the petite pig

announcing clementine

two months ago, i offered a sneak preview to my latest culinary venture.  after much back-and-forth with my web designer, i'm proud to announce that clementine culinary productions (whose acronym ccp may or may not have something to do with the chinese communist party) has launched and has even lined up a few dinner parties for the month of june.  although just a part-time undertaking, i'm excited to be taking my knife skills on the road.  many names were suggested for the venture (thanks to all those who emailed me with their thoughts) but the final selection of clementine came to me while i was out grocery shopping.  i picked up a clementine, and it just seemed like a natural fit for the name of a petite food entertainment company.  clementines symbolize a token of good fortune in chinese culture so a jar of clementines will be left at the end of each job, to leave just that with each party i feed.

if you're living in the bay area and interested in giving clementine's services a try, you're in luck.  most recently, i've been working with the founders of organicpicks, a great new website providing a community-based directory for organic living, and we've partnered for a promotion running through june 30th.  write five reviews of various green-oriented services or products on their site, and you'll be entered in a drawing to win a tuscan-inspired meal by ccp (aka me) for six in your own home.  not too shabby, eh?  yes, armed with my arsenal of pots, pans and knives and repertoire of italian recipes, i will drive to your home and cook in your kitchen and serve you and five of your guests dinner.  talk about the good life.  and even if you don't win, you can still get all of that.  you'll just have to fork up some cash.

 

and if you're looking for some tips on entertaining and how you can best take advantage of farmers market season (which has finally arrived in full force for all that great summer produce), check out the article i've written for organicpicks on "easy entertaining at home."

all photos by the wonderful allan hsu.

le sanctuaire: a new spice market in the middle of san francisco

i was a history major back in college and so have always been intrigued by the spice trade and its profound impact on the course of world events. as a cook though, i've come to understand and appreciate spices in a different way.  while the spice trade no longer carries the geopolitical influences it did in earlier centuries, the "globalization" of spices as it exists today has deeply influenced the way the world eats.  chefs have never had as much access to the world's flavors in their kitchen as they do today. 

last weekend i had the opportunity to visit the newly opened le sanctuaire in san francisco and discover the latest spice trade route.  jung tio is known by chefs as "'the man who knows how to get things.'"  in his previous life, tio was an accountant and real estate manager, but now is more famously known for being the source of the latest exotic flavors.  tio stocks his two spice markets (the original le sanctuaire is located in santa monica) and the kitchens of the western world's best chefs through his monthly travels to europe and southeast asia.  some of the spices such as his variety of pepper are even grown on his own land in indonesia. 

on that saturday morning, koko who came to le sanctuaire from the dining room at the ritz carlton gave me a guided tour of tio's spice route.  i started off my journey intoxicated by one of tio's many secret spice medleys.  appropriately named aphrodisiac, i could only compare it to waking up to morning sex.  my journey continued to a wide spectrum of salts.  i happened to be in the market for finishing salts and after sampling about a dozen, settled on three by halen mon: 1) a traditional sea salt; 2) a vanilla flavored salt; and a 3) roasted sea salt.  from salt, i naturally progressed to peppers sampling all of tio's homegrown crops as well as several others.  the range of scents and shapes were wide: some were earthy; some were flowery; some were not even shaped like your typical peppercorn.  by the end of my visit, i had opened up nearly every box of spice they carried and was overwhelmed with the possibilities for all the new flavors i had encountered and left excited about the new sensory playground i had discovered.

le sanctuaire is located on the fifth floor of 315 sutter street (@ grant).  call 415-986-4216 to make an appointment for your tour of the hottest spice trade around these days. 

the french laundry: worth the pain

on april 29th, i fulfilled one of my many food fantasies: three friends, nine-course tasting menu, the french laundry.  unless you're part of the elite few, nabbing a reservation at this intimate 62 seater or footing the bill for the $240 tasting menu can be a painful, painful experience.  so the big question is, "is it worth the pain?"  my answer, without a doubt, is yes.  but let me clear up a few things about the hype surrounding thomas keller's three star establishment.  the french laundry is not some elusive food mecca.  it is not culinary innovation the way WD50 or el bulli are known to be.  it's simply some of the best food you'll ever eat.  on the evening we went, chicken was on the menu or to be exact four story hills farm "poularde" was on the menu.  chicken is something most of us eat several times a week, but biting into that poularde was like tasting chicken for the very first time, prepared with flavor and tenderness i had never experienced before.  one of my friends even commented, "it doesn't even taste like chicken."  yes, it certainly did not taste like any chicken i've ever known.

with more staff on hand than diners, the attentive service also helps to ease the pain.  the four of us arrived for our 5:30 dinner reservations hungry after a day of fasting for our big feast.  stomachs growling, we craved some bread from the bakery of bouchon just down the road.  minutes later, three loaves of bread arrived from bouchon for us to take home and sample.  and our server was more than happy to accommodate the challenge of our unending appetites.  yes, we did drop some comments about having to stop by an in-'n-out on our way home to really fill up but they rose to the challenge, bringing out more and more food.  i had paced myself for a nine-course meal but this marathon meal turned out to be closer to a seventeen course meal.  we ate.  we ate.  about five different dessert courses later, it was 10:30 pm and we could eat no more.  but knowing we definitely got our money's worth in volume as well as quality also helped ease the pain of seeing our bill. 

so, how does one get reservations to one of the most renowned restaurants in the world?  i picked up these three tips from carolyn jung of the san jose mercury:

1) open table.  open table has two four-tops per evening.  one for 5:30 and one for 9:30.  the trick is in the timing of the click.
2) get on the waiting list (once you manage to get through a five hour long busy signal).  people do cancel.
3) if you're willing to splurge some more, stay at one of the local beds and breakfasts and they might be able to help you snag a reservation if given enough advanced notice.

good luck.  and remember: for food like this, it's worth the pain.