San Diego Jewish Food Festival

Looking for some good Jewish cooking? Well, Temple Adat Shalom in Poway will be hosting its biennial San Diego Jewish Food Festival this Sunday, May 7, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Featured at this fundraiser for the synagogue will be Chef Deborah Scott of The Cohen Restaurant Group, Chef Ron Oliver of the Marine Room, Noor Amiri of Pamir Kabob House, and Chef Nicoletta Grippo. All four will do cooking demos during the course of the event.

There will be a number of food booths overflowing with traditional foods, along with a Beer and Wine Garden.

The Sabbath Dinner Booth will include:

• Pomegranate Chicken – boneless chicken sautéed in a pomegranate reduction with figs, yams, carrots and almonds served with your choice of Majadrah or Potato/Carrot/Apple kugel
• Cabbage Rolls - (2) beef stuffed cabbage leaves simmered in a sweet & sour, tomato-based sauce served with your choice of Majadrah or potato/Carrot/Apple kugel 
• Chicken Soup with Matzo Balls - with chunks of chicken, carrots and a fluffy matzo ball 

Sides

• Israeli Salad – diced tomatoes and cucumbers, scallions, red & yellow bell peppers and parsley combined with a drizzled dressing of lemon juice, olive oil 
• Potato/Carrot/Apple Kugel – a sweet baked dairy-free pudding 
• Fresh baked homemade Challah, ~ 1 pound loaf - also available in the Bakery 

The Israeli Booth will include:

• Falafel –freshly fried patties of ground chickpeas, served with Middle Eastern bread, Israeli salad, and tahini sauce
• Hummus with Middle Eastern Bread – mashed chickpeas blended with tahini, olive oil, lemon juice and garlic
• Majadrah – Middle Eastern, cumin-scented side dish with rice, lentils and caramelized onions
• Israeli Salad diced tomatoes and cucumbers, scallions, red & yellow bell peppers and parsley combined with a drizzled dressing of lemon juice, olive oil

Note: ALL ITEMS AT THIS BOOTH ARE SUITABLE FOR THOSE ON A VEGETARIAN DIET

The Kosher Grill will include:

• Grilled Flank Steak rubbed with a special mix and served with grilled peppers and onions on a roll
• Kafta sliders - Middle Eastern mini beef burgers mixed with chopped onions and Middle Eastern spices served on a mini bun
• Regular slider - mini beef burger served on a mini bun 
• Potato chips 
• Hebrew National Hot Dog on a toasted bun served with potato chips 

The New York Deli booth will include:

• Corned Beef on Rye, pickle– 6 oz salt-cured brisket of beef ½ or whole sandwich
• Pastrami on Rye, pickle–6 oz. brined, seasoned, and then smoked beef belly  ½ or whole sandwich
• Chopped Liver on Rye – chopped chicken liver, w/hard boiled eggs and onions  ½ or whole sandwich 
• Combo 1/2 and 1/2 – choice of any 2 half sandwiches (corned beef, pastrami or chopped liver) with pickle 

The Nosh Kart booth will include:

• Potato Knish – seasoned mashed potato, caramelized onion filling encased in a flakey, puffed pastry shell 
• Cheese Blintzes - (2) Cheese-filled crepes, garnished with berry sauce and sour cream 
• Dairy Kugel  – a baked, creamy noodle pudding 
• Potato Latke – large potato pancake served with apple sauce and/or sour cream 

Bubbie's Bakery Booth will include:

• Black & White Cookies – soft, cake-like cookie with vanilla and dark chocolate icing
• Hamantashen – a tri-corner “hat” cookie filled with apricot or chocolate 
• Rugelach – crescent shaped, cookie, w/cinnamon, nuts, raisins, apricot jam 3 for (no added sugar variety also available) 
• Strudel – baked this morning, a slice of traditional Eastern European pastry filled with apples, nuts and raisins 
• Freda’s Walnut Chocolate Chip Brot – a toasted nut and chocolate cookie, similar to biscotti 
• Allison’s Rainbow Cookies – found in the Jewish deli’s and bakeries of New York this is our take on an Italian specialty – a chocolate covered Technicolor cake-like treat 
• Chocolate Coconut Macaroons – a gluten-free treat, a favorite at the Passover table. 
• Challah - homemade braided egg bread, an essential part of the Sabbath dinner. ~1 pound whole loaf
• Coffee 

