My Picks for SF Cocktail Week

I'm super busy this week trying to get stuff done before heading off on another trip. But if I had more time on my hands, I'd be going to lots of SF Cocktail Week classes, seminars and events. The fifth annual SF Cocktail Week has an extremely impressive line up of events, everything from a how to throw a brunch cocktail party with H. Joseph Ehrmann (who is rightfully famous for his bloody mary) to hand's on classes on gin and rum, a chocolate and scotch pairing seminar, and a molecular gastronomy meets mixology event that sounds like the Exploratorium for adults.

The iconic Anchor Brewing, the site of the opening party, is part of Anchor Distilling, which also includes a portfolio of small batch traditionally distilled spirits. At the party I got a chance to try quite a number of them. Some of my favorites were the Luxardo line of maraschino, limoncello and amaro, Hirsch bourbon and Junipero gin. Keep your eyes open for them!

At the event I made a point to talk to my most cocktail savvy friends about the upcoming events (which range from free to over $100 each) and they helped me put together this list of top picks for SF Cocktail Week:

Intoxicating Ladies
Wednesday, September 21, 8 pm-12 am, at Rye (688 Geary St.)
Top women bartenders will be working only with liquors produced by female distillers, including Distillery No. 209 gin, Square One vodka, Four Roses bourbon, and Calle 23 tequila. Best of all, admission is free; you will only pay for drinks.

The Science of Taste
Thursday, September 22 3-5 p.m. at The Boothby Center for the Beverage Arts (1161 Mission St., Suite 120)
Tickets: $25 in advance; $35 at the door
Hosted by the Cognac Spirit Board, this seminar will explore the scientific aspects of taste and flavor through cocktails curated by LUPEC (Ladies United for the Preservation of Endangered Cocktails) that represent the five facets of taste (sweet, sour, salty, bitter and umami.) Don Katz, a Professor of Neuroscience and Chemosensation at Brandeis University, will speak about the science of taste and flavor. Graham Wright, a chemist currently affiliated with the Museum of Science and bon vivant, will explain how these concepts are applied in the glass.

Barbary Coast Bazaar
Friday, September 23 8-11p.m. at The Old Mint (88 Fifth St., at Mint Plaza)
 $85 regular; $95 at the door
Think 1920's big top atmosphere with music, magic and fresh takes on carnival food from Straw and punchbowl cocktails from Rye, Bourbon & Branch, DOSA and Elixir.

The Legends Awards
Saturday, September 24 from 6:30 p.m to 2 am at Sir Francis Drake ( 450 Powell St at Sutter) $175 regular; $200 at the door
Posh gala 'black tie optional' awards event that includes a reception, dinner and awards hosted by Duggan McDonnell, Borys Saciuk and Reza Esmaili with burleque entertainment provided by the Hot Pink Feathers and Nick Rossi Trio and to top it all off, an after party. Local favorite bartenders presenting cocktails include Jackie Patterson and Brooke Arthur (Wo Hing General Store) Jonny Raglin (Comstock Saloon) H. Joseph Ehrmann (Elixir) Marco Dionysos (Smuggler's Cove) and Ryan Fitzgerald (Beretta).

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Barbecue Sauce Reviews

Right now I have three open bottles of barbecue sauce in my fridge. I received each one as a sample to try. Welcome to the life of a food writer and frequent specialty food reviewer. So here's my feeling about barbecue sauce, the best barbecued meat doesn't need any sauce at all. It's smoky, spicy, tender and succulent (I'll post soon about Franklin Barbecue in Austin and you'll see what I mean). But for those of us who do not live in Texas or have a smoker, barbecue sauce is a great way to add flavor to all kinds of meat. You can cook with it or add it at the table to chicken, ribs, beef, whatever you like really.

I have three bottles so I figured why not compare them in a blind taste test? I cooked some boneless beef short ribs (flanken) very plainly. I like cross cut short ribs because they are flavorful and tasty even without any sauce and don't require a marinade. Flanken is a relatively inexpensive cut of beef, if you can find it. It isn't as tender as steak, but cut thin it is equally delicious cooked rare or well done. Really.

Each of the sauces were good, and each had a different flavor profile but for me and my other taster, my husband, there was one clear favorite.

The first bottle was 1849 bbq sauce (14oz $5). I don't know much about this brand, even how I ended up with it. But I can tell you I like it. If you're wondering why it's called 1849, according to the website, it's because in 1849, the average man ate 6 pounds of meat a day. Unlike the others, it has a strong smoky flavor, though by comparison it does seem a bit sweet. It has both molasses and brown sugar in it. If you like smoke, this is a good choice.

