Scott's Kitchen

Lemon Garlic Orzo

The original recipe for this simple side dish came from the now defunct S. Anderson Vineyard in the Stag's Leap district of the Napa Valley. This is a great side dish for almost any meal. It's flavors go especially well with the Roast Chicken!

Beef and Onion Stew

Introduction

This recipe was inspired by the Holiday 2000 Williams-Sonoma Taste magazine.

Directions

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Combine marinade ingredients in a large bowl. Add beef and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate for at least 6 hours or, preferably, overnight.

Ingredients
3 pounds boneless, well-marbled
stew beef, cubed
1/4 cup unsalted butter
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1-1/2 pounds pearl onions or
shallots, peeled
3 celery stalks, peeled and sliced
1 14-1/2-ounce can diced, peeled
tomatoes
1 tablespoon tomato paste

Marinade
1 cup dry red wine
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
2 bay leaves
2 cinnamon sticks
4 whole cloves
3 whole allspice berries
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
Pinch of nutmeg

Drain beef, reserving marinade. Melt butter with 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat and sauté onions and celery until softened, about 10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a bowl.

Add remaining olive oil to pan. Sauté beef, in batches if necessary, until browned, about 10 minutes. Return onions and celery to pan. Add reserved marinade, tomatoes, tomato paste, salt and pepper and enough water to just cover beef. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer partially covered, until beef is tender and sauce is thickened, 1-1/2 to 2 hours.

Yield: 4-6 servings

(Added: January 13, 2002)

San Francisco Chronicle's Best Way Brined Turkey

A couple of years ago, the Chronicle tested a number of different recipes for roasting turkey and this particular best way brined turkey recipe came out on top - and has become a classic.

Update: We've come up with an alternative - without the mess of brining - that's also just delicious! Try our high heat upside-down turkey recipe instead.

Scott's Favorite Restaurants

Here are my personal restaurant recommendations for places I've eaten in my travels. This list was begun in May 2002, last updated January 2009.

Scott's Favorite French Onion Soup

This recipe was inspired by Husch Vineyards' French Onion Soup recipe, modified a bit to suit our tastes better. Husch is a small family winery in the Anderson Valley of Mendocino County, just down the road from Navarro, Handley, Roederer, and some of our other favorites! Check here for a list of Anderson Valley wineries. Anderson Valley is one of the most beautiful California valleys and is on the road to Mendocino.

Navarro 2004 Chardonnay Table Wine

[Update: See this post about Navarro's 2007 Chardonnay Table Wine!]

You learn something new every day.

Navarro, one of my all-time favorite California wineries based in Philo up in the Anderson Valley, each year bottles a Chardonnay Table Wine. This year's edition, just released, is quite a bargain for a great everyday Chardonnay -- selling at $11/bottle or $108/case. Because of a light crop in Navarro's home territory last year, the 2004 Chardonnay Table Wine is a hybrid Mendocino (44%) and Santa Barbara (56%) Chardonnay this year. It's been made in a delightful fruit forward style that's just delicious.

What I didn't know before I read Navarro's "liquid tax relief" description was that "table wine" is a special tax class -- and the vintner pays $0.50 per gallon less than "regular" wine.

Scott's Potato Salad

Introduction

This recipe was inspired by a Warm Potato Salad recipe in the June 2001 issue of Gourmet magazine.

Directions

Ingredients
2 1/2 lb small (1 1/2- to 2-inch) Yukon
Gold potatoes, quartered
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons cider vinegar
1/4 teaspoon minced garlic
4 celery ribs, thinly sliced diagonally
1 1/2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
1 whole dill pickle, chopped

Cover potatoes with salted cold water by 1 inch in a saucepan, then simmer until just tender, about 20 minutes.

While potatoes are simmering, whisk together mayonnaise, oil, vinegar, garlic, chives, and salt and pepper to taste in a large bowl.

Drain potatoes in a colander and cool 5 minutes. Add to dressing along with celery, tomatoes, and pickle. Toss and season with salt and pepper.

Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Note: this recipe is good even if the celery and/or tomatoes aren't available!

Added: July 29, 2001

Update: See also this recipe from Elise Bauer with the additional "secret ingredient" of a bit of pickle juice! The additional tartness from the pickle juice is very nice!

Scott's Perfect Pot Roast

This recipe was inspired by a recipe in the September 26, 2001 issue of the San Francisco Chronicle's Food section on the subject of comfort food in the days post-9/11.

That particular recipe credits Chronicle food writer Robin Davis who says she loves this dish for the aroma that drifts through the house as the meat cooks -- and for the leftovers. The cooking aroma does make the long cooking time tolerable. Serve this with some creamy mashed potatoes for a wonderfully soothing comfort meal.

Scott's Lemon Pasta Salad with Chicken

We enjoy making this Lemon Pasta Salad on for lunch on a Sunday and then munching on it cold throughout the week either for lunch or when we need a snack. It's really good either warm right when you make it or cold.

Our inspiration for this salad came from one of our local markets, Andronico's, who makes a version of this salad for their deli. Our original base recipe comes from a recipe in Bon Appetit, July 2000 issue where the writer claimed it was her own version of the deli version from Gelsons Market in Los Angeles. We tried a couple of our own variations before settling on this particular version.

Hamersley's Roast Chicken with Potatoes and Onions

Everyone needs an everyday roast chicken recipe - and this is ours! It a minor adaptation of the original by Gordon Hamersley, chef-owner of Hamersley's Bistro in Boston -- as published in Fine Cooking magazine. We lived in Boston over 15 years ago and used to love hitting Hamersley's Bistro for this roast chicken dinner! We were back in Boston in 2007 and enjoyed another lovely edition of this dish!