Recently in Events Category

Put this in your calender, in ink, and then get yourself to Omnivore books.

Date: Friday, March 12, 2010
Time: 5:30 pm
Location: Omnivore Books (Noe Valley, SF)
Address: 3885a Cesar Chavez Street, SF CA 94131
Phone: (415) 282-4712.

Speaker: Andrew F. Smith, editor-in-chief of the Oxford Encyclopedia on Food and Drink in America, and the author or editor of sixteen other books, including Pure Ketchup: The History of America's National Condiment and Popped Culture: A Social History of Popcorn in America. Andy also teaches culinary history at the New School in Manhattan.
Topic: Eating History: Thirty Turning Points in the Making of American Cuisine (Columbia Univ. Press, 2009)

Interested parties can join our mailing list by signing up at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CHoNC/

Unless otherwise noted, all CHoNC events are free and open to the public.

!buen provecho!

If you haven't treated yourself to a CHoNC event, you really need to. Erica organizes some pretty amazing speakers on topics such Food, Culture, and Community to The history of Sensory Science, and our favorite, Thy Tran's South by Southeast Asia: Tamales of the Philippines and Guam - also featured at our 2009 A Taste of Tamales by the Bay.

Cold weather and rain make the next event, which is next Thursday, especially appealing:

Speaker: William Rubel, author of The Magic of Fire: Hearth Cooking.
Topic: In Smoke and Shadow: The Samburu of Northern Kenya and their Smoke-Flavored Milk
Date: Thursday, Feb. 11th, 2010
Time: 5:30-7 pm
Location: CSU East Bay, Oakland campus
Address: 1000 Broadway, Suite 109 (entrance on 11th St.)
Phone: (510) 208-7001

Directions: http://www.ce.csueastbay.edu/businessservices/conference_facilities/directions.shtml
Note: BART is nearby, as are many parking garages. Avoid parking right under the CSU Center, as that garage closes at 7pm.

If you're up for it, join the group as they head out for an informal dinner after the talk (what's a group of food lovers to do!) Please let Erica know by Monday February 8, 2010 if you think you might want to join the group.

Erica Peters
Culinary Historians of Northern California
Email: e-peters-9@alumni.uchicago.edu
www.chonc.com
Join the CHoNC mailing list by signing up at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CHoNC/

!Buen Provecho!

Benchmark Institute and A Taste of Tamales by the Bay are proud to be a member of the Honorary Committee Friends of Mexico 2010. We look forward to promoting and acknowledging the wonderful cultural, academic and community events celebrating the Bicentennial of the Independence of Mexico and the Centennial of the Mexican Revolution that will be taking place throughout 2010 in the San Francisco Bay Area.

For additional information about these hallmark milestones and a complete list of Honorary Committee Friends of Mexico 2010, we invite you to visit the Mexico 2010 SF website at http://www.mexico2010sf.com

iBuen Provecho!

The Holiday Season is officially in full swing.

How do I know? La Cocina is having its Holiday Gift Fair tomorrow and nothing says holidays better than a gathering of friends, family and lots of good eating! And with all the culinary talent under one roof, no one can blend gathering and good eats this time of year like La Cocina.

From alfajores by Sabores del Sur, to Mulatos and Zambos' gift cards, no stone has been left unturned.

This festive evening has been planned with a Christmas Shopper's needs in mind - just click on the link to see exactly what I mean.

iBuen Provecho!

If you're a last minute sort of person, well then, time is on your side. I just found out about this event - if you can make it, do yourself a favor and get there:

Thursday, July 23, 2009 Time: 5:30 - 7:30 pm Location: Omnivore Books Address: 3885a Cesar Chavez Street (Noe Valley, SF) Phone: (415) 282-4712

Speaker: Polly Adema, author of Garlic Capital of the World: Gilroy, Garlic, and the Making of a Festive Foodscape (2009)
Topic: The history of the Gilroy Garlic Festival

Interested parties can join CHoNC's mailing list by signing up at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CHoNC/

Unless otherwise noted, all CHoNC events are free and open to the public.

Anyone who has been to a CHoNC presentation knows how wonderful they are -- I count myself among the lucky. The location, Omnivore Bookstore, is half the fun. I can almost guarentee you'll find something to bring home to fill in that empty space on your bookshelf - you know the one.

iBuen Provecho!

