A Cookie For Coffee Lovers

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Everyday oatmeal and coffee make this cookie not so everyday.

Coffee and oatmeal. Is that not a perfect way to start the day or what?

Me thinks it’s even better if you add a little chocolate — OK, a lot of chocolate — and a big ol’ heap of buttery macadamia nuts.

Maybe these “Espresso Chocolate Chunk Oatmeal Cookies” aren’t exactly as nutritious as a bowl of steel-cut oatmeal with skim milk and raisins. But man, are these cookies loaded with chewy goodness.

For these cookies, I used a sample of a new product: Barry Callebaut Espresso Chocolate Chunks. No doubt you already know the Callebaut name as a maker of fine professional quality baking chocolate. Here, semisweet chocolate is mixed with vanilla and ground chocolate for rich, smooth tasting chunks that meld the complex bitterness of coffee with the more mellow, slightly sweet taste of chocolate. A 16-ounce bag sells for $8.95 on the King Arthur Flour site.

Espresso chocolate chunks.

In keeping with the theme, I adapted an oatmeal recipe from — where else? — the “King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion” (Countryman Press). I’ve had this book for five years, ever since it came out. What I love about this book is that it provides numerous variations of the same recipe. For instance, if you’re looking to make an oatmeal cookie as I was, you’ll find a chewy version, a crunchy version, a crisp variety, a soft one, and even others for a “Date-Stuffed Oatmeal Sandwich” and a “Flourless Oatmeal Drop.” Read more

A Sweet Time at Parcel 104

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The best flan you'll ever eat.

If you needed to borrow some sugar, Santa Clara’s Parcel 104 was the place to be last Friday night, where the sweet stuff was on display in full force.

The restaurant’s pastry chef, Carlos Sanchez, hosted a select group of guests — including yours truly — for a decadently sweet holiday dessert party. Sanchez, who is also trained in the savory side, is now doing double-duty as Parcel 104’s chef de cuisine, too. So, he threw in a couple of savory courses just to keep things especially interesting.

The party got started with a demitasse of golden beet soup. Eggnog-like in color and very rich, the soup is deceptive. The creaminess hits you immediately, and then the sweetness of the natural sugars of the yellow beets powers through.

A surprising soup with the flavor of beets.

Next, a signature salad from Sanchez — a crispy nugget of flattened, breaded moist chicken atop seasonal greens with thin slices of pear, orange and persimmon. A Ranch-style creamy dressing with the heat of habanero woke things up, and added a perfect counterpoint to the sweet, refreshing fruit.

A crispy nugget of chicken with creamy habanero dressing.

Slightly warm citrus risotto followed. It was like a creamsicle in your mouth. Unlike rice pudding, where the grains are cooked until they almost break down, this dessert risotto was done al dente, giving it a more interesting texture.

Tangerine risotto.

That was followed by one of Sanchez’s most popular desserts — coffee flan. Even the so-called flan haters at my table went nuts for this version. This was no wiggly-jiggly flan. It is extremely firm and dense, yet out-worldly smooth. Take a spoonful in your mouth, and it’s almost like foie gras terrine in texture with an unbelievably unctuous quality.

A glittery, gooey chocolate cake.

Lastly, caramel-filled chocolate cake that was all aglitter with gold dust and served with an ajillo pepper ice cream. The velvety ganache gave way to gooey, thick caramel and a crunchy chocolate-cookie crust. The pepper in the ice cream was subtle, giving it a floral quality and a mere tickle on the back of the throat.

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Bottega is Bellissimo

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Crispy soft-boiled egg with Pecorino pudding at Bottega.

Since opening last year, Executive Chef Michael Chiarello’s Bottega restaurant in Yountville has racked up accolades and crowds galore.

After being invited to dine there recently for the first time, I can understand why it’s won so many foodie fans so fast.

The large restaurant is done up in dark reds, browns and greens. Venetian plaster, Murano glass chandeliers, leather chairs and deep hued wood accents give it a most inviting warmth.

Wouldn't you love a set of these water tumblers? I know I sure would.

Little touches give the place even more distinctiveness from the hammered copper water tumblers to the parade of plateware that arrives throughout the dinner — from homey, floral china to rustic earthenware to modern square and rectangular dishes.

Prices range from $6 to $14 for appetizers, $15 or so for pasta, and $16 to $29 for entrees.

Chiarello came by to say hello, as he often does to patrons as he makes his way through the dining room, which is always bustling. The charming chef offered to let his kitchen just cook for us. And an array of dishes began to arrive.

From his early days as the opening chef of Tra Vigne in St. Helena to his years as the star of the “NapaStyle” cooking shows, Chiarello’s always been known for bold, brash flavors that excite and satisfy. Bottega is no different.

Smooth, silky duck liver pate.

Up first was a silky duck liver pate with soft, sweet sauteed apples and a hillock of parsley and frisee, a nice counterpoint to the fantastically fatty nature of the dish.

Bigeye tuna crudo.

Next, a special that night of bigeye tuna done crudo-style — sashimi-like with a topping of pine nuts and pear — and served dramatically on a slab of pink salt.

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New Restaurants, New Chefs, New Beard Papa and New Holiday Treats

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Sea scallops at the new Meritage in the Claremont Hotel. (Photo courtesy of John Benson)

The newly renovated Claremont Hotel, Club & Spa in the Berkeley hills has unveiled a swanky new restaurant, Meritage.

Guests can sidle up to a mahogany bar or take a seat in the main dining room with its wall of windows affording breathtaking views of the Bay.

Following on the heels of sister establishments, Meritage at the Boston Harbor Hotel and Le Meritage at the Maison Dupuy in New Orleans, the Berkeley locale features an extensive wine list to go with its seasonal, contemporary California cuisine.

Dishes include Castroville artichoke soup with crispy prosciutto and roasted tomatoes ($7/$12); Sonoma goat cheese-potato terrine($9/$17); seared sea scallops with celery root-Yukon Gold potato puree($15/$28); and Bay Area cioppino ($16/$29).

The nicely designed menu lets you order dishes in either small or large plate sizes. Dishes also are characterized by wine characteristics so that you can easily pair a dish to a particular varietal you’re fond of. For instance, the ahi tuna tartare with crispy rice, marinated cucumbers, sesame and ginger ($13/$25) is listed under “fruity reds.”

Creamy artichoke soup. (Photo courtesy of John Benson)

Beard Papa fans will rejoice that another branch of the popular Japanese cream puff bakery has opened — this one at 365 2nd Ave. in San Mateo.

It’s Beard Papa’s fifth Bay Area location. The bakery is famous for its cream puffs that have a unique crispy, pie crust-like exterior and traditional, airy choux pastry interior. The official grand opening complete with ribbon cutting ceremony will take place at noon Dec. 18. For more information, call (650) 342-PAPA.

Parcel 104 in Santa Clara has a not-so-new chef. Jonny Hall, former chef de cuisine of Parcel 104, has been named that restaurant’s executive chef, succeeding Robert Sapirman, who left earlier this year.

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Organic Lamb with Idaho and San Francