Allen Williams is a renaissance man, both in and out of the kitchen. His cooking style combines farm-style cooking with urban flavors. The photo of his childhood home in Michigan, where his cooking adventures began, is appropriate since he looks to the past as much as to the present to make great food. In addition to blogging at Eating Out Loud, he also writes about and digitally preserves vintage handwritten recipes at Recovered Recipes.

"For me, it's quite simple...I grew up in the kitchen with my mother, baking and cooking as soon as I could grasp a wooden spoon. I didn't choose to cook - it's just something I've always done. I do find that the greater distance I move from my parents home, the more I tend to cook. Although I could easily eat out every night, I find myself still drawn to spending time in the kitchen. It's relaxing, stimulates my creativity, and provides a direct connection to my family."

Sour cherry, Grand Marnier, coffee and dark chocolate. That was the bon bon that won me over. I'm not sure what the inspiration was for the combination, though I was intrigued because coffee beans come from fruit called coffee cherries. I've always wanted to try the fresh fruit of the coffee tree. It's supposed to be very sweet. But it was the bitter edge of sour cherries, coffee and dark chocolate that I found so intoxicating.

The former Executive Pastry Chef from the acclaimed Le Bec Fin in Philadelphia, who trained at the Ritz Escoffier in Paris, Antoine Amrani recently launched his own chocolate company making exquisite confections. Coffee Sour Cherry was just one of the imaginative flavor combinations in my nine piece chocolate assortment.

I'm always happy to try a sample of high quality chocolates and those from Antoine Amrani did not disappoint. Really great chocolate is so satisfying that only a piece or two is plenty. I liked all the fruit infused flavors including an Earl Grey (bergamot) chocolate, the Orange Grand Marnier with a hint of cardamom and the intense Raspberry. The chocolates are very smooth, with balanced flavors and that melting moment that feels like settling into a pile of fluffy down pillows. It doesn't hurt that they are handmade and pretty as sparkling jewels.

It's interesting that chocolate sales continue to rise during tough economic times. Like lipstick and top shelf cocktails, buying a few pieces of great chocolate is something indulgent that you don't have to feel terribly guilty about. This year I'll be participating in the Hunger Challenge again and will have to forgo such treats for a week, but for right now, I heartily recommend pampering yourself or someone one deserving with the best chocolate you can find.

Hank Shaw is not your typical cook or your typical blogger. He hunts, fishes and gardens and is something of an expert when it comes to seafood. He was a 2009 James Beard Award nominee for his blog Hunter Angler Gardener Cook, but what impresses me the most is his thoughtful approach to food. In addition to his blog and he also runs the About.com site, Fish & Seafood Cooking.

"To me it's almost like asking, "Why do you breathe?" Cooking is not something I consciously began doing; it just is what I do in the course of any normal day, and has been since I was a boy. Cooking is part of what makes me who I am, and it defines me to others -- especially because as a person who hunts, fishes, forages or grows much of what I eat, I am an outlier who represents the boundaries of what an otherwise "normal" person can and cannot do.

When Michael Pollan cited that food researcher in last weekend's New York Times magazine, the researcher scoffed at the notion of killing, plucking, gutting and cooking every chicken we eat, saying, "who does that anymore?" Well, I do. And after that story ran, I got a bunch of emails from people pointing me to that quote. I prove to them that it can be done. Easily, in fact.

Other men take cars apart and put them back together to understand how the pieces fit correctly. I take apart animals and plants in an attempt to understand the same thing. How I rearrange them in the kitchen is my own personal alchemy, something I find endlessly fascinating."

At long last! The redesign has launched! I hope you like it as much as I do. First and foremost I want to thank my amazingly talented web designer, Cat Batacan and my coding guru Christine Vilar. I highly recommend them both. The photo in the banner is one I took at Borough Market in London a few years ago.



Not all the links to Recipes, Reviews, News and Travel have been added yet, but the new format should make navigating much easier than before. Thanks for all your patience, if you notice anything amiss, please do let me know.

I'm not sure who first decided to smoke an oyster or why, but it sure was a good idea. The texture of a smoked oyster is nothing like a raw oyster. It's firm yet still creamy, sweet and addictive to eat as candy.

The little ones that come in the can are often used as appetizers. Despite being labeled "colossal" they are anything but. They taste a bit like the oil they are packed in. While the canned ones are ok, they are impossible to go back to after eating fresh ones from the Pacific Northwest.


