I love the Mission District in San Francisco. Today check out my picks for the Mission's"sweetest eats" on Frommers.com. As soon as Bi-Rite Creamery reopens, I will do another post on all the fabulous ice cream to be found there too. My top picks are Mitchell's, Humphry Slocumbe, Bombay Bazaar and Bi-Rite. What are yours?

Remember last year I told you about my friend Matthew Amster-Burton's book Hungry Monkey? I told you it was funny and smart and filled with terrific recipes and that even if like me, you didn't have kids, you would still love it. If you read the book, then you know I didn't steer you wrong. Now I'm going to tell you about another book, by another friend. It's Cheesemonger: A Life on the Wedge by Gordon "Gordonzola" Edgar. And even though it's about cheese, you don't have to love to cheese to enjoy the book.

Because I was a big fan of the cheese department at Rainbow Grocery, I interviewed Gordon for KQED several years ago and was surprised to learn we went to the same high school. Since then I've been impressed with how knowledgeable, funny and what a great writer he is, in addition to being a great cheesemonger of course. So I am particularly happy to tell you his first book is just as wonderful as he is. The book combines humor, politics and all things cheese, especially the stories behind cheeses you may know and cheeses you will certainly seek out after reading the book. I had cheese on the brain while reading the book and it gently steered me away from some of my usual picks over to some more interesting ones. Hello, Explorateur!

As was the case with Matthew's book, by the end of the first chapter I was laughing out loud. Not that the whole book is humorous but it is completely engaging and delves into local issues, food issues, the world of retail, all with a bit of punk rock and political activism thrown in for good measure. If you enjoy Gordon's blog, Gordonzola you are bound to appreciate the book as well.

EVENT:
Thursday, February 25, 2010 from 7:00pm - 10:00pm
at
Books Inc. 1760 Fourth Street in Berkeley

Gordon will be signing books at a book launch party. Cheese will be provided by the Epicurean Connection. I will be there and hope you can make it too!

It's traditional to serve leg of lamb or a crown roast for special occasions, but there are other cuts of lamb that are perfect for any old time, like lamb chops. Lamb loin chops are low in fat and an excellent source of protein, vitamin B12, niacin, zinc and selenium. Best of all, lamb loin chops are super easy to prepare. You can grill them, broil them or cook them in a skillet in just minutes.

Sometimes simpler is better. There are recipes loading lamb chops up with ingredients such as herbs, bread crumbs, mustard and blue cheese or smothering them in rich wine sauces studded with dried fruit. But for a weeknight meal, you really can't go wrong with marinated lamb chops. My basic marinade uses balsamic vinegar, lemon juice and Worcestershire sauce. I like Worcestershire sauce because it has lots of umami and boosts the mild yet meaty flavor of American lamb. Because they are so tender and succulent, I serve just one 4-5 ounce loin chop per person.

The American Lamb Board has proclaimed February to be Lamb Lover's Month. In celebration, they sent me some fresh lamb chops and I put together an easy recipe that is great for when you don't have much time on your hands. I served my lamb loin chops with some delicata squash drizzled with maple syrup, a big spinach salad with blue cheese and pecans and some long grain red rice.

When it comes to pairing wine with lamb loin chops, you have many choices, while Syrah is considered a classic match, Merlot or Cabernet Sauvignon can work too, depending upon the preparation. You can find more lamb recipes on the American Lamb website...or find a silly t-shirt on the Fans of Lamb site.

Marinated Lamb Loin Chops
Serves 4

Ingredients

4 lamb loin chops, about 4-5 ounces each
3 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar
Olive oil

Instructions

Combine the lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce and balsamic vinegar in a bowl or jar. Place the chops in a zip top plastic bag and add the marinade. Squeeze out as much air as you can and seal the bag. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes but no more than 2 hours in advance of cooking.

Remove the lamb chops from the marinade and dry thoroughly with paper towels. Let chops come to room temperature (about 20-30 minutes).

Heat cast iron or heavy skillet over medium heat until hot. Drizzle chops with olive oil and cook for 3 minutes per side or until medium-rare (145 degrees). Remove lamb chops from pan and let sit loosely covered with aluminum foil for 5 minutes. Alternatively you can broil the chops for 3 minutes per side, then allow to rest.

Enjoy!

I am heading to New Orleans for Mardi Gras and won't be back until Fat Tuesday, February, 16th. In the meantime I hope you will check out (and bookmark!) the new site where I am a regular contributor on Frommers.com. It's called Amy & Amy Between Bites and it's all about culinary travel.

Right now you will find posts I wrote on Dining in Calistoga, Pintxos in Spain and Sweet Treats in Santa Cruz. You'll also find posts from my ever so talented New York counterpart, Amy Zavatto, on Eating and Drinking in Bordeaux and Key West.

