My daddy always said, “the best places to eat are those with all the work trucks parked outside. People who are working hard go where the food is good, plentiful and fairly priced. And that’s where life happens.” Years ago, I followed the trucks to the unassuming Shoreline Coffee Shop in Mill Valley—and I’ve been a regular ever since. In fact, the Shoreline has been a fixture in my life for so many years that by now, I count owner Santi Ojeda among my life friends.

The shoreline is a family place where I first taught my children their manners—the simple courtesies of “please” and “thank you.” Once when correcting my five year-old, I told him we didn’t scream in restaurants. He replied, “this isn’t a restaurant, it’s my home!”

The coffee shop has always been a second home to me. It’s where I come alone to read or work and eat. In graduate school, I took up residence in the back booth during the quiet hours, studied, drafted my masters thesis on a yellow table, and drank gallons of black coffee with plates of huevos rancheros. This is where I planned the Beyond Wonderful website, and wrote many of its recipes.

Everybody’s got their favorite dish at the Shoreline, from pancakes to cheeseburgers. Ask my daughter and she’ll tell you of a childhood filled with the best strawberry shortcake on the planet. But what make’s Santi’s place truly special is the menu of classic Mexican dishes from his native land—carne asada, chilaquiles, enchiladas, huevos rancheros, huevos Mexicana and a variety of fresh salsas.

Earlier this week, Santi and I got together to adapt his huevos rancheros recipe for the home cook. The red sauce—salsa roja—is perfection. Take a look. It’s easy, and I’ve created an illustrated, step-by-step “How-To” for assembling the dish. Just remember, the secret is using the freshest ingredients. Anything less compromises the flavor of this terrific Mexican breakfast and brunch classic.

Get a printable Huevos Rancheros recipe and How-To for success in your kitchen. Then prepare yourself for the kind of flavor life’s memories are made of.

Mama Rita Ferro’s kitchen is a great place to be. It’s always filled with amazing Italian food, family, friends, and her joyful spirit that guarantees lots of good times. Recently, I spent the afternoon there making cioppino with her and son Guido for their upcoming Beyond Wonderful International Home Chef feature.

Italian fishermen living in San Francisco made cioppino as a way of using leftover fish from the sales of their daily catches. Gathering around a community pot, they tossed the fish into a tomato-based sauce and cooked it long enough to release its juices and flavors. Mama Rita has spent years perfecting her sauce, and always makes it a day ahead so that the flavors have time to meld and ripen in anticipation of the fresh fish.

She sent Guido and me off to the Thien Loi Hoa supermarket in Oakland where they sell a variety of live and fresh fish—perfect for our cioppino. Serving a sizable Asian community, this market is filled with large tanks of swimming fish and crabs, aerated trays of clams, mussels and snails, and large displays of whole fish. Guido surveyed everything and couldn’t decide which “fat fish” he wanted—halibut or red snapper. I got distracted by a tray of six-inch conches in their shells.

“Hey, Barbara let’s get the snapper—that color is spectacular.” Our fish monger cleaned and filleted the fish, then also packed up the head and tail for us to use in stock.

Next, live Dungeness crabs. Our monger took us to the tank and picked two beauties, then wrapped them in butcher paper. They didn’t move much. Guido asked me if I’d ever cooked live crabs. “You know they scream,” he said with a grin, “Eeee! Eeee!” Undeterred by his pranks, I joined Guido in finishing off the shopping list: clams, mussels, shrimp and scallops.

Back at Mama Rita’s kitchen, the real fun began. I’d expected to toss our whole “catch” into the bubbling sauce at once, but Guido and Mama Rita let me in on a secret: cook the fragile snapper separately, then add it to the stew at the last minute. Otherwise the crab claws shred the snapper, creating mushy scraps rather than tender morsels. By the end of the 30-minute cooking time, everyone in the house had gathered in the kitchen, drawn by the intoxicating scent.

As always, we all had to wait patiently while Beyond Wonderful photographer, Windsor Andersen, worked her magic with the finished dish. Once she’d gotten the perfect shot, everyone filled their bowls and headed outside to the deck that overlooks a local canal. As we devoured our dinner, a boat sailed by and someone called up, “Hey, what are you cooking? It smells awesome. Are we invited for dinner?” We all waved and laughed, then got back to the serious business of sucking and picking the meat out of the shells and sopping up the sauce with an endless supply of hot garlic bread. With sauce running down my chin and all over my hands, I had to bless the Italian fishermen—and Mama Rita and Guido.

Take a look at Guido and Mama’s Rita’s Beyond Wonderful article, From Market to Meal: Classic Italian Cioppino, and get printable recipes.

A recipe for exotic Moroccan tea made it through production last week just before I came down with the terrible flu that’s going around—high fever, chills, hacking cough, laryngitis and zero energy. It was not pretty. 

Before I got sick, I had great fun perfecting my ability to pour tea high above trays of sparkling, jewel-colored tea glasses, trying to capture the perfect photo to display on the site. The aroma of the Chinese green tea and fresh mint filled the air, while we rewarded ourselves with sweet sips in between shots. At once exotic and sensuous, this tea makes a lovely alternative to ordinary green tea. 

