Cauliflower Makes The New York Times!

I was sitting on the beach sipping a margarita in Isla Mujeres, Mexico and The New York Times called and asked for a recipe.  It turns out that roasting whole vegetables, like cauliflower, is trending and Julia Moskin was writing a piece about it.  She knew that I had a ridiculously easy, but totally delicious recipe for a whole roasted cauliflower in my new book, Kitchen Gypsy, and wanted to feature it.  

It wasn’t easy to switch gears, put down my margarita and talk winter vegetables but what could I do?  It was The New York Times!

Photo by Thomas J. Story, curtesy of Sunset Magazine

The inspiration for the recipe came from a dish I’d had years ago in France, but this version packs a lot more flavor than the mild, steamed concoction introduced to me then.  I decided to go with a simple roasting method, basting it a bit with olive oil and then dousing it with an herb, garlic and anchovy sauce called an "anchoiade".  It's so simple, yet incredibly delicious!

Long story short, the recipe for my Whole Roasted Cauliflower with Anchoiade, as well as a neat how-to video are online at The New York Times!  Click here to get the recipe and read all about it!

Now, back to those margaritas...

Ranges, fridges and wall ovens, oh my!

OK, so when you’re a chef and you’re asked to cook in the ultimate dream kitchen, what can you say, but “how soon can I come over?”! 

That’s how it began when friends at the Sub-Zero/ Wolf showroom asked me to be the guest chef for their annual holiday party last week.  Believe me, it’s easy to get inspired when you’re surrounded by the latest and greatest ranges, cooktops, fridges, appliances, and on and on!  Although I wasn’t going to cook for over a hundred and fifty guests on my own, I felt like it might be possible in the setup.  

Picture this:  2 complete functioning kitchen showrooms- one with a modern, sleek design and the other, so near and dear to my heart looked like it was plucked straight out of a Tuscan Villa (well, a very well-equipped, state-of-the-art Tuscan villa:). 

photo by Marc Fiorito w/Gamma Nine Photography

photo by Marc Fiorito w/Gamma Nine Photography

Guests arrived and were greeted with one of my favorite festive cocktails, an Orange Aperol Sunset.  

photo by Marc Fiorito w/Gamma Nine Photography

Then, the staff glided about, serving Carrot Soup with Anise in shot glasses and tastes of my Wild Mushroom Bruschetta Salad.  

photo by Marc Fiorito w/Gamma Nine Photography

In the Tuscan kitchen, chef Ivan carried out a parade of pizzas, topped with tomatoes and gorgonzola, from stones placed in the piping hot double wall ovens and in the modern kitchen, chef Ivan dished up Arroz con Pollo.

photo by Marc Fiorito w/Gamma Nine Photography

All of these dishes were straight out of my new book, Kitchen Gypsy: Recipes and Stories from a Lifelong Romance with Food, and if you don’t have a copy yet, well…

photo by Marc Fiorito w/Gamma Nine Photography

When guests asked me about the stories behind these dishes, let’s just say that I had a few to tell!

Not only did we have a good time, it was all for a great cause.  Proceeds from the event went to La Casa de las Madres, an organization which provides resources to victims of domestic violence in the Bay Area. 

Not only do the staff of professionals and committed volunteers at La Casa provide 24/7 support and resources to survivors, they also serve as leaders in raising awareness and educating the public about ways to end the cycle of domestic violence.  

It was such a great night- I loved the enthusiasm in the space, all the happy people, the delicious food that tasted like I’d cooked it all myself and being surrounded by all of those extraordinary appliances (actually it made me want a new Wolf range and SubZero).  My cheeks were cramping from smiling all night long!!

photo by Marc Fiorito w/Gamma Nine Photography

Click here to order your copy of Kitchen Gypsy online.

Orange Aperol Sunset

This Italian spin on the Mimosa gets its unique flavor from Aperol, a bright-orange Italian liqueur made from bitter oranges, rhubarb, and herbs. It's similar to Campari, but less bitter and more floral. In Italy, Aperol is served on the rocks mixed with Prosecco and a splash of club soda. In this recipe, the club soda has been replaced with a little fresh orange juice.

Ingredients

Ice cubes

6 tablespoons Aperol

6 tablespoons fresh orange juice

1 750-ml bottle Prosecco

6 thin orange slices (for garnish)

Instructions

Place enough ice cubes in each of 6 balloon wineglasses to fill 2/3 full. Add 1 tablespoon Aperol and 1 tablespoon orange juice to each glass. Top off each drink with 1/2 cup Prosecco; garnish with orange slices. 

