Though I’ve been somewhat active on my Facebook page, it’s been quite a while since I’ve written a blog post; a lot has been going on this past year and it just fell by the wayside. My first ever post was about distilling things down to their essence and I’ve recently made some changes to…
My Madeleine
When working on my bagel recipe I ordered some caraway seeds from Whole Spice to top the Rye Bagels. As soon as I opened the bag and took in the heady, sweet, earthy pungency of their aroma my mind took me back to something we would always get (and bring plenty back home) on our…
Buttermilk-Bourbon French Toast
As a general rule, when there is buttermilk in the fridge, I make biscuits for myself as a rare treat. Having filled the request of some buttermilk-ranch dressing for jar-salad lunches, I still had plenty of buttermilk left on hand. So one morning when everyone was off at work or camp, I decided to make…
You’ve Got Class
The thing I loved most about my last job was sharing my passion and knowledge of food with my customers, whether on the sales floor or in one of the many cooking classes I led. I’m very pleased to announce that I am now offering hands-on, in-home cooking classes on the coastside! We will work…
A Saucy Teaser
I am off to the east coast for a few days where the weather will be decidedly UN-Coastside like, but I wanted you to know I will have a big announcement next week when I get back! I also wanted to share with you a sauce I have been enjoying that is perfect for a…
When a Neighbor Gives You Lemons (and Eggs!)…
California can be a land of abundance, and that usually means that people with gardens and fruit trees sometimes have more than they can handle. When that abundance means people offering (and sometimes begging) you to take some Meyer lemons off their hands, I’m happy to oblige. That’s exactly what happened this weekend when my…
Valentine’s Day and the Staff of Life
I have fallen in love again. My marriage is safe though, because this time it’s the bread from Rosalind Bakery that has captured my heart, as well as my taste buds. In 2015 Matt Kosoy started making bread at home while working in the tech world. He decided to up his game a bit and…
Cooking Under the Influence
No, I’m not talking about being in the kitchen with open flames and sharp objects while inebriated. That wouldn’t be safe. I’m talking about the influence other people have on your cooking. A few weeks ago I took some ideas from a couple of people and cobbled them together to make Creamy Carrot Soup with…
Charlie For a Day (or “My Visit to a Chocolate Factory”)
When current Coastsider Christine Pieper Doerr was a teenager, she worked at Cocolat with the acclaimed Alice Medrich. Thus began her love of chocolate and paved the way to her opening up her own company many years later, Neo Cocoa. The Neo Cocoa tag line is “The Heart of the Truffle” because their truffles do…
Mistakes Will Be Made
Sometimes it’s forgetfulness, sometimes something just doesn’t go quite as planned, but there will be times when cooking that something will get screwed up. The bigger issue is how one handles it. Panicking will send you down a spiral of more mistakes as you rush to try and fix the original mishap. As my mom…