Innehållsförteckning för Winter 2022 från Sunset

We do holiday food better in the West. That is the wholly unscientific, entirely biased, thoroughly questionable, but incredibly delicious conclusion of a recent random polling of a few Sunset staffers. In one editor’s family, a pan-Asian potluck routinely features egg rolls, shumai, and two kinds of Filipino noodles (pancit and “the kind of spaghetti they serve at Jollibee”). Yet another cooks a truncated version of the Italian feast of the seven fishes (“clam pasta, grilled Scottish langoustines, whole branzino stuffed with thyme and Meyer lemons from our yard”) then makes “a big roast—typically with Korean vibes like gochujang and a bunch of banchan we buy in Koreatown.” One family’s weeklong cookie-baking marathon culminates with a “frosting day” where friends and neighbors vie for invitations to help decorate the groaning…

SMARTER SELF-CARE ADD SOME TECH INTO YOUR WELLNESS ROUTINE.…

GET COOKING Compact innovation meets nontoxic ceramic in Our Place’s Mini Always Pan and Mini Perfect Pot, the tinier versions of its best-selling wares. $115–$125; FROMOURPLACE.COM…

Treci Smith and her husband, Amir, live in a Southern California home that was never intended to be owned by Black people. When it was first built, the original deed to the land was written with a racial covenant: a then– legally binding addendum stipulating that the home and the land it’s situated on could only be bought or sold by someone white. That they’ve spent the last 13 years frustrating the racist intent of the original landowner is only one of the many things that they enjoy about their home. Another is imagining that person’s face if they could see what they’ve done with it. The Smith estate is vast, with area enough to encompass a 2,300-square-foot main house, a 1,100-square-foot guesthouse, and an 800-square-foot studio office—with plenty of…

TO ENTER ONE OF YUKO WATANABE’S LOS ANGELES JAPANESE RESTAURANTS IS TO ENTER A VIBRANT JUNGLE OF HOUSEPLANTS AND COLOR THAT’S BOUND TO MAKE YOU SMILE. Boston ferns and devil’s ivy hang from the ceiling, and fiddle-leaf figs stand sentry while customers dine amid a dizzying array of prayer plants. Meanwhile, the walls are adorned with hand-painted Technicolor murals in swirls of turquoise, tangerine, flamingo pink, and lemon yellow. It’s all the handiwork of Watanabe—a bundle of indefatigable energy. She’s a Japanese chef and a plant savant of sorts who grew up in Hiroshima, on the west side of Japan’s Honshu island. “It was the most beautiful place—like a dream,” Watanabe says. “Kids can go to the beach or to the mountains in 15 minutes, and it was totally safe…

MARY HEFFERNAN knows how to cook for a crowd. The California rancher grew up in a big family—her parents were each one of five—and she now lives with her husband, Brian, and four girls (all named Mary!) at their historic Five Marys Ranch near Mount Shasta. The property is also home to a burgerhouse and craft butchery where they serve up sizzling steaks, smoky bacon, spicy sausage, and more. It’s safe to say it was a no-brainer to turn to Heffernan for help with creating the ultimate family-style feast to be savored around the holidays. Heffernan’s latest cookbook, Five Marys Family Style: Recipes and Traditions from the Ranch ($40, Sasquatch Books), is an ode to making memories around a table, gathering your people not just for gifts but also for good…

Tinned Fish Tray A modern twist on the classic charcuterie board or relish tray, tinned fish is served alongside a lemony garlic aioli with pickled vegetables for a briny bite and radishes for a refreshing reset. SERVES 6 LEMONY GARLIC AIOLI 2 cups mayonnaise1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice2–3 garlic cloves, mincedKosher salt and fresh black pepper, to taste Fresh dill, for garnish 4–6 cans tinned fish of your choice, such as sardines, octopus, mackerel, or mussels½ cup cornichons, drained½ cup Dijon mustard½ cup pickled pepperoncini½ cup Castelvetrano olives6–8 medium radishes8 slices grilled bread from a rustic country loaf12 large crackers 1. To make the garlic aioli, add mayonnaise, lemon juice, garlic, salt, and pepper to a medium bowl and stir to combine. Let chill for about an hour before serving.…

Viet Pham grew up in the Bay Area with parents who adored cooking, instilling in him a curiosity for cuisine at a young age. After working under award-winning chefs like Laurent Gras, Pham went on to open Forage Restaurant and Pretty Bird in Salt Lake City, and has since earned multiple nominations for Best Chef: Southwest from the James Beard Foundation. Pham has competed on countless culinary competition shows, including Iron Chef America, but his latest appearance, on Hulu’s Chefs Vs. Wild, brings him back to his true love: the outdoors. The series pairs chefs with survival experts, who are then tasked with hunting, fishing, and foraging their way to delicious meals. Here are some of Pham’s tips on how to start foraging and cooking both safely and deliciously out…

