I have found that I have gone through a variety of phases in the way I cook.  Many years ago, I used to only do “foreign” cuisines.  This included Thai, Ethopian, Indian, etc.  Basically, non-Western cuisines.  After a number of years, I moved to a style which can only be described as “complex” cuisine – the more steps in a dish, the better.  I was fascinated by the process for a dish and created any number of brilliant meals which tasted like garbage.

A few years ago, I went in the opposite direction and started using extremely fresh and great ingredients that were cooked simply.  Most of my meat comes from Wind Dancer Ranch.  My vegetables come from Full Belly Farm.  Most everything else comes from Berkeley Bowl or Monterey Market.  I have also focused on the presentation at the table, even if it is just my family eating.  This means picking out the right serving bowl, making plates warm before serving, and thinking about the colors.

Now that I have been doing this simpler type of cooking for the past 5 years, I can feel a desire to move in another direction.  I think that it is one of the reasons I have picked up so many food books lately.  I doubt that I am going to head in the direction of Adria with molecular gastronomy, but inspiration can come from anywhere.

The first step was taping the outline onto the pumpkin.  Then, we used a mini-saw to cut out the shape…basically, it just created an outline.  We then removed the paper and started cleaning each of the cuts.

Using a combination of the hole tools and the mini-saw, my wife and I managed to get each of the holes cleaned out.  The main problem was keeping the holes in the spiderweb from collapsing.  On the cat, it was not cutting the whiskers clean off.

We have not used the fruit carving tools that much in the past.  They just seem like too much work, when I would rather eat the food.  But if you need to carve some plant material, they really work well.

First step is to grill the vegetables and brown up the ground lamb.  Since it will only be on the grill for a short time on indirect heat, I want the lamb fully cooked.  While the lamb was browning, I threw the onions and bell peppers onto the grill to char up.

I used a mortar and pestle to make the rosemary and garlic oil.  I took a handful of rosemary branches, stripped the leaves, and pounded them in the mortar.  I then peeled two cloves of garlic and gave them two good whacks with the pestle.  A cup of olive oil went to the mortar and it marinated all afternoon.

Once the dough had finished rising, it was time to stretch it out into pizza shape (or at least a shape that would hold food and could go on the grill…)

Then, take the dough and put it on the grill for a minute.  Flip it over and put the toppings on.  Wait another few minutes and then eat!

Grilled Pizza

• 1 cup warm water
• 1 envelope active dry yeast
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3 to 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (as needed)

Add the yeast to the warm water and sugar in a large bowl.  Let it sit for 5 minutes (it should become foamy).  Mix all of the ingredients together in a large bowl.  I use a bread mixer and knead it for about 6-8 minutes.  The dough should be soft, but not sticky.

Lightly oil a bowl and put the dough into it.  Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and place it in a warm, draft-free place.  I turn my oven on for about 2 minutes (then turn it off!) and place the bowl in there.  The dough should double in size over 1-2 hours.

Punch down the dough and let it rise again…~50 minutes.  Punch down the dough again and divide it into two pieces.  Stretch out each piece into a pizza shape.  It should make a rectangle about 12×9 inches.

Turn on the grill to medium-high on one side and medium-low on the other.  Brush some oil onto the pizza dough.  Place the pizza dough on the medium-high side for about a minute.  The bottom should be crisp and slightly dark.  Turn the dough over and move it to the medium-low side side.  Place your toppings onto the pizza and return to the medium-high side.  Making sure that it doesn’t burn, let it cook about 5 minutes more.  Remove from the grill and eat!

After wandering around for a while, I went to get breakfast. The best breakfast around the fish market?  Sushi!  At 7am, I was eating maguro, saba, uni, and other wonderful raw food.  Got to love Tokyo!

