Category Archives: Great Finds

Presenting Cold-Oven Pound Cake

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The quintessential pound cake made with an unusual technique.
The quintessential pound cake made with an unusual technique.

This recipe is for those who can be forgetful.

The ones who sometimes neglect to add that vanilla extract to a batch of cookies, the ones who somehow didn’t grease a pan before adding the batter, or have hurriedly mixed in an ingredient at the very last second when it should have been stirred in at the start.

Yes, folks maybe like you and surely like me, as I’ve been guilty at least once of all of those things.

Ever forgotten to preheat the oven before sticking a cake in to bake?

No fretting about that with this recipe. That’s because “Cold-Oven Pound Cake” indeed gets slid into the oven before it is turned on. And boy, does this technique lead to one sensational cake.

It’s from “Cheryl Day’s Treasury of Southern Baking” (Artisan Books, 2021), of which I received a review copy.

With her husband Griffith Day, they co-own the Back in the Day Bakery in Savannah, GA. Se is also a co-founder of the Southern Restaurants for Racial Justice that works to preserve the legacy of Black-owned restaurants in the United States.

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My Favorite Cocktail

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My fave Negroni, with a big orange twist.
My fave Negroni, with a big orange twist.

In my household, there is no argument as to what our most favored cocktail is.

But there is disagreement over whose drink of choice it was first.

Let’s just say that I’m convinced I chose the Negroni way before my husband did.

After all, he can’t even tell you why he likes it. But I can. It’s all about that delightful bitter orange taste that does it for me, like that of the prized rind of Seville oranges in marmalade.

So when a review copy of the new “San Francisco Cocktails” (Cider Mill Press) landed on my porch, it was the perfect excuse to make at home the satisfying sip I usually order out.

This fun book is by my friend and colleague Trevor Felch, a Bay Area food and drinks writer who has assembled 100 San Francisco cocktail recipes and the stories behind them. Holy moly, just imagine the tipsy time testing all of those.

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Everything’s Coming Up Roses, Part I: The Roast Chicken

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Dried rose petals make this roast chicken extra pretty and even more delicious.
Dried rose petals make this roast chicken extra pretty and even more delicious.

Let me just flat-out say that this dish of “Rosy Harissa Chicken” proved to be the most deeply flavorful chicken I’ve had in a long time.

Part of the reason? The addition of dried rose petals.

I know, I know, you’re squinting your eyes in disbelief, thinking that surely that ingredient would make this roast chicken taste unappetizingly of your mother’s face cream.

Granted, on its own, there is a rather potpourri quality to dried rose petals. But when used judiciously with other complementary ingredients, they make everything all together soar.

I got mine as a sample from Selefina Spices, a new online business by Adagio Teas. It’s a natural extension for the tea company, which already sources from farms all over the world.

Selefina's fragrant dried rose petals.
Selefina’s fragrant dried rose petals.

What’s especially nice is that it sells in small quantities to ensure freshness. So, you can buy just the amount you need. For instance, you can get a 0.07-ounce sample of the dried rose petals for only 75 cents, a 2-ounce pinch for $3, or a 1.5-ounce refill for $6.

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Wild About Wildgrain

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Baked-from-frozen croissants from Wildgrain that I scarfed up.
Baked-from-frozen croissants from Wildgrain that I scarfed up.

Pure temptation recently arrived on my doorstep.

It was a big ol’ box of carbs.

Inside were: artisan-made sourdough bread, pastries and pasta — all that just needed to be finished baking or cooking before devouring.

Meet Wildgrain, which bills itself as the first membership box that ships bake-from-frozen products to your home each month.

Think of it like a CSA — but for baked goods.

Made by a small team of bakers in Boston, the contents of the box vary each month. You can suspend or stop anytime you wish. But unfortunately, you can’t necessarily request certain items be included in your box or purchase favorites separately.

Baked-from-frozen blueberry biscuits that arrived in the same box.
Baked-from-frozen blueberry biscuits that arrived in the same box.

Nothing takes more than 25 minutes to prepare, though, you will have to let the bread cool for about half an hour after baking.

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Where I’ve Been Getting Takeout of Late: Tacos Buenrostro

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The birria taco from Tacos Buenrostro.
The birria taco from Tacos Buenrostro.

Ever since watching the Netflix series, “Taco Chronicles,” I’ve been a little obsessed with birria tacos.

The Jalisco specialty is typically lamb or goat stewed slowly until tender, then folded into a tortilla that you dunk into an accompanying bowl of the resulting broth.

Yes, think of it as the taco version of a French dip sandwich.

I have friends Nate and Annie to thank for turning me on to Tacos Buenrostro, a taco truck regularly parked at a gas station at 3295 Sierra Road in San Jose. After seeing the Facebook photos of the two of them happily devouring the tacos, I knew I had to pay a visit, too.

While the truck has an extensive menu, we honed in on the beef birria — and only the birria.

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