Category Archives: Enticing Events

Spread It Around & Food Gal Contest

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(From top to bottom): Golden Flaxseed Spread, Savory Flaxseed Spread, and Lemony Flaxseed Spread.

Mayo, mustard, and tapenade.

Been there, ate that.

If you’re looking to spice up your sandwiches with new flavor and flair, look no further than Laxmi’s Delights flaxseed spreads.

Made by Bay Area cookbook author Laxmi Hiremath, who wrote “The Dance of Spices” (Wiley), the three organic spreads are made with flaxseed, a plant source high in good-for-you omega-3 fatty acids.

Hiremath sent me a sample to try. There are three flavors: Lemony Flaxseed Spread with Ginger and Honey; Savory Flaxseed Spread with Sun-Dried Tomatoes; and Golden Flaxseed Spread with Dates and Orange Juice.

Hiremath created these bold-tasting spreads to smear on Indian flatbreads. But they also work well on your favorite sandwiches, as stir-fry sauces, marinades for fish, and flavorings for all manner of vegetable dishes.

Organic spreads with bold flavors.

The Lemony Flaxseed Spread is tangy, sweet, and spicy with the bright sunny notes of citrus. The Savory Flaxseed Spread is like Italian meets a little bit of India. Sweet, plump sun-dried tomatoes get an earthy complexity from Indian spices. The Golden Flaxseed Spread is a cross of Middle Eastern and Indian flavors. A little sweet and a little savory, this quite thick sauce has the lovely, deep, concentrated flavors of orange peel and sticky dates.

One tablespoon has 30 to 100 calories, depending on the particular spread. The sun-dried tomato spread has 10 grams of fat, while the other two have just 1 gram each.

Each 7-ounce jar is $9.99. If you’d like to try them, Hiremath has a deal for you: If you order three jars, she’ll waive the cost of shipping, if you mention you read about the spreads on FoodGal.com. Just go to the “contact” page on the Laxmi’s Delights site to order by sending her an email or calling.

Even better, one lucky Food Gal reader also will win the grand prize of three free jars of the spreads (one of each type).

How?

By spreading it on, so to speak.

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Sweet New Bakery, Wine Time & Meal Deals

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Ten cupcakes sold on opening day at SusieCakes will hold a special surprise. (Photo courtesy of SusieCakes)

With shades of “Willy Wonka,” the new SusieCakes bakery opens Jan. 23 in Greenbrae in Marin County with a fun surprise.

The Los Angeles bakery, which welcomes its first Northern California location, will be hiding 10 “golden tickets” in its signature frosting-filled cupcakes on opening day.

Each golden ticket is redeemable for a special reward, such as attendance to a baking or cake decorating class; a 6-inch or 9-inch specialty layer cake; five dozen mini cupcakes; or one dozen cupcakes. Winners will also be entered in a grand prize drawing to receive a 9-inch specialty layer cake monthly for an entire year as part of the “Cake-of-the-Month Club.”

So if you buy a cupcake on Saturday, be sure to bite carefully.

Are you a natural redhead? Then, Sent Sovi of Saratoga has a special offer for you for its first wine dinner of the year.

Jan. 28, the restaurant will host a wine dinner spotlighting Testarossa Winery of Los Gatos, which specializes in Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.

And did you know that “testarossa” means “redhead” in Italian? Yup, so the restaurant is extending a 20 percent discount off the normal $100 price per person for the dinner to any natural redheads who mention that fact when they make a reservation and are able to prove it when they show up for the dinner.

Get your ‘do in check and prepare to dine on such dishes as dayboat scallops with caramelized scallop jus and sprout petals; and slow-cooked beef ribeye cap with whole grain mustard spaetzle.

Chef Paul Arenstam invites you in for crab and pig. (Photo courtesy of the Americano Restaurant)

Like crab? Like pork, too?

Then, you won’t want to miss the “Crab and Whole Hog Dinner,” Jan. 22 at 7 p.m. at the Americano Restaurant in the Hotel Vitale in San Francisco.

