Chef Jacques Pépin demonstrates how to make haddock steaks in rice paper with a shallot and soy sauce. This video clip is a web-exclusive that was taped during the filming of Jacques' series Essential Pépin.

Chef Jacques Pépin demonstrates how to clean and prepare mussels. He is joined by his daughter, Claudine on the set of his TV series Essential Pépin.

Chef Jacques Pépin demonstrates how to crystallize orange skin to make candied orange peels. This video clip is a web-exclusive that was taped during the filming of Jacques' series Essential Pépin.

Chef Jacques Pépin demonstrates how to debone a quail. This video clip is a web-exclusive that was taped during the filming of Jacques' series Essential Pépin.

Happy New Year! Here are two culinary experts sharing radically different approaches to opening a bottle of champagne. Both techniques are excellent skills to cultivate and can be used depending on the mood of the party.

First up is Jacques Pépin, the classic chef and teacher who's new series, Essential Pépin is currently airing on KQED and can be watched online. This technique clip was filmed during the taping of the show and includes Jacques' tips on pouring sparkling wine.

Next up is the vivacious and a bit more dramatic Leslie Sbrocco, host of Check, Please! Bay Area. Leslie shares one of her favorite party tricks that she originally demoed a few years back on the Josh Kornbluth show.

* Note: Do not attempt this technique while intoxicated.

Next month, the Mission outpost of sausage and craft beer emporium Rosamunde Sausage Grill marks its third birthday. Partner-owner Josh Margolis shared some meaty updates with Bay Area Bites recently: plans for an East Bay Rosamunde location are in the works.

His longtime passion has been to open a beer restaurant, and he first came to San Francisco and worked at Postrio in 1990. The UC San Diego and Culinary Institute graduate is from Los Angeles, and gravitates to Saison and Belgian beer: “Duvel in the bottle is one of my go-to drinks.”

Margolis lives in the Bayview with his husband Raymond Lobato, who is a graphic designer, DJ, artist, and feng shui artist. The two have also lived in the Mission and Noe Valley. “We met in college and have been together 25 years... he DJs here on Friday nights. He did all the artwork. We've been married four times. In 1991, we became domestic partners. Then we did a ceremony in 2000. 2004 was the best one. We saw Gavin Newsom on the news. Then we got in line and we’re probably 80th or 90th in line at City Hall. The place was on fire! The energy and ceremonies were happening every 5 minutes. It was just the two of us, and we saw our old next-door neighbors. They took pics--via cell phone--and became our witnesses.”

How did you open Rosamunde? Any chance of bringing the Tuesday Rosamunde burger to the Mission?
I partnered with Jennifer Tucci to open the Mission one. We’ve decided to keep the Rosamunde burger at the Haight only. There is a steak sandwich now every day in the Mission. We started the steak sandwich in the summer, as well as a mushroom sandwich. Our vegetarian orders are significant, and we are one of the biggest destinations for veggie diners in the city.

Lady Gaga visited in August 2010. Do you get Gaga fans trying to see where Lady Gaga hung out?
People still ask about it. It was around three in the afternoon, and only a few people were around. She came in with her boyfriend and bodyguard and was wearing a red leotard outfit. She said to the bartender Claire, “I'm Gaga” and Claire told her, “I’m Claire.” Then Claire came into the office to look her up online. Gaga hung out, drank several glasses of white wine, and stayed for two to three hours. Apparently she was on her way from San Jose to dinner in the city. She wanted Mexican, and a friend told her to go to the Mission. She saw the sign for sausages, and decided to go to Rosamunde instead.

Raymond Lobato, Josh Margolis, Jennifer Tucci - Rosamunde First Year

What’s new at the restaurant?
We’re getting ready for our 3rd anniversary on January 18. There’ll be a party of some sort. Then, there’s SF Beer Week February 10-19. We’ll host some breweries and also have a beer drinking & sausage-eating contest that will be something classy. Teams of two will compete together. Rosamunde will choose the sausages cut in 1/2 while each team will choose a unique beer. Eat as many 1/2 sausage as you can with as much beer as you need to get it down in 15 minutes. The winner gets $100 in Rosamunde gift certificates. Everyone gets $1 off the winner’s beer choice the rest of the day or $2 for the beer choice with winner’s sausage choice. All contestants get a Rosamunde T-Shirt. Team signup begins January 25th at the Mission Street location.

