Curtain Call for 2013 and Chef Encounters

I'm so looking forward to 2014. Already I have a food walking tour of downtown San Diego planned, an afternoon learning to make dim sum at the new French Concession in Hillcrest, a visit to an urban winery, and a new season of Catalina Offshore Products' terrific Collaboration Kitchens to talk about--and that's just January.

But 2013 was no slouch of a year. Before it ends, I want to take a last chance to thank the many San Diego chefs who invited me into their kitchens and taught me new recipes, techniques, and in general shared their kitchen knowledge with me so I could, in turn, pass it on to you in San Diego Foodstuff. Each of these chefs is wonderfully talented and generous--and also a lot of fun to hang out with. It's one thing to hand out a recipe--which I always appreciate--but to invite me into their sacred laboratory to give a lesson and give of themselves is a greatly savored gift.

So, thank you to Jeff Rossman of Terra and Pablo Ibarra, his sous chef at the time I came in. Pablo taught me how to make a tangy Charred Meyer Lemon Chutney. With Meyer lemons in season now, I'm going to dig out that recipe and make some jars.

Thank you to my friends Antonio Friscia and Fern Tran of the late Gaijin Noodle House. Most chefs invite me to come in before service. Antonio wanted me to help with service. He sent me out marketing to buy ingredients I'd like to see in cocktails and in yakitori, and when I came in that evening, groceries in hand, he had me visit first with mixologist Lucien Conner to turn out drinks. Then, Fern taught me her tricks for making yakitori. We had all sorts of odd yet wonderful stuff going on. Finally, Antonio showed me how to create unique Asian fusion s'mores. What fun that was. I'm still in mourning over the restaurant's closing.

Thank you to Monello chef Fabrizio Cavallini and owners Guido Nistri and Valentina di Pietro for making me so at home at their Little Italy kitchen as Fabrizio taught me to make four versions of creamy polenta. I'm still dreaming of the comforting, delicate white polenta covered in slices of rich gorgonzola.

Thank you to Joe Busalachi, a true showman who I think had as much fun as I did at his Po Pazzo kitchen in Little Italy whipping through several fish dishes in the course of about half an hour, then serving them family style to my friends and me. The cartoccho, or covered fish, is in my repertoire.

Thank you to Matt Richman of Table 926 for introducing me to salsify with his luscious cauliflower and salsify bisque. That morning also brought a lesson in smoking tomatoes (which I now do regularly) for a complex  Calabrese tomato sauce and in making a minty nepitella chimichurri sauce.

Thank you to Catherine Perez, the bread-making genius of Con Pane in Liberty Station, for not laughing too hard at me and Robin Ross of Cupcakes Squared, as we tried so hard to learn how to shape bread dough. You gave us a great lesson--and even greater appreciation of the artisans whom you've trained to create such perfection with such ease. Back to basics with your Pain Sur.

Thank you to my buddy Miguel Valdez, then executive chef at The Red Door and The Wellington and now at 100 Wines for giving me a primer in stuffing summer squash blossoms. I so need a fryer to get that delightful crispy exterior and oh-so creamy cheese interior.

Thank you to the rollicking Andrea Davis, truffle queen extraordinaire, for teaching me a new skill. Her chocolate truffles create smiles and swoons. I especially loved the Bacon and Whiskey variety we made that day, but every time I see her she surprises me with stunning flavors.

Thank you to my new friend Francesca Penoncelli of the magnificent BiCE for taking the time to teach me how to make something pretty minor given her capabilities but oh so impressive--schiacciatina and truffle cheese spread. Imagine a chef who's cooked at the James Beard House teaching you how to make a cracker. But this is some cracker and with the cheese spread and a glass of wine, it's enough for a fun evening with friends.

Thank you to another new friend, Kelli Crosson of A.R. Valentien. I love making pickles and Kelli asked me to help her make the annual batches of pickles for Celebrate the Craft. I learned so much and fell in love with a stainless steel confectionary funnel I still covet. I also am still eating my way through the pickled watermelon gherkins we made.

