A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of cooking a six-course Thanksgiving pairing menu to go along with the French fortified wine, Pineau des Charentes. This was a press dinner hosted by PlaceInvaders for Sopexa, who represents the wine. A total of twelve guests spent the evening warmly tucked inside a Placeinvaders purple Victorian “mansion” in the heart of San Francisco’s Mission District. I conjured up the menu to evoke an autumnal European-American Thanksgiving vibe and, because I was the chef, I was bursting with fresh, fall-centric herbs.
Fall
November 25, 2019
Sage is without question the herb of the season. It’s hard to see, smell or taste, without thinking about the warming and comforting foods of fall, that start to bring us inside, literally and figuratively. As we begin to settle into the rapidly colder and darker winter, sage creeps into our foods; in soups, beans, stews and most importantly buried throughout most of the dishes on our holiday tables. Just as pumpkin pie spice is synonymous with fall, sage is tantamount to Thanksgiving. There is nothing more quintessentially Thanksgiving than sage, except I suppose the turkey.
November 24, 2019
Yesterday I was reminded of how amazing bringing joy to others feels, it doesn’t matter if it’s a human being or a pet. When you participate and focus on joy for others, good things happen. I’ve been noticing this a lot lately and a few years back began to notice that I do it a lot with food and recipes. My caring nature towards loved ones often leads me through adventures perfecting the foods and recipes they love. It doesn’t matter if I personally like the food or recipe choice, I still have the yearning to learn more and make the best version. Even when the food is something I totally dislike. I do it, usually only to (re)discover (over and over) what I have been telling kids forever while tasting things- “figure out what you like and don’t like about it and learn your taste and texture preferences”.
October 24, 2019
This time of year, with the onset of colder wetter days, my garden seems to burst with tender shoots of mint. This vibrant bumper crop, as they call it, always feels unexpected and yet deeply appreciated. With it, I start to see the full potential of mints warming and comforting qualities within my own cooking, especially as fall pulls and seemingly forces me into eating warmer, heavier and more comforting foods. Mint’s hidden talent of encouraging the fresh and healthy in any dish draws me in further.
October 22, 2019
Join me for special evening in Bolinas on September 7th, 2019. The 27th Annual Benefit Art Auction & Party is one of West Marin’s most coveted events. The event, which benefits the Bolinas Museum, is the largest and most important fundraiser of the year for the museum and attracts some of the most generous and caring members of our community. I will be donating a special cocktail experience to the event.
August 6, 2019
Fall | My Herbal Roots