What are your favorite spots to shop for food?
Rainbow is my standard go to for dairy, pantry, vinegars, oils and sauces.

Sun Fat Fish Market is the cleanest, nicest of all old time seafood shops. Since November 15, I’ve been visiting them every day. I’ve been eating a lot of crab.

On Saturdays, I go to the Alemany Farmers’ Market.

I also like the European Market on Clement. They have whole walls of refrigerated cured meats, salami, sausage, and things like that. They also bring in really good German bread. It’s frozen and they bake it off. That’s the only place in town you can get that. They cure and smoke own fish, salmon, white fish, herring.

Where are your favorite date spots?
Besides home?... We drive down to Santa Cruz and make a day of it. We usually take our bikes and ride on the north side of Santa Cruz. It’s such a beautiful place and one of the best times to go is not summer. On the way, our favorite lunch spot is Sam’s Chowder House in Half Moon Bay. I like both their red and white chowder, and fish and chips.

What is your favorite meal to have with your family?
I’m pretty famous for not cooking the same thing twice. Ever. Restaurants and farmers’ markets constantly inspire me. We may have pizza once a week at home, but I’ll never make the same pizza twice.

Do you have plans for the holidays?
Kathleen is my friend from San Diego. Together we make “Turkey Prince Edward”: take the skin off a turkey, and completely debone it. Lay the meat down on the turkey skin so that you basically make a roulade. You can do Turkey Prince Edward with two turkeys, rolled and stuffed with prunes, port and chestnut. Kathleen fed us when we were opening the new place (Mission Rosamunde).

"Turkey Prince Edward"

What’s your guiltiest food pleasure?
Which one should I choose? The burrito mojado al pastor at Taqueria Cancun is a huge, swimming in sauce delicious meat thing that you pay for later. Then there are super nachos, but I don’t treat myself to that anymore.

Peter Temkin. Photo: Sarah Logan

Peter Temkin brings a decade of experience to Show Dogs and specializes in charcuterie from pates and whole-cut dry-cured meats to fresh sausages. Peter began working with Chefs Gayle Pirie and John Clark six months ago as Show Dogs’ in-house Charcutier, and recently introduced five new specialty sausages to the menu including: Merguez, Wild Boar, Chicken Curry, Chicken Boudin and Maple Bacon. Each sausage is made with locally sourced meats but incorporate seasonings to mirror the regions from which the sausages are inspired.

Peter was introduced to the culinary world in his youth while growing up in New York City -- his mother was a catering chef and his father was a book publisher for MCA/Universal's book division, now known as Putnam Books. This upbringing, coupled with travels to France and Italy, instilled an early appreciation for food and cooking traditions. He began his culinary career as an apprentice at Florio restaurant in San Francisco. Here, Temkin says, Chef Rick Hackett set his foundation for cooking -- learning everything from practical skills to the art of cured meat. Since then, Temkin has been instrumental in the opening of Nopa, Spruce, and Cavallo Point’s Farley Bar, where he developed comprehensive charcuterie programs. He lives in South City.

What’s new at the restaurant?
Things are great and the in-house sausages are really singing. We're in the process of developing several new charcuterie offerings as well, which is very exciting. At Foreign Cinema, the housemade program is starting to hit its stride, now that the salumis are beginning to show. My chefs are so supportive and generous with their talent. I'm very lucky to work where I do.

What are your favorite 2 spots to shop for food?
Avedano's on Cortland and Olivier's Butchery in the Dogpatch. I also keep my eye on anything Good Foods Catering does. Chef Dontaye gets it done!

Tell us about meeting your wife.
My wife is Melody Mitchell, who is a certified sommelier and the lead server at The Village Pub. We met through mutual friends after a catering event. I went up to her and kissed her, and we've been together ever since. That was about 6 years ago, and we've been married for over a year and a half. My sun rises and sets with her.

