Category Archives: Chefs

Giada’s Mozzarella, Raspberry and Brown Sugar Panini, Plus a Great Food Gal Giveaway

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A perfect sweet-savory panini by Giada De Laurentiis.

I’ve been rather obsessed with this crisp, sweet-savory sammy ever since channel-surfing one day and catching Giada De Laurentiis making it on her Food Network show.

But the problem was that my panini press went kaput awhile back.

Oh, I know I could have used a frying pan with a weight on top of the bread instead, but it’s just not quite the same, if you know what I mean.

So, when the good folks at Calphalon offered me the chance to test out their electric panini grill, I leaped at the chance. Of course, you know the first thing I made with it, too.

Yup, De Laurentiis’ childhood panini that her mom used to make for her after school or as dessert. Imagine two slices of artisan bread smeared with raspberry jam, piled with milky mozzarella slices, a sprinkle of sea salt and a flurry of chopped fresh rosemary. The piece de resistance? Brown sugar sprinkled on the very top of each sandwich, so that when the sandwich goes into the panini press, it melts and caramelizes, forming a sugary, crisp crust. Now, you know why I’ve lusted after this sandwich.

It’s pure gooey comfort between two slices of bread. The sprinkle of salt and the fresh rosemary really make it special and keep it from verging into cloying territory. So, do not leave those two ingredients out.

I used slices of a sweet batard loaf and cherry jam, since a jar was already open in my fridge. I can see this working with a wide variety of jams and herbs: marmalade with fresh thyme or strawberry and tarragon, perhaps.

My gleaming new Calphalon panini press.

Place the sandwich inside.

Close the lid and wait for the bread to crisp, the cheese to melt and for everything to become as one.

It makes for a decadent but deceptively simple breakfast or lunch.

Want to try making it, yourself? I’ll give you a hand:

Contest: One lucky Food Gal reader will win a Calphalon electric panini grill (valued at about $100). The panini grill features variable temperatures and grill heights to accommodate any size sandwich. The grates wipe clean easily after use, too. Entries, limited to those in the continental United States, will be accepted through midnight PST July 14. Winner will be announced July 16.

How to win?

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Two Chefs Plus Three Goats at One Market Restaurant

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My first taste of goat tartare -- and hopefully, not my last.

What do you get when you put two chefs together with three goats?

The makings of a deliriously delicious evening.

Such was the case last week at One Market restaurant in San Francisco, when resident Chef Mark Dommen invited Chef Staffan Terje of Perbacco in San Francisco to cook with him on a multi-course feast that was all about goat.

The event was part of the “Dinner Party Project,” a series of dinners throughout July hosted by SF Chefs, the food and wine extravaganza that officially takes place July 30-Aug. 5. The dinners bring together two or more chefs to collaborate on a themed dinner. A portion of proceeds of each dinner benefits the Center for Urban Education and Sustainable Agriculture (CUESA), which operates the Ferry Building farmers market.

I was lucky enough to be invited as a guest to the dinner, which kicked off with Terje’s spectacular goat leg tartare. The mild red meat got a hit of crunch from diced celery heart, a pop of salinity from Cantabrian anchovy and floral acidity from preserved Meyer lemons.

Mark Dommen's goat charcuterie with apricots and pistachios.

Dommen lobbed with goat liver terrine and goat mortadella with fresh apricots and apricot mustardo. It was the type of food that made you wish you were on a picnic in the south of France.

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Fruit Pie Time, French Laundry Luxe Gift Cards & More

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Adorable little cherry pies at Madera restaurant in Palo Alto. (Photo courtesy of the restaurant)

Fruit Pies Around the Bay Area

There are cake people. And there are pie people.

For pie lovers, you can’t ask for a better time to indulge than summer when fresh fruit ones abound.

At Madera restaurant in the Rosewood Sand Hill resort in Palo Alto, get a taste of warm tart cherry hand-pies with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream ($10).