These oysters are actual size!
Recently I agreed to judge a contest and received a shipment of deluxe seafood to help me "prepare." I got two fresh steamed crabs, shrimp, smoked salmon and the most plump, sweet smoked oysters I had ever tried. While I had no problem coming up with ideas for using all of the other seafood, I was a bit stumped by the oysters.

These oysters were way too large to languish on a cracker or a piece of toast. Instead I stuffed them into a bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich. The applewood smoked bacon really went well with the oysters. It provided nice crunchy chewy contrast but also sweet and salty notes. I know iceberg lettuce is terribly retro, but it really is the right choice for this sandwich. It provides crunch and juiciness without competing with all the other flavors. If you travel to Oregon, there are plenty of wonderful places to find fresh seafood, raw, cooked or smoked. My luscious oysters came from Bell Buoy of Seaside.

Smoked Oyster BLT
Serves 1

Ingredients

1 roll or ciabatta bread
homemade mayonnaise
2 slices bacon, cooked
1 tomato, sliced
iceberg lettuce
5-6 fresh smoked oysters, not canned

Instructions

Slice the bread and hollow out any excess to make plenty of room for the fillings. Spread the bread with mayonnaise, layer on the slices of tomato, oysters, bacon and lettuce.

Enjoy!

Why do you cook? It's a simple question but there are many different answers. Professional chefs cook because it's their career. The rest of us cook because we need to, but also because we want to cook. Recently a conversation with a friend prompted my curiosity so I asked some bloggers this very question and will be posting their answers very soon. But for now, I'd love to hear what you have to say:

Why do YOU cook?

I'm also curious to know:

What was the last cookbook you bought?

What was the last cookbook you used and which recipe did you reference?

As an incentive, I am giving away an advance reading copy of 100 Words for Foodies and an attractive Epicurious kitchen apron to one lucky respondent (so be sure to include your email, it will only be visible to me). Only one comment per person, please. I look forward to hearing what you have to say!

Amy

Next week I'll be dining out twice and both times for a good cause. I hope you'll join me!




Monday August 17th is "A Tasteful Pursuit" dinner benefiting Share Our Strength, with proceeds going to fight childhood hunger. This is an amazing dinner five course dinner with wine and beer pairings at Masa�s. Tickets are $150 per person, including tax, gratuity and wine pairings. Reception starts at 6 and dinner at 7 pm.

Dungeness Crab - Avocado, jalapeno, tomato, corn sorbet
~ Mark Dommen, One Market

Pan Seared Sea Scallops and Crispy Pork Belly - Daylight farms peas and summer truffles
~ Xavier Salomon, The Ritz-Carlton Half Moon Bay

Pan Roasted Medallion of Prime New York Beef - Early Girl Tomato Tartlette, Golden Chanterelle Mushrooms, Roasted Bone Marrow and Sauce �Choron�
~ Gregory Short, Masa�s

Laura Chenel�s Goat cheese �Vol au Vent�- Organic Balsamic Strawberries, acacia honey peach emulsion, Orange-mint sorbet
~ John McKee, Masa�s

Roasted White Chocolate, Coffee Ice Cream - Peaches and their leaves
~ William Werner, Quince

I am big fan of all of these chefs and eating at Masa's, which is a bit like dining at the French Laundry in my opinion, because the chef Gregory Short spent four years as sous chef under Thomas Keller. Tickets are limited, purchase online.








If you're looking for something a bit more casual but still benefiting a good cause, check out Haute Dog at Acme Chophouse Thursday, August 20th from 4 until 8 pm. A portion of the sales will be donated to Chefs Collaborative, a nonprofit network of chefs that fosters a more sustainable food system.

For $5 get a hot dog from:

4505 Meats by Ryan Farr

Absinthe

Boccalone

EcoFriendly Meats

Fatted Calf

Fleisher's

Flying Pigs Farm

Let's Be Frank

Marlow & Daughters

To go with your dog will be $3 beers from Magnolia Brew Pub and 21st Amendment (I hear their watermelon wheat is terrific)

Not in the mood for a hot dog? There will also be appetizers--flatbread, sliders and their famous mac and cheese for $5 each. Hot dogs and beer, the perfect Summer happy hour(s).

I enjoyed seeing Julie & Julia even more the second time around. The theater was full and that made a big difference. It's a light romantic comedy, not a documentary, but the scenes with Julia are pure joy. Just as wonderful was hearing several of her friends and colleagues reminisce about her at a panel discussion put on by the San Francisco Professional Food Society after the screening.

