Monthly Archives: September 2013

Gourmet Crackers and A Food Gal Giveaway

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New Milton's crackers (front to back): Blueberry Multi-Grain, Honey & Corn, and Chocolate Multi-Grain.

New Milton’s crackers (front to back): Blueberry Multi-Grain, Honey & Corn, and Chocolate Multi-Grain.

 

Chocolate in a cracker? Blueberries in a cracker? Say, what?

Milton’s Craft Bakers has created just that and more with its new line of baked snack crackers that are made from organic wheat, corn, oats and honey. They’re also kosher.

Recently, I had a chance to try samples of the five new flavors: Original Multi-Grain. Honey & Corn, Chocolate Multi-Grain, Blueberry Multi-Grain, and Honey Multi-Grain.

The sturdy crackers have good crunch and can stand up to being dunked into the thickest dips.

The chocolate crackers are not cookie-tasting in the least. They have little sweetness and a faint dusty, cocoa taste. They’d be quite nice with a glass of red wine and cheese.

The blueberry crackers have specks of wild, organic blueberries in them. The berry note is subtle but present.

My favorite of the bunch was the Honey & Corn variety. It does taste a bit like buttered corn with a restrained drizzle of honey.

The crackers have about 110 to 130 calories per serving (6 crackers), depending on the variety. A 6.5-ounce box is $3.99. The crackers are available at Whole Foods, Alberton’s and Sam’s Club.

Five new varieties (three shown here).

Five new varieties (three shown here).

CONTEST: One Food Gal reader will get to try samples of all five flavors of the Milton’s crackers. Entries, limited to those in the continental United States, will be accepted through midnight PST Oct. 5. Winner will be announced Oct. 7.

How to win?

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British Crisps Debut in the U.S.

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Tyrrells veggie chips.

Tyrrells veggie chips.

 

Crisps? That’s potato chips to you and me.

Tyrrells, the U.K. snack producer, recently launched its products in the United States, including at Andronico’s and Draeger’s markets in the Bay Area.

I had a chance to try samples of the chips, which are made from potatoes and other veggies grown in the Herefordshire countryside in England.

The English crisps come in some rather unusual flavors, including Honey Roast Ham & Cranberry; Lobster, Chili & Garlic, and Sunday Best Roast Chicken.

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Ramen Burger (Oh, Yes!), Beringer and Scharffen Berger Team Up, and More

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Ramen Burger. (Photo courtesy of the San Francisco Grand Hyatt)

The one and only Ramen Burger. (Photo courtesy of the San Francisco Grand Hyatt)

Ramen Burger in San Francisco

Yes, it sounds crazy. But you know you want it.

The Ramen Burger, the trend that got its start in Los Angeles, is now in San Francisco — but only for a limited time.

The Grand Hyatt San Francisco’s OneUP Restaurant & Lounge is serving this mash-up for lunch and dinner, but only through the end of September.

The bun is indeed made out of fresh ramen from a local noodle house. It holds a beef patty topped with mustard greens, cheddar cheese, smoked bacon and sriracha mayo.

The Ramen Burger is $18 and comes with fries.

Cook St. Helena Debuts Brunch Offerings

A favorite of locals and visitors alike, Cook St. Helena has debuted a Sunday brunch with Italian influences.

The nine-year-old restaurant waited this long to serve brunch because it wanted to get its liquor license first in order to offer Bloody Marys and other brunch cocktails.

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Fall for An Apple Pumpkin Galette and a Food Gal Giveaway

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A taste of autumn with apples and pumpkin.

A taste of autumn with apples and pumpkin.

 

I admit I do mourn the end of summer’s sweet berries and peaches.

But the start of fall is definitely easier to swallow with a bounty of fresh apples to bake with.

“Apple Pumpkin Galette” caught my attention because of the addition of the autumn hard squash in it. The recipe is from the new “Sunset Cook Taste Savor” (Oxmoor House) of which I received a review copy.

The cookbook spotlights recipes for 16 ingredients including artichokes, avocados, chicken, cheese and apples.

SunsetCookTasteSavor

The straightforward dough recipe for the galette makes enough for two of these free-form tarts, but you can just freeze half the batch to use at another time.

The dough is rolled out into a circle. You fill the center with slices of apples and pumpkin — or kabocha squash, as I used as recommended by the cookbook — that have been tossed with cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, a dash of bourbon and sugar. Then, fold the edges of the dough over, before baking.

With Sunset’s meticulous testing, I was taken aback by the amount of sugar called for in the filling, which seemed like way too much. The recipe originally called for 1/3 cup brown sugar plus 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar for three apples and 1 1/2 pounds of squash (about half of a small pumpkin or kabocha). So, I decided to cut the amount of granulated sugar back to 3/4 cup, which turned out to be plenty. But feel free to add more if you have a big sweet tooth.

The pastry bakes up flaky with a hearty filling. My husband was not too keen on the addition of the squash. He would have preferred an unadulterated apple tart instead. Me? I kind of liked how the kabocha made this tart unique. It gave it a slightly savory quality and added a twist.

One of fall's earliest apples: the SweeTango.

One of fall’s earliest apples: the SweeTango.

The original recipe calls for Granny Smith apples, but I used SweeTango ones instead, of which I had received a sample. The SweeTango is a cross between a Honeycrisp and a Zestar! apple. It’s got a great crunch and wine-y, spicy flavor.

SweeTango apples are an early season variety. They’re available at Walmart through the end of September, and at Mollie Stone’s and Safeway stores hrough October.

CONTEST: Three lucky Food Gal readers will each win a couple of pounds of SweeTango apples, an apple timer, a cutting board, a T-shirt, and a reusable grocery bag. Entries are limited to those in the continental United States, as well as Alaska and Hawaii. Entries will be accepted through midnight PST Sept. 28. Winners will be announced Sept. 30.

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Hop On Over to Hopscotch

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The bar at Hopscotch.

The bar at Hopscotch.

Hopscotch in Oakland’s Uptown neighborhood has all the accoutrements of a diner.

There is the worn checkerboard floor, the red bar stools, and the requisite burger and sundae.

Only here, the burger comes with griddled beef tongue and sesame aioli, and the sundae comes with a scoop of green tea ice cream.

Not to mention the the aged NY strip loin is finished with ginko nut herb oil and the daily benedict at brunch is napped with miso hollandaise.

That’s because Hopscotch is a decidedly upscale version of a diner — with a Japanese slant.

It reflects Chef-Owner Kyle Itani’s heritages, which are Italian and Japanese.

The food is fun and eclectic, as evidenced by the dinner my husband and I treated ourselves to recently.

The Black Tea Birdie cocktail.

The Black Tea Birdie cocktail.

Cocktails are imaginative. Try the Black Tea Birdie ($9), made with lemon, honey, ginger and vodka that’s been steeped with black tea. The tannin comes through and is tempered by the tickle of the ginger and sweetness of the honey. It’s a drink with the hue of iced tea that goes down just as easily.

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