What's the buzz on Nob Hill? It's probably honey bees! Restaurants and hotels with kitchen gardens are nothing new, but a hotel with beehives is something quite out of the ordinary, especially in the middle of a city like San Francisco. Executive Chef jW Foster at the San Francisco Fairmont arrived a year ago from Dallas, where he established a 3,000 square foot herb and vegetable garden. His desire to save the bee colonies and promote awareness about colony collapse and the importance of bees inspired him to collaborate with Marshall's Farm to bring bee hives to the rarefied air of Nob Hill, in particular the roof garden.

The rooftop beehives yield about 60 pounds of honey, harvested 2-3 times a year and is used in the hotel restaurant. He says the lavender honey has a particularly pungent flavor as does the eucalyptus batch. The health benefits are part of the appeal of using honey, and it fits in to the Fairmont's "Lifestyle cuisine. " Fairmont Lifestyle Cuisine is centered around health and wellness without sacrificing flavor, think of it as the next generation of spa cuisine. The hotel restaurant uses honey in ice creams, vinaigrettes, desserts, in the afternoon tea service, and in marinades.

Chef Foster also makes gravlax with pacific cod, using honey instead of sugar. He'll be demonstrating how to make this dish at Macy's during the Macy's Flower Show on April 9th at 1 pm (tickets to the cooking class with the chef and beekeeper Helene Marshall are $10). Gravlax is a raw, cured dish and the chef shared some tips with me about cooking with honey including not using too high heat which changes the flavor. He suggested "letting it shine" and using it as primary flavor, emphasizing it when cooking. Another tip? Use it as a finishing touch, the way you might use olive oil as a drizzle on fruit, ricotta or prosciutto. Supporting the bees is also a teaching tool at the hotel, where the chef offers tours of the roof garden and a view of the bees at work to culinary students and to guests. While Macy's may not invite bees into the store, flowers and honey are more than welcome.

I haven't said much about my new role as editor at BlackboardEats, but I'm breaking my silence today. I really enjoy assigning reviews, sharing deals at top restaurants and working with chefs and restaurateurs to create exclusive culinary experiences. Most weeks subscribers get 30% off at a noteworthy restaurant, but today something a bit different is on offer that I'm excited to tell you about. Chef Alex Ong at Betelnut has put together a menu utilizing offal, in particular veal sweetbreads, chicken livers, lamb tongue and fish heads. Chef Alex Ong grew up in Malaysia, a country of many culinary influences including Thai, Chinese and Indian and his dishes reflect those flavors. Three of the dishes are based on Malaysian street food dishes and one is a very special curry served for celebrations.


One of the Chinese style dishes is salt and pepper veal sweetbreads topped with fresh ginger, garlic and Szechuan peppercorn topped with scallions, five spice, and salt. This dish reminds me most of crispy calamari. The sweetbreads are mild and the vibrant Asian flavors make the dish irresistible.


A dish with Northern Malaysian and Thai influence is the cured lamb tongue served cold with lime, galanga and crispy taro strips. This almost looks like a sashimi plate! It's very elegant and light.


Another Chinese influenced dish is the crispy chicken livers that come with black pepper sauce and roasted onions. The chef soaks the livers in milk three times then dredges them in cornstarch and deep fries them. The exterior becomes crunchy but the interior remains soft and creamy. You'll want a beer to go with this. Like anything that is fried and crispy, these are addictive.


Nonya cuisine is unique a combination of Chinese and Malay styles. In the South in Singapore you'll find more Indonesian and Indian influences. I've read that fish head curry might have been created in the 1950s by a Keralan chef who wanted to use every edible part of the fish. It is cooked in an Indian style curry of coconut milk, tamarind and shrimp paste. It's a dish served at home for celebrations like birthdays or anniversaries. The cheek and collar meat are most succulent but the curry has okra and cauliflower in it too. It's pure comfort food, whether or not you ate in Singapore.


Betelnut is consistently chosen as one of the Top 100 Restaurants by the San Francisco Chronicle. The restaurant is lively and has wonderful atmosphere, with vintage 1920's Shanghai style. While people typically come in for what the chef calls "the happy meal" meaning Cecilia's minced chicken in lettuce cup and Szechuan string beans, I hope they will come to try some of his Malaysian menu specials, available for the next two months for BlackboardEats subscribers only.

If you'd like to try these amazing dishes, I hope you will subscribe to BlackboardEats.com in San Francisco, download a passcode today and enjoy as many of these dishes as you'd like!
Note: These dishes will be available for 60 days, for subscribers who download passcodes.

If you live in the Bay Area, it's likely you know about Oliveto. It opened 25 years ago, is located in Rockridge, Oakland and serves wonderful Italian food, with a Slow Food sensibility. You can always count on Oliveto for great pasta, roasted meat and fish, and a commitment to using the best quality ingredients. It's also been the home for several great Bay Area chefs notably Paul Canales, Michael Tusk and Paul Bertolli.


