Curiosity, Courage and Confidence

Chefs are an odd lot. We have the stamina to work long hours, the courage to experiment and be improvisational, and the creative fuel to cook delicious food every day. Actually, this means we’re more foolhardy than odd, but we all have lots of tricks and techniques we’ve learned over the years that help us in a pinch.

I thought it would be fun to share a few tricks of the trade with you every few weeks ... it’s like a peek behind the kitchen doors. And remember, regardless of a chef’s character, our curiosity, courage and confidence is what separates the good from great. I tell my boys all my secrets, though I think they’re sick of hearing them, so I hope you enjoy!

Salt: Why you’ll only see kosher and sea salts in a respectable kitchen; never iodized.

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Harness the Sun – for Tea!

By Lori Powell

To celebrate the last of the long days of summer, sun tea is in order. It is nice to know that you can still make something at home with such minimal fuss as sun tea.

You simply need a large, clean glass container with a lid, some tea bags or leaves, some good clean water and lots of bright sun…oh and patience. For sweeteners add honey, maple syrup, or pure fruit juice just before serving. Ice is mandatory.

I like to refer to this as Slow Sips because this humble beverage is about as far away from instant sweetened iced teas or soda as possible.

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A Less Sugary Lemonade

By Katie Barreira

I love lemonade, but have you ever looked at the label? Sugar usually comes before lemon juice! How to enjoy my favorite summer refresher without sucking down my weight in sucrose?

Well, if I could somehow make the lemonade less tart then I wouldn’t need as much sugar to balance it out. Solution: the orange-hued Meyer lemon, a hybrid between a lemon and a tangerine, which has a natural floral-like sweetness and lower acidity than a traditional lip-puckering lemon.

Now that I was using less sugar, I had to consider its form. Typically, I make lemonade with simple syrup (a combination of sugar and water that’s been heated until the sugar dissolves) because this combines effortlessly into the cold water and lemon juice. But in a moment of food science inspiration, I recalled this tidbit from a cocktail class: when heated, sucrose turns into higher viscosity fructose, from which our palates don’t register flavor as well. So, by keeping all the ingredients cold and using a little elbow grease, I could make the lemonade taste sweeter with less sugar.

Finally, top the lemonade off with a splash of sparkling water; there’s nothing like a little effervescence to make a person feel refreshed.

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Grilled Fish with Pineapple Salsa

By Sandy Hu

Congratulations to our two sweepstakes winners: Peggy B from Oroville CA who won our Charcoal Companion grill tools giveaway, and Rita A from Westminster CA who won our secret prize: the Picnic Time English-style willow basket. Stay tuned for our next sweepstakes.

We grill pretty much year-round in San Francisco, except on the coldest, wettest days. Mostly in our house, we go for the standards: burgers, ribs and steaks. But recently, we’ve been trying to eat more fish. I love fish and often order it at restaurants. But home cooking? No so much.

We pay attention to the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch for recommendations about which seafood are ocean-friendly and which to avoid because they are overfished or caught or farmed in ways that are harmful to other marine life or to the environment.

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A Parcel of Pralines

By Marilyn Hunter

My great aunt’s recipe box, which I inherited, is filled with many treasures but there is only one recipe that tells an unforgettable story.

The year was 1942. The Japanese had just bombed Pearl Harbor and World War II was in full swing. Aunt Lucile and Uncle Harry had been married only a short while before he was swiftly swept up in the draft and shipped off to war.

Letters from homesick soldiers were pouring in to American women on the home front. Their men were in need of basic items in short supply like blankets, socks, soap, aspirin and toothpaste. But Harry’s letters to Lucile were very different. He was a steadfast sort who worried less about blankets and socks and more about the saintly pleasures of home. He begged for something near and dear to his heart…her homemade pralines.

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