JFF tickets can be purchased at the Temple Adat Shalom office or at the Festival May 7th. The $20 JFF food ticket includes one paid adult admission, $20 worth of food, and an entry for the opportunity drawing. $60 JFF Family Pack ($80 in food, admission for two adults and up to 4 young adults (ages 13 to 20) are available. There's no admission fee for kids who are 12 and under, when accompanied by an adult. Food booths can't accept cash. All food purchases at the 2017 San Diego Jewish Food Festival must use official San Diego Jewish Food Festival Punch Tickets.

Temple Adat Shalom is located at 15905 Pomerado Road in Poway.

Two Chefs, One Catch: The Holiday Gift for Seafood-Loving Home Cooks

We San Diegans love our seafood. If we have a regional food, for better or worse, it's fish tacos. But the world of seafood is complex and many home cooks are nervous about preparing it, fearing they'll overcook pricey fish or that for all their work, it just won't taste right.

To help home cooks get over their fear, chefs Bernard Guillas and Ron Oliver of The Marine Room have just published their second book, Two Chefs, One Catch: A Culinary Exploration of Seafood (Lyons Press, $35). The book, beautifully photographed by Marshall Williams, contains about 120 recipes, about 80 percent of which were created specifically for the book. In fact, you probably won't find any of these dishes on The Marine Room menu. "They were engineered for the home cook," Oliver says.

With the exception of the first chapter of small bites, the book is organized by species, with plenty of little facts and trivia about them, nutrient information, and recipes listed by country and region. Guillas and Oliver are avid world travelers, who collect recipes and culinary inspiration like tourists collect special trinkets. "The recipes in the book are the accumulation of a lifetime of travel," says Oliver.

In fact, there were surprises. Guillas loves mussels and was surprised to find green-lipped mussels in the Indian state of Goa. Thanks to its southwestern coastal location, Goa was discovered by Portuguese traders back in the 15th century, when they were searching for a trade route. The colonial influences of Portugal still can be found in the cuisine, including seafood curries. Guillas enjoyed these curry pots and created a dish, Goa Mussels Hot Pot, based on his experience--and using green mussels.

Goa Mussels Hot Pot. Photo by Marshall Williams

Writing a seafood book was actually the duo's original idea, before they published Flying Pans, their first book. But, at the time, the publishing world wasn't interested, so they shelved it. Their agent, however, still had the proposal, and with Flying Pans in bookstores, shopped it again to publishers--and surprised them by selling it.

Since their initial idea, they went even deeper, addressing sustainability issues, discussing the pros and cons of farmed versus wild seafood. Their dedication is a virtual mission statement of that approach, "To preserve this enjoyment for generations to come, it is everyone's responsibility to care for our oceans, support sustainable fishery, and make well-informed decisions when purchasing seafood."

Wild Baja Shrimp Cocktail. Photo by Marshall Williams

The recipes are accessible. And they're not all seafood recipes. The chefs create meals with a focus on the seafood, but that also include side dishes, dressings, salsas, salads--anything that they would plate the seafood with. The fun, though, is that while you can create that entire meal as they structured it, you can also pick and choose to pair the seafood recipe in one section with an accompaniment from another. Guillas and Oliver also created a section in the back of the book that addresses seafood substitutions, important given how seasonal and regional various species are. The fundamental idea is to always use the freshest seafood possible. They also include other "bait and switch" options--for pork, fruits and vegetables, herbs, oils, vinegars, spices, and wine and spirits. You'll get quick tutorials on cooking techniques from braising and baking to en papillote and poaching in the back of the book, while in the front they pair their favorite cooking techniques with various seafood species. In the front is also "Ocean 101," which describes the seafood and various varieties, along with how to select and store various fish and seafood. Finally, they include a list of essential tools and utensils that include scales, cast-iron skillets, kitchen shears, fish spatula, and fish descaler.

I visited with the chefs at The Marine Room last week. They prepared their Bacon Wrapped Monkfish Tail for me, accompanied by a green salad with a slice of chevre, cherry tomatoes, and beets. This is a dish created by Guillas, who was raised on the coast of Brittany in France. Monkfish is local to the region and his Uncle Bernard used to prepare it by wrapping the tail in bacon and roasting it over the fire. The result is a sweet and tender fish with a smoky crust.

