liv bites

Last night I prepared a meal that contained no cheese. No sweet potatoes, no balsamic vinegar. Not even a pinch of chopped basil. Who is this girl? The second challenge in Foodbuzz’s Project Food Blog asks contestants to go outside their comfort zones and prepare a classic dish from a foreign cuisine. Admittedly, the first [...]

Gazpacho has been calling my name this season. First it was the Late Summer Tomato Soup in my Frank Stitt cookbook, Frank Stitt’s Southern Table. Then it was reading other bloggers’ chilled soup experiments, like this one at EatLiveRun. The last straw was the latest issue of Cook’s Illustrated, featuring their Creamy Gazpacho Andaluz, which [...]

Summer is officially wrapping up, even in San Francisco. Since summer generally feels more like fall here, we usually get a couple of months of glorious sunny weather in September and October, but the sun seems to have overlooked the whole city this year. I can’t complain, really: It’s been a breezy 65 degrees for [...]

The best thing about being in between my old job and new school is all the free time I have left to cook! I spent hours in my kitchen yesterday working on delicious blog material, and then my assistant came by for a quiet dinner for two. Between traveling and entertaining, we haven’t had one [...]

The other night I went out for a comfort food dinner of lasagna and fresh-baked bread at Chow, and after sipping a glass of white wine, it occurred to me that I’m still about eight years old at heart. After my plate was taken away, all I could think about were brownies. It’s no revelation [...]

Friends, I need a favor. Remember how I mentioned I’m competing in Foodbuzz’s latest project to find The Next Food Blog star? Well, voting is now open, and if you’re a sucker for the underdog I would very much appreciate your support! You can click here to cast your vote and win my undying gratitude. [...]

As much as I rave about the Ferry Building Farmer’s Market in San Francisco, it seems only fair to give out-of-towners a taste of what it has to offer. Besides stand after stand of gourmet prepared foods, juices and coffee, the market features local farmers who offer heaps of their best seasonal produce. You don’t [...]

Why should I be The Next Food Blog Star? In the past month I quit my day job and enrolled in culinary school, so sheer guts have got to count for something. But let me back up. That’s me above, enjoying a delicious Pinot Noir. And some exciting things are going on around here that [...]

… Make Lemon Sour Cream Pound Cake! My assistant’s mother came to town this week, just days after celebrating her xxth birthday (a lady never tells). The son let it slip that she loved citrus desserts, so I knew we had to prepare with a sweet surprise. This is a woman from Miami, so I [...]

I know I just wrote about how easy it is to take instant couscous camping, but the truth is that my heart belongs to the big, pearl, Middle Eastern couscous over the smaller African variety. I know I’m not alone. The larger grains are softer and chewier than their cousins, more like a satisfying pasta [...]