Urban Solace's Biscuits Live On

Last week San Diego lost two of its favorite restaurants. I say this with remorse because if all of us who loved both Urban Solace and Solace and the Moonlight Lounge had eaten there more frequently we wouldn't be mourning them. And chef/owner Matt Gordon would still be working way too hard feeding us.

It's all our fault.

Years ago I used to say that if you discover a great restaurant in New York or L.A., you keep it to yourself so you can continue to get in. But in San Diego you have to tell everyone you know and even strangers so it'll stay in business. Sadly, that still appears to be true.

It's all our fault.

I met up with friends for Urban Solace's final service and it was, ironically, packed. And it seemed that everyone was eating Matt's Cheese and Chive biscuits. For years we've all loved the biscuits. They were perfection. Flaky, just thick enough and with a texture that didn't stick in your throat like Bisquick biscuits, but glided down--lubricated with Matt's sweet and creamy Orange Honey Butter.

So, here's the good news if you missed the meal or are missing Urban Solace. I have the recipes for both. In fact, I also have the Basil Cream Biscuit recipe from Matt's late Sea & Smoke restaurant in Del Mar.

You may already have them yourself. You see, I wrote about Matt and his biscuits, along with his tips for making them, back in 2015 for the San Diego Union-Tribune.

Want a laugh? Even Matt's wife Young Mi was thrilled to know they exist because Matt's restaurant version that was posted in the kitchen is scaled for like 100. These recipes call for a much more reasonable 15.

So, if you're in mourning for Urban Solace and Solace and the Moonlight Lounge, here's my contribution to the shiva.

And, fair warning: Don't neglect your favorite restaurants! Support them so you can continue to enjoy them.

Matt, thank you for so many years of so many delicious, creative meals! I can't wait to see what you do next!

The Rise of the Biscuit





Print Page

Kitchens for Good Launching "Dinners for Good"

I've been a fan of Kitchens for Good since, well, before it even launched just a couple of years ago.

Never heard of the organization? Well, top of line, it's a San Diego culinary school designed for people 18 and older with barriers to employment—youths aging out of foster care, veterans or people who were formerly incarcerated, for example. The program, which is free to the students, uses curriculum developed by LA Kitchen and DC Central Kitchen, which together have graduated more than 1,500 students over 25 years and have a 90 percent success rate of full-time employment within three months of graduation. Kitchens for Good teaches both fundamental culinary skills, including knife skills, baking, fish fabrication and plating, and what founder and president Chuck Samuelson called “soft skills,” like anger management, résumé writing and professional social interaction. Students graduate the program with ServSafe certification and job placement assistance.

And it's graduated hundreds of students so far. But Kitchens for Good is more than just a culinary school. It's an advocate and example of reducing food waste. It provides nutritious meals for families in need. And it funds jobs and supports local farmers.

Any nonprofit that is juggling this many projects needs financial support. And Kitchens for Good used the collective smart noggins and came up with a new fundraising program: Dinners for Good.

Dinners for Good is a combination chef demo and tasting series sponsored by Catalina Offshore Products and Specialty Produce (yes, the same folks who have brought us Collaboration Kitchen). It  will be hosted by Catalina Offshore Products' Tommy Gomes. Each event will consist of a five-course tasting menu with paired drinks--all prepared by some of San Diego's best chefs during a live cooking demonstration.

Tommy Gomes

The kickoff event will be held on March 24 from 5 to 7:30 p.m. at Kitchens for Good. It will feature Gomes, with Hanis Cavin of Carnitas Snack Shack and "Sam the Cooking Guy" Zien of Not Not Tacos.

Hanis Cavin

Here's the menu:
1st course:
Shaved squash / roasted cherry tomato / almond
tapenade / manchego / sherry vinaigrette

2nd course:
Smoked pork stuffed sweet-pepper / corn puree / corn-
pork belly sauté / chive oil

3rd course:
Roasted black cod / mussels / sweet garlic / toasted
focaccia / mirepoix / black pepper butter

4th course:
Seared NY strip / crisp potato cake /
mushroom-onion-lardon hash / port reduction

5th course:
Mini ice cream cookie sandwiches /
white chocolate dipped

Sam "the Cooking Guy" Zien

On April 28, the next Dinners for Good program will feature Gomes with Matt Gordon of Urban Solace and Solace & the Moonlight Lounge and Sam Zien.

