Show 405, December 26, 2020: Show Preview with Executive Producer & Co-Host Andy Harris

Happy New Year and surely brighter horizons in 2021.  …We’re previewing the show with Executive Producer & Co-Host Andy Harris.

Chef Deborah Madison’s new memoir, An Onion in My Pocket – My Life With Vegetables is from the celebrated author of Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone and 13 other cookbooks. (Described as “The Queen of Greens” by The Washington Post.) It’s a warm, bracingly honest memoir that also gives us an insider’s look at the vegetarian movement.” “Thanks to her beloved cookbooks and groundbreaking work as the opening chef at Greens Restaurant in San Francisco, Deborah Madison, though not a vegetarian herself, has long been revered as this country’s leading authority on vegetables.” We’re walking the local Farmers Market with Chef Deborah Madison.

When we last spoke with Chef Lincoln Carson he had just launched (as Chef & Partner) the ambitious Bon Temps Los Angeles restaurant located next to the Firehouse Hotel in the Arts District adjacent to Downtown Los Angeles. Unfortunately the critically acclaimed Bon Temps was an early victim of COVID 19’s devastating impact on the dining scene in Los Angeles. Fortunately it’s been a busy year for Chef Lincoln nonetheless. In November, Lincoln launched the Merite Bake Shop in Boise, Idaho. It’s a virtual kitchen-bakery located at Crave Collective under the umbrella of Crave Delivery. Chef Lincoln, a resident of the picturesque Santa Ynez Valley, is now back in California to launch the Coast Range Restaurant in Solvang. It’s contemplated as a premier seafood and steakhouse with a spacious patio and the Vaquero Bar (with a separate menu.) At Coast Range Restaurant Chef Lincoln will focus on the menu for the Lunch Café and daytime pastry program. Chef Lincoln joins us with rolling pin in hand.

One of our most reliable sources of accurate restaurant news in fabulous Las Vegas is Al Mancini, who is a staff writer for The Las Vegas Review- Journal covering food, restaurants and other aspects of entertainment. Al has been working the Vegas food scene for 19 years. He was one of the creators of the popular, and widely referenced, Eating Las Vegas restaurant guidebook series. Al joins us with Part 2 of his quarterly update on the Las Vegas dining scene. He’ll provide an insider’s overview of what’s new including the diverse food offerings at local food personality Jolene Mannina’s Vegas Test Kitchen on Fremont Street in Downtown. Al also remembers visionary entrepreneur Tony Hsieh (co-founder of Zappos) who is credited with reviving the (now vibrant) dining scene in Downtown Las Vegas. It was ultimately a $350 million dollar investment.

Our resident produce authority, Robert Schueller, (also known as the Prince of Produce) is the long-time Director of Public Relations for Melissa’s (World Variety) Produce. This will be the 14th year he’s provided the list of “Top Ten Specialty Produce Items” as determined by real sales figures.  Robert joins us to share the always eagerly anticipated list. It’s no surprise that the ultimate comfort food, Melissa’s Dutch Yellow Potatoes, ranks in 1st place. This is actually the 10th year for this distinction. Next Saturday Robert returns to present more of his insightful “Produce Trends Forecast for 2021.”

Our own Chef Andrew Gruel of the Slapfish Restaurant Group provides another timely and informative “Ask the Chef” segment where Chef Andrew responds to listeners thoughtful inquiries. Chef Andrew is regularly updating us on the impact of the Covid-19 crisis in the hospitality field and what we, as diners, can do to support the very survival of restaurants which is a genuine (and growing) concern. New (controversial) restrictions for restaurants are now in place for Southern California for the balance of the year (and possibly longer) as we continue the all-important Holiday dining season. Chef Andrew updates us on the early progress for the grass-roots, “86 Struggle” campaign to benefit local out-of-work and struggling restaurant wooers. Our thoughts turn to festive Holiday entertaining at home for New Year’s Eve. Chef Andrew to the rescue as he continues his series of genuinely useful Holiday cooking tips. How do you prepare and cook the ultimate Standing Rib Roast? Chef Andrew suggests the reverse sear. We’ll “Ask the Chef.”