Bacon Wrapped Monkfish Tail. Photo by Marshall Williams

Last night I made their Olive Oil Poached Salmon with the Crushed Fennel Potatoes. Mine looked much different than theirs, perhaps I overcooked it a bit, but the interior was still a brilliant orange and the texture was luxurious. The aromatics that infused the oil--garlic, sage, thyme, and tangerine zest--gave the fish a sublime, complex flavor--mellow from the sage and garlic, but bright from the thyme and citrus zest. The dish was simple to make, something that the chefs emphasized throughout the book.

"We wanted to focus on simple techniques," says Guillas. "Seafood can be expensive so people want something that will guarantee them a good dish. We're trying to take the intimidation out of preparing seafood."

Olive Oil Poached Salmon. Photo by Marshall Williams

I'm sharing this recipe from Two Chefs, One Catch for you to enjoy.

Olive Oil Poached Salmon with Crushed Fennel Potatoes

from Two Chefs, One Catch

Serves 4

Crushed Fennel Potatoes

2 pounds small gold potatoes, washed

1⁄4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided

1 large fennel bulb, thinly sliced

to taste sea salt

to taste ground black pepper

1 bunch watercress leaves

Add potatoes to lightly salted cold water in large stockpot. Place over medium heat. Bring to simmer. Cook 15 minutes or until tender. Meanwhile add 2 tablespoons olive oil to skillet over medium heat. Add fennel. Cook 3 minutes or until tender, stirring often. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside. Drain potatoes in colander. Add to fennel. Gently crush each potato using the back of a fork. Add watercress and remaining olive oil. Stir to combine. Season again with salt and pepper if needed.

Vinaigrette

1⁄4 cup hazelnut oil

1 tablespoon chopped chives

2 tablespoons Champagne vinegar

1 tangerine, zested, juiced

2 tablespoons chopped,
toasted hazelnuts

1⁄4 cup pitted, quartered
kalamata olives

1⁄2 cup quartered teardrop tomatoes

to taste sea salt

to taste ground black pepper

In small mixing bowl, combine hazelnut oil, chives, Champagne vinegar, and tangerine juice and zest. Whisk together until well mixed. Add hazelnuts, olives, and tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper.

Salmon

8 sprigs lemon thyme

4 sage leaves

1⁄2 teaspoon cracked
black peppercorns

1 teaspoon sea salt

4 cloves garlic, peeled, sliced

1 tangerine, zested

4 cups olive oil

4 salmon fillets,
boneless (6 ounces each)

Combine thyme, sage, peppercorns, salt, garlic, tangerine zest, and olive oil in wide heavy-bottomed saucepan over low heat to infuse oil. When garlic starts to sizzle slightly, turn off heat. Use tongs to immerse salmon into oil. Steep salmon in oil 10 minutes or until slightly underdone. If necessary, return briefly to low heat to finish cooking process. Salmon should be translucent and bright orange in the middle but flake easily. Transfer salmon to serving plate atop crushed potatoes. Spoon Vinaigrette onto plate. Garnish with thyme sprig and sage leaf. 

 

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

Summertime Foods -- Ron Oliver and I on KPBS Radio's These Days

What's not to love about summer foods -- all those gorgeous stone fruits, the tomatoes, the cucumbers, the corn? For my monthly appearance on KPBS radio's weekday morning show These Days, that's just what we -- The Marine Room's chef de cuisine Ron Oliver and I -- talked about with host Maureen Cavanaugh. We got lots of interesting calls, including a tricky one from a woman with cooked jumbo shrimp who wanted to know what she could do with them without a grill.

And, they even let me talk a little about the Food 4 Kids Backpack Program fundraiser!

Tune in and enjoy. Here's the link.