On June 30, the program will feature Karen Barnett of Small Bar, Logan Mitchell of Cellar Door, and Coral Fodor of Garden Kitchen.

Tickets for Dinners for Good are $115--remember, the proceeds from the events support Kitchens for Good and their culinary job training program!

Kitchens for Good is located at 404 Euclid Avenue Suite 102, San Diego 92114.




Print Page

Crisp-Stuffed Baked Apples

Last year I wrote about my childhood making custard for my mom. The ancillary to this was making baked apples for my dad--really, the whole family, but my dad was the driver; he loved them. In fact, years later when I had "graduated" to making apple pies he always said as he got older that he wasn't a crust guy. He just loved the apples. So I started making him apple crisps--and always kept a bag of crisp mixture in my freezer so I could make them for him at a moment's notice.

I wish it had occurred to me while he was still with us to make him a baked apple stuffed with the crisp mixture. He would have loved it! But it didn't, until now.

I got a craving for baked apples in December when the weather was so bizarrely stormy. When I made them for my family back in the day, my memory is we used either granulated sugar or brown sugar and cinnamon, along with butter, with water in the baking dish. Very straightforward. I think we also sliced off the top before hollowing out the apple--and added the top to bake, too. My dad's cousin Debbie told me her mom used to use diet soda as the liquid. Chef Matt Gordon of Urban Solace and Solace and the Moonlight Lounge said he used Dr. Brown's Black Cherry Soda.

But as I got to thinking about how to flavor them, I realized that all the ingredients I wanted--brown sugar, cinnamon, toasted nuts, and butter--were in my latest batch of crumble in my freezer, accompanied, of course, by oats. So why not just use the crumble?

And I did.

The bigger question, of course, was what kind of apple to use. Back in the day, my mom, who initiated me into making baked apples, used Pippins. But, here's the problem. Pippins, a wonderful tart/sweet green apple variety, are no longer around. There are fads in apple varieties, too, it seems. When I posted my baked apples on Facebook, I heard from friends that they have also seen their favorite baked apple varieties leave the markets: Braeburns, Roman Beauties, Gravensteins. (Although, I think I have seen Braeburns around.)

I did some research and found Fujis highly recommended. That's what I used but while they certainly kept their shape, I don't think they softened enough. My bet next time will be on McIntosh. The risk is, though, that if you aren't observant enough, the McIntosh apples will collapse. So, my search will likely go on. (Tip: my mom used to serve collapsed apples in custard cups to hold them together)

But don't let that deter you. Your favorite apples, baked with spices, sugar, and a little crunch, are the perfect winter dessert. Add a drizzle of cream and you'll be swooning.

Crisp-Stuffed Baked Apples
Yield: 2 servings
(printable recipe)

Ingredients
2 apples
4 tablespoons crisp mixture below
2 teaspoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup Grand Marnier or other liqueur or apple juice/cider (optional)
Water to fill up 1-inch of the baking dish

Caron's Crisp Mix
Yield: Makes 8 to 10 servings, depending on how much you use per serving

Mix together:

2 cups quick cooking oats
1 cup toasted walnuts, chopped
1 ½ cups lightly packed brown sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon fennel pollen
1 cup unsalted butter, melted

Store in the freezer until you’re ready to bake.

Directions
Pre-heat oven to 350°.

Peel about an inch around the top of the apple.

Rotate a paring knife into the core of the apple to begin hollowing out the middle. Don't go all the way down, just about three quarters to leave the bottom intact. Take out what you can and use a melon baller to dig deeper and remove the seeds and tough core.

Fill the hollow with 2 tablespoons of crisp mixture in each apple. Place in a baking dish with high sides that just fit the apples. Top the apples with butter. Mix water with liqueur or cider and pour  around the apples.

Cover with foil, place in oven and bake for 40 to 45 minutes. If the apples have still not softened to your desired texture, continue baking for another 10 minutes or so.

Try to serve immediately--but, you can also refrigerate them and warm them up later in the microwave.

