Category Archives: New Products

Ad Hoc and Bouchon Bakery Gluten-Free Mixes

Posted on by 11 comments

Yup, these are gluten-free.

For those suffering from gluten allergies or intolerance, Chef Thomas Keller comes to the rescue.

His line of baking mixes, sold exclusively by Williams-Sonoma, makes use of his own “Cup 4 Cup”  custom-blended gluton-free flour, which has proven a runaway hit. Cup 4 Cup, which also is sold at Williams-Sonoma for $19.95 for a three-pound bag is in such high demand that when I tried to get a sample bag earlier this year, I was told it was on back order for three months. It’s a blend of cornstarch, white rice flour, brown rice flour, milk powder, tapioca flour, potato starch, and xanthan gum that can replace all-purpose flour in a recipe in a direct 1-to-1 ratio.

Read more

Introducing the Updated Version of Food Gal’s Bay Area Dining App & A Giveaway

Posted on by 18 comments

Introducing my new, improved app.

Drum roll, please.

Just as I am my own person, I’m also my own app now.

If you remember back to February, I proudly launched my “Food Gal’s Ultimate Guide to Bay Area Dining” for iPhones.

Back then, it was under the umbrella of the new venture, the “Know What” network of apps for favorite bars, food, hikes, museums and more. So, you had to buy the “Know What Essentials”  app first, before you could add on more specific modules, such as my own.

Now, with the blessing and help of the team behind Escape Apps, which created the “Know What” network, you can bypass that step and just buy my app alone for $1.99.

My app has been updated to  feature more than 75 restaurants, bakeries and wine bars to check out in the Bay Area — from the tony to the hole-in-the-wall.

Read more

Beefy Burgers and A Food Gal Giveaway

Posted on by 31 comments

Juicy grilled burgers made from Piedmontese beef.

Nothing says summer backyard gatherings like a great grilled burger.

These are particularly flavorful, made from the Piedmontese breed of cattle, which originated in the foothills of Italy.

Raised on ranges, where they grow up eating grass and are finished on grains, these cows produce meat that is less marbled, and therefore lower in saturated fat and cholesterol. Because of their genetic makeup, the meat doesn’t have the usual stringy fibers of regular beef, making it naturally tender.

Recently, I had a chance to try samples of these burgers from Montana’s Ranch Brand Natural Meats, which contain no antibiotics or growth hormones. The sizable 8-ounce patties are dense, almost just shy of sausage-like in texture. They are very beefy tasty and despite being on the leaner side are quite juicy.

A package of 12 Piedmontese Steak Burgers is $38.54. They are shipped on ice packs to their destination.

They’re just one of many items available via FromtheFarm, a California company that bills itself as an online farmers market. It partners with growers and producers around the country to ship produce, meat, flowers, baked goods and jams directly from the farm to your house.

Through Aug. 27, Food Gal readers can get 10 percent off the purchase of Piedmontese beef. Just use the code: FOODGAL.

Contest: One lucky Food Gal reader will win a dozen Piedmontese burgers, courtesy of FromtheFarm. Entries, limited to those in the continental United States, will be accepted through midnight PST Aug. 18. Winner will be announced Aug. 20.

How to win?

Read more

Michael Pollan In My Backyard

Posted on by 15 comments

Michael Pollan -- the tomato.

Yes, Michael Pollan made a splashy appearance in my backyard recently.

Um, that would be my tomato plant named for the respected food activist, author and journalist, not Mr. Pollan in the flesh, himself.

Of my four tomato seedlings planted this year, it was this one that grew most vigorously and produced not only the first tomatoes of the season, but the most fruit so far, too.

Guess it pays to be named after a man who takes food seriously.

Read more

« Older Entries Recent Entries »