Print Page

Taking the Heat: San Diego's Peruvian Markets

Chef Ron Oliver has a thing for Peruvian food. So, The Marine Room chef got in touch with me recently with an invitation to introduce me to a little place in Hillcrest that sells Peruvian groceries. I wracked my brain trying to come up with the place. After all, I'd lived in the neighborhood for 12 years. But, I shouldn't have bothered trying because the place isn't a market exactly. It's a travel agency: Latin American Travel & Services. It's in an office building on Fifth Ave. next door to Hash House A Go Go. Step inside and it's pretty much what you'd expect of a travel agency office. But then there's that large ante room, with shelves filled with all sorts of unexpected treats. Owners Tomas and Nelly Centurion basically have a little grocery store going--and even have a freezer and refrigerator in the back with still more products for the homesick Peruvian.


When you think of Peru, often the first food that comes to mind is potatoes--and you can find them at this little shop, so long as you like freeze dried--or dehydrated--canned, and frozen versions of them.

Above you can see chuno blanco and negro--black and white potatoes. Yes, they're freeze dried, but this is an interesting Peruvian tradition, centuries old, derived from the necessities of harsh living conditions. First, a frost-resistant variety of potato is alternately exposed to the low night temperatures of the Andes and then intense sunlight. This goes on for several days.

The chuno blanco is the result of washing the now dried potatoes, which are then dried once again in the sun and stomped on to remove the skins and any residual liquid. Chuno negro isn't washed, just sun dried. The potatoes turn black from oxidation. Once the process is complete, the potatoes can be stored for months, even years. They're used in soups and stews, even desserts. And they can be ground into flour.

Grains, another staple of Peruvian cuisine, are plentiful at Latin America Travel Services. There were wheat berries--both white and green--as well an Kiwicha Amaranto, a whole grain in the quinoa family but with more protein. You can use it as cereal and also add it to soups. And, they have quinoa as well. I also found several varieties of large dried corn kernels (similar to what's used for corn nuts). I've bought versions of these in the past. They're fun to toast in a little oil and salt for a snack or to sprinkle on a meat dish.

On a shelf nearby were jars of quite large purple olives. I bought the ones on the left below and have been enjoying their salty meatiness as a snack.


The Centurions have a full line of tropical juices and nectars, including chicha morada, made with purple corn and said to lower blood pressure. And, if you want to make your own, they sell bags of purple corn on the cob. Just boil it with pineapple rind, cinnamon, and cloves. You only need to use one cob, according to Tomas Centurion. A little goes a long way.


Related to chicha morada is chicha de jora, a fermented corn liquid which is tangy like a vinegar. In Peru, it's a beer-like drink but at Sr. Centurion's suggestion, I've been using it in marinades for meats.


Back in the room with the freezer Sr. Centurion pulled out a number of bags of frozen corn and potatoes, and caigua, an unusual long green vegetable that can be used for stuffing. Chef Ron shows you how to prepare it, and has a recipe for quinoa salad that uses caigua.

One of the products that got Chef Ron most excited was the Aji Amarillo, a yellow pepper paste with heat, but also an earthy aromatic quality that makes it sublime in stews. I bought a jar of that and Panca Pepper. This is aji panca, red chile paste from a chile that grows in the Andes. I recently used it in a braised lamb shank dish.


In the spirit of the morning, as we left Latin America Travel & Services I suggested to Ron that we have lunch at a little restaurant/market in Clairemont that also focuses on Latin America: Tropical Star. When we walked in, we both started laughing because on the shelves were many of the same products we'd just left.


Well, Tropical Star's focus is more about Puerto Rican and Latin American cuisine, but there obviously are overlaps. If you love Latin American and Caribbean cuisine it's a place worth visiting. Here, the focus is on the restaurant--tiny as it is--with a sideline in groceries (unlike many of my favorite ethnic markets, which also have small eateries). You'll find Cuban dishes like Ropa Vieja, Cuban-style shredded beef seasoned with garlic, onion, and bell peppers served with white rice, black beans, fried plantains, and boiled yucca; and Picada Colombiana, a Columbian feast of chorizo, morcilla (black sausage), chicarron (pork rinds, of course), patacones (fried green plantains), papas criolla (yellow potatoes), yucca frita (fried yucca), and arepa (a cornmeal griddle cake). There are empenadas from Argentina, Salvadoran pupusas, Brazilian bauru, and Puerto Rican arroz con pollo.


And, the groceries. We saw many of the same items we Tomas Centurion showed us along with some other interesting products, like bags of delicious crispy yucca chips.

