In honor of Mother’s Day on Sunday, here are a some quotes from a few members of our team about things they learned from their Moms.

Ryan (Morning Prep Cook): Fruits and vegetables as snacks instead of junk food. I wasn’t such a fan as a kid. In fact, I thought it kinda sucked, but now, in my line of work, I completely understand. And it’s created a solid foundation for my affinity for fruits and vegetables.

Kevin (Line Cook): Be self sufficient. Learn how to do the important stuff yourself.

Jeff (Line Cook): Be grateful for what you have!

Anna (Admin): Home is where you get treated the best but act the worst. So it serves as a little reminder to treat your nearest and dearest with love and respect. Especially when you least feel like it!

Sam (Server): Be kind to everyone. You never know when your paths might cross again and people always remember those who treat them with kindness. She also always reminded me to be nice to the new kid. Everybody is new somewhere at some point and a little kindness goes a long way.

Essam (AGM): Keep your cool. If you’re quick to anger, a situation might escalate faster than you anticipate so cool down buddy.

And from my neighbour growing up, who felt like an extra mom, she recommended the airline safety code. When the masks drop, you have to help yourself first to be in a position to help others.

Temi: Look for the positive. Wherever you are, whatever you’re doing, you can always find a positive. The world is an easier place to be in if you choose happiness.

Whether you roll with a large SLR, or you work with a point and shoot or like 1/3 of photos on flickr, your smartphone is your camera of choice, few things you can see on a screen, beat a really great photo.

Here are a few great photos from one of our regular diners @prtyhungry.

It’s always great to see photos of what you’re having for dinner so tweet them to us or post them on facebook and you might just be photo of the week!

all photos by Elizabeth Subauste

]]> http://www.flourandwater.com/meals-on-wheels-part-2/feed/ 0 http://www.flourandwater.com/meals-on-wheels-2012/ http://www.flourandwater.com/meals-on-wheels-2012/#comments Sun, 22 Apr 2012 00:39:17 +0000 f+w http://www.flourandwater.com/?p=3555  

Meals on Wheels is a food event that has gotten bigger and better every year, and this year, being the 25th Anniversary Celebration is set to be the best one yet. Have you seen the Chef line-up ? Take a peep here, no joking when they said Star Chefs. On Saturday afternoon I made sure I paid the kitchen a visit to check out what deliciousness they were prepping for the gala. And oh my! The freshness, green-ness, spring-ness, lightness and all round amazingness.

Spring Vegetables, Whey, Pine Nuts, Speck is what Chef Thomas had put on the menu. Here’s a look at the various parts of that line up.

Fava beans

Grant working the beans like a seasoned pro.

Fresh Bay leaves.

Fresh pea shoots. This was when I nearly locked myself in the walk-in. Kinda chilly in there.

Wild garlic flowers.

Look at the color on the mustard flowers.

I love the brightness of the green garlic.

Lisa working on the goat’s milk curd and whey.

Teamwork!

For regular updates on what’s happening behind the scenes, follow us on twitter @flourandwater and facebook. See what we see as we see it on instagram.

Whether you come of the pasta and try out some pizza, or come for the pizza and try out some pasta, great pizza is one of the things we do well. From the restaurant floor, I’ve witnessed the fire-oven stage of pizza a few times; the spectacular sight of pizza being slowly levered into the wood fire own on a large pallet. But earlier this week in the Dough Room, (former flour + water sous chef and the chef de cuisine of soon-to-be-open Salumeria) Matt Sigler kindly showed me the key steps of prepping the base. (I’ll have to see if he’ll let me know the secret ingredients to the dough another time!).

So here are the basic maneuvers told through the eyes of someone with zero professional kitchen experience.

You start by gently kneading the dough to release any trapped air.

Then you lift the dough off your work surface and gently stretch it out (the flipping in the air part).

Keep stretching it out until it’s the size you’d like it to be and the thickness you’d like it to be.

And if you like crispy, blistered bubbles around the edge, you can help make sure these appear by manually creating a few little pockets in the base.

For regular updates on what’s happening behind the scenes, follow us on twitter @flourandwater and facebook. See what we see as we see it on instagram.

