chez panisse

• Sandra Lee's five tips for hosting the perfect Halloween party. — Eatocracy
• The famed Berkeley restaurant Chez Panisse has been dissed by the just-released 2011 Michelin guide. — Grub Street SF
• Curried sweet potato soup with brown rice is healthy and delicious. — Serious Eats
• Mass marketers discover a farm trend among young people. — Feast
• Here's a kid-approved organic candy taste test. — Huffington Post Food
• Ten top-rated pumpkin recipes. — The Epi-Log
• Just in time for Halloween, learn how to drink with a fake mustache. — Chow
• Smart cafeterias could fight childhood obesity. — The Atlantic
• Ferran Adria has announced plans to open two new bars in Barcelona. — Eater

Call her what you will, but it's undeniable that Alice Waters is a pioneer in sustainable cooking practices. I personally had never even heard of eating locally or organic until I had a conversation about Waters's famed northern California restaurant Chez Panisse, which opened in 1971. Today restaurants and grocery stores are filled with the words "local," "organic," and "sustainable," as well as a laundry list of farm-sourced ingredients.

If eating simply prepared food culled from fresh ingredients is your thing, The Art of Simple Food by Waters is a must-have cookbook. There's nothing revolutionary about the 200 recipes within its pages — sauces, pastas, soups, veggies, meats, seafood, desserts, and so on, but when prepared the familiar recipes seem almost perfect in flavor, texture, and presentation. I also love that it's geared to the home cook and that most of the meals are extremely easy to prepare. If any recipe is remotely challenging, Waters does a good job of explaining proper technique thoroughly.

To hear why I love this cookbook, read more

I'm crazy about Summer for many reasons, a major one being the season's amazing selection of stone fruits and berries. So I was beyond excited when a close friend surprised me with a new cookbook that takes advantage of my love for fruit: Chez Panisse Desserts ($20.70). This book, which is over 20 years old, is one in a series of seven cookbooks from the kitchen of Chez Panisse, the legendary Alice Waters restaurant that's known as the birthplace of California cuisine. It's authored by Lindsey Shere, who was the pastry chef at the restaurant for more than two decades. Did its seasonal dessert recipes make for a compelling cookbook? Find out when you read more

Even if you aren't a fan of warm soups in Summer, it'd be hard not to get behind the tart, herbaceous, chilled Spanish soup known as gazpacho. In-season tomatoes provide a savory acidity, emulsified olive oil gives a creamy mouth-feel, and garlic packs a punch. In traditional Spanish recipes, the addition of day-old bread adds weight and body.

Make the soup by pulsing ripe tomatoes with other abundant vegetables — or go the rustic route, as California landmark Chez Panisse does, and use a mortar and pestle to smash cloves of garlic, and a grater to crush fresh heirloom tomatoes. See both versions of this classic refreshing soup when you read more