San Francisco Recipes

SAN FRANCISCO CIOPPINO

Steps:

• Make the stew base. Heat a large stew pot or Dutch oven over medium heat with the olive oil. Add the onions and saute until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, season with salt and pepper to taste, and cook 2 minutes more. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 1 minute. Add the wine, and use a wooden spoon to scrape up any browned bits in the pot. Simmer the wine until reduced by about half. Add the tomatoes, peppers, parsley, thyme, and bay leaf and cook for 5 minutes. Add the stock or broths; bring to a boil, then adjust the heat to maintain a gentle simmer. Cook the base, with a cover slightly ajar, for 30 minutes. (The base may be prepared ahead up to this point, refrigerated for 1 day or frozen for 1 month).
• Finish the Cioppino. Bring the base to a simmer. Add the basil and the clams, and cook covered, over high heat, for 5 minutes, or just until the clams open. Add the crab and cook for 1 minute. Add the mussels, shrimp, squid, and scallops. Cook, stirring frequently, until the mussels open, the shrimp curl, and squid and scallops are just firm, about 3 minutes. Serve in large heated bowls with plenty of crusty bread.

SAN FRANCISCO-STYLE VIETNAMESE AMERICAN GARLIC NOODLES

Steps:

• Melt the butter in a wok or saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant but not browned, about 2 minutes. Add the oyster sauce, soy sauce and fish sauce, and stir to combine. Remove from the heat.
• Meanwhile, bring 1 1/2 inches of water to a boil in a 12-​inch skillet or sauté pan over high heat. (Alternatively, heat up just enough water to cover the spaghetti in a large Dutch oven or saucepan.) Add the pasta, stir a few times to make sure it's not clumping, and cook, stirring occasionally, until just shy of al dente (about 2 minutes short of the recommended cook time on the package).
• Using tongs, transfer the cooked pasta to the garlic sauce, along with whatever water clings to it. (Reserve the pasta water in the skillet.) Increase the heat to high, add the cheese to the wok, and stir with a wooden spatula or spoon and toss vigorously until the sauce is creamy and emulsified, about 30 seconds. If the sauce looks too watery, let it keep reducing. If it looks greasy, splash some more cooking water into it and let it re-​emulsify. Stir in the scallions (if using), and serve immediately.

A REAL SAN FRANCISCO TREAT: JOE'S SPECIAL

Steps:

• In a heavy skillet over medium heat, cook onions and garlic in olive oil until tender and translucent.
• Add crumbled ground sirloin and cook until the beef is almost browned.
• Stir in sliced mushrooms. Add sherry, if desired, and cook about one minute. Mix in spinach and seasonings and stir well.
• Mix in green chilies, if desired. Add the beaten eggs stirring constantly to completely blend eggs into the mixture.
• Remove from the heat and stir in the Parmesan cheese and serve immediately. Serve with French bread.

SAN FRANCISCO CHOPS

Steps:

• In a large skillet, brown pork chops on both sides in oil; transfer to a 3- to 4-qt. slow cooker. Add garlic to drippings; cook and stir for 1 minute. Add the soy sauce, wine, brown sugar and pepper flakes; cook and stir until sugar is dissolved. Pour over chops. , Cook, covered, on low 7-8 hours or until meat is tender. Remove chops. Combine cornstarch and cold water until smooth; gradually stir into slow cooker. Return chops to slow cooker. Cover and cook on high for 30 minutes or until slightly thickened. Serve with rice.

CLASSIC SAN FRANCISCO SOURDOUGH BREAD

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine the water, sourdough starter and 4 cups of flour.
• Mix well and cover with plastic wrap in a warm place 8-12 hours (I do it over night).
• The next day stir in the salt and sugar and add flour 1/2 to 1 cup at a time to make a very stiff dough .
• Knead till smooth.
• Cover and let rise 2 to 2-1/2 hours.
• Punch down and divide in half.
• Knead till smooth and form into rounds. Place on a greased baking sheet. Cover lightly and let rise till double and puffy (1 to 1-2 hrs).
• While this is rising mix the 1/2 cup water and 1/2 tsp cornstarch in a small bowl and microwave till boiling, remove from heat and let cool.
• Heat oven to 400°F.
• Carefully place a small pan of hot water on the bottom rack of the oven.
• Cut two slashes across each other on top of each loaf.
• Bake for 10 minutes.
• Pull out the rack and baste each loaf well with the cornstarch mixture.
• Close the oven and allow to bake another 20-25 minutes. Loaves should be a light golden color and sound hollow when tapped on the bottom.
• You are suppose to allow this to cool for 2 hrs to develop the sourdough flavor fully -- we wait maybe 30-45 minutes!