Cinnamon Buns

Adapted from The Little Red Barn Baking Book (Clarkson Potter, 2000) by Adriana Rabinovich

For the dough:
2 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 cup milk
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon salt
3 1/2-4 cups all-purpose flour
1 egg, lightly beaten

For the filling:
2/3 cup dark brown sugar
4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled

For the glaze:
3/4 cups confectioners’ sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 1/2 tablespoons milk

To make the dough, dissolve the yeast and 1 tablespoon of the sugar in 1/2 cup lukewarm water. Set aside for about 5 minutes until foamy. Meanwhile, warm the milk in a saucepan. Add the butter, remaining sugar, and salt, and stir until dissolved. Remove from the heat.Sift 3 cups of flour into a large bowl. Add the yeast, warm milk mixture, and the egg, and stir to make a dough. Knead for 10 minutes on a lightly floured board, incorporating more dough as necessary, until the dough is soft, silky, and pliable. Form into a ball. Place in a buttered bowl and turn to coat the dough all over. Put a kitchen towel over it and place it in a warm location until it rises to twice its original size. This will take about 2 hours. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and put it in the fridge overnight.

The next morning, punch down the dough, then leave to rest for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, butter a baking sheet. Prepare filling by mixing the sugar, cinnamon, and melted butter in a small bowl.

Roll out the dough into a rectangle measuring about 12 x 9 inches. Spread the filling mixture over the dough, pressing it in slightly. Roll up the dough like a jelly roll, starting at one long side. Using a sharp knife, cut the roll across into 12 equal slices. Arrange the rolls, cut-side up, on the prepared baking sheet. Allow to rise, covered, for at least 40 minutes until doubled in size.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until well risen and golden. While the buns are in the oven, prepare the glaze. Mix the confectioners’ sugar into a bowl with the melted butter and enough milk to make a thick but pourable mixture. When the buns are ready, remove from the oven. With a spoon, drizzle the glaze over the buns. Eat.

Chef Patterson likes to experiment and play with food combinations. For example, over the 11 course meal, we had Yuba ‘Papardelle’ with english peas and corn-brioche custard with huitlacoche. Paul Einbund, the sommelier, picked wonderful wines to match. My favorite was probably the Riesling that went with the corn-brioche. However, the sake with the Kampachi Sashimi was amazing as well.

This was the second time that I have been to Coi. For some reason, it felt like the menu was more adventurous when I was there last year. Maybe it was because the restaurant had only been open for a month and he was still experimenting more. Maybe it was just the night’s menu. Delicious food though, no doubt…even if they did not have the smoked yogurt like last time (yum!).

The best part of the meal is that our Meyer lemon tree paid for it. We have become a major supplier of Meyer lemons to Chez Pannisse. Chez Pannisse is just down the hill from my house and we have probably sold about 300 pounds of lemons over the past 1 ½ years. If you have a meal there and enjoy Meyer lemons in something, it is likely that they came from my tree.

Today I am cooking Osso Buco with a Risitto Milanese.  It is rainy and cold here in the SF Bay area.  Looking out the window in my kitchen, I cannot even see the Bay.  Luckily, my house is filled with the smell of cooking veal shank.  For those who do not know, Osso Buco is a long-cooked veal shank.  It has a couple more hours to go before it is ready, but it already smells great.  Very easy to make.  Brown up the veal shanks, saute some root vegetables, pour in a can of peeled, plum tomatoes, and throw into the over for a few hours.  One of the best parts is the marrow in the veal bone at the end.  My kids always fight over who gets the biggest bone with the most marrow.  I know I am raising them well   The recipe I use is from The Dean & Deluca Cookbook by David Rosengarten.  This cookbook is my main recipe guide in the kitchen.  It has never let me down with a wide range of recipes.  I have number of cookbooks (~50) and this is one of the 3 or 4 that I always rely on.  The other ones probably are The Barbecue Bible by Steven Richlen, The Original Thai Cookbook by Jennifer Brennan, and Chez Panisse Vegetables by Alice Waters.

Along with the Osso Buco, I am making a Risotto Milanese.  This is an extremely straightforward risotto.  Arborio rice and saffron cooked slowly with herb flavored stock.  This combined with Osso Buco is a very classic meal.  And it is wonderful on those dark, cold, rainy winter nights.  I already have a Ravenswood wine picked out.  Yum.