The afternoon couldn't have been more perfect: the weather was warm, the tamales hot, and margaritas -- just right. After all the tasting, pondering and, just to be sure, more tasting, the judges were left to make the difficult decision of who would be taking home the Best Tamale and Best Margarita awards. I know this: it wasn't easy.

Not to be outdone, after working their way through upwards of 18 styles of tamales, a tamale lover's heaven for sure, the public had the delicious task of naming the People's Choice winner.

We're excited to announce the fruit of their labor.

Best Tamales
1. Cocina Poblana - Pork Ribs in Green Chile Salsa.
Also People's Choice award
2. La Espiga de Oro - Sinaloa Style Pork
3. Reposado - Vegetarian Tamalitos

These three winners were selected for their presentation, innovation, use of ingredients and, above all -- flavor.

Margaritas Rock!

Tequila Cocktail: Adrian Hernandez, mixologist at Colibri Mexican Bistro
Winning entry: Refreshing Bliss - an habanero infused cocktail.

Classic Margarita: Ivan Garcia, mixologist at Cocina Poblana
Winning entry: Margarita de Nopal

The judges, including representatives from the San Francisco School of Bartending and Tres Agaves , chose Refreshing Bliss, for Adrian's creative use of ingredient, habanero chile, and for pushing the tequila cocktail category envelope without losing focus of classic elements.

Of the Margarita de Nopal, the judges felt Ivan struck a surprising balance by marrying elements of a classic margarita with the healthful properties of a very unexpected ingredient - cactus, proving that tequila and healthy can mix.

iBuen Provecho!

Last December I told you about my latest find in Noe Valley, Omnivore Books on Food, and owner, Celia Sack. I've been dropping in from time to time, browsing through books on everything from Frida Kahlo's favorite recipes, to amazing Heirloom Beans, to Rogue Chefs and Underground Restaurants.

I'm excited to let you all know that Omnivore Books on Food will be joining us at the third annual A Taste of Tamales by the Bay on Sunday, April 26, 2009 at Fort Mason.

As the only cookbook store in the Bay Area, Omnivore Books on Food is a real treasure. In addition to selling new and vintage books on food, Omnivore also holds weekly talks by cookbook authors and food writers.

Come visit Omnivore Books on Food at A Taste of Tamales by the Bay and check out a sampling of Celia's selection of books on Mexican and Southwestern cooking, corn, and chilis and so much more.

!Buen Provecho!

Omnivore Books on Food • 3885a Cesar Chavez Street • San Francisco, CA 94131 • 415.282.4712 • Hours: Tues-Sat 11am-6pm, Sun 12pm-5pm

Many years ago, my friend Christina invited me to see her perform in this little play at the Bilingual Foundation of the Arts . She told me the play was about a family and tamales. I was in. The Bilingual Foundation for the Arts was in an old, former city jail (I loved going into old Los Angeles. buildings any chance I got), I loved tamales, and I enjoyed watching Christina perform. This was the trifecta as invitations go.

Looking back, it was probably one of the first performances of the this now annual Los Angeles holiday favorite adapted from,"Too Many Tamales," by Gary Soto.

All these years later I still remember the groaning and laughter from the audience when Maria, the story's protagonist, arrives at what she thinks is the only solution to her predicament: eat through the dozens, and dozens and dozens of tamales to retrieve her mother's wedding ring, a ring she did not have permission to wear, which she must have lost in the tamale masa while kneading it. Oh, the tension!

"Too Many Tamales" is a wonderful story that tackles big family issues in a fun and celebratory way. Issues like growing up, blending cultures as a family grows, resistance to family traditions and values, how through time they change yet, thankfully, in the end manage to hold onto what matters.

This is a play the entire family can watch together. Who knows, maybe this can be the start of a new family tradition: watch the play before the big family Christmas Tamalada. Of course, tamales play a central role in this family drama, as is true this time of year for many families around the holiday tamalada . This is in the nature of tamales:bring people together to accomplish a single delicious goal and watch what tales and dramas unfold.

If you live in Los Angeles, or if you'll be in Los Angeles in December, this play is definitely something to add to your To Do list.

Like my abuelita Ramona used to say 'A family that tamales together, stays together.' Okay, so I just made that up, but, you'll swear it's true after you've seen the play and danced in the aisle with your children.

Visit the Bilingual Foundation of the Arts, and buy your tickets, or read a little more in the Los Angeles Times article, then go see it.

There's still time.

!Buen Provecho!