However, there are a LOT of cheeses out there and to address that issue there are plenty of books to help you gain a better understanding of them. Below are a few good places to start when it comes to getting your learn on.

The most innovative cheese catalogue you’ve ever read.

Di Bruno Bros. House of Cheese: A Guide to Wedges, Recipes, and Pairings

You may know Tenaya Darlington from her blog, Madame Fromage, where she looks at all things cheese. Darlington’s secret identity is that of a writing professor at Saint Joseph’s University and seasoned journalist. This highly literate skill set is demonstrated through Darlington’s eloquent and quirky descriptions of cheese that are as endearing as they are apropos.

Take Harbison, for example. It’s a cow’s milk cheese from Vermont made in a Brie-style and wrapped in tree bark. It’s extremely gooey inside and tastes like butter, vanilla, and perhaps a bit of pine. Darlington describe this cheese’s personality as, “A sexy librarian’s cheese — all horns rims and whispers.” Spanish Leonora, a fine goat cheese with a citrus tang, is considered as, “A head-turning blonde on a lemon cake bender.”

Imaginative to say the least, but she goes on to describe the history, culture, and flavor profiles of the cheeses with surprising breadth in brevity. She then offers various matches for a possible cheese plate that go far beyond jam and nuts to options like kiwis, boiled potatoes and cumin seeds, and biscotti.

The book is peppered with clever and engaging recipes that are easy to put together. Some recipes utilize the cheeses in the book such as the Swiss Fondue and the Grilled Peaches with Quadrello Di Bufala. Others are designed to be paired with cheeses like the sweet and sour rhubarb refrigerator jam. (Can I get a, “Hell, yes!” up in here?)

Each entry is wrapped up with various wine, beer, and spirit pairings that you should truly take to heart. They’re rather clever and sometimes unexpected, which leads to rather jaunty discoveries you’ll be eager to share with friends.

The book was written in tandem with the historical and celebrated Di Bruno Brothers, whose cheese selection is both glorious and varied.

Get in the kitchen and start cooking your cheese!

The Cheesemonger’s Kitchen: Celebrating Cheese in 90 Recipes

Chester Hastings’ book came out a year or two ago amid little fanfare or notice, which makes me sad. For any cheese enthusiast this book is a must have. Forget fondue and grilled cheese (though, fear not, there is an excellent Castelmagno and Hazelnut Fondue that doesn’t so much taste like sex, but tastes like great sex where you and your partner both orgasm simultaneously).

This book isn’t too in-depth with the cheese education, a few history or tasting lessons here and there but don’t expect a lot of help with your thesis. Instead, Hasting urges you to go out and topple the pillar that cheese so vaingloriously sits on as instructed by hardcore cheese purists. Cheese — great, artisanal cheese — can and should be used in the kitchen.

Recipes such as zucchini with goat Gouda fritters, golden eggplant with creamy feta and croutons, and lasagna with asparagus and burrata are just some of the awe-inspiring dishes that grace the pages. Salads, fruit, meat, fish, and dessert are all given a fair address in the pages to ensure you do not leave wanting.

Joseph De Leo provides the photography in the book. The images are macro and moody, and tell a country tale of cheeses and dinners both crafted with care. It makes for a rather romantic tale.

Michael Pollan. Photo: Alia Malley/michaelpollan.com

Listen to the Story from KQED’s Forum:
Original Broadcast: Thursday, May 16, 2013 — 10:00 AM

Host: Michael Krasny

Guest:

• Michael Pollan, professor of journalism at UC Berkeley and author of “Cooked: A Natural History of Transformation”

More info:

• MichaelPollan.com
• Some of My Best Friends Are Germs : NYTimes.com
• Fire, Water, Air, Earth: Michael Pollan Gets Elemental In ‘Cooked’ : NPRFood via BAB
• ‘Cooked’ by Michael Pollan : BostonGlobe.com
• Senate Agriculture Panel Approves Farm Bill : TheHill.com

Excerpted from COOKED by Michael Pollan. Reprinted by arrangement with The Penguin Press, a member of Penguin Group (USA), Inc. Copyright (c) Michael Pollan, 2013.

Caitlin Freeman. Photo: Charles Villyard

Andy Warhol as Jell-O, Jeff Koons as a gilded white hot chocolate, and Cindy Sherman as a pink ice cream float dusted with glitter are just a few of the edible art concepts cooked up by Caitlin Freeman, an artist who creates confections and fancy snacks based on special exhibitions at SFMOMA. Her new book, “Modern Art Desserts,” details recipes and stories from her self-made dream job: responding to art through food.

Freeman co-owned Miette pastry shops before opening the Blue Bottle Coffee bar at SFMOMA’s rooftop garden with her husband James. From Miette, she brought along artist and pastry chef Leah Rosenberg, and assistant Tess Wilson. The team’s desserts are innovative, creative and sometimes controversial. A cookie plate inspired by Richard Serra’s massive steel sculptures is likely the first dessert to have ever received a cease and desist letter.

Click on any photo to view full-sized images and activate the slideshow

Freeman credits painter Wayne Thiebaud with inspiring her to become a baker, and says the book is a love letter to him. Her favorite cakes to bake are buttercream party cakes, and that’s exactly what Thiebaud is known for painting. The two cake-loving artists haven’t met yet, but Freeman throws a birthday party for him every year at the cafe. Besides her most popular cakes modeled after works by Thiebaud and Piet Mondrian, 70 modern art desserts have been created over the past four years. Textile artist Ruth Laskey’s two-color weavings became conceptual sodas where flavors were assigned to each color, creating combinations like lemon soda with bay ice cubes, and bubblegum soda (made from Dubble Bubble gum concentrate) with violet ice cubes. Freeman was interested in the overlap between colors and flavors, a concept that went through some trial and error when she focused on Andy Warhol’s self portrait in green, blue, red, and yellow. She tried to make a Bloody Mary gelée and explains, “I didn’t want to use food coloring but I figured we could use blue curacao. We made Campbell’s tomato soup Jell-O, celery, horseradish and Worcester Jell-O, and it was revolting. It shouldn’t be a surprise, but that was the one recipe that didn’t really work out.” Her aversion to food coloring had to be overcome for her Mondrian cake, a chocolate ganache grid with primary-colored cake blocks, but she’s not the only one who is wary of unnatural-looking cake dye. She says, “People easily gobble up the yellow and red, but often they’ll leave the blue square on the plate.”

Dessert is based on Garry Winogrand’s “Kerrville, Texas” (1977). Photo: Willa Koerner.

Freeman’s latest concoction, inspired by a Gary Winogrand photograph, is an ambitious multimedia project. As she describes it, “The piece we chose is these two people dancing on a platform that looks just like an ice cream cake. So we’re making this ridiculous multimedia cake that involves Stevie Wonder’s “Sir Duke” playing from an MP3 player inside the plate, which happened to be the number seventeen song the year the photo was taken, and looks exactly like the song they would’ve been dancing to. We’ll have two images laser-cut as cake toppers that will be dancing on the cake.” The desserts are often conceptual, and sometimes literal, like the Jasper Johns-inspired grilled cheese that looks like his piece, Bread. As Freeman describes the project, “The piece is a lead panel with a piece of bread on it, so we made a grilled cheese and served it on a to-scale board painted to look like lead. It was a giant, oversized board people would have to carry back to their table.” She likes that her creations can help make the art more accessible, and says that when she walks into a gallery of California painters, “especially Diebenkorn and Thiebaud,” she often wants to take the paintings home, and says:

“Making desserts is my way of owning something, of really pretending that I’m stealing it, and making it my own.”

“Modern Art Desserts” was released this month by Ten Speed Press. Freeman’s Mondrian cakes will soon be available for purchase online (available for delivery, packed in dry ice). Keep up with her projects at modernartdesserts.com.

