Please don’t take offense to the title — it’s not a typo. The “Duck Off” is actually our first chef’s challenge at Grange Restaurant & Bar!
Reminiscent of Iron Chef, Executive Chef Michael Tuohy and Hank Shaw, James Beard nominated food writer of Hunter Angler Gardener Cook, went beak-to-beak on Nov. 12 to preparing the most delectable duck dishes imaginable. Judges were among Sacramento’s food elite, including The Sacramento Bee food writers Rick Kushman and Niesha Lofing, Corti Brothers founder Darrell Corti and CWA President Bob McLandress. Read the rest of this entry »
Japantown? Where’s that? These words were uttered by many friends and family the year I began working at Hotel Tomo, and have been heard many more times from new friends and colleagues yet to be introduced to the allure of one of San Francisco’s most interesting neighborhoods. Read the rest of this entry »
Pumpkin Risotto with Bacon From Executive Chef Vince Muraco, Zimzala
One small 3-4 pound pumpkin
1-2 T. olive oil
3 cups Cannaroli or Arborio rice
9 cups chicken stock
1-2 T. butter
1-2 T. heavy cream
1-2 T. mascarpone cheese
2-3 T. Parmagiano Reggiano
Salt and white pepper
½ cup crispy fried bacon bits (can use Canadian bacon or uncured center-cut bacon)
1 T. toasted pumpkin seeds
For the pumpkin puree:
Cut the pumpkin in half and remove the seeds. Place each pumpkin half cut side down in a glass baking dish. Roast pumpkin at 425 degrees for 45-60 minutes or until tender; use a fork to check for doneness. Remove from oven and let cool slightly. Scoop out insides and put through a food mill or pulse in a food processor to puree. Put the puree in a saucepan on low to medium heat to cook out the water, at least 10 minutes. Season with salt and white pepper and a smidge of butter at the end. Set aside.
For the risotto:
Heat olive oil in bottom of heavy saucepan on medium heat. Add the rice. Stir until the rice starts to smell slightly toasty, but don’t let it brown. At the same time, heat the chicken stock in a separate pot over medium heat. Start adding the heated stock a cup at time and with each addition stir until the stock is absorbed into the rice.You may not need all the stock; taste the rice between each addition and stop cooking when is the rice is al dente (each grain of rice is distinct but has a slightly firm texture), about 15-20 minutes.
When the rice is cooked, stir in the pumpkin puree, mascarpone, parmesan, butter, whipped cream, olive oil, salt and pepper. Spoon risotto into a large serving bowl. Garnish with the bacon and pumpkin seeds and serve.
Over the next week we’ll be sharing some yummy recipes from a number of chefs at our restaurants throughout California. One of our newest San Francisco restaurants, midi, has gotten rave reviews for Michelle Mah’s California brasserie-style food, but it is also garnering appreciation for its luscious desserts, including a particularly evil meets good bittersweet chocolate pot de crème with sea salt caramel sauce. Desserts are the handiwork of pastry “maverick” Sam Perrett, who has kindly given us her recipe for Sweet Potato Pie. Enjoie!
Sweet Potato Pie
Recipe by Sam Perrett, Pastry Maverick at midi
Pie Dough 1.5 lbs. all purpose flour
1 lb. cold butter, cut into small pieces
2 ounces sugar
Pinch salt
3 ounces cold water
1. Mix water, sugar and salt to dissolve.
2. Cut butter into flour and toss until well coated.
3. Add the water mixture and mix in a mixer with paddle attachment until almost fully incorporated.
4. Finish mixing in the dough by hand. Chill for at least 1 hour.
5. Roll out and put into pie tin. Blind bake for 15 minutes at 400 degrees.
Sweet Potato Custard 2 T. butter, melted
3 each whole eggs
2 each egg yolks
1 cup sugar
½ t. ground nutmeg
¼ t. salt
2 T. bourbon
1 T. molasses
1 t. vanilla extract
2/3 cup whole milk
¼ cup packed dark brown sugar
1. Roast and peel the sweet potatoes.
2. Puree and add the butter.
3. Add all the rest of the ingredients one at a time, mixing with each addition until all incorporated.
4. In the cooled par-baked pie shell, add the sweet potato custard until full.
5. Bake in a 325 oven until the middle is just set.
I think what makes the Bay Area so distinctive is that there is something for everyone here and you can find an array of activities, arts, and culture whatever your tastes. It never ceases to amaze me what is available in this city where Joie de Vivre put down its roots. No wonder our hotels are all capable of creating an identity refreshment for our guests! The company is rooted in a city which allows people to refine (or redefine) their identities every day.