Print Page

Sourdough (Discard) Biscuits

I feed my sourdough starter once a week on Sundays. Every Sunday. That means I spend the latter part of the week fixated on what I might make over the weekend with the discards. After all, you have to discard part of your starter to feed it with new flour and water--or else you have an ever-expanding container of bubbling goop.

Admittedly, I don't do this every weekend. I'm only one person, after all. So if I'm not going to bake and I can't share the discards with anyone, yeah, I will toss some.

Last weekend it was cool and breezy so I thought I'd take advantage of that and bake. I scanned the web for ideas before settling on biscuits. Buttery sourdough biscuits.

Now some of my favorite biscuits are made by Matt Gordon of Urban Solace. And I'm so glad he taught me how to make his. They are divine. The biscuits I made substitute the buttermilk or cream in his with the discarded starter. That's the liquid.

This recipe isn't original to me. I found it on the King Arthur Flour website. If you love to bake and haven't been on it you should visit. Yeah, they sell great products but the site has a very rich section filled with recipes. What a resource!

One of the things you'll notice if you go to the recipe on their site is that it has measuring options: volume, ounces, or grams. Usually I like to go with ounces or grams--in other words weigh ingredients instead of measuring them. It tends to be more accurate. But when I did that with this recipe I found there wasn't enough starter because it was so heavy. So I switched to volume and that made a difference.

You can add herbs, chives, or cheese to these biscuits. I made them plain and they were perfectly flavorful. The other nice thing about biscuits is that they're freezable. I ate a couple and packaged the rest up for the freezer. Something to look forward to the next time I make a chili or stew.

Buttery Sourdough Sandwich Biscuits
Yield: 6 large (3-inch) biscuits
(printable recipe)

Ingredients
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (8 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter
1 cup sourdough starter, unfed/discard*

Directions
Preheat the oven to 425°F, with a rack in the upper third. Grease a baking sheet, or line it with parchment.

Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Work the butter into the flour until the mixture is unevenly crumbly.

Add the starter, mixing gently until the dough is cohesive.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface (a piece of parchment works well), and gently pat it into a 1"-thick round.

Use a sharp 2 3/8" biscuit cutter to cut rounds, cutting them as close to one another as possible. Pat any scraps together, and cut additional biscuits.

Place the biscuits onto the prepared baking sheet, leaving about 2" between them; they'll spread as they bake.

Bake the biscuits in the upper third of your oven for 20 to 23 minutes, until they're golden brown.

Remove the biscuits from the oven, and serve warm. Or cool completely, wrap in plastic, and store at room temperature for several days. Freeze, well-wrapped, for longer storage.

*Sourdough starters can vary in how liquid they are. If your biscuit dough seems very dry, dribble in a bit of milk or buttermilk until it comes together.

Note: You can make smaller biscuits. Just remember they won't need as much time in the oven.

Print Page

Passover Recipe Roundup

Passover begins next Monday night, April 10. If you're looking for some inspiration for what to make for the seder or to enjoy the rest of the week I've put together a "best of" list of dishes I've written about in the past below. They range from traditional chicken soup to my grandmother's Passover Popovers (which are dreamy).

Mom's Chicken Soup: This is the soup I grew up with, the one she makes for Rosh Hashonah and Passover, for when we're sick, and when there's a chill in the air. It's marvelous, especially tasty thanks to the dill she adds at the end that brings some brightness to the rich broth. Cue the matzo balls!

Apple-Matzoh Kugel: Noodle kugel is out, of course, for Passover. Instead, in come kugel made with matzoh. This delightful recipe comes originally from our temple. It was served at a Women's Seder my mom and I went to and we were so taken by it I was able to finagle the recipe. But, no one in our family sticks to the recipe, so along with tart Granny Smiths we added extra matzoh, dried cranberries, and chopped pecans. Oh, this is a dish to make year round!

Passover Popovers: Okay, these airy, matzoh and egg popovers are my favorite part of Passover. I've been eating them since I was a little kid. My Nana Tillie used to make them big, really big! Sandwich size big and we'd slice them in half, slather mustard on them and layers of bologna. Don't judge until you've tried it. It's been a long time since I've done that. Now, they're strictly for noshing. Again and again and again. Yes, they're that addictive.