What are your favorite date night spots?
Slow Club because the combination of the ambiance, the decor and Chef Matt Paul's food are just devastating.... My wife and I always order his flatbread, and I know he just put his short ribs on the menu. We'll have to get those, since I've heard they're just amazing. We also love Flower Lounge in Millbrae and, well, our house! We cook quite a bit together and the food's getting better all the time. My friend Jon Reitz just opened his first place, Cedar Hill Kitchen + Smokehouse, so we're looking forward to eating there as well.

What is your favorite meal to have with your family?
My wife's chicken thighs, braised greens and scalloped potatoes.

Guiltiest food pleasure?
Stouffer's French bread pepperoni pizza

As a teacher, what are the “musts” of making charcuterie?
You have to keep your proteins clean, cold and covered. Don't let the fancy words intimidate you -- a pate is just a meat loaf that's had a couple of cocktails. Finally, patience and passion -- you'll need both to do charcuterie well.

Do you have plans for the holidays and/or a favorite dish/recipe?
Eat, drink and be merry!

Salumi Paradiso - Sausage Knot. Photo: Elisa Cicinelli

Recipe: Salumi Paradiso

20 lbs of boneless pork butt, large cube, lean and fat separated
9 oz of kosher salt
3 tsp of DQ#2 curing salt (Butcher & Packer is a fantastic source for curing salts, starter cultures and casings.)
125 g of dextrose
2 cups of non-fat dry milk powder
4 oz of dry white wine
Two large pinches of saffron
10 g of crushed chile de arbol
15 g of minced fresh ginger
15 g of minced fresh garlic
4 g of starter culture

• Place meat on a full tray sheet for 20 minutes or until very cold.
• Grind lean and fat pork separately through 3/18" plate-make sure to chill all grinder parts for at least 20 minutes before grinding.
• Place ground pork, separating the lean and the fat, on a full sheet and keep refrigerated until all ingredients are assembled and ready to be utilized.
• Bring white wine to a boil and then off heat, crush the saffron between your fingers to release the essential oils of the saffron and then, put the saffron into the white wine and let steep into liquid is cool.
• Remove meat from fridge and combine lean meat with all seasoning and spices, by hand, break the fat into small pieces and incorporate into meat mixture.
• Mix white wine/saffron liquid into meat along with several glugs of ice water.
• Place starter culture into 3 oz of room temperature distilled water and vigorously incorporate solution by hand into meat mixture, make sure mixture is tacky.
• Stuff mixture into 34-36 mm hog casings, form sausages into 1/2 foot links, tying off links with double knots on both ends.
• Prick sausages with sausage pricker and hang on dowels and place in fermentation chamber for 48 hours.
• Place in drying room with a temperature of 58 degrees and an ambient humidity of 65-70% for 4-6 weeks or until sausages have given up approximately 40-50% of their water weight.

"There's a new sheriff in town. She has a smoker and she's not afraid to use it."

So says the Twitter description for B-Side BBQ, an excellent new barbecue restaurant in West Oakland. But the "new sheriff" is already a neighborhood favorite. Chef / owner Tanya Holland is the seasoned veteran of the nearby successful soul food restaurant, Brown Sugar Kitchen, and her new restaurant is the "flip side" to her popular flagship establishment. She and her husband, Phil Surkis, have lived and worked in West Oakland for seven years and are helping to bring more great eats to the community.

My husband and I stopped by three days after their official open to visit the newly renovated space. The former home of Yardie Jerk, B-Side BBQ now has a warm, country-and-western feel with whimsical touches.

Tanya commissioned local artist April Banks to create artworks for the restaurant that will make you do a double-take. Look closely and you'll see Tanya and Phil making cameos in these classic western scenes.

