Have you ever spied a pink gin before? Me, either. At least not before receiving a sample bottle of Malfy Gin Rosa, an Italian gin that’s tinged a very pale pink from grapefruit.
Inspired by the Amalfi Coast, this gin gets a subtle citrus and bitter pith edge from Sicilian pink grapefruit, along with lemon. Juniper berries add characteristic pine and almost anise-like notes without veering into medicinal-tasting territory.
Just know, though, that because the color is so light, it won’t be visible once you add any kind of mixer.
Buttery, tender, and filled with fresh blackberries.
It doesn’t have to be a holiday like Valentine’s Day to make any day a whole lot sweeter and more pampering with “Blackberry-Rye Cream Scones.”
Rye flour gives them an earthy color and a nutty taste, while a sprinkling of sugar on top before baking creates that crackly sweet crunch none of us can resist.
It’s a collection of 100 recipes for homespun treats such as “Burnt Caramel Basque Cheesecake,” “Chocolate Chestnut Loaf,” “Pretzel Cheese Buns,” and “Buckwheat Walnut Linzer Cookies.”
Sweet potatoes get swapped in for chicken in this clever take on Kung Pao.
Start the Year of the Dragon off with a bang with something fiery and inspired.
“Kung Pao Sweet Potatoes” certainly isn’t traditional fare for the Lunar New Year, which starts on Saturday. But the dish certainly makes for an exciting and enticing new addition to the celebratory feast. Plus, it’s perfect for vegetarians, vegans, and anyone who enjoys twists on the classics.
This fun recipe is from “Veg-Table” (Chronicle Books, 2023), of which I received a review copy. It’s the newest cookbook by Los Angeles-based Nik Sharma, a former molecular biologist turned James Beard Award-winning, best-selling cookbook author, photographer, and recipe developer.
He brings his scientific background, precision for recipes, and love of big, bold flavors to bear on this collection of vegetable-focused recipes. It’s not a strictly vegetarian cookbook, but even when animal proteins are included, they play a more supporting rather than starring role.
The cookbook features more than 50 types of vegetables with recipes organized by plant family, including such temptations as “Kimchi Creamed Corn,” “Crispy Salmon with Green Curry Spinach,” “Cauliflower Bolognese,” and “Carrot, Apple, and Harissa Soup.”
Japanese-style chicken drumettes cooked with orange marmalade.
San Francisco Chef Sylvan Mishima Brackett fondly remembers his mother cooking up a pan of chicken drumettes with sake, shoyu, and a copious amount of orange marmalade.
The resulting thick, sticky, sweet glaze would coat every inch of the tender drumettes that were savored hot or room temperature on New Year’s Day.
It wasn’t necessarily a classic component of the traditional Japanese New Year meal known as osechi. But in his family, it sure made for good eating on that day or any busy weeknight.
Me? I think it would score big-time on Super Bowl Sunday.
I mean, why pay homage to Buffalo, NY with been-there, done-that, fiery red-sauced wings when you can support the home team by indulging in a version from a bona fide San Francisco Mission District chef instead? That’s got to make for good juju, right?
The recipe comes from his debut cookbook, “Rintaro” (Hardie Grant, 2023), of which I received a review copy, that was written with San Francisco food writer Jessica Battilana.
You have to taste these TCHO chocolates to believe them.
Imagine chocolates that taste exactly like Doritos dipped in queso.
Is your mind reeling yet?
Mine certainly was when I popped a sample of the new limited-edition TCHO Natchos into my mouth.
Yes, just in time for the Super Bowl, the zany minds at Berkeley’s bean-to-bar maker have outdone themselves with this latest creation.
Chief Chocolate Maker Brad Kintzer is a Philadelphia Eagles fan (don’t hold that against him), who started playing around with crafting a nacho-flavored chocolate bar in 2018 when his beloved team competed in (and won) the Super Bowl.
