(I heart Cody) Team Lexington - San Francisco

"I'm burning Bok Choy, apparantly," said Cody Giannotti as he posed for a photo wearing bunny ears with two leopard clad women.

Giannotti is the coach for the San Francisco Burlesque/Theatre troupe Team Lexington. They started out several years ago as a gaggle of friends who occasionally scored gigs.

"Hey, Dude, I got a music gig. Anyone want to dance in the background?"

(Giannotti with his Nonna's cookbook)

On August 6th, 2007 at Mr. Smiths on 6th Street they performed Squibbina's Last Stand which netted them the notoriety they needed to be taken seriously. The show starred Christina Lowry in a mermaid costume she'd made herself, the costume allowed her strip off her scales and show the bleeding, beating deep red of a mermaid's insides.

As of late, Team Lexington, dreamed together a spy musical written by Lee Goldin. It's their second full length feature they've produced. They also are experimenting with Burlesque Opera. In between all the performing - there are the photo shoots.

Which Giannotti describes as clean, organized, quick and marketable. This particular Sip Snap Savor dinner was really just one, elaborate theatrical photo shoot with food and knives for props.

That said, Giannotti can really cook. Really. He was a maestro: a jovial, unflappable director on all the stages and in the kitchen. He braised vegetables, directed the creation of an apple pie and made an upside down, inside out shepherd's pie.














Stay tuned all this week for recipes from our Burlesque photo shoot.
To book Team Lexington, contact Team Coach Cody Giannotti.

Autumn Apple Delight - Worth The Whisk

"We're experimenting as we go along on this dessert." - Patti

It's Autumn and apples are in season. Crunchy, crisp, juicy, tart and juicy apples. For a complete guide to everything apple related, click here.

When you are experimenting with fruit desserts the most fun variable is the fruit itself. Play with heirloom varietals and combinations of fruits. My personal favorite dating back to the early 80's when my grandfather would make it for me, fresh from his garden, is strawberry rhubarb pie.

Mmmm

Patti Londre runs Worth the Whisk, a complete cooking bible online. She hosted our finale dinner over the 09 Fourth of July holiday weekend. When I saw the apples coming towards me, I was pretty excited. Apples have large amounts of quercetin which is known to activate energy levels in your body.

We had a LONG drive home in front of us. So Patti graciously donated the whole batch of Apple Delights to us and our road trip home to San Francisco.

MWA Patti!







Apple Delights

1. Unfold slightly softened puff pastry sheets. If the sheet defrost too much and come to room temperature, they may become difficult to work with. Pop them back into the freezer for a few minutes.

2. Cut the puff pastry into little squares, about 2". Plop each square into a greased muffin tin opening.

3. Scopp heaping spoonfuls of applesauce into each puff pastry opening. Use Chunky apple sauce and sprinkle with cinnamon after each scoop.

4. Bake at 400 degrees for approx. 15 minutes.

5. Let cool and Enjoy!

Burlesque Dinner with Team Lexington (SF)

San Francisco Burlesque Opera group, Team Lexington will be hosting a dinner @ The Martini Oaks. Should be VERRRY interesting. Stay tuned. If you'd like to participate in this group dinner, please shoot an email to: sipsnapsavor@gmail.com

You gotta fight. For your right. To PAAAASTAAA!

Lauren Danziger is a trained chef who discovered she had Celiac Disease some years ago. She was despairing about life being over (No More Pasta!) when she decided to put her chef skills to the test. She wanted to create all her favorite foods so life could be colorful and hearty once more. 

"Oh man! When I found out I couldn't have pasta anymore I got seriously depressed!" -Lauren

Thankfully, Lauren has figured out the secrets to beautifully crafted pasta sauces and gluten free brown rice pastas. So really, the world is right again. 

Lauren's Heavenly Pasta Sauce with Brown Rice Gluten Free Pasta

1 lb beef 

1 lb veal or pork 

1/2 bottle red wine (syrah, cabernet) 

1/3 cup toasted pine nuts 

1/4 cup dried currants 

1 small can tomato paste 

1/2 can whole tomatoes, chopped (optional)

 1/2 tsp oregano 

1/2 tsp, chiffanade, basil salt and pepper, to taste  

Salt and pepper the meat well.  