Photos of desserts reprinted with permission from Modern Art Desserts: Recipes for Cakes, Cookies, Confections, and Frozen Treats Based on Iconic Works of Art, by Caitlin Freeman, copyright (c) 2013. Published by Ten Speed Press, a division of Random House, Inc. Photo credit: Clay McLachlan (c) 2013

Matt Lee (left) and Ted Lee (right) grew up in Charleston, S.C. After leaving the South as young adults, they founded a mail-order food company, The Lee Bros. Boiled Peanut Catalogue. They have written two previous cookbooks of Southern cuisine. Photo: Squire Fox/Clarkson Potter

Listen to the Story on All Things Considered

Post by NPR Staff, NPR Food (4/18/13)

A new cookbook by the Lee brothers just might inspire daydreams of a food-centric vacation to South Carolina. It’s called The Lee Bros. Charleston Kitchen, and in it, Matt and Ted Lee feature recipes and stories from the Southern port city they grew up in. The brothers joined NPR’s Melissa Block to talk about Charleston’s distinctive food culture, starting with the dishes that they’d put on a typical Charleston menu.

“I would start with kumquat sparklers, with the flavor of backyard kumquats, which are like tangerines,” Matt says. “Also, classic Charleston cheese biscuits with a single pecan pressed into it, and savory benne wafers — sesame seed wafers.”

For the second course, Ted says, “we’d do a she-crab soup, and then we’d do a shrimp and grits,” he says. “For vegetables, I think this is the perfect time to do chainey briar; it’s growing really well out on Sullivan’s Island. We’d do some Grilled Chainey Briar.”

“Chainey briar is a native weed or vine,” Ted explains. “It’s Smilax botanically. It’s something that grows on fence lines, it grows on sand dunes at the beaches and it has, in the spring right about now, a tender tip, a shoot that is delicious.”

It looks, quite frankly, like a weed, and might be a bit of an acquired taste — but the brothers say it’s worth acquiring. “It’s pretty rangy, and that’s the appeal, in terms of flavor,” Matt says. It tastes like asparagus but with this extra sort of reckless green thing. Sometimes we describe it as tasting like asparagus with olive oil already on it.”

For dessert, the brothers would serve Huguenot Torte, an iconic Charleston dish. “Hugeonot torte has this nice meringue-like crisp top, but then a sludgy caramel and apple and pecan bottom to it,” Matt says. “It’s got flour but tons of leavening — so it just puffs up in the oven, then collapses and creates this very interesting and uniquely Charleston dessert.”

Southern Food With Less Pork And More Loquats

The Lee brothers, who were born in New York but grew up in Charleston, have written two previous cookbooks highlighting Southern cuisine. This is their first to focus just on the city of their youth, and their choice is more than just hometown favoritism: Charleston’s culinary tradition is unusual, with dishes and traditions you won’t find in other parts of the South.

“It’s naturally about the seafood and also about the poultry,” Matt explains. “The much-heralded, like, ‘porkopolis’ of the South doesn’t really exist so much in Charleston, because it was never a place to raise cattle or pigs, being so marshy.”

It’s not just the meat that makes Charleston stand out; there’s also a rich variety of local produce. “I think another thing that visitors to Charleston are surprised by is just how close the farms are — the rural part of Charleston — to the city,” Ted says.

You might not even need to find a farmer to get fresh food. “Even downtown — we grew up downtown in the historic district — we’re surrounded by fruits of all kinds, like kumquats, loquats, mulberries, figs, pomegranates, bananas, citrus,” Ted says. “They all grow downtown, and you grow up sort of knowing where the trees are and which ones taste best.”

Call it “foraging” or call it “stealing,” snagging fruit off someone else’s tree is certainly possible in Charleston. “There are a lot of secrets in back alleys in Charleston that yield great fruits and herbs.” The trick to harvesting that bounty without ruining your neighborly relations? “Be very polite,” Ted says — and, Matt adds, be sure to smile. “That’s awfully disarming,” he says.

Taking Cues From The Past

In addition to highlighting Charleston’s current food culture, Matt and Ted Lee also looked to Charleston’s history to find old recipes that might have been forgotten. Cookbooks from the 19th century were particularly inspiring, Ted says. “They tell a story so diverse and varied about the different types of vegetables that were grown in the low country, some of which are rarely found, like salsify, tania — it’s a root vegetable,” he says. “It’s nice to be able to draw from the past to inform your kitchen in the present.”

One recipe in the new cookbook comes from an even more distant past — a dessert from the 1700s called Syllabub. “Despite the fact that it appears in all the old cookbooks, Matt and I have never been served it — either in a Charleston restaurant or a Charleston home,” Ted says. “So we just tried it ourselves. It’s basically very simple — it’s fortified wine that’s been seasoned with lemon juice and lemon peel, a little bit of sugar, sometimes spices, and whipped with cream until it’s sort of this airy, fluffy, alcoholic whipped cream that goes really well with fruit.”

If you want to follow Matt and Ted and take a stab at Syllabub, a recipe is below, as well as recipes for Huguenot Torte and Grilled Chainey Briar. But be warned: You might need to plan a trip to Charleston to enjoy that chainey briar. You won’t find it in grocery stores or farmers markets, and will have better luck harvesting it yourself. Like fresh kumquats off the tree or oysters from the ocean, it’s a location-bound delicacy. As Matt Lee, who lives in Charleston today, puts it, “it’s just one of those things that you have to live here to really appreciate.”

Recipe: Grilled Chainey Briar

Chainey briar grows wild around Charleston, S.C. Photo: Matt Lee and Ted Lee/Clarkson Potter

Most chainey briar found among the dunes or in metropolitan Charleston are thin, curly tendrils, although our friend Tom, who gentleman-farms on Johns Island, recently introduced us to “bull briar,” the thicker sprouts of mature smilax vines that grow in the forested areas of the sea islands. Bull briar, which truly resembles large asparagus, would seem to represent more vegetable for one’s effort, but it is found so high in the trees that a pole pruner is usually required to harvest it. We’re just as happy to spend the afternoon on a path to the beach, eating every third tendril we pick, until the basket is full.

Chainey briar almost never appears in the farmer’s markets, so you must forage for it yourself (or ingratiate yourself to farmer Sidi Limehouse [see page 94 of The Lee Bros. Charleston Kitchen], who will occasionally indulge good friends with a basketful). Its flavor is robust enough that it grills well, wilting and charring in places. Dressed with oil and lemon, it makes for an exciting side dish with pre-colonial roots.

1 pound chainey briar
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for the pan
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

1. Thoroughly wash the chainey briar, removing any ants or foreign matter and pinching off the stem ends (which will toughen as they age) so only the tender parts remain. Toss the chainey briar in a large bowl with the olive oil to coat, scatter 1/2 teaspoon salt over the bowl, and toss again.

2. Lightly oil a grill pan, and place it over high heat. When a drop of water sizzles when dropped on the pan, spread the chainey briar in an even layer about 1/2 inch high (you may have to grill multiple batches, depending on the size of your pan). Allow the chainey briar to sizzle and pop for a minute or two, until the tips of some begin to blacken. Use tongs to shuffle the chainey briar on the grill pan and allow them to cook a minute or two more, until almost all the fronds show signs of wilting. Reserve the chainey briar in a large covered bowl as you move on to grill another batch.

3. When all the chainey briar is wilted and charred, dress it with the lemon juice, toss lightly, and season to taste with salt and black pepper. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Recipe: Huguenot Torte

Huguenot torte has gooey caramel beneath a crackly top Photo: Squire Fox/Clarkson Potter

Imagine that a blondie and an apple-pecan pie got into a crusty-gooey, sticky-delicious accident in a baking dish, and you’ll approximate the ultra-decadence of this dessert. Until relatively recently, Charlestonians believed that this confection, as the title might suggest, came to Charleston with the French Huguenots, who settled in the city in the eighteenth century, and that it was a rustic cousin of elegant pâtisseries. But in the 1990s, the culinary historian and Lowcountry native John Martin Taylor tracked down the woman to whom the recipe is attributed in Charleston Receipts, and learned that she’d encountered the dish as “Ozark Pudding” while visiting relatives in Arkansas in the 1940s. She had brought the recipe back to Charleston, and put the dessert on the menu of the Huguenot Tavern, where she was a cook.