While in New Orleans, I feel exceedingly lucky to have the best foodie guide possible, Blake Killian of BlakeMakes, but if you have any recommendations for NOLA feel free to post them in the comments section.

For up to the minute updates on everything Mardi Gras, check out the website where I'll be blogging, MyMardiGrasExperience.com or the Twitter feed @mymardigras.

Who Dat?
Laissez les bon temps rouler
& all the jazz,

Amy

Wondering exactly what is in the Valentine's Day prize package?
A set of adorable heart measuring cups, 2 heart cookie cutters, 6 Valentine's Day cupcake stencils, 2 Valentine's Day placemats, 3 Crayola size 7 paintbrushes, McCormick red food color, McCormick pure vanilla extract, a set of 50 mini Valentine cupcake papers that can also be used for muffins, candies or nuts plus menus, recipes, tips and craft ideas.

Here are some highlights of entries so far....

Tiffany
I would love to spend some alone time with my husband.
If some chocolate and prosecco happened to be included, I would not mind that in the least.

Lori Lynn
Fantasy Valentine's Day:
Fly to Paris for a long weekend: Breakfast at Laduree, Lunch at Nomiya, Dinner at Le Cinq, take a cooking class, and shop for kitchen wares.

Linda
I'm thinking pizza with fresh mozarella and prosciutto, orange and fennel salad, and flourless chocolate cookies for dessert - all in front of fire with my honey.

Caroline
Even though I have a significant other, my ideal Valentine's would involve a small gathering of friends and family. My favorite Valentine's Day so far was spent with my cousin and a couple friends at my apartment. We baked dainty pink cakes and invented a drink to celebrate the occasion (vodka and soda water with rosewater, a maraschino cherry, and a splash of maraschino cherry juice).

Aaron
An ideal valentine's day would go something like this: My 16 month old daughter would go to sleep extra early so my husband and I could share some quality time over a fabulous steak and ridiculously rich chocolate desert (perferably one that involved stawberries as well). We would eat, talk, drink wine, watch a romantic movie and then get an amazing nights sleep with a baby that does NOT wake up at 5am.

Maureen
I would love to have a breakfast with my husband and I at a local breakfast eatery. Then the two of us read the Sunday paper and go to the gym. But what I really want is just to have a dinner where the two of us do not have to do any of the work (go out) and share a movie afterwards. Valentine's Day is the day we became engaged.

Tuesday Jane
I really enjoy preparing a special dinner in. And watching movies from our early dating days.

Beth
On Valentine's Day, I love to make my family chocolate mousse for dessert. For dinner I would make one of their favorites - chicken parm, rice pilaf and a salad. This Valentine's Day, I will make the mousse for my family, but my son and I will be serving meat loaf and mashed potatoes to the homeless.

Marjorie
I would love a day in Seattle with my hubby, just walking around, enjoying Pike's Place market, and eating great food. Dinner would be at Quinn's on Capital Hill

Cathy
Valentine's Day - for the past couple of years my kids (9 & 11) have wanted to be part of our celebration. They help make heart shaped pancakes, cookies, and brownies! We plan a fun dinner together and top it off with homemade chocolates. My husband and I plan our romantic night for the 13th or 15th. The kids love celebrating Valentine's Day as a family! We'll see how long that lasts, but for now I'm enjoying our celebration together!

Alta
I would love a brunch together, either at a restaurant or at home. If at home, then I could prepare my husband a steak and eggs (his favorite) while I dined on a lovely spinach and mushroom omelette. Of course, bellinis and coffee would have to be included. Yum.

Salty
We're celebrating with Chinese food because it's my husband's favorite and it's Chinese New Year.

If you'd like to receive Valentine�s Day prize package, leave me a comment on the previous post, and share your ideal Valentine's Day celebration. You must have a US address to win. One entry per person and valid email address (entries must include your email address so I can contact the winner). I will edit out your email address after the contest concludes. Contest ends tomorrow, Wednesday February 10th, 2010.

Good Luck & Happy Valentine's Day!

CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED--THANK YOU AND CONGRATULATIONS TO CARRIE!

Is Valentine's Day a silly holiday? Sure it is, but any excuse for being romantic or showing your love is a good thing. Spending a lot on dinner, flowers, perfume or candy on Valentine's Day is showy, and not very original. I actually prefer something homemade or just a little bit unusual or unique. To me, going out of your way says "special" and really, that's what everyone wants anyway, to feel special.

This year I will be out of town for Valentine's Day so while I won't be cooking dinner that night, my honey will enjoy something baked from scratch with love. Would your special someone appreciate strawberry cupcakes, shortbread cookies or brownies? Feel free to use my recipes or your own.


