Showing 217 results for
My family’s Halloween meal was a miserable loose meat abomination called the spoon burger, blander than Lawrence Welk. Hoping for better traditions for the future, I’ve experimented unceasingly to create a dish that embraced my past horrors with something more seasonable on the table. Halloween, after all, equals horror and nice fall treats.
Buy American! I don’t just say that out of patriotism, I say that out of taste. If pleasing patriotism and taste buds at the same time is your idea of life, liberty, and the pursuit of drunkenness, you need to look into Caddell & Williams (), keepers/sellers of a brilliant portfolio of craft distillers.
Every so often every chef-professional or duffer-gets in a scrape. That’s why you can’t have too good a spatula. One of the best is a double-edged “sword” from Chef’n called the Switchit, as the whole thing is silicone and usable on either its wider or thinner end, with artfully curved lines that might make a protractor jealous.
On September 26, Santa Barbara restaurateur Brigitte Guehr opened a new eatery, called Bacchus, at the Storybook Inn in Solvang (409 1st St.)-formerly the home of The Brothers restaurant, now at Mattei’s Tavern. The menu consists of three-course meals ($48), which include choices of creamy baked cauliflower soup, with scallops and curried walnuts; duck breast and duck flannel hash; and sea bass delicately incensed with fennel pollen.
Luke Lindquist has winemaking in his blood. His father, Bob, is one of the most celebrated winemakers in the United States, having produced syrahs of great character, year in and year out, for more than 15 years under his iconic Qupe label. His brother, Ethan, has established a loyal following with his Ethan brand of wines. Now Luke, 32 years old and boyishly handsome, has joined forces with Santa Maria Valley’s esteemed Teixeira family, a well-respected agricultural family who farms row crops successfully and runs large herds of cattle.
As most of us discovered in our college years, learning and alcohol often go hand in hand. It turns out you can actually learn about alcohol, too, especially if you attend the informative and tasty series at the Los Olivos Wine Merchant & Cafe. Tuesdays feature Understanding Your Palate, at which special guests share knowledge that you will be sure to drink up.
As fall delivers chillier weather and darker skies, there’s no better place to be than the rustic Cold Spring Tavern (coldspringtavern.com) off San Marcos Pass, where warmth is exuded everywhere, from the comfort food and homey staff to the burning fireplaces and historic decor. What better way to temper that encompassing heat than with a few quaffs of brew from Carpinteria’s Island Brewing Company (islandbrewingcompany.com), which is hosting an informational beer-pairing dinner there on October 17.
Now out in paperback, David Kamp’s The United States of Arugula is a fun, fact-filled romp through a century of American eating-from canned crap and Kraft to baby greens gently weaned from their mizuna mom’s teat. Kamp wisely focuses on the fascinating cast of characters behind 50 years of American food trends, and what a group it is.
While I like to have a little lamb but generally feel fleeced buying it, that’s not the case with the less expensive but still delicious lamb loin chop. That’s the one shaped like a T-bone, which means some eating with your hands is often helpful. This recipe is based on one I cut out of the L.A. Times years ago and finally adapted. The gremolata, a variation on the usual ossobucco accompaniment, lifts the dish in delicious ways.
Our farmers markets carry a surprising variety of Santa Barbara County-grown items. At the Saturday downtown market, I’ve found olive oils, walnut and pistachio oils, roasted, raw, and flavored pistachios, and walnuts. Lily’s Eggs (based in Carpinteria) sells fresh, tender organic chicken as well as eggs, and Healthy Family Farms has fresh duck, as well as goat cheese and goat yogurt.
