They say the fastest way to someone's heart is through their stomach. I have always found this to be true. Since I've never had money, looks, power, or musical ability, it must have been the cooking. My beautiful wife Michele has been my Valentine for 17 years, and we actually met Valentines week at the first real restaurant I worked at in San Francisco.
Chances are there may be some chocolate involved in your Valentines Day festivities. Here are a couple great resources for helping you pair that chocolate with the right wine. The first video is from Jonathon Stewart at About.com. He has some great advice for chocolate and wine pairings. Below that I have a wonderful list from Natalie MacLean, from NatalieMacLean.com, who offers her top 10 wine and chocolate matches. And last, but not least, my famous Chocolate Lava Cake video recipe. Enjoy! Natalie’s top 10 wine and chocolate matches: 1. Dark Chocolate and Banyuls , France 2. Chocolate-Covered Biscotti and Recioto Della Valpolicella, Italy 3. Chocolate-Orange Cake and Liqueur Muscat , Australia 4. Chocolate with Nuts and Tawny Port , Portugal 5. Milk Chocolate and Tokaji , Hungary 6. Bittersweet Chocolate and Amarone , Italy 7. Chocolate-Dipped Fruit and Icewine , Canada 8. Chocolate Ganache Truffles and Sauternes , France 9. Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake and Framboise , California 10. Chocolate Hearts with Cream Filling and Cream Sherry , Spain
You may notice this video recipe looks and sounds a bit different. That's because it's not produced for About.com! I just felt like filming a dessert recipe, and uploading it to YouTube, just like the good old days (and by "good old days" I mean the days before I ran out of money filming free video recipes). This very simple, and quite old fashion berry crisp recipe, is perfect for those of you looking for a sexy, non-chocolate, Valentine dessert.
Any berry will work in this (even frozen if you must), but the dark, sweet blackberries are my favorite. Served barely warm, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, it just doesn't get much better than this. And, because there is some oatmeal mixed in with all the butter and sugar, it's practically health food. By the way, it will also give you a second reason to put on a pot of coffee after your Valentines meal. Enjoy!
Ingredients: 4 cups fresh blackberries, washed, drained well 1/3 cup granulated white sugar 2 tsp lemon juice 1/3 cup flour 1/3 cup packed brown sugar 1/2 tsp cinnamon 3/4 cup quick cooking rolled oats pinch of salt 1/2 stick softened butter (4 tbsp)
This video recipe was produced for About.com's "Cooking for Kids" site. It's a kid-friendly version of the famous "Giambotta," I filmed my aunt making a while back. The great thing about this recipe is that, except for the potatoes, every ingredient can be cut with a plastic picnic knife. That means you can get the kids into the kitchen to do some cooking with you, which I believe is vital to a healthy and happy life.
Now, I'm not a parent, but I do play one on the Internet. I'm convinced that many eating disorders, and other dietary dysfunctions that plague our society, can be traced back to the simple fact that most children never learn to cook. Parents have no problem paying for tuba lessons (those will come in handy!), but how many parents would think to get the kids cooking lessons?
By the way, yes, I do feel slightly hypocritical talking about getting kids to cook at an early age by posting a hot dog recipe. But, by using something they like, and are familiar with, you can get them into the kitchen more easily. Once they realize how fun and satisfying it is, you can start using more exotic and nutritious ingredients. This recipe is great for weaning the kids off hot dogs, and on to healthier sausages, like turkey, chicken, etc.
It's up to you. Ten years from now you can sit down to a delicious home-cooked meal, prepared by your healthy and happy children; or you can listen to them blow "Star and Stripes Forever" on the tuba, while looking at their newest tattoo, and munching on a nice microwave burrito. Enjoy. Click here for the transcript and ingredients.
This delicious dish is from Traci Des Jardins (seen below giving the recipe one last look), who demonstrated it during my recent trip to the Ahwahnee Hotel. I've simplified the procedure a bit for the home cook, but the soul of the dish remains unaltered. The recipe, which features seasonal winter vegetables, and a light, aromatic broth/sauce, is simple, elegant, and full of flavor.
I've always said that the easiest way to describe "California cuisine," is to give someone a recipe to try. They say a picture's worth a thousand words. Well, a good recipe is worth at least that when trying to give someone an idea of what California cuisine is all about.
This link is to the Sea Bass with Braised Celery Root and Roasted Beets recipe page on my About site. I was unable to do a video of Chef Des Jardins creating the dish, but the recipe is very straightforward. Any firm white fish will work in this dish, in case you can't find bass. Enjoy!
You've just been transported back to colonial America. You've been up since dawn, doing colonial stuff, and you're hungry for breakfast. You open the cupboard to grab a couple of Pop-Tarts to toss in the fireplace. There are no Pop-Tarts. You decide to settle for some pancakes, and reach for the Bisquick. There's no Bisquick. Okay, you decide to make your own pancakes from scratch. You check for the flour and baking powder. Again, you are denied. The only thing you have is ground corn and water. What do ye do…what do ye do?
Make Johnnycakes!This video recipe, I did recently for About.com, shows how to make America's first pancake, the Johnnycake. Nowadays, the Johnnycake is nothing more than a regular pancake batter with a little cornmeal sprinkled in, but that's not what it used to be. I decided to stay true to the earliest johnnycake recipes I could find, which were just fried cornmeal gruel. The Indians showed the early settlers how to make a basic cornmeal mush, which pretty much kept them alive in the early days, before Pop-Tarts. Well, if you have leftover cornmeal mush around, and some bacon fat, and a frying pan, you can turn that cornmeal into the surprisingly delicious Johnnycakes. Check out this video recipe, and experience what breakfast was like 300 years ago. Enjoy.Click here for the transcript and ingredients.