All of this and heaping helpings of extra deliciousness (with proper Social Distancing) on this week’s not-to-miss show!

Show 405, December 26, 2020: Chef & Author Deborah Madison with her Memoir, An Onion In My Pocket Part One

Cookbook Author Deborah MadisonChef Deborah Madison’s new memoir, An Onion in My Pocket – My Life With Vegetables is from the celebrated author of Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone and 13 other cookbooks. (Described as “The Queen of Greens” by The Washington Post.) It’s a warm, bracingly honest memoir that also gives us an insider’s look at the vegetarian movement.”

“Thanks to her beloved cookbooks and groundbreaking work as the opening chef at Greens Restaurant in San Francisco, Deborah Madison, though not a vegetarian herself, has long been revered as this country’s leading authority on vegetables.”

“She profoundly changed the way generations of Americans think about cooking with vegetables, helping to transform “vegetarian” from a dirty word into a mainstream way of eating. But before she became a household name, Madison spent almost twenty years as an ordained Buddhist priest, coming of age in the midst of counterculture San Francisco. In this charmingly intimate and refreshingly frank memoir, she tells her story—and with it the story of the vegetarian movement—for the very first time.”

We’re walking the local Farmers Market with Chef Deborah Madison.

Show 405, December 26, 2020: Chef & Author Deborah Madison with her Memoir, An Onion In My Pocket Part Two

Cookbook Author Deborah MadisonChef Deborah Madison’s new memoir, An Onion in My Pocket – My Life With Vegetables is from the celebrated author of Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone and 13 other cookbooks. (Described as “The Queen of Greens” by The Washington Post.) It’s a warm, bracingly honest memoir that also gives us an insider’s look at the vegetarian movement.”

Madison’s “insightful memoir” (The Wall Street Journal) is “a true delight to read as she uncovers her love for all real foods, peeling off layer by layer like an onion, recounting her own personal, culinary, and gardening experiences” (Lidia Bastianich).

“From her childhood in Big Ag Northern California to working in the kitchen of the then-new Chez Panisse, and from the birth of food TV to the age of green markets everywhere, An Onion in My Pocket is as much the story of the evolution of American foodways as it is the memoir of the woman at the forefront. It is a deeply personal look at the rise of vegetable-forward cooking, and a manifesto for how to eat well.”

“Deborah Madison is the award-winning author of fourteen cookbooks, including The New Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone and Vegetable Literacy. Her books have received four James Beard Foundation awards and five awards from the IACP; in 2016 she was inducted into the James Beard Foundation Cookbook Hall of Fame. She lives just outside of Santa Fe, New Mexico.”

Deborah Madison continues the sprouting conversation with us.

December 26: Deborah Madison, Lincoln Carson, Al Mancini, Melissa’s Produce Trends Forecast for 2021

Podcasts

Segment One: Show Preview with Executive Producer & Co-Host Andy Harris
Segment Two: Chef & Author Deborah Madison with her Memoir, An Onion In My Pocket Part One
Segment Three: Chef & Author Deborah Madison with her Memoir, An Onion In My Pocket Part Two
Segment Four: Chef Lincoln Carson of Merite Bake Shop and Coast Range Restaurant, Solvang Part One
Segment Five: Chef Lincoln Carson of Merite Bake Shop and Coast Range Restaurant, Solvang Part Two
Segment Six: Al Mancini, Food Staff Writer, Las Vegas Review-Journal
Segment Seven: Robert Schueller, Melissa’s “Prince of Produce,” with the Produce Trends Forecast for 2021
Segment Eight: Co-Host Chef Andrew Gruel of the Slapfish Restaurant Group with “Ask the Chef”

Happy New Year and brighter horizons in 2021. …We’re previewing the show with Executive Producer & Co-Host Andy Harris.

