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ByJackieBurrell BayAreaNewsGroup It's no wonder Michael Chiarello's flirtatious Co- queta has been such a hit on San Francisco's water- front. Tapas, gintonics and glorious water views are a potent recipe for happi- ness. It's also one to inspire a Spanish-style summer fete of your own. You may not have that stunning waterfront view — if you do, we'll be right over — but the idea of tapas, skewered pintxos (pro- nounced peen-chos) and the oh-so-appealing prac- tice of late-night sips and small plates on the patio is tailor-made for relaxed en- tertaining. It was a gastronomically charged trip to Barcelona, where Chiarello's daughter lives, that sealed the deal for the Napa chef known for his Italian cuisine. "I fell in love with Barce- lona, with the emotion and the community of eating," he says. "The waterfront, the sea- side style of eating, where you eat as little or as much as you like, pintxos and a glass of sherry. It's dinner without such a large com- mitment." From the party host per- spective, it can be a delight- ful level of commitment — or rather, noncommitment — as well. Chilled wine, fizzy cocktails, platters of cured meats, cheeses and olives, and you're halfway there. Saute a batch of pad- ron peppers — the occasion- ally hot one in a glistening sea of sweet gives the dish a dash of chile pepper rou- lette. Make albondigas, per- haps, in a wine sauce, a la San Francisco chef Joyce Goldstein, whose recipe tastes even better when made the night before. And don't forget the jamon, the incredible prosciutto- like ham that may well be Spain's national obsession. Then pass a tray of brightly hued, Basque-in- spired pintxos — skewered pickled vegetables and an- chovies, for example, or the fresh baby beets, cucum- bers and feta cheese com- bination favored by Marin's Gerald Hirigoyen, whose small plates fare dazzles at his Basque restaurant, Piperade, and in a cook- book, "Pintxos" (Ten Speed Press, 2009) devoted to that cuisine. Pintxos are the "tapas of the North" says Jeffrey Weiss, who just opened a Mediterranean and Anda- lusian restaurant, Jennini Kitchen + Wine Bar, in Pa- cific Grove. Weiss encour- ages pintxo creativity in his new book "Charcuteria, the Soul of Spain" (Surrey Books, 2014): "There's a million and one pintxos to try in Basque country, but the truth is that anything you can stick on a toothpick qualifies as a proper pintxo." The one you encounter everywhere, Weiss says, is the Gilda, a toothpicked flourish of cured guindilla peppers, green olives, cor- nichonlike pepinillos, ma- genta-tinged pearl onions and anchovies. Legend has it that the pintxo was in- spired by Rita Hayworth's 1940s film "Gilda," because Gilda and the pinxto are both "green, salty and a lit- tle spicy." That's a stretch, Weiss says, but the salty, zesty little skewers are a great addition to any party. Pintxos are a mainstay at Coqueta, too. "We put 20 of them on a platter, pass them around," Chiarello says. "It's wonder- ful." They make a great lit- tle nosh to pair with that other Spanish obsession, the gintonic — one word, Chiarello says — served in balloon-shaped wine glasses or Riedel-type stemless goblets. In Barcelona, entire bar menus are devoted to gin- tonics. There — and at Co- queta and Lafayette's Coo- perage, whose general man- ager hails from Coqueta — the libation becomes a splendidly aromatic, effer- vescent mix of stellar gin, Fevertree Mediterranean or house-made tonic ... plus slivers of citrus, swaths of zest, interesting botanicals and petals, punctuated by juniper berries. Chiarello's staff goes all out, making their own jamon Iberico-infused gin and acorn-apricot tonic. The Iberico pigs that pro- duce Spain's signature pro- sciuttolike ham are fed acorns, so you get both a culinary resonance and "re- ally sensual umami." Of course, you don't have to make your own apricot- acorn tincture or even san- gria — although we have a great recipe for that. Pour a Spanish rosé, an albarino, a cider or cava. Just don't forget the ham. It's not a true Span- ish spread without cured meats, sliced chorizo per- haps — caramelized, Chi- arello suggests, then de- glazed with Spanish cider and cooked a few minutes more with fresh, pitted cherries — and, of course, the Iberico. "The expensive ham! Peo- ple will