Where’s the perfect place to spend a Sunday morning in summery August?
At Santana Row in San Jose, of course, where I’ll be hosting a different chef cooking demo every Sunday that month, 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m..
The free demo will be outdoors under the sunshine at Santana Row Park and include plenty of tastes to rev up the appetite.
Each Sunday will feature a different chef from one of the restaurants at Santana Row.
Foster Farms new Roasted Red Pepper Chicken Oven Ready Entree. Just add your own sides.
I admit I’m a skeptic when it comes to most packaged prepared foods.
I often don’t think they’re a time-saver.
Plus, the sodium levels are usually frighteningly through the roof.
Recently, I had a chance to sample the new Foster Farms Oven Ready Entrees, which feature chicken breasts that are already marinated. You just put the recyclable, oven-proof tray in the oven and they’re ready in about 30 minutes.
They come in four varieties: Chile Verde, Roasted Red Pepper, Zesty Thai and Honey Roasted Garlic.
What I most appreciated was the reasonable sodium level — 210 to 270 per serving, depending upon the variety. The entrees also have a moderate 120 to 130 calories per serving, though, it’s hard to tell exactly how much a serving constitutes as the nutrition label states “servings per container varied” because, of course, not all chicken breasts are exactly the same size. A publicist I checked with said that one package will serve 4 to 6. I think it’s more like 4 servings at most — or even 2 if you have very big eaters in the house.
Buttermilk ice cream with chunks of peaches and nectarines.
I have done a very dangerous thing.
I have taken the plunge to buy an ice cream machine.
My freezer’s not going to know what hit it.
For years, I contemplated buying an ice cream machine because, well, who doesn’t love ice cream? But each time the temptation hit, I pushed it aside, fearing I’d be making ice cream all the time if it was that convenient. And well, eating ice cream all the time does have its consequences.
But as I started work on my first cookbook, “San Francisco Chef’s Table” (Lyons Press), which will publish in November, I realized I would need to test the ice cream recipes from the chefs contributing to the book.
I could no longer say “no” to the Cuisinart ice cream maker that I’d coveted.
I did the deed a couple weeks ago. And I’ve already used the dang thing three times. God, help me.
The new Cuban sandwich at Oakville Grocery. (Photo courtesy of the store.)
Oakville Grocery, the 130-year-old landmark Wine Country gourmet store has rolled out a delicious new sandwich menu created by Chef Jason Rose.
Look for the Oakville Muffaletta ($13), a ciabatta piled with Toscano salami, sopressata, ham, provolone, and pickled pepper relish; the Cuban ($13), a torpedo roll stuffed with slow-cooked pork shoulder, ham, yellow mustard, pickles, Swiss cheese, and aioli; and the Quinoa Falafel ($9.50), spinach lavash rolled up around spicy hummus, harissa Greek yogurt, grilled eggplant, cucumber and pickles.
Each day, a special tartine ($10) also is featured, along with a waffle sandwich ($7) of ham and Swiss cheese.
The muffaletta. (Photo courtesy of Oakville Grocery.)
With two locations — the original in Oakville and the other in Healdsburg — it’s a perfect place to pick up a quick lunch after cycling or touring wineries.
Fogo de Chao, a Brazilian steakhouse, will be opening in San Jose’s Santana Row in early 2014.
Meatballs at Howie’s Artisan Pizzeria in Palo Alto.
Howard Bulka is one of those chefs who will get fixated on something, then research and tweak it to death until it’s just right.
Such was the case when he decided to trade decades of preparing fancy, fine-dining, prixe-fixe menus for pizza instead.
Howie’s Artisan Pizza opened in Palo Alto’s Town & Country Village four years ago. Crowds have been lining up ever since for the pizzas, constructed with a bread flour-dough, which takes two days to mix and proof before being turned into pies that are baked in a gas-fired brick oven at 600 degrees for 5-6 minutes.
These are multi-dimensional crusts with puffy edges of air holes that provide chew and crunch, and centers that get thinner and crisper.
The whimsical art work on the walls.
The dining room.
Recently, I was invited in as a guest of the restaurant. We started with the Chinese Chicken Salad ($10). The generous-sized salad is more than enough for two to share. A mountain of chopped romaine is tossed with cucumber, green onions, peanuts, cilantro, chicken chunks, crispy won ton strips and a creamy, mustardy dressing. It’s almost like an Asian version of a chopped salad.