Chef Deborah Madison’s new memoir, An Onion in My Pocket – My Life With Vegetables is from the celebrated author of Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone and 13 other cookbooks. (Described as “The Queen of Greens” by The Washington Post.) It’s a warm, bracingly honest memoir that also gives us an insider’s look at the vegetarian movement.” “Thanks to her beloved cookbooks and groundbreaking work as the opening chef at Greens Restaurant in San Francisco, Deborah Madison, though not a vegetarian herself, has long been revered as this country’s leading authority on vegetables.” We’re walking the local Farmers Market with Chef Deborah Madison.

When we last spoke with Chef Lincoln Carson he had just launched (as Chef & Partner) the ambitious Bon Temps Los Angeles restaurant located next to the Firehouse Hotel in the Arts District adjacent to Downtown Los Angeles. Unfortunately the critically acclaimed Bon Temps was an early victim of COVID 19’s devastating impact on the dining scene in Los Angeles. Fortunately it’s been a busy year for Chef Lincoln nonetheless. In November Lincoln launched the Merite Bake Shop in Boise, Idaho. It’s a virtual kitchen- bakery located at Crave Collective under the umbrella of Crave Delivery. Chef Lincoln, a resident of the Santa Ynez Valley, is now back in California to launch the Coast Range Restaurant in Solvang. It’s a premier seafood and steakhouse with a spacious patio and the Vaquero Bar (with a separate menu.) At Coast Range Restaurant Chef Lincoln will focus on the menu for the Lunch Café and daytime pastry program. Chef Lincoln joins us with rolling pin in hand.

One of our most reliable sources of accurate restaurant news in fabulous Las Vegas is Al Mancini, who is a staff writer for The Las Vegas Review-Journal covering food, restaurants and other aspects of entertainment. Al has been working the Vegas food scene for 19 years. He was one of the creators of the popular, and widely referenced, Eating Las Vegas restaurant guidebook series. Al joins us with Part 2 of his quarterly update on the Las Vegas dining scene. He’ll give us an insider’s overview of what’s new including the food and libations at the Circa Resort in Downtown Las Vegas and local food personality Jolene Mannina’s Vegas Test Kitchen on Fremont Street. Al will also remember visionary entrepreneur Tony Hsieh who is credited with reviving the (now vibrant) dining scene in Downtown Las Vegas.

Our resident produce authority, Robert Schueller, (also known as the Prince of Produce) is the long-time Director of Public Relations for Melissa’s (World Variety) Produce. This will be the 14th year he’s provided the list of “Top Ten Specialty Produce Items” as determined by real sales figures. Robert joins us to share the always anticipated list. It’s no surprise that the ultimate comfort food, Melissa’s Dutch Yellow Potatoes, ranks in 1st place. This is actually the 10th year for this distinction. Next Saturday Robert returns to present more of his “Produce Trends Forecast for 2021.”

Our own Chef Andrew Gruel of the Slapfish Restaurant Group provides another timely and informative “Ask the Chef” segment where Chef Andrew responds to listeners thoughtful inquiries. Chef Andrew is regularly updating us on the impact of the Covid-19 crisis in the hospitality field and what we, as diners, can do to support the very survival of restaurants which is a genuine (and growing) concern. New (controversial) restrictions for restaurants are now in place for Southern California for the balance of the year (and possibly longer) as we continue the all-important Holiday dining season. Chef Andrew updates us on the early progress for the grass-roots, “86 Struggle” campaign to benefit local out-of-work and struggling restaurant wooers. Our thoughts turn to festive Holiday entertaining at home. Chef Andrew to the rescue as he continues his series of genuinely useful Holiday cooking tips. How do you prepare and cook the ultimate Standing Rob Roast? We’ll “Ask the Chef.”

All of this and heaping helpings of extra deliciousness (with proper Social Distancing) on this week’s not-to-miss show!

Cookbook Author Deborah MadisonChef Deborah Madison’s new memoir, An Onion in My Pocket – My Life With Vegetables is from the celebrated author of Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone and 13 other cookbooks. (Described as “The Queen of Greens” by The Washington Post.) It’s a warm, bracingly honest memoir that also gives us an insider’s look at the vegetarian movement.”

“Thanks to her beloved cookbooks and groundbreaking work as the opening chef at Greens Restaurant in San Francisco, Deborah Madison, though not a vegetarian herself, has long been revered as this country’s leading authority on vegetables.”

