Category Archives: New Products

What to Read

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“Care and Feeding: A Memoir”

Do you fantasize about being an assistant to a celebrity chef?

Read “Care and Feeding: A Memoir” (Ecco), of which I received a review copy, by Laurie Woolever and you will probably have second thoughts.

Woolever is a writer and editor who has written about food and travel for the New York Times, Food & Wine and GQ. She also was an assistant to the late-great Anthony Bourdain and to the now irreputable chef Mario Batali.

No surprise, Bourdain comes off as a thoughtful and professional boss while Batali’s antics are as lecherous and unseemly as you imagine.

But when it comes to telling all, Woolever doesn’t spare herself, either. Indeed, her writing is raw and unflinching as she describes this period in her life, where drugs, booze, and extramarital affairs nearly did her in.

Thankfully, as the title implies, she finally learns the importance of taking care of herself first, and in so doing, emerges as the respected and successful writer she was meant to be.

“I’m Not Trying To Be Difficult: Stories From the Restaurant Trenches”

He is one of the most storied restaurateurs in the country, having opened such iconic New York establishments as Tribeca Grill, Nobu New York City, Nobu Next Door, Batard, and Montrachet.

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Holiday Sips

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The perfect start to any holiday gathering.
The perfect start to any holiday gathering.

2023 Bloodroot Petillant Naturel

What would the holidays be without a glass of sparkling? Not nearly as festive, of course.

The 2023 Bloodroot Petillant Naturel ($48), of which I received a sample, will get the party started in lively fashion.

Not only is it the palest of blush in color, but it’s made entirely of the little-known Trousseau Gris, a French varietal that is grown in small amounts in eastern France and was once widely harvested in California as Gray Riesling. Healdsburg’s Bloodroot, so named in honor of the “blood” of the vines being nourished by its “roots,” makes this particular wine from Russian River Valley-grown grapes.

It is produced in the petillant naturel method, in which the unfiltered wine is bottled before the first fermentation is completed, trapping the carbon dioxide for natural carbonation.

It has a soda pop-type bottle top, and extremely lively effervescence to match. Pour it into a glass and the bubbles will foam up immediately like a just-opened soda.

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Saba Jam Will Definitely Be Your Jam

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Saba Jam's Fig Ume Plum Jam stars in these bar cookies.
Saba Jam’s Fig Ume Plum Jam stars in these bar cookies.

Imagine jam that tastes as if peak ripe fruit were picked off the tree, then immediately cooked down before a luscious spoonful made it into your mouth a mere moment after cooling.

I think that’s the highest compliment I can give San Francisco’s Saba Jam, which tastes so clear and vivid, and comes in such inspired flavors as Blueberry Verjus, Bosenberry Beet, and Persian Lime Juniper Berry.

They’re the handiwork of Saba Parsa, an Iranian American who is a former chemical engineer-turned extraordinary jam maker.

She scours local farmers markets for the best fruit in season to make her small-batch jams using a minimum of sugar. She drops new ones only four times per year. They’re so highly regarded that they’ve racked up multiple Good Food Awards.

I had an opportunity to try samples of two of her jams: Nectarine Ginger, and Fig Ume Plum (8-ounce jars for $19.95 each).

Saba Jams made in small batches with seasonal, local fruit.
Saba Jams made in small batches with seasonal, local fruit.

The former is slightly chunky with bits of candied ginger, adding a subtle warmth. It tastes very much like a nectarine crumble. It would be wonderful on so many breakfast staples — be it oatmeal, plain yogurt, toast, scone or bagel. Or even drizzled over roasted squash.

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Lemon and Almond Oil Cake — That’s A Piece of Cake to Make

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Almond oil, almond flour, almond extract, and sliced almonds combine in this winning cake.
Almond oil, almond flour, almond extract, and sliced almonds combine in this winning cake.

With holiday gift-giving season commencing in full force after Turkey Day, I’m always on the lookout for locally made, gourmet goods to share with family and friends who love to cook.

Fresh Vintage Farms nut oils are definitely worth checking out.

The Turlock company produces cold-pressed, artisanal nut oils from almonds and walnuts grown in the Central Valley. The business was founded in 2019 by husband and wife, Tommy and Tara Tickenoff, whose families are third-generation almond growers.

I had a chance to try samples of both the almond and walnut oils. Both are lush and buttery tasting. The almond oil has a subtle natural sweetness to it, while the walnut one has a lovely roasty taste. Drizzle over salads, pastas, grilled bread, warm brie or goat cheese, or even a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

A bundle of two bottles (375ml each), one of each variety, is $27.99 on the Fresh Vintage Farms website or $23.99 on Amazon.

Fresh Vintage Farms Walnut and Almond Oils from California's Central Valley.
Fresh Vintage Farms Walnut and Almond Oils from California’s Central Valley.

I love oil-based cakes because they bake up so moist. So, I put the Fresh Vintage Farms Almond Oil to good use in this recipe for “One-Bowl Lemon and Olive Oil Cake” by Brian Levy, which was published in the New York Times on Jan. 3, 2025.

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Get to Know Olio Piro, Producer of Tuscan Extra-Virgin Olive Oil

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An exceptional Tuscan extra-virgin olive oil that enhances most anything.
An exceptional Tuscan extra-virgin olive oil that enhances most anything.

You know if a legendary Michelin three-starred restaurant like Eleven Madison Park in New York is a fan, then it’s got to have it going on.

Olio Piro certainly does.

Brother and sister, Romain Piro and Marie-Charlotte Piro, launched the Miami-based extra virgin olive oil company in 2020, cold-pressing a blend of olives from 300-year-old trees in Southern Tuscany.

The olives are pressed within hours of harvest. But what makes their olive oil unique is that it is filtered three times — not the standard once or twice — to remove sediment and particles that may cause the oil to turn rancid over time. The company does so with a proprietary vertical pressure filter system originally developed for making wine.

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