The fact that this dessert has become as much an icon of Charleston home cooking as Charleston Okra Soup [see page 74 of The Lee Bros. Charleston Kitchen] and She-Crab Soup [page 77] seems odd — but it’s all part of “Charleston’s food pattern,” as May A. Pyatt wrote in a 1950 review of Charleston Receipts in the News and Courier. Another interesting note: not many Charleston restaurants these days offer the torte — or even variants upon it — but it is almost always offered on menus at the tea rooms [see page 79] that open in the spring throughout the area. You should master it yourself; it’s easy to make and easy to eat, and nice to have in your repertoire.

When we’re serving this dish for guests, we often temper its sweetness by whipping a small amount of buttermilk or sour cream into the whipped cream garnish.

unsalted butter for greasing the dish
2 large eggs
1 1/3 cups sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 Granny Smith or other tart apple, cored, peeled, and diced (1 cup)
1 cup chopped pecans
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons whole buttermilk or sour cream

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Grease a 2-quart baking dish.

2. In a large bowl, beat the eggs with a whisk until they’re creamy and frothy. Add the sugar, flour, baking powder, salt, apple, pecans, and vanilla, whisking to combine after each addition.

3. Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish and bake for 45 minutes, or until the top of the torte is crusty. Remove the torte from the oven and let cool for about 10 minutes.

4. Whip the cream with the buttermilk until stiff peaks form. Cut into individual portions — they will be lumpen and misshapen, with shards of crust and spoonfuls of ooze, but no matter — and serve with dollops of the whipped cream.

Recipe: Syllabub With Rosemary-Glazed Figs

Syllabub is a traditional dessert featuring sherry, cream and sugar. Photo: Squire Fox/Clarkson Potter

Serves: 4
Time: 1 hour 15 minutes, including chilling

Syllabub

1/2 cup Sercial Madeira or Amontillado sherry
Peel of 1/2 lemon
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
Pinch of kosher salt
1 cup heavy cream, cold

Rosemary-glazed figs

1/2 cup sugar
2 (3-inch) long sprigs rosemary
Pinch of kosher salt
4 ounces fresh figs (about 4 large), stemmed and quartered

1. Make the syllabub: Put all syllabub ingredients except for the cream into a large bowl, and whisk until the sugar has dissolved, about a minute. Let stand in the fridge, about 1 hour.

2. Make the rosemary-glazed figs: Heat the sugar and 1/4 cup of water in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Add the rosemary and the salt, stir for about 30 seconds to dissolve the salt and bruise the rosemary, and turn off the heat. Cover and let cool to room temperature, about 20 minutes.

3. Put the figs in a small bowl, drizzle 2 to 3 tablespoons of the rosemary syrup over them, and toss gently to coat. (If the figs are less than ripe, let them stand in the syrup for 30 minutes to sweeten.) Reserve the remaining syrup for another use, such as sweetening lemonade.

4. Remove the lemon peel from the wine mixture. Pour the cream into the wine and whisk by hand until the cream is thick and holds its shape, about 2 minutes. Divide the syllabub among four wine glasses or sundae cups and spoon the rosemary-glazed figs over each serving.

Syllabub with Strawberries and Black Pepper

For a springtime variation on Syllabub with Rosemary-Glazed Figs, make Syllabub with Strawberries and Black Pepper. Simply substitute for the rosemary-glazed figs 4 ounces strawberries that have been quartered and tossed a few times with sugar to taste (a teaspoon or two) until the sugar has dissolved. (Add a few drops water, if needed, to dissolve). Spoon the strawberries over each serving of Syllabub, then grind a bit of black pepper over the top of each and serve.

Recipes from The Lee Bros. Charleston Cookbook by Matt Lee and Ted Lee. Copyright 2013 by Matt Lee and Ted Lee. Excerpted by permission of Clarkson Potter, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House.

More on the Lee Bros.
• Classic Southern Food Gets A Makeover (NPR Food)
• Recipes That Passed a Cookbook Critic’s Test (Kitchen Window, NPR Food)

Copyright 2013 NPR.

A precociously independent toddler packs a healthy homemade lunch and heads off to snack in Bernal Height’s Holly Park in San Francisco.

This seriously cute video is the promo for author and BAB blogger Kim Laidlaw‘s new book Baby & Toddler On The Go: fresh, homemade foods for a busy life.

The book will be available April 30 and offers up 75 simple-to-prepare and easy-to-transport recipes made with fresh ingredients for the busy 4-month to 3-year-old child.

Kim Laidlaw took some time out to share information about her new book.

The toddler in the video is your daughter. How have you introduced her to your world of cooking and food?
Laidlaw: She has been watching me cook and bake since she was born, and now that she’s a bit older she is starting to “help” me cook and bake, which is a lot of fun. I also take her to the farmers’ market every Saturday morning and we talk about all the seasonal fruits and veggies and we try lots of samples. Oh, and we set up a little play kitchen in the kitchen so we can cook together.

What motivated you to write this book?
Laidlaw: I had just started to feed her solid food when I started writing the book, so I “learned” how to feed her by doing all the research and writing all the recipes for the book. Plus lots and lots of input from my mom and friends.

The book is designed to feed 4-month to 3-year-old children. How did you tailor your recipes nutritionally and tastewise to this age group?
Laidlaw: I did quite a lot of research, and also used the sister book Baby & Toddler Cookbook as my starting point. Then I just tried to get as many age-appropriate veggies, fruits, meats and dairy into the recipes to keep them healthy but friendly.

Author Kim Laidlaw and her daughter

Economically speaking, how do costs compare preparing fresh foods for kids versus buying healthy store bought alternatives?
Laidlaw: Well, I think if you can buy seasonal fruits and veggies you will save a lot of money, and many of the purees and minis can be made in bulk and frozen. Making your own food is definitely cheaper than buying individually-sized pre-packaged foods.

Sometimes kids are picky about eating diverse types of healthy food. What are 3 tips you can share with parents about teaching kids to be food-curious.

Laidlaw:
• Take your kids to the farmers’ market or the grocery store and let them help you pick things out that look good to them.
• Then, let them help you cook so they can see you making the things you picked out together.
• Finally, eat together at the table as much as you can (my daughter always wants to eat what I’m eating).

Take a Sneak Peek and Get Recipes

Disclosure: In addition to Kim Laidlaw being a BAB blogger she and her daughter are personal friends.

We wish this one was televised, too: Alice Waters, Martin Yan, Joanne Weir, Virginia Willis, Nell Newman, Rick Bayless, Thomas Keller, Charles Phan, Joel Riddell and Irvin Lin were among the folks who took the stage for Tuesday night’s 2013 International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP) awards ceremony in San Francisco. Oakland Food Connection and food incubator La Cocina were also honored. IACP’s professional awards are widely viewed in the food world as something of a gold standard for cookbooks, food writing, digital media and culinary tours. The awards marked the closing night of the organization’s 35th annual conference, which went with a “Dirt to Digital” theme this year.

Check out the full list of award finalists and the grand list of winners. While the awards ceremony stretched out over a few hours and was oddly lacking any form of culinary nourishment (there were definite rumblings after the ceremony about that), it offered quirks, songs and even a few dick jokes courtesy of Libbie Summers, whose Salted and Styled blog won for Best Culinary Blog. On the other end of the spectrum, the evening kicked off with all guests looking up and saying “thank you” as a dedication to publisher Peter Workman, who passed away just this week. It was also emotional for Lifetime Achievement Award winner Alice Waters, who gratefully accepted her prize and joked in her speech that while she cannot farm, “I am a picker,” which got the audience laughing–wise words from the founder of Chez Panisse and the Edible Schoolyard. Waters also professed her admiration for cooking teachers because: “I cannot teach.” She immediately went on to acknowledge IACP attendee and stalwart Darina Allen, whose Ballymaloe cooking school she visits every year (for her birthday).

