A world of cheese to discover.

Three days, many miles on foot, and thousands of hams (prosciutto di Parma hams, that is) and you have a sense of a visit to CIBUS. CIBUS is an Italian food exhibition held every other May in Parma, Italy. The design of the booths is extraordinary. Many of them include full restaurant kitchens with dining areas to serve samples. The packaging of the foods is beautiful and the foods themselves are carefully crafted and delicious. The prosciuttos are tender and rosy pink. The Parmigiano-Reggianos are creamy-sweet.

More ham than you could ever imagine!

I was invited as a guest of CIBUS. I tasted, I sampled, I learned and I walked. One building of seven exhibition halls was devoted to highlighting the foods of the different regions of Italy. It showcased smaller producers. Three hazelnut growers of the Piedmont region offered their wares side-by-side. Each product was delicious and the proximity of tasting offered access to subtle differences.

We (myself and our group of four other buyers from specialty food stores in the US) were treated to two evenings at the Academia di Barilla. Barilla, the largest pasta produced in Italy, has a state-of-the-art facility for culinary education in the heart of Parma. One night included a reception and tour of the facility which includes a huge library of culinary publications and an exquisite collection of rare, old menus. We viewed some from the early 1900’s written in flourishing scripts. We were then invited back for a private tasting of olive oils, balsamic vinegars, cheeses, prosciutto, and condiments. The olive oil tasting was particularly informative and enlightening.

CIBUS is not open to the public, but Parma and the region Emilia Romagna are. We soon hope to be partnering with the Academia di Barilla to offer customized culinary tours. Watch for details. Ciao.

Another successful Gluten-Free Fair was held at the San Mateo store on Saturday February 25, featuring over 30 high-quality gluten-free vendors.  The gluten-free approach to a healthier lifestyle is a fast-growing trend and not just for folks with serious digestive complaints.

“Gluten-free” means that a food does not contain the protein of gluten which is found in wheat (including kamut and spelt), barley, rye, malts and triticale, dextrin and most oats. A gluten-free diet is the only medically accepted treatment for celiac disease.*

Most people first think of wheat when they think about gluten issues. Wheat is the most prominent of gluten sources and wheat as we know is no longer the wheat that we used to know. Genetic modification has transformed wheat into an ingredient to which many people may have a sensitivity or severe reactions.

Presenters in the Cooking School included Lifestyle Coach Kim Rice, The Pure Pantry’s Chef Margaret Heafey and Nutrition Consultant Marlese Carroll.  These guests inspired attendees with their knowledge of optimizing digestion for children and adults.

A simple statement like “wellness begins in the gut” really turned on a light bulb for myself and I believe for many of the attendees. In this day of rushed and hurried lifestyles, we may be attending to our eating wants more than our eating needs.  Consequently, we are seeing an increased connection to a range of health issues like depression, anxiety, insomnia, body aches, arthritis, eczema and allergies impacting our immune systems. These concerns, coupled with increased instances of gluten sensitivity confirm that a greater focus on what we eat and how we eat it can be greatly beneficial.

The great thing about a Gluten-Free Fair is that folks are given the opportunity to taste samples and learn about what is being produced safely and without genetic modification. For some of us with serious digestive disorders like celiac disease, finding “GF” products used to be more much more challenging. Thankfully, Draeger’s stores carry a large range of GF products.

We can’t control everything in our lives as much as we would like, but what we can do is be in control of eating more of what we need. Ask yourself this question: “Am I more worried about how my gut looks from the outside or how it’s doing on the inside?”

Eat well and stay well
-Angela Dunn

*References: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gluten-free_diet

Check out some pictures of the fun Le Creuset crepe pan in-store demonstration held on Dec. 7 at Draeger’s Blackhawk http://tinyurl.com/can3jfu. With a little practice, crepes can be a fun and versatile addition to your culinary repertoire.

Spice up your pantry!