Monday April 2nd, a small group of guests were given a taste of what to expect at the soon-to-be-open Central Kitchen. With Thomas McNaughton as Executive Chef and Michael Gaines as Chef de Cuisine at the helm of the new restaurant, Central Kitchen has been slated as one of the most hotly anticipated restaurant openings of 2012. Watching the construction work in progress, the building of the dream team, the development of menu right down to the detail involved in selecting silverware, glassware and plateware, has been fascinating to watch.

The preview dinner was an opportunity to see the key elements of Central Kitchen come together. Guests were greeted with Prosecco by Chef Thomas, Chef Michael and were delighted to note their servers for the night were Central Kitchen GM Marko Sotto and Assistant General Manager/Special Events Director Elizabeth Subauste. Chef Thomas talked to the guests briefly about the philosophy behind Central Kitchen, the importance of building a strong team as the company grows, the approach to building menus and sourcing ingredients and the idea of responsible cooking using the whole animal and the whole vegetable.

With a strong emphasis on sourcing ingredients seasonally and locally (many of which come from the rooftop garden). The 8 course dinner was served with a few amuse bouches added between courses. Wine Director John-Paul Henaff came in to talk the guests through the choices for wines for the wine pairings and Pastry Chef Lisa Lu presented guests with a meticulously crafted chocolate, hazelnut & caramel dessert.

Music is a key part of the Central Kitchen experience, and for the night, Music Director Katie Mathis selected second albums from classic rock bands as a subtle nod to this being our second restaurant.

There’s another sold out Central Kitchen Preview Dinner on Monday April 9th. Will the menu be the same? You’ll just have to wait and see.

Outstanding in The Field tickets came…and sold out in a nanosecond. Last year we did a beach setting which was fabulous, but this year we’re switching things up and taking the team, and a bevy of happy diners to Devil’s Gulch farm. Kona’s personal appearance? I’ll have to check with her agent.

image courtesy of devil’s gulch

A few weeks ago, we had the pleasure of being included in a SF Station shoot for a Lomography exhibition. The exhibition opened on Thursday 22nd at the Lomography Gallery Store but its still on so head down if you didn’t make it.

We’ve set the date for our next Salumeria pop-up. Friday March 30th from 11am-2pm. We’ll be at The Window, the offshoot of Coffee Bar, at 1599 Howard at 12th. Get there early to get your grubbin’ on.

Chef Thomas has been a busy chap with a few photoshoots, James Beard Nomination for Rising Star Chef of the Year, tune in to Olivia Wilder’s show this Sunday at 630pmPST to listen to Chef Thomas live and watch a little pasta magic happen on Sunday 7pm PST on Unique Eats Pasta Episode. All this while we’re getting seriously close to the opening of our new restaurant Central Kitchen.

Twitter follower Number 4500…where are you? Two tickets for our wine class with a 5 course dinner await!

For regular updates on what’s happening behind the scenes, follow us on twitter @flourandwater and facebook. See what we see as we see it on instagram.

image of citrus bonet via greedy guts

Bonet (pronounced bow-nay) is a sweet typical of the Piedmont region that was initially served at noble banquets in the 13th century but is now seen as more of a home dessert to be enjoyed with families or at a local family run trattoria. Traditionally served in the colder months, its a soft, rich creme caramel like dessert.

If creme brulee or panna cotta turns you into a quivering pool of excitement, the bonet might just be the dessert for you. If the soft, silky, creamy custard in any form whets your appetite, you need to dip your spoon into a little bowl of bonet. The brown butter crumble sprinkled liberally on top creates a divine textural contrast that just keeps that spoon dipping in for more.

For the Bonet

2 1/2 cups cream, 1/2 cup milk, 1/4 cup sugar

1 bunch fresh rosemary

Bring ingredients to a boil then let cool for 20 minutes.

5 egg yolks, 1 whole egg, 1/4 cup sugar, pinch of salt

Cream together then slowly add rosemary cream mixture then strain.

For the Caramel

2 cups sugar, 1/2 cup water

Caramelize sugar then add boiling water to make a pourable caramel.

In the bottom of a ramekin, pour caramel crack black pepper on top then cover with custard base.

Bake in water bath and cover with aluminium foil for 40 minutes at 300F. Rotate halfway through cooking.

