Mad for Maple

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Watching the Winter Olympics last month made me want to strap on a pair of skis or ice skates or heck, even push a strange, tea kettle-like-thang along the ice with a broom.

But mostly, it made me long for some sticky, sweet, lovely amber maple syrup.

After all, Canada (namely Quebec) produces the most maple syrup in the world. And who hasn’t come back from a Canadian vacation without arms laden with maple candy, maple butter, maple tea and maple sugar?

To satisfy my maple craving, I turned to this wonderful recipe for “Maple Blondies” from “The Ultimate Brownie Book” (William Morrow) by my friends, Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough.

Bruce and Mark have to be the most prolific cookbook authors around. They’ve barely finished writing one cookbook when they’re immediately on to the next. Potatoes, frozen desserts, muffins, pizzas — is there a genre of food they haven’t written about? I doubt it.

Their newest book already has me excited. “Ham: An Obesession with the Hindquarter” (Stewart, Tabori & Chang) taps into our love of all things hammy. More than 100 recipes are included for everything from “Moroccan-Style Roasted Fresh Ham” to “Filipino Twice-Cooked Pork” to “Sweet Potato Hash with Ham, Pecans and Cranberries.”

Speaking of hammy, if you’ve never caught these two doing a cooking demo, you’re missing out. These guys put Jay Leno and Conan O’Brien to shame. Picture a combination of live cooking and live stand-up comedy. Bruce and Mark can’t help themselves. They like to entertain, and they do it with aplomb.

See for yourself, 6:30 p.m. April 27, when the guys will be hosting a cooking class at Draeger’s in San Mateo. Mark and Bruce will cook four dishes from their new book, including “Indonesian Chile-Lemon Grass Ham Curry” and “Grilled Ham with Herb Spaetzle.”

Tickets are $55.

Now, back to our regularly scheduled recipe: blondies — made with 1/2 cup of real maple syrup, no less.

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Time for Bloody Marys, Longer Happy Hours & Foodie Events

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In the East Bay:

Meritage at the Claremont in Berkeley has made the Bloody Mary into a veritable meal in and of itself.

Sunday mornings, the restaurant sets up a special Bloody Mary bar with nearly 50 ingredients to choose from, including different vodkas, horseradish, hot sauces, pickled veggies, and even beef jerky.

At Sunday brunch, where a spread of Alaskan crab legs, roasted Prime Rib and eggs Benedict is available, the Bloody Marys are $10 each.  There are even non-alcoholic Bloody Marys available at no charge.

Enjoy some of Berkeley’s best eats at “A Taste of North Berkeley’s Gourmet Ghetto,” 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. March 24, at Shattuck Avenue between Hearst and Rose streets.

Restaurants, including Trattoria Corso, Poulet, Saul’s Deli, and Imperial Tea Court, will be offering food and wine tastings.

Tickets are $25. Proceeds benefit Lions Club Community Fund Charities, including the Bay Area Alternative Press and the Women’s Daytime Drop-In Center. For more information, call (510) 540-6444.

This weekend, noon to 4:30 p.m., March 20 and March 21, enjoy tastes of wines right out of the barrels during the “Second Annual Barrel Tasting Weekend,” hosted by the Livermore Valley Winegrowers.

More than 25 Livermore wineries will be offering at least one barrel sample to taste, along with gourmet noshes. Guests also will have the opportunity to pre-purchase some of the barrel wines at a discount.

Tickets are $19 if purchased by today; and $35 if purchased at any participating winery on either day of the event. For more information, call (925) 447-9463.

In Sonoma and the Napa Valley:

Richard Rosenberg of Healdsburg’s boutique Grape Leaf Inn was always intrigued by the stories of his grandfather’s speakeasy that operated during Prohibition. So he decided to create his own in that same spirit.

Prohibition – The Speakeasy Wine Club just opened in Healdsburg. The 30-seat wine bar features a fun clandestine entrance. In the front is a small shop selling wine-related items, including home wine-refrigerators. You enter the actual speakeasy by stepping into an antique phone booth (see photo below) in the corner of the shop. Once inside, you’ll find a secret door to the bar, where you can enjoy hard-to-find wines and 1920s-style beers.

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Exquisite Italian Small Plates at Barbacco at San Francisco

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Who doesn’t feel fiercely proud when a younger sibling shines?

Such is the case with Barbacco in San Francisco, the new sibling to the ever-popular Perbacco in San Francisco, both just a short hop from the Mandarin Oriental.