“She profoundly changed the way generations of Americans think about cooking with vegetables, helping to transform “vegetarian” from a dirty word into a mainstream way of eating. But before she became a household name, Madison spent almost twenty years as an ordained Buddhist priest, coming of age in the midst of counterculture San Francisco. In this charmingly intimate and refreshingly frank memoir, she tells her story—and with it the story of the vegetarian movement—for the very first time.”

Madison’s “insightful memoir” (The Wall Street Journal) is “a true delight to read as she uncovers her love for all real foods, peeling off layer by layer like an onion, recounting her own personal, culinary, and gardening experiences” (Lidia Bastianich).

“From her childhood in Big Ag Northern California to working in the kitchen of the then-new Chez Panisse, and from the birth of food TV to the age of green markets everywhere, An Onion in My Pocket is as much the story of the evolution of American foodways as it is the memoir of the woman at the forefront. It is a deeply personal look at the rise of vegetable-forward cooking, and a manifesto for how to eat well.”

“Deborah Madison is the award-winning author of fourteen cookbooks, including The New Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone and Vegetable Literacy. Her books have received four James Beard Foundation awards and five awards from the IACP; in 2016 she was inducted into the James Beard Foundation Cookbook Hall of Fame. She lives just outside of Santa Fe, New Mexico.”

We’re walking the local Farmers Market with Chef Deborah Madison.

Lincoln Carson of Bon TempsWhen we last spoke with Chef Lincoln Carson he had just launched (as Chef & Partner) the ambitious Bon Temps Los Angeles restaurant located next to the Firehouse Hotel in the Arts District adjacent to Downtown Los Angeles. Unfortunately the critically acclaimed Bon Temps was an early victim of COVID 19’s devastating impact on the dining scene in Los Angeles.

Fortunately it’s been a busy year for Chef Lincoln nonetheless. In November Lincoln launched the Merite Bake Shop in Boise, Idaho. It’s a virtual kitchen bakery located at Crave Collective under the umbrella of Crave Delivery. It’s delivery and takeout with premium breakfast pastries and decadent desserts.

Chef Lincoln, a resident of the Santa Ynez Valley, is back in California to launch the Coast Range Restaurant in Solvang. It’s a premier California costal seafood and steakhouse with a spacious patio and the Vaquero Bar (with a separate menu.) Lincoln’s partners are Chef Anthony Carron (800 Degrees and Top Round) and Chef Steven Fretz (Top Round and Church Key.)

At Coast Range Restaurant Chef Lincoln will focus on the menu for the Lunch Café and daytime pastry program.

Chef Lincoln joins us with whisk securely in hand.

Al Mancini of the Las Vegas Review JournalOne of our most reliable sources of accurate restaurant news in fabulous Las Vegas is Al Mancini, who is a staff writer for The Las Vegas Review-Journal covering food, restaurants and other aspects of entertainment. Al has been working the Vegas food scene for 19 years. He was one of the creators of the popular, and widely referenced, Eating Las Vegas restaurant guidebook series.

Al joins us with Part 2 of his quarterly update on the Las Vegas dining scene. He’ll share an insider’s overview of what’s new including the food and libations at the Circa Resort in Downtown Las Vegas and local food personality Jolene Mannina’s Vegas Test Kitchen on Fremont Street. Al will also remember visionary entrepreneur Tony Hsieh who is credited with reviving the (now vibrant) dining scene in Downtown Las Vegas.

Robert Schueller of Melissa's World Variety Produce in the AM830 KLAA StudioOur distinguished, resident produce authority, Robert Schueller, (also known as the Prince of Produce) is the long-time Director of Public Relations for Melissa’s (World Variety) Produce. This will be the 14th year he’s provided the list of “Top Ten Specialty Produce Items” as determined by real sales figures. Robert joins us to share the always anticipated list.

It’s no surprise that the ultimate comfort food, Melissa’s Dutch Yellow Potatoes, ranks in 1st place. This is actually the 10th year for this distinction.

Next Saturday Robert returns to present more of his “Produce Trends Forecast for 2021.”

