Category Archives: New Products

The Delight of Cherry Spumoni

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Cherry spumoni -- a celebration of almonds, chocolate, and glace cherries.
Cherry spumoni — a celebration of almonds, chocolate, and glace cherries.

It’s been ages since I last dined at an old-school Italian restaurant, the kind that sets down a brimming relish platter almost before you’ve ordered, and ends the meal sweetly with a frosty goblet of spumoni.

Thought to have originated in Naples, this fanciful creamy dessert can’t help but feel festively nostalgic with its cherry, pistachio, and chocolate or vanilla ice creams all mingling together in one scoop, often with crunchy nuts, bits of dark chocolate, and chewy candied fruit. Talk about an entire party busting out in one spoonful.

So, when I received some samples recently of red candied cherries, otherwise known as glace cherries, from Paradise Fruit Co., I couldn’t help but grow wistful for that classic treat, especially as the holidays approach.

Paradise Fruit Co. candied red cherries.
Paradise Fruit Co. candied red cherries.

Rather than going to all the trouble of making three different flavors of ice cream, I zeroed in on this New York Times recipe for “Cherry Spumoni.”

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Introducing Mamahuhu’s New Frozen Potstickers

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Mamahuhu's frozen potstickers cook up in no time, and are gluten-free.
Mamahuhu’s frozen potstickers cook up in no time, and are gluten-free.

After conquering the worlds of fine-dining with his Michelin-starred San Francisco restaurant Mister Jiu’s, fast-casual with his Mamahuhu eateries in San Francisco and Mill Valley, and cookbooks with his James Beard Award-winning “Mister Jiu’s in Chinatown” (Ten Speed Press, 2021), written with co-author Tienlon Ho, where does Chef Brandon Jew aim his sights next?

Frozen potstickers.

Yes, the James Beard Award-winning “Best Chef in California” in 2022 has just introduced a line of frozen potstickers with his Mamahuhu co-founders, Anmao Sun and Ben Moore.

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Shekoh Confections Adds Second Location — Plus Lunch and Dinner

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Owner Shekoh Moossavi at her new downtown Palo Alto confectionary shop.
Owner Shekoh Moossavi at her new downtown Palo Alto confectionary shop.

It’s been a banner time for chef and chocolatier, Shekoh Moossavi, who not only opened her Shekoh Confections, 2305 El Camino Real near California Avenue in Palo Alto last March, but added a second location in downtown Palo Alto last month.

Now, starting this Thursday at the downtown outpost, 444 University Ave., she’s upping her offerings to include lunch (11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.) and dinner (5 p.m. to 9 p.m.) six nights a week (except Mondays, when the shop is closed).

At lunch, look for salads, sandwiches, and her heartfelt wild mushroom soup with mint — her mom’s recipe that she has featured at every restaurant she’s ever opened. At dinner, the fare will be simple yet satisfying with the likes of risotto, polenta, and lamb shanks. With a liquor license recently approved, look for wines coming soon to complement the meals.

Handmade chocolates.
Handmade chocolates.

Like all the chocolate bonbons, marshmallows, nougats, madeleines, and other confections, Moossavi will be making all of the savory items, too.

When she sleeps is anyone’s guess.

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Sustainable Tinned Salmon to the Rescue

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Safe Catch Wild Pink Salmon with summer tomatoes and chive blossoms.
Safe Catch Wild Pink Salmon with summer tomatoes and chive blossoms.

With fresh wild Alaskan salmon a pretty penny and California’s commercial salmon fishing seasoned cancelled this year because of dwindling wild stocks, what’s a salmon lover to do?

Open up a can.

Canned salmon has come a long way since my childhood, when my economical mom would pry open the top of a tin and plop out the contents, bones and all that were soft enough to actually eat, but perhaps not the most attractive looking.

Sausalito’s Safe Catch takes canned salmon to new heights, First, it sources sustainable salmon from the Alaska Salmon Fishery or northern Pacific Ocean, following the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch Guide. Second, every salmon is tested for mercury, with Safe Catch accepting only those that are 25 times lower than the FDA action limit. Third, each can contains no fillers, just salmon and salt.

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Savoring Small Town Cultures

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Small Town Cultures Sliced Red Onions are perfect on homemade pork burritos, and so many other dishes.
Small Town Cultures Sliced Red Onions are perfect on homemade pork burritos, and so many other dishes.

Sometimes I think I ought to be nicknamed “Condiment Carolyn.”

That’s because my fridge is usually filled with all manner of condiments. My husband even jokes that if I packed a hot dog or burger bun with condiments — and nothing but — I would be quite happy.

So, when samples of Small Town Cultures landed on my porch, I couldn’t wait to try these small-batch, fermented condiments.

Cori Deans started her company in the Adirondacks to manage her Crohn’s disease, after finding that symptoms of her autoimmune disease began to subside after changing her diet to include more fermented foods rich in prebiotics and probiotics.

I test drove the Sliced Red Onions and the Turmeric Kimchi, both sold in recyclable glass jars.
I test drove the Sliced Red Onions and the Turmeric Kimchi, both sold in recyclable glass jars.

She now has a whole line of raw, fermented foods made without preservatives, added sugar or added vinegar. They are also all gluten-free, vegan, and non-GMO.

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