Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Jeremy Fox not just at Plum

June 30

I just got off the phone with former Ubuntu chef Jeremy Fox, who was recom-mending new and soon-to-open restaurants in San Francisco for me (including Benu, the much-anticipated restaurant of former French Laundry chef Corey Lee, which is slated to open later this summer).

The world learned last month that Jeremy was going to be the chef at Plum, an Oakland, Calif., restaurant Daniel Patterson (of Coi in San Francisco) had planned to open in July.

Jeremy tells me Plum is now slated to open in the first week of September, serving plant-based cuisine, much of it from a garden on which he and Patterson will be breaking ground this summer (the picture above is from Jeremy’s days at Ubuntu, where he also had a garden).

Plant-based doesn’t mean vegetarian. Jeremy said he will be making his own charcuterie for Plum, and that the restaurant’s dishes will have more animal ears and skin than loins and other muscle meat — for flavoring rather than to be featured in the center of the plate.

But things will be hopping at that garden, which not only will be supplying produce for Plum, but also for Bracina, Patterson’s long-delayed restaurant in Oakland’s Jack London Square, which Jeremy says is now slated for a January opening.

Jeremy told me he’s going to be involved in that restaurant as well as in Plum, and also in future Patterson ventures.

I asked if he was Patterson’s corporate chef, then.

I kind of heard him shrug, and he said: “For lack of a better word.”

And there you have it.

Queso Fundido Burger

  
    
Queso Fundido just means melted cheese in Spanish.  So, what would a Mexican cheeseburger look like?  Rick Bayless, chef and author extraordinaire on mexican food, gives us this recipe, which I tried last week.  He suggests adding Mexican chorizo to the meat mixture, which I did and is a great idea.  So much so, that it covers for the turkey I substituted for the beef.  You can use beef if you want, but I am always looking for a way to substitute lower fat turkey, chicken or pork into burgers in a way that still tastes great.  This recipe also includes adobo in the meat for a spicy, smokey kick.  Topped with Monterrey Jack cheese and slices of roasted poblano and caramelized onion, the burger is great on its own.  Get even more luscious with the avocado aioli from the Mexican shrimp burger recipe a couple of weeks ago and you'll rise to an even higher level.  Have fun and keep that summer grill going.  Serves 4.
    
Ingredients:
2  poblano chiles
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 yellow onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic
1 1/2 lb ground turkey
8 oz chorizo
2 canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, seeded and minced
1 1/2 tsp salt
8 slices Monterey Jack cheese
4 hamburger buns
    
Over the grill or under a broiler, char the outer skins of the poblano chiles, turning frequently until all sides are just blackened.  Put the chiles in a bag or under a cloth to let the steam separate the skin from the chile.  After a few minutes, scrape off the skin with a knife, seed the chiles and slice the walls into strips.  In a medium skillet over medium heat, warm the oil and cook the onions until softened, about 5 minutes.  Add the garlic and poblano chile slices and stir while cooking another 2 minutes.  Remove to a plate.  In the same pan, cook the chorizo, breaking it up until crumbled and browned, about 5 minutes.  Remove to a bowl.  Add to the bowl the ground turkey, chipotle and salt.  Mix together and form 4 equal-sized patties.  Grill the patties until cooked through, turning once, about 6 minutes.  Lay a slice a slice of cheese on top of each patty, top with the onion and poblano chile mixture and another slice of cheese.  Cook another minute covered to melt the cheese.  Serve on the toasted buns.
    

The Brandery 2010 Summer Edition, Custo Barcelona Party and opinion.


This week we're having here at Barcelona the summer edition of The Brandery. On Monday, Laia, Cris, Albert, Eva, Saray and I went to a conference given by some  bloggers. I'm going to talk about it later, and I must say that I'm sorry, because I'll do it in spanish, as I need to express myself properly and I don't know if I could sy everything that I want in english; but feel free of use the google translator if you want to read about it.




I met there Yvan Rodic, the famous Face Hunter photograph, and he gave me some quotes for my final project! After the meeting, I talked with him a while, and I met Miranda and Josep, they're so lovely too!



And talking about my project, I did my final presentation yesterday, and it was brilliant. Julio, my teacher, said that it was extremely professional; so in the next few days I'll be showing you the intervies I made to lots of lovely people you may know from the blogger's world ;)

 
Dress from Topshop
Socks from Blanco
Shoes from bimba & Lola
Hat from Oysho
Sunglasses from NY (Thanks, Laia!)
Bag from Amsterdam.

And yesterday night, after my classes, I went with Cris to Custo Barcelona's fashion show and party. There we met Saray and Merce, and with us was Toni, who I must say is very funny!! We had a gorgeous night!


And I met these two gorgeous women!! Carmen, from Devil Wears Zara; and Belén, from B* a la moda... I was so happy of meeting them there! It was fabulous, because it was like talking with old friends, but it was the first time we met... oh, my, too short for me! I hope we could meet soon again!! Unfortunately my pictures were a little bit blurred beause the light; I hope that Belen's picture were better!!

So now, I'm a little bit more free, so I would blogging as always... anyway, I'm still searching for a job... I hope I could meet something soon :(!


Sobre la conferencia de bloggers... bueno, comenzaré diciendo que creo que no cogieron a los ejemplos más apropiados. Más concretamente, a un ejemplo apropiado por una de las personas.
Gala, Pelayo, Yvan Rodic, Icanteachyou, Fashionísima y Núria de Me incomoda y la creadora de Trendtation eran los invitados de lujo a esta charla que, desgraciadamente, degeneró durante unos minutos a un pequeño circo mediático que podría haber tenido unas consecuencias un poco negativas para el mundillo blogger (algo más relacionado con la actitud, para ser excatos). Afortunadamente, espero que esto no fuera así, y que todos los presentes de esa charla entendieran lo ocurrido como un momento de egocentrismo y no como un rasgo que caracteriza a los bloggers. Me refiero, por supuesto, a la vanidad. 