Sweet Matzoh Fritters: Love matzoh brei? Then you'll love these Sweet Matzoh Fritters that are the creation of Chef Jeff Rossman of Terra. With lemon zest, currants, and chopped nuts, you'll want to serve them at brunch with a dollop of creme fraiche.

Cured Arctic Char or Salmon: Serving brunch over Passover? This is a perfect main course with a salad and matzoh or popovers. This recipe comes courtesy of Chef Matt Gordon of Urban Solace and Solace and the Moonlight Lounge. Make it year-round but make it!

 Happy Passover!


Print Page

Carrot Turnip Latkes

Last week I did a latke demonstration at the North Park Holiday Thursday Market. Because Chef Matt Gordon of Urban Solace was set to do one after me, making traditional potato latkes, I came up with a different version: carrot turnip. As far as I'm concerned, much as I revere tradition, latkes are a relatively new one so I feel liberated in taking some twists and turns in terms of ingredients. But there is one non-negotiable: the oil. Frying these pancakes are the whole point of Chanukah. You know the story: oil for only one night; instead it lasts eight; it's a miracle! Freedom! And a holiday (minor until we needed something to shimmy up to Christmas)! Add a menorah, a dreidel, latkes (if you're Eastern European), and chocolate coins we call gelt. That pretty much sums it all up. Eight nights of candle lighting and fried pancakes--and, of course, gifts.

But back to these latkes... To the carrots and turnips I add onion, of course--but here, green onions for color. And I add herbs and garlic. I'm looking for more flavor here, too.

Not a fan of carrots or turnips? Try sweet potatoes. Or parsnips. Or winter squash. Or apples. Add radishes or celery root. Mix, match, and grate. You can change up the flavorings, too. Curry, for instance, works well with sweet potatoes and apples. And they all go well with sour cream or applesauce as the go-to condiments.

Everything else you need to know is in this recipe.

Happy Chanukah!!!

Carrot Turnip Latkes
(printable recipe)
Makes about two dozen, three-inch pancakes

Here’s a colorful variation from the traditional potato latkes I grew up with. In winter, you can make these pancakes with any root vegetable. Try sweet potatoes, parsnips, or beets, separately or in combination. For a more traditional latke, use an onion instead of the green onions and leave out the garlic and herbs. My grandmother used to add two slices of eggbread, crusts removed, softened with water and then squeezed of the moisture. My mom still makes traditional latkes this way.

Ingredients
½ pound of carrots, trimmed and peeled
½ pound of turnips, trimmed and peeled (look for sweeter baby turnips if available)
6 large green onions, trimmed
3 cloves garlic
4 tablespoons matzoh meal or flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons fresh, chopped herbs (parsley, oregano, thyme, etc.)
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
Salt and pepper to taste
Vegetable or peanut oil or duck fat

1. Grate the turnips and carrots coarsely, using the large holes of a box grater or food processor grater. Place in large bowl.
2. Chop the green onions coarsely and add to the bowl of a food processor fitted with the chopping blade. Add the garlic and pulse until the onions and garlic are minced.
3. Put all the vegetables in a large bowl and add the matzoh meal, baking powder, herbs, garlic, salt, and pepper. Stir it all together to fully mix the ingredients.
4. Add the eggs and mix well. The batter should be moist but not runny.

5. Heat 1/4-inch of oil or duck fat in a hot pan. Place a tiny bit of the batter in the pan. If it begins to sizzle, the fat is hot enough for the batter. Use a large spoon and drop the batter into the pan, then flatten into a pancake. Don't crowd the pancakes by putting too many in at one time. Cook for several minutes on each side until the pancakes are golden brown. Put the pancakes on a plate with paper towels placed on top to drain the fat. You can also heat your oven to 200 degrees, place the pancakes on a baking sheet, and keep them warm until you serve them.

6. Serve (with applesauce, sour cream, or creme fraiche).

Note: If you don’t want to stand at the stove frying when company comes, you can make latkes ahead of time, place them in a single layer on sheet pans, and place them in the freezer until hard. Then store them in a freezer bag and keep them in the freezer until the day you plan to serve them. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Place the frozen latkes on sheet pans in a single layer and bake for about 15 to 20 minutes until crispy. Turn them over about halfway through. Drain again on a paper towel-lined plate and then serve.

