Daphne

I had to snap the cover of Jeff’s “Recipes of Middle Eastern Cooking” book to introduce my first official day of menu recipe testing. Aside from inspiring me visually (I’m a sucker for anything ‘60’s), this book has personal significance to Jeff as part of an anthology of international cuisines passed down to him by his grandma, apparently quite the Jewish cook. I personally marvel at the fact that 50 years ago, some ancient species that existed in the pre-touristic era traveled to these countries and took notes on the local cuisines. All this before any kind of “fusion” could seep into the indigenous recipes. My inaugural test kitchen day started when Jeff picked me up and drove us west on Geary to seek out an elusive Russian bakery for consideration in the sourcing of Rugelach. My pride was checked for the first of many times that day when Jeff smirked at me for pronouncing Rugelach like the Italian salad green instead of the Russian pastry that should be uttered as if you’re hocking a lugi. I swallowed my pride and played the happy passenger as we drove along Geary (which, by the way, I consider to be the Astoria of San Francisco for its melting-pot of world markets and shoppers. In New York you have Egypt and Greece. In SF, it’s Korea and Georgia. I feel so lucky to live in these cities that allow me to taste the world authentically in arm's length of my own apartment).

When we bought the Rugelach at a Georgian bakery I couldn’t help but supplement with snacks from the refrigerator case. The red beans with walnuts were crazily refreshing and the eggplant shaped like an éclair impressed us in its delivery system. Neither Jeff nor I could take more than a couple of the vinegary, garlic-studded mushrooms, though. Jeff sagely commented that the difference between these vegetable salads and those served at my café will be that mine don’t come from a can.


There was a good deal of discussion around the hummus, which makes sense because of all Mediterranean street food we Americans have grown accustomed to buying, hummus is most popular and we all have our preferences. We were good boys and girls and soaked the chickpeas overnight, then boiled them, and turned them into a nice puree with tahini, lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper. For next time, we might add less tahini and more lemon and olive oil. There’s Jeff skimming the foam off of the liquid as we boiled the chickpeas—what a horror to think what might have happened to the flavor had he not been there!

Best food photography series award goes to the eggplants: After a simple roast in the oven, Liane expertly halved these to reveal their steaming insides of seed bundles and stringy meat; they looked a bit Georgia O'Keeffey, if you know what I mean. We then topped them with Greek yogurt, tahini, olive oil, lemon juice, a drip of agave nectar, and crushed tomato innards. I loved the leathery skin up against the mush inside, but when I make it next I might heed mike’s advice and introduce some mint or parsley sprigs, or amp up the texture with pine nuts or almonds for a little crunch.

There’s Daphne mid-drizzle, posing like an amateur.


My expert tasting panel. Look at these faces. They are the future succulent garden supervisors/ competitive restaurant researchers/ pastry chefs/ menu designers/ interior decorators of my café.

Here's Sasha "the human apron" , who heralded in the second seating of the evening. She happily took over the container of pickled mushrooms, slopping them onto her plate of mezzes and reminiscing about the way the acid in the vinegar as it hit the other food reminded her of eating her grandma's Israeli food as a little girl. Emma, our resident Kosher expert, noshes on behind.

Biggest triumph of the day goes to the baked falafel patties. I’m convinced that there is hope for pan-baking instead of deep-frying, as long as the composition is soundly based in quality fresh herbs. Other takeaways: slice or dice the cucumber for tzatziki instead of grating; consider new options for heating pitas (tense debate ensued over whether I should consider baking them in-house or not); and find a new Russian bakery to source my Rugelach.