When Charles Phan won in the Chefs and Restaurants cookbook category for his “Vietnamese Home Cooking” (co-authored with Tasting Table Senior Editor Jessica Battilana), he confessed that he did not have a speech but had enjoyed some bourbon to presumably get warmed up. Phan thanked Battilana, his agent and wife, Angkana. “My wife made sure I turned the book manuscript in, so I wouldn’t have to return the book advance money to Ten Speed Press.”

“Jerusalem: A Cookbook” by Yotam Ottolenghi, Sami Tamimi, received the award for Cookbook of the Year, and Marion Nestle garnered a prize in the Food Matters category for her weighty tome, “Why Calories Count: From Science to Politics.” The deeply satisfying sugar-rush images in the Bouchon Bakery cookbook garnered an award for Food Photography and Styling, and the Dining Around with Joel Riddell radio show won in the Long Format Audio category. The team at Chronicle Books may still be celebrating given their author Diane Morgan won for her book, “Roots: The Definitive Compendium with more than 225 Recipes.”

Culinary Tour Operator of the Year went to Copita chef Joanne Weir, who shared that as a child, she told her father that she wanted to be a bus driver, so that she could drive a bus on every road in the world. Her confession seemed to scare him a little. Weir dedicated her prize to him because he passed away last year. Food blogger Irvin Lin won the Best in Show prize for his photography, and he asked the IACP crowd to “hire me, I’m available,” a sentiment which was echoed by the next winner.

The conference itself is that rare chance to possibly figure out how to eke out a living doing things in the culinary field–it can be exciting but also daunting in the number of possibilities it presents. There were various declarations for members to support each other and that each one “stands on the shoulders” of those who have come before and after them. That may sound hokey and like general conference speak yet three people we spoke with found these pronouncements to be inspiring.

Many attendees shared with Bay Area Bites that the chance of learning from so many different people doing interesting things is one of the main draws of shelling out $750 to $950 to register for the full conference—that’s on top of the $280 it costs to initially join IACP. Off the record, we were told that IACP is in the midst of something of a revamp and that costs and programming issues have been noted if not yet changed. These folks said that they attend as much for the learning sessions on, say, the meaning of restaurant reviews in the era of Yelp to getting a lowdown on sourdough or video content strategy. The coffee breaks are also highly valued and networking even happens in the bathrooms. Yes, really.

Kale salad and eating local may remain a big trend, but IACP attendees see much, much more at play in the food world. We asked some notable thought leaders to answer a few questions in person:

• What is this conference about for you?
• The theme of the conference is Dirt to Digital; what does it mean to you?
• How does the theme translate to the food industry?
• What did you learn about in the workshops and what are the clear trends that emerged from the conference?

Here are insights from Corby Kummer, Danielle Gould, Sandor Katz, Joanne Weir and Sarah Copeland. Their responses have been edited for length and clarity.

Corby Kummer is a senior editor at The Atlantic magazine. Known as “the dean of food writing,” Kummer’s 1990 Atlantic series about coffee is a benchmark for excellence in long-form food writing. He is the author of “The Joy of Coffee,” based on his Atlantic series, and the recently published “The Pleasures of Slow Food.” Kummer is the recipient of three James Beard Journalism Awards, including the MFK Fisher Distinguished Writing Award.

Kummer: This conference is about seeing people who are following food issues on the level of the home cook. It’s about how the things that we in the media are interested in and write about play out in real life and the home of a consumer.

IACP has always been the most connected to the real world of any group because it’s people making their living as culinary professionals. They are in touch with sustainability, farming and local issues. I thought the conference was brilliantly named “Dirt to Digital” because online is where all of the IACP members need to be marketing themselves and their products.

With social media, no one yet knows how to master it but everyone’s trying to learn. IACP has always been at the forefront of practical and real world applications. That’s a unique role because being so smartly focused attracts the most interesting, lively and active people in the food world. And I’ll take any opportunity to connect with them.

Danielle Gould is the Founder and CEO of Food+Tech Connect, a media company and network for innovators transforming the business of food. Through news and analysis, events, and custom research, Gould helps companies of all sizes drive innovation and understand how information and technology are changing the way food is produced, distributed, and consumed. She is also a founding member of the Culinary Institute of America’s Sustainable Business Leadership Council and is a regular contributor to Forbes.

Gould: This is my first time at IACP and they invited me to talk about food and tech trends and hackathons as a model for food innovation. Our panel touched on the opportunity and the medium, as well as how to demystify technology. It is also about helping people understand the knowledge and the challenges that are out there. We’re trying to empower people to put that knowledge out there where they’re collaborating with designers and developers to solve that problem. I travel the whole country and spread the gospel and learn about how people are thinking. It’s about using technology to help solve problems, spread messages and improve business models and just accelerate innovation that’s happening on a small scale.

In the past, a book would take you two years and a product would take 18 months. For a food producer or chef, that means that it takes awhile to market things. Technology offers opportunities: now you can self-publish that cookbook in close to real time, and get feedback on your product.

“Dirt to Digital” is at the heart of what food technology is. You’re looking across the supply chain, and food is interconnected. It is a system, and that goes to the consumer. A lot of times when people think of digital, they think of consumers. Emerging trends and what role technology is for each trend is a part of that. Technology is very broad and means so much to so many different people.

I just love learning how people respond to technology and food and how they use it. The other major takeaway was a lot of the panels weren’t very popular or not as sexy but were about funding. Everyone’s having trouble making money in the food space.

Sandor Ellix Katz, “one of the unlikely rock stars of the American food scene” according to The New York Times, is a self-taught fermentation experimentalist. His books “The Art of Fermentation” and “Wild Fermentation,” and the fermentation workshops he has taught across North America and beyond, have helped to catalyze a broad revival of the fermentation arts.

Katz: I’ve never been to IACP before. I don’t think of myself as a culinary professional. The work that I do is demystifying and sharing skills with people who aren’t necessarily culinary professionals. The highlight for me has been to meet people whose books are influential. [Katz was sitting with Bruce Aidells when we caught up with him and Aidells shared the table with us while we caught up.]

Aidells: What’s good sauerkraut without good sausages?

Katz: A kraut — quesadilla is my fast food, and I make it with Pepper Jack. That’s one of my standard meals.

The theme of the conference is significant. What does “Dirt to Digital” mean? I was just on this panel that was high tech versus low tech yet I don’t necessarily see things that way. I’m interested in understanding these processes in their simplicity. So that doesn’t mean you can’t use technology to have more control over the processes. It’s very empowering to see how the underlying principles don’t need equipment. If you get involved in sausage making, you can use a funnel for the casing. You can also just be there with you hands, pushing the meat through to the casing.

For cheese, you can buy nice molds, perhaps. There are elegant crocks to make things but you can also do it with a jar that’s already in your pantry. I appreciate the conference and there’s much information spreading by digital means but it may be telling people how to use their hands.

Joanne Weir is a James Beard award-winning cookbook author, cooking teacher, host and executive producer for the award-winning television series Joanne Weir’s Cooking Confidence. She is the chef-owner of Copita, a tequileria and restaurant in Sausalito. The author of 17 cookbooks, including the newly released “Cooking Confidence,” Joanne is the Culinary Editor at Large at Fine Cooking! magazine. She travels and teaches extensively around the world as well as in her studio kitchen.

Weir: This conference was so interesting because I’ve approached it differently as a restaurateur this year. I usually approach it as “I write for magazines” or my cookbooks or how to fill your cooking classes. This time I’m taking in things that are really different. I want to sit in on the reviewing and Yelping session.

I still love to see all the people I know when I come to IACP. And I love that it’s in SF and I get to share Copita–they’re going over by ferry. I did a tour on Saturday and people loved it. I’ve shared in a different way and am still excited about my restaurant.

For me with “Dirt to Digital,” I don’t know if I put the two together. Yet every single thing I do is fresh. I have an organic farm — and my next series is called “Fresh” for TV. I am always interested in digital media. The market has changed and the whole landscape is changing. My hope is it that it goes back to dirt and less digital. Is that so ‘Chez Panisse’ of me? (laughs) I do digital but food is still my passion. Perhaps next year the IACP theme should be “Back to Passion.”