eat 2 pounds!" Chi- arello cautions. So use it the way you do prosciutto, com- plementing the salty, savory flavors with the sweetness of melon. Chiarello serves it with fresh peaches, soft cow's milk cheese and a dusting of dried piquillo peppers, or plums, water- cress and a drizzle of olive oil. The combination, he says, is "a perfect celebra- tion of the season." Salud. ENTERTAINING Pintxos party Little Spanish noshes make it easy for host and guests, and they're delicious MARKDUFRENE/BAYAREANEWSGROUP From le , pintxos with manchego, quince membrillo and jamon Iberico, beets, feta and cucumber and 'Gilda' pintxos with guindillas, olives and cebollitas. Gildapintxos Makes 6 Note: This classic Basque pintxo calls for specific pickled vegetables, but you can use Italian pepperoncini, for example, instead of guindillas, small Basque pickled peppers. 6medium cured guindillas 12large green Spanish olives, cured, marinated 6cured cornichons 6cured cebollitas 6cured anchovy fillets Arrange 1guindilla, 2olives, 1cor- nichon, 1cebollita and 1anchovy on each wooden skewer. Serve on baguette slices or, if you want the pintxos to stand up, skewer the ce- bollitas last for stability. Guindillas: Makes 3to 5pickled peppers 3to 5yellow chili peppers, such as guindillas or cubanelles, pricked a few times with a toothpick Water White wine vinegar 2tablespoons sugar per 1cup liquid 1tablespoon kosher salt per 1cup liquid Place chilies in a jar that just holds them; cover with water. Drain water into a measuring cup. Note the amount. Discard half and add an equal quantity of vinegar. In a small saucepan over medium- high heat, heat the sugar and 1 tablespoon of water, swirling the pan lightly until a light amber caramel forms. Add the vinegar mixture and salt. Reduce heat to medium; simmer until sugar and salt have dissolved. Combine peppers and pickling liquid. Weigh down peppers so they are sub- merged. Cool, then seal and refriger- ate for 2to 4days, or until pickled. Cebollitas: Makes 15to 20pickled pearl onions 20pearl onions Water Red wine vinegar 1/3 ounce sugar per 1cup liquid 1medium red beet, peeled, quartered 1ounce kosher salt per 1cup liquid 1fresh bay leaf 1/2 star anise 1/8 ounce black peppercorns Slice off onion tips (the end opposite the root end). Fill a bowl with ice and water. Bring a small saucepan of water to a rolling boil. Add onions; cook 3to 4minutes, until they so en slightly. Transfer onions to the ice bath. Rinse saucepan. Slip the onions from their skins. Place onions in a jar that just holds them; cover with water. Drain the water into a measuring cup. Note amount. Dis- card half and add an equal quantity of vinegar. In a small saucepan over medium- high heat, combine sugar and 1table- spoon of water. Do not stir; swirl the pan lightly and heat until a light am- ber caramel forms. Add onions, beets and salt; stir to coat and cook 2to 3 minutes more. Add vinegar mixture, bay leaf, star anise and peppercorns. Reduce heat to medium, simmer 3 to 5minutes more, until all the sugar and salt have dissolved. Cool to room temperature. Taste for seasoning. Transfer to a food-safe container; weigh down onions so they are submerged. Seal the container and refrigerate for 2to 4days, or until pickled. — Jeffrey Weiss, "Charcuteria" Baby beets, cucumbers and feta pintxos Makes 8 Note: If you cannot find baby beets, use small beets. To make a vinegar reduction, simply simmer the mosca- tel vinegar until reduced by half. 8baby beets, 1to 11/2-inches in diameter Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper 8squares feta cheese, cut 3/4-inch square and 1/2-inch thick 8pitted Kalamata olives 8squares peeled English cucumber, cut 3/4-inch square and 1/2-inch thick Extra-virgin olive oil and moscatel vinegar reduction, for drizzling Preheat oven to 400degrees. Trim the stems of the unpeeled beets, leaving 1/2 inch intact. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place them in a baking pan with 1/4 cup water. Roast for 30minutes, or until just tender when pierced with a knife. Transfer to a bowl of cold water. When they are cool enough to handle, top and tail them and slip off the skins. (Note: If you are using small beets, cut them into squares, as you did the feta and cucumber.) Thread each of 8skewers with a beet, a feta square, an olive and a cucumber square. Arrange on a small platter. Drizzle with olive oil and vinegar reduction. