Pissaladiere & Buckwheat Blini

Nana has been dutifully cooking away - even while I "played hooky" last week in San Francisco.  Although we planned for me to post HER results while I visited that beautiful city....I was unable to get online where I was staying and was too distracted eating pastry at "Tartine" to look around for wi-fi !  We both will be cooking and back on board (with our France memories too- promise !) next week but for now I am sharing Nana's fun in the kitchen.

Per Nana:  Pissaladiere

Dorie made mention in the introduction of her book

about making a judgement call....and she is correct.  

Not all stoves or cooking equipment is the same.  

When baking this, I put the timer on for
20 minutes and away I went.  

 The result was a very burnt and crispy pissaladiere.  

I  prepared the dough a day early,
 and today I sauteed the onions. 

 The kitchen smelled absolutely wonderful.  

After baking for 20 minutes I topped it with the anchovie

 and olives.  Since I could not find any Nicoise olives at the

 market I substituted pitted black olives.

Even though this turned out well done and very salty

(thanks to the anchovies), hubby and I enjoyed it very much.

This is a fun recipe to make and I plan to
 try it again with other toppings.

Per Nana:  Buckwheat Blini with Smoked Salmon &  Creme Fraiche

To celebrate our 57th wedding anniversary this week

 I decided to use this week's recipe for Sunday Brunch.

Buckwheat blini with smoked salmon and creme
fraiche  was perfect for the occasion served
with a lovely fresh fruit salad.

I made the batter on Saturday, let is rise as directed,

and then chilled it overnight. On Sunday morning I added

the eggs and continued with the recipe.

The blini cooked nicely and I kept everything warm in the oven,

along with hubby's favorite bacon. Even though the blini looks

like a small pancake, it is not, and I did not care for the flavor. 

 I'm not sure if it was the buckwheat flour,
 but to me it was tasteless. 

 Perhaps it is an acquired taste. 

 Smoked salmon and creme fraiche, which I love, did not help.
Sad to say, hubby had his with Mrs. Butterworth and enjoyed

 it more, with bacon on the side.

Per Tricia :

All I have to show for the last two French Fridays are some great pictures of tasty San Francisco memories :) No need for me to surprise everyone with how utterly gorgeous that city is - or how wonderful the food.  I will just share a photo or two and some of the highlights.....enjoy !

While Nana was happy celebrating her amazing 57th anniversary,

 my hubby and I were celebrating our 22nd in the city by the bay.

Highlights included the standards:

  

 Ferry Bldg Farmers Market - almost feel guilty seeing such gorgeous fresh produce when you are not cooking.  We enjoyed a roast pork sandwich on Acme Bread that was insanely good. My Aunt said she had not had a sandwich like that since she lived in Italy and that she planned to go back simply to have that sandwich again.   

  

We also learned that if you just pick the longest lines you will end up with the most amazing things....:) Also visited Miette bakery here, Sharfenberger chocolates, Cowgirl Creamery, Recchiuti chocolates, etc. My kids made out like bandits with gourmet gifts.

 Molinaro salami company - a family staple.  We never leave town without their cured salami (hot and regular).  My bag was so heavy that the salesman pointed out they ship.  Knew it but thought it would be fun to buy in person.  Until we had a lot of explaining when the salami registered as an "explosive" under testing at airport screening....we will ship indeed.

 See's Candy - again a family staple.  I grew up on See's being a guaranteed present and holiday treat when my Uncle & Aunt from SF visited. I am a card carrying member of the "Marshmint Club" but also love their peanut brittle & molasses chips dearly.

Tartine Bakery- so glad I researched this because the sign was virtually non-existent.  The rule of "follow the lines" does work well here. Can not rave enough about the baked goods.  I had a ridiculously yummy chocolate banana tart for breakfast and we even brought my Aunt back later that day !

Bi-Rite Creamery - great that it is literally up the street from Tartine in the Mission District.  I was hoping to try their amazing ice cream and got a cone with both "salted caramel" and "snickerdoodle".  Awesome !

Berkeley CheeseBoard - fun. We were headed to Alameda and had to kill some time in morning, so we stopped here to sample coffee and fresh baked goods.  Too early for lunch or dinner at Chez Panisse across the street.

  

 My Ivy - Thai restaurant on Divisadero in Pacific Heights.  Lovely and super sweet folks.  This place exceeded our expectations and we will visit again. 

Frankie's Bohemian - Czech restaurant also on Divisadero - across from My Ivy.  This place was a real kick - awesome food and drink in a very casual little neighborhood "joint".  Spaetzle is their homemade speciality.

Original Cowgirl Creamery in Point Reyes - fun to visit and the town had a surprising (to us) number of Zagat rated restaurants. Had a fabulous lunch and were not surprised to learn later that the Tartine folks started out here.

  

We enjoyed many other great meals in various locations (not to mention all the treats that should have ruined our appetites :) but the mostly unheard of and amazing time was our trip out to the tip of Alameda to the "St George Spirits/Hangar One" distillery. 

I had read about their Wasabi Vodka years back and while I missed out on that small batch - I have bought via their catalog on many occasions over the last few years. Chipotle Vodka and various small batch, European method brandies and spirits.  The selection at the site was far more extensive.

  

We took a "spirits" testing at 12 noon on a Friday and had a blast.  It sits in an old hangar right out on the water and was industrial gorgeous.   We opted to do a full tasting- a la "when in Rome"..... 

Scared at first, we were told the total alcohol would be similiar to one cocktail or so.  Not sure about that one but we did buy a lot on the way out (hey, we can't get this stuff in PA :) and made it safely back over the bridge.

  PS- if you get a chance to go- on weekend they do tours but it is much more packed.  They do testings only during the week and it is so empty it is fabulous. Just get someone to drive you back over the bridge....