IACP is pretty current on things. What they’ve done this year is now bloggers have been integrated. I left feeling in past years that I had to do so much on my own blog. I’ve always done food that is following my passion and on what brings about major possibilities for me. I attended a book session that talked about book advance spending and how book tours are back and rely on the digital medium.

My trend is always Mexican, and that comes with owning Copita. I saw the trendologist Kara Nielsen here and she said, “You couldn’t be in a more trendy thing, with Mexican food and tequila.”

I do modern Mexican food.

We used to think of Italian red tablecloths and Chianti — yet now Italian food has come a long way. One of the trends here is taking cuisines and elevating and educating around the cuisine. Thomas Keller was talking about that and I have seen that in this conference.

Sarah Copeland is the Food Director at Real Simple and author of “The Newlywed Cookbook: Fresh Ideas and Modern Recipes for Cooking With and For Each Other.” Her book, “Feast” will be published in December this year and she has authored numerous articles and recipes for Real Simple, Saveur, Food & Wine, Health, Martha Stewart Living, Better Homes & Gardens and Food Network Magazine. She has appeared as a guest on The Martha Stewart Show, Good Morning America and ABC News Now.

Copeland: A lot of the conference is about relationships. I see faces from every different facet of my career and have been reconnecting and catching up on what people are doing that is new and exciting. There’s a chance to celebrate successes while hopefully helping a few people too.

On “Dirt to Digital,” one of the most challenging things of this industry from my perspective is that I started in print. That part has changed so dramatically in ten years or even five years. For most food people who are in love with food, it is very tactile how we communicate yet that is changing so much. The dirt part communicates place, smell, and touch, which are all the good things. It includes the agriculture, and the farmer. There are so many layers and it is complex with dirt. That’s how food is to me: we touch humanity and civilization, nutrition and wellness. In the digital sphere, how do you capture that? I think we are all figuring that out.

I did a panel on recipes and copyright for the conference. There were folks from Pillsbury there who were trying to figure out their contest. We also had teachers, bakery owners and bloggers. As Food Director at Real Simple, I have to be savvy and think about those aspects.

On almost every panel I ask, ‘What’s the best panel?’ This year, everyone is focusing on video. I worked at the Food Network — and yet this industry has been print for so long. With Hungry and YouTube and different avenues, it’s just so video-focused. The trailer for my first book is a minute and a half but my next one will probably be half that, to seventy-five seconds. My new book ‘Feast’ from Chronicle Books is coming out in December and I’ve learned a few things that I’ll do differently. I am coming away from the conference with the feeling that there is room for every voice and every talent. If you are generous, they will help you, too.

“I’m always going to err on the side of whole foods, that’s my philosophy.” Rebecca Katz

Rebecca Katz. Photo courtesy of Rebecca Katz

(Get recipes for Golden Roasted Cauliflower and Bella’s Moroccan Spiced Sweet Potato Salad below)

Included in the book is a list of the Super 16 Power Foods, foods that “nibble for nibble offer the highest levels of antioxidants.” I liked the list, but it was missing some of my favorite medicinal foods. Where was the broccoli with its anti-cancer and hormone balancing effects; or turmeric, the potent anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer Asian spice? So, I was pleased to find that the second chapter of the book contained a culinary pharmacy — a list of over 80 foods that are used as ingredients throughout the book along with their various health benefits. Here I found turmeric, medicinal mushrooms, broccoli and many more. There are also notes included with many of the recipes that talk about the health benefits of specific ingredients. These notes go into greater detail and explain the benefits of important foods that aren’t included in the Super 16 or the Culinary Pharmacy like flax seeds.

Here are the three major reasons why I found “The Longevity Kitchen” to be a valuable resource.
• The first is quality. The ingredients in the recipes are truly health promoting. Katz emphasizes fresh, organic, unrefined foods in each recipe.
• The second reason is that the book is almost entirely gluten-free. There are a few recipes that contain gluten but most include easy substitutions for people with sensitivities. In fact, many of the recipes are also free of eggs, dairy, soy and sugar making “The Longevity Kitchen” a valuable resource for people with allergies and special diets.
• The third and most important reason is that the food actually tastes good. I have tested recipes from every section of the book, from Latin Kale to Mango Lassi and they have all been delicious. I have served these dishes to friends and even to my four-year-old twins. People love them. I got so many compliments on the Parsley Mint Drizzle that it felt like cheating; its only six ingredients in the blender after all.

As a naturopathic doctor I focus on optimal nutrition for each patient, and this often involves diet change. It is relatively easy for me to tell people what they should and shouldn’t eat. It is much harder to tell them how to prepare those foods. This book does an excellent job of bridging the gap and making healthy food accessible and flavorful. One caveat is that most of these recipes require some basic cooking skills to prepare. People who don’t already know how to chop, dice, mince or zest may need to brush up before attempting them.

This month I had the opportunity to interview Rebecca Katz about her new book and her philosophy on food. Excerpts from our interview are transcribed below. The content has been edited for length and clarity.

Your previous two books, “One Bite at a Time” and “The Cancer Fighting Kitchen” were specifically targeted to cancer patients and their families and this book is targeted to the general public. I’m wondering why you made that shift?

Katz: If I had one more person come up to me and say, “these books are great, but when are you going to write a book for the rest of us.” …A lot of people are afraid of the word “cancer.” So even though the recipes in both of those books are yummy for everybody, number one — people who have been through cancer and are on the other side don’t want to look at the word anymore. Number two — there was a larger audience to reach. Many of the same rules apply when we are talking about eating for a cancer-fighting diet and eating for longevity. We are still dealing with the major chronic issues that we all face which are free radical damage, inflammation, and getting a lot of antioxidants. Nothing really changes. What changes is the way the story is told, but not the principles of eating. One of the challenges with this book, in dealing with the topic of longevity was how to grab people’s attention and make it relevant to their lives.

Absolutely, one of the things I experience in working with people with cancer is that I’ve become really passionate about prevention. You see all of the steps that led to the development of the disease and you want to help other people make changes earlier.

Katz: There are very few things in our lives that we have control over. But one of the things we do have control over is what we put in our bodies and it can be a joyful experience. We are talking about longevity and our connection with food being one of joy. This is a book about all of the things that you can have, not simply a list about all of the things that you can’t have.

I was really interested in your list of 16 foods. I was a little surprised to see coffee, chocolate and green tea on the list. We know that all of those foods have a very strong profile of phytochemicals. But I wonder if you believe that people need some level of stimulation to be optimally healthy and happy?

Katz: Honestly it was really hard to get it down to 16. Here was my criteria, number one was the antioxidant properties, number two was some of the latest research coming out on brain health which shows that a little stimulation can go a long way. But really every recipe and every ingredient in that book could be considered on that top sixteen. So I was really looking for a blend of nutrient dense, antioxidants, phytochemicals, the right amount of stimulation and I wanted people to look at that list and be able to recognize those foods. I also think there is a psychological component — giving people permission to indulge in some of the foods that they resonate with. Food is such an emotional issue and if you take away everything, people really get upset. When I take something away, I always have to give something back. Just because you want to eat well and be healthy doesn’t mean you should be relegated to the sidelines.

How did you become a cookbook author, specifically one focusing on cancer prevention and longevity?

Katz: I had a motivation at the very beginning. My father was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2000. I took a leave of absence and went to take care of him and I didn’t know anything about cooking for people with cancer even though I was trained chef. There was nothing out there! There was nothing. So my father was my guinea pig. Food was the platform of his life, so it was not an option not to feed him well. Then I got a wonderful opportunity (to work) at Commonweal Cancer Health Program. I really believe, truly, in that connection to food and to being a nourisher — I felt like I had found my calling. One Bite at a Time came out of my experience working with people individually and The Cancer Fighting Kitchen came out because there was so much new science appearing. I was now at a different level, I had gotten my masters of science in nutrition, I was witness to this evolution. I look back and think, wow what a wonderful gift.