At San Francisco’s Bluestem Brasserie, enjoy more hand-held pies. Its “Happy Camper Pies” ($9.50) are filled with fruit-herb jam and seasonal fruit. A scoop of vanilla bean ice cream accompanies, as what’s pie without ice cream, right?

Perfect for one -- "Happy Camper Pie'' at Bluestem Brasserie. (Photo courtesy of the restaurant)

Crisp peach fry pie at Prospect restaurant. (Photo courtesy of the restaurant)

Prospect in San Francisco get a load of peach fry pie ($9.50) — little pies fried up crisp with a filling of Blossom Bluff peaches, then garnished with raspberries, tayberries and Bavarian buttermilk ice cream.

Traditionalists will revel in the apple pie with brandied cherries and cheddar tuille ($10) at Epic Roasthouse in San Francisco.

French Laundry and Per Se Launch “Experience Cards”

These may very well be the ultimate gift cards.

No longer will Thomas Keller’s French Laundry in Yountville and Per Se in New York issue issue plain ol’ gift certificates made of paper. Nope, now you can purchase “Experience Cards,” made of sleek metal and sent in an elegant bow-wrapped box.

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Puff Pastry Part I: Savory Sun-Dried Tomato and Onion Tart

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Mustard cream, sweet onions, Gruyere cheese and sun-dried tomatoes crown this buttery, flaky tart.

This tart is red and white, and sure to chase away any blues.

Perfect for the Fourth of July, isn’t it?

“Sun-Dried Tomato and Onion Tart” is an explosion of flavors on a crisp, buttery foundation of puff pastry. The recipe, which appeared in the Wall Street Journal in March of this year, is by that Quebecois madman, Chef Martin Picard. He’s best known for his outsized personality, his over-the-top interpretations of classic Canadian dishes (poutine with foie gras, anyone?) and for foisting a litany of rich foie dishes on Anthony Bourdain at his Au Pied de Cochon restaurant in Montreal until the “No Reservations” host practically had to cry, “uncle!”

Picard’s tart won’t cause you to do that. Instead, it’s layered with flavors: onions caramelized until they’re nearly as sweet as candy, fragrant thyme, nutty Gruyere, a dash of sharp Dijon, and sun-dried tomatoes to add just enough acid so you don’t feel too weighed down.

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Bardessono Hotel Unveils Its New Lucy Restaurant

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Soft-shell crab gets an Asian spin at Lucy at Bardessono.

Bardessono hotel sits right in downtown Yountville, which boasts more Michelin stars per capita than anywhere else, thanks to such lofty neighbors as the French Laundry, Bouchon Bistro and Redd.

The three-year-old, eco-friendly resort is one of only a handful of hotels in the world to be LEED platinum certified, the highest standard for environmental design. It’s always been a hotel of great beauty and thoughtful attention to detail. But it’s struggled to have a restaurant truly worthy of its surroundings and on par with the other world-class dining establishments just steps away.

Opening Executive Chef Sean O’Toole did a fantastic job, but he departed in 2010. The restaurant was left rather rudderless — and it showed in the food — until the middle of 2011, when the talented Victor Scargle, formerly of Go Fish in St. Helena and Julia’s Kitchen in Napa, was hired.

To go along with the new chef, the restaurant got a complete overhaul, too. Formerly, you’d have to wind your way through the property to find the restaurant. Now, there’s a new door at the front of the hotel that clearly leads you to Lucy, the restaurant named for the matriarch of the Bardessono family who once owned this swath of former farmland.

I had a chance to dine as a guest under each of the restaurant’s chef changes. A few weeks ago, I was invited back to check out Chef Scargle’s new menu.

The new restaurant is named for the matriarch of the farming family that once owned the sweeping property.

The dining room is now all done up in grays and purples.

The dining room used to be one unencumbered room done up in elegant, golden earth tones and tables made from reclaimed wood. It’s much different now — bathed in deep purples and dark grays with hard-edged metal light fixtures, giving it more of a trendy hotel vibe. Low wood partitions wrap around some of the seating areas to provide a bit more privacy, but can make it difficult for servers to notice when diners need something.

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