Category Archives: Enticing Events

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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Judging the Del Monte “Crown the Cook” Contest

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Loanne Chiu preparing her kale salad in the Del Monte test ktichen.

Last Friday, I spent the day in the beautiful test kitchen at Del Monte headquarters in San Francisco, tasting and scoring, over and over again, to help choose the first ever “Crown the Cook” winner.

I’ll be the first to sheepishly admit, too, that I had forgotten that the canned fruit and veggie manufacturer was based in this fair city I grew up in. Del Monte actually started in Monterey, which of course makes so much sense given that city’s rich cannery history.

As its business skyrocketed, it moved its headquarters to San Francisco and branched into Walnut Creek for its R&D facilities. It also has operations in Southern California, where its pet food manufacturing, which accounts for about half of its sales, is based.

My fellow judges (L to R): Alice Harding, Loren Druz and Mario DiFalco.

More than 600 folks from around the country entered the “Crown the Cook” Facebook cook-off contest in the categories of sides, mains and desserts. One finalist was chosen from each of those categories to come to San Francisco to cook their dish before a judging panel that consisted of Mario DiFalco, Del Monte’s director of marketing; Loren Cruz, Del Monte’s director of product R&D; Alice Harding, Del Monte’s head chef; and yours truly, the only “outsider,” if you will.

Each recipe had to use at least one Del Monte product. And each contestant had 90 minutes to complete their dish, which was not as easy as it sounded. Just you try cooking while a video crew is filming all around you, a host is peppering you with questions, and Del Monte employees from all parts of the building are watching your every move and snapping photos.

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Seghesio Family Vineyards Dinners, Time for “Dine Downtown San Jose” & More

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Scenes from the first "Chef's Summer Dinner'' in June in the Alexander Valley. (Photo courtesy of Richard Knapp)

Dining in the Vineyards with Seghesio Winery

Seghesio Family Vineyards, maker of some of my favorite Zinfandels, invites you to dine al fresco at the special places where their grapes are grown.

Each “Chef’s Summer Dinner” features a four-course dinner prepared by Chef Peter Janiak, as well as Seghesio wines, of course.

The July 14 dinner will take place at Westphall Ranch overlooking Lake Sonoma.

The Aug. 11 dinner will be on Rattlesnake Hill at Seghesio’s Home Ranch, the location of the country’s oldest Sangiovese vines.

Each dinner is $200 per person. If you are a Visa Signature cardholder, you’ll receive $25 off each ticket.

Enjoy Seghesio wines and a tasting menu in the vineyards. (Photo courtesy of Richard Knapp)

“Dine Downtown San Jose”

June 20 through July 1, enjoy deals on some of the finest eats downtown San Jose has to offer.

At the fourth annual “Dine Downtown San Jose Restaurant Week,” you can indulge in three- and four-course dinners specially priced from $20 to $70 per person.

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