Category Archives: Enticing Events

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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Mango Habanero Potato Chips — and A Food Gal Giveaway

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Chips that have some heat.

Potato chips flavored with tropical mango and blistering habanero?

Oh, yes.

Of course, it’s the newest flavor by Hawaiian Kettle Style Potato Chips.

I recently had a chance to sample the new ”Mango Habanero!” (don’t forget that exclamation mark) chips.

They’re thin and crisp to be sure. They have a kick of heat — not nearly as potent as an actual fresh habanero, but you’ll definitely notice a warm burn on the palate. The mango is more elusive. There’s a very faint back-note of something fruity. But if I didn’t know it was supposed to be mango, I’m not sure I would have detected it.

The chips are available in a range of different sized bags at your local grocery stores.

Contest: One lucky Food Gal reader will get a chance to win four small (1-ounce each) bags of the new “Hawaiian Kettle Style Mango Habanero!” chips. It’s the perfect size for tucking into a lunch bag.

Entries, open only to those in the continental United States, will be accepted through midnight PST July 7. Winner will be announced July 9.

How to win your chips?

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Village Pub’s New Sunday Suppers, Chef Marcus Samuelsson To Visit the Bay Area & More

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A succulent beef dish at the Village Pub. Photo courtesy of the Village Pub)

Summer Sunday Suppers at the Village Pub

Woodside’s Village Pub will offer special “Sunday Suppers” all through July.

The four-course Sunday dinners are $65 per person and available via Gilt City through Wednesday.

The dinner starts with butter-poached lobster lasagna with sweetbreads and white corn. That’s followed by a changing seasonal market-fresh course, then seared duck breast with Sauternes-poached peaches. The meal concludes with crepes flambe with roasted cherries and creme fraiche ice cream.

Learn about Chef Marcus Samuelsson's incredible culinary journey. (Photo by Kwaku Alston).

Chef Marcus Samuelsson to Visit the Bay Area

Meet Chef Marcus Samuelsson, acclaimed chef of Red Rooster in in Harlem and victor of “Top Chef Masters,” at a series of July events in the Bay Area to celebrate his new memoir, “Yes, Chef” (Random House).

Samuelsson’s path to cooking stardom was far from the norm. Orphaned in Ethiopia at age 3 after his mother died of tuberculosis, Samuelsson and his sister were adopted by a family in Gothenburg, Sweden. It was there in the kitchen alongside his adopted grandmother, Helga, that Samuelsson grew to love cooking.

The book recounts his culinary growth, including his earning a three-star rating from the New York Times while head chef at Aquavit. At the time, he was only 24 years old, the youngest chef to receive that coveted ranking.

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