For the Discriminating Chocoholic

IfOnly.com may have created the ultimate chocolate box for big-time foodies.

The e-commerce site asked 10 Bay Area Michelin-starred chefs to create a chocolate bonbon for this special box just in time for Valentine’s Day.

Take a gander at the stellar chefs and their pastry chefs who contributed to the Constellation Chocolate Collection:

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Thomas Keller Gift Selections

If you have a spendy budget and a discriminating foodie friend to shop for this holiday season, look no further than Chef Thomas Keller’s new holiday offerings.

First up, the “Bochon Bistro Chocolate Tart & Wine Port Gift Set” ($250), which provides everything you need to recreate the bakery’s famous chocolate tart, including a limited edition bottle of Meyer Family Port Wine.

Next, the “French Laundry Sparkling Wine & Caviar Gift Set” ($1,000), which includes a 2-ounce serving of Sterling White Sturgeon Caviar, a 375ml bottle of Schramsberg Blanc de Blanc Chardonnay-based Brut sparkling wine, and a buckwheat blini mix prepared by The French Laundry kitchen, as well as two mother of pearl caviar spoons for serving.

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Imagine a muffin that’s moist through and through, tender and fluffy rather than dense, filled with plump blueberries, and crowned with a majestic halo of crunchy, nutty streusel.

Leave it to one of the world’s best chefs, Thomas Keller, to elevate the humble blueberry muffin to a work of art.

I’ve had these many a time at his Bouchon Bakery in Yountville.

But with the publication of his “Bouchon Bakery” (Artisan) with his Executive Pastry Chef Sebastien Rouxel of the Thomas Keller Restaurant Group, I can now make them happily at home. The cookbook, of which I recently received a review copy, includes 150 recipes for pastries and breads. Some like the Pear Feuilletes, made with homemade puff pastry, are geared to the more skilled baker. But there are plenty of others such as the Chocolate Chunk and Chip Cookies that novice bakers will embrace.

The “Blueberry Muffins” are quite simple, too. Keller writes in the book that the key to a great muffin is resting the batter overnight in the refrigerator. This allows the flour to absorb all the liquid, resulting in a very moist muffin. Plus if you make it the day before, it’s all set to go for baking in the morning. What a way to wake up.

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Chef Marc Forgione at Macy’s Union Square

Tonight at 6 p.m., head to Macy’s Union Square San Francisco to watch Chef Marc Forgione cook up a holiday feast.

The winner of Season 3 “The Next Iron Chef” will demo how to make turkey leg roulade, maple whipped sweet potatoes, and a Honey Crisp apple and dried fruit cobbler.

Forgione, chef-owner of Restaurant Marc Forgione in New York, is also a member of the Macy’s Culinary Council.

Attendees must RSVP for this event by clicking here.

Win a Chance to Eat at Every Single Yountville Restaurant

How would you like to win a chance to dine at every restaurant in Yountville, including the French Laundry?

With more Michelin stars per capita than any other city, that’s saying something, too.

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Thomas Keller

Join famed Chef Thomas Keller at Sur La Table, where he’ll be signing copies of his fifth cookbook, “Bouchon Bakery” (Artisan).

Nov. 15 at 6 p.m., Keller, proprietor of the French Laundry, Ad Hoc, Bouchon Bistro and Bouchon Bakery, will be on hand at the Palo Alto Sur La Table.

The next day, Nov. 16 at noon, he’ll be at the branch at San Jose’s Santana Row.

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