Pink Flamingo Oyster Mushrooms

I bought these Oyster mushrooms at the farmers market in Civic Center San Francisco.

They are very pungent, they retain their rosy color even after being sauteed, and have a strong taste. Their taste reminded me of the exotic Wilelaiki Blossom Hawaiian Honey. Smoky and peppery.

I took Chef Kerry's Ethiopian dishes cooking class at CCSF,
Here are the spices in the Berbere seasoning.

Berbere Seasoning Ingredients

Thanksgiving 2012

Today I made my First Thanksgiving Turkey!

I got the brined fresh turkey from Trader Joes and used a le Creuset roasting pan.

I roasted the turkey according to Trader Joes' website instructions.

I think three important steps that made the turkey moist and flavorful were:

1. Basting the turkey once every 30 minutes.
2. Not overcooking it.
3. Adding butter under the turkey's skin.

Also I prepared the vegetables ahead of time and kept them in the refrigerator, uncooked. One hour before dinner time, I put them in the oven. It made the process much easier.

Amy's Korean Chef: Haegeen Kim is a fine art artist and an outstanding chef at the same time.

Free Cooking demos at William Sonoma Store on Chestnut Street

Jennifer is one of the teachers of the free demos. She has her own food catering business. She can cook good and fast. She shares so many cool shortcuts for preparing dishes.

Shari and I are among the few constant attendees of the free cooking demos at William Sonoma Store at Chestnut Street.

Sarah Fairhurst, Is one of the teachers for the free demos in William Sonoma, she shares her knowledge with ebthusiasm. She is a former retail buyer for Gap Inc., she left the corporate world to attend Tante Marie’s Cooking School in San Francisco. Since graduation Sarah has been working as a food stylist assistant, as well as working with Parties That Cook.

I got this Modena Vinegar that is aged for 10 years in Rome

Contemporary Sauces Class at Sur La Table

This Tuesday February 9th, 2010, I took the Sauce class at Sur la Table, Tanya Rogow taught it.I took the sauce class before but this time the recipes were different and there were some extraordinary sauces such as roasted pepper foam, Blackberry Gastrique, Beure Blanc and Chimichurri Sauce.

Here are some pictures from the class, The dishes are: Grilled Vegtables with Chimichurri Sauce, Grilled Shrimp with Tarragon Beurre Blanc, Caramelized Onion and Goat Cheese Tart with Red Pepper Foam(the one I participated in making) and Seared Salmon with Blackberry Gastrique:

Caramelized Onion Tart