What's new at Oliveto? A lot, to tell you the truth. For one, there is a new chef, Jonah Rhodehamel. I recently ate at the restaurant and can tell you he approaches cooking with finesse and sense of balance. It's hard to believe someone so young has already spent time at such venerable restaurants as La Folie, Americano and Quince. I particularly loved his Hoffman hen "rolata" stuffed with sausage. It reminded me of a similar preparation I had at Frances last year.


I've always been fond of the pizza served in the cafe downstairs, but it's actually gotten better now that they are using whole grain flour from Community Grains. The flour is very smooth, not rough but has a nutty flavor that really complements cheese, mushrooms and more. Unlike other whole wheat flours, Community Grains makes a flour that is not enriched. You actually get all the parts of the grain, ground together. The flour will soon be available for retail customers.


Another fabulous grain making it's way into Oliveto's menu is red flint polenta. It takes a full three hours to fully hydrate and cook, but the result is something special. Flecked with red, it has texture and body and cooks up thicker than regular yellow cornmeal. I had it topped with egg and greens.


So new that it's not even on the menu yet, are heirloom beans that Oliveto sourced from a farmer who grows a huge variety of legumes, some that are very unusual. Which ones Oliveto will end up using is still up for discussion. At a recent lunch I got to try the pigeon peas, cannellini and Christmas limas. They were prepared very simply to let their natural flavors shine through. The pigeon peas had good texture, but were not as flavorful as the cannellini which had a natural sweetness and the Christmas limas which were unbelievably meaty. They really tasted as if they had been cooked with beefy bones. The beans were just delicious served up plain, so I can't wait to see how they will make it onto the menu.

Not new, but an annual tradition, Oliveto is hosting their Whole Hog dinners March 9-12, 2011. Each night a different pig is featured, check out the schedule for more details. This is a super popular event but some later seatings are still available.

Oliveto
5655 College Avenue
Oakland, CA
510.547.5356

Do you know the difference between dumplings and ravioli? The secret is the pasta, and it occurred to me when I was creating this recipe. To make ravioli you use pasta dough, which, while silky is still toothsome (al dente). Dumplings can use any kind of dough, including slick wonton skins, which are most definitely not toothsome. Of course there are some exceptions to this rule. I've had some very silky udon noodles lately that use soft, slippery noodles and I've had potstickers which definitely use thicker, chewier dough.

I used to make fresh pasta but I'm too lazy these days, instead I've been experimenting with using wonton wrappers. In the past I used the wrappers to make Afghani leek dumplings called aushak. This time I made dumplings in a similar way, but filled them with a combination of brussels sprouts, leeks, green onions, a bit of garlic and parmesan. Many kinds of ingredients or even leftovers can go in wonton wrappers to make delicious dumplings--meat, cheese, mashed roasted vegetables. Another one of my favorite ways is to fill wonton wrappers is with mashed potatoes. I boil the dumplings and then serve them with butter or sour cream for a quick comforting meal. I even make a simple samosa by mixing mashed potatoes with peas and spices then lightly oiling the dumplings and baking them.

If you haven't tried using wonton wrappers before, or have only used them for making wontons, my advice is, experiment! You can make a filling of your choice then make just one dumpling or two to test and see how you like it. If you make a big batch, freeze them in a single layer on a baking sheet then transfer to a ziplock bag and they'll keep in the freezer for months.


Brussels Sprout & Leek Dumplings42 dumplings

Ingredients

2 teaspoons oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups leeks, green and white parts, shredded
2 cups brussels sprouts, thinly shredded
2/3 cup, about 4 green onions, thinly shredded
2 Tablespoons Parmesan cheese
Pinch freshly ground nutmeg and black pepper
Wonton wrappers

2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup chopped toasted hazelnuts
Parmesan cheese

Instructions

Heat a large non-stick pan and add the oil and garlic. Stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds, then add the leeks, brussels sprouts and green onions. Cooking, stirring occasionally until wilted, about 5-7 minutes. Remove from the stove and allow to cool slightly before mixing in the cheese, nutmeg and pepper. Taste for seasoning and add salt if needed.

To make the dumplings, line up the wrappers, bowl of filling and a small bowl with water. Place a teaspoon of the filling in the center of a wonton wrapper then moisten the edges of the wonton wrapper with water. Fold the wonton wrapper in half diagonally, making sure the ends meet. Press down firmly on the edges to seal.

Meanwhile combine lemon juice and olive oil to drizzle on the finished dumplings. Boil the dumplings in boiling water for a couple of minutes, or until they float to the surface. Drain and serve with the olive oil and lemon juice and a sprinkling of additional cheese and toasted nuts. Note: I reserve a bit of the sauteed vegetables as a garnish as well so guests have a better idea of what is inside each dumpling.

Enjoy!