The moderator was Janet Fletcher, author and food writer at the San Francisco Chronicle. The panelists were Roberta Klugman, past Executive Director of the American Institute of Wine & Food, Margrit Mondavi, Vice President of Cultural Affairs at Robert Mondavi Winery; James Dodge, cookbook author and Director, Specialty Culinary Programs, Bon Appetit Management Company; Lexi Leban, the Academic Director of Digital Filmmaking & Video Production at The Art Institute of California and Linda Carucci, Chef Director at the The International Culinary School at The Art Institute of California.

Here are some stories panelists told about Julia:

Margrit Mondavi shared her impression that there was "nothing artificial" about Julia. She felt the portrayal in the movie was a little exaggerated but agreed with Roberta Klugman that it brought Julia back to life. She said Julia always wanted to go out for Chinese food and she realized, it was because it reminded her of her romance with her husband Paul whom she met in Asia.

She also told a funny story about being at Copia with a number of "ladies of certain age" each complained about their aches and pains and each had a more esoteric remedy to recommend than the next. Finally Julia commented, "Why don't you just take two Tylenol? It works!"

Jim Dodge remarked how down to earth she was, and recounted how at a dinner there was once a woman who was wearing lots of expensive jewelry and going on and on about it endlessly. Finally Julia interrupted, stared directly at her and said, "See this watch, I got it at Longs Drugs, for $9.99!" The boorish woman clammed up after that.

While living in Los Angeles, Dodge used to pick her up in his red truck and take her to lunch. He said she loved the truck and being up so high so she could see everything. One day he asked her where she wanted to go for lunch and she surprised him by saying Costco. Costco? Why did she want to go there, he asked. "Don't you know, she said, they have the best hot dogs!" She ordered a hot dog and a Coke, he said, never a Diet Coke. He watched the customers recognize her but stare is disbelief. Afterwards she said, "Let's go inside and look for bargains," and so they did.

Her care and concern for others and they way she nurtured professionals was mentioned by all the panelists and illustrated by this story as well. Dodge shared that she loved steak and once he noticed she was having difficulty because her steak was so overcooked. He offered to send it back and she said, "Oh no, it would upset the chef."

About the book, My Life in France, Dodge said it was tremendously important to her that the book be written. Though a private person about some things, he believes it was because her grand nephew, author Alex Prud'homme was such a dead ringer for her late husband, that she was able to share many intimate details with him for the book.

Roberta Klugman was hard pressed to find a dark side to Julia, but did admit she could be short with people when she was tired. She said Julia liked to be independent and didn't always want chaperones, she once demanded to be dropped off at Macy's so she could buy a girdle.

Carucci remarked how curious she was, that she was very much a lady, but also somewhat earthy. In a gracious moment Carucci said at a lunch Julia was interrupted by two men who came over to her table and asked to have their picture taken with her. She excused herself, chatted with them and took pictures then returned to the table, the discussion and her sentence!

At her house in Cambridge, Carucci noticed all the paintings in the house had cats in them. She chatted with Julia about cats and told her she had two sibling cats but of different breeds. Julia didn't understand the intimate details of cat breeding and the possibility of multiple partners and fathers in a given litter. Poor Linda Carucci had to explain the facts of life to a very curious Julia who wanted to know every last detail.

Curious, caring, funny and down-to-earth, the picture painted by those who knew her only served to make those of us who didn't appreciate her even more. Bon Appetit!

Going to Los Angeles on a whirlwind trip to see a preview of Julie & Julia meant I also got to hang out with pals, and of course, eat. I didn't have much time, but I have to say, I squeezed in some pretty good meals. My choices were somewhat dictated by convenience, so they are all in pretty close proximity to Hollywood, which is where I was staying (without a car).

Burger

I arrived in LA just in time for lunch before a long afternoon poolside. The burger joint at the hotel, 25 Degrees, was better than I expected. The bun was freshly made and the right texture, the meat was very juicy and cooked rare, as I had requested it. I had the "number three" with mezzo secco jack, green chili, chipotle mayo and avocado. All the toppings made this burger very messy to eat, I think next time I would order a plain burger instead.

It also came with ridiculously good parmesan dusted sweet potato fries, crisp from the first fry to the last. I would have liked to try the Guinness milkshake but I had no room for it. Service was indifferent at best, which was all the more unfortunate since the food was so good.