I think that is the gift that everyone is looking for in a career, being able to find the thing that you are meant to do in the world and be paid for it.

Katz: Yes, I feel incredibly grateful.

EVENT:
April 5, 7:15pm: Rebecca Katz will be signing books at Book Passage in Corte Madera

RECIPES:

Golden Roasted Cauliflower

Roasting cauliflower completely transforms it into a candy-like delight that yields to a gentle fork. The spices—cumin, coriander, and turmeric—really make this dish sing. Turmeric has anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory properties, and holds great promise for maintaining (and possibly improving) brain health.

Golden Roasted Cauliflower. Photo: The Longevity Kitchen

Serves 4

1 medium head of cauliflower (about 2 1/2 to 3 pounds) cut into 1 1/2 inch florets (about 8 cups)
2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon coriander
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley or cilantro

Place the rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 450°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Toss the cauliflower with 2 tablespoons olive oil, salt, pepper, cumin, coriander, turmeric and garlic. Spread the cauliflower mixture in an even layer on the prepared pan. Bake until the cauliflower is golden and tender, about 25 to 35 minutes. Toss with spritz with fresh lemon juice and parsley or cilantro.

Variations: If you’re not in a spicy mood, omit the spices and toss the cauliflower with olive, salt and pepper. You’ll love how sweet this vegetable tastes after its oven “sauna.”

Prep Time: 10 minutes Cook Time: 25 minutes
Storage: Store refrigerated in airtight container for 2 days

Notes: Chopping cauliflower releases enzymes that increase the bioavailability of its nutrients. Delaying cooking for 5-10 minutes after cutting helps insure that heat won’t destroy these enzymes’ effectiveness. Also, the enzymes need Vitamin C to activate, which can be accomplished with a hit of lemon or lime juice.

Bella’s Moroccan Spiced Sweet Potato Salad

This is proof that exposure to vegetables expands one’s horizons, whether they have two legs or four. My 8 year old Portuguese Water dog Bella had become known around our house for her love of carrots. She literally comes running every time she hears the carrot peeler come out of the drawer. We figured ‘hmmm, that’s different for a dog,’ and played the approving parents. Well, she’s expanded her palate (or maybe she just likes orange-colored veggies). Now she’s on to sweet potatoes. No sooner do they hit the counter, than she’s dancing and singing around my feet. I quarter and square off the potatoes so she gets the ends, and she’s been known to get some serious hang time under her paws as she leaps for a toss. Seriously, Air Bud has nothing on Bella. Maybe she heard about how good sweet potatoes are for health. Their natural sweetness is perfectly balanced with high fiber content, slowing the rush of sugar into your system. That’s great for vasculature and mood. All I can say is, whenever I make this salad, Bella’s awfully happy.

Bella’s Moroccan Spiced Sweet Potato Salad. Photo: Courtesy of The Longevity Kitchen

Serves 6

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup onion, diced small
1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger or 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika
1 pound orange-fleshed sweet potatoes or yams, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes (2 medium sweet potatoes)
1/2 teaspoon sea salt,
1/2 cup filtered water
1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (preferably blood orange)
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon orange zest
2 teaspoons maple syrup
2 tablespoon lemon juice
12 pitted kalamata olives cut in half
1/4 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
1/4 cup toasted almonds or pistachios roughly chopped

Heat the olive oil in a deep sauté pan over medium heat, then add the onion and a generous pinch of salt and sauté for 3 to 5 minutes until onions are translucent and slightly golden. Add the ginger, cumin, paprika to the onions and sauté for 1 minute. Add the sweet potatoes, sea salt, the water, orange juice, and zests. Cook covered for 20 minutes, remove lid and continue cooking until potatoes are tender and the liquid is reduced to almost a glaze. Add the maple syrup and the lemon juice, and olives. Gently combine. Taste and add another pinch of salt or squeeze of lemon juice if desired. Transfer the potatoes to a bowl and garnish with the parsley and nuts. Serve at room temperature.

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Storage: Store refrigerated in airtight container for 5 days.

Recipes courtesy of Rebecca Katz, The Longevity Kitchen

Nico Vera demonstrating how to make ceviche. Photo courtesy: Cathedral Creative Studios

What do quinoa, potatoes, tomatoes and hot peppers have in common? They were all indigenous crops cultivated by the Incas in Peru hundreds of years ago, before the arrival of the Spanish conquistadores in 1535. Peruvian cuisine, according to Peruvian-born, personal chef, Nico Vera, is unique in its incorporation of food traditions from the five vibrant cultures that have shaped Peru: the Inca, Spanish, African, Chinese and Japanese. Vera, who blogs at Pisco Trail will be one of the featured chefs at the San Francisco Flower and Garden Show (along with Annie Somerville of Greens, Thy Tran and KQED’s own Leslie Sbrocco). The Garden show runs March 20-24. Vera’s cooking demo will be March 21, at 3:00 pm, on the Sequoia Stage.

In an interview with Bay Area Bites, Vera shared that he has been cooking since he became his mother’s “sous chef” at the age of 10. Since Vera moved to San Francisco in 2000, his mission has been to promote appreciation of Peruvian food and drink through pop-ups, dinners, classes and recipes on his blog. He’s been a regular at 18 Reasons, plus guest blogger on Chef Marcus Samuelsson’s blog with a five-part series that examined Peruvian cooking through “Five Courses, Five Cultures, and 500 Years of Fusion.”

INTERVIEW (edited for length and clarity)

How have the several cultures you mentioned impacted the culinary history of Peru?

The Spaniards introduced onions, limes, grapes and spices like cumin and oregano. They also brought over African slaves who worked on sugar plantations or for wealthy families in Lima. And the Africans brought their own cooking styles. For example, the dish anticucho, (a kind of shish kebab) is a popular street food of barbequed beef hearts marinated with vinegar, hot pepper and lime and cooked on a wooden skewers. Long ago, when the upper classes discarded the tough cuts of beef, the poorer people, (the African slaves) would cook them because nothing should go to waste. Now people line up for anticuchos every night at street carts and food stalls.

What dish will you be preparing for the San Francisco Garden Show?

Aji de Gallina, a famous creamy, Peruvian chicken stew with hot peppers, that is always prepared for special events, even though it’s slow cooked and pretty laborious. It’s a distant relative of blancmange, a nourishing European dish dating from the Middle Ages made with chicken, sugar, rice and milk. When that dish made its way to Peru, hot peppers were added which changed its color and flavor completely. This chicken stew brings up a very special memory for me.

Aji de gallina – Peruvian chicken stew. Photo courtesy: Nico Vera

Can you share that special memory?

When I was about 10 years old, on my Dad’s birthday, my Mom made her chicken stew for dinner. And as often happened in the small third world town where we lived, during the meal, the electricity went out, so we ate the chicken stew in the dark. Eating that chicken without seeing it heightened the senses. The flavors were so intense and beautiful that I fell in love with Peruvian food in that moment and decided I had to learn to cook it.

Pisco Punch, photo courtesy Nico Vera

As a Peruvian mixologist, you are always creating variations on pisco cocktails. Can you explain its history?

Pisco is a grape brandy popular since the late 1500’s. Grapes were not native to Peru. They were brought by the Spaniards who established some of the first vineyards in the Americas. The wine they produced there was so good that the King of Spain banned its production – he was worried that it would compete with Spanish wine. So instead, the grapes were made into the first distilled spirit in the Americas.

When this new spirit was created, it became very popular all over Peru. It was considered medicinal, like brandy. In 1920, the National Drink of Peru, the Pisco Sour, was created in Lima (by an American bartender who lived there) mixing two parts Pisco, one part simple syrup, one part lime juice, and egg whites, shaken with ice, and served strained with drops of Angostura bitters

How do you play with creating new pisco cocktails?

I try to tweak it using different herbs like thyme. Or I infuse the sugar syrup with hot peppers, habanero or chicory or infuse the pisco with coffee beans. It’s alchemy. At the Garden Show, I’ll demonstrate Pisco Punch, (which has a long historical connection to San Francisco).