Tips for creating your own bountiful winter pantry
by Juli I. Huss

Winter is the perfect season to create your own well-stocked pantry. With cold weather, most cooks are grateful when they don’t have to rush out to the store for Sunday night dinner. The best way to create your own bountiful winter pantry is to stock up throughout the year. With a little persistence, any cook can have a larder that is easy to maintain and a source of inspiration for those moments when you need to pull a rib-sticking meal out of thin air. For pantry items like flour, sugar, rice or pasta, it is best to buy items in bulk and then immediately transfer to airtight storage containers. There is no better protection against unwanted pests, moisture or accidents that also insures a long, healthy shelf life. Winter is also the time to do some early spring cleaning. Since we tend to use our pantry more in the winter for heartier fare, it is the best time to discard staples like condiments, herbs and spices that are past their prime.

FOR A COST-EFFICIENT PANTRY, PROPER STORAGE IS A KEY FACTOR:
• Clearly date and label your items.
• Use airtight containers or resealable plastic bags.
• Keep extra bottled water, batteries, flashlights and a good first aid kit in your pantry for emergencies.
• Keep a list of important/emergency phone numbers.
• If you buy herbs and spices in bulk, keep a small amount in your pantry and transfer the remaining into resealable bags, label and date them, and store in the freezer.
• For questions about food safety and storage, check out www.stilltasty.com.

In general, most unopened pantry items like flour, sugar, oil, canned goods, dried beans and most condiments can last up to a year. As a rule, once pantry items are opened and exposed to air, their shelf life decreases by half.

STORAGE GUIDE:
• Sixty-five degrees Fahrenheit is best for dry, nonperishable food storage in a pantry.
• After opening, refrigerate liquid-based items like ketchup, mayonnaise, jams and jellies, and syrups.
• Rotate older cans and barely used items to the front of the shelf.
• Always discard any leaking, dented, puffed or pierced canned goods.
• Keep a checklist of most-used pantry ingredients to know when you are running low on essentials.
• Stock up on extra canned goods and nonperishable items to donate to your local food bank.

Everyone has their favorites, but here is a list of fundamental pantry items to consider:

Pantry Staples
Anchovies
Artichoke hearts
Beef broth
Biscotti
Bread brumbs
Canned black olives
Canned clams
Canned cream of mushroom soup
Canned diced green chilies
Canned pork & beans
Canned tomato soup
Canned tuna
Capers
Chicken broth
Chutney
Clam juice
Cocktail napkins
Creamed corn
Dijon mustard
Graham crackers
Green olives with pimento
Jams/Preserves in favorite flavors
Kalamata olives
Ketchup
Kosher pickles
Mayonnaise
Panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
Pesto sauce
Pickle relish
Plastic disposable gloves
Polenta
Prepared horseradish
Roasted red pepper
Saltines
Sardines
Smoked oysters
Soy sauce/teriyaki sauce
Toothpicks
Vegetable broth
Water crackers
Whole-grain mustard
Worcestershire sauce
Yellow mustard

Beverages
Teas: black, green, herbal, decaf
Bottled waters: still/sparkling
Coffees: regular/decaf
Instant espresso powder
Sparkling apple cider – 2 bottles

Oils
Canola or vegetable oil
Dark sesame oil
Extra virgin olive oil
Hot chili oil
Nonstick baking spray
Truffle oil
Walnut oil

Dried Fruit & Nuts
Canned chestnuts
Dried coconut
Dried dates, apricots, cranberries
Dried mushrooms
Hazelnuts
Pecans
Pine nuts
Raisins
Walnuts
Beans
Canned garbanzo beans
Canned kidney beans
Canned black beans
Cannellini beans
Dried lentils
Dried spilt peas
Refried beans

Flours
All-Purpose flour
Cake flour
Corn meal
Oatmeal
Rice flour
Tapioca
Bread flour
Whole wheat flour

