Monthly Archives: December 2011

Cabernet Wine — In Flour

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Cupcakes made with flour milled from Cabernet Sauvignon grapes skins.

You can find flour milled from most any grain these days.

Now, you also can find flour with red wine in it. Cabernet Sauvignon, to be exact.

Earlier this year, when I was strolling through the Tyler Florence Shop in Napa, I spied bags of Cabernet Wine Flour and Cabernet Cocoa Powder, both of which I just had to buy. After all, it’s pretty hard to resist their striking reddish-brown hues.

They’re made by Marche Noir Foods of Irvine, CA. The wine flour is made from the pomace (skins) of Cabernet Sauvignon grapes after they are crushed. The skins are dried, then milled into a powder, which apparently is high in iron, fiber and Resveratrol (a natural anti-oxidant). The Cabernet Cocoa Powder is just dark cocoa powder mixed with the Cabernet Wine Flour.

The beautiful color of the wine flour.

A 10-ounce bag of the Cabernet Wine Flour was $14.95 at the store; a 10-ounce bag of the Cabernet Cocoa Powder was $9.95.

I couldn’t wait to try baking with them. The Marche Noir Web site is a good place to start for recipes. I zeroed in on the one for “Cabernet Velvet Cupcakes with Ganache Glaze,” which incorporates both the wine flour and cocoa powder. The recipe also calls for red food coloring, but I left that out.

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Cookies to Cha-Cha About

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Cookies full of chocolate and dried cherries to make your stomach dance with joy.

When my husband and I first met, he wooed me with dancing — even though both of us have two left feet and moves that win more points for sympathy than grace.

We had been friends for a short span, when he asked me to be his swing-dance partner, as he wanted to take lessons.

I had always wanted to learn, so I eagerly said, “Yes!”

We’d meet after work once a week at a local club for lessons. Each week, we’d master a new step or turn — much to our own amazement.

After more than a month, we’d not only become semi-decent on the dance floor, hand in hand, but we’d also started dating.

Flash-forward to after our engagement: With our relationship more serious now, my soon-to-be husband feels the need to tell me that when he asked me to be his dance partner way back when, it wasn’t a scam, nor any kind of scheming on his part to find an excuse to ask me out. Oh no, he merely needed a dance partner. That was it, plain and square.

Flash-forward again to shortly after our wedding: I’m sitting on an airplane, flying home from Chicago with a gabby male seatmate next to me. He tells me a funny story about how he met his wife, then asks me how I met my husband. I tell him about the dancing lessons, and how my husband had asked me to be his partner on pure innocent whim.

My seatmate recoils in laughter, then looks me square in the eyes: “Your husband told you THAT? Listen to me — there is no way any man is going to take dancing lessons without an ulterior motive. Trust me on that!”

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Stuffed on Stuffed Crust at Patxi’s and a Food Gal Giveaway

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Patxi's stuffed crust will leave you stuffed for sure.

California pizza of late has been all about the thin.

Crusts that snap, crackle and practically pop with crispness when you sink your teeth into them.

But if you’re more in the mood for heft, for a pie that’s a gut-busting two-inches tall, look no further than Patxi’s, famous for its Chicago-style stuffed crust.

The first Patxi’s (pronounced pah’-cheese) opened in Palo Alto in 2004 by William Freeman and Francisco “Patxi” Azpiroz, who previously worked at the legendary Zachary’s Pizza in Berkeley. The restaurant features four types of pizza (stuffed, pan, thin, and extra-thin), as well as three types of dough (regular, whole-wheat, and a new gluten-free one).

Recently, I was invited to be a guest at the newest Patxi’s, which opened just a couple weeks ago in the Pruneyard in Campbell.

Early on a Sunday evening, the place was already packed when I walked in. The bustling, dimly lit restaurant features big-screen TVs that were broadcasting NFL football games that night.

The pizzas are baked to order, and the stuffed ones can take as long as 40 minutes to finish in the oven. So, settle into your chair and bide your time with an appetizer. Or a nice glass of wine, as Patxi’s has a pretty impressive wine list for a pizza joint. Indeed, you can sip Prosecco or a nice French Rosé from the Languedoc region.

A classic Caesar.

