Customer Reviews

The San Francisco Chronicle Cookbook

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A woman I gave a hand to gave me this book as a thank you because she knew I was homesick for San Francisco food living in Louisiana, land of fried. It was the best gift. The recipes in this book contain the diverse soul of San Francisco. My favorites are the Tamale Pie, the Chicken in Spice Laden Coconut Sauce, and the Chicken Lime Soup-but everything I have tried has been good. The cookie section in particular is amazing. If like I was you are home sick for The City, or if you just want a reliable source of creative and tasty recipes, this book is well worth buying, and will become one of the dog-eared favorites.

My American flatmate gave me this cookbook after I continually used her copy. I've never tried a bad recipe in this book and I've frequently been begged to pass several of the recipes on (particularly the Banana Choc Chip Bread, the Cafe Beaujolias Coffee Cake and the Chicken Quarters in Chermoula!). Highly recommended!

This was a great cookbook with a lot of good recipes from the S.F. Chronicle. The Hispanic meatloaf is delicious! For those of you who aren't lucky enough to get the Chronicle's Wednesday food sections, the Chronicle has a great variety of delicious recipes. Some of the recipes are time consuming, though.

I've had this book for about five years, and it's my favorite. If I had to give away all my cookbooks and keep only one, this would be it. I have no ties to San Francisco -- it's just an excellent cookbook. Here are my recs:

Grilled Chicken Breasts with Santa Fe Green Chili Sauce
page 221
*Quick, easy, and delicious. Canned chopped green chilies are excellent in this dish, so no need to chop fresh chilies.
*The sauce is good on pasta-- a side dish to go with the chicken.
*Try the Oven-Fried Sweet Potatoes on page 172. The flavors are wonderful together.

Moroccan Chicken with Olives and Lemons
page 224
* A show stopper, and easy.
*One small lemon is enough. Otherwise, it's too puckery.
* The breasts always turn out a bit dry, so go heavy on the dark meat.
* Make some rice to go with it. The sauce is brilliant on rice.

Chicken Quarters in Chermoula
page 225
* Great flavors.
* It makes a broth more than a "sauce."

Sapghetti alla Puttansesca
page 80
* Excellent. Note: It seems a whole pound of noodles is a little more than you might need for the sauce this makes. But it's almost a perfect fit.
* We used only 2 anchovy fillets, which seemed like a good compromise.

Theater Steak
page 180
* Use filet mignion. With other cuts of steak, it's too chewy.
* DO fry the bread. It makes a difference.

Butter-Steamed Salmon with Mint Vinaigrette
page 254
* I've never enjoyed salmon more (says a non-salmon fan)

French Toast with Orange and Triple Sec
page 272
* Big success, esp. if you use thick bread - 1/2 inch slices
* You can use 1/2 cup OJ if you don't want to squeeze "juice of one orange"
* Half-and-half is fine if there is no heavy cream in the fridge
* The butter isn't to keep the bread from sticking, it's to fry in, so be generous with the butter.

Chocolate Cookies "to Die for"
page 385
* So worth the trouble. So, so worth it.
* Cayenne pepper and chocolate. Like in the movies.
* Use half the recommended chocolate chips; otherwise it's too chocolatey.
* Undercook rather than overcook these cookies. There's little flour, so don't be fooled by the shiny gooey-ness. Cook the recommended time only.

Ginger Jack Cookies
page 388
* Use flakey cornflakes, not "Whole Foods" ones or cookies are too chewy
* There are vegetable shortenings without hydrogenated oils (no need to use Crisco)

Orange Chocolate Chip Cookies
page 386
*Somehow, you can eat more of these than regular chocolate chip cookies without getting ill.

Lime and Pepita Sugar Cookies
page 391
* Strangely addictive.

Banana Macadamia Cookies
page 381
* Go heavy on the almost-black bananas.
* You can leave out the nuts and the cookies are still rich.

Two-Flour Pancakes
page 302
* Decadent pancakes. Great mouth feel.
* They're full of butter. Make them when you feel skinny.
* Cutting in the butter is a pain.

Lemon Granita
page 399
* A friend made this for us. It was delicious and fresh.

German Chocolate Cake
page 354
* A lot of work, but also worth it.
* This delicate cake will have a flat, slightly sugary top crust, which tends to crack. So, that's the way it's supposed to look.


Not Recommended: Vegetable Tian, which was too oily and grey. Also, the Chocolate Ancho Chilie and Orange Cake was too rich (like a pound cake) and pretty difficult to make.

This book offers a wide variety of spectacular recipes, both for entertaining and for everyday dining. I've had such great luck with it that I won't hesitate to try new recipes for the first time on guests. In fact, anyone who comes to my house for dinner usually ends up buying the book.

The Tamale Pie is one of my favorites, and the Chocolate Orange Ancho Chile cake was a surprising ly big hit, here in the heart of the Midwest. The book is also great for traditional dishes with a little extra sparkle. Don't miss the section on little sauces that can perk up your old standbys.

This cookbook has recipes from many different Bay Area sources. So far, everything I've tried has been great. I've made a variation of the Chocolate Buttermilk cake (one layer I skipped the chocolate and added orange instead) for my son's birthdays. There's a chicken dish with lemon and mint that's very nice, and of course all the pasta dishes by Janet Fletcher are exceptional - but I already have her cookbooks separately. Last week I made the Milanese Braised Pork - very simple, with very few ingredients, but quite delicious and tender.

I've lived in SF since 1970 and I love these cookbooks - I rarely read the paper on Wednesday, but I know the recipes are great, and these books are the best way to collect the best of the best from the local paper!

Having lived in the Bay Area for 4 years, I became terribly attached to the SF Chronicle's stellar Food section. This cookbook, compiled by the folks at the Chronicle, reflects the excellence of their columns, and compiles some of the best recipes. The steak with Sauce Marchand is an obsession of mine, adored for its rich flavors and quick and easy preparation. The variety of cultures represented here is vast, and the flavors striking. Some of the recipes look lengthy and intimidating at first, but most of them are worth the effort.

I just recently, April 2010, got this wonderful book. After years of copying recipes from the Chronicle, and actually trying most of them, I bought this used book. It is like visiting with old friends. Each recipe author is the best in their field, including Bruce Cost, Janet Fletcher, Martin Yan, and everyone. Recipes are do-able and dee-lish.

This cookbook and volume II, are both excellent cookbooks. My girlfriend and I bust them out anytime we're having company, or if we just want something nice for ourselves. I recommend it highly.