Don Silvers

Avoid food products containing ingredients that no ordinary human would keep in the pantry. Ethoxylated diglycerides? Cellulose? Xanthan gum? Calcium propionate? Ammonium sulfate? If you wouldn't cook with them yourself, why let others use these ingredients to cook for you? The food scientists' chemistry set is designed to extend shelf life, make old food look fresher and more appetizing than it really is, and get you to eat more. Whether or not any of these additives pose a proven hazard to your health, many of them haven't been eaten by humans for very long, so they are best avoided.

2 pnds. mixed heirloom tomatoes 24 fresh basil leaves

3 medium onions, cut into 1-inch thick slices

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

5-6 T extra-virgin olive oil

12 giant diver scallops (about 2 ounces each)

Maldon salt or other coarse sea salt

1 lemon cut in half

Scoring the scallops before grilling makes them open up like a flower. The trick here is to cook the scallops 90 percent on the first side, until very well seared, then just give them a quick finish on the other side.

Preheat a gas grill or prepare a fire in a charcoal grill. Place a piastra on the grill to heat.

Note: This recipe calls for a piastra to cook the scallops on, which is a flat stone or metal surface heated on the grill until super hot. You can use a flat cast-iron griddle or a large cast-iron pan if you don't own a piastra. Let the surface heat for 10-15 minutes, covered, before grilling.

Slice the tomatoes creatively (leave very small ones whole, or halve them) and lay out on a platter. Tear the basil leaves over the tomatoes, strewing them about. Set aside.

Season the onion slices on both sides with salt and pepper. Place them on the hot dry piastra and cook, unmoved, for 7 to 10 minutes, until well charred on the first side. Using tongs, carefully turn the slices over and cook for 7 to 10 minutes on the second side, until well charred and softened. Transfer to a plate and let cool slightly, then separate the onion slices into smaller rings and scatter them over the tomatoes. Drizzle the whole mess with 3-4 tablespoons of the olive oil.

While the onions cook, carve a checkerboard pattern about 1/4 inch deep into one side of each scallop. Season the scallops all over with salt and pepper, toss them in a bowl with the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil, and stir gently to coat.

Place the scallops on the dry clean piastra, design side down, and cook for 5-7 minutes, unmoved, until almost cooked-they should be opaque almost all the way through. Flip them over and sear for just 30 seconds, then remove and arrange on the tomato salad.

Sprinkle the scallops and tomatoes with Maldon salt, squeeze the lemon halves over them and serve.

Serves 6

To preserve fresh herbs, pick the unbruised leaves from their stems and splash them with cold water. Pack several tablespoonfuls into small paper cups, fill the cups with water, and freeze. To use, defrost under running water and proceed as with fresh herbs.

Preparing oven-roasted chicken with its characteristic crispy skin and moist, juicy flesh takes well over an hour. But Anne Rosenzweigh has developed an ingenious truc for putting this culinary staple on the table in about 7 minutes.

Bone a 3 1/2 pound chicken, keeping the breast and thigh meat in one piece. (Reserve remainder of chicken for another use.) Season with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon oil medium-high in a skillet. When hot, add the chicken, skin side down, and cook until the skin gets very crispy, about 2 minutes. Place the pan in a preheated 400 degree oven for approximately 5 minutes until the chicken is done.

Makes about 1 cup. Enough to accompany 6 to 8 servings of beef, chicken, or fish.

1/2 cup best-quality olive oil

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar or white balsamic vinegar

3/4 cup day-old or firm bakery-style white bread crusts removed and broken into 1-inch pieces

2 tablespoons capers, drained well

1 medium garlic clove, coarsely chopped

2 cups coarsely chopped loosely packed fresh flat-leaf parsley

2 anchovy fillets, coarsely chopped

1teaspoon Dijon mustard

1/8 teaspoon table salt

Freshly ground black pepper.

Add the oil and vinegar to the bowl of a food processor. Place the bread in the bowl, letting it sit for 5 minutes in the puddles of oil and vinegar and not on top of the blade. Add the remaining ingredients and process for about 40 seconds or until the mixture is finely chopped and homogenous, stopping to scrape the sides of the bowl if necessary. Serve immediately or refrigerate for up to 2 days.

"Down Home" Jeff's dishes are hearty and homespun, leaning on American South and Southwest cooking methods and seasonings, yet with Sonoma wine country twists.

He grows most of his own produce and cures his own bacon; his chickens provide eggs to Zin. and he roasts chiles in his backyard.

"Down Town" Josh has a Euro-California viewpoint, his dishes are refined yet complex, with layered flavors that come from combing French and Italian cooking techniques with Sonoma-grown ingredients.

His multicourse tasting menus, expertly paired to wines from Syrah's extensive list, add a cosmopolitan accent to the Sonoma dining scene.

