Monthly Archives: March 2017

Fatted Calf: Salumi Class

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Last weekend I attended a salumi making class at Fatted Calf in Napa. I signed up to take the course last September and have been looking forward to it ever since. This is a class my BFF recommended to me after taking it herself.
The drive to Napa from Oakland took about fifty minutes. The course runs about four hours and includes snacking on a well stocked charcuterie platter, lunch, and bringing goodies home. The class was made up of twelve students and three instructors, led by Taylor who would teach us how to make three items.  

The first item we made was “salame cotto” which means cooked salami. We watched as the pork meat and skin was grounded in a heavy duty machine. We then hand mixed the meat and seasonings before learning how to stuff the casing with the meat. 
We labeled our own “salame cotto” which were taken away to be steamed at a low heat. When it reached its doneness, it was placed in an ice bath. At this point, it is ready to eat. I placed mine in the refrigerator as soon as I got home. After a week, I finally cut it open to make a delicious tasting sandwich.  
The next item we learned about was guanciale, cured pork jowl. I am familiar with this meat having used it in pastas. It is loaded with fat which also means it is loaded with flavor. In this part of the course, we also learned a new skill, trimming glands from the jowl with a boning knife. There is a long timely process to get the pork jowl from its raw form to guanciale. There is a curing process, refrigeration process, and drying out process. Since the class is four hours, we would not be taking home the pork jowl we worked on, but someone else’s. 
Last night I made a simple pasta dish called Pasta alla Gricia, a recipe from Mark Bittman. It was a good way to make my homemade guanciale the star. The ingredients are limited to spaghetti, guanciale, black pepper, and Pecorino Romano cheese. I’ll be exploring other recipes to use my guanciale in the next few months.
The final item we made were “cacciatorini.” These are small, thin salami. After hand mixing the pork and seasonings, we had the opportunity to case three links, tying them together. We would take our own “cacciatorini” home to dry in a dark cool space.
I took my “cacciatorini” home to my tiny apartment in Oakland. I contemplated where I could hang dry it. The only place I could find was my hall closet. Yes, this is the closet that also stores supplies such as extra toilet paper and paper towels, storage boxes with miscellaneous items, and shoes. This photo shows the raw form and then seven days later (halfway through the drying process.)
We also got a tour of their refrigerator that stores much of their cured meats. It was like charcuterie heaven.  
After the class, we all enjoyed a delicious lunch together. We had a cheese platter, a salad, pork loin, and beans. The meal also included wine. 

 Unfortunately I couldn’t stay too long and hang out with my classmates. But I absolutely loved everything about the class and enjoyed the experience. Although I am doubtful I would make salame at home, I had a lot of fun. I would recommend anyone who loves pork to take this course. If you just want to buy their products, you can either visit the Fatted Calf butcher shop in San Francisco or Napa.

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Drip Line: West Oakland

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Last week I attended a dinner with fifteen other Bay Area social media bloggers and influencers at a new coffee shop and restaurant called Drip Line. Drip Line is located in a part of town that I honestly don’t frequent without a purpose, West Oakland. Chef Nora Dunning has created a menu that reflects a fusion of her Singapore roots and her Northern California home. We all got to sample five dishes.
Kaya toast is a popular Singapore breakfast, and at Drip Line, this dish is elevated a few ways. Using house made brioche, it comes with a side of pandan infused coconut butter and a coddled egg with chives and soy sauce. With the recent popularity of adding an egg to any dish and making it sexy, I think coddled eggs may be trending next. And the best part of the Kaya toast is that amazing butter.
Gado Gado is an Indonesian dish that mixes together multiple ingredients with a sauce. We had ours with a variety of fresh, local, seasonal vegetables, red quinoa, root chips, a poached egg, peanut sambal, and lime. I especially enjoyed the textures that the small amount of red quinoa and the homemade root chips provided. 

Shrimp and grits at Drip Line is influenced by Chef Nora and her husband who is originally from the South. The creamy coconut grits are complemented with sambal shrimp, a fried egg, and micro herbs. This was one of my favorite dishes, but too rich not to share.  

