Author Archives: foodgal

Annika Sorenstam’s Chardonnay

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A new wine by golf great, Annika Sorenstam, and Wente Vineyards.

The only golf I’ve played has involved moats, castles and windmills.

So when a sample of the new Annika’s Chardonnay 2008 arrived on my doorstep, I was was primed to take a sip, then hit a hole-in-one at the nearest putt putt course.

After all, the wine is named for Hall of Fame golfer, Annika Sorenstam, one of the best female golfers of all time.

The Chardonnay is a joint venture between Sweden-born Sorenstam and Livermore’s Wente Vineyards, which also has quite the golf course. But natch!

Sorenstam worked closely with winemaker Karl Wente to create this second wine from Annika Vineyards. The first was a 2006 Syrah ($75), which was released last year.

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Sweet Potatoes Made Sweeter with See’s Candies

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Sweet, creamy, gooey good.

There’s a kid inside every one of us who dreams about eating candy for dinner.

Now, you can satisfy that inner child’s delight with this fun recipe from See’s Candies that makes for a perfect side dish for Halloween or Thanksgiving feasts.

“See’s Scotch Kiss Sweet Potatoes” sounds like it would be entirely too achingly sweet for adult palates. But surprisingly, it’s not.

It’s made with See’s Scotch Kisses — marshmallows sweetened with buckwheat honey for an almost molasses-like flavor that are then hand-dipped in thick, creamy caramel.

See's Scotch Kisses

Marshmallow candies dipped in creamy caramel.

Yams or sweet potatoes get roasted in their jackets, then peeled and mashed with butter, salt and orange zest. Next, take 12 See’s Scotch Kisses, unwrap them and scatter them on top of the casserole. Bake until the top is golden, gooey and melty.

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Getting into the Spook-tacular Spirit

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Chef Jamie Oliver and Steve Ells, founder of Chipotle, in their "frightening'' costumes. (Photo couresty of Chipotle)

Boorito Time:

Chipotle Mexican Grill has teamed up with UK Chef Jamie Oliver for a clever Halloween promotion to expose just how scary processed foods can be.

Just visit any Chipotle restaurant between 6 p.m. and closing on Oct. 31, dressed as a horrifying processed food product, and you’ll be treated to a burrito made with naturally raised ingredients for just $2.

Proceeds from the “Boorito 2010,” up to $1 million, will benefit “Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution,” a campaign to get people to cook and eat fresh, healthful food.

Chipotle also will host an online costume contest, where customers can be photographed in their frightening processed food costumes at Chipotle’s, then can post the pic online here.

The grand prize winner will receive $2,500; five runners-up will get $1,000 each. And 20 honorable mentions will receive a burrito party for 20 guests at a Chipotle’s of their choice.

Better get cracking now on that one-of-a-kind costume to win.

Pumpkin Carving:

Yankee Pier in Larkspur invites kids to come in, Oct. 28-31, for its annual pumpkin-carving contest.

There will be various prizes for different age ranges, including giveaways of toys and bookstore gift cards. Contest winners will be announce on Oct. 31 via Facebook.

This week, the Lark Creek Restaurant Group also will be concluding its annual “Pumpkin Festival” of dishes that showcase fall squashes.

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Luke’s Local: A Taste of Local and Sustainable at a Caltrain Station

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Owner Luke Chappell outside his Luke's Local store at the Caltrain station.

As you race to catch the train home after a day that’s left you running on empty, wouldn’t it be great to pick up a fresh, nourishing, convenient meal for the ride home?

You can if you stop at the San Mateo Hillsdale Caltrain station, where Luke’s Local opened this spring in an old, vacant ticket office.

This is a convenience store that’s all about local and sustainable food products, as well as gourmet-to-go meals, made fresh daily by a former San Francisco restaurant chef. We’re talking Dungeness crab mac ‘n’ cheese, skirt steak with creamed corn, and chicken stuffed with chevre — all precooked and packaged (at $7.99 each) for you to take home to heat up easily.

Or grab a dripped-to-order Blue Bottle coffee, a pastry from San Francisco’s Sandbox Bakery, an organic locally grown apple, a Free-Trade banana, or a chorizo breakfast burrito ($3.49) that you can nuke in the microwave there to nosh on your morning commute. And yes, Caltrain does allow food and beverages on its trains.

The front of the store, just a few steps from the train tracks.

Sure, the Palo Alto Caltrain station boasts a gourmet coffee kiosk. And the San Francisco station has a coffee stand and a Subway sandwich shop. But the Hillsdale station, where 1,300 passengers go through daily, is the only one with meals like this, prepared by Adel Benmahdi, who used to work at Orson in San Francisco.

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New Pinkberry, Free Pasta and More

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Another Pinkberry Opens:

The tart fro-yo craze continues as the South Bay welcomes another Pinkberry, this one at 2362 El Camino Real in Santa Clara.

The grand opening, 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Oct. 22, will feature free samples and celebrity guest DJ Joe Manganiello from HBO’s “True Blood,” spinning tunes.

Wine Dinner at Red Crane:

Chef Royce Mori of Red Crane in Cupertino. (Photo courtesy of the restaurant)Join Burrell School Winery and Chef Royce Mori when they host a special wine dinner at Red Crane in Cupertino, 7 p.m. Oct. 26.

The four-course dinner includes such delightful pairings as crispy snow crab cake with papaya salsa matched with the 2006 “Teacher’s Pet” Estate Chardonnay; and pan-roasted petit filet mignon with roasted gold beets accompanied by the 2007 “Honor Roll” Estate Merlot.

Price is $80 per person. For reservations, call (408) 725-1990.

Prime Time for Prime Rib:

It definitely will be at Sent Sovi in Saratoga, Oct. 28, when Chef-Owner Josiah Slone hosts the “Big Scary Prime Rib” dinner.

Nothing to fear; the scary part refers to those big bottles of wine (magnums and larger) that we have stashed at home, wondering when we’ll ever have the occasion to uncork them.

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