Thank you to Jenny Williams of Jenny Wenny Cakes. I'd written about her in the past, but it wasn't until this year that I got to play with her in the kitchen. And, of all things, she taught me how to make her great-grandmother's Christmas pudding. Dense and chewy, it's Christmas comfort food when heated and topped with Brandy Butter.

Thank you to dear friend Joanne Squires-Sherif of the cozy North Park eatery, Cardamom. She taught me how to make her annual Pumpkin Walnut Cranberry Quick Bread and a wonderfully boozy Spiced Apple Bread Pudding with Rum Rasins. Sigh... This week we're working on Dampfnudln a la Joan Nathan.

And, finally, thank you to the delightful Amber Smith of Biscuit Gourmet Biscotti, who only this month invited me in to teach me the techniques for making her light and crunchy biscotti. I've shared and shared with friends and family--but selfishly kept enough to enjoy with tea in the afternoons. But, even when they're gone, I've got the recipes--and knowledge--to make more batches!

I also want to thank Bob Harrington and Specialty Produce for their always generous support--of this space, of my Close to the Source blog for Edible San Diego, and of the the community projects I work on. You just can't applaud these folks enough. And, thanks as well to Tommy Gomes, Dave Rudie, and Dan Nattrass of Catalina Offshore Products for being my seafood gurus and just great pals. Thanks to the many farmers, farmers market managers, and artisan vendors who always take the time answer my many questions and share their knowledge and bounty with me so I can help our community better understand what they do. And, last but not least, I thank you for taking the time to read San Diego Foodstuff and sharing it with your friends. It means a lot.

I'm looking forward to more chef encounters and other San Diego food magic in 2014, but in the meantime, I wish all these chefs, vendors, farmers,  and their loved ones, as well as you, a very happy, healthy, and joyous New Year!

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BiCE's Schiacciatina with Truffle Cheese Spread

BiCE chefs Francesca Penoncelli and Mario Cassineri

Hallibut in brodetto di Vongole e Granchio, Cipollotti e Zafferano (Pan-seared halibut with Clam, Mussel, Wild Salmon, Shrimp, Chilean Sea Bass, and Jumbo Lump Crab in a Lobster and Saffron Broth).

Bistecchine di Vitello al Parmigiano servite con Porri Brasati al Timo e Granchio (Pounded Veal Medallions, Bread Crumb with Parmesan, Thyme Poached Leeks and Jump Lump Crab).

Bavette del Senatore al Caviale (Bavette del Senatore with domestic black hackleback caviar or Keluga caviar).

These dishes and more (like their extravagantly decadent cheese bar) I've enjoyed at BiCE. But when the opportunity arises for me to cook with Chef de Cuisine Francesca Penoncelli what do I ask her to show me how to make? Cheese spread and crackers.

Don't roll your eyes. These are both extraordinary--and all the more so because of their simplicity. Yes, I'd love to learn how to make many of their other dishes. But their Truffle Cheese Spread is exquisitely divine in its creamy richness and seductively funky truffle aroma--and the fact that it can be whipped up in minutes is compelling. The cracker, called schiacciatina in Italian (meaning pressed), is a warm  orange color thanks to the addition of paprika and curry powder, Audrey Hepburn thin and yet, even in its crackly slimness, full of herbaceous flavors. It's derived from the leftover focaccia dough made daily in-house, a simple dough that for the purposes of the cracker, doesn't even need yeast if you want to leave it out. My impulse would be to put it in, make some focaccia (or an ersatz pizza), and save some dough for the cracker.

Penoncelli, a 35-year-old native of Piedmont, studied culinary arts from the time she was in high school, interning at restaurants during summers. When she graduated, she hightailed it to Paris to work. Eventually the chef took a job with the BiCE group, which sent her around the world to open up restaurants. Four years ago she landed in San Diego with fellow chef Mario Cassineri. The two have been a longtime team with BiCE and when the restaurant chain wound up with financial issues and let go of the San Diego restaurant, they chose to go with the new San Diego majority owner. So, this BiCE is actually an independent local spot and reflects the tastes and culinary sensibilities of the two chefs. Sensibilities so good and so successful that they've been tapped to cook at the James Beard House in New York on Dec 19, coincidentally, Cassineri's 40th birthday.

