, it can be hard to know which brands are actually worth the investment and which options are right for you.

piment d'Espelette or smoked paprika.yellow American cheese, finely shredded (about.

cream cheese, softened.finely chopped jarred piquillo peppers, patted dry.pimentón dulce (sweet paprika).

1/16-inch-thick.jamón serrano or prosciutto slices.

4 1/2-inch-wide.

grass-fed ground beef patties.So when Kostow opened this more casual restaurant nearby, she was more than ready to take the reins.At The Charter Oak, Hong draws from the same well of gorgeous Napa-grown ingredients she had access to at Meadowood, but the results here feel limber and spontaneous.

She smashes potatoes and fries them up like tostones, draping them in Mendocino seaweed, local honey, and brown butter.She reimagines ranch dressing as a tangy, funky blend of fermented soybeans and crème fraîche, served with a platter of vivid crudités.

She brines chicken in buttermilk, grills it slow and steady, and pairs it with subtle nods to her wine-country home: fresh grapes wrinkled over the fire, raisins, preserved young grape leaves, splashes of verjus.It takes a real savant to deliver knockouts like these, as delicious as they are studious.