Baking Misc.
Almond extract
Almond paste
Baking powder
Baking soda
Birthday candles
Cake decorating icings
Chocolate chips – bittersweet/semi-sweet
Cornstarch
Cream of tartar
Cupcake papers
Gelatin packets
Food colorings
Honey
Hot cocoa mix
Instant yeast
Lemon curd
Maple syrup
Molasses
Nutella
Orange marmalade
Peanut butter
Sesame seeds
Tahini
Vanilla extract
Vegetable shorting
Wholen
Sugars:
Brown sugar
Powdered sugar
Sugar cubes
White granulated sugar
Cooking Liqueurs
Armaretto
Marsala
Mirin
Port
Red wine
Sherry
White wine

Milks
Coconut milk
Evaporated milk
Sweetened condensed milk

Pasta & Rice
Arborio rice
Brown rice
Rice pilaf mix
Long-grain white rice
Wild rice
Couscous
Egg noodles
Fettuccine
Linguine
Penne
Quick cook lasagna
Spaghetti

Tomato Products
Marinara sauce
San Marzano peeled tomatoes
Sun dried tomatoes packed in olive oil
Tomato sauce
Tomato juice
Tomato paste

Vinegars
Apple cider vinegar
Balsamic vinegar
Champagne vinegar
Rice wine vinegar
Sherry vinegar
White vinegar

Herbs/Spices
Anise seed
Basil
Bay leaves
Cayenne pepper
Chili flakes
Chili powder
Chinese five spice
Cilantro
Cinnamon
Cloves
Coriander
Cumin – seeds and ground
Curry powder
Dill
Dried mustard
Fennel seeds
Ground allspice
Ground cardamom
Ground ginger
Ground nutmeg
Herbs de Provence
Oregano
Paprika
Peppercorns – black and white
Poppy seeds
Red peppers
Rosemary
Saffron
Sage
Salt – kosher, sea salt and coarse
Shrimp Boil/Seafood Seasoning
Hot Sauce
Thyme
Turmeric

Root Vegetables
Garlic bulbs
Red onions
Red potatoes
Russet potatoes
Shallots
Sweet potatoes
White onions
Yellow onions

Gourmet Items
Black truffle pate
Candied ginger
Candied violets
Canned white anchovies
Caviar
Chocolate truffles
Foie gras
Green peppercorn pate
Lemon curd
Marcona almonds
Marzipan
Tapenade
Truffle salt

Italian Hand-Printed Table Linens- Exclusively at Draeger's

A plaque outside the entrance to the San Mateo store indicates that Draeger’s exists to celebrate and enhance “the pleasures of the table.” In the cooking school, we think of this constantly as it is our goal to get people to enjoy the pleasures of the kitchen which then translates to pleasure at the table.

We celebrate “the pleasures of the table” in so many ways throughout our stores. We are particularly excited about a Draeger’s exclusive shipment of Italian linens that have just arrived. Braghittoni Stamperia is a small artisan studio in Cesenatico, Italy. Roberta, or Roby, produces exquisite table linens using a centuries old method of “rust painting.” The art of rust painting was born and spread in Romagna in the 18^th century. Each piece of linen is hand printed using hand-carved, pear-tree wooden molds. The subtle colors are a result of a mixture of iron-rust, flour and vinegar. Irregularities in the pattern or color are not a flaw, but a mark of individual workmanship. They make each piece unique.

The collection includes tablecloths, placemats, napkins, and towels. Each is adorned with patterns reflecting artichokes, wheat sheaves, curls, and corn. The fabrics are soft and supple and will last for generations.

As we wish to celebrate artisan producers in the world of food, so should we celebrate the artisan in any endeavor. In a world of mass produced goods, we treasure finding a product made individually with care and love – a product to enhance the pleasure of the table.

The Flavor Bible- the ultimate culinary reference!

I have been cooking for years and I enjoy it. Most often, I cook simple things and I have my favorites that I cook over and over. Despite being happy with my favorite recipes, I recently discovered a book that has brought more flavor to what I thought were already pretty good dishes.  It has taught me how to use the many little bottles of dried herbs in my pantry and thrilled me with the fun of tasting food in a more adventurous way than I had ever imagined. I am talking about The Flavor Bible: The Essential Guide to Culinary Creativity, Based on the Wisdom of America’s Most Imaginative Chefs by Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg.  They also wrote the IACP award-winning book What to Drink with What You Eat. The Flavor Bible is the culmination of several years of research and testing and is purely a reference book- you will not find recipes in The Flavor Bible.