Print Page

Learn to Make Latkes (from me) at the North Park Holiday Market This Thursday!

The first night of Chanukah is coming up December 24. Are you ready for making latkes?

If you're looking for inspiration, join Chef Matt Gordon of Urban Solace and me on Thursday, December 15 at the North Park Holiday Market. We'll be demonstrating our latke-making techniques, starting at 4 p.m.

Matt, whose demos will take place at 5 and 6 p.m., will be making traditional potato as well as curried latkes. I'll start it off at 4 with carrot and turnip latkes.

Now maybe you're wondering what the heck latkes are. Simply, they're pancakes--crispy on the outside, tender on the inside. Traditionally for Chanukah as celebrated by Eastern European--or Ashkenazi Jews--they're potato pancakes fried in oil.

As traditional as they are, they're actually relatively new in Jewish history. The Maccabees—the priestly family who led the successful rebellion against the Syrians back in 168 B.C.E. which the holiday celebrates—never would have had latkes since they would never have seen a potato. It was only at the end of the 18th century that German Jews began making potato pancakes, but not for Chanukah. And these potato pancakes weren’t just from grated spuds, as we’ve come to assume are the norm, but also mashed, according to Gil Marks’ "Encyclopedia of Jewish Food." Somehow they morphed into a Chanukah tradition brought over to the U.S. with Eastern European emigration.

Given how relatively recent the potato latke became a part of Jewish history, why not riff on tradition and create pancakes from other vegetables, incorporating other flavors to celebrate the festival of lights? After all, the main point of the holiday is to celebrate the miracle of the single jar of oil that burned for eight days.

So, that's what Matt and I will be doing, and handing out plenty of samples accompanied by the traditional sour cream and applesauce. I hope to see you there!

The North Park Holiday Market is located at 3000 North Park Way and 30th St. It runs Thursdays from 3 to 7:30 p.m.

Watermelon Salad "Pizza"

Several months ago I came across a little piece online somewhere that showed a watermelon pizza. It immediately caught my eye, but I was disappointed because it was really just a fruit salad on a slice of watermelon. Interesting, but it was fruit salad. But the concept stuck with me and what I realized was that I wanted it to be a savory watermelon pizza.

Watermelon salad is one of my favorite dishes this time of year as the temps start to climb. One of my all time most enjoyable versions is Matt Gordon's at Urban Solace. Every bite is different, filled with cherry tomatoes and arugula, feta and currants, toasted pine nuts and cucumbers. And it's tossed with a sweet vinaigrette.

So, I've been waiting for the seasons to change so that I could translate this concept in my head to a dish and today I finally did it. I gathered a baby watermelon, cherry tomatoes, a hot house cucumber (Japanese or Persian--all with no seeds--will do as well), an onion, pine nuts, kalamata olives, arugula, currants, and goat cheese.

I also went out to my little garden and nabbed some a couple of stems of my treasured mojito mint (it's a little less astringent than peppermint or spearmint) and basil. This is a "pesto perpetuo" variety of basil, which grows as a perennial.

With these herbs, along with white wine vinegar, olive oil, Dijon mustard, salt, and pepper, I made a vinaigrette.

Basil Mint Vinaigrette

1 tablespoon fresh basil, minced
1 tablespoon fresh mint, minced
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/3 cup white wine vinegar
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon sugar
pinch of freshly ground black pepper
2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

Whisk together all the ingredients except the olive oil. Then slowly whisk in the oil until all the ingredients are blended together and the dressing emulsifies.

With that done, I sliced what needed slicing and put the "pizza" together.

Slice the watermelon about an inch thick and place on a flat surface, then start layering.

First add slices of cucumber.

Then come the tomatoes. If you can find heirloom cherry tomatoes you'll get even more color--and flavor.

Next come sliced kalamata olives and onion. I like a sweet white onion, like this, or red onion.

Goat cheese can be difficult to work with, so I use a small melon baller.

Finally, I scatter the top with currants and toasted pine nuts. Make a bed with the arugula and drizzle with the vinaigrette. Then quarter the slice.