The event, which will be held in the heated patio tent, will feature guest artisan ham purveyor, Massimo Spigaroli, from Italy. The dinner, overseen by Chef Paul Arenstam of the Americano, is an all-you-can-eat buffet of Dungeness crab, pork, side dishes, salads, desserts, and local white wines.

Price is $85.

Through March, the Ritz-Carlton Half Moon Bay, will be featuring distinguished California wines in its ENO tasting room. Each Friday, Saturday and Sunday mid-afternoon, a representative from each featured winery will be on hand to answer questions about the wines.

Tasting fees range from $25 to $35 per person, depending upon the vintner. Flights of cheese and chocolates can accompany the tasting for an additional charge.

January spotlights Stage Left Cellars; February showcases Far Niente, Nickel & Nickel, and Dolce wineries; and March focuses on St. Francis Winery & Vineyards.

Throughout the year, Quince in San Francisco will host a series of “In Residence” intimate, informative dinners with guest chefs and vintners from around the world.

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Heavyweights Team for Local Bocuse d’Or Extravaganza

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Chef Daniel Patterson of Coi. (Photo courtesy of the chef)

Think if U2 and Coldplay teamed up for one night — and one night only — for a special benefit concert.

This is the culinary equivalent with celebrated Bay Area rock-star chefs Daniel Patterson of Coi in San Francisco and David Kinch of Manresa joining together for one night, Feb. 8, to cook a sumptuous seven-course feast to benefit the Bocuse d’Or USA Foundation.

At this unique event, which will take place at Coi, Patterson and Kinch will alternate cooking savory courses, and Coi’s Pastry Chef Bill Corbett will do the honors with dessert. Look for such wondrous treats for the eye and palate as Patterson’s “Winter Pastoral” (young carrots roasted on a bed of hay, radish powder, and shaved Pecorino); and Kinch’s “Crispy Chicken and Egg Confit” (with roasted chicken “dashi” and black truffles).

Poultry from Vacaville’s Soul Food Farm will be highlighted in the dinner to celebrate the legacy of American heritage breed poultry.

Chef David Kinch of Manresa. (Photo courtesy of the chef)

Price is $195 per person, with a wine pairing available at an extra charge. For reservations, call (415) 393-9000.

For 20 years, the United States has fielded a team for the Bocuse d’Or, the prestigious Olympics of cooking. But it wasn’t until recently that the country got serious about it, when superstar chefs Daniel Boulud and Thomas Keller formed the US foundation to support and train the candidate who would represent this country. Their first candidate was French Laundry Chef de Cuisine Timothy Hollingsworth, who finished sixth out of 24 teams in last year’s competition.

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A Guy Named Carlos, A Lot of Crab, & A Cheesy Time

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A wall sconce at Maria Maria. (Photo courtesy of Robby Skog Photography)

Musician great Carlos Santana opened a fifth locale of his Maria Maria restaurant late last year in Danville.

Serving “Nuevo Mexican” cuisine, it features dishes such as chicken and mole tortilla casserole ($15), grilled skirt steak with nopales salad $(19), and mixed wild mushroom fajitas ($15).

No telling how often you might spot Santana, himself, there. But he did put in an appearance earlier this week to meet and greet media.

Cheesemaker Allison Hooper and friend. (Photo courtesy of Ms. Hooper)

Cheese aficionados will want to head to the Pasta Shop in the 4th Street Market Place in Berkeley, 5 p.m. to 7 p.m, Jan. 15.

Allison Hooper, author of “In a Cheesemaker’s Kitchen,” will be on hand to sign copies of her book, discuss the world of cheese, and offer tastes of her luscious creations.

Hooper, of Vermont Butter & Cheese Creamery, will be joined by other artisan cheesemakers at this free event, including those from Bellwether Farms and Cowgirl Creamery, who also will be offering samples of their cheeses.

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