Brown the meat in a pan. Deglaze with red wine.  Add the tomato paste and stir. 

 In another pan, toast the pine nuts and set aside.  Add more wine as the meat

 cooks, along with the currants and pine nuts.  Keep adding wine till the meat

 is cooked and had a purple tint. Add the seasoning, cook for a nother minute

 or two, and serve over pasta.

Carole Dasher's Alabama Garlic Blue Cheese Dressing

"Don't tell your cardiologist what's in your salad dressing! - Carole

Carole Dasher is THE go to home chef. She tasted a salad dressing at a restaurant in Birmingham, AL some years ago and decided to re-create it at home. After perfecting the composition, she shares her wealth of knowledge here.  

Honey, it's DELICIOUS. Try it with your next salad. 

Garlic Blue Cheese Dressing

(Keeps for 4-5 days in the fridge and serves 6-8 people)

12 cloves of garlic, chopped

1/4 C white wine vinegar

1/2 C EVOO or salad oil

6 hard boiled eggs, crumbled 

3 OZ blue cheese, crumbled

1/5 C mayonnaise

Add garlic and eggs to a bowl.  Introduce oil and whisk with a fork for 1-2 minutes until well blended. Add vinegar and continue whisking for another 20-30 seconds. Scoop in mayo and crumbled blue cheese. Fold gently. 

Serve with crisp Romaine salad leaves. 

Underground Dinner in Brooklyn (Homunculus)

"Brooklyn, especially Williamsburg, is the epitome of cool and then it leaches out into the world." - Chris, co-chef at Homunculus

I'd fallen down, upon exiting the Subway station, enroute from Manhattan to Brooklyn. I do that. Fall. But I always, always, always get back up again.

And this was no different. As Jamie and I hobbled up the street, we were suddenly greeted by a flurried Ryan Scanlon - one of the co-organizers of Homunculus. Homunculus is an "Eat-Easy" think: "Speak-Easy" mixed with dashes of ingenuity, down home vibes and passion. Lots and lots of passion.




Ryan eyed my bleeding knee and directed me to band aids, ice and wine. In that order. Just as if I were in someone's home I'd known for years. I didn't feel stupid or anything.

Not like the time I fell in front of an 8 foot pop out window in front of 60 or so diners at an upscale restaurant in Montecito, California. This was NOTHING like that at all!

After we were all settled in - I had time to scan the room. A big fish tank gurgled happily. Candles were lit. Aretha Franklin was singing in the corner. Two puppy dogs (Claire and Oscar) were lying at my feet, underneath the mosaic table. People were casually making butter in a mason jar and checking on the freshly baking bread in the oven.

"Fiddleheads?!" "Divine!" "Indescribable!!!!" "You eat the frond." "Its a ... fern. Fern." "You can eat them sauteed with butter! SAW-TAID!" "So Divine" - Chef Medley from the Kitchen

So what exactly IS an underground dinner? It's not a new concept at least not on either coast. Outstanding In The Field and Ghetto Gourmet made the concept famous. Guerrilla Gourmet continues the tradition. Bringing together people, chefs, fresh ingrediants for avante garde dining situations in warehouses, art galleries, private homes and outdoor spaces.

But the idea that just about anyone with a passion for food and a tolerance for hard work can spread the word and bring together communities ... is relatively new in our media-driven-freak-everyone-out-society. You're taking a chance by attending an underground dinner.

A chance you'll meet new friends. Try new foods. Go somewhere new. Let down your guard. Be adventurous. Team Sip.Snap.Savor was lusciously rewarded. Kinton Wines laced our table (the dinner was BYOB/BYOW) along with candles and lively conversation.




