Category Archives: Fruit

Spring for Alice Medrich’s Saucy Cranberry Maple Pudding Cake

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Cranberry cake to make any day a holiday.

Spring cleaning so often turns up a belt you haven’t seen in ages or a pair of shoes buried in the back of the closet you forgot you even bought.

For me, it also means finding stashes I’d overlooked in the freezer.

Cranberries, for instance.

Every winter holiday season, I always freeze an extra bag or two of fresh cranberries so that I can have their bright sweet-tart goodness around just a little bit longer.

Recently while rifling around the freezer, I came upon just such a bag. Thank goodness, too, because it made it so easy to bake up a pan full of “Saucy Cranberry Maple Pudding Cake.”

This homey dessert is featured in the new “Sinfully Easy Delicious Desserts” (Artisan Books) by Bay Area baking expert Alice Medrich. The cookbook, of which I recently received a review copy, is full of fuss-free desserts such as “One-Bowl Vanilla Cake” and “Chocolate Pudding Pie.” I especially love the lists of easy tips, such as “10 Ways to Flavor Whipped Cream” and “Things to Do with Gingerbread.”

Imagine a giant moist, tender cornbread muffin baked atop a cranberry compote. That’s what this cake is like.

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Cherry Time, Sunset Celebration Weekend & More

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Dig a spoon into this Bing cherry sundae. (Photo courtesy of Bluestem Brasserie

Cherries Galore at Local Restaurants

Who can resist sweet, crisp cherries? Not San Francisco chefs, who are featuring them on many menus.

At Bluestem Brasserie in San Francisco, indulge in cherries in multiple forms in one over-the-top dessert: gelee, granita, fresh and marinated in Cherry Heering Liqueur.

You get all that in the “Bing Cherry Sundae,” that’s also loaded with vanilla ice cream and whipped cream. If that weren’t enough, it also comes with chocolate chip cookies. Oh my!

At Vitrine at the St. Regis in San Francisco, Executive Chef Romuald Feger pays homage to his grandmother by recreating her Alsatian black cherry clafoutis. During cherry season, she’d bake it daily, offering him a big slice after school.

His version comes with Sicilian pistachio ice cream. To pair with it, he recommends an Alsatian Gewurztraminer.

The whimsical "foie gras sphere'' at Michael Mina restaurant. (Photo courtesy of the restaurant)

At Michael Mina in San Francisco, enjoy cherries in two unique savory preparations. First, the “Foie Gras Sphere” that is a tiny, rich mouthful of cherry and amarone-scented foie gras. It’s playfully shaped like a red sphere with a stem on top to mimic a real cherry. You’ll find  it as part of the “hors d’oeuvres platter” ($16).

Second, cherry puree is a pivotal component of the “Vacca Rosa Risotto with Cherry and Squab Ragu.” The rich Vacca Rosa cheese, similar to Parmigiano Reggiano, is a striking counterpoint to the sweet cherries. The dish is part of the tasting menu, but also can be ordered a la carte.

“Tango & Tapas” Soiree and a Discount for Food Gal Readers

Learn how to make mouth-watering tapas — then get a lesson in the tango to burn up all those calories.

Yes, it’s two demos in one with the 6:30 p.m. June 7 “Tango & Tapas” event at Circolo in San Francisco.

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Enjoying Foie Gras While You Can, Tomato Seedling Sale & More

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Get it while you can -- duck confit burger with foie gras. (Photo courtesy of the Bank Cafe & Bar)

Chef Ken Frank’s Extravagant Foie Gras Duck Burger

Picture rich duck confit formed into a thick patty, then topped with seared foie gras.

At Bank Cafe & Bar in the lobby of the Westin Verasa Napa, Chef Ken Frank of La Toque fame, invites you to taste just that.

The duck foie burger has been a popular fixture on the cafe’s menu since it opened four years ago. Frank plans to continue selling it until July 1, when California will become the only state in the country to ban the sale of foie gras.

Enjoy the $24 burger at lunch or dinner — while you can.

To learn more about Frank’s strong stance against the ban, read this thoughtful piece he penned for the Los Angeles Times.

Northern California Chefs vs. Southern California Chefs in Foie Gras “Battle”

If you happen to be traveling to Los Angeles on May 14, you won’t want to miss this blockbuster chef affair.

Especially because it involves foie gras. A lot of foie gras.

Chefs from the Bay Area will be flying down south to work alongside their notable Southern California counterparts at four top Los Angeles restaurants for one night and one night only. At each of the restaurants, the chefs will be creating a six-course feast of foie gras.

It’s all a benefit for the Coalition for Humane and Ethical Farming Standards (CHEFS), a pro-foie gras organization.

Hiro Sone and Lissa Doumani will be cooking up foie in Southern California for a special event. (Photo courtesy of the chefs

OK, it’s not a full-on battle, per se. But you can be sure the Bay Area chefs will be trying to outdo the Los Angeles ones with their dishes.

Here’s who will be cooking where:

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Fun Finds

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Seared fresh garbanzos. You'll eat the entire bowl-full.

Have you ever had a fresh garbanzo bean?

I’m not talking the hard, yellow ones out of a can.

I mean the far tinier ones still encased in their fuzzy, papery green pods that you can find — if you look hard enough — in markets such as Whole Foods and Berkeley Bowl at this time of year. The latter is where I bought mine for $3.29 a pound.

Tender and nutty tasting, the beans, once steamed or blanched, can be made into pesto or tossed into salads just like you would edamame or peas.

The fresh pods with the tiny beans inside.

My favorite way to enjoy them is one of the easiest. Just rinse them under water, shake dry, and place in a saute pan with a little olive oil. Put a lid on and cook for 5-8 minutes over medium heat, stirring occasionally so they don’t burn.

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Maui’s Magnificent Agriculture

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When in Hawaii, you have to indulge in pineapple, right?

MAUI, HAWAII — Whenever I visit Hawaii, I fall head over heels — not for the sun, sand or surf, but the fruit.

I scour farmers markets for apple bananas and varieties of mangoes you never find on the mainland. I’ve even made a beeline to the frugal ABC stores for chilled papaya halves, already packaged with a wedge of lime. Because when it comes to fresh fruit in this tropical paradise, I admittedly turn rather fanatical.

So, of course, I jumped at the chance two weeks ago when I was invited to be a judge for the Maui County Agricultural Festival cook-off at Maui Tropical Plantation. In this competition,  presented by the Maui County Farm Bureau and Slow Food Maui, professional chefs were each paired with a local farmer to create a dish that showcased a particular fruit, vegetable or protein raised on Maui.

To first get a better understanding of Maui’s bounty, our hosts from the Maui Visitors & Convention Bureau, gave us a fruit tutorial.

Take a tour of the working pineapple plantation.

Workers plant and pick the pineapples by hand.

It started with a Maui Gold Pineapple Tour, the only working pineapple plantation tour on this island. Price is $65 for adults; $55 for children, ages 5-12. And each person gets to take home their very own pineapple afterward.

Board the “Pineapple Express” bus to get a tour of the fields. There are 1,500 acres planted here — all by hand. An especially efficient worker can plant 7,000 pineapples a day.

Pineapple, which originated in Brazil, actually grow on stalks. It takes two years for a new crop to emerge after it is first planted.  And it takes a surprising 18 to 24 months for the fruit to mature.

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