Andy Harris and Andrew Gruel at Cabana 14 at the Cove at Pechanga Resort and CasinoOur own Chef Andrew Gruel of the Slapfish Restaurant Group provides another timely and informative “Ask the Chef” segment where Chef Andrew responds to listeners thoughtful inquiries. Chef Andrew is regularly updating us on the impact of the Covid-19 crisis in the hospitality field and what we, as diners, can do to support the very survival of restaurants which is a genuine (and growing) concern. New (controversial) restrictions for restaurants are now in place for Southern California for the balance of the year (and possibly longer) as we’re in the all-important Holiday dining season.

Chef Andrew updates us on the early progress for the grass-roots, “86 Struggle” campaign to benefit local out-of-work and struggling restaurant workers. It’s gaining attention nationally.

Our thoughts turn to festive Holiday entertaining at home. Chef Andrew to the rescue as he continues his series of genuinely useful Holiday cooking tips. How do you prepare and cook the ultimate Standing Rib Roast? We’ll “Ask the Chef.”

Podcasts

Segment One: Show Preview with Executive Producer & Co-Host Andy Harris
Segment Two: Chef & Author Deborah Madison with her Memoir, An Onion In My Pocket Part One
Segment Three: Chef & Author Deborah Madison with her Memoir, An Onion In My Pocket Part Two
Segment Four: Chef Lincoln Carson of Merite Bake Shop and Coast Range Restaurant, Solvang Part One
Segment Five: Chef Lincoln Carson of Merite Bake Shop and Coast Range Restaurant, Solvang Part Two
Segment Six: Al Mancini, Food Staff Writer, Las Vegas Review-Journal
Segment Seven: Robert Schueller, Melissa’s “Prince of Produce,” with the Produce Trends Forecast for 2021
Segment Eight: Co-Host Chef Andrew Gruel of the Slapfish Restaurant Group with “Ask the Chef”

Show 279, June 30, 2018: Steve Sando, Rancho Gordo

Steve SandoIn a few short years, Steve Sando has taken the lowly bean from a healthy but neglected, over-bred member of the vegetable family to a near superstar-status ingredient. Sando’s company Rancho Gordo, grows heirloom and heritage varieties and works with influential chefs like Thomas Keller, Deborah Madison, Paula Wolfert and Annie Sommerville. His new book is The Rancho Gordo Vegetarian Kitchen – Everyday Cooking with Heirloom Beans, Vegetables, Greens, and Grains.

“My first harvested heirloom bean was Rio Zape. They were pretty and easy to grow but I had no idea what to expect when I cooked them. They were similar to the pintos I liked but there was so much more going on. “Hints of chocolate and coffee mixed with an earthy texture made my head spin. I was blown away by Rio Zape and the other heirloom beans I was growing, but also really confused why they were such a big secret. I took the beans to the farmers market, organizing things on my kitchen table. Soon there was a warehouse, followed by more markets and mail order. It seems we had struck a nerve. People agreed that heirloom beans were worth saving, growing and cooking. Currently our warehouse, a retail shop and offices are in Napa, California and a stop here is part of many tours of the wine country. We were asked to open a store at the Ferry Building in San Francisco and as you can imagine, we jumped at the chance.”

“All of my agricultural pursuits have been based on being someone who likes to cook but gets frustrated by the lack of ingredients, especially those that are native to the New World. One of the things that originally drew me to beans was the fact that they are indigenous to the Americas. It seems to me these indigenous ingredients should be familiar, if not common. American cuisine is re-inventing itself and I’d love to include ingredients, traditions and recipes from north and south of the border as part of the equation. I love the concept of The Americas. I feel as if it’s just as important as the European heritage many of us share.”

On Sunday, July 8th, Rancho Gordo will hold is first-ever supper in Southern California at Alta Baja Market in Santa Ana. The event is “Rancho Gordo Goes to Alta Baja with More (Culinary) Stars than in the Heavens!”

The special event will feature three courses prepared by Steve Sando’s favorite SoCal chefs and restaurateurs. Two seatings for the supper at 3:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. Optional Valle de Guadalupe wine pairings available.

