Restaurant review: The Cosmopolitan Cafe, San Francisco

I have been spending nearly all of my time lately on business and personal travel, so Erich and I have not had much time together in the kitchen. So in the meantime, I'll share some of my culinary experiences from the road.

Located just off the Embarcadero, in a less touristy area of San Francisco, The Cosmopolitan Cafe was the right choice for good food in a relaxed environment. The menu was somewhat limited and moderately priced. Nothing really jumped out at me, which is surprising...I'm usually a sucker for any fish or seafood preparation. I ended up going with the Ricotta Gnocchi with mushrooms, peas and pancetta, and was pleasantly surprised! The dish was just the right size and combination of ingredients, and the flavor was excellent.

I'll admit that I was a little worried at first, because the restaurant was next to empty. The service was questionable - I asked the server for a dirty martini and he asked if I would like a lemon twist or an olive. But the drink was excellent, as was the food. I think everyone in our party was pleased.

Website: http://www.thecosmopolitancafe.com/index_cos.cfm

Veal scallopini with mushroom and brandy cream sauce

I (Michelle) have always loved veal, especially thin scallopini. I love substituting veal for chicken to make some of our super-easy everyday chicken recipes a little fancier - piccata especially- and for a special treat I will modify Rochester's (in)famous "Chicken French" preparation.

We experimented with a couple of versions of this dish before adding, subtracting, altering and ending up with this easy, elegant, rich recipe.

Flour

Pepper

Butter

1T olive oil

2 4 oz veal cutlets, pounded to 1/4" thickness OR one package of veal scallopini

1/4 red onion, thinly sliced

1c shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and caps sliced

1 c brandy

1T beef base

1 c chicken stock

1/2 c heavy cream

Dry the veal thoroughly, then pepper to taste and coat with flour.

Heat 1T butter and the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the veal and saute until brown on each side and cooked through. Transfer the veal to a plate and cover to keep warm.

In the same pan add the onion and saute until translucent (you may need to add a little more butter here). Add the mushrooms and saute until they begin to brown. Remove the skillet from the heat and add the brandy. Ignite (if that's what you are into!) and carefully let brandy evaporate. If you choose not to flame it, simmer until it is almost completely evaporated. Add the beef stock and chicken stock and boil for about 5 minutes. Add the cream and bring to a boil. If the veal has not stayed warm enough, put back in the pan for 1-2 minutes.

Serve the sauce over the veal. Tonight we paired this dish with steamed asparagus sprinkled with a little sea salt and drizzled with a balsamic vinegar reduction.

Enjoy!

Spicy Pork

This is another easy weeknight dish, albeit a pretty rich one so we have tried to cut back on it. The ease of this recipe and the white-wine cream sauce combined with the spicy chops put this high on my list of comfort foods. We came up with it one night by "experimenting", which pretty much consisted of dumping the contents of the spice drawer on a pork chop. The results were surprisingly yummy!

Here we listed the spices that we used, but definitely try whatever works for you. I recommend a base of cracked black pepper, paprika, and a little bit of seasoning salt.

Ingredients
2 thick-cut pork chops
Cracked black pepper
Paprika
Rosemary
Garlic powder
Seasoning salt
Dash of sage
1T butter
1T olive oil
1/2 of a shallot
1/2 c white wine
1/2 c cream
Chick peas (optional)

Coat the chops on both sides with the cracked pepper and paprika. Add the remaining herbs and spices to taste.
Heat the butter and olive oil in a non-stick saucepan over med-hi heat. When the pan is hot add the pork chops and reduce the heat to medium. Sear until each side is browned and the center has just turned from pink to a juicy white. Remove the chops from the pan and cover to keep warm.
In the same pan, heat the shallots until translucent and then add the wine. Heat the wine until boiling, scraping any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Reduce the wine to a glaze and then add the cream. Bring to a rolling boil and back down to medium. Simmer for 2-3 minutes, swirling regularly. Optionally, finish by swirling in a thin pat of butter to smooth and enrich the sauce. Just prior to serving, drain any juices that the pork chops have released on their covered plate into the sauce. Yummmmm.

Serving suggestions:
If you would like a starch with this meal we recommend serving it over chick peas rather than pasta for something different and a bit healthier. Just heat up a can (or don't heat, even!) drain and serve the meat over the garbanzos and the sauce over the meat.
Another alternative is to serve the sauce over the garbanzos and the chop over the sauce, which reduces your "sauce intake" just a little.
We have found that these yummy white-wine cream sauces are well-complemented by a plain green veggie like broccoli.

Tonight we had a special treat of a wine, thanks to Raleigh's Seaboard Wine putting a nice bottle on super-sale! We had a 2006 MacRostie Chardonnay, which was so toasty and oaky that I felt guilty sipping it on a weeknight with a regular ol' meal.

Quote of the night: "ROSEMARY, ROSEMARY ROSEMARY!" - Meesh (P.S. Hi Tina!)

Parmesan- and Panko-Crusted Pork Chops

This is another recipe that Bill Brunk gets all of the credit for. It takes patience to get the chops just right, but it is worth every minute.

Ingredients

2 thick boneless pork chops

1c shredded Parmesan cheese (fresh recommended)

2c Panko bread crumbs

1 whole egg, beaten

1/2T butter

2T olive oil

salt & pepper

Dry the pork chops completely with paper towel. Season to taste with salt & pepper. Coat the chops on all sides with the shredded cheese, then coat in egg, and then coat in panko.

