dinner and a movie

first ever summer supper at local 123:

* olive tapenade toasts and assorted salumi

* fra'mani handcrafted sausages with summer potato salad and housemade peach chutney

* happy boy lettuces with fresh herbs and pickled beets

* bittersweet pot de creme

* choice of wine, beer or coffee

$25 per person. 6 to 8pm friday july 23rd

local 123, 2049 san palbo avenue, berekeley

go here to purchase your ticket:

http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/118944

"delikatessen" a french dark comedy about meat and love, directed by marc caro and jean-pierre jeunet will be screened in the back courtyard at sunset following the meal.

please join us for an evening of libations, sausages, dessert and meaty romance-the best kind!

rebecca stevens, chef

recipe testing

maybe it's due to my baking background, but i know how to make a recipe. even for savory dishes. i take out my cups and spoons and measure everything that goes into the bowl until the food is where i want it to be. but in everyday life i put things together with what i have on hand in combinations that may never again be replicated. here are some things i've made lately without a recipe.

for my boyfriend josh on father's day eaten on our back porch in oakland: flank steak marinated with a half-empty jar of el porteno chimichuri sauce, BLT salad, and roasted potatoes with tarragon aioli made in a blender.

same porch with my mom a few days later: BLT made on a quarter wheel of sweet adeline cornbread, bacon from ver brugge, same aioli and lettuce and tomatoes from the berkeley bowl.

in our trailer "the golden nugget" the day before 4th of july: tacos made with trader joe's fish crispies, guacamole, two kinds of hot sauce and raw cabbage, cilantro, white onion and lime wedges. on this trip i seasoned only with salt, and you know what? everything still tasted great.

you don't always need a recipe.

recipes for summer

there is a part and place in my creative process where i think i'll never finish. it happens when i'm about 80 to 85% there. it seems impossible. i think i'll never accomplish anything. i think about doing it, but i don't do it. i think about what other people are doing. getting depressed is part of my process.

i want to make another cookbook with recipes for summer. this is my recipe for perfect potato salad.

perfect potato salad

1 1/2 pounds golden fleshed potatoes

1/4 c. olive oil

1 tbsp. whole grain mustard

1 tbsp. dijon

1 tbsp. lemon juice

1/2 tsp. seasalt

1/8 tsp. black pepper

3 to 5 ribs of celery

3 scallions

1. put the potatoes in cold, well salted water in a medium sized pot. bring to a boil. lower the heat to a simmer and cook until easily pierced with a small knife.

2. whisk the olive oil, mustards, lemon juice, salt and pepper together. add scallions and celery.

3. slice the potatoes into quarter moons when they are still warm, but cool enough to handle. add potatoes into the dressing.

this is the basic recipe, but it can be expanded upon. some excellent substitutions are using fennel instead of celery. adding italian parsley in addition to scallions is what i do if i have both. just using a lot of basil as the herb can be sexy.

this salad is perfect next to a sausage, but is also really good with dabs of seared sausage stirred into it, especially sausage with fennel seeds if you are using fennel bulb instead of celery. also nice with cold slices of roasted meat if you are lucky enough to live with someone who still makes roasts.

pirate soda bread

pirate soda bread is the invention of a bread genius named eric that i worked for age 21 to 22.

i call it pirate for two reasons: 1. that i recreated the recipe from observation, but was never given the recipe, making the recipe technically stolen, and 2. the whisky, so loved by pirates.

this bread is so irresistible i usually give the second loaf away. it is best eaten toasted with unsalted butter.

pirate soda bread

1 1/4 c. plus 2 tbsp. white flour

1 1/4 c. plus 2 tbsp. whole wheat flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 c. buttermilk

1/4 c. molasses

2 oz. melted butter

1 egg, lightly beaten

20 turkish apricots or prunes, soaked overnight in 1/4 c. whisky

3/4 c. currants

1. whisk together dry ingredients and make a well in the center.

2. add all wet ingredients and dried fruits and mix quickly until just combined.

3. form into 2 balls and bake at 375 for 10 minutes, and lower to 350 and bake for 20-25 minutes more.

portland part three

a lot has changed since my trip to portland. mostly i changed jobs. the right way this time with a respectful letter of resignation, two weeks notice and a plan. i'm at local 123 now on the green belt of san pablo in berkeley, california.

i'll be making soup again. we have a sandwich on the menu that i made up called the salty goat. it has goat cheese, happy boy farms letttuce and my recipe for olive tapanade, with a whisper of orange zest and thyme. i'm a chef again. savory and sweet.

everyone has their own strengths in the kitchen, and every person i work with and job i have leaves me with a little something i learned. a little system or trick, a different way of doing something. even the people and jobs that i didn't like.

when i went to portland i knew i needed to get away and look at my life from a different angle. luckily i fell deeply back in love with food. when i arrived in portland and my sweet chefriend tressa introduced me to everyone as the first chef that she worked under i was in a fog of self doubt.

a few days later in her kitchen at home i teased and reprimanded her about chopping wet parsley. i saw her struggle to slice olives off of their pits. she didn't know that you can pit olives by crushing them under a juice glass. a good chef is a teacher.

san francisco underground farmers market

the haul:

4 san francisco homegrown avocados

1/4 loaf gluten free rye bread

1 macaroon

homemade mustard

raw oakland honey

2 sea salty chocolate chippers

some of the best beef jerky i ever had

perfect asparagus soup

i'm working on my next recipe book called recipes for spring. i decided to start with soup.

asparagus soup

2 bundles asparagus, 1’ chunks, tough bottoms reserved

1 leek, white and light green into quarter moons, tough dark bottom part 1 “ chunks

1 onion, cut in half

1 ½ tsp. sea salt

½ tsp. white pepper

3 black peppercorns

8 c. water

3 tbsp. olive oil

2 strips orange peel

1 bay leaf

3 small waxy potatoes, peeled and sliced thin

juice of 1 orange

1. in a small stockpot combine asparagus and leek trim, ½ yellow onion, water, ½ tsp. sea salt, ½ tsp. white pepper and black peppercorns. Bring to a simmer and cook 15 to 20 minutes.

2. in another small stockpot combine olive oil, leek, ½ yellow onion, orange peel, bay leaf and 1 tsp. sea salt. Cook medium until tender.

3. add potatoes to onion mixture and strain stock directly into 2^nd pot. Cook until potatoes are tender.

4. add asparagus and cook until just done, about 2 minutes.

5. remove orange peel and bay leaf and puree in a blender in batches with orange juice.

6. garnish with orange-mint gremolata.

orange-mint gremolata

zest of one orange

several branches of mint, leaves removed and cut into a fine ribbon cut (about 1/4 c.)

1 clove of garlic, grated

2 to 3 tbsp. olive oil

big pinch sea salt