Salty Snacks

Here are a few stories and sites that have grabbed my attention (or are just begging for my comment) over the past few days. Hope these tidbits whet your appetite for more!

Two skilled professional cooks with experience in East Bay restaurants are offering online video cooking classes at Kitchen Pirate. The videos, which range in price from free to a few bucks, cover topics from basic braising to how to bone a pig's trotter. Will online video cooking demos soon see a surge in popularity akin to that of the TV Food Network 10 years ago?

The SF Chronicle's Bill Addison highlights the growing popularity of Spanish piquillo peppers amongst Bay Area chefs. These crimson conservas (more appetizing sounding than "canned goods," don't you think?) deserve every bit of attention lavished upon them. I enjoy them so much that a few seed packets apparently slipped into my luggage during last summer's trip to San Sebastián (exactly one year ago!). Keep your eyes on the Mariquita stand in the next few months to see how piquillos fare in our local soil.

Speaking of Spain, check out Pim's description and photos of her meal at Etxebarri, a secluded restaurant about an hour's drive from San Sebastián. Since I reluctantly missed this out-of-the-way Temple to the Grill (you may recall that my usual copilot N was once again toiling away in NY), I am grateful to Pim for reporting every detail of her meal.

Back to the Chronicle, Janet Fletcher covers an innovative idea making the rounds amongst pastry chefs. As a self-avowed fruit addict, I love the idea of placing our extraordinary local fruit in the spotlight and relegating the custards and cakes to a garnish. Sometimes at the end of a big meal I just want a little something to sweeten my mouth and not weigh me down. What's your take?

Over in the NY Times, there are a couple of stories about two of my all-time favorite savory treats. Peter Meehan left me salivating with his review of a stellar Brooklyn joint selling Jamaican patties. Oh, how I miss Jamaican beef patties! When I lived in Washington, D.C., I ate them as often as I eat tacos here. (Recipes and/or tips on where to find these addictive Jamaican snacks locally would be much appreciated!)

Did someone say tacos? In another Times article (in today's paper), Cindy Price tours taquerias from LA to SF's Mission District. Check out her choices for the best taquerias on the California coast. Local Chowhounds, a little slower on the uptake than usual, are just starting to weigh in.

Is it lunch time already? Don't be surprised if you spot me on my own taco crawl through the Mission.

Comments

[sam]

I just watched one of the free videos.
I liked it, but i think the front of their website lets them down. There is no indication of who the chefs even are, as far as I can find.[So thanks for providing me with that info]
I am not sure if they follow up with a printed version of the recipes too? I would find that a necessity myself, because whilst I like to watch the movie, I don't see myself cooking live from one. I would need out of the recipe too.
Thanks for sharing, that and everything else!

sam

[Sandy]

The Jamaican beef patties sound intriguing. I googled and the filling is curry? Immediately brings to mind the Chinese curry pies/tart/puffs which is a ground beef curry mix in a flaky (on the sweet side) pastry. Mmmm, may have get over to Sheng Kee Bakery tomorrow...

btw, an interesting article which links curry filled pastries around the world http://blog.92y.org/index.php/weblog/item/the_samosa_diaspora/

Sandy

[blister]

RESponse to KITCHEN pirate comments from one of them; All of the videos(except the freebie at the home page) are fronted with a printable recipe and detailed methodology. Just sign up and you have access to the whole index of classes and how it all works. Thanks for the comment. we'll adjust.
As to who we are.....it ain't important. just kitchen grunts with something to share.
kisses,
blister

[armaburrito]

You can get some yummy beef patties at Back A Yard in Menlo Park (http://www.backayard.net/). They also make great jerk pork/chicken and oxtail stew. It's right off the 101 at the Willow Road exit so it's easy to get to.

[Pim]

You just *have* to make it to Etxebarri next time you are in San Sebastian. You'll thank me for it.

cheers,
Pim

[fiona kennedy]

Hey Brett,
I was just in the bay area recently and my family had our event catered by backayard (www.backayard.net)in Menlo Park. Really yummy meat patties. They also do some mean braised oxtail. Let me know if you like it.

[Ulla]

Love the blog!

[Brett]

Sam, see blister's response.

Sandy, thanks for the cool article. Jamaican beef patties remind me a lot of samosas that are stuffed with keema, spicy ground lamb.

Blister, thanks for responding to Sam's comments.

Armaburrito and Fiona, thanks for recommending Backayard. I'll have to go check it out very soon! Next time you're in town Fiona, drop me a line.

Pim, I'd love to make it there. Again, it's been deleted from my upcoming trip. *sigh* So much to eat, so little time.

Ulla, thanks!

[pritish]

Sometimes after soccer I get freshly baked spicy meat patties from Art's Jamaican Market in Oakland. So good. Call first to make sure they aren't sold out, b/c they often are all gone by lunchtime.

[Matt John]

A snack food (commonly called a snack) is seen in Western culture as a type of food not meant to be eaten as a main meal of the day – breakfast, lunch, or dinner – but one rather that is intended to assuage a person's hunger between these meals, providing a brief supply of energy for the body. The term may also refer to a food item consumed between meals purely for the enjoyment of its taste.

Traditionally snacks were prepared from ingredients commonly available in the home, often leftovers, sandwiches made from cold cuts, nuts, fruit, and the like. The Dagwood sandwich was originally the humorous result of a cartoon character's desire for large snacks.

With the multiplication of convenience stores, packaged snack foods are now a significant business. Snack foods are typically designed to be portable, quick and satisfying. Processed snack foods are designed to be less perishable, more durable, and/or more appealing than prepared foods. They often contain substantial amounts of sweeteners, preservatives, and appealing ingredients such as chocolate, cissp, peanuts, and specially designed flavors (such as flavored potato chips). A snack eaten shortly before going to bed or during the night may be called a midnight snack.