The second bottle was Pendleton mesquite bbq sauce (18oz $6.50). This sauce is more vinegary, so perhaps it would be better for cooking than for using at the table? It's also much thinner and seemed spicier than the others, but I think that may just be the vinegar. Or it could have been the whiskey, one of the more unusual ingredients. While it is called mesquite, and it has 'natural mesquite flavor' listed as one of the ingredients, I didn't get much wood or smoke flavor.

The third bottle was SFQ (the original San Francisco-style barbecue sauce) (8oz $5). What is San Francisco-style bbq? Well the idea is that it includes some signature flavors of San Francisco, namely coffee, chocolate and in a bit of a stretch, red wine in the form of red wine vinegar. This sauce is very complex but well balanced with just a hint of heat. It was the clear favorite when compared with the others and I highly recommend you try it. I have no doubt some serious work went into getting the formula just right because no one flavor dominates, the spice and seasonings all meld together beautifully. I couldn't stop dunking my short ribs into this sauce. I'm convinced it would make just about anything taste good.

So why buy bbq sauce instead of making it? Convenience, plain and simple. It's a great to have on hand for when you have limited time or energy for making sauce from scratch. I sometimes use it to dress up sandwiches too, though having 3 bottles is probably more than anyone needs...Do you have a favorite bbq sauce? Let me know which one you prefer in the comments.

DO NOT REPRINT WITHOUT PERMISSION! ©2011 Cooking with Amy. All rights reserved. This material may NOT be published, rewritten or redistributed without permission. If you are reading this post somewhere other than Cooking with Amy, the Oyster Local blog or Gather.com, then the site where you found this post is illegally publishing copyrighted material.

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I'm not sure why I've always had such a bad attitude towards slow cookers. It does a great job turning out delicious braised dishes like this "7-bone" beef pot roast, it's efficient, and could not be easier to use. So, then why have I used my crock pot fewer times over the last decade than ice skates? By the way, I don't ice skate.

It probably has something to do with going to culinary school, and judging everything from the point of view of the professional kitchen. They're certainly not something you learn about at a cooking academy, or see in the back of a restaurant, and are generally associated with the dreaded, "housewife cooking." This is the same reason we can't serve jell-o molds.

There's no chef slur quite as hurtful as having your food called "housewifey," which is ironic since most of us were first taught about food and cooking by housewives. I'll have to work through these deep seated slow cooker issues with my therapist, but in the meantime I will say that I'm glad I dusted off the old crock pot and used it for this succulent pot roast.

The real secret here is making sure you sear the meat before the long, slow braising. The slow cooker does a great job of cooking the meat, but unless you brown the beef thoroughly beforehand, you're missing out on a lot of flavor. I hope this entices you to drag out your crock pot, and get your housewife on soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

2 tbsp vegetable oil

salt and pepper to taste

AP flour as needed

1 "7-bone" beef pot roast (about 5 pounds)

8 oz sliced mushrooms

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tbsp butter

1 1/2 tbsp flour

1 tbsp tomato paste

2 1/2 cups chicken broth
3 carrots, cut in chunks
2 ribs celery, cut in chunks

a few springs of rosemary and thyme

*Cook in slow cooker on high for 5-6 hours, or on low setting for 8-10 hours

Cranberry Pear Tart or Gratin

So, it's the day after Thanksgiving, and I had posted this recipe beforehand, showing the gratin but not the tart, which I planned on making for Thanksgiving.  I did go ahead and make this as a tart, which you can see came out beautiful!  And so tasty - everyone loved it.  As per my original assessment, I did add a little thickener so it would work better in the tart, but I also found that I didn't use all of the streusel, so I've adjusted the amounts below, and I didn't use all of the filling.  I'm not changing the filling, though, because you need that amount of liquid  to cook all of the pears.  Just save the extra as cranberrysauce, and that will be delicious, too.

Whether you make it as a tart or a gratin, the flavor is intense, but not as bitter as many cranberry desserts.  It seems to be adored by both those who love cranberries and those who usually don't like them, so give it a try!