The chef is Sarah Burchard, who was a protege of Perbacco Executive Chef Staffan Terje for three years. In this day and age of macho men butchering their own animals with major bragging rights, Burchard was right in there with them. Formerly in charge of Perbacco’s salumi program, the petite chef regularly broke down whole pigs just like the guys. And no surprise — the salumi continues to be outstanding at Barbacco.

Opened in January, this sleek Cass Calder Smith-designed restaurant rocks a decidedly New York vibe. The narrow 66-seat restaurant has brushed stainless steel columns, exposed pipes, a brick wall, and seating at a long counter stacked with jars of olives. The bare wood tables are at just-below bar stool-height with chairs that have comfy rests for your feet. A couple of large flat screen TVs add buzz without being too distracting.

The lively restaurant is a perfect spot to stop in for a glass of wine and something to nosh on. At lunch, there are to-go items, with the menu displayed on the TV screen at the front counter. Or take your time at dinner, and wind your way leisurely through the extensive menu of mostly shared plates.

That’s just what we did on a recent evening when I was invited in to dine as a guest. Ever since I first tried fried olives many years ago in Spain, I haven’t been able to resist them. I mean, come on — something oily and rich made even more oily and more rich? What’s not to like?

At Barbacco, they come stuffed with pork. The $5 “ascolane” are large, meaty green olives with a serious crunch on the outside. You know they’re bad for you, but you can’t stop yourself. Not with these.

No way could we pass up the house-made salumi here. We went for the small chef’s selection ($11 or $18, depending upon the size of the platter). Among the standouts was the mortadella, which tastes like the most exquisite, grown-up, gourmet version of baloney you’ll ever eat; and the ‘nduja, a crock of spicy, spreadable smoked Calabrian salame. Dolloped with Calabrian chili peppers, it was creamy, fatty, and mind-blowing good.

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Noshing at Nombe in San Francisco

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It’s always a challenge to discreetly take photos inside extremely dim restaurants without the distraction of a flash.

It’s doubly hard when the dining room’s lighting also happens to have a very night-clubby red glow to it. Such is the case at the hip new Nombe in San Francisco, a short drive from the Best Western Tomo.

Alas, not even help from my good friend, a professional photographer, could salvage the pics I took when I was recently invited in to dine as a guest. Indeed, when she first saw my photos, she deemed them “radioactive.”

Fortunately I was able to summon help from the publicists for the restaurant, who were kind enough to supply me with a few very nice photos.

It’s a good thing, too, because odd red-glow aside, Nombe is fun and most colorful, indeed. It has transported the time-honored tradition of Japanese izakaya noshing to the Mission. In Japan,  “izakaya” refers to a drinking spot that serves small plates of food. And Nombe (pronounced ‘”nom-bay) is what you would refer to someone who likes to drink. A lot.

Executive Chef Nick Balla (late of the popular O Izakaya Lounge in San Francisco) has long been fascinated with Japanese cuisine. “My Mom grew up a hippie,” he says with a laugh. “I always had miso around. I had a lot of Japanese friends. And I just like the flavors.”

He and his partners have transformed a former taqueria and diner into an eclectic spot that stays open until 2 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. The black and white tile diner floor is still there, but augmented by almost Deco-like light fixtures made of recycled metal. Balla did all the renovations, himself, with his parents even lending a hand with the dry-walling.  He even made all the wooden menu boards, too.

As you look around, it’s hard to figure out just what Balla did NOT make. Umeboshi (pickled plum) and furikake (a staple used to season rice) are all made in-house. Balla also makes his own karasumi (salt-cured mullet roe) from fish his uncle in Florida sends him.

Nombe also has an extensive list of sakes, and its own sake sommelier in Gil Payne, who attended college in Japan. In fact, the restaurant will host its first sake dinner on March 18. Four different namazake sakes (fresh, unpasteurized sake) will be paired with four dishes for $45 per person. For reservations, call (415) 681-7150.

We started with a special of assorted sashimi. It was listed as 20 pieces for $34.  But since we wanted to try a lot of dishes, the chef was kind enough to make us a half-portion size of the fresh big-eye tuna, local halibut, ocean trout, New Zealand hiramasa, and tuna tartare with nori and sesame. The fish was impeccable.

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Spotlight on Scallops

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Did you know that a scallop is the only bivalve that swims?

Indeed, its flesh is almost entirely one tender muscle, which is why it’s such a favorite to eat.

To find out more interesting info on scallops, including how to choose the best ones, pick up a copy of the March issue of Coastal Living magazine for my story all about scallops.

You’ll also find my recipe for “Curry-Citrus Cauliflower Soup with Seared Scallops and Crispy Shallots,” as well as another for “Scallop Skillet with Bacon, Edamame, Basil, and Creamy Grits” by contributor, David Bonom.

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