Jeff's Frisee Salad with Bacon and Deviled Eggs:

Deviled Eggs

6 large eggs

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1 1/2 pickled jalapeno chiles, minced

2 teaspoons pickled jalapeno juice from can

2 teaspoons minced fresh chilves, plus more for garnish

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Frisee Salad

2 heads frisee or curly endive, outer leaves discarded

8 slices bacon, cut into small dice

1 shallot, minced

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1/4 cup sherry vinegar

1/4 cup of canola oil

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

For the deviled eggs: Put the eggs in a deep saucepan and add water to cover. Place over high heat, bring to boil, and boil for 1 minute. Remove from the heat, cover and let stand for 10 minutes. Drain the water roll the eggs gently around inside the pan to crack the shells, and place in a bowl of ice water for 15 minutes. Peel the eggs and cut hem in half lengthwise. Push the yolks through a sieve into a small bowl and mix with the mayonnaise, jalapenos and juice, chives salt, and pepper. Spoon the yolk mixture into a pastry bag and pipe it into each egg-white half, or spoon it into the halves. For the frisee salad: Tear the frisee into bite-sized pieces (you should have about 8 cups). In a medium skillet, cook the bacon over medium-high heat until crisp and browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from the heat. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to paper towels and discard all but 2 tablespoons of fat from the pan. Add the shallot, mustard, and vinegar to the pan and whisk to blend. Gradually whisk in the oil until emulsified. Season with salt and pepper. Add the warm dressing and bacon to the frisee and toss.

To serve, divide the salad among 4 salad plates. Top each salad with 3 deviled egg halves, garnish with chives, and serve. Makes 4 first-course servings

Frisee Salad Lyonnaise

6 slices apple-smoked bacon, cut into 1/4-inch wide sticks (lardons)

1 tablespoon olive oil

8 ounces Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch dice

1/2 cup thinly sliced shallots

Vinaigrette

1/3 reserved hot bacon fat (above) plus olive oil, if needed

1 1/2 tablespoon sherry vinegar

2 teaspoons brown sugar

1 clove garlic, minced

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

Freshly ground pepper to taste

1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

4 large eggs

8 cups frisee or curly endive, small yellow and pale green leaves only, rinsed and spun dry.

1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley.

In a medium skillet, saute the lardons over medium heat until crisp and brown, 8 to 10 minutes. Drain the fat from the pan into a glass measuring cup and reserve. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the lardons to paper towels to drain. Add the olive oil, potatoes, and shallots to the hot pan and saute until tender, 6 to 8 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.

For the vinaigrette: Add olive oil to the reserved bacon fat if necessary to make 1/3 cup. In a small bowl, combine the bacon fat, sherry vinegar, brown sugar, garlic, mustard and 3 grinds of pepper. Whisk until well combined, Set aside and keep warm.

In a deep saute pan over medium heat, bring 2 inches of water to a simmer. Add the cream of tartar and stir to dissolve. Break each egg, one at a time, into the simmering water. Poach until the whites are firm but the yolks are still runny. 5 to 7 minutes. Using a slotted spatula, transfer the eggs to a plate.

In a large bowl, toss the frisee with the vinaigrette. Add the lardons, potatoes and shallots, and parsley. Toss again and divide among 4 serving plates. Top each with a poached egg and serve. Makes 4 first-course servings

4-6 lb hen cut up

1/2 cup cooking oil

1/4 cup flour

1 med onion chopped

2 stalks celery chopped

1cup green onions chopped

3/4 cup parsley chopped

6 quarts water

File

Brown chicken in large pot in hot oil. Remove from pot, set aside. Stir flour into oil and drippings, making a golden brown roux. Add onions and celery, cook about 10 minutes Add water which was previously heated, stir until roux is completely dissolved. Add chicken, salt and pepper to taste. Cook until chicken is tender, about 1 1/2 - 2 hours. Add green onions and parsley, allow to simmer an additional 15 mins. Serve over hot cooked rice. A 1/4 teaspoon of file may be added to each portion if desired.

Serves 12

Here's a simple way to core and wash a head of iceberg lettuce with just one motion.

1. Rap the bottom of the head of lettuce sharply on the counter to loosen the core. Turn the head of lettuce over and pull out the core in one piece.

2. Fill the hole left by the extracted core with water to rinse soil from the lettuce. Separate the leaves, wash again if necessary, and dry.

Watched pots never boil. But unwatched pots do. And in a busy kitchen, they sometimes boil over. Keep a whisk next to the stove at all times. When a boil-over is imminent, plunge the whisk into the pot and beat rapidly. The bubbles will recede immediately, allowing enough time to remove the pot from the heat before its contents spill over.

Many home kitchens sport a drawer filled to the gills with crumpled plastic produce bags. Reclaim your drawer with this space-saving solution. Stuff the plastic bags into empty tissue boxes. A box will accommodate many, many bags, which are then easy to remove one at a time when the need arises.