The Culinary Timeline is a side-project that I've been working on since October. I'm hoping to have most of it complete by the end of January, with any luck. Until then, updates around here will be weekly, rather than twice weekly. Do stay tuned.
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I’m not sure how to classify señorita bread, nor do I know how it received its Spanish-sounding name. I do know that these almost-bite-sized rolls have their roots in Filipino baking, and so I’m sure that they probably have a much different name elsewhere in the world (such as Southeast Asia). However, at Starbread Bakery in Vallejo, these little treats are simply known by their mysteriously Latin moniker — “señorita bread” — and that’s all you really need to know.
Perhaps more addictive than donuts, Starbread Bakery’s señorita bread is the imagined offspring of Hawaiian dinner [... read more ...]
I had a discussion about cheeseburgers with a friend of mine the other day. As I have already mentioned here on this blog, I think that the Rutherford Grill serves the best cheeseburger here in the Napa Valley, although plenty of great competition does exist (mostly in St. Helena). Even so, my friend — who cooks over at Cyrus in Healdsburg — wouldn’t even entertain the possibility of my argument, since the Rutherford Grill doesn’t offer French fries as a side item.
My buddy built a compelling case that afternoon, and I began to wonder: is the French fry [... read more ...]
Elizabeth Spencer has been one of my favorite wineries for quite some time now, although I have never actually mentioned that fact here. Frankly, I’m not sure why I’ve never said anything before. But like I have said, the Thirsty Reader is by no means comprehensive: if I happen to discover something that strikes me as noteworthy, then I’ll usually try to mention it here, if I have the time. Sometimes I get sidetracked, or I get lazy. Sometimes, I’ll postpone an entry if I don’t feel like I ever have the time or the energy to do an [... read more ...]
I realize that Memorial Day is all about remembering those who served our country, but since I also had the day to go wine tasting, I decided it would be somewhat appropriate to visit a few of the pioneering wineries here in the Napa Valley, in order to sample the current releases from such stalwarts as Grgich Hills, Heitz Cellars and Duckhorn Wine Company (I had Chateau Montelena on my itinerary as well, but they were closed for the holiday).
Since I have lived here in the Napa Valley, I have visited each of these three wineries countless times [... read more ...]
Pork Belly, Dim Summed
I have a bamboo steamer that always seems like it’s in the way. For some reason, I’ve never found an appropriate location for it in the kitchen — it blocks the food processor, the rice cooker, and a couple of other things that receive semi-regular use. They way I see it, for as many times as I’ve had to push this steamer aside in order to reach something else, it only seems fitting that I should actually put this apparatus to use every once in a while.
I originally purchased my steamer years and [... read more ...]
The New York Times featured an interesting article about Sriracha this week, shedding some light on this increasingly popular chili sauce. I had actually formed quite a few assumptions regarding Sriracha that turned out to be totally wrong (turns out, this condiment is just about as American as ketchup). Even so, I have a distinct memory of discussing Sriracha with a friend back in the early-90s, as we passed the bottle back and forth, doctoring up slices of cold pizza in his Japantown apartment. I’ve kept a bottle of Sriracha in the fridge ever since.
For the link to [... read more ...]
This morning, I attended the “Napa Valley Rocks” symposium, which was sponsored by the Napa Valley Vintners. The event began with an informative presentation about the geology of the Napa Valley, and then concluded with a blind tasting competition among the attendees (which appeared to be 50 to 75 people, perhaps even a bit more). Everything about the function was first class, which is what you would expect from the folks who also host the Napa Valley Wine Auction every year.
For the tasting competition (dramatically billed as the “Battle of the Palates”), we blind tasted 10 different wines, [... read more ...]
One of the best things about living in West Los Angeles was being able to find some great Japanese restaurants without ever having to venture east of the 405. Granted, a quick trip down to Olympic and Sawtelle would still bring you dangerously close to this country’s traffic epicenter (the 405-10 interchange ranks as the nation’s fifth-worst bottleneck, while the 405-101 interchange, located just eight miles to the north, ranks as the country’s absolute worst).
Now that I live in wine country — far removed from the evil grasp of the 405 — the nightmare of Los Angeles freeway [... read more ...]
Pork Belly, Sandwiched
Ever since Day Three of the Pork Belly Project, I’ve kept the remainder of the said belly wrapped tightly in plastic, and in the refrigerator. Day Three was actually back on May 7, but despite being almost two weeks beyond its original preparation date, I’m not too worried about the pork belly itself; it still looks great and smells great, even wrapped and chilled in the fridge. Even so, nothing lasts forever, and there’s no reason why one person can’t eat four pounds of pork belly within a two-week span. Today, I submit the Chinese [... read more ...]
I just read a recent article in the L.A. Times that could spell concern for anyone who has ever enjoyed a legendary Double-Double from In-N-Out Burger. Although I do take particular interest in the details of this story — it’s a real-life “Falcon Crest” in many ways — what proves equally interesting is the fact that people have shown so much concern over the fate of this burger chain. I suppose it’s a testament to the hamburger itself, being that it’s such an iconic American food: In-N-Out happens to be a cherished institution out here in California.
Consider the headline of the [... read more ...]
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