Category Archives: Restaurants

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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Her Majesty’s Secret Flour

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Italian doppio zero flour

That’s ”00” to you.

And yes, you can shake it or stir it, but you might get very messy in the process.

Sorry about the James Bond 007 pun, but I couldn’t resist. Doppio zero flour is also known as “OO” flour. The numbers refer to the grade of flour. The “00” is the finest milled available.

I was induced to hunt it down after making the pizza dough recipe in the “A16 Food+ Wine” (Ten Speed Press) cookbook by Nate Appleman and Shelley Lindgren. The first time I made it, I used all-purpose flour. It turned out incredible. But of course, wondering if a good thing could be made even better, I was curious if “00” would produce an even more spectacular dough, since A16 restaurant uses that regularly for its pasta and pizza doughs

While in Wine Country recently, I happened to find bags of Italian doppio zero at Sunshine Foods Market in St. Helena. I loaded up on it.

The “00” flour is very light and powdery to the touch. Following the A16 recipe, I mixed the “00” flour with a smidgen of yeast dissolved in water, olive oil, and salt. I covered the bowl and put it in the fridge for two days to ferment and slowly rise.

A16 pizza dough made with doppio zero.

When I pulled out the dough, I noticed it was stickier than the one I had made with all-purpose flour. It might be that the “00” is so fine, you need more of it. But because the recipe gives the flour measurement only in cups, not in grams, it’s hard to tell.

This dough also was more elastic. Indeed, it was easy to stretch the dough very thinly so that the pizza baked up with a very crisp center.

Before putting the pizza on a baking stone in the oven, I layered on my own combination of paper-thin slivers of garlic, truffle cheese, and fresh basil leaves. When it emerged blistered and golden from the oven, I draped prosciutto over it.

Pizza topped with garlic, basil, truffle cheese, and prosciutto.

It was one mighty fine pizza. I can’t say that the “00” flour imparted any more taste necessarily to the pizza. But it made the dough a pleasure to work with, and perhaps even crispier.

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Gingerbread Galore, Cooking Shows, Olive Blessings, and More

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The 2007 gingerbread creation crafted by Pastry Chef Carlos Sanchez of Parcel 104.

If you missed seeing last year’s incredible gingerbread creation by Pastry Chef Carlos Sanchez of Parcel 104 in Santa Clara, you really missed out.

His gingerbread dreamscape of the world was the stuff of sweet dreams (see photo above). But this year, he’s turning over the hard work to students at the Professional Culinary Institute in Campbell. The students are tasked with creating gingerbread houses at the school, then carefully transporting them to Parcel 104, where they will be put on display in the lobby of the Santa Clara Marriott at 5 p.m. tonight.

Let’s hope they survive the move, because 10 houses are expected to be on display. Sanchez, members of the local Chaine des Rotisseurs, and Marriott guests will get to cast votes for the best house based on creativity, festiveness, and attention to detail.

First place will win $250, second place $150, and third place $100. Winners will be announced in a ceremony later in the month at the school.

Tune into KTEH Public Television (channel 54) in San Jose at 7 p.m Dec. 3 to watch “KTEH Cooks with Garlic.” Nine local amateur cooks will be strutting their culinary skills live on TV as they cook with — you guessed it — garlic. The nine were selected from 40 videotapes submitted.

These recipes and others will be included in a future “KTEH Cooks with Garlic Cookbook.” To submit your own recipe for the cookbook, go to www.kteh.org/garlic.

Sonoma olives. (Photo courtesy of the Sonoma Valley Visitors Bureau)

If you prefer olives to garlic, head to historic Mission San Francisco Solano de Sonoma in Sonoma at 10 a.m. Dec. 6 for the start of a three-month long Sonoma Valley Olive Festival that kicks off with the blessing of the olives. Admission is free.

That will be followed at 10 a.m. that day by an open house and tasting at the Olive Press in Sonoma. Noon to 3 p.m., author Carol Firenze wil sign copies of her book, “The Passionate Olive — 101 Things to Do with Olive Oil.” Admission is free.

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Google’s Culinary Star Power

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Google's first executive chef. (Photo courtesy of Charlie Ayers)

If you ever had any doubts about the caliber of food those lucky Googlers get to nosh on for free, check out my story in the new December issue of San Francisco Magazine.

Charlie Ayers got the ball rolling in 1999 when he became the first executive chef at the Mountain View headquarters of that search engine giant. The delicious foundation he established helped nurture and lure a host of culinary stars. Now, Ayers is set to open his first restaurant, Calafia Cafe and Market A Go-Go in Palo Alto’s Town & Country Village. Although anticipated to open this month, due to construction delays, it will most likely open in January now.

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Dining Deals

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Stroll downtown Healdsburg while enjoying a four-course feast.

If those after-Thanksgiving sales have left your wallet rather depleted, you’ll be glad to know that these dining deals will let you to indulge your gourmet tastes without breaking the bank.

Head to Healdsburg Dec. 3, 10, and 17 for a progressive, three-hour feast each of those evenings. Enjoy four courses, each at a different restaurant you stroll to on or near the Healdsburg Plaza.

Among the participating restaurants in the “Strolling Holiday Dine Around” are: Cyrus, Bovolo, and Dry Creek Kitchen. At $85 per person, it might not seem like the biggest bargain. But out of town visitors can receive up to 30 percent off their hotel stay at participating lodgings. For more information on that, click here.

Select shops in the Downtown Retail District also will offer guests a 10 percent discount on a purchase of $100 or more each of those three days.

A portion of proceeds benefits the Healdsburg Shared Ministries Food Pantry.

To reserve a spot for “Strolling Holiday Dine Around,” call (707) 431-7346.

Saratoga’s Sent Sovi invites you to dine with a free $25 gift certificate good through Dec. 31. To get a certificate, just email holidays@sentsovi.com, and the certificate will be emailed to you.

At San Jose’s Santana Row, chow down on a two-course $14.95 prix fixe lunch at any of 12 participating restaurants. The “Out to Lunch” promotion is good only on weekdays through Dec. 31.

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