Serves 6

Cook the book with a Kitchen Gypsy

The most gorgeous gaggle of women landed on my doorstep the other night and they were carrying dishes that looked so familiar... 

http://www.joanneweir.com/kitchen-gypsy/

They were descending on my doorsteps for a modern-day book club:   San Francisco Bay Area bloggers were about to "Cook the Book".


With blushed faces and scarlet lips, each young lady was as pretty as the last and every platter they held contained something delicious.  This was a party to celebrate my new cookbook, Kitchen Gypsy: Recipes and Stories from a Lifelong Romance with Food, and we couldn't wait to sink our teeth into each recipe.

I welcomed them into my studio kitchen and for the next few hours, we cooked, drank wine and tasted, while I shared stories about the people, places and flavors which have inspired me throughout my culinary career. 

I showed them how to make the crostini with anchovies,mint and almonds that I learned in my culinary adventures in Provence from my winemaker friend, Amy Lillard of La Gramière, and the questions began.  "Tell us about chapter 4, getting a fly in a bottle of wine!", they asked.  

As I proceeded to tell them story after story, I could see the excitement was contagious.

Photo by Thomas Story, "Kitchen Gypsy" (Sunset, 2012)

I made Arroz con Pollo, which harkened back to my days after college while living in Boston, and placed it on the table amongst the many dishes they’d brought.  Dana put the finishing touches on her Little Gem Salad with Pickled Cucumbers, Toy box Tomatoes and Green Goddess Dressing.  As she brought it to the table, there were a lot of "oohs" and "ahhs".  

There was the familiarity of my great grandmother Lettie’s Lightning Cake that Karen made.  She’d picked the strawberries from her garden and even made the strawberry jam.  Brittany asked, ”Why is it called a Lightning Cake?”.

“Read the story!” I said with a laugh.  “It’s as quick as lightning to make is what my mother always said.” 

“Another glass of wine anyone?”.

“I was so nervous making my tabbouleh” Lauren said.  “Cooking for Joanne Weir!?  That’s scary!”.

A few others jumped in. “You were scared too?”  said Rebekah.

“So was I!” I said.  “Imagine me entertaining 12 bloggers who love food, love to cook and are great at writing about it.  I was nervous too.  I hope my Arroz Con Pollo is good!”.

Camera’s snapping a very full table. 

“Come on, let’s eat!” cried Rena.  

"This book was a labor of love and so was this meal." I said.  "Thank you for sharing the evening with Kitchen Gypsy".
Needless to say, it was a delicious night.

Bon Appetit!
-the "Kitchen Gypsy"

Hungry for more?  Get your copy of Kitchen Gypsy 
and cook the book with us:

Delightful Crumb - Stacy Ladenberger   

A Side of Sweet - Kelly Huibregste 

A&B Style - Rebekah Carey

Susannah Chen (Williams-Sonoma digital editor and personal blogger for many sites) 
http://www.popsugar.com/latest/Joanne-Weir

Farminista's Feast - Karen Pavone 

Work It, Berk - Brittany Curran  http://workitberk.blogspot.com/2015/09/dinner-at-chef-joanne-weirs-home.html

Kampala Wines Blog - Lauren Barnard

Pacific Heights Wine and Food - Teresa Rodriguiz

PureWow - Allison McCarthy 

Tablehopper - Dana Eastland 

Kitchen Gypsy

Nineteen months in the making.  

Weeks spent combing through boxes of family photos and recipes from my great grandmother, Lettie, and the places where my cooking career began.  

                                                                                                     

14 days spent with 12 talented people shooting photos in 9 different locations. 

Hours of measuring, testing, tasting, re-testing and re-tasting. 
Writing until midnight and making countless edits.

A few tears shed, but many more smiles and several bursts of honest-to-goodness laughter.
This has been a passion project for me and finally, it’s almost ready...  

All 288 pages with 100 new recipes, 250 gorgeous full-color photographs and most importantly, stories and memories about the people, places and flavors that have inspired me through the years...

My new book is almost done!!!