Brown Butter Crumble

1/2 cup butter, 1 cup all purpose flour, 1 cup brown sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt

Pulse all ingredients in a food processor until it forms pea sized rounds.

Place rounds on cookie sheet, bake at 350F until they brown.

Remove brown butter cookies from sheet and pulse in food processor till desired texture is reached.

Sprinkle generously on rosemary & black pepper bonet.

Enjoy.

In Piemontese dialect, the word bonet means hat and there are two theories explaining why: some linguists believe that bonèt ëd cusin-a (chef’s hat) was the name of the hat-shaped copper mold used to make the dish. Many people in Piedmont, however, will tell you that the name comes from the fact that it was the last thing that you would eat during a meal, just as a hat is the last thing you put on when you get up from the table to leave a restaurant or a friend’s home.

About a month ago I waxed lyrical about the symbiotic relationship between food and music at flour + water. This lead us to cross paths with a dashing duo who are all about the happy marriage of music and food. Kasey & Matthew started Turntable Kitchen out of his love of music, her love of food and their love of bringing the two together.

On Monday 5th March, in a similar vein to our Guest DJ Nights, Turntable Kitchen will be hosting a night at flour + water.

So Katie Mathis (our music director) asked them a few fun questions:

A few minutes with Kasey
What music did your parents listen to when you were growing up? My family is originally from Moscow, Russia, so the music I grew up listening to is an eclectic mix of Western pop groups and stars (like Michael Jackson, ABBA, Genesis, and the Beatles) and Russian folk music. The guitar was always king.

Favorite artists? Favorite albums? That’s a tough one! I go through a lot of musical phases. Right now, favorites include Feist, Iron + Wine, Beirut, MIA, Typhoon, Florence and the Machine and Sufjan Stevens. All-time favorites include Sublime, Amy Winehouse, The Decemberists, and of course, legends like the Beatles, Jackson 4, Aretha Franklin.
Michael or Janet? Beatles or Rolling Stones? Jackson 5! Beatles.
 

A few minutes with Matthew

What music did your parents listen to when you were growing up? My mom has always been one of the world’s most enthusiastic Barry Manilow fans. She’s probably seen him live hundreds of times in cities all across the planet. It’s almost all she ever listened to. My father’s tastes when I was a child were somewhat more eclectic and harder for me to pin down. He’d listen to everything from The Beach Boys & Motown to the soundtrack for Phantom of the Opera.

Favorite artists? Favorite albums? Right now I’m very enthusiastic about The Weekend and Aluna George. My all time favorites include Radiohead, The National, Spoon, Sufjan Stevens, Jorge Ben, Atahualpa Yupanqui, Al Green, Elliott Smith, Boards of Canada, David Bowie, and anything released through Motown during the 60′s – but especially The Four Tops.

Michael or Janet? Beatles or Rolling Stones? I’m going to pick Michael over Janet hands down. The Rolling Stones vs. The Beatles is harder for me. I grew up loving The Beatles, but I’ve recently fallen in love with The Rolling Stones. Today The Rolling Stones have the edge, but tomorrow I’ll probably find wish I selected The Beatles.

Don’t miss our first ever wine class: An Introduction To Italian Wines on Tuesday 6th! ]]> http://www.flourandwater.com/turntable-kitchen-at-flour-water/feed/ 0 http://www.flourandwater.com/salumeria-pop-ups/ http://www.flourandwater.com/salumeria-pop-ups/#comments Sat, 25 Feb 2012 17:57:16 +0000 f+w http://www.flourandwater.com/?p=3057 We love a good pop-up and being the carb junkies we are, we’re superdooper excited about the Salumeria pop-up happening next week.

Chef de Cuisine Matt Sigler and Retail Manager Sophie Musgrove have been hard at work crafting up insanely delicious combinations and after a little mid week sampling (right-place-right-time-perk-of-the-job), I can’t wait to try out a few more magnificent morsels.

This week is going to be a great one as they have not one, but two pop-ups planned. We had to honor the leap year in a special way.

The next is on Friday, March 2nd at Clooney’s Pub, 1401 Valencia from 6-10pm.

It’s been a busy week, which is exactly what we love. Never a dull moment in this joint. For regular updates on what’s happening behind the scenes, follow us on twitter @flourandwater and facebook. See what we see as we see it on instagram.