All the food is donated by Rancho Gordo. All proceeds go to the arts program at Valley High School in Santa Ana.

Reservations a must. Call Alta Baja Market @ 714.783.2252.

We’re shelling heirloom beans with Steve Sando.

Show 224, May 20, 2017: Show Preview with Co-Host Andy Harris

Now a tempting preview of this Saturday’s drool-worthy show. It’s not, with profuse apologies, for dieters. If we’re successful we will always leave you incredibly hungry and thirsty. In our case that’s probably a pretty good thing…

From perhaps the foremost authority on vegetarian cooking and one of the most trusted voices in food comes a carefully curated and updated collection of 100 favorite and most inspired recipes, reflecting how Deborah Madison loves to cook now. Her new book is In My Kitchen – A Collection of New and Favorite Vegetarian Recipes. We grab Deborah from her New Mexico garden for a chat.

In 1981, Ron and Diane Miller established Silverado Vineyards to make wine from the six historic vineyards of their estate. Napa pioneers first planted these ranches to vines between 1865 and 1895. Silverado Vineyards long-time President and General Manager, Russ Weis, is our guest.

Journalist Al Mancini is well-known in Las Vegas hospitality circles. He’s been reviewing restaurants there for over 15 years. In 2011 he co-created the definitive Las Vegas dining guideEating Las Vegas – The 50 Essential Restaurants. He recently joined the Las Vegas Review-Journal as a staff writer primarily covering the food, restaurant and libations beat. We’ll meet him.

Executive Chef Eric Samaniego (ex-Little Sparrow) is hosting an unusual 5-course collaboration dinner with Taco Maria’s (SoCo in Costa Mesa) acclaimed chef/proprietor Carlos Salgado on May 24th at Michael’s on Naples in Long Beach. This is part of Michael’s on Naples ongoing monthly “Guest Chef’ing” series. Chef Samaniego joins us for an enticing preview.

Co-host Andy Harris has an arresting airline main cabin food story to share. It’s just for laughs…Frustration and bewilderment with the lack of planning only goes so far! Other food news of note, too, as time permits.

All of this and generous heaping helpings of extra deliciousness on this week’s show!

Show 224, May 20, 2017: Deborah Madison, Icon of Vegetarian Cuisine Part One

Deborah MadisonFrom perhaps the foremost authority on vegetarian cooking and one of the most trusted voices in food comes a carefully curated and updated collection of 100 favorite and most inspired recipes, reflecting how Deborah Madison loves to cook now. Her new book is In My Kitchen – A Collection of New and Favorite Vegetarian Recipes.

Deborah Madison’s newest book shares 100 beloved and innovative recipes from her vast repertoire, all pared down to the key ingredients needed to achieve delicious, nuanced flavor, with simplified preparations.

In My Kitchen is a vegetable-forward cookbook organized alphabetically and featuring recipes like Roasted Jerusalem Artichoke Soup with Sunflower Sprouts; Fennel Shaved with Tarragon and Walnuts; and Olive Oil, Almond, and Blood Orange Cake. With dozens of tips for building onto, scaling back, and creating menus around, Deborah’s recipes have a modular quality that makes them particularly easy to use.

Deborah Madison, the founding chef of San Francisco’s popular Greens restaurant, is the author of nine highly regarded cookbooks. Deborah Madison’s The Savory Way, Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone and Local Flavors have all received James Beard Foundation Awards.

A cooking teacher for two decades, a contributor to many magazines, and long involved in the local food and farming movement, Madison is the recipient of many other awards, including the MFK Fisher Mid-Career Award.

We grab Deborah from her New Mexico garden for a chat.