While I languished in the land of the living dead, I envisioned Moroccans ceremoniously pouring tea for their families and guest from long-spouted silver and brass tea pots decorated with classic Moorish designs. When I awoke from a nap, my husband Perry surprised me with a tray of raisin toasts and his own fresh batch of the fragrant tea. “How hard could it be?” he asked. “Just take a little tea, a couple of sprigs of mint from the garden, and add sugar.” It was very good—sure proof that this tea is simple to make. And to cheer me up even more, Perry served it in a beautiful Moroccan tea glass that he found among our photo shoot props.

Moroccans joined the tea drinking world in the 18^th century and are now one of the top importers of green tea in the world. Queen Elizabeth I gifted the king of Morocco with a spectacular selection of English porcelain teapots, cups and accessories to promote trade and the consumption of afternoon tea. While the Moroccans embraced the tea, they created their own teapots, intricately decorated glasses and accessories that best reflected their rich Moorish heritage. Personally, I prefer the exotic glasses over fussy, fragile English cups that make one fearful while drinking tea rather than enhancing the beauty of the moment.  

For me, tea trays were the bright spots during my few days with the flu. Made with love, they supplied warmth and beauty to comfort an aching body and hasten my recovery. In fact, I enjoyed them so much that I might continue my daily Moroccan ritual even when I’m feeling just fine! Get a printable recipe of my Moroccan Tea.

Written January 28, 2008

Sunshine is a state of mind when it’s been raining for days. Despite the constant drizzle, I decided it was time for a break from the office and headed to downtown Sausalito for a walk along the bay. Across the water, San Francisco emerged from the gray mist like a mystical city and I felt at peace in this beautiful place.

As the water sloshed up against the rocks, I spotted a large puddle and couldn’t resist jumping right in. What fun! Who says you have to be three to play in the rain? Behind me, someone yelled “Wahoo — go for it!” 

And just like a kid who’s been playing outside, I came home hungry, craving my favorite grilled cheese sandwich. Mine’s made with marinated artichokes, gouda cheese, and thousand island dressing. I flat-out love the complex flavors of this simple sandwich — and it’s so easy to make. 

Grilled Artichoke-Gouda Sandwich

1 recipe Thousand Island Dressing (Homemade provides superb flavor but you can substitute bottled dressing in a pinch)

2 slices country-style bread

2 ounces gouda cheese, grated or thinly sliced

3-4 marinated artichoke heart halves, drained

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon olive oil

Directions

1. Spread the Thousand Island dressing on the inside of both pieces of bread.
2. Place half the cheese on the inside of one piece of bread.
3. Fan the artichokes and place them evenly on top of the cheese.
4. Top with the remaining cheese and cover with the second slice of bread. Press the sandwich together with a firm hand.
5. Place the butter and olive oil in a grill pan or skillet set over medium-high heat. When the fat begins to sizzle, add the sandwich and grill until the bread turns golden brown. Flip and grill the other side until the cheese melts and the sandwich is heated through.
6. Serve immediately.

I’ve always loved Valentine’s Day. It started in grammar school with those colorful mass-produced cards we stuffed in the decorated class Valentine box. Later my kids gave me treasures made from construction paper and lace doilies with “I love you, Mommy” in their best writing. Today Beyond Wonderful is decked out in full pink and red splendor with lots of fabulous chocolate desserts for your Valentine’s celebration.

We’ve been busy these last few weeks perfecting recipes and photographing them for the website. My favorite photo shoot was for Baking Expert, Catherine Christensen’s Valentine’s column, Ooh la la… chocolat! Trust me, her decadent Mexican pots de crème and mousse au chocolat are close to aphrodisiacs, and will become favorites in your culinary repertoire.

Photo shoots may seem glamorous but they are hard work and often take several days to produce. I meet with our amazing food photographer, Windsor Andersen, to go over the schedule and decide what flowers, props, dishes, silverware and linens are required. Will we work in the studio or take advantage of the natural light in the garden? Once that’s determined, I start cooking, prepping food, buying flowers and gathering props.

To get in the mood, I headed to several flower shops for armloads of long-stemmed roses—both red and multi-colored bouquets—plus fragrant pink lilies and white narcissus. My favorite purchase was three bunches of the most beautiful pink tulips to herald the coming of spring.

Then it was back to the kitchen to prepare the two desserts. I piped the chocolate mousse in to an assortment of Spanish sherry wine glasses, and spooned the pots du crème into pretty bowls and festive red ramekins. All were refrigerated for the shoot.

Early the next day, Windsor arrived and started setting up. She surveyed the desserts and props and went for the chocolate mousse (her own favorite dessert). “Let’s use the red cake stand and the pink tulips. I want natural light so bundle up, we’re going to the garden.” As she worked, I piped the mousse with whipped cream and topped each with tiny red candy hearts.

In between shots I found Windsor in the kitchen eating spoonfuls of whipped cream over the sink. “Ooooo, this is so good.” So much for the tofu and bunny food she brought for lunch.

Shoots always have people circling the food table asking, “Are you done yet?” No one eats until we have our final images. When Windsor yells “done! you can eat now!” I hand out spoons and everyone grabs their pleasure and digs in. Silence for a moment, then appreciative moans and exclamations. Then, inevitably… the sound of everybody reaching for a second serving. Now that’s love.

Happy Valentine’s Day!