They were already out of their smoked brown sugar rubbed brisket by the time we placed our order, so we chose the pulled pork sandwich ($8) and the St. Louis Ribs ($10 half-order / $18 full order). Sides come separately, and we went for the day's seasonal vegetable (collard greens with garlic, $4) and spicy coleslaw ($4). The "Dark and Stormy" sauce (made with molasses and honey) I chose for my barbecue was a perfect complement to the crunchy coleslaw heaped on my tasty sandwich. The ribs were juicy and hearty; be sure to grab some of the complimentary wet nap towelettes to help clean the smoky, saucy aftermath off of your fingertips (unless you go for the finger-licking route, which I highly recommend.) And definitely try the housemade lemonade ($3) if you're looking for a sweet refresher to accompany your meal.

Tanya and Phil currently split their time between B-Side and Brown Sugar. She was busy in the kitchen and the dining room, with Phil helping her and her staff serve her customers. Stay tuned for the next iteration of B-Side BBQ. More items are on the way for the menu, and they'll increase B-Side's hours over time. Phil also mentioned they'll be expanding the existing space to accommodate more seating and lengthen the bar. We'll definitely be heading back for the brisket and cornbread.

Tanya Holland, Chef / Owner of Brown Sugar Kitchen and B-Side BBQ

B-Side BBQ
Address: map
3303 San Pablo Avenue (at 33rd Street)
Phone: (510) 595-0227
Hours:Tuesday-Saturday 11-4
Facebook: B-Side BBQ
Twitter: @BSideBBQ

Stephanie Izard

Chef Stephanie Izard, of Chicago's Girl & the Goat made San Francisco the 13th stop on her Goat Tour. Her debut cookbook, Girl in the Kitchen - How a Top Chef Cooks, Thinks, Shops, Eats & Drinks, co-authored with friend and food writer Heather Shouse, was released by Chronicle Books in October. Rather than a typical book tour though (what would be the fun in that?), Izard decided to travel the country, teaming up to cook with chef friends along the way.

Chefs Stephanie Izard and Jennifer Biesty

Stephanie joined fellow Top Chef alum Chef Jennifer Biesty last Friday at Scala's Bistro to cook up a special dinner benefiting Share our Strength.

Cauliflower Panna Cotta, Beet Caviar, Crostini

To start, we had an amuse bouche of creamy Cauliflower Panna Cotta topped with roasted beet caviar and crostini, and a glass of bubbly.

Seared Scallop, Goat Sausage, Goat XO

Next up, Stephanie prepared a Seared Scallop with Goat Sausage, topped with goat liver aioli and served with maitake mushrooms and winter squash in a smoky goat XO sauce. Airy, crispy pillows of cracker-like "pizza puffs" were scattered in the mix and added some unexpected crunch. I remembered this dish from a lunch Stephanie did with Chef Shawn McClain at Sage in Las Vegas a few months ago. I was happy to have an encore of it. Wine pairing: Pushback Sauvignon Blanc.

Fregula, Cherry Stone Clams, Calamari

Second course was a modern paella of sorts if you will, from Jen. A super sweet Cherry Stone Clam stuffed with calamari and a thin slice of Spanish chorizo over fregula studded with plump buttery Castelvetrano olives, almonds, and a shower of saffron threads. Wine pairing: DuMOL Chardonnay.

Goat Belly, Fennel Puree, Bourbon Buttered Crab

My favorite dish of the evening was Stephanie's Crisp Confit Goat Belly over a sweet fennel puree, topped with ribbons of shaved fennel, fine strands of lemon zest, and Bourbon Buttered Crab. The goat belly was crispy, fatty, and tender, and the bourbon buttered crab – seriously? To die for. The richness of this glorious fat-on-fat action was offset nicely by the fresh crunch of the fennel and a hit of acid from some lemon juice. Wine pairing: Fort Ross Vineyard Pinot Noir.

Chili and Chocolate Braised Wagyu Short Ribs, Parsnip Puree

Jen finished out the savory courses with a hulking Chili and Chocolate Braised Wagyu Short Rib garnished with pickled pear gremolata and candied fresno chilies over creamy parsnip puree. The chili-chocolate braise imparted a wonderful depth of flavor to the meat, but the unexpected delight were the creative garnishes. The pickled pear gremolata was full of sweet, crunchy, lemony herbaceousness and the brittle candied chilies had snap and heat to them. The parsnip puree was a welcome change to the typical mashed potato. I loved the sweet root veggie flavor and velvety starchiness of it. Definitely something I'll be trying at home this winter.
Wine pairing: Jason Pahlmeyer Red Blend.