You can serve quarters as an appetizer or a whole slice as a lunch, accompanied with some crusty bread or biscuits.

Print Page

La Jolla Salt Company: From the Pier to the Plate

We Americans love our salt. But as we grow more conscious of using it judiciously, the emphasis focuses on the quality and flavor of this powerful mineral. You likely grew up with the idea that salt magically manifested from a blue cardboard cylinder sporting a young girl in a yellow dress with an over-sized umbrella. Morton Salt may still be the go-to for most households and restaurants, but the market for artisan salts--particularly finishing salts--is rising. In San Diego we have several options, now including La Jolla Salt Company.

La Jolla Salt Company's salts are different from some of the "artisan" sea salt brands you may already buy since those often start out coming from a business called SaltWorks. The salts are then mixed with flavor ingredients and repackaged. There's nothing wrong with that. The salts are usually quite good.

But La Jolla Salt Company harvests its salt from the Scripps Pier in La Jolla. Chris Polley, the founder and owner of La Jolla Salt Company, started out in this venture as a chef for Matt Gordon at Urban Solace, where he's been working for three years. Given that the restaurant makes so many of its own condiments, Polley thought it would be a good idea to make their own salt, too.

He admits that the salt at first wasn't all that good, but he continued to make adjustments to perfect it--working on this project at his home during his off time.

So, how does it work? Polley goes to the Scripps Pier, where there's a purified water hose available for public use. Filling buckets of water that he takes to his new space rented from graphic designer Daniel Heffernan of Clove St Press in Barrio Logan, Polley evaporates the water over three induction burners to create sheets of salt that fall and break into crispy flakes. The process takes two days. He keeps some of the salt in its natural state. He also creates several flavors--lime, black truffle, smoked, ghost chili, rosemary, lavender, and bacon. Polley then packages the salts in pouches, jars, and even small tins that you can take with you to a restaurant to use when you eat out.

I've been besotted by the flavor and texture of these salts. I love sprinkling the bacon sea salt on scrambled eggs. You get a smokey crunch that complements the creamy eggs. I've taken to sprinkling the lime salt on salmon and other fish. The black truffle salt is perfection in a baked potato, on popcorn, or blended into a vinaigrette.

I'm not the only fan. Richard Blais uses the salts at Juniper & Ivy. Gordon, of course, uses the salts at his three restaurants. And Matt Richman uses them at his Table 926.

You can buy La Jolla Salt online and at several retailers in San Diego, including The Heart & Trotter Butcher Shop, Geographie Shop, Teter, Urban Beach Girl, Urban Beach House, and Azucar.



Print Page

Holiday Treats: Angel's Salumi & Truffles

Seven years ago when I belonged to a book club and it was my turn to host I decided to make a pork loin roast. I had found the recipe on the Food Network and it sounded like the perfect main course for our group. So, I went over to Iowa Meat Farms and consulted with butcher Stan Glen. I was just going to use conventional pork, but he encouraged me to also try a roast made from Berkshire pork, a hog variety long known for the quality and flavor of its meat. To maintain that quality, farmers raise them free range and richly fed like they used to be more than 40 years ago--before pork was touted as "the other white meat." This results in meat that has more marbling, moistness, and tenderness. I made The Barefoot Contessa recipe—it calls for a mixture of rosemary, fennel seeds, lemon zest, garlic, Dijon mustard, olive oil, salt and pepper blended into a paste and pressed onto the top of the roast. The conventional pork roast was just fine, but the Berkshire pork version was over-the-top delicious. I never looked back.

So when I heard that Chef Pascal Besset had launched a new business, Angel's Salumi & Truffles in Carlsbad, and was using Kansas-raised Berkshire pork to make his salumi, I wanted to get a taste of it. Plus, I'm awfully fond of truffles.

I spent an afternoon with Besset in his warehouse and retail shop, which will also be where he holds cooking classes. Not only does he use Berkshire pork, but he also uses wild boar, bison, duck, and New Zealand venison for his different salumi varieties. The products are processed in a production facility in the L.A. area, which has three large dry rooms, each holding 43 racks filled with 680 pounds of product. Besset does all the buying and creates the recipes.


