Author Archives: foodgal

When A Cookie Is Not Quite A Cookie

Posted on by 7 comments

turnovercookie.jpgÂ

At times, I have the world’ss biggest sweet tooth. But other times, I like to turn down the sugar amp a tad. That is why I especially adore Italian desserts, because they satisfy more subtly. With their additions of nuts, olive oil, ricotta or other cheese, and fresh or dried fruit, they provide especially flavorful yet tempered endings to a fine meal.

One of my favorite new cookbooks is “Dolce Italiano (W.W. Norton & Company, 2007, $35) by Gina DePalma, the pastry chef at Babbo in Manhattan. It is filled with Italian desserts just like this.

Leafing through the pages, I stopped at the recipe for “Calcioni” that DePalma calls it her favorite baked pastry ever. So how could I resist?

These are small half-moon shaped pastries. The dough has a whisper of sweetness from granulated sugar and vanilla extract, while the filling is salty Percorino Romano. At first bite, you think you’re eating a cookie. Then, at second bite, you expect a filling of sweet jam of some sort. But surprise, surprise! Your taste buds are hit with the rich umami and saltiness of sheep’s milk cheese.

I love the unexpectedness of these pastries. And so did my former officemates, who couldn’t get enough of them.

Serve them as an appetizer, snack, or part of a cheese course at the end of a meal, along with a glass of sparkling wine or almost any still wine, especially full-bodied reds such as Cabarnet Sauvignon. Then wait for it, wait for it — the pleasurable look of surprise on the faces of your guests.

Calcioni

Read more

French-Japanese Patisserie to Open in Campbell

Posted on by Leave a comment

Cream puffs with green tea custard, anyone? Or how about tiny chocolate cookies sprinkled with Himalayan salt? Or a slice of dreamy mango coconut mousse cake, perhaps?

If you’re getting hungry, then you’ll be glad to know that Satura Cakes will be opening a branch in downtown Campbell this summer. Construction has already begun on the site, 199b E. Campbell Ave., next to Aqui Cal Mex restaurant.

This will be the third Bay Area location for Satura, which creates “Japanese innovations on European-style cakes.” Satura was created through a partnership with a Japanese bakery, Anniversary Company.

Satura’s other Bay Area locales are in downtown Palo Alto, and downtown Los Altos. Enjoy their lovely, elegant creations that are well worth the calories.

Viva La French Food

Posted on by 2 comments

Kobe beef tartare with Dijon mustard and capers. Grilled lamb chops with ratatouille. Grilled New York steak with sauce Bearnaise, and crispy frites.

Oooh la la!

Indulge in that and a whole lot more at the new Chez Papa Resto, 414 Jessie St. in San Francisco’s Mint Plaza. It’s the newest venture from the Maktub Group, which also owns Chez Maman, Couleur Café and Chez Papa Bistrot.

The executive chef is David Bazirgan, formerly of the now-shuttered Elizabeth Daniel in San Francisco, as well as Baraka in San Francisco.

The Provencal bistro seats 60, and features a chef’s table made of stunning antique glass.

Cookie Therapy

Posted on by 11 comments

blondies.jpgÂ

Ever since my untimely departure from the Mercury News last month, I’ve been baking almost every week.

So much so that with every new batch that comes warm out of the oven, my husband has taken to calling them my “layoff cookies.”

Which of course makes me chuckle. And which of course makes me think of the movie “Waitress” and its hilariously named pies, where right from the get-go you know: It’s personal. Oh, boy, is it ever.

No, I can’t say that I’ve been stirring up any “Journalism Sucks” cookies. Or any “Mercury News Mad-eleines.” Nor have I been rolling out any “MediaNews Mud Pies.”

But the thought makes me laugh. And gets me to thinking: Just what would actual newspaper layoff cookies be like: Would they be black-and-white butter cookies dipped in both dark and white chocolate ever so messily? Would they be rolled-out sugar cookies cut into the shape of alphabet letters, with a few not-quite-perfect askew ones? Or would they be bittersweet lemon meltaways with a flavor that vanishes like yesterday’s news?

I can’t say I had any of that in mind when I tried this recipe from the new The Essential Chocolate Chip Cookbook (Chronicle Books, $16.95) by former pastry chef Elinor Klivans.

The coffee and white chocolate chip blondies just appealed to me with their smear of melty white chocolate, reminiscent of just-out-of-the-oven homemade cinnamon buns.

Two tablespoons of coffee mixed into the batter lend a lovely cafe au lait lilt. These soft, chewy, perky cookies are a sure-fire pick-me-up anytime you need a little lift.

Coffee and white chocolate chip blondies

Read more

Travel to Spain Via Jose Andres’ Culinary Show

Posted on by One comment

A disciple of molecular gastronomy pioneer Ferran Adria, Jose Andres is a culinary innovator with loads of charm and a bigger-than-life personality. And he uses those skills to great effect in his new public television show, “Made In Spain.”

On each episode, the Spanish chef, who owns four restaurants in the Washington, DC area, takes you on a tour of a different region of Spain, highlighting specific wines, cheeses, produce or other integral ingredients. Then in his own U.S. kitchen, he shows how to make simple dishes using those products to bring a taste of Spain into your own home. It can be as straightforward as taking jarred piquillo peppers, stuffing them with triangles of Spanish cheese, sauteeing them until just browned, then drizzling on a sherry vinegar-olive oil-shallot dressing.

It’ll leave you hungry for the food and for visiting Spain.

Tune in next at 2 p.m. April 5 on KQED-TV, when Andres explores the wonders of hard cider, hearty bean stew with sausages, and his mother’s favorite blue cheese known as Cabrales.

« Older Entries Recent Entries »