One of my favorite things about the Bay Area is its legendary music scene. There is a band for everyone in the Bay Area – and fantastic venues to host them, from the historic Fillmore to smaller clubs like Slim’s. Many famous bands got their start here, but we also have many tribute bands as well, including Zepparella (an all-girl Led Zeppelin band), AC/DShe (all-girl AC/DC), and Beauty and the Beat (The Go Go’s).
I myself have gotten pulled into an all-girl Kinks tribute band. Can you imagine a bunch of girls in go-go boots and mod outfits belting out Kinks tunes? That would be us, also known as the Minks! And we got the chance to spend the evening listening to Ray Davies (who founded The Kinks) at The Warfield last week- he sang Kinks tunes with a 28-person choir as he just released “The Kinks Choral Collection.” It was quite fascinating to hear rock songs with choral backup. The Kinks have to be one of the best all-time bands yet they don’t get the credit that the Stones and the Beatles have had. Three decades of music and a lot of songs that people know but that they don’t associate to The Kinks!
So whenever Ray comes to town, we go to his shows and pass out flyers to this perfect audience to let them know about our next shows. Joie is being part of the San Francisco music scene!
As epic trips go, this one really floats our boat. Last Friday, two British men completed a 5,000 mile rowing trip in their boat, the Bojangles, from Choshi, Japan, to San Francisco, gliding under the iconic Golden Gate Bridge accompanied by a welcome wagon of Bay Area boats bearing local brew. Mick Dawson and Chris Martin completed their trip in 189 days, 10 hours and 55 minutes. According to a write-up in the San Francisco Chronicle, the two men were “stalked by whales, tossed by storms, ran low on food and sometimes despaired” during their six months at sea in a Kevlar rowboat powered only by their own grit and brawn. In Martin’s words, they undertook the arduous voyage across the Pacific because “It hasn’t been done before.” Joie de Vivre was honored to host Martin, Dawson and their families at one of our SF properties.
Think of how many precious moments of your life have vaporized whilst on hold. How many hours in this life you’ve relinquished as the hold music plays interminably on. No doubt about it, the advent of the text message was a blessed event for all who prefer more streamlined modes of communication. And as texting evolves, people are thinking of cool new ways it can make life’s daily to do’s a little less tedious. Case in point is tweservation, a new Twitter-based mobile service that lets you make reservations via text. Two of Joie de Vivre’s San Francisco restaurants, midi and O Izakaya Lounge, are participating in tweservations’ beta phase. If all goes swimmingly, more of our restaurants will join the tweservations movement in the months to come. Check it out and let us know what you think!
Every year, San Francisco is one of the hosts of the Green Festival, the largest sustainability event in the world. This year, it will be held in the Concourse Exhibition Center on 8th and Brannan in the SoMa district. If you are interested in Free Trade Chocolate and coffee, organic beer and wine or just shopping at eco-friendly businesses then this is definitely the place for you next week!
The Green Festival brings together more than 350 eco-friendly businesses, 125 authors and educators as well as a countless amount of ideas for you and your family to take home with you. My father and brother have made it a tradition to attend this event every year and always end up being very happy with the sample selection. They also always end up learning something new such as how solar technology works or some simple trips on how to save water on a daily basis. This will be my first time attending the Fest and I must say I am very much looking forward to it. Read the rest of this entry »
Please don’t take offense to the title — it’s not a typo. The “Duck Off” is actually our first chef’s challenge at Grange Restaurant & Bar!
Think of how many precious moments of your life have vaporized whilst on hold. How many hours in this life you’ve relinquished as the hold music plays interminably on. No doubt about it, the advent of the text message was a blessed event for all who prefer more streamlined modes of communication. And as texting evolves, people are thinking of cool new ways it can make life’s daily to do’s a little less tedious. Case in point is 
Every year, San Francisco is one of the hosts of the 
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