I picked up small tins of octopus and squid, a container of dulce de leche, and some homemade cookies that were thick and deliciously crumbly.

Finally, if you're looking for yet another shop for Latin American and Caribbean groceries, there's Andres Latin Market, attached to Andre's Restaurant on Morena Blvd. in Bay Park. It's got a lovely assortment of many of these same items, as well as fresh produce, sausages, sweets, and prepared foods.

Latin American Travel & Services is located at 3636 Fifth Ave., Suite 204 in Hillcrest. The phone number is 619-296-9579.

Tropical Star is located at 6163 Balboa Ave. in the Crest Shopping Mall in Clairemont. The phone number is 858-874-7827.

Andres Latin Market is located at 1235 Morena Blvd. in Bay Park. The phone number is 619-275-6523.








Print Page

Lamb Shanks with a Peruvian Touch

What's in your pantry? Mine is stocked with an eclectic array of products from all over the world, thanks to my endless ethnic market hopping. Well, recently I met Chef Ron Oliver of The Marine Room at a little place he knew of in Hillcrest that sells Peruvian foodstuff. I can't call Latin America Travel & Services a market. It isn't. But, the owners, Tomas and Nelly Centurion, have a little area in an ante room where they sell Peruvian food products. I'll write more about this later with some recipes from Chef Ron, but I did pick up some interesting products, including a jar of Panca pepper paste. And, I decided to try it with braised lamb shanks.

Panca pepper paste and Chimayo red chile powder

The panca peppers are a deep red, mild pepper grown in Peru. They have a lovely smoky tone to them, along with a nice fruitiness. Usually they're sold dry or, as what I found, in a paste, and are perfect for dishes like stews and sauces. They go well with fish, but also poultry and meat.

I also added some other unusual ingredients to the dish--cinnamon sticks, Chimayo red chile powder (a favorite smoky chile powder I discovered in Chimayo, New Mexico, near Santa Fe), fresh red chile pimentos I found at Specialty Produce, and artichoke hearts.

Red chile pimentos

These, with more of the usual fare for a braising created a thick, rich complex sauce for the lamb shanks, which did so well in the braising that the meat started falling off the bone.

Someday, we will have cooler weather in San Diego, although it doesn't feel like it right now. But in the meantime, I'm going to enjoy my second helping of the shanks this evening and would recommend it as a dish to make next year for Rosh Hashanah or looking forward, for Chanukah.

Braised Lamb Shanks with Panca Pepper Paste and Artichokes

Serves 4

4 lamb shanks
2 tbl. olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 head of garlic, with sliced cloves
4 carrots, sliced
1/2 bottle of full-bodied red wine (I used a Barolo)
1 cans of low-fat, low-sodium chicken stock
2 sticks cinnamon
4 tsp. Chimayo red chili powder
6 tbl. Panca pepper paste
6 sprigs thyme
2 bay leaves
4 red chile pimentos or 2 red bell peppers, cut into one-inch pieces
12 oz. bag of frozen artichoke hearts, thawed

1. Pre-heat the oven to 325 degrees. Sprinkle lamb shanks with salt and pepper. Add olive oil to warmed heavy pot that can go in the oven, then add lamb shanks and brown on all sides.

Browned lamb shanks

Remove and set aside the lamb. Drain the pot of the fat, add a little more olive oil to the pot, and use a spoon to scrape the brown bits. Add the onion, garlic, and carrots. Saute until softened. Add the wine and bring to a simmer until it reduces to one-half the original amount.

2. Add the chicken stock, Chimayo red chili powder, Panca pepper paste, cinnamon sticks, bay leaves, and thyme to the pot. Return the lamb to the pot. Bring the mixture to a boil, then cover the pot and place in the oven. Cook for 1 1/2 hours, periodically stirring the mixture and turning the shanks.

3. At 1 1/2 hours, add the pimentos and artichoke hearts. Return the covered pot to the oven for another hour. Remove when the lamb is tender. Put on the stove top and tilt the pot to remove any fat that's risen to the top. Bring the lamb shank sauce to a boil, uncovered until the sauce thickens enough to coat a spoon, about 20 minutes. Discard the bay leaves, cinnamon sticks, and thyme stems.

Serve over rice or noodles or polenta/grits.

Braised lamb shanks and rice

Print Page