KITCHEN GYPSY: Recipes and Stories from a Lifelong Romance with Food 

(Oxmoor House; September, 2015) 

Writing this book has been one of the absolute best experiences of my life and I can’t wait to share it with you.  Get ready.  You’ll definitely want to get into the kitchen and cook up a storm with this book!   A world of thanks to my friends at Sunset Magazine, Time Home Entertainment and Oxmoor House for making this happen.

Click here and pre-order your copy today!

Happy 20th "From Tapas to Meze"

I can hardly believe how fast 20 years go by.  I was such a tyke in the cooking field.  I'd just left Chez Panisse and was excited to write my first book.  It was a huge endeavor and in retrospect, I was so naive.  I loved small plates and that's mainly what I made when I worked at Chez Panisse.  It spurred an idea;- a very ambitious one, but still, an idea for a book.  

I decided that I wanted to write a book about small plates from the Mediterranean.  I left for Spain and tasted tapas from La Rioja in the north, east to Barcelona and then far south to Cadiz and the Strait of Gibraltar.  Then it was on to Morocco for an extended tour from Marrakech through the desert to Fez and beyond.  There I sampled flavors like nothing I'd ever had before.  Although I'd been to Provence numerous times, still I added Antibes, Nice and Bandol to the itinerary.   I don't think I realized how immense Italy is until I traveled (and ate!) from Puglia to Sicily and Sardinia and then all the way north to Cinque Terre, Venice and the Piedmont.  I spent Greek Easter on the island of Zakynthos in western Greece eating  spit-roasted lamb, tzatziki and the best rolled grape leaves and then traveled from Athens to Thessaloniki to taste every meze I could get my hands on.  And finally I traversed Turkey from Istanbul and south to Izmir, Pamukkale and Goreme.  I sailed the coast for two weeks from Bodrum to Marmaris tasting every kind of fruit the sea had to offer.  

What started out as a simple little idea of small plates eaten along the Mediterranean turned into a trip of a lifetime.  The generosity and sharing I experienced and everything I learned along the way made this one of the most rewarding journeys I've ever had.  The best part?  Learning that tapas, antipasti and meze are so much more than just a few small plates of food.  It's a lifestyle.  Along the Mediterranean people don't drink without eating something.  Civilized, right?  But it's also a way to extend the dinner hour and spend time with friends and family talking about politics, the latest gossip and anything in between.  

 

In late March 1994, I opened the door to find a delivery man.  He handed me my first book wrapped in brown paper.  I remember it like it was a few minutes ago.  I tore off the paper and I bet my eyes were almost bugging out of my head.  I was holding a hard covered book with the title "From Tapas to Meze"  with my name printed boldly on the cover in my hands.

A week later I was celebrating my first born at the Ritz Carlton.  Gary Danko, my best chef friend, was the chef there at the time and he hosted a launch party.  It was the who's who of the food world.  I don't think my smile could have gotten much bigger.

Happy birthday, From Tapas to Meze and thanks to everyone who helped make it happen!

-Joanne

Click here and try one of my favorite recipes from the book and make sure to enjoy it with friends, family and wine, of course!

What’s Better Than a Girls Night?

Agave Girls Night! 

It all started years ago, when I was invited to the launch of a new tequila in a sexy square bottle at the infamous Tommy’s Mexican Restaurant in San Francisco.  The place was hopping!  As I looked around the room (filled mostly by men), I observed the camaraderie among these tequila aficionados.  But as I looked closer, I noticed a few women who were enthusiastically swirling and sipping and savoring tequila from snifters.  It was a revelation: Women are as passionate about tequila as men!   I banded together with the ladies that night and decided to start a group called the “Agave Girls”, for women who appreciate tequila. Ay caramba... it took off! Ten Speed Press asked me to write a book about tequila.  Featuring food recipes and cocktails from the best bartenders in the country, this meant lots of tequila research!   
All of this led to the margarita challenge with restaurateur, Larry Mindel, and the rest is history.

My restaurant, Copita!

It had been a while since the Agave Girls gathered together, and I thought we were overdue for a reunion.  So, last week, we made it happen.  Thirty women met at my restaurant, Copita Tequilaria y Comida!  Jaques Bezuidenhout from Partida Tequila got things started with a "Dr. T", a refreshing cocktail made of Partida Blanco, Dr. Loosen Riesling, lemon and agave nectar and a hint of Laphroaig 10yr single malt.  Delicious!  Then Chef Gonzalo and the team brought out shrimp tacos ingeniously wrapped in jicama tortillas with a lime tartar sauce.  Outstanding!  

