants in San Francisco. There have to be. But last night's excursion was not it. Green salad. Seems like there's too much dressing. What do you think? Foie gras with persimmon mostarda, brioche, crispy shallots, Maldon sea salt. The mostarda had no acidity and might as well have been a spoonful of sugar. The shallots lent nothing. Pretty average for $19. Coq au vin. Probably the best thing we had all night. Generous portions, well-made. Correct. Can't say much more than that. Haricots verts. These were served "tender crisp". Not a fan of vegetables served in that style, but B loved them so more for him. I guess the restaurant is a good value for the live music and intimate quarters. But we had a waiter who just would not stop asking us "how are things". Once is fine. Four times in a night is grating. And serving your guests drinks in cracked glassware is unacceptable. Also, if you are FOH staff, we don't need your approval when we order things from the menu. Save that for your children. Cafe Claude7 Claude Lane (Bush Street)Union Square

My opinion of Milk Street is just that. I didn't get the memo that I was supposed to agree with anyone else on this site. If you don't like my opinion, feel free to ignore it. You can be assured that yours goes in one ear and out the other.

You assume much.

That may be so but it doesn't change my initial impression of Milk Street, which is that Christopher Kimball should probably stick with living off his millions instead of lavishing more of the same tripe on the masses.

I found their initial issue underwhelming. Of course, it probably didn't help that the first article I read was the one on Cantonese white-cut chicken, a dish I know well due to having Cantonese relatives. I grew up eating that kind of food. The reason why we include chicken skin when we poach chicken for the broth is because fat imparts flavor. Fat is good, despite what the health authorities (and it seems, Christopher Kimball) will tell you. And as usual, like most recipes from the ATK and CI millieu, their rendition of bai qie ji had several ingredients that didn't belong in there...like mirin, rice vinegar and sugar.

Alan7147 wanted the recipe for the trippa, so here it is in case anyone else is interested: 1 3/4 lbs. cleaned tripe. Wash thoroughly in hot water. It's important that you obtain bleached and cleaned tripe (unless you want to handle the par-boiling yourself). BTW, buying it proved to be an adventure. I was reminded how much I had been spoiled living in New York for so long that I could get virtually anything I wanted at any time without having to schlep all over town for it. Apparently tripe is not a meat that's sold anywhere in San Francisco except for the Mission, Chinatown and certain stores in Richmond and Outer Sunset. We checked five stores and was finally able to obtain it at a place located at 23rd and Mission. Even a stalwart like Lucca didn't have it. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add tripe and simmer for a few minutes, then drain and cool. Clockwise from foreground, right: a handful of mint leaves; 2 small onions, diced; 1/2 cup sauvignon blanc; 1 28 oz. can San Marzano tomatoes that were crushed by hand along with their juices; 2 tbsp. diced pancetta. Slice the tripe into strips. In a skillet, warm 2 tbsp. olive oil over medium heat. Add onion, pancetta and mint. Cook until pancetta has rendered its fat and onion has become golden brown. Add tripe and the white wine. Stir a few times. Simmer for 1-2 minutes. Add tomatoes. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 20-25 minutes or until tripe is tender and slightly chewy. Taste for salt and black pepper. Top each serving with grated pecorino cheese. Trippa alla romana, from "My Kitchen in Rome" by Rachel Roddy, pages 205-207. The recipe above is sized for 4 people.

Christmas dinner for six: Fattuosh Chicken and cardamom rice Spinach with garlic and anchovy Roasted cauliflower Tunnel of Fudge chocolate bundt cake Apple tart Saturday: Salad with roasted beets, egg and shallot vinaigrette Chicken tagine with butternut squash, chickpeas and preserved lemon Sunday: Sauteed squid with garlic, parsley and lemon Trippa alla romana

I always find baking intimidating. I guess I shouldn't have worried. Apple tart, from A Platter of Figs by David Tanis, pages 48-49. This will be glazed with melted nectarine conserve and sprinkled with powdered sugar before serving. I also made fattuosh, also from "Jerusalem", page 29.

Prep pix for Sunday lunch for six: Chicken and cardamom rice, from "Jerusalem" by Yotam Ottolenghi, page 184. We'll dress this with parsley, dill and cilantro leaves, and Greek yogurt tomorrow prior to service. Also made the following in advance: Roasted cauliflower Spinach with garlic and anchovy Tunnel of Fudge chocolate bundt cake I have some pâte brisée in the fridge right now -- going to make a French apple tart tonight. Appetizer tomorrow will be fattuosh, also from "Jerusalem".

This is a Yemeni version of baba ghannoush that's light on tahina and garlic. Not exactly what I was expecting. My partner liked it ("fresher than most versions"), but it's not something I'd order again. Yemeni's Restaurant 1098 Sutter Street (Larkin Street) Tenderloin

This weekend: herbs (sage, rosemary, mint), carrots, onions, leeks, cauliflower, salad greens, celery, Meyer lemons, limequats, chicken, eggs, butter.