If you are not inclined to cook or bake, I think a customized chocolate bar is a really fun idea. I recently got a chance to try Chocri, which allows you to pick from white, milk or dark chocolate and then add any number of flavors and toppings. I made a milk chocolate bar with hazelnut brittle, sea salt, rice crispies and black sesame seeds, a white chocolate bar with raspberry, strawberry, ginger and orange pepper and a dark chocolate bar with orange, orange chocolate drops and bourbon vanilla. While it's too late to have a bar delivered by Valentine's Day, you could give a gift certificate.


If you'd like to receive a kit that includes a Valentine�s Day menu, recipes, tips, products, baking tools, decorations and craft ideas from McCormick, leave me a comment and share your ideal Valentine's Day celebration. You must have a US address to win. One entry per person and valid email address (entries must include your email address so I can contact the winner). I will edit out your email address after the contest concludes next week. Contest ends Wednesday February 10th, 2010.

Need some more inspiration? Here are some more romantic ideas and my recipe for chocolate fondue.

CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED--THANK YOU! AND CONGRATULATIONS TO CARRIE

I'm finding it hard to drag myself to the farmers market this Winter. It's cold, it's wet, it's sometimes muddy, and let's face it, it's not like I'm going to find luscious peaches, cherries or tomatoes. My haul last weekend consisted of baby cauliflower, Tuscan kale, French radishes, baby carrots, broccolini and sauerkraut. Healthy and delicious, but hardly anything to get excited over. Of course everything I bought was fresher and possibly a bit tastier than what I could have found in the supermarket. The baby carrots I bought were real baby carrots, and not those fake machine rounded carrot nubs you find in little bags. Not quite as sweet as strawberries, but pretty darn tasty when roasted.

When I was shopping a dish started to come together in my mind, and the centerpiece was farro. Farro is often mistaken for spelt, it's actually "emmer wheat" and is rich in fiber, protein, and magnesium. Farro is just the Italian name for emmer wheat. The only time I ate farro in Italy was in Cetara along the Amalfi coast. It was served in a soup. Online I see lots of recipes for farro salad served cold, but I prefer it hot. It has a nice chewy texture that's very satisfying, but it's a little bland. The way to overcome that is to add lots of great flavors, colors and other textures to make a hearty and exciting main dish. I layer the flavors, adding a base of greens to the farro and then I top it with roasted vegetables. Farro is very easy to cook and very forgiving, just don't overcook it. I used semi-pearled farro from Roland that cooks in a mere 20 minutes.

The first time I made this dish I used loads of mushrooms. It was good, but somehow using mushrooms feels a bit like cheating when you're making a vegan meal. This version uses a mixture of "melted" kale cooked with onions, garlic and wine to add flavor to the farro. The toasted walnuts are really important, they add a crisp crunch and some great nutritional benefits as well. This dish is vegan and yet I promise you won't miss the meat one bit. Or the cheese. Or even the mushrooms!

This recipe is as flexible as can be. Change things up to suit your taste and the ingredients you have on hand. When it comes to the roasted vegetables you could swap out the broccolini and carrots for roasted baby turnips, brussels sprouts, parsnips or even baby leeks. Using two different vegetables adds nice variety and contrast, but you could use 3 or 4 vegetables too if you prefer. In place of the kale you could use any green you like such as spinach, savoy cabbage or chard. If you don't want to use wine, I think you could use a lesser amount of red wine or balsamic vinegar instead, or even lemon juice. Since vegetables are the main event, just be sure to use the tastiest, freshest ones you can find.

Note: if you can't find baby carrots just cut regular carrots into thin strips no more than 1/3 inch thick.

Farro & Winter Vegetablesserves 4

Ingredients

1 cup semi-pearled farro
1 bunch Tuscan kale chopped (stems trimmed off)
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tablespoon olive oil
1/3 cup red wine
1/2 cup toasted walnuts, chopped
16 broccolini stems
12 baby carrots (real baby carrots not bags of rounded nubs)
Olive oil for drizzling
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

Simmer farro in 2 cups water in an partially covered medium saucepan over medium heat until cooked through but still al dente, about 20 minutes. Don't worry if there is a little water left in the pan when it's cooked.

Slice the carrots in half lengthwise. Place carrots and broccolini evenly on a baking sheet (I line mine with parchment). Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with kosher salt and roast until beginning to brown, about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile heat a large skillet over medium heat, add oil then the onions and garlic, sprinkle with kosher salt and cook until beginning to brown, about 10 minutes. Add the chopped kale and 1/2 cup water, cover and cook for 5 minutes or until wilted. Remove lid and add the red wine and cook without the cover until almost, but not quite dry. Combine kale with farro and stir in the walnuts, season to taste with salt and pepper, and top with roasted vegetables.

Enjoy!