En un momento determinado de la charla, mientras cada blogger comentaba cómo el hecho de tener un blog había cambiado sus vidas y su forma de relacionarse con la gente; una periodista hizo algunas preguntas que buscaban crear un poco de polémica sana, con la consiguiente reacción fuera de tono del señor Pelayo.

Veréis, no conozco de nada a este chico; apenas he entrado un par de veces en su blog y no es una persona con la que vaya a relacionarme o tener una relación de amistad; es algo que veo improbable. Luego, me baso en la imagen que me dio ayer al contestar a esta periodista; una imagen cargada de egocentrismo y aires de grandeza. Su salida de tono y falta de respeto por la persona que le realizaba las preguntas me hizo sentir vergüenza ajena, y también me hizo temer que la gente de la sala pensara, de pronto, que todos los bloggers tenemos esos aires de grandeza y "ganas de triunfar". Un "triunfo" que, según Pelayo (y cito literalmente) "no hubiera cambiado mi vida, ya que mi vida sería igual de guay con o sin blog, y yo estaría donde estoy teniendo blog o no". Algo que, en mi opinión no es cierto, ya que la "fama" de la que goza y la publicidad que da de determinadas marcas le hacen alardear de que "no tengo que comprarme ropa o botas Doc Martens". Entonces, si no tuvieras un blog, ¿cómo te sponsorizarían estas marcas? ¿Acaso no le debes tu "fama" en parte al blog? Porque al menos, personalmente, yo no le conozco ningún otro logro aparte de ese (y no, lo siento, pero por colgar esvásticas a modo de burla no eres transgresor, igual que yo no lo soy por hablar con propiedad de los skins y rude boys, ¿verdad?). Ergo, si no tuviera un blog, ayer no hubiera estado sentado en esa charla junto a grandes personalidades como Yvan Rodic.

Sinceramente, el que una persona tenga un blog no es nada nuevo o espectacular. Algunos consiguen más atención que otros, algunos consiguen "un poco de fama"; pero, ¿es eso un aliciente para perder la educación y buenas maneras? ¿Por ello has de sentirte superior a otras personas? ¿Sólo será absoluta tu verdad, no habrá más matices? La respuesta a estas preguntas, si nos basáramos sólo en la actitud de este chico, hubiera sido "sí", sin ninguna duda.

Afortunadamente, la mayoría de personas que conformamos el universo blogger tenemos dos dedos de frente (y tal vez no tanto tupé); y podemos pensar con un poco más de claridad, decencia y lucidez. He de agradecer la intervención de Miranda y Gala que, con tacto, cortaron a este chico y cambiaron de tema, porque si por mí hubiera sido (tal y como dije en voz alta), me hubiera levantado a tirarle un zapato. Y sabéis de sobra que lo hubiera hecho, porque precisamente, yo no tengo pelos en la lengua. Pero bueno, he de decir que también fue la impresión que me dio; a lo mejor este chico luego es majo y tal... pero chico, no fue lo que pareció!!

Gracias por opinar y leer!

Thanks for reading and your opinion!


Fragrant Chicken Curry Manado Style (Ayam Tuturaga)

Fragrant Chicken Curry Manado Style (Ayam Tuturaga)

Ingredients & spices :

1 kg Chicken, cut into bite sized
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1 tablespoon Lime juice
5 tablespoons Oil
2 Pandanus leaves, cut into 2 cm pieces
2 stalks Lemon grass, finely chopped
5 Kaffir lime leaves
2 Cumin leaves, coarsely chopped
250 cc Water
5 stalks Chives, cut into 2 cm pieces
2 tablespoons Lime juice
Salt and sugar

Paste:

100 g Red and bird’s eye chilies
5 cloves Garlic
10 Shallots
2 teaspoons Chopped ginger
2 teaspoons Chopped turmeric
7 Candlenuts, roasted
1 teaspoon Salt

How to prepare :

Rub the chicken with salt and lime juice, and let it stand for 15 minutes.

Heat oil and sauté ground spices, pandanus leaves, lemon grass, kaffir lime and cumin leaves until fragrant.

Add chicken and fry until it is half-cooked.

Continue to cook until the chicken is tender and the gravy has thickened.

Add chives, lime juice, and salt and sugar to taste.

Serve hot.

Fragrant Chicken Curry Manado Style (Ayam Tuturaga)

Fragrant Chicken Curry Manado Style (Ayam Tuturaga)

Ingredients & spices :

1 kg Chicken, cut into bite sized
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1 tablespoon Lime juice
5 tablespoons Oil
2 Pandanus leaves, cut into 2 cm pieces
2 stalks Lemon grass, finely chopped
5 Kaffir lime leaves
2 Cumin leaves, coarsely chopped
250 cc Water
5 stalks Chives, cut into 2 cm pieces
2 tablespoons Lime juice
Salt and sugar

Paste:

100 g Red and bird’s eye chilies
5 cloves Garlic
10 Shallots
2 teaspoons Chopped ginger
2 teaspoons Chopped turmeric
7 Candlenuts, roasted
1 teaspoon Salt

How to prepare :

Rub the chicken with salt and lime juice, and let it stand for 15 minutes.

Heat oil and sauté ground spices, pandanus leaves, lemon grass, kaffir lime and cumin leaves until fragrant.

Add chicken and fry until it is half-cooked.

Continue to cook until the chicken is tender and the gravy has thickened.

Add chives, lime juice, and salt and sugar to taste.

Serve hot.