Everyone sat down to a flight of Partida tequilas and we had a lesson in tequila production and aging while the cooks created our next courses.  Then came the cocktail to end all cocktails:  the Partida Ruby, a surprising concoction of Anejo Tequila, Ruby Port, cinnamon-chili agave nectar and lemon juice.  Everyone said “This tastes like the best Christmas present!”  From Fried Oyster Tacos,  Duck Confit Tacos with Tamarind Mole to Goat Birria, everything paired well with tequila (arguably, the most food-friendly spirit there is!). 

We finished up with  Dulce de Leche Mexican Coke Floats, Coconut Flan and  Cara Cara Granita.  The show stopper was the final glass of Partida Elegante.  Rumor has it, it’s $350.00 if you want to spring for a bottle.  Better yet, join us at the next Agave Girls event on none other than tax day, April 15!

Can't wait to see you ladies there*!

Joanne

*Contact Copita to reserve your space.

Copita Tequileria y Comida

Address: 739 Bridgeway, Sausalito, CA 94965
Phone:(415) 331-7400

Bean Obsessed

My mother is obsessed with beans.  That’s probably where I caught the bug!  When I was a kid she prided herself making soups with beans.  And when I say beans, she liked to use as many kinds as possible.  The more the variety the better, and if she could get up to 5 or 6 different types, she was in bean heaven.  This is no joke!  Our kitchen cabinets were filled with chickpeas, black beans, pinto beans, navy beans, black eye, Great Northern and kidney beans.

My Mom’s name is Jean and one Christmas I found the perfect gift for her.  It was a cookbook called “Jean’s Beans.”  Imagine the joy in my heart as I handed her a tome dedicated to the food closest to her heart.  She cooked from that book for months- from the front cover to the back- using all of the beans that crowded her cabinets. 

As you can imagine, beans were an early fixture on our kitchen table growing up.  When all the other kids grumbled at the thought of eating a lima bean, I thought beans were the way to go!  In the summer, Mom was making succotash with freshly shucked Butter Beans and Sugar Corn from her garden.  

Needless to say, I too love beans, especially during the summer when we get fresh shelling beans.  At the farmer’s market in the last week or so, I’ve been seeing lots of cranberry beans (a.k.a. Barlotti beans in Italy), limas and French butter beans.  

Fresh shelling beans are much easier to cook than dry beans.  There’s no soaking!  All you have to do is put the shelled beans in a saucepan with plenty of water and simmer until tender.  In most cases, they’re done in about 20 minutes. 

One of my favorite ways to eat them is simply warmed with your best virgin olive oil and kosher salt.  Or if you’re feeling ambitious, you might also want to pay tribute to my Mom and make this delicious Summer Succotash Salad...

   

Erin Kunkel Photography

SUMMER SUCCOTASH SALAD

3 ears fresh sweet corn on the cob, halved

1 cup fesh shelling beans 

Kosher salt

1 pound green string and/or yellow wax beans, cut into 1-inch lengths

1 medium red bell pepper, ½-inch dice

1 medium zucchini, ½-inch dice

½ red onion, ½-inch dice

2 ½ tablespoons lemon juice

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons canola oil

Freshly ground black pepper

3 tablespoons torn basil leaves

Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil.  Add the corn and simmer, until the kernels turn slightly darker yellow, 5 to 6 minutes.  With tongs, remove the corn from the water and let cool.  Cut the kernels of corn off the cob.  Discard the cobs and reserve the kernels.  

Bring the saucepan of water to a boil again.  Add the fresh shelling beans and simmer until tender, about 25 minutes.  Remove with a slotted spoon and cool.  

Bring the same saucepan of water to a boil.  Add 1 teaspoon salt and simmer the string or wax beans and simmer until almost tender but still very crisp, about 4 minutes.  Add the zucchini and simmer 2 additional minutes.  Drain and cool.   

Place the shelling beans, string beans, corn, peppers, zucchini and red onion in a large bowl. 

In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, olive oil and canola oil.   Season with salt and pepper.  Add the dressing and basil to the bean and corn mixture and stir together.  Place the salad in a large serving bowl and serve.

Serves 6

Recipe from:  

Joanne Weir's Cooking Confidence, Dinner Made Simple (Taunton Press, 2012)