What you will find is a treasure trove of what foods go with what other foods and, simply stated, how to cook them.  If you are a beginning cook you may need to invest in a cookbook with recipes to hone your techniques rather than changing up your recipes.  However, if you are a seasoned cook you will probably already know how to fry, grill, pan roast, roast or sauté and adding or changing out an ingredient that the book recommends will not phase you.

My daughter is a firefighter in San Francisco and cooks dinner regularly at the fire house.  She complains that she is tired of the same old thing, even though she is a great cook. Last week she was coming to dinner and I already had zucchini and butternut squash and bought some tilapia at the store.  After checking The Flavor Bible I discovered that feta cheese, unsalted butter and basil go well with zucchini and that rosemary and orange go well with butternut squash and a good way to cook tlapia is to poach it. My daughter was very impressed with my dinner! She liked the flavors that were new to her at my table. She now also owns a copy of the book and is thrilled to be able to vary and improve her dishes.

I have been using The Flavor Bible for a couple of weeks now. I check what vegetables I have in the refrigerator drawer and check the book to see if there are ingredients that I may have that would enhance and liven them up. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a reputable source for flavor combinations and new ideas.

It does not get much fresher than this!

It is a garden of earthly delights. Wild Farm, that is. We visited it in late May as part of our Wild Farm Garden Tour and Cooking Class. It was a perfect late spring morning- sunny yet deliciously cool. Twenty students assembled at the Woodside estate to follow Kathleen Putnam, Christine Norris, and Nick Kleeman-Keller as they led us around the garden to discuss their philosophies of gardening and also to harvest the produce for the class to follow.

 Kathleen is a Master Gardener herself, but she encouraged Nick and Christine, the garden managers, to conduct the tour. The garden entirely surrounds the home that Kathleen’s father built. Flowers and roses are interspersed with vegetable beds which rotate regularly.

 We started by the kitchen herb garden. Nick assured us its fairly shady spot was not a problem, but said its convenience to the kitchen is essential for a last minute snip of herbs to finish a dish. We moved down to the strawberry patch to harvest for Strawberry Shortcakes to come. Mixed varieties were covered with loose netting. Our harvest seemed paltry but proved adequate for the dessert later produced.

 We spent a good deal of time in beds to the west of the house. Christine described how one area had just been cut back from a trial plot for heirloom tomatoes. They grew many varieties to ascertain their favorites. Now that they know, they have cut down the entire plot. They do not pull up the roots as they feel in most cases, unless the stalks and roots are very thick and tough, they add natural nutrients to the soil when they decompose. They do not till the vegetable beds, but rather keep adding compost.

After a stop at the artichokes and asparagus, we got a final visit and lesson at Nick’s beloved composting bins. He readily admitted this was his favorite part of the garden. He showed us how he moves material between several bins as it proceeds towards beneficial decay.

Plans are to repeat this tour. Wild Farm is a place to visit and learn from at every season.

Get cooking with some handy tools!

At tisket, a tasket, do I need another kitchen gadget? A few good tools in the kitchen can turn cooking from drudgery into joy. But a visit to a good kitchenware store can quickly overwhelm with enough possibilities to fill every kitchen drawer, nook, and cranny.

How do you sort it out? Well, one way is to observe what gadgets your friends and relations use. Everyone is different in his needs and cooking styles, but if you see your friend continually using (and praising) her Microplane, it’s time to take note.

And Microplanes are a good place to start. Developed by the creative wife of a carpenter, Microplanes are basically kitchen rasps. If you have never used one to zest a lemon or orange, you are in for a treat. Microplane’s patent expired last year, so now you will see the same kitchen rasp technology from several manufacturers, including one of our favorites- Cuisipro.