May 20: Deborah Madison, Silverado Vineyards, Al Mancini, Eric Samaniego, Carlos Salgado

Podcasts

Segment One: Show Preview with Co-Host Andy Harris
Segment Two: Deborah Madison, Icon of Vegetarian Cuisine Part One
Segment Three: Deborah Madison, Icon of Vegetarian Cuisine Part Two
Segment Four: Russ Weis, President & General Manager, Silverado Vineyards
Segment Five: Al Mancini, Staff Writer, Las Vegas Review-Journal Part One
Segment Six: Al Mancini is a Staff Writer at the Las Vegas Review-Journal Part Two
Segment Seven: Eric Samaniego, Executive Chef, Michael’s on Naples, Long Beach
Segment Eight: Co-Host Andy Harris with an airline food story…

Now a tempting preview of this Saturday’s drool-worthy show. It’s not, with profuse apologies, for dieters. If we’re successful we will always leave you incredibly hungry and thirsty. In our case that’s probably a pretty good thing…

From perhaps the foremost authority on vegetarian cooking and one of the most trusted voices in food comes a carefully curated and updated collection of 100 favorite and most inspired recipes, reflecting how Deborah Madison loves to cook now. Her new book is In My Kitchen – A Collection of New and Favorite Vegetarian Recipes. We grab Deborah from her New Mexico garden for a chat.

In 1981, Ron and Diane Miller established Silverado Vineyards to make wine from the six historic vineyards of their estate. Napa pioneers first planted these ranches to vines between 1865 and 1895. Silverado Vineyards long-time President and General Manager, Russ Weis, is our guest.

Journalist Al Mancini is well-known in Las Vegas hospitality circles. He’s been reviewing restaurants there for over 15 years. In 2011 he co-created the definitive Las Vegas dining guide – Eating Las Vegas – The 50 Essential Restaurants. He recently joined the Las Vegas Review-Journal as a staff writer primarily covering the food, restaurant and libations beat. We’ll meet him.

Executive Chef Eric Samaniego (ex-Little Sparrow) is hosting an unusual 5-course collaboration dinner with Taco Maria’s (SoCo in Costa Mesa) acclaimed chef/proprietor Carlos Salgado on May 24th at Michael’s on Naples in Long Beach. This is part of Michael’s on Naples ongoing monthly “Guest Chef’ing” series. Chefs Samaniego and Salgado join us for an enticing preview.

Co-host Andy Harris has an airline main cabin food story to share. It’s just for laughs…Frustration and bewilderment with the lack of planning only goes so far! Other food news of note, too, as time permits.

Deborah MadisonFrom perhaps the foremost authority on vegetarian cooking and one of the most trusted voices in food comes a carefully curated and updated collection of 100 favorite and most inspired recipes, reflecting how Deborah Madison loves to cook now. Her new book is In My Kitchen – A Collection of New and Favorite Vegetarian Recipes.

Deborah Madison’s newest book shares 100 beloved and innovative recipes from her vast repertoire, all pared down to the key ingredients needed to achieve delicious, nuanced flavor, with simplified preparations.

In My Kitchen is a vegetable-forward cookbook organized alphabetically and featuring recipes like Roasted Jerusalem Artichoke Soup with Sunflower Sprouts; Fennel Shaved with Tarragon and Walnuts; and Olive Oil, Almond, and Blood Orange Cake. With dozens of tips for building onto, scaling back, and creating menus around, Deborah’s recipes have a modular quality that makes them particularly easy to use.

Deborah Madison, the founding chef of San Francisco’s popular Greens restaurant, is the author of nine highly regarded cookbooks. Deborah Madison’s The Savory Way, Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone and Local Flavors have all received James Beard Foundation Awards.

A cooking teacher for two decades, a contributor to many magazines, and long involved in the local food and farming movement, Madison is the recipient of many other awards, including the MFK Fisher Mid-Career Award.

We grab Deborah from her New Mexico garden for a chat.

In My Kitchen is Deborah’s most personal cookbook. It takes you inside her home, reflecting how she cooks and eats today – with sophisticated and layered recipes that have been pared down and perfected after years of refinement. The more than one hundred recipes included here showcase Deborah’s style of carefully considered, forgiving, and endlessly adaptable recipes – perfect as they are, but also ripe for modification and improvisation.

Russ WeisIn 1981, Ron and Diane Miller established Silverado Vineyards to make wine from the six historic vineyards of their estate. Napa pioneers first planted these ranches to vines between 1865 and 1895.