Peruvian flan with quinoa. Photo courtesy: Nico Vera

We’ve discussed a main dish and cocktail, can you describe a special Peruvian dessert?

There are so many, but one of my favorites is flan with quinoa. It has a different texture. Historically, when the Spaniards brought over sugar cane in the eighteenth century, everything changed . In Lima at that time, there were lots of convents and it was the nuns who specialized in making extravagant desserts for holidays and celebrations. And what’s great is that they were good record keepers and wrote everything down. But they used some odd measurements. Like a recipe might say: take 2 soles (the Peruvian currency) worth of eggs. So we have to do some detective work to figure out how many eggs 2 soles would have bought back then.

We often don’t hear about what people eat for the first meal of the day. I’m curious about a typical Peruvian breakfast.

My favorite breakfast is pan con chicharron, a fried pork sandwich with sweet potatoes, and cafe con leche.

Are you planning to open a restaurant some day?

Right now, I’m not sure, because I’d miss interacting with diners, which means a lot to me. When I do pop-ups at 18 Reasons I’m not just back in the kitchen. I’m up front with the guests, plating, serving. I tell them the stories behind what they’re eating.

Can you recommend any Peruvian restaurants for people who want to sample this cuisine?

San Francisco has many Peruvian restaurants. Two of my favorites are very different from each other:

Mi Lindo Peru is a hole-in-the-wall on Mission, where you feel like you are eating in someone’s home.

And for a more high-end experience, La Mar Cebicheria in the Embarcadero.

What’s your latest project?

I’m writing a book now. I’ve been passionately collecting stories and recipes from my Mom; finding out what Peru was like back when she was a child; it’s a memoir that takes a girl’s perspective.

You picked a recipe for Loma Saltado to share with Bay Area Bites readers, because of its Chinese influence?

Chifa is what they call Chinese food in Peru. It’s been around for 150 years. After the Afro-Peruvians won their freedom, immigrants from China came to work on the farms and plantations, bringing ingredients such as ginger and soy sauce and woks. When my family would go out to eat we would always go to eat Chifa and sit at big round tables. In Peru, there are thousands of Chinese restaurants. Now when I travel to cities like New York and Vancouver, I make a point to visit their Chinatowns, because they make me feel at home.

Chinese-Peruvian Beef Stir Fry. Photo courtesy: Nico Vera

RECIPE
Nico Vera’s Lomo Saltado – Chinese-Peruvian Beef Stir Fry

Lomo Saltado is one of the most important dishes in the history of Peruvian cuisine — it’s the first time that ingredients from China like ginger and soy sauce were mixed with Peruvian aji amarillo hot peppers, and the fusion is a truly savory and spicy Chifa dish.

Though there are many variations of Lomo Saltado, the main ingredients are beef, red onions, tomatoes, and French fries. The real key to this dish, however, is the seasoning — in addition to salt, garlic, and ginger, I prepare a sauce with soy sauce, white wine vinegar, oyster sauce, and aji amarillo. The recipe here is from my mom, but the addition of the oyster sauce was inspired by Gaston Acurio’s version of Lomo Saltado at La Mar.

INGREDIENTS FOR THE STIR-FRY
• 1/2 lb. beef (see notes below)
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1 red onion
• 1 tomato
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 small piece of ginger
• 1 bag of frozen French fries
• salt to taste
• green onion and cilantro for garnish
• 1 lime

INGREDIENTS FOR THE SAUCE
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon aji amarillo paste
• 4 teaspoons white wine vinegar
• 2 teaspoons oyster sauce

PREPARATION
In addition to the ingredients above, you’ll need a skillet for stir-frying and a bowl to mix the sauce.
1. Preheat the oven and follow the instruction to bake the French fries, usually at 450°F for 30 minutes or so. You can continue with the preparation that follows while the fries are baking, but wait until they are done before stir-frying the beef.
2. Mince the garlic and ginger. Chop the cilantro and cut the green onion into rings. Slice the tomato into six wedges. Peel the red onion, cut in half, and cut each half in quarters and separate onion layers into leaf-like slices. Cut the lime in half.
3. In a small bowl, prepare the sauce by mixing together the soy sauce, vinegar, aji amarillo, and oyster sauce.
4. Cut the beef into medium size strips.
5. When the fries are done, remove from oven.
6. Heat canola oil in skillet over medium to high heat.
7. Season the beef strips with salt and stir-fry the beef in skillet, about 30 seconds.
8. Add the garlic and ginger, stir-fry about 30 seconds.
9. Add the onions and tomatoes, stir-fry about 30 seconds.
10. Add the fries and prepared sauce, stir-fry about 30 seconds.
11. Turn off heat and mix in the green onion and cilantro, stir-fry about 30 seconds.
12. Serve immediately and squeeze juice of half a lime over dish.

SERVINGS
2 servings.

NOTES
Lomo means tenderloin en español, but other cuts of beef will work well as long as you don’t overcook them. For example, I like using a New York strip and sometimes a top sirloin. The beef strips should be of even thickness and not too long, that way they will cook uniformly. Once the sauce is prepared, the fries are baked, and all the ingredients are chopped or sliced, the cooking happens very fast. The timing in the steps above is only an estimate, what is most important is not to overcook the beef or tomatoes. Also, you should only add the amount of sauce and fries to balance all the ingredients. The end result should be tender beef, crispy onions, moist tomatoes, and warm fries — nothing should be too soft or soggy.

Related Information
Blog: Pisco Trail
Facebook: Pisco Trail
Twitter: @piscotrail
Pinterest: Piscotrail.com

Jennifer Ng’s obsession with ice cream is the foundation for her upcoming book, “The Ice Cream Travel Guide.”

Ice cream is her answer to everything.

When faced with jet-lag and oppressive humidity in Bangkok, Jennifer Ng found solace in a few scoops of sweet corn ice cream. While planning her 30th birthday celebration, Ng, a non-drinker, chose San Francisco’s Ice Cream Bar as the destination, her version of a watering hole.

It’s probably safe to say that Ng has eaten more ice cream than the rest of us. She will combine that passion for ice cream with her interest in travel in the upcoming book, “The Ice Cream Travel Guide.” The book will map the world’s top ice cream destinations, along with recipes and stories that illustrate what this frozen confection means to cultures around the globe.

“It’s a happiness business,” Ng says. “It’s a place where people come and leave happy. Wherever I went, it was a community-sharing experience.”

The 30-year-old mobile designer from San Francisco has visited roughly 40 ice cream shops and other destinations in Seattle, Los Angeles, Columbus, Ohio, Argentina, Taiwan, Canada and the Philippines.

She just raised more than $7,000 through a successful Kickstarter campaign to help fund travel to New York City, Italy and Turkey to continue researching ice cream for the book, which she plans to self-publish later this year. Each city will include a map with notable ice cream stops, history and recommendations, plus recipes and stories from ice cream makers and lovers.

Obviously, Ng is a sugar addict, but she also is clever about food, says friend and journalist Eric Simons. She’s been known to throw interesting food parties, such as an annual Halloween book club gathering where she usually chooses a zombie book and serves brain-themed foods.

As part of her “31 Flavors” project, Ng vowed to create 31 flavors of ice cream in the year before her 31st birthday in May (she’s completed No. 30, an Asian pear-green tea sorbet and started No. 31: horchata with snickerdoodles).

Her favorites so far include strawberry candied jalapeno (a nod to San Francisco’s Humphry Slocombe); goat cheese ice cream with caramelized figs and candied bacon (inspired by a Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream in Columbus, Ohio); and celery ice cream with rum-plumped raisins and a peanut butter swirl (modeled after the childhood combination of celery sticks, peanut butter and raisins).

“There are a billion things you can do with ice cream, but she’s really good about finding different flavors of ice cream, different preparations, and different people who make it with different cultural backgrounds,” Simons says. “It turns out to be intellectually interesting.”

