2013 Culinary Odyssey Archive Stories

While traveling in Europe and North Africa for the last two weeks, I called my friend, Juan Jose from Filaki farms in Oregon House, to find out if his organic greenhouse tomatoes are ripening fast enough. To my pleasant surprise, he committed to provide Café Collage with its first tomato delivery of the season. I immediately thoug

Greek Easter will be celebrated this coming Sunday. The seven weeks of Lent, in the Greek Orthodox Church tradition, are the preparation to celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. During this period, followers traditionally abstain from consuming any animal products, such as meat, fish, eggs, milk and cheese. On Holy Saturd

While visiting Boulette's Larder in San Francisco last year, I made a great discovery. Traditionally, there is a farmer's market every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday in front of the ferry building. There are often multiple stands selling fresh organic produce coming mainly from various farms in Napa Valley and the vicinity. When I saw th

Throughout the years I have tasted a great many lemon tarts and my favorite is definitely the one that is served at Boulettes Larder restaurant in San Francisco at the Ferry Building. I personally recommend using Meyer lemons mainly because they are less acidic and more flavorful. At café collage we will be serving this dessert fo

While visiting Florida and the Bahamas last week, I developed a great appreciation for the grouper fish. I decided to create a recipe that will pay tribute to the natural flavors of this fish. There are about 21 species of grouper found in the Caribbean and along the coast of Florida. An interesting characteristic is that grouper begins

I have experimented with mashed potato gateau for quite a while, and it is only after a lucky occurrence that I discovered the richness and complexity of this dish. This potato gateau — which can be offered as a side dish or entree — is designed to be served a couple of days after it is baked and refrigerated. There a

The legend behind the Valentine's Day celebration is a bit inconsistent. According to various sources, Valentine's Day is named after an early Christian martyr named Valentine. He was persecuted as a Christian and sentenced to be executed under the Roman Emperor Claudius II. Before his execution, Valentine is said to have performed healing mirac

This dish could be baked in individual serving size tartlet molds or in a large pastry shell, according to the number of guests and the kind of effect you wish to create. When well done, it is a work of art, mainly because the process of putting it together requires many steps, pots and pans. For variation, you can substitute zucchini fo

This week's recipe is more of a fusion between East and West. Risotto is traditionally a north Italian rice dish. Theoretically, the Arabs brought rice to Sicily and Andalusia in about the 14th century. Later on, the Po Valley, which runs from the western Alps to the Adriatic Sea, became the ideal environment and climate for the cultivat

Lamb stews are quite popular in the Mediterranean, and there are as many recipes as there are villages. In Morocco, lamb stews are often prepared with olives, nuts, plums or apricots, honey and exotic spices. In Greece and the Middle East, there is a predominant use of oregano or thyme, tomatoes, cinnamon, lemon juice and various other h

Last week, I got a call from a dear friend of mine residing in Loma Rica who provides me with tomatoes in the summer and Meyer lemons in the winter. I went to visit her and collected the Meyer lemons. Interestingly, this citrus fruit is native to China and was introduced to America in the early 20th century by Frank Nicholas Meyer who br

The most challenging part of this dessert is to be able to pronounce it: ga-lak-to-bou-ree-ko. This week's recipe is my wife Anne's version of galaktoboureko, and the following story is written by her: I remember seeing the Kokkari cookbook for the first time on a trip to the Bay Area. Salim and I were browsing at the food market on Four

After a festive holiday season, today's column is about starting the new year with a healthy and nutritious meal. This week's recipe is a combination of my own version of the Moroccan harira lentil soup and a chicken-lemon soup. The main ingredients are brown lentils, garbanzo beans, onions, carrots, garlic, tomato sauce, lemon juice, cu