08 May To Market
If you’ve been keeping up with our blogs and podcasts, you know that Chef Mark and I recently traveled to San Francisco, where we were able to combine business with the pleasure of food and wine exploration. Yes, it’s easy to love work like this. Interestingly enough, it was my first trip to this fantastic city, which is a bit odd considering that I’ve traveled all over the place, but never managed to make it to one of America’s best food havens; however, I made up for lost time – trust me.
San Francisco is an easy city to fall in love with: Aside from what I consider to be perfect weather (never too hot, never too cold), it is resplendent with picturesque architecture and a clear devotion to the pleasures of the palate. We sampled crab rolls down at the wharf, garlic-infused everything at The Stinking Rose, local wines, local brews – you name it, we ate it. My favorite part of the trip, however, was our jaunt to wine country. We spent a day with our pal Rosina Tinari Wilson touring the Carneros region that straddles both Napa and Sonoma, and learned a great deal about the uniqueness of the wines produced there – and got some insights concerning the depth of the rivalry between Napa and Sonoma. We’ll have more about all of this in Rosina’s new podcast, Welcome to Wine Country™, which will premier very soon on the Culinary Podcast Network.
Speaking of which, Rosina’s show is one of several new ones that will debut this summer on CPN. We’ve now added our own video content to the network as well, so you can see Chef Mark and me at The Stinking Rose restaurant in Food Philosophy’s first videocast, as well as ReMARKable Palate’s coverage of Pinot Days in New York (I must say that Mark’s background as an actor comes in really handy at times like this). We are learning on our feet, guerilla style, so we look forward to running around the planet capturing audio and video to share with all of you.
Since it is farmer’s market season in many parts of the country, our current shows will be profiling what’s fresh throughout the summer and fall months. We visited the San Rafael farmer’s market in Marin County when we were out west, which can be heard on ReMARKable Palate Podcast #91. Chef Mark will also continue his Saturday farmer’s market visits, and I’ll be running amok throughout the Hudson Valley to profile what’s in season, right from the source. There are so many wonderful farms here that I’d love for you to get a glimpse of the thought and process that brings those goodies to your table.
Given their versatility and burst of color, we’ve placed peppers in the spotlight as this month’s Main Ingredient. They appear in everything from appetizers to desserts, so we encourage you to experiment. And in a surprising twist, we’ve made spinach our Indulgence; though the idea may seem odd, we’ve noticed that spinach tends to have a reputation for being a necessary evil. We find it rather delish, so we’ve dressed it up in a way that we hope flirts with your senses. That’s what this season’s about, after all, so pucker up!