Graham and Alexis introduced me to a wonderful, old-style steak restaurant in San Carlos, the Iron Gate. Its roots go back both to fine Continental dining and an earlier, less hectic California.
The meal started, of course, with excellent bread.
Our appetizers were classic: oysters rockefeller, escargot, and stuffed zucchini florets. My florets were rich with seafood and a great blend of textures.
A quick palate cleansing prepared us for the main course.
Alexis and I both ordered flamed steaks, which brought out the flambe table. The show was spectacular and our server very charming.
My steak au poivre was superb. The flamed sauce was smooth, meaty, and creamy, with a touch of pepper.
We ended with souffles. My chocolate version was perfectly executed and downright decadent. The chocolate sauce was smooth and rich, perfectly complementing the souffle interior.
I made candied ginger a few years ago. It's not something I would do every day but I had a lot of fun doing it. I recently acquired a pressure cooker and it inspired an interesting idea to me: why not make candied ginger in the pressure cooker? It should be very soft and flavorful. Here is the result. I peeled two large ginger roots, cut them into small cubes, and put them in the pressure cooker with heavily sugared water. The traditional method first boils the ginger in plain water to soften it and then again in sugar water to candy it. The resulting candy was very tender but still with the characteristic ginger texture. It was also sweet without being overpowering. The traditional method leaves a lot of sugar crystallized around the ginger. The pressure cooker gives a much more subtle result. The ginger stays moist even after it cools but you can dry it in the oven at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes. That inspired me to dip it in chocolate. While I was in the b...









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