A good peeler is integral to kitchen success. Rosle makes several styles and they are all excellent. They, in fact, make peelers for right and left hands. Rosle tools are top grade and all stainless, but their price reflects it. At ¼ to 1/3 the price, Swissmar and Kuhn Rikon both make an excellent harp-style, plastic handled peeler that works in either hand.

A good, efficient spatula is also a godsend for stirring, blending and getting into the deep recesses of a mayonnaise jar. Cuisipro and Le Creuset both shine in this department. Le Crueset make several sizes and styles. A particularly versatile one is called a “spoonula.”  Get it, kind of a spoon, kind of a spatula. It’s really great in getting stuff out of the jar, blending it with the other stuff, and plopping it all on the plate.

Quality tools make cooking easier; we’ll have more to say on the subject in a later edition.

It's big and red- and a whole lot of fun!

How would you like to have access to 150 years of great recipes?  The next question is, what would you do with them?

Amanda Hesser, the New York Times food columnist, didn’t seem to have any hesitations tackling the project of selecting and then testing more than 1000 recipes for The Essential New York Times Cookbook. It took six years and she had twins during the project. Now that’s serious multi-tasking.

But what’s developed is a great collection of doable recipes.  She started by querying readers as to their favorites over the years. She ended up with 6,000 responses, trimmed that down to 1400 recipes and started testing. Then she went to phase two which was to investigate the historical recipes from times before email existed. And, as if her culinary skills are not sufficient enough, her writing is whimsical and her wit dry. The book is a hoot to read and everything we’ve tried is a winner.

Most recipes are quite simple. We’ve tried Spinach with Sour Cream (absurdly simple), Caramelized Endive, and Bulgur Salad with Pomegranate Dressing and Toasted Nuts (enough to feed an army, but fabulous), to name a few.

She didn’t set out to be an historian, but there is an inherent historical development. After all, most people who read the Times in 1870 probably had servants and the concept of the “working wife” would have been something out of a sci-fi novel. You’ll also find inclusions from many a famous chef and authors of the preceeding generations – Maida Heatter, Julia Child, Marcella Hazan, to name a very few.

Finding a great new cookbook is like finding a true friend. It doesn’t let you down. It keeps you amused, and you look forward to being in its company. This friend has some serious heft, but it’s well worth the weight. (Pun intended.)

Come Cook with Us and Escalate Your Taste Buds

Who are we and what are we doing here? Draeger’s is hard to sum up in only a few words. It is a destination not only for groceries but also wine, housewares, gift items, cookbooks, dining, and of course cooking events and classes. It is an example of synergy where one department complements the next.

Still family-owned after 85 years, Draeger’s honors what we all hold so dear- the pleasures of the table to be shared with family and friends.

Here in our Bay Area Cooking Schools, we are seriously fixated on food. For instance, when we eat lunch, we talk about what is for dinner tonight, the food column in the newspaper or the restaurant we heard about.

We are often tasting something new or flipping through a new cookbook. We are so fortunate to be surrounded by the inspiring environment of the store where we can draw from the enthusiasm of our customers and the great products we feature.

However, Draeger’s is not just for the hopelessly food-obsessed. We often have students who are fledgling cooks, and we are honored to be part of their journey.

At our private cooking events, we host groups of all kinds (corporate teams, birthday celebrations, anniversaries, etc.) and regardless of kitchen proficiency and level of familiarity (or unfamiliarity) with one another, everyone relates over food and cooking to unite in a fun and memorable way. What is most rewarding for us is that as we teach, we keep learning as well.

As we propel into the world of instant information and social networking, it is our pleasure to welcome you to the Draeger’s Cooking School Blog, where we will share our enthusiasm for all things food, wine and cooking.

We look forward to highlighting what goes on here and the great ingredients, people, products, techniques and events that excite us. The possibilities are endless and we plan to feature entries from a variety of staff members.

Wherever the conversation goes, our goal is to show you not just what WE can do, but what YOU can do and hopefully inspire you to do it.