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. — Gerald Hirigoyen, "Pintxos" Grilled chorizo kebabs with cherries Serves 4 Note: This recipe works equally well with fresh figs or apricots. 12ounces cooking chorizo, cut into 1/2-inch circles 1/2 pound cherries, pitted 1large red onion or bell pepper, cut into 1-inch squares Olive oil Preheat grill. Skewer the ingredients together, alternating between the chorizo, fruit and onion. Place in a grill-safe pan. Drizzle with olive oil. Grill over medium-high heat for about 10minutes, rotating the skewers periodically. — Matchbox Wine and Tienda.com Recipes By Mary Clare Jalonick Associated Press WASHINGTON Starting Tuesday, "gluten free" labels on packaged foods have real meaning. Until now, the term "gluten-free" was unregulated, and manufac- turers made their own deci- sions about what it means. This new requirement is especially important for people who suffer from ce- liac disease and don't ab- sorb nutrients well. They can get sick from the glu- ten found in wheat and other cereal grains. Under a rule announced a year ago, food manufac- turers had until this week to ensure that anything labeled gluten-free con- tains less than 20 parts per million of gluten — ensuring that those prod- ucts are technically free of wheat, rye and barley. That amount is generally recog- nized by the medical com- munity to be low enough so that most people who have celiac disease won't get sick if they eat it. Currently, wheat must be labeled on food packages but barley and rye are of- ten hidden ingredients. Celiac disease causes ab- dominal pain, bloating and diarrhea, and people who have it can suffer weight loss, fatigue, rashes and other long-term medical problems. Celiac is a diag- nosed illness that is more severe than gluten sensitiv- ity, which some people self- diagnose. According to the American Celiac Disease Alliance, an estimated 3 million Americans have ce- liac disease. A decade ago, most peo- ple had never heard of ce- liac. But awareness and di- agnosis of the illness have grown exponentially in re- cent years. It's not entirely clear why. Some research- ers say it was underdiag- nosed; others say it's be- cause people eat more pro- cessed wheat products, such as pasta and baked goods, than in past decades, and those items use types of wheat that have a higher gluten content. The standard will ensure that companies can't label products "gluten-free" if they are cross-contami- nated from other products made in the same manufac- turing facility. The rules don't apply to restaurants, but the Food and Drug Administration is encouraging them to com- ply. Gluten-free foods have become big business in the last several years, top- ping an estimated $4 bil- lion in sales last year. Mil- lions of people are buying the foods because they say they make them feel better, even if they don't have ce- liac disease. Alice Bast of the Na- tional Foundation for Celiac Awareness says the gluten- free trend has been good for those diagnosed with celiac because of the increased va- riety of options in the gro- cery store. But she says it also may have prompted some com- panies to lose focus on the people who need those foods the most. The new regulations are "raising awareness that there is a disease associ- ated with the gluten-free diet," she said. Steve Hughes, CEO of Boulder Brands, which owns leading gluten-free food companies Glutino and Udi's, says his compa- ny's products all have 10 parts per million of gluten, less than the new standard. He praises the FDA regula- tions for being a "stake in the ground" that can in- crease the integrity of the gluten-free market. REGULATIONS 'Gluten-free' labeling standards on packaged foods kick in ASSOCIATED PRESS In this Aug. 2, 2013, file photo, a variety of foods labeled gluten free are displayed in Frederick, Md. Starting this week, "gluten free" labels on packaged foods have real meaning. Deli-TastyBurgers-Wraps NewTo-GoSection Thursday, Friday & Saturday Lunch & Dinner Buffet Happy Hour with Cocktails, Food & Entertainment Saigon Bistro 723 Walnut St. Red Bluff 528-9670 MongolianBBQ Mongolian BBQ K K ahunas ahunas AmericanStyle It's all about the choices! 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