Pizza

Having just written a story on pizza for a magazine, my brain was totally fixated on getting a slice. Actually, I am fairly frequently fixated on pizza, just the way I'm wired, I suppose. I was particularly eager to try Pizzeria Mozza, having read about the Mario Batali and Nancy Silverton partnership since before it even opened. Fortunately I had enthusiastic diner and fellow blogger Kelly to accompany me. We dug into a variety of appetizers and each ordered a pizza as well.

My Margherita pizza was good, but it wasn't perfect. Having been to Naples, I can say I have tasted pizza perfection. While the toppings were fine, the crust was a bit too glutenous. Real Neapolitan pizza is light and puffy and crisp at the same time, but not overly chewy. Still, I enjoyed the pizza paired with a bubbly prosecco and it was a lively place to dine.

Mexican

I heard some good things about a fairly new Mexican restaurant called Mexico Restaurante y Barra in West Hollywood and couldn't pass up the opportunity to be treated to dinner there. Matt came with me and we tried a lot of things on the menu. I had a one of the best margaritas ever, the "Silverrano" with Corzo Silver, muddled cucumber, serrano chiles and lime sour. It was tangy, smoky, spicy and at the same time refreshing. Just the thing to whet your appetite!

The quesadillas were very delicate and flaky with squash blossoms and poblano pepper filling and I couldn't stop eating the chunky guacamole. But the biggest hit of the evening was the Cilantro Cumin Carne Asada which came with with onions, avocado and escabeche. Each element was succulent and the seasoning was spot on. The portion was huge and Matt went home with leftovers. The place is like a party, very Mexican in an LA sort of way. In a word, fun!

Donuts & Pancakes
Who better to give me a tour of the Fairfax farmer's market than Amy Ephron? I've known Amy since I started writing for her site, One for the Table, almost two years ago. She grew up in LA and knows the stories behind so many of the vendors.

We swung by Bob's for an ethereal donut and to Du-pars for a full on breakfast where we ordered pancakes "for the table."

Amy was right. Those pancakes are the best thing ever, light, fluffy, flavorful, kind of like the Platonic ideal of a pancake. I rushed home hoping to find the recipe in my friend JoAnn's cookbook,LA's Original Farmer's Market Cookbook, but alas, the recipe is a trade secret. I guess that just means I'll have to go back for more...

Have you gone to see Julie & Julia yet? I saw it in a preview screening, but I'm eager to see it again, especially for all the Julia Child scenes and all the food. While I missed out on an exclusive interview opportunity with the stars of the film due to technical difficulties, I did get to squeeze in a couple of questions via email to the director and writer, Nora Ephron.

I heard you had the actors participate in a cooking class, what was the goal? How was the experience?

Both Amy and Meryl did a little knife work and we all learned to bone ducks, something I promise you none of us will ever do again, especially me.


The food in the film was so compelling and sensual. What are some of the challenges associated with directing/shooting scenes with food?

Of course it helps to like food, but it was especially great that my cinematographer Stephen Goldblatt understood how important food was as a character in the movie.  We wanted to food to look homey, but we also wanted it lit beautifully.


Do you read food blogs? Do you like them?

I love food blogs.  Love Ed Levine's Serious Eats, and Chowhound, and of course my sister Amy Ephron's One For the Table.


What appealed to you most about Julie Powell? And about Julie Child? What is their relevancy for today?

I loved the idea of combining their stories, in part because it was a way of writing about what books are and what cooking is ... a way to communicate through the ages.

A couple of months ago I got a chance to preview a number of dishes that Arnold Eric Wong was working on at E&O Trading Company. Wong came from Bacar and was completely overhauling the menu. His use of exotic ingredients such as an ahi tataki tartare with lily bulb petals, prawn salad with lychees and cashews and sesame eggplant with Thai basil put a fresh spin on familiar dishes. I liked the new menu so much I came back with friends and family not long after.

If you haven't been to E&O since Wong took over the kitchen, I hope you'll join me this Thursday night at the fourth Wine. Dine. Donate fundraiser dinner for Feeding America, with a donation directed to one of my favorite charities, the San Francisco Food Bank. You'll also be dining with the fabulous Epicurious Editor-in-chief Tanya Steel.

In the kitchen will not only be Arnold Eric Wong but Charles Phan of Slanted Door and Martin Yan of Yan Can Cook! The kitchen is open to the restaurant so you'll see the chefs cooking together after meeting them during a cocktail and hors d'oeuvres reception. After the reception, indulge in a multi-course dinner accompanied by cool beers from Stella Artois, Hoegaarden and Leffe plus wines from New Zealand.

