Recipe: Main-Course Farmers Market Salad

Sweet, tender greens from Blue Heron Farms

Fresh figs, soft greens, roasted nuts and a complementary cheese with a killer, super-easy dressing add up to a fast, healthy summer one-course meal. And all the ingredients are available from the Palo Alto Farmers Market (or a store within walking distance). But best of all, this combination TASTES SO GOOD! Besides, it’s fun to cruise the market with a meal in mind. If you can’t make it to the farmers market on Saturday morning, acceptable substitutes can be found at a good grocery store.

Recipe: Quick, Easy Version of Nobu’s Miso-Marinated Black Cod

The most-imitated and most-famous signature dish of celebrity chef Nobu Matsuhisa deserves its fame because it’s just plain delicious. Here’s a link to his original recipe for those purists. Food & Wine recently published a simplified version, which I simplified (and improved, imho) further.

Nobu Spinoff In South Palo Alto

Jin Sho/Nobu’s Yellowtail with Jalapeno

Nobuyuki Matsuhisa – known just as Nobu – is the most famous Japanese chef in the world, running a slew of restaurants on several continents that deliver his delicious style of modern Japanese food to appreciative, well-heeled audiences. For Peninsula foodies eager to sample Nobu cuisine, air travel has been required. Until now. Two chefs from New York’s Nobu exited the Big Apple, bringing their experience, skills and many Nobu recipes to South Palo Alto. Happily, owner-chefs Ichiro Takahashi and Noriomi Kaneko set up shop at their new Jin Sho restaurant armed not only with Nobu’s cooking sensibilities but with considerable knowledge of classic Japanese cuisine.

Recipe: Vegan German Chocolate Cookies

This is a reinvented (and improved) version of Whole Foods’ delicious cookies. The store’s version is on the left and my version is on the right. Enough said (if you love chocolate).

Any serious chocolate lover will adore these intensely chocolatey, addictive cookies – and can do so without too much guilt, happily. I reinvented these based on what might be the best item offered in Whole Foods’ bakeries – namely, their vegan German chocolate cookies. However, I reduced the fat (the Whole Foods version are little grease balls), cut back on the sweeteners and otherwise revamped the recipe (or rather, what I assume is the recipe because I’ve only seen the ingredient list on the package) to maximize what’s most delicious in this wonderful treat. Truthfully, these are less “German” due to the intensified chocolate-ness but that should be fine to most folks. My version is way easy to make, too.

Recipe: Wild Shrimp with Carrot-Mint Curry

This big-flavored dish with unexpected ingredients combines sweet, savory, tart and just a hint of spicy elements and is also gorgeous to look at. Although the delicious wild shrimp from the gulf that Pietro sells at the Palo Alto and Menlo Park farmers markets was the inspiration for this simple but elegant dish, it could also be made with shrimp/prawns from a good market – or seared scallops or just about any flavorful, white seafood. The shrimp cooking technique is based on something I learned eons ago in a Chinese cooking class that’s a super-easy version of the French en papillote method.

Yum! Pimientos de Padrón

Addictive. Exciting (there’s about one muy caliente pepper in a batch). The little Spanish peppers available from Happy Quail Farms at the Palo Alto, Menlo Park and SF Ferry Plaza farmers markets make an easy and tasty casual starter during the warm months when the peppers are grown. Cooked in oil and sprinkled with salt, these treats are common in Spain’s tapas bars.

All About the Sonoma Coast and its Great Wines

(an earlier version of this article was published by the SF Chronicle)

The Sonoma Coast is the coolest wine region in the full sense of the word. It has colder temperatures and higher rainfall than virtually any other important grape source in California. And its terroir-driven wines have developed a coveted cachet, capable of delivering power and elegance while still complementing food. Wines from this remote region’s grapes have gone from virtually unknown to sought after in less than a decade. This is the story of how one of the world’s best wine regions evolved, the winemakers committed to it and the forces that have stood – and still stand – in the way of its greatness.

Recipe: Strawberry Gazpacho (David Kinch)

The simplicity of this recipe belies how out-of-this-world wonderful it tastes. I begged David for months for the recipe because I couldn’t duplicate it. He sometimes serves this as an amuse bouche before the meal starts. Great berries are a necessity, so go to a farmers market or buy the divine Swanton strawberries now sold at Whole Foods. At Manresa (his superb restaurant in Los Gatos), he uses the freshest ingredients available, of course, so be choosy in your shopping. Higher-end grocery stores like Draeger’s are more likely to carry the quality balsamic vinegar and nut oil (best: imported French oil such as J. Leblanc; the only acceptable domestic oils are by LaTourangelle) called for in the recipe. David’s recipes are presented “chef’s style,” in weight measurements rather than the volume measurements typically found in home recipes. I’ve added some further explanations in the recipe.

Recipe: Raw Bluefin Tuna with Yuzu (David Kinch)

(from me) Although I haven’t made this crudo recipe, I intend to. Everything David cooks is wonderful. All the Asian ingredients are available at Nak’s in Menlo Park, an excellent source for sushi fish as well. Cook’s Seafood in Menlo Park also has super-fresh tuna. To get the unique flavor of yuzu, one suggestion is to buy bottled yuzu at Nak’s and mix a little in with the fresh Meyer lemon.

Recipe: White Peach/Jasmine Sorbet (Daniel Patterson)

(chef’s notes) The floral notes of the white peaches and jasmine work in concert as if they were made for each other. The jasmine flavor in the base should seem a bit strong, and the base fairly sweet, as the freezing process dulls both flavor and aroma. You can serve the sorbet by itself, or on a bed of white peaches seasoned with sugar.