While the outgoing executive chef Cassineri tends to be the face of BiCE, Penoncelli feels like the heart. Despite her reluctance to be out front kibbitzing with patrons, she works the kitchen well and, as I learned, is a terrific, good-humored, and patient teacher. Which is a good thing, since she and Cassineri have been holding a summer series of two-part cooking classes at BiCE. The final ones are  being held Aug. 24 and 25. They're interactive and relaxed, teaching basic techniques like pasta and sauce making in the first session, then recipes that incorporate them in the second, and each features four courses, including an appetizer, pasta, entree, and dessert, as well as a wine-and-cheese pairing demo by Penoncelli.

My little session wasn't nearly as comprehensive, but I got a sense of Penoncelli's teaching skills--and came away with some new skills of my own, along with a couple of great recipes. Which I share with you now.

The first is the Truffle Cheese spread. All it takes is blending about half a dozen ingredients in a mixer, chilling it, and serving.

Truffle Cheese Spread
from BiCE
(printable version)

2 pounds cream cheese, room temperature
9 ounces ricotta
4 ounces marscapone
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon truffle oil--white or black is fine
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper

Blend together cream cheese and ricotta. Add marscapone, salt, truffle oil, and pepper. Mix until it has a fluffy texture.

Refrigerate half an hour. It will stiffen so you can use an ice cream scoop to serve. Place on a serving bowl and pour a little olive oil and a little balsamic vinegar around the scoop. Serve with schiacciatina or other crackers.

*Note, you can also add fresh chopped herbs, blue cheese, honey, or other complementary ingredients to customize the spread.

Below is the focaccia recipe, to which you add additional ingredients to make the schiacciatina dough--really just herbs and spices. While she bakes these, she says you can also take the same dough, pull it into pieces, stuff with cheese and then fry it. Penoncelli says that another way they use the focaccia dough is to make pencil-thin bread sticks. So, truly, this is a versatile dough.

Schiacciatina
from BiCE
(printable recipe)

Focaccia Dough

1 pound high-gluton flour
1/4 pound all-purpose flour
3/4 pound semolina
2.5 ounces yeast
2.5 ounces salt
1/2 tablespoon sugar
4.5 fluid ounces extra virgin olive oil
25.6 ounces warm water

Mix the yeast and warm water in a small bowl. Let proof for 10 minutes (until bubbles begin to form).

In a large bowl, stir together the two flours, salt, and semolina. Add the yeast mixture and olive oil to the dry ingredients and combine. When dough has pulled together, turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic.

Let rest in a covered bowl for 45 minutes in a warm room. Then roll the dough and let it rest again for 20 to 40 minutes.

For Schiacciatina

Focaccia dough
0.4 ounces paprika
0.2 ounces fresh herbs (rosemary, sage, and thyme are good)
Fresh or dried oregano
0.4 ounces curry powder

All-purpose flour
Semolina

Combine herbs and spices with focaccia dough in a mixer. The dough will be a little sticky. You can refrigerate it before using.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Oil a sheet pan. Create a pile each of flour and semolina for sprinkling on the dough between rolling. Using a pasta machine or attachment, pull off pieces of dough and sprinkle liberally with both flour and semolina. Roll through the widest setting. Sprinkle again, reduce setting by one and roll again. Continue until it's so thin you can almost see through it. Place on sheet pan. When you have enough to bake. Brush lightly with oil. Bake about 5 to 6 minutes until crisp, but watch it to prevent burning.

Clockwise from top left: BiCE focaccia, focaccia dough, kneading the dough to incorporate the herbs and spices, focaccia dough with schiacciatina spices and herbs

Clockwise from left: Rolling the dough through pasta maker, the dough getting longer and longer, almost transparent

Schiacciatina rolled, oiled, and then baked

BiCE serves this duo daily, and it's one of their most popular offerings.

BiCE is located at 425 Island at 4th Ave. in downtown San Diego. Tickets for the two-day class series are $275 person; single classes are available for $150 per person. To sign up for the class, go to http://bicesandiego.com/events/cooking-classes-2013/ or call 619-239-2423.



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