Wine. Dine. Donate Dinner
August 6th, 6-10 pm
E& O Trading Company
312 Sutter St.
San Francisco

Wine. Dine. Donate dinners always sell out, but there are a few tickets still available. Buy tickets online. See you there?

Hungry Monkey is the funniest book I've read all year. It might seem odd that I would even bother reading a book about "a food-loving father's quest to raise an adventurous eater" since I don't have kids myself. I only review things here that appeal to me personally, so I approached the book thinking perhaps I would review it for another site, but I literally couldn't put it down. Since then I've recommended it to just about everyone I know who has little ones. I don't dare lend anyone my copy because there are too many recipes I have bookmarked to try.

I can hear you saying to yourself, what recipes from a book about cooking for and with kids could she possibly want to make? Let me tell you, just about all of them. But in particular, I want to make Corn with Scallions, Jalapeno and Lime, Bibimbap, Roasted Trout with Fennel, Onions and Cilantro and Gingerbread Cupcakes with Lemon Glaze, I won't make the scrumptious sounding Baked Pasta with Cauliflower because it calls for 2 cups of cream and I'm pretty sure that's my yearly allotment, even if it does serve 4 people.

I read all of Hungry Monkey over a lazy weekend poolside in Napa and I laughed out loud. A lot. I'm not sure there has ever been a book as refreshingly honest about what it's really like to cook for and feed kids. Author Matthew Amster-Burton is funny in a smart and self-deprecating kind of way that makes you want to be friends with him. His daughter Iris is one of those hilarious little girls that are very common in my family. She is very entertaining, which is really saying something since I'm not actually related to her.

Hungry Monkey is a great Summer read, but it's also the perfect gift for anyone with a kid, a picky eater or the smug parent of a two year omnivore for that matter (you'll have to read the book to find out why).

Note: I hesitated to review this book, because the best I can really do is tell you to read it. Fortunately there are 3 chapters available online so you can see for yourself why I'm raving about it.

On really hot days, when I was growing up, my mother used to make an antipasto plate with dry salami, cheese, cherry tomatoes, olives, celery sticks, and various other things for dinner. We'd sit outside and nibble away until the house cooled down enough to go back inside. These days I don't have any outdoor space where I can eat al fresco, but I still enjoy a do-it-yourself style dinner now and again. Hot weather calls for some creative approaches to meals and my mom was right--lighter, less meaty, room temperature meals that don't require using the stove really help beat the heat.

A variation on my mom's antipasto platter is lavash sandwiches. If you've never used Persian lavash bread before you should try it. It's similar to a flour tortilla but square or rectangular instead of round and at room temperature it's pliable and soft. You can get it in white or whole wheat. Tortillas are great when warm, but cold or room temperature they are dry and gummy and not very tasty. I know plenty of "roll-up" sandwich recipes call for them, but lavash is a much better choice. I particularly like the lavash bread I get at Trader Joe's but it's available in supermarkets near me as well.

I admit I was inspired by this recipe on Epicurious, but I made some changes based on personal preferences. In addition to hummus, I also added labne, which is a creamy yogurt cheese, that way I can have two very different sandwiches in one sitting. I like pairing the hummus with cilantro and labne with mint.

This is a recipe you can make any way you like, use more less of the vegetables or another style of cheese or dip as you wish. I used the Middle Eastern spice mix Za'atar, but you could use fresh ground black pepper, Sirracha hot sauce or any condiment you like. Or no condiments at all. You can buy hummus or make it. For homemade hummus, there are tons of recipes online, I think this version is pretty good.

Lavash Sandwiches
Serves 4

Ingredients

Lavash bread
1 avocado, thinly sliced
10-20 cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
Bunch of mint leaves
Sprigs of cilantro
1/2 cup cucumber, peeled and sliced
1 bunch radishes, sliced
1/4 cup red onion, peeled and sliced
Za'atar (see note)
1/2 cup hummus
1/2 cup labne
Olive oil for drizzling

Instructions

Arrange all the vegetables, herbs and spice mix on a platter. Put the hummus and labne in individual serving bowls and drizzle with a little olive oil. Lay out large pieces of lavash bread, spreading knives and spoons for the ingredients. Spread dip on one side of the bread, top with desired toppings and roll to form a sandwich.

Enjoy!