Ng will serve up ice cream trivia in the book, including the story of how William Dreyer gave an ice cream made with chocolate, nuts and marshmallows the name Rocky Road to cheer up Great Depression-era Americans. Or how Ben Coen’s lost sense of smell led to Ben & Jerry’s signature chunkiness as he sought additional texture.

She’ll also delve into some of the cultural differences surrounding ice cream. In Buenos Aires, where gelato, or helado, is commonplace due to the flow of 19th century Italian immigrants, ice cream is enjoyed while lounging with friends and family late at night after dinner, Ng says. In the Philippines, ice cream is often picked up and consumed at home.

Ng will include in the book a map of San Francisco, which she says stands out for ingredients that are high quality, local and seasonal. Those traits are evident at places like Smitten Ice Cream, which features a seasonal flavor of the month, such as Meyer lemon gingersnap or rhubarb crisp.

We asked Ng for recommendations at some of San Francisco’s top ice cream shops. Outside San Francisco, she’s keen on Fenton’s in Oakland, Real Ice Cream in Santa Clara and Sunnyvale, Ici Ice Cream in Berkeley, Tara’s Ice Cream in Oakland and Berkeley, Fairfax Scoop in Fairfax and Three Twins in Napa.

Bi-Rite Creamery: Many people know this Dolores Park hotpot for its salted caramel, but Ng really loves the Dainty Gentleman Sundae, made with olive oil and sea salt, which she says adds silkiness and draws out sweetness. She also recommends balsamic strawberry ice cream when it is in season, along with Bi-Rite’s seasonal popsicle.

Bi-Rite Creamery’s Dainty Gentleman Sundae with honey lavender ice cream, hot fudge, blood orange olive oil and Maldon sea salt.

Humphry Slocombe: Ng says this joint isn’t your typical ice cream shop. You’ll find Warhol-inspired art and flavors that range from the familiar to the eyebrow-raising, including banana, carrot and bacon. Ng recommends the Thai chili lime sorbet and the Harvey Milk and honey, made with honey and graham crackers.

Humphry Slocombe’s Thai chili lime sorbet.

Ice Cream Bar: This ice cream and soda fountain parlor offers lots of seating space, Ng says, making it ideal for parties. She recommends the Tropical Split (ask for a similar sundae if it’s not in season) and the Hamilton, especially with basil ice cream and fresh strawberries.

The Hamilton at Ice Cream Bar, made with a spoonful of ice cream, lemon, malt, fountain syrup and soda.

Mitchell’s Ice Cream: This San Francisco institution is known for exotic and tropical flavors such as avocado, ginger, horchata, jackfruit, lucuma and macapuno (coconut from the Philippines). Ng calls Mitchell’s a great example of business owners adapting their offerings to the demographics of their customers.

A scoop of ube — purple yam imported from the Philippines — and the Tropical 4, a mango, guava, banana and pineapple combo at Mitchell’s.

Mr. and Mrs. Miscellaneous: The menu changes everyday — and sometimes during the day — but this Dogpatch shop always offers 10 flavors. Ng suggests asking for staff recommendations on a house-made cone. Ng admires the consistency in quality and texture, noting that here the ice cream is kept much colder than at other ice cream shops.

Butter toffee and burnt sugar ice creams on a house-made cone at Mr. and Mrs. Miscellaneous.

Smitten Ice Cream: This tiny ice cream shop located in a shipping container in Hayes Valley uses liquid nitrogen to make its ice cream on the spot. Among its offerings: two classic flavors, two seasonal scoops and vegan Popsicles.

Ng recommends one of Smitten Ice Cream’s seasonal flavors; March is blood orange with pistachio shortbread.

Related Information:
Blog: Ice Cream Moments
Facebook: Ice Cream Travel Guide
Twitter: @jennism

Triage theory, phytonutrients, circadian clocks… such is the stuff of cooking for longevity — at least according to a recent episode of KQED’s Forum with Michael Krasny. The show featured Rebecca Katz,  author of the new cookbook, “The Longevity Kitchen” and doctors from the Buck Institute for Research on Aging, a Marin-based research organization.

Each guest made their own case for the connection between food and a longer, healthier life.

Pankaj Kapahi, associate professor at the Buck Institute said that recent research about the Target of Rapamycin or TOR pathway speaks to the power of food:

“The TOR pathway and the insulin signaling pathway, are the two major pathways which are the nutrient signaling pathways…the idea is that these two pathways that interact and are critical for the growth of an organism are also turning out to be critically important in slowing age-related diseases, and also lifespan.”

Kapahi’s colleague and founder of the Buck Institute for Research on Aging, Dale Bredesen, used “the triage theory” to explain the role of food choices in longevity:

“The idea of triage theory is simple: that if your body is limited in any specific nutrients, vitamins and minerals, and about 80 percent of us in the U.S. are low in something, be it magnesium, calcium, vitamin C, you can go on and on — then in fact your body triages that and uses it for short term survival and procreation at the expense of longevity.”

Katz’s explanation points to the study of “epigenetics,” what she defines as the study of “the factors affecting genetic expression.” From her book:

“We’ve learned that almost every process in the human body, including the creation of most disease states, involves the interplay of anywhere from three to more than a dozen genes. Eventually, we’ll tease out the interplay within these complex relationships and learn how to work the produce aisle to restore order on a systems level. But for now, we’re making some good inroads. As researchers have learned more and more of the genetic, metabolic, and cellular causes of disease, they’ve also figured out which nutrients can turn those processes around.”

As interesting as the science is, Katz emphasized on air and in her book that what is most useful to people is knowing what to eat. Her book is organized by foods rather than by nutrients because, as she said,

“I’m not going to send people to the market looking for glutathione. But I will send them to the market looking for asparagus.”

Katz has compiled a “culinary pharmacy,” listing the health benefits of foods from allspice (antimicrobial, digestive support) to yogurt (digestive support, immune health). Her book also contains the “Super 16” a list of foods that not only have high levels of antioxidants, but are also “premier sources of healthy omega-3 fats, probiotics, and other body boosting phytochemicals, vitamins and minerals.” In other words, they offer good nutritional bang for the bite.

Roasted Asparagus Salad with Arugula and Hazelnuts. Courtesy of The Longevity Kitchen

• At the top of the Super 16 list is asparagus. Katz said “it has a lot of fiber, which is wonderful for us, and it has what’s called the super antioxidant, glutathione, which we lose as we age.”
• Avocados also made the cut, which Katz recommends whipping ”into an incredible guacamole with mint and pomegranate seeds.”
• Basil and mint are in the Super 16 and “are things that we can so easily incorporate into our diet,” said Katz. “They’re anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, and they have so many phytonutrients.”
• And for those of you who are fans of the Mediterranean Diet, let’s not forget coffee, dark chocolate and olive oil.
• The discussion on eating for longevity didn’t stop at ingredients. Bredesen says that it’s critical not to eat three hours before going to sleep.

Insanely Good Chocolate Brownies. Courtesy of The Longevity Kitchen

Kapahi cited a study were two groups of mice we’re given the same amount of food but at different times — one group was fed at night and the other during the day. The group fed at night became obese.

“One of the things that is becoming clearer is the importance of circadian clocks and circadian rhythms in our eating habits,” said Kapahi. “Food itself is a signal for our clocks. So if you eat at nighttime you’re telling the liver to actually wake up and that sets everything out of sync. And that we found is really detrimental for health span and increases incidents of cancer and diabetes.”

“In India and in a number of other countries, food is medicine,” said Bredesen.  “I think this is something that’s come to our country surprisingly late. In the U.S., food has become fun. Food has become immediacy — if you get that drive-thru you can get more done, but in fact we’re learning that India has been right all along that food is medicine.”

Listen to KQED’s Forum: How to Eat for a Longer Life
Original Broadcast:
Thursday, Mar 7, 2013 — 10:00 AM

Get recipes, including Insanely Good Chocolate Brownies and Roasted Asparagus Salad with Arugula and Hazelnuts are posted on the Forum episode page.

Get recipes for Layered Frittata with Leeks, Swiss Chard, and Tomatoes and Herby Turkey Sliders: