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In This Issue |
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• Letter from the Chef
• Luscious New Fall Menus!
• All the Latest News
• Boneless Quail with with English Peas, Wild Mushrooms, Japanese Eggplant and Miso Truffle Sauce
• Raising the Bar
• Farmers' Market Finds
• Fantastic Food Events
Dear Fellow Food Lover,
At Hands On Gourmet, our real business is connections ñ nourishing connections between people through making and sharing delicious food. This comes naturally, because we are a business built on the strong links between family and friends.
Our company is family owned and managed. We benefit from the moral and practical support of a rich network of family and friends. And as Hands On Gourmet has grown, weíve had the pleasure of meeting so many great new people ñ clients, vendors, and others in the Bay Area food world.
Good food naturally brings people together, providing pleasure, nourishment, and a time to relax. We hope youíll give us a call next time you are planning a special event to connect with the people in your life.
Approach life with Relish!
Stephen, Molly, and Anne
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Luscious New Fall Menus! |
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Crab and Artichoke Cakes with Fresh Lemon Mayo...
Bacon, Egg and Chive Stuffed Chicken with
Roast Mushroom Ragošt and Balsamic Syrup...
Wild Salmon Tagine with Cumin, Lemon, Harissa,
Market Vegetables and Couscous...
Warm Chocolate Pudding Cake...
These are just some of the dishes from our mouth-watering new menus for the fall and winter. They are warm and hearty, yet playful, too. Come on and give them a try!
See the New Menus Here
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All The Latest News |
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HOG Gourmet Goodie Bags ñ Perfect for Holiday Parties. Just in time for the season of giving, we are proud to introduce our new Gourmet Goodie Bags. Customize a special treat for your guests to take home, with delicacies like truffle oil and lavender-infused honey. Or order them to give anytime. Simply pick the items youíd like from our growing list of goodies, and weíll take care of the rest.
Gourmet Magazine is treating its readers to a live cooking demonstration by Chef Stephen tomorrow evening, along with a chance to preview Dacor's newest appliances and enjoy an evening of incredible hors d'oeuvres and wines. If you are a subscriber, check your Gourmet Scoop e-mail newsletter for details.
Roll out the red carpet! Our own Chef Stephen Gibbs has been nominated for 7x7 Magazineís ìOn the Vergeî awards, which honor innovative leaders in creative fields. He is being recognized in the Menu Creation and Development category. Stay tuned.
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Boneless Quail with with English Peas, Wild Mushrooms, Japanese Eggplant and Miso Truffle Sauce |
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Raising the Bar |
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Weíre always looking for good ideas, and hereís a great meeting tip sent in to ConventionPlanit.com by reader Randi Glass.
We've come up with an entertaining solution to the irritating problem of cell phones ringing during presentations. At the beginning of our events, the Director/Chair announces that if someone's cell phone rings, that individual must buy a round of drinks for the Director, the Event Planner, and the 2 people sitting on either side of him/her (since those are the individuals most inconvenienced by the disruption). People laugh, and we make sure we collect! The result ó at my last 5 day seminar cell phones rang 3 times on the first day ó and not at all the rest of the time! |
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Farmers' Market Finds |
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At Hands On Gourmet, our cuisine is built on fresh, seasonal ingredients. Here is what's best now at Bay Area Farmers' Markets.
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Leeks
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Fuyu Persimmons
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Thyme
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Sugar Pie Pumpkins
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Fugi Apples
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Yukon Gold Potatoes
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Huckleberries
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Japanese Eggplant
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To check out your local farmer's market, use the link below.
Find Your Local Farmers' Market
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Fantastic Food Events |
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 A Sweet Deal!
The Asian American Theater Company invites you to an
evening of wine & chocolate to celebrate their 2005-2006 season. Sip a glass
of wine, taste an exotic chocolate truffle, and mix and mingle at suite one8one,
downtown San Francisco's premier nightclub. And there's a special discount for Relish
subscribers: just $50 for the $65 SWEET + BANYAN VIP Package. Simply
enter the code SWEETVIP on Brown Paper Tickets, or mention the code when calling
Brown Paper Tickets at 800.838.3006. Good for advance purchase only.
Saturday, November 5, 6 ñ 9 pm (afterwards,
stay and party the night away.) 181 Eddy Street (cross street Taylor), San
Francisco.
Celebrate the Harvest!
The Ferry Plaza Farmers' Market and Ferry Building Marketplace are celebrating
the autumn season with a
Harvest Festival this week. Events include a sustainable wine tasting on
Thursday evening, and a beer tasting on Friday evening. On Saturday, join CUESA
for free hands-on demonstrations of apple pressing, pumpkin carving, wool
spinning and other harvest skills from 9:30 am -12:30 pm. Sunday features more
family activities ñ even a petting zoo! ñ and the farmerís market.
Stop by the butter churning demonstration on
Sunday and meet our own Molly Fuller, who is a dedicated CUESA
volunteer. All proceeds benefit CUESA.
Thursday October 27 through Sunday October 30, at the Ferry Building in San
Francisco.
Hungry Planet: What the World Eats.
Join photojournalist Peter Menzel and writing partner Faith D'Aluisio for a
night of art and wine as they present their exploration of mealtime and family
life around the world, the subject of their latest book
Hungry Planet: What the World Eats.
Thirty families in twenty-four countries agreed to open their cupboards and dish
about their eating habits... then pose for a portrait with one week's worth of
food. November 17th, 6:30ñ8:30 p.m. Whole
Foods Market, 1010 Park Place, San Mateo. $5 Scholarship Donation.
Find More Bay Area Food Events
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| Letter from the Chef |
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Life is like an onion.
You peel it off one layer at a time;
And sometimes you weep.
ñ Carl Sandburg, American poet
With out a doubt, the least celebrated and most underrated vegetable is the common yellow onion. Itís the cornerstone, the basic foundation to so much of what we eat.
Imagine any sauce or stew with out it. Without its pungent aromatic fragrance, many foods would be flat and uninteresting.
As the seasons change, we see the above ground produce diminishing and the hidden treasures below the earth are making their annual debut. Perfect for the rich savory soups and stews that we crave this time of year.
Onions have been eaten and cultivated since prehistoric times. They were grown in Chinese gardens 5000 years ago, and appeared in Egyptian tomb paintings. To the Egyptians, the onion, with its concentric layers, represented eternal life, and they put onions in their Pharaohs' tombs. (Ramses IV was buried with onions in his eye sockets.)
These days, Americans eat almost 20 pounds of onions each per year. In addition to the reliable yellow onion, we love sweet Vidalia onions, red onions, Bermuda onions, and scallions. We even garnish cocktails with pearl onions!
So, as the weather gets blustery, donít take your onions for granted. Have fun exploring the richness they can add to your cooking, especially when caramelized through slow roasting or sautÈing.
And as for those tears? Try chilling the onion in the fridge before you chop it. Or, like me, just consider it a small price to pay for such a reliable source of robust flavor.
Chef Stephen |
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