Fried egg with roasted leeks and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Saturday night: pasta e ceci Tonight: Taiwanese three-cup chicken, served with steamed jasmine rice

Clockwise from upper right: 1 1/2 cups finely chopped onion; 3 tbsp. Hungarian paprika; 1/3 cup sour cream; 3 tbsp. finely chopped garlic; 3 tbsp. finely chopped dill; salt; 4 tbsp. flour; 1 cup chicken stock; heavy cream; lard. Pork chops from Andronico's. Salt the chops generously on both sides, then season with black pepper. Dip in flour, then shake off the excess. Melt 3 tbsp lard in a Dutch oven. Brown the chops in the melted lard. Fry for 3-4 minutes per side. If you don't brown them enough, the color will wash out once the chops begin to braise. Transfer to a plate. The key to many Hungarian dishes is onion and garlic browned in lard, to which you've added some sweet paprika. Fry the onions and garlic in the lard over medium-low heat until the vegetables start to turn golden brown, about 12 minutes. Take the pot off heat, then stir in the paprika until onions are coated. Return to heat, then add chicken stock. Scrape up any browned bits. Bring to a boil. Add chops. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, covered, for one hour. Whisk together 1/3 cup sour cream, 1/3 cup heavy cream and 2 tbsp. flour. Once pork chops are done, transfer to a plate. Whisk the sour cream mixture into the pot of sauce. Simmer for 2-3 minutes or until slightly thickened. Taste for salt and pepper, then stir in the dill. Ladle sauce over chops, then serve immediately. Braised pork chops with paprika and dill, from The Cooking of Vienna's Empire by Joseph Wechsberg and the Editors of Time-Life Books (1968), page 114.

Radicchio with pancetta and onion. We served that with a French omelette (3 eggs, salt, black pepper; fried in melted unsalted butter). I find that fat tends to soften the bitterness of radicchio. If you prefer instructions, let me know. That said, I figure that folks can always ask.

Cauliflower with anchovy, pine nuts and raisins, served with toasted English muffins and fried eggs. I also made a batch of celery hearts Victor (from Prune, pages 160-162): Clockwise from foreground: celery; 3 cups chicken stock; 2 fresh bay leaves; 8 black peppercorns Combine all ingredients in a pan. Bring stock to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cover, then braise celery on low heat for 20 minutes. Clockwise from lower right: 3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil; 3 anchovy fillets, finely chopped; pinch of red pepper flakes; 3 shallots, minced; 1/3 cup Meyer lemon juice. Cool celery in braising liquid. Whisk together olive oil, Meyer lemon juice, anchovies, red pepper flakes. Stack celery hearts and stalks in a container. Pour marinade over. Season with salt and black pepper. This will marinate for a little over 24 hours. To be continued...

Anything that gets people in the kitchen cooking is a good thing so if it works for you, then that's great!

Having never made beef stew before, I'd say tonight was a victory. You have to understand that up until a year and a half ago, I was a semi-vegetarian (while I did eat meat on occasion, about 75% of my diet was as a lacto-ovo vegetarian). http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/4735-old-fashioned-beef-stew for reference, except we subbed 3 1/2 cups of veal stock for the beef stock because that's what we had on hand, and added some chopped parsley at the end.

Samphire Limequats This weekend we bought: beef, herbs (dill, cilantro), strawberries, blackberries, samphire, scallions, cauliflower, potatoes, spinach and carrots.

Then we went to Chez Panisse tonight for my birthday dinner. Prosecco, Meyer lemon syrup. Halibut tartare, endive, mint. Dungeness crab cake, julienned vegetable salad with preserved lemon vinaigrette, green coriander, rouille. My hubby proclaimed it "the best crab cake I've ever eaten in my life". High praise indeed. Squab brodo with ricotta and herb raviolini, black truffles. Delicate broth, well-made pasta. Rather miniaturized shavings of truffle though. Quail grilled with sage, served with kabocha squash, roasted chestnuts, new onions and Savoy cabbage. I told the staff that "if you can taste the salt, it's too much". The quail was at fault, ditto for the vegetables. Salting is an art: you want just enough to bring out the flavor of whatever it is you're cooking. That's it.In their defense, it could have been just this plate, but my hubby detected oversalting on his portion. Maybe our palates were at fault but I doubt it. Sauternes. Red wine-poached pear millefoglie, pomegranate, crème fraîche. Millefoglie is the Italian spelling for "mille-feuille". Was perfect. Lemon verbena infusion. Chocolate-covered peanuts, candied orange peel. Apart from the quail, a perfect meal. We'll definitely be back. Chez Panisse 1517 Shattuck Avenue (Vine Street) Berkeley

Brenda's is a restaurant that's popular with the weekend brunch crowd which mostly consists of millennials and tech folks. It's also great for dinner -- a fact which we've been curious about for quite a while and only discovered last night. Chicken, okra and sausage gumbo. Was a touch bland to my palate. A shot of Tabasco perked it right up. BBQ ribs, collard greens. The ribs were falling-off-the-bone perfect, with a smoky, sharp and slightly sweet sauce. Greens were nice. Fried chicken, cream biscuit, collard greens, served with peaches and honey, and hot sauce. Finger-lickin' good. Brenda's 652 Polk Street (Eddy Street) Tenderloin

Spinach salad with fried egg, scallion and pancetta.

Zuppa di cozze ("Mussel soup") from Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking by Marcella Hazan, pages 123-124. It's REALLY simple: garlic, flat leaf parsley, mussels, crushed San Marzano tomatoes, olive oil, salt, red pepper flakes. Cavolfiore in salsa di acciughe ("cauliflower with anchovy sauce") -- my own recipe and similarly simple: a battuto of onion, garlic and parsley cooked in olive oil to which was added some anchovy. Mashed the anchovy into the sauce, cauliflower that was simmered in lightly salted water for 5 minutes. Drizzle of olive oil for garnish before service.

We have several in our kitchen but the ones we use the most often are (1) a Japanese chef's knife from Bernal Cutlery and (2) a silicon-bladed knife.

Scones with Meyer lemon, mandarin orange and currants, adapted from the Zuni Cafe Cookbook, pages 479-480. We served those with fig jam, apricot conserve and nectarine conserve.