Category Archives: New Products

Classy Non-Alcoholic Beverages to Ring In the New Year

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12NtM's Blanc, a sparkling, non-alcoholic beverage.

If you’re the designated driver on New Year’s Eve or just prefer to imbibe something that won’t leave you tipsy, you’ll enjoy two new non-alcoholic beverages.

First up, 12NtM sparkling beverages, created by New York Chef David Burke.

Not surprisingly with that pedigree, they are a most elegant alternative to wines. The fizzy beverages come in a white, Blanc, and a red, Rouge. The Blanc is made with citrus, ginger, cardamom, herbs, spices, fruit juices and a blend of three teas. The Rouge features pomegranate, black currant, bergamot, juniper berry, herbs, spices, fruit juices and three different teas.

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Introducing Tyler Florence Wines

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Tyler Florence debuts his own line of wines with the Michael Mondavi Family Estate. (Photo by Carolyn Jung)

I’m spending this Christmas with Tyler Florence.

OK, just his wines. But still….

Yes, the Food Network darling and celeb chef of Wayfare Tavern in San Francisco has introduced his own line of wines in partnership with members of the Mondavi family.

Florence and the Michael Mondavi Family Estate in Carneros have launched three limited-edition wines: TF Pinot Noir ($40), TF Zinfandel ($40) and TF Cabernet Sauvignon ($65). They’ve also crafted a more modestly priced duo of wines: Tyler Florence Sauvignon Blanc ($20) and Tyler Florence Cabernet Sauvignon ($25).

The Tyler Florence Wines are available on the Web, and at select retailers.

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Three Places to Pick Up Holiday Sweets

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Three types of holiday bredele are offered at Vitrine at the St. Regis in San Francisco. (Photo courtesy of the restaurant)

Bredele at the St. Regis in San Francisco

When he was growing up in Alsace, France, Executive Chef Romuald Feger remembers his grandmother baking up to 50 pounds of bredele every holiday season.

These tender cookies are a cherished tradition that he continues to this day at Vitrine restaurant in the St. Regis Hotel in San Francisco.

He makes three varieties: Anisbredele with green aniseeds for a distinctive taste; cocosbredele, made with dried coconut; and Basler Leckerli, a Swiss take on the delicacy featuring honey, candied orange and lemon peel, almonds, ground cloves, and cinnamon.

The bredele are served complimentary at the end of each meal at Vitrine throughout winter.

But this year, you also can purchase them through Dec. 31 to take home or to give as a gift. A package of $13 is $16; a pack of 26 is $32. Each pack is accompanied by the story of how Feger came to make them. Order them 24 hours in advance by calling (415) 284-4049.

Peppermint Bark Cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory. Oh my! (Photo courtesy of the Cheesecake Factory)

Peppermint Bark Cheesecake at the Cheesecake Factory

Indulge in a massive wedge of white chocolate cheesecake swirled with chunks of chocolate peppermint bark, and topped with white chocolate mousse and chopped peppermint candies.

It’s the latest seasonal offering from the Cheesecake Factory, available in its restaurants, for take-out and through online orders.

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Macarons Galore in Palo Alto

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Chocolate Yuzu, Lavender Cassis and Red Velvet macarons from Chantal Guillon.

Chantal Guillon chuckles that Americans feel it’s a required rite of baking passage to try to make their own macarons at home, while the French scoff at the idea and would just as soon buy them from a specialty patisserie.

It would be like trying to bake your own baguettes at home, she says. Why?

When she moved to the Bay Area in 2008, the cupcake craze was in full throttle. But most folks were still unfamiliar with the dainty French sandwich pastry known as a macaron and often confused them with American macaroon cookies made with shredded coconut.

Guillon, a former restaurateur in France and art importer, decided it was high-time Northern Californians got to know real macarons.

Chantal Guillon outside her Palo Alto shop.

So, in 2009, she opened her namesake Chantal Guillon macaron and tea shop on Hayes Street. It proved so successful that this summer she opened her second shop on University Avenue in Palo Alto.

Recently, I met up with her at her brightly lit Palo Alto storefront. Inside, there are long glass cases of macarons of every hue and a whimsical wall art of women’s purses, each with a box of macarons sticking out of them — just like you’d see women doing in France, she says.

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Farm-Fresh Teas and A Food Gal Giveaway

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Take a sip of the unusual teas by Grey Dog Tea.

Stinging nettles, sweet peppers and heirloom chiles — in tea?

You bet.

Last year, Baia Nicchia, the 9 1/2-acre farm in Sunol known for its impeccable tomatoes, started selling unique blends of teas, made from its organic herbs, fruits and vegetables that have been dried.

The teas proved so popular that farm owner Fred Hempel has now launched his own tea company, Grey Dog Tea, named for his pet Greyhound.

The teas are available in loose-leaf or bag form. The blends include ones with caffeine, as well as ones without. The actual tea leaves used come from San Francisco’s Five Mountains, which specializes in heirloom organic teas.

The four beguiling blends include:  “Dragon Mint Tea Blend” (heirloom teas, mints, chile pepper flakes and herbs), “Chile Mint Herb Tea” (heirloom chile pepper flakes, mints and herbs), “Citrus Stinger Herb Tea” (yuzu leaf, lemon grass, stinging nettles, sweet peppers, chile peppers, Persian spearmint, nasturtiums and citrus peel), and “Citrus Morning Blend” (heirloom oolong teas, herbs, stinging nettles, sweet peppers, yuzu leaf, heirloom chile peppers and citrus peel).

The signature "Chile Mint Tea.''

All of the blends have a purity of flavor to them, as if you were drinking something straight from the garden. The chiles in the blends won’t make you break into a sweat. They’re quite subtle, lending fruitiness and a delicate warmth.

I’m especially partial to the “Dragon Mint Tea Blend” because of how the gentle tannin of the tea leaves is lifted by the profusion of mint.

The teas sell for $9.99 to $16.99.

CONTEST: One lucky Food Gal reader will win a tin of Grey Dog Tea’s signature “Chile Mint Herb Tea,” plus a refill. You get your choice of loose-leaf or bags, too.

Entries, limited to those in the continental United States, will be accepted through midnight PST Dec. 22. Winner will be announced Dec. 24.

How to win?

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