It appears that most Asian cultures have some form of chicken and rice plate. This one infuses California to it with a tumeric brown rice and an Asian pear herb and fennel salad. The boneless chicken thighs also cooked with a honey glaze that adds an overall sweetness. The bone broth can be poured on the plate or drank separately.  
Laksa was a treat as this was the first time it was being served at Drip Line. This version of laksa included rice noodles, tofu puffs, tempeh, asparagus, pea sprouts, mint, cilantro, sambal, lime, and curried broth. The depth of flavor runs deep in this bowl of laksa.
Drip Line resides within walking distance to the neighboring Fusebox and Brown Sugar Kitchen which gives new purpose to frequent West Oakland.  They’re open M-F from 7am-5pm.  

Starbread: Queen of “Señorita Bread”

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A friend of mine introduced me to a Filipino bun called “señorita bread.” She gave me a sampling of the rolls and my first reaction was “it’s alright.” It wasn’t very memorable. I didn’t understand her excitement about them.
A couple of weeks ago, my friend and I were at a strip mall in Newark where Starbread Bakery is located. Starbread Bakery specializes in “señorita bread.” My friend wanted to stop in to pick up some. I followed her into the bakery where the aroma of baking aroused me. I could smell the melting of butter and sugar. 

I decided to buy a box to share with my family. For $10, I could get 25 pieces of “señorita bread.” I waited as the Filipino woman went to the back to box them up. She handed me a box filled with piping hot “señorita bread.”
The drive back to Oakland would take a good thirty minutes, so I pulled one roll out of the box to try. I bit into it and happiness quickly entered my body. The pillowy, sweet and buttery rolls are heavenly. Luckily for me, I just ate lunch or I would have easily devoured half a dozen. The rolls will obviously cool down, but the trick is to reheat them in the microwave a few at a time when you are ready to eat them. It is the warmth of the buns that is essential. Ten seconds in the microwave worked for me. The butter and sugar gets infused into the rolls all over again.  
There are several Starbread Bakeries in the Bay Area. Locations include San Pablo, Pleasant Hill, South San Francisco, Newark, Pittsburg, and Vallejo. I’m not sure if Starbread Bakery invented the “señorita bread,” but they are definitely the queen of them.

Baking Chouquettes

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About two months ago, I wrote about a small neighborhood bakery on Grand Avenue in Oakland called La Parisienne. This was the bakery that introduced me to chouquettes. I thought to myself, if I could get a hold of pearl sugar, I would consider making these.  
My colleague and I were talking about pearl sugar for Belgium waffles and when she decided to order some from Amazon, I asked her to order a box for me as well.  

My niece came over and I gathered all the ingredients to make chouquettes. We would use a recipe from David Lebowitz.  The cool thing is that aside from the pearl sugar, you can probably find all other ingredients in your pantry or fridge.  


Ingredients

  • 1 1/3 cup all purpose flour
  • 6 oz of unsweetened butter
  • 4 eggs (save 1 yolk for glaze)
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 2 tsp granulated sugar
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 tbsp milk (for glaze)
  • Pearl sugar (for topping)

In a saucepan, melt the butter, water, salt, and granulated sugar over medium. Once melted, remove from heat and add the flour to the pan. Place the pan back over medium heat and stir until it is smooth and forms a soft dough.  
Place the dough into a large bowl and wait a few minutes before beating the eggs in one at a time. The fourth egg should be separated. Add the egg white into the mixture and place the one egg yolk into a small bowl for later use. Mix thoroughly for about five minutes.  
Pour dough into a Ziploc bag. Cut about a quarter inch off the corner of the bag and start piping 1 1/2 inch dollops onto a parchment lined sheet.
Now it’s time to make the glaze. Add a tablespoon of half and half to the egg yolk that you saved earlier. Brush the top of each pastry dollop with the glaze and then top generously with pearl sugar.
Place the sheet in an oven that has already been preheated to 425 degrees. They take about 25 minutes to cook, but check your oven after the first fifteen minutes and then every five minutes thereafter. If it is already getting dark, turn the oven down to 375 degrees. I turned my oven down at 20 minutes.
That’s it! Pretty simple, right? They make great snacks. For a dessert, I would recommend piping in some fresh whipped cream with a side of sliced strawberries. Yum!