"Anything you can get in a store, you chould be able to make. I'm making my own sweater from washing, carding and knitting. The whole shebang. I've made my own sake, too" - Cale, Homunculus


Complete Menu:

Bread - Currant and toasted fennel seed white bread

Soup - Cold Celery soup

Beast plate - Cajuned pork, pistachio, thyme soaked veal pate on crostini
Sherry and Cassis chicken liver mousse on a house cracker
Maple candied bacon with almond butter
Foie gras bon bon on shortbread

Appetizer - Red curry and peanut souffle

Palate cleanser - Strawberry and thyme sorbet

Entree - Beef in Barolo, parsnip puree

Salad - Endive salad with fennel shavings, walnuts, chevre, loft dressing

Dessert - Three Layer Tart - Candied bananas, chocolate and cognac custard, black berries. Side of cardamom ice cream

Care to attend a dinner yourself? Email the fellas in Brooklyn and ask to reserve a spot. $40/BYOW homunculuseatez@gmail.com

Mason Jar Butter
Take a clean, Quart Sized Mason Jar with a lid and pour into it Room Temperature Whole Milk or (even better) Cream. Screw on lid. Begin shaking at the jar. At 4-6 minutes you'll notice the milk is thickening. At about 9 minutes of shaking, the cream will start to separate from the sides of the glass. When you get to the half point at 14-16 minutes you'll notice serious solids. At 27-30 minutes it's time to stop shaking and start draining off the excess liquid from your butter. Use cheesecloth to solidly drain your butter and then salt it if you wish. Serve with warm bread.

Currant & Toasted Fennel Seed Bread
3 Cups Artisan Bread Flour
2 Cups Water, 1/2 Cup extra water (reserve)
1 pat of butter
handful of anise seeds
2 handfuls of currants
4 tsp salt
1/2 oz. dry activated yeast
5 tblsp evoo

Activate the yeast in 1/2 cup of water (water should be lukewarm/room temperature). Let stand for 15 minutes. Meanwhile toast anise seeds in a pat of butter, in a pan on stove, over medium heat. Continue toasting until browned.

Mix flour and salt together in a bowl. Imprint a dimple into the center of the dry goods. Add water, oil and yeast mixture s l o w l y and incorporate all ingredients together.

On a floured surface, knead the dough until elastic and no longer sticky. Grease a bowl with a touch of evoo and put the dough in the bowl and cover with a floured dish towel.

Let rise for 2 hours.

Gently remove dough from the bowl and fold it to remove all air bubbles. Return to bowl and cover with floured kitchen towel. Let rise once again.

After 30 minutes, remove from bowl, place on greased cookie sheet (in desired shape), in 350 degree oven for 35 minutes.

Serve piping hot with cool, homemade butter.

Jeffy's Asian Tacos

It can be so easy to be inspired when shopping at a Japanese Market. So many interesting things to ponder and purchase. Our own team member, Jeffy, decided it was time to cook. He picked up 2 bags of vegetables and thought about what to make on the walk home.

He knew he had to make something asian inspired to match the Udon our hosts were preparing for us that night in Columbia Heights (D.C.)

This is his journey.








Jeffy's Asian Tacos

1. Dice, Chop, Mince & Slice the following into bite sized pieces. Fold together and let sit in the fridge together for 60-90 minutes.

2 leeks, 3 bunches green onions, 1 white onion, 2 jalapenos de-seeded, 2 red bell peppers, several bunches tree oyster mushrooms, 1 bunch cilantro, 1 bunch parsley, 1 package firm tofu and 1 small piece ginger.

2. Heat 2 Tblsp Oil in large sauce pan or wok. When hot, add vegetables and tofu. Stirfry for 7-8 minutes or until soft. Reduce heat, add 2 Tblsp soy sauce and continue cooking for several minutes. Remove from heat.

3. Sprinkle in 1/2 cup peanuts and 1/2 cup bean sprouts.

4. Toss concoction in a large bowl with 1/4 cup lime juice and 2-3 Tblsp soy sauce.

5. Using butter lettuce or iceberg lettuce, form tacos.

Makes about 10 tacos.

While I may have helped Jeffy with this recipe, it's definitely easy enough and open to interpretation. So even the most timid home chef should feel confident preparing these tacos.