I am a huge fan of the Thermopen which I use daily. It�s the best thermometer ever. But for dad, I think the ChefAlarm is great idea. It has a temperature probe that attaches to an alarm that has a plethora of features.

Not only is it backlit and easy to read, it has count down and count up timers, adjusts for both high and low temperaures as well as minimum and maximum temperatures, an adjustable volume setting for the alarm and an optional extra needle probe for thin cuts. Because it is designed for commercial kitchens it's also splash proof. It�s less expensive than the Thermopen, but has lots of whistles and bells. $59.99

Recently I received a box of Recchiuti chocolates as a thank you. I think I had forgotten how good they are. It was fun choosing the different flavors from the guide and savoring each bite. But one of the confections that Recchiuti is most known for, are burnt caramel truffles. These rich little squares aren�t really burnt, but cooked until the darker notes are stronger than the sweet ones.

While perhaps not the traditional Father�s Day gift, why not? Recchiuti has long supported the nonprofit Creativity Explored with a selection that features a design by an artist, this time James Miles has created Whimsical Cyclists which definitely has a manly feel about it. A box of 9 is $27

This is my new favorite house red wine and one I plan on sharing with my dad. It's an easy wine to pair with food but just as enjoyable on its own. I first tried it with some sausages and grilled vegetables.

It�s a blend from the Southern Rhone and is mostly grenache, syrah, merlot and just a touch of marselan. A medium body juicy wine, it has limestone minerality, lots of red fruit like raspberries as well as violet and licorice and a bit of leather.

It is not an expensive or fancy wine, but will show dad your good taste and eye for value, $12.99 at Whole Foods Market wine department.

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One of the nice perks of writing about food is being invited to restaurants and even getting to preview ones that have not yet opened. While busy writing the cookbook I have taken some breaks to see what's going on around town. Here are some highlights:

Hog Island Oyster Co. Bar has long been one of my favorite little hideaways at the San Francisco Ferry Plaza. Tucked away in an awkward spot, it had fantastic views of the Bay Bridge and soul soothing clam chowder, not to mention an always stellar range of oysters on the half shell. The space is certainly not awkward any longer. Now that the oyster bar has taken over the adjacent spot, it�s a spacious and nicely unified expanse with two bars and plenty of outdoor seating. The menu is larger too. My picks are still the classic clam chowder that has no flour so it�s rich and creamy, not goopy, and the white anchovies. Served with piquillo pepper aioli, chopped eggs and green herb sauce on baguette slices, the anchovies are are bright and juicy, nothing like what you get out of a can. In case you didn't know, Hog Island was founded by two marine biologists who are passionate about the future of sustainable seafood.

Originally founded in 1893, Schroeder�s was long overdue for an overhaul. The German style beer hall has a brighter, cleaner, more sophisticated look and also a much greater emphasis on food. Chef Manfred Wrembel has German parents but grew up in California so he has a lighter touch with the more traditionally heavy cuisine. At a recent preview my favorite dishes were the delicate beef tongue, sliced paper thin and served with capers, radishes and creme fraiche and the beet salad with crisp thin pumpernickel wafers and goat cheese; a very refined version of what�s become a classic salad. 

Chino is one of the newest restaurants in town, it opened just this week. It was inspired by owner Joe Hargrave�s love of Chinese dumplings and cocktails and desire to enjoy them together. I tried several dishes and the dumplings were superb. They should be, they hired a veteran dumpling maker previously at The Mandarin. The gingery chicken dumpling was my favorite. I also loved the rich and sticky pork tamarind hoisin riblets and the super tangy and crisp chicken wings a recipe from Nick Balla, currently the chef at Bar Tartine, from when he was cooking Asian food. 

Last but not least, a restaurant that has not yet opened, Pabu is a collaboration between Michael Mina and Ken Tominaga who is known for his much acclaimed sushi spot Hana in Rohnert Park (he also previously worked with Cindy Pawlcyn at Go Fish in Napa). The restaurant will be opening up in the old Atrium space at 101 California Street. The preview pop-up just had a few nibbles, but the Happy Spoon is reason enough to check it out. It�s basically some of the tastiest things all combined�a raw oyster, salmon roe, Santa Barbara sea urchin, tobiko and a ponzu creme fraiche. This is a tried and true dish from Pabu in Baltimore, and sure to make a splash here as well. 

I can�t remember exactly when I met my friend Lorraine aka "the Chinese Lady"  cooking personality of YouTube fame, but I can tell you she is the zing of hot sauce on your plate! Even when faced with obstacles she has an infectious joie de vivre and she positively bubbles with enthusiasm, especially when she talks about food and family. Needless to say, I was charmed by her right away. She shared with me her dream of writing a cookbook so she could share her treasured won ton recipes and stories from her childhood in Hawaii and life in San Francisco, Hollywood and beyond. She asked if I would test some recipes for her and I said yes. 

I provided my detailed feedback on Lorraine�s recipes, but really, they were all delicious and worthy of making it into her book. Some of her recipes are very traditional with pork or shrimp and others are her own inventions. Two of my favorites were her Shrimp & Lime Wontons with tangy kaffir lime, galangal and lime juice and also the Snapper�s Bag, a beggar�s purse style dumpling with snapper served in soup flavored  with ginger, star anise and red onion. 

The Chinese Lady�s A Pot of Rice to the Wonders of Wonton is now available on the ibook store. It�s a gorgeous book, thanks to beautiful photos and tech wizardry from Lorraine�s talented friend and business partner, Josimar. Some features of the book that I particularly like are the embedded videos that show you exactly how to fold wontons in 6 different styles, and Lorraine�s wonderfully told personal stories. But most of all I look forward to trying even more of her wonton recipes. 

