‘San Francisco Encore’: Tour of Northern California Wines, New Tastes : Cookbook Features Sophisticated Entertaining

San Francisco Encore by the Junior League of San Francisco (Doubleday: $19.95, 452 pages).

San Francisco’s long association with good food and wine inspires special interest in any cookbook from that city. In the case of “San Francisco Encore,” compiled by the Junior League of San Francisco, the book merits even more attention because it is a successor to the league’s highly successful “San Francisco a la Carte.”

Published in 1979, the prior book has sold more than 250,000 copies. “Encore,” which came out in October, 1986, pays less attention to such regional classics as cioppino, Palace Court salad and fried cream, which were covered in the former book. The time interval between the two has seen the development of new tastes, and “Encore” responds with recipes for homemade flavored pastas, pita sandwiches, goat cheese salad, Cajun shrimp, beurre blanc sauces and so forth.

Both are big books with many recipes. Each starts the recipe chapters with capsule descriptions of attractions of the area. “A la Carte” promoted the city’s points of interest. “Encore” focuses on the Northern California wine districts.

Many of the dishes in “Encore” seem oriented toward sophisticated entertaining. Samples of these are cream of chestnut soup, asparagus torte, caviar souffle roll, Sonoma stuffed leg of lamb, salmon trout with black caviar and beurre blanc, Sonoma Melba torte and zabaglione with strawberries and Champagne.

The following menu compiled from “Encore” showcases some of the easier recipes and would be appropriate for a casual party. Italian in theme, the menu brings to mind North Beach, which is San Francisco’s Little Italy.

The main course is hearty Chicken Parmigiana, a casserole of breaded boneless chicken breasts, tomato sauce, mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses. For the salad, any combination of greens and fresh vegetables could be tossed with the Creamy Garlic Vinaigrette dressing. Try mixing romaine or other leaf lettuce with a few radicchio leaves, sliced red onion, black olives and green or sweet red pepper strips.

An especially rich version of garlic bread accompanies the main course. And the dessert is that old favorite, a lemon pudding that develops a cake topping when baked. In this recipe, the pudding is baked in individual servings and chilled so that it can be prepared well in advance.

ENCORE ITALIAN DINNER

Chicken Parmigiana

Tossed Salad With Creamy Garlic Vinaigrette

Garlic and Herb French Bread

Cold Lemon Custard Souffles

CHICKEN PARMIGIANA

6 chicken breast halves, skinned and boned

2 eggs, lightly beaten

Salt, pepper

1/2 cup fine dry bread crumbs

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 to 1/2 cup oil

1 clove garlic, minced

2 cups tomato sauce

1/4 teaspoon dried basil

1 tablespoon butter

8 ounces mozzarella cheese, sliced

Pound chicken breasts to thickness of 1/4 inch. Combine eggs, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Mix bread crumbs with 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese. Dip chicken into eggs, then into bread crumbs. Heat oil in heavy skillet. Add chicken and quickly brown on both sides. Remove to shallow baking dish.

Pour off any oil remaining in pan. Add garlic and saute briefly. Stir in tomato sauce, basil and season to taste with salt and pepper. Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes. Stir in butter. Spoon sauce over chicken. Sprinkle with remaining Parmesan cheese. Cover and bake at 325 degrees 30 minutes. Arrange mozzarella slices over chicken. Bake, uncovered, until cheese melts. Makes 6 servings.

CREAMY GARLIC VINAIGRETTE

4 cloves garlic

2 green onions

1 teaspoon chopped parsley

2 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice

2 tablespoons raspberry vinegar

1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

1/2 teaspoon sugar

2 dashes freshly ground black pepper

3/4 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup olive oil

Combine garlic, green onions, parsley, lemon juice, vinegar, mustard, sugar and pepper in food processor. Process until well blended. With machine running, slowly add oils. Cover and store in refrigerator. Makes about 1 1/2 cups.

GARLIC AND HERB FRENCH BREAD

1 cup butter, softened

1/4 cup olive oil

2 to 4 cloves garlic, pressed

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 teaspoon Italian herb seasoning or oregano

1 (1-pound) loaf French bread

Paprika

Combine butter, olive oil, garlic, cheese and herb seasoning. Blend thoroughly. Slice bread in half lengthwise. Spread half of butter mixture on each half. Generously sprinkle with paprika. Slice bread, cutting about 2/3 of way through. Wrap each half in foil. Bake at 400 degrees 15 minutes. Makes 8 to 10 servings.

Note: Bread will be very rich. If desired, spread with half the quantity of butter mixture specified.

COLD LEMON CUSTARD SOUFFLES

Butter

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup flour

1/8 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons melted butter

5 tablespoons lemon juice

Grated peel of 1 lemon

1 1/2 cups milk, scalded

3 eggs, separated

Generously butter 8 custard cups. Combine sugar, flour, salt and melted butter. Stir in lemon juice and peel. Whisk hot milk gradually into well-beaten egg yolks. Whisk yolk mixture into lemon mixture until well blended.

Beat egg whites until firm but not dry. Fold lemon mixture into egg whites. Spoon into prepared custard cups. Place cups in baking pan. Add enough water to come halfway up sides. Bake at 325 degrees 45 minutes. Cool to room temperature. Refrigerate until chilled, about 4 hours. Serve cold. Makes 8 servings.