So, what does he make?

There's the wild boar prosciutto, very sweet and light, thanks to dried herbs, peppercorns, rosemary, sage, mace, and garlic. This smooth meat is a perfect pairing with dried fruits and nuts, a strong cheese, and craft beer. His duck prosciutto is just what you'd want to include in a charcuterie plate or add to pizza, pasta, soup, or salads. Besset says it's his number one selling product.

Then there's the black truffle pork salami, which incorporates black truffle oil and peelings. It has a heady aroma and would go well with champagne.

The white alba truffle salami uses white truffle puree (which Besset sells to restaurants for making dishes like risotto). Not surprisingly, it has a much more subtle flavor than the black.

Soppressata is one of my personal favorite salumis so I was curious about how Angel's would compare. I loved it. Usually, I'm psyched to get a punch of heat and garlic, mixed with fennel. This one was different, more sophisticated in flavor. I still got the fennel but instead of heat, there were sublime smoky overtones, thanks to his use of Spanish pimentón. Here's something that would pair wonderfully with a Pinot Grigio.

The dried, cured Berkshire Lomo Embuchado was stunning. It's made from the loin, which is massaged with four Spanish paprikas and then slowly air dried. Try this with a rosé.

That's not even all of them. Then we get to the truffle products. Now, I know the disdain people have for truffle products like oil and salts. But Besset gets that and as a chef he's keen to create products that colleagues will want to use and that customers will enjoy. He sent me home with a 500 ml container of white truffle oil, white and black truffle compound butters, and a small jar of truffle "caviar,"winter truffle juice created into tiny pearls that are color enhanced with the use of squid ink. (He also sells truffle juice, truffle carpaccio, truffle salt, and porcini butter.)

Have I had fun with these products. The truffle oil has gone into popcorn, been drizzled over roasted vegetables, and incorporated into salad dressing. I indulge with the truffle butter with its large flecks of truffle in the simplest ways, like spreading on my favorite toasted sourdough rolls or adding to baked potatoes. And that truffle caviar was stunning just topping scrambled eggs.

While Besset sells to restaurants like Sea & Smoke (chef/owner Matt Gordon is a big fan), his products can also be found in L.A. and Irvine, and in San Diego at retailers like Specialty Produce, Venissimo, Bottega Americano, Brothers' Provisions, Major Market, Baker & Olive, and We Olive. The company is also in the process of setting up an online  retail store.



Print Page

What is Jewish Food? Find Out at 3rd Annual Jewish Food Festival

Around San Diego, we're big on Mexican food, Japanese food, Chinese, and French. We pretty much go around the world in terms of cuisine. Well, this Sunday, it's time to celebrate Jewish food at the 3rd Annual Jewish Food Festival, hosted by Temple Adat Shalom in Poway.

Running from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., the event will feature Jewish and Mediterranean foods (everything from bagels and lox, herring, and kugel to knishes, chopped liver, blintzes, and falafel), live music, kids activities, a Food Festival cookbook--bound or CD-- and, chef demos. These, you won't want to miss:

Noon: Ron Oliver of The Marine Room will prepare House-Cured Salmon with Matzoh Brei Blini.

1 p.m.: Flor Franco of Indulge Catering will prepare Moroccan Grilled Fish Brochettes.

2 p.m.: Matt Gordon of Urban Solace and Solace and the Moonlight Lounge will prepare Chicken Liver Mousse, Quick Cured Pickles, and Homemade Matzoh.

3 p.m.: Amanda Baumgarten, soon to be executive chef at Brian Malarkey's Herringbone will make, well, something to be announced later...

4 p.m.: Sara Ploczynski, professor and restaurant consultant, will prepare Tahini-Pistachio Butter Cookies.

There will also be an assortment of noshes from D.Z. Akins, Milton's, and City Deli, and many other vendors. To buy these tastes requires a purchased "nosh card." The details for getting the card are on the event website. The best value is the $54 JFF Family Pack, which includes six paid admissions, $60 in JFF Nosh Cards, and six bonus food credits.

Temple Adat Shalom is located at 15905 Poway Road, across from Sprouts. See you there!

Print Page