Scala's pastry chef Tim Nugent, a Top Chef Just Desserts alum, prepared our dessert for the evening, a roasted Pear with Huckleberry Crepes served over a spoonful of mascarpone cheese. Wine pairing: Beringer "Nightengale" Botrytised Semillon.

After our meal I had a chance to sit down with Stephanie for a bit and chat. Here's what she had to say about her new book, goats, second restaurant, guilty pleasures, and sriracha.

Tell us about your new cookbook Girl in the Kitchen.

Girl in the Kitchen just came out in October. I wanted it to be very much for the home cook. We're already working on a Girl & the Goat cookbook, which will still be things you can recreate at home, but maybe a little more challenging (because goats are hard to find). But for this one, I got all the ingredients at Whole Foods or my local market, tested all the ingredients in my home kitchen in Chicago, which is like four square feet, and I had to do all the dishes myself, so I kept everything really simple. And I had friends come over and watch me cook so they could ask questions like, "What is bearding mussels?" or "What do you mean you're sweating the vegetables?" Things that I take for granted or are just second nature, but that maybe home cooks don't know the answer to. So we put little tips and tricks inside the book. And then there are just funny stories. I think it's a fun book and I have a lot of chef friends that obviously aren't going to cook the recipes because they're chefs, but they've sat down on the couch and read the little stories. I think there's a little bit of something for everyone.

Do you have a favorite recipe in there?

There are a few recipes that people ask for from Girl & the Goat, like our green bean recipe. People love our green beans. There's a halibut dish with a pork ragu – that's if you wanted to take a little more time to make a few steps. Also, the apple and pork and bacon ragu – so simple, it takes hardly any time to make, but adding the apple into the bacon and pork just makes it tasty.

The name of your restaurant comes from your last name, Izard, which is a type of mountain goat that lives in the Pyranees Mountains. Both of your dishes tonight featured some delicious goat. Can you talk a bit about cooking with goat – something not many people are familiar with?

We get 8-10 whole goats a week from Kilgus Farms, its about 1 1/2 - 2 hours south of the restaurant in Illinois and we actually get our dairy from Justin Kilgus's dad, who owns a dairy farm. It's just amazing goat. We taste-tested goats around Illinois before we picked that one. I had never cooked goat until we were getting ready to open, and I figured I should probably figure out how to cook it. I remember the first event, we got a couple legs and we braised them in cherries and beer and smoked it, and it came out great, and we were like, "Oh, goat is good!" and so we've just been playing around with all sorts of stuff. We have ten or so different dishes that we rotate on the menu. You can do everything with goat that you can do with pig, it just takes a little bit more thought because goats aren't blessed with as much fat as pigs.

You're working on opening a second restaurant, right?

We're opening a diner. It's going to be, well hopefully better than Rutti Tutti Fresh and Fruity breakfast, but it'll be diner. A lot of people say "diner," and then they're like, "Oh, look at my foie gras burger," and well, that's not gonna be at a diner…We bake all our breads in house, we're moving that across the street, so I'll have a bakeshop and then a cookie classroom upstairs, and private dining so people can rent it out for private events.

What's your guilty pleasure?

I just like ranch dressing a lot. We made ranch dressing the other day for this dish we're doing, but I didn't even call it ranch. I just called it buttermilk dressing, because it's delicious, but nothing like Hidden Valley Ranch.

Sriracha -- trend or staple?

I love sriracha. We have it in our kitchen all the time. Sriracha and sambal. All the time. I would say every dish at The Goat has one or the other, at least a little bit, in it. But I'm a spice wuss, so I can only have a little bit.

ADDRESSES

Girl & the Goat
809 W Randolph St
(between Halsted St & Green St)
Chicago, IL 60607
(312) 492-6262

Scala's Bistro
432 Powell St
(between Post St & Sutter St)
San Francisco, CA 94102
(415) 395-8555