The book is available for iPad and Kindle on the itunes store for $4.99 but you can also download a free sample to check it out before you buy so I do hope you'll check it out! 

One of the many things I enjoy eating in Hawaii is poke. It�s a raw fish dish, that generally combines fresh yellowfin tuna, also known as ahi, with local ingredients like seaweed, Hawaiian salt and kukui nuts. There are seemingly infinite varieties, with ingredients such as green onions, sesame seeds, mayonnaise, tobiko, wasabi, sriracha, etc. In Hawaii you can find it at delis but also in supermarkets where there is often a poke bar in the seafood department. 

Well, guess what just arrived at Costco in San Francisco? A poke bar! It features fresh wild ahi from different regions of the world including the Philippines and Sri Lanka and marinades flown in directly from Hawaii. It�s all prepared fresh at the store and sold only on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Prices range from $15.99 to $17.99 per pound.

Varieties include ahi shoyu poke, ahi wasabi poke, and ahi spicy poke. They also had two cooked shrimp styles of poke. I tried the ahi limu poke which had onions, ogo (Hawaiian seaweed) Hawaiian salt, kukui nut, sesame seed and sesame oil. The limu was my favorite, it was very fresh and had a particularly nice balance of flavors and brightness. It's cool and savory, but has an intensity from the dense fish and slightly nutty and spicy flavors. 

I also tried the ahi wasabi poke with wasabi, tobiko, green onion, kukui nut, hawaiian salt and sesame seeds. It was good but really spicy! You definitely want to try this one with a beer. 

The poke tasted just like what I�ve had in Hawaii. It�s those local Hawaiian ingredients that really make this dish so special, and something that�s hard to make on the mainland.  In Hawaii it's served as a snack or appetizer and is popular with rice. With all due respect to the Costco food court, it sure beats pizza or hot dogs! 

According to the blog Chomping Board, the weekend poke bar is also available at the Redwood City, Concord and Almaden locations. 

I know this isn't "local" but sometimes you just need a little Hawaii fix. I wish I could tell you if the fish was sustainable, but I really don�t know. Several years ago Costco stopped selling 12 of the most �at risk� fish such as Atlantic cod and halibut, Chilean sea bass, swordfish and bluefin tuna, but I don�t know much about their ahi sourcing other than what I was told by someone in the Costco meat department.  

Any fans of Lisa Fain�s first cookbook, Homesick Texan or her blog, Homesick Texan, will surely enjoy Homesick Texan's Family Table, her latest cookbook of recipes inspired by family favorites. Fain always manages to put her own twist on the recipes, updating them, making them even better than you might remember and her stories of growing up in Texas will charm even those who have never been to the Lone Star state. There are plenty of guilty pleasure recipes like Bacon and Chipotle Corn Pudding, Stacked Jalape�o Cheese Enchiladas and Potato Chorizo Breakfast Tacos, but also more modern fare like Blueberry Granola, Turkey Enchiladas with Sweet Potato Chipotle Sauce and Tuna with Avocado and Red Pepper Baked in Parchment. 

I tend to shy away from self-published books, but I was intrigued by Taste of Tanzania Modern Swahili Recipes for the West. I�ve not seen very many African cookbooks and even fewer designed for a Western audience. There are many indigenous ingredients that you won�t be able to find, and author Miriam Kinunda has made substations and focused on recipes that are more practical. The recipes show a wide range of influences, Persian, Portuguese, Indian and also some Asian and European and has a lot of soup, stew and vegetable dishes. Some particularly appealing recipes include Swahili Beans, red beans cooked with coconut milk, onions, ginger, tomatoes and cilantro, Fish in Peanut Sauce and Ginger Tea.

With the title �Ceviche� you might be inclined to think this is a cookbook of ceviche recipes. But it�s actually Ceviche Peruvian Cuisine is a cookbook of recipes from a Peruvian restaurant in London named �Ceviche.� Ok, now that we have that out of the way, this is a really cool book. It�s all about Peruvian cuisine which is a pretty interesting thanks to influences from Spain, Italy, Africa, China and Japan and of course indigenous ingredients (think quinoa, potatoes and pisco). The cooking techniques are different too, like the staple Huancaina sauce with onion, garlic, amarilla chile paste, fresh cheese, evaporated milk all bound together with crushed cream crackers. There are actually recipes for ceviche, and plenty of other seafood, as well as vegetable dishes like avocado and rice fritters, potato based �causas,� a kind of mashed potato cake, Andean pork and potato casserole and classics like lomo saltado, a Pervuican style beef stir dry. There is also a section on cocktails. Some ingredients like rocoto, goldenberries and chulpe corn may be unfamiliar, this is a cuisine worth getting to know and the book is a great place to start. 

I love the idea behind Lunch at the Shop  which is to cook a mid day meal at your office. The photographs and styling by Christopher Hirsheimer and Melissa Hamilton is lovely, unfortunately I found the recipes to be more like a mishmash of ideas that generally involved a lot of the same ingredients�beans, pasta, and avocado. Also many of the recipes require cooking something at home, then basically reheating it at the office. One recipe suggests stretching store-bought sushi with a salad of bibb lettuce and some orange and avocado. I get it. Be creative and use what's at your disposal. But I didn�t find the recipes (such as that one) worthy of book status. Nor do I believe, despite what the author says, that spaghetti and clams is a good dish to reheat and serve at work.



Disclaimer: These books provided to me as review copies, this post includes affiliate links