1 Jumbo Time Wines Bath Time How adorable are these “Lil’ Jumbos” of Grenache? Artist Aidan Romick designs all the labels for Los Angeles– based founders Jonathan Yadegar and Omar Koukaz. $30 FOR 2-PACK; JUMBOTIMEWINES.COM 2 Las Jaras Wines Superbloom Red and white Rhône varieties meet in this “California table wine” from the popular brand by Joel Burt and Eric Wareheim, with psychedelic art by artist Jade Roche. $28; LASJARASWINES.COM 3 Nomadica Red Blend We trust founder Kristin Olszewski to tell us what to drink, and the Jonathan Todryk art that wraps these 100% Barbera cans means we can do it in style. $54 FOR 8-PACK; EXPLORENOMADICA.COM 4 Scotty-Boy! Blush Scott Sampler’s natural wines are in demand for many reasons. Here’s one: a “funky fresh” Santa Barbara County vino made as a sort of…

HOLIDAY 2022 Within months of opening in Seattle’s Central District, Communion became the must-get reservation for anyone looking for a fresh and local take on soul food, colorful cocktails, and, well, a party. Chef Kristi Brown has made it a mission to revive the African American foodways of Seattle in a way as celebratory as it is culturally aware. The restaurant is located in a building that was once home to the Pacific Northwest’s first Black-owned bank; on Sundays, brunch is a highenergy affair fueled by said cocktails and tables loaded with cornbread, French toast, catfish, grits, and Laotian sausage eggs Benedict. Lest you think these brunches are simply boozy, let it be known Brown turned the most recent Mother’s Day into a showcase of BIPOC-owned businesses, complete with panel…

BELL’S Make sure to book this Michelin-starred Los Alamos bistro at least a month in advance to enjoy its French-meets-ranch dishes (including the legendary uni crêpe; splurge on the caviar option) and a wine list local bottlings. BELLSRESTAURANT.COM BAR LE CÔTE This is the Spanishinfluenced, seafoodcentric sister restaurant from the folks behind Bell’s. The dining room is highenergy; the shellfish tower and roasted fish are must-orders. BARLECOTE.COM BOB’S WELL BREAD Expect long, totallyworth-it waits for the exceptional breads and pastries that rival those of the best bakeries in the West. Visit the original location in Los Alamos to see where it all started, or the new sleek spot in Ballard. BOBSWELLBREAD.COM BODEGA LOS ALAMOS With a shop stocked with all the beautiful little things you want (natural wine, tinned fish,…

STOCKING STUFFERS Two to four people can gather for a picnic on Matador’s  Pocket Blanket, which now comes in a waterproof nylon. $30; matadorup.com Microsend’s tiny Magnetic Route Setting Kit is perfect for the rock climber in your life to map out a trek on their fridge. $20; doyouevenmicrosend.com…

IN the winter of 1969, 12 feet of snow blanketed the High Sierra mountains in Alpine County, a sparsely populated corner of California wedged between the eastern edge of Yosemite and Lake Tahoe. Canadian architect Donald MacDonald had just completed his first mountain house in the area, which he called The Ark, with the help of a crew of Norwegian shipbuilders who made the trek from Marin County. The home’s unique structure was intended to function like a tree whose sloping branches allow gravity to shed the snow load before they break under its weight. MacDonald was teaching architecture at the University of California, Berkeley when he was hired to design a handful of the first homes in a nascent resort community, Bear Valley, near the Ebbetts Pass on a…

THE INN AT PLEASANT BEACH With rustic stone fireplaces and crisp blue and white textiles in every room, the inn plays against those musty island tropes. Perched on a hill with sweeping water views, the newer rooms were built around a market, a couple of restaurants, and a Tudor-style manor house that’s an event venue. PLEASANTBEACHVILLAGE.COM/THE-INN PLUM Filled with unique Asian-inspired gifts and one-of-a-kind finds, including stationery and jewelry, this Winslow Way staple is easily spotted thanks to the string of colorful lanterns out front. PLUMBAINBRIDGE.COM SLUYS’ POULSBO BAKERY The line in front of Sluys’ often snakes around the block, even on the drizzliest day. Home of the beloved Poulsbo loaf, and a special-order 3-lb. doughnut called the King Olaf, this favorite local bakery has been a Front Street Institution…

When my wife and I finally got around to re-landscaping our 1922 Spanish-style bungalow in Los Angeles, we did what many space-challenged Angelenos do: reimagined the unused back half of our driveway. It’s a classic SoCal bungalow move. Why park in your driveway when you can play in it? Over the years, it has served our family well, as a toy and tricycle repository when the kids were little, an outdoor weight room when the kids were bigger, and a spot for random acts of improvisational wood-fired cooking. Occasionally, we would even park a car in it. But with the kids grown and the functional-if-a-bit-meh swath of concrete not getting much use, we wanted the driveway to become a multipurpose space where we could garden, grill, dine, and just hang…

This month: Oahu, Hawaii The insider: Robynne Mai’i, chef-owner of Fête PACIFIC Robynne Mai’i catapulted to culinary stardom as the winner of the 2022 James Beard Award for Best Chef: Northwest and Pacific, becoming the first woman of Hawaiian ancestry to be recognized with the honor. Here, the seasoned chef and adventurer shares some of her favorite spots on Oahu. EAT: At Waiahole Poi Factory, dishes are inspired by the food you would find at a traditional luau, and the team has been preserving native methods of cooking for over 100 years. “The Sweet Lady of Waiahole ice cream is not to be missed.” At Yakitori Hachibei, finish “your yakitori experience with a cup of chicken ramen.” SHOP: “Be sure to stroll through the neighborhood of Kai muki. There are so…