Each vineyard played an important role in establishing the reputation of their growing area : Carneros, Coombsville, Yountville, Soda Creek Canyon and Stags Leap District. The beautiful fruit from these six vineyards is the exclusive source of Silverado Vineyards’ Estate and Single Vineyard wines – the Miller family’s highest expression of the Napa Valley they love and admire.

“The beginning of vine planting is like the beginning of mining for precious metals: the winegrower also ‘prospects’.”

– Robert Louis Stevenson,
The Silverado Squatters, 1880

A century later, the Miller family began the journey Stevenson described, establishing Silverado Vineyards in 1981. “It was beautiful land, and it was land that was working,” observed the late Diane Miller of their first vineyards, purchased in the 1970s. Diane and Ron sold their grapes to some of Napa’s best vintners, who made award winning wines from them year after year. Encouraged, they struck out on their own with the goal of making the best wines the estate could produce at a fair price. This has remained the guiding philosophy over the years.

The winery’s name, Silverado, comes from the abandoned mining town at the top of the Napa Valley, where Stevenson stayed so many years ago. It is an appropriate symbol: three generations of the Miller family are still “prospecting” for wine, staying true to the idea of coaxing something precious from the soils we are privileged to care for.

Silverado Vineyards long-time President and General Manager, Russ Weis, is our guest.

Al ManciniJournalist Al Mancini is well-known in Las Vegas hospitality circles and beyond. He’s been reviewing restaurants there for over 15 years. In 2011 he co-created the definitive Las Vegas dining guideEating Las Vegas – The 50 Essential Restaurants. He recently joined the Las Vegas Review-Journal as a staff writer primarily covering the food, restaurant and libations beat. We’ll meet him>.

Al discovered his passion for food while living in New York City, where he attended law school by day, tended bar and made pizza at the infamous punk club CBGB by night, and explored the Big Apple’s dynamic dining scene during every spare moment in between.

Eric SamaniegoExecutive Chef Eric Samaniego (ex-Little Sparrow) is hosting an unusual 5-course collaboration dinner with Taco Maria’s (SoCo in Costa Mesa) acclaimed chef/proprietor Carlos Salgado on May 24th at Michael’s on Naples in Long Beach. This is part of Michael’s on Naples ongoing monthly “Guest Chef’ing” series.

Among the many accomplishments of Chef Salgado is being named one of Food & Wine’s Best Chefs of 2015. Taco Maria is known for Alta California cuisine, an intriguing fusion of Mexican and American flavors and cultures.

Chef Samaniego never reveals in advance what he and his guest chef will prepare simply because he’s not quite sure himself.  The evening tends to be spontaneous, much like going to a friend’s home for dinner and leaving the menu up to the host. Both chefs will shop the local farmers’ markets and visit Farm Lot 59, the local urban farm, for ingredients just days before, which will drive the creativity of their five-course dinner.

“I really like collaborating with other chefs,” said Samaniego.  “I love to try new techniques and experiment with new ideas in the kitchen. It’s even more fun when you’re cooking with someone you have tremendous respect for and consider a friend.  I’m looking forward to having Chef Salgado join me on May 24.”

Chefs Samaniego and Salgado join us for an enticing preview.

Collier Cook of Santa Catalina Island Company and Andy HarrisCo-host Andy Harris has an airline main cabin food story to share. It’s just for laughs…Frustration and bewilderment with the lack of planning on the part of a major air carrier only goes so far! Other fresh food news of note, too, as time permits.

Podcasts

Segment One: Show Preview with Co-Host Andy Harris
Segment Two: Deborah Madison, Icon of Vegetarian Cuisine Part One
Segment Three: Deborah Madison, Icon of Vegetarian Cuisine Part Two
Segment Four: Russ Weis, President & General Manager, Silverado Vineyards
Segment Five: Al Mancini, Staff Writer, Las Vegas Review-Journal Part One
Segment Six: Al Mancini is a Staff Writer at the Las Vegas Review-Journal Part Two
Segment Seven: Eric Samaniego, Executive Chef, Michael’s on Naples, Long Beach
Segment Eight: Co-Host Andy Harris with an airline food story…