For the crust   you can use either the Press-In Sablé Crust, weighted and partially baked, or you can use Sweet Pastry Crust, which is a more traditional tart crust recipe.  For this crust, roll the dough into a 13-inch round, about 1/16-inch thick. Transfer the dough to the tart pan, pressing it snugly into the bottom of the pan where it meets the edges and into the flutes of the tart pan. Roll a rolling pin over the top of the pan to cut off the excess dough. Press up on the edges to thin them out and to raise the edges about 1/16-inch (for a photo description, see Pies and Tarts Part 3. ) Refrigerate or freeze the crust for at least 15 minutes or up to 3 weeks (for long storage, place the tart in a jumbo zip-top bag).  For either crust, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Press a piece of greased aluminum foil snugly on top of the dough. Fill the foil with pie weights or dried beans. Bake for 15 minutes, remove the foil and beans and bake 5 minutes more, just  until the bottom crust is cooked but not brown. Set aside to cool completely.

Cranberry Pear Filling
3 cups fresh cranberries ( about 1 package)

3/4 cup sugar

2 McIntosh apples, peeled,halved and cored

3-4 firm pears, peeled and cored, cut into 1/2-inch dice and tossed with 1 teaspoon lemon juice (using 4 pears will give a little more 'tooth' to the filing)
1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup fresh orange juice

1/4 cup golden raisins

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Water, as needed

1 teaspoon tapioca starch or cornstarch
2 teaspoons cold water

Streusel (Crumbs)

1/2 cup all-purpose flour, fluffed, scooped and levelled into measuring cups
1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Wash the cranberries and remove any soft or rotten berries. Measure out 3 cups and place in a saucepan with the sugar. Place the apples in a food processor and process as finely as possible. Add to the pot. Cook over medium-low heat until the berries release their juices, about 8 minutes. Add the pears, brown sugar, orange juice, raisins and cinnamon to the pot. Increase the heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture thickens and the pears are cooked, through but still firm, about 10-20 minutes, checking every 5 minutes to make sure there is enough liquid in the pot. If the mixture does not seem to be saucy enough, add water, 1/4 cup at a time, until the mixture seems thin enough for the pears to cook and for the mixture not to scorch. ( If your pears were very hard to begin with, they will take the longer amount of time to cook). During the last minute of cooking, place the starch in a small bowl and gradually add the 2 teaspoons of water to the starch. Stir this into the cranberry mixture and boil for about 1 minute. Transfer the mixture to a bowl to cool, and then refrigerate until ready to use (can be made ahead).

For the Tart:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.  For the streusel, combine the flour, sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Add the butter and mix with your fingers to distribute the fat. Squeeze the mixture into crumbs.  Fill the tart with the cranberry filling.

Top with the streusel, and bake at 375 degrees F. until the crumbs are browned, about 15-25 minutes. Let the tart cool at least 30 minutes before serving. The tart can be made 8 hours ahead and stored, uncovered, or loosely covered, at room temperature.

VARIATION - Cranberry Pear Gratins

For 8 gratins, you probably need half of the filling and a full recipe of the Streusel.
To make gratins, leave the thickener (tapioca or cornstarch) out of the filling.  Place about 1/2 cup filling in each of 8 mini-gratin molds (you can also use ramekins, but you get more topping with the gratin molds which are shallow and long).  Sprinkle the crumbs over the gratins and set in the oven for 15-25 minutes, just until the crumbs are nicely browned.  Let the crisps cool for at least 30 minutes before serving.  

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[I hope you enjoyed our first and last Dostoevsky reference] Whenever I see those big piles of rutabagas at the market, I always think to myself, "who the heck is eating all these root vegetables?" 

I understand that there've been times when we literally had no choice – it was either gnaw on a parsnip or perish, but nowadays with so many other delicious choices, why would anyone eat root vegetables on purpose? Has anyone ever stumbled out of a smoky dorm room late at night, in search of a big plate of steamed turnips? Probably not. 

So, while you'll never catch me boiling up a batch of these fugly roots to enjoy their intoxicating sulphurous savoriness, I have been known to tolerate them in the occasional gratin.

Of course, I cheated and added some potatoes to mellow things out, but still, all kidding aside, this is a very delicious and enjoyable way to eat them, and would make a fantastic side dish for the holidays. And yes, I do know that potatoes are tubers and not roots, so save your emails. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 turnip

1 rutabaga

1 small celery root

2 yukon gold potatotes

1 parsnip

* root vegetable sizes and shapes vary, but bottom line, you'll need enough to fill a 9 x 13-inch casserole dish up 3/4 of the way

salt to taste (be sure to generously salt the boiling water!)

2 tsp olive oil

2 tbsp butter

3 cloves minced garlic

1 cup cream

pinch of nutmeg

pinch of cayenne

1 tbsp fresh picked thyme leaves

1 1/4 cup chicken broth

1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese, divided

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