Balsamic Onion Marmalade and Gruyere Tartine Recipe

An Italian blogger , living in Germany came up with a unique virtual blog event, a blog cooking day called "Is my blog burning?" "Why not put up a day where, just for the fun, bloggers take up a certain theme and come up with a recipe (original or not) for it? It would be really interesting to see what people from different backgrounds come up with and a great chance to get new ideas." A French blogger picked the theme of tartine for today, March 7th, 2004. tartine n. A French open-faced sandwich, especially one with a rich or fancy spread. So I went down to the San Francisco Ferry Building Marketplace to find some inspiration for this event. What was in season? What nice bread was available? Sweet? Savory? Hot? Cold? So many choices! I managed to get one of the last "pain au levain with walnuts" and this helped me with the rest of my decisions. I chose to make a balsamic onion marmalade tartine topped with Gruyere cheese. A French bread (w......

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How Many Cookbooks?

How many cookbooks do you own? At last count I had 75. My sister really started me off with "The Joy of Cooking" circa 1984 for which I will be forever grateful. In terms of classics I also have the Escoffier, Fannie Farmer, and several cookbooks by both Jacques Pepin and Julia Child. I have an appetizer cookbook, dessert cookbooks, magazine compendiums, regional cookbooks and even two pressure cooker cookbooks. No favorites really. I love all my babies. I started scouring the shelves of thrift shops for cookbooks when I was still in my teens. It was amusing to see the fads of yesteryear in the titles--the blender cookbooks, cooking with wine, microwave cookbooks, and endless diet cookbooks to be sure. But finding a really good one was like finding hidden treasure. Those rare cookbooks inspired me, encouraged me and motivated me to become a better cook. And at less than a dollar a piece they were a bargain. On a sinister note, in Iowa a compulsive "cookbook crook......

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Luna Park Restaurant

When friends come in from out of town, it can be challenging to pick a restaurant. Not because there aren't any good ones, but rather because there are too many. Mainly I want the place to be consistently good, have lots of options for all kinds of eaters (light, meat and potatoes, vegetarians, dessert fanatics) be fun and also give a good sense of what being in San Francisco is all about. If possible, convenient parking near by is nice to have too. One restaurant I return to time and again is Luna Park on the very hip part of Valencia Street in San Francisco's Mission District. In addition to all of the aforementioned--choices, fun, etc., it has the added bonus that the prices are quite reasonable. The only down side is the noise level, though if you go with a group of no more than 4 or 5 people you can sit in a cozy booth and having a conversation is less of a challenge. Luna Park offers a number of interesting appetizers that are great to nibble on with drinks or whil......

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Lemon Ricotta Pancakes Recipe

Waking up is hard to do. Really hard. For some, a strong cup of coffee or tea helps. Not for me. I wake up slowly and after being up for at least an hour or two I tackle breakfast. Left to my own devises, I would probably just eat brunch and save the real breakfast food for dinner, but Lee prefers something a bit more traditional. The big problem with breakfast for me is always--what to have? Savory or sweet? Both are appealing but if I eat something sweet I may not get enough protein and as a result I'm ravenous barely an hour or two later. Nutritionists recommend a "balanced" breakfast meaning both carbohydrates and protein. Easy to do with eggs or cheese but harder to do with sweets like pancakes. Having sausage or bacon on the side is another way to go but probably not the best choice everyday. French toast or crepes are both sweet and have protein but I'm always looking for more protein-rich sweet options. Ricotta pancakes are a perfect way to go. The ricott......

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