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.
Throw out all those other apple cake recipes. Even the ones handed down to you by relatives (Sacrilege, I know. But you’ll get over the guilt.)
Because the only one you need is this one.
How incredible is this apple cake?
My husband, who doesn’t even like apples (Is there such a person?), took one bite and mid-chew mumbled, “This IS good! And you know, I don’t even like apples.” (Uh, yup, duly noted.)
The name, “Apple Snacking Spice Cake,” doesn’t even do it justice. That moniker conjures up a simple after-school cake baked in a square pan, and cut up to eat out of hand.
That is not this cake.
Rather, this cake is round, tall and the color of dark caramel. It is jam-packed with fruit, too. The batter is quite thick. In fact, it’s almost more apples than actual batter. If that weren’t enough, there’s also a full cup of toasted pecans in it, too. For good measure, there’s also a big handful of raisins. I actually used dried mulberries instead because I love their date-like taste.
The result is a cake, in which every bite is a riot of apples and nuts, as well as warm spices of ginger, cloves and cinnamon. But don’t think this cake is too moist like a dreaded fruitcake. Nope, it’s tender and its moistness level is just right. What’s more, when it bakes up, the top of the cake gets that heavenly crisp, crackly texture we all can’t resist.
Years ago, when I was set to do an interview with the one and only Anthony Bourdain in San Francisco, his publicist asked me to pick a restaurant for us to talk over lunch.
Can you imagine the pressure of trying to come up with a place to satisfy the exacting taste buds of the finicky “No Reservations” star, who makes no bones about what he likes and doesn’t?
I settled upon Piperade in San Francisco because I had a feeling its soulful Basque food served in unpretentious surroundings would please even the most jaded palate.
I was right.
In one of the most fun interviews I’ve had the pleasure of conducting, I remember Bourdain and I digging into tender beef cheeks as he lobbed barbs and insightful opinions in answer to my questions. The sweetest moment came at the end of the meal, when a server shyly approached the table with a battered copy of Bourdain’s “Kitchen Confidential” for an autograph. She explained that his book was the only thing that kept her sane when she waited tables in New York. Bourdain, chuckling at her knowing remark, signed the book to her, adding his trademark doodle of a chef’s knife.
Piperade may be a decade old now. It may not be flashy. It may not be the “It” place to be these days. But it continues to be relevant, as well as the type of place you know you can drop into for a meal that will always content.
Chef-Owner Gerald Hirigoyen hails from Basque country, which straddles both France and Spain. He’s a rarity among chefs, too, in that he’s trained in both cooking and pastry making.
Leave it to Ming Tsai to come up with a Japanese version of Southwestern chili.
The kind that is made for curling up with on a blustery night.
It’s a hearty bowl that will warm you from the inside out with cubes of tender pork, chunks of sweet potatoes, bright green edamame, and a hit of miso.
It’s from his newest cookbook, “Simply Ming in Your Kitchen” (Kyle), of which I just received a review copy. It’s a clever book of 80 recipes, each of which has an embedded QR code that can be scanned to unlock a video of Tsai cooking the dish from start to finish. Sixteen of the videos — two from each chapter — are free. The others can be purchased from Ming.com.
The chef-proprietor of Blue Ginger in Massachusetts and host of “Simply Ming” on PBS, Tsai has a natural affinity for fusing East-West flavors like the ones in this stew.
Look for the bell hops and front desk staff at the St. Regis to sport black and orange baseball caps in honor of the San Francisco Giants incredible World Series sweep.
But that’s just the start. Step inside to toast the team’s victory with “The Perfect Cain” ($14), an ode to Giants pitcher Matt Cain.
The cocktail, available at the bar or at restaurant Ame, is a frothy blend of Breaking and Entering Bourbon, Campari, simple syrup, fresh lemon juice, orange water flower and egg white.
Italy’s famed coffee roaster Lavazza will open its first West Coast cafe on Oct. 30 in San Jose’s Santana Row.
The Bay Area already may be saturated with coffee outlets, but Lavazza hopes to distinguish itself with its quality, innovation, and integration with high fashion, sleek design and contemporary cuisine, including its collaboration with revolutionary Chef Ferran Adria.
The 35-seat cafe, which will feature stunning artwork, will serve coffee in every preparation imaginable, including the signature Èspesso, Adrià ’s ingenious liquid-to-solid coffee creation served playfully with a spoon that sports a hole in it.