Category Archives: More Food Gal — In Person

Go Red

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February is American Heart Month, so be good to your ticker.

Alarmingly, heart disease is the number one killer of women. So resolve to eat healthier, exercise more, quit smoking, lose weight, and keep your cholesterol, diabetes and high blood pressure under control.

The Food Gal will be doing her part in all of this, too. Yours truly will be joining a handful of other women on ABC’s “View From the Bay” ( KGO-TV channel 7), 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday, with hosts Spencer Christian and Janelle Wang. We’ll be participating in a fashion show organized by the American Heart Association and Macy’s. Basically, I’m just hoping I don’t trip over my own two feet walking down the runway.

You can do your part, too, by wearing red on Feb. 6, National Wear Red Day. Landmark buildings around the Bay Area, including San Jose City Hall’s dome, will be lit up in red that day for the occasion.

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And the Winner Is….

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New York Chef Eric Ripert and cookbook author Cindy Mushet complete their task of eating 26 different cookies.

There are far worse ways to spend a Saturday morning than judging dozens of cookies with the likes of Eric Ripert, executive chef of New York’s four-star Le Bernardin; Dominique Crenn, executive chef of Luce in the Intercontinental San Francisco; Cindy Mushet, author of the Sur La Table cookbook, “The Art & Soul of Baking”; and Emily Luchetti, executive pastry chef of Farallon, Waterbar and Epic Roadhouse restaurants, all in San Francisco.

In fact, I can’t think of when I’ve had quite so much fun so early in the day.

The five of us braved sugar shock to help judge the 13th annual “Holiday Cookie Exchange” contest that aired live this past Saturday on “Dining Around with Gene Burns” (KGO Radio AM810).

First place to Swedish Pepparkakor.

The contest received a record number of entries. Burns, himself, spent a grueling 13 hours whittling down the 500 entries to a mere 26 finalists.

Even so, you just try tasting 26 cookies in one sitting. It was a tough job, but we five were up to the challenge.

Pastry Chef Emily Luchetti, and Chef Dominique Crenn can't believe they ate so many cookies.

In the end, we chose these four winners:

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The Ultimate Holiday Cookie

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Just four ingredients combine to make these unforgettable cookies.

How good are they?

Ever since “Classic Home Desserts” (Houghton Mifflin Court) by the late-great Richard Sax was reissued in 2000, I have baked these super chewy, almond-intense macaroons for Christmas.

Yes, every Christmas. Friends, family, and co-workers clamor for them, and can’t wait for their appearance in cellophane-bagged stocking stuffers or on party dessert trays. Basically, they won’t let me make anything else.

But that’s OK, because I can’t get enough of them, either.

At the annual potluck at the San Jose Mercury News, my contribution was always a batch of these festive cookies. Colleagues would grab a cookie prior to lining up for the entrees, just to be sure they got one before they all disappeared. In fact, they talked me into baking TWO batches in subsequent years. And one year, a former copy editor who had moved to San Diego was visiting the area at this time, and showed up to the potluck only because she wanted to snag one of my macaroons.

If you’re not a fan of coconut, no worries. There is no coconut in these macaroons. Just egg whites, sugar, and almond paste. That’s it. The original recipe, Mary’s Pignoli, calls for rolling 1-inch balls of the mixture in pine nuts. But with their high oil content, the pine nuts made the cookies almost too rich, if you can believe that. The recipe states sliced or slivered almonds are other alternatives. I like using slivered almonds because they give these pale-golden cookies an almost snowflake-like look.

Make a batch and see for yourself just what perfect holiday cookies they are.

And for more cookie fun, be sure to tune in to “Dining Around with Gene Burns” (KGO Radio, AM810), 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. this Saturday, Dec. 13, for the 13th annual Holiday Cookie Exchange at the InterContinental San Francisco.

Twenty-five finalists will present their best cookies for judging by yours truly, the Food Gal; Dominique Crenn, executive chef of Luce in the InterContinental San Francisco; Cindy Mushet, author of Sur La Table’s “The Art & Soul of Baking” cookbook; and Emily Lucchetti, cookbook author and pastry chef of Farallon, WaterBar, and Epic Roadhouse, all in San Francisco.

Top winners will receive get-away weekends to San Francisco, Monterey, and Yosemite, as well as restaurant gift certificates.

Italian Macaroons

(makes about 5 dozen)

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Listen to Food Gal’s Thoughts on the Santana Row Dining Scene

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At last week’s fun-filled Pear Festival at Santana Row, yours truly was a featured guest on the James Beard Award-winning radio show, “A Matter of Taste” (960 AM), which airs regularly 11 a.m. to noon on Sundays.

Hosts David and Rachel Cane peppered me with questions about the South Bay dining scene, especially at Santana Row, where they were broadcasting live from last weekend. Take a listen.

A Pear-fect Time

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That’s what’s in store at the second annual “Pear & Wine Festival,” 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Oct. 19 at San Jose’s Santana Row.

The festival pays tribute to the pear orchard that once thrived where Santana Row’s glittery shops and hopping restaurants now stand.

This year, amateur chefs will be facing off in a new pear recipe challenge. Today is the last day for contestants to submit a written recipe and photo of their dish to the Santana Row Concierge Center. Five finalists will be pre-selected to tote their dishes to the festival (4 p.m. to 5 p.m.), where a panel of judges — including yours truly, the Food Gal — will judge them for taste, presentation, and originality.

The winning recipe will be posted on the Santana Row Web site. The grand prize winner will receive a $100 gift card to Consuelo Mexican Bistro and a Santana Row shopping spree. The winner also will get a signed copy of
“Giada’s Kitchen” (Clarkson Potter), the new cookbook by Food Network star Giada De Laurentiis.

Yes, the ever-popular De Laurentiis will do a Q&A at noon that day in Santana Row Park, then a book-signing afterwards at Sur La Table. Reserve your spot and a copy of the book by calling Sur La Table at (408) 244-4749.

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