We started with a barely dressed, chilled Caesar salad ($6.95). The dressing could have been a bit more assertive. But the garnish of anchovies added bite. Crisp Parmesan toasts were a nice touch.

Then, it was on to the main attraction: a 12-inch stuffed pizza that has a layer of crust on the bottom and another that covers the fillings. We went with the “Special,” a mix of sausage, mushrooms, onions and green peppers ($25.54).

When it arrives at the table, it’s quite impressive looking — tall, with the loads of deep red housemade tomato sauce covering every inch of the top. If you’re a toppings person as opposed to a crust one, this is the pizza for you. The layers of cheese, sauce, meat, veggies and crust meld into one soft, saucy mouthful. It’s hearty and as filling as it looks.

I dare you to eat more than one slice.

On the advice of an insider, we also tried a 12-inch extra-thin with “cheese to the edge.” Our toppings of choice were prosciutto, mozzarella and tomato sauce ($16.69).

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Kids’ Dessert Class, “MasterChef” Auditions in San Francisco & More

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Executive Chef Kory Stewart of Americano Restaurant will be hosting a sweet time. (Photo courtesy of the restaurant)

Americano Restaurant in San Francisco Invites Kids to Make Dessert

Executive Chef Kory Stewart of Americano Restaurant at the Hotel Vitale in San Francisco will host a fun kids’ dessert baking class, 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Dec. 17.

Kids, ages 4-12, will learn to make and decorate holiday cookies, as well as a gingerbread house.

Price is $25 per child. Reservations are required; they can be made here online or by calling (415) 278-3777.

Do You Think You Have What It Takes To Become America’s Next “Masterchef”?

Judges Gordon Ramsay, Graham Elliot and Joe Bastianich are back for a third season of the hit show, “Masterchef,” in which amateur chefs compete for the top culinary title and a prize of $250,000.

Joe Bastianich, Chef Graham Elliot and Chef Gordon Ramsay of "Masterchef'')

Auditions are being held nationwide for the next round of contestants. Bay Area folks will get a chance to strut their stuff when auditions take place in San Francisco, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Dec. 10 at Le Cordon Bleu, 350 Rhode Island St.

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Spunky Barbecue Sauces and Rubs & A Food Gal Giveaway

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Sauces you won't forget. Made in San Francisco.

Chef Sarah Burchard knows her meat — and what goes well on top of it.

After all, for three years, she worked at Perbacco, then Barbacco, both in San Francisco, where she regularly broke down whole animals to make the fabulous house-made salumi. She left her position as chef de cuisine at that latter restaurant earlier this year to start her own San Francisco company, S&S Brand, with boyfriend and fellow chef, Spencer O’Meara, who’s no stranger to grilling and smoking meats.

They’re now selling their three specialty barbecue sauces (St. Louis Style, Tennessee Style, and Carolina Style), as well as six rubs (BBQ Spice, 4 Peppercorn, Fish Rub, Jerk Rub, Poultry Rub, and Ranch Rub).

Pork loin with BBQ rub and Tennessee Style sauce.

Recently, I had a chance to try some samples. The BBQ Spice and the 4 Peppercorn both livened up grilled pork loins. I especially liked the Szechuan peppercorns in the latter rub, which added a subtle palate tingle.

The barbecue sauces are what really steal the show, though. Not that barbecue sauces are ever wimpy, but these are major attention-getters. With their powerhouse of tang and spice, these sauces are assertive and sassy. In fact, if you drizzle these on meat that you’ve smeared the rubs on, you probably won’t even taste the rubs. The Tennessee Style sauce, full of mustard and onions, is sharp and piquant. The St. Louis Style, redolent of molasses, cumin and coriander, is smokier and sweeter.

The sauces contain high fructose corn syrup because of the addition of Heinz Ketchup. But Burchard and O’Meara are in the process of switching to organic ketchup, so the sauces will be made with sugar in the near future.

The sauces are $8 each for a 12-ounce jar; the rubs are $7 each for a 2-ounce tin.

Six varieites of gourmet rubs.

Contest: One lucky Food Gal reader will get a chance to try an S&S Brand Combo Pack, which includes all three barbecue sauces and all six rubs. It’s a $57 value. Contest, open only to those in the continental United States, will run through midnight PST Dec. 10. The winner will be announced Dec. 12.

How to win?

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