Heat the butter and olive oil in a good non-stick pan (we LOVE our Green Pan). Get it as hot as you can without burning it, then add the pork chops and turn the heat down to medium-low. Cook slowly on one side until the coating is crisp and golden-brown. Flip and brown the other three sides and the ends. This process will take the better part of an hour, so be patient! The trick is to keep the heat low so that the chop doesn't overcook and dry out on the inside while browning the outside.

Steak with crispy polenta and roasted shallot vinaigrette

Adapted from The Kitchen Sessions with Charlie Trotter

Finally back in the kitchen after a nearly two week trip overseas for work...I sampled the local flavors in Istanbul and Prague, but now I am so glad to be eating my own food again!  And oh my goodness, we definitely chose an incredible recipe for our Friday night! This dish is surprisingly simple and affordable with very few ingredients, but the flavors of those ingredients combine together for mouth-watering results. I liked it so much that I told Erich I wanted it again on Sunday...perfect our technique so that we can serve it to guests asap, you know? :)

As a rule, I don't plan to post the full copy of a recipe from a cookbook on this blog. In this case, we made a few significant changes to the recipe in the book, so I am posting our version.

Ingredients
2 NY strip steaks
2 shallots
1/2 c olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 disks sliced from a tube of pre-cooked polenta
~1T thyme
3T balsamic vinegar
1T fresh chopped chives

Peel the shallots and place them, whole, in a small oven-safe saucepan with the olive oil. Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes, or until the shallots are soft. Once the shallots are soft, remove them from the oven and let them cool, then remove from the oil and slice them the long way. Reserve the oil for the vinaigrette.

Heat the garlic in a little butter and olive oil until they just begin to brown. Spoon a little more olive oil ( I used some from the shallot pot) into the pan and add the polenta disks. Sear on each side until they turn golden brown.

Season the steaks with salt, pepper, and the thyme. Grill the steak to your liking.

Whisk the vinegar and chives into the oil to create the vinaigrette. Place 2 polenta disks on each plate, and the steak on top of the polenta. Place the sliced shallot on top of the steak, and pour the vinaigrette on top.

We served asparagus on the side, which was so yummy with the vinaigrette. I recommend a bold red wine, such as Zinfandel or Malbec.

Frangelico Chicken

AKA "Scargelico" Chicken, for this dish's biggest fan.

This recipe was created by Erich's dad Bill.

The combination of the toasted pecans on the chicken and the sweetness of the beurre blanc make the flavor of this dish so unique, and it is one of my all-time favorites.
 
As is the case with many of our favorite recipes, it is not particularly difficult but there are many steps to follow. We only make this a couple of times a year, and always on a weekend because it is somewhat time-consuming.
 
I've never met anyone who didn't like this dish. It is always a hit with dinner guests, but keep in mind that you need to plan ahead and prepare in advance (breading the chicken, etc). We've made the mistake of not starting early enough and put dinner on the table way too late. Then again, it tastes so good that our guests always forgive us. ;)

As usual, this recipe is for two, but it leaves enough for the best leftovers you've ever had.

Ingredients
1 lb. chicken breasts

3 oz chopped pecans

1 egg

Salt and pepper

Panko bread crumbs

1/2 shallot

Juice of 1/2 lime
1 1/2 cup white wine

Dash white wine vinegar

3 oz Frangelico or hazelnut liqueur
1/2 cup whipping cream
1 stick butter

Preparing the chicken

Finely chop the pecans. This is most easily done with a mini-food processor, but of course you can always smash them in a bag with a rolling pin or even a hammer.

On a plate, mix the pecans with an equal amount of panko bread crumbs.

Coat each chicken breast in egg white and then dredge in the pecan/panko mixture.


Sauce
In a small saucepan combine shallot, lime juice, wine, vinegar, white pepper, and Frangelico. Reduce to a glaze, add cream and bring to a boil. Strain and return to saucepan.
Reduce the heat to low. Whisk in the butter, one pat at a time, but do not let the previous pat completely melt before adding the next.

Tips
- I like to serve a little bit of green pasta on the side for color and for convenient transport of extra sauce. I recommend De Cecco Linguine with spinach.
- Plain broccoli also makes a nice accompaniment
- Erich and I are big Chardonnay fans, but any white wine would complement the candy-like sauce.

Brunk Balsamic Vinaigrette

This vinaigrette is our go-to vinaigrette. We vary it sometimes depending on the dish, but the ratios tend to stay the same, we just replace the acid or vinegar (i.e. sherry vinegar or add reduced orange juice instead of the balsamic, etc.).

Ingredients:

4 Tbsp Grapeseed Oil

2 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar

2 Tbsp White Wine Vinegar

1 Tbsp Dijon Mustard

Dash of White Pepper

Place all the ingredients in a mixing bowl and whisk vigorously just before serving. It is the ratios that are important so doubling, tripling, or even halving is no problem.

We have found that using the grapeseed oil instead of the normal olive oil produces a better consistency and a light, smooth, nutty taste. Additionally, the mix of white wine vinegar and balsamic provides a medium brown color. Depending on the dish's presentation (i.e. if serving on a dark or light dish, color of food, etc.) you may simply want to adjust the ratio of balsamic for a darker or lighter vinaigrette.

For a thinner vinaigrette reduce the amount of dijon or leave it out all together.