San Francisco Flavors: Favorite Recipes from the Junior League of San Francisco

Enjoy a little bit of San Francisco wherever you live. Following on the runaway success of their previous two recipe collections, the Junior League of San Francisco is back with San Francisco Flavors, an all-new cookbook of Junior League favorites. Packed with tips from San Francisco's most celebrated chefs and sommeliers, San Francisco Flavors captures all the excitement of eating around the Bay Area. From appetizers to entrees to brunch and dessert, here are classics updated with a San Francisco twist, as well as sophisticated contemporary creations, and a wide range of recipes influenced by San Francisco's vibrant ethnic communities. With an introduction by Alice Waters of the legendary Chez Panisse restaurant, this beautifully photographed book evokes the vitality of this endlessly diverse and food-loving city.

THE JUNIOR LEAGUE OF SAN FRANCISCO is an organization of women committed to promoting volunteerism, developing the potential of women, supporting families, and improving the community through the effective action and leadership of trained volunteers. All of the proceeds from this book go to support this charitable work.

First of all, this is a beautiful book, from the basic design right through to the illustrations and the food photography. It's what quality cookbooks should look and feel like. It sets a standard. And the recipes collected and tested by the members of the San Francisco Junior League measure up to that standard in every way.

This isn't an upscale accumulation of everyone's favorite catered food or takeout treats. This is about thoughtful, flavorful, contemporary food you would serve to your family. It's definitely about food you would take the time and trouble to serve to guests of your family. It's food that takes into account the many ethnic influences of San Francisco and takes advantage of the fresh products that pour into that city's farmer's markets. San Francisco Flavors, in some ways, sends out a clarion call to all other cities to pay attention to nearby farmlands and the farmers who work the soil, and to establish farmer's markets in their own communities so everyone can know what real food is all about.

But the recipes. There are chapters devoted to appetizers, soups, salads, entrées, side dishes, brunches, beverages, and desserts. Therein you will find the likes of Ginger and Green Tea Sorbet, Strawberry-Mango Cobbler, Panfried Trout with Bacon and Sage, Fuji Apple and Ricotta Pancakes, Grilled Leeks with Hazelnut Vinaigrette, Curried Vegetable Stew, Chicken Pot Pie with Sage Biscuit Topping, Thai Shrimp with Coconut Rice, Asian Tri-Cabbage Coleslaw, Moroccan-Style Carrot Soup, and Toasted Walnut and Ginger-Garlic Dip. Where appropriate, San Francisco sommeliers suggest wines. And throughout the book, San Francisco chefs give their favorite tips. It really is a marvelous take on the kinds of terrific food being served in San Francisco by people who care about ingredients and what becomes of them.

All proceeds from Junior League books go back to their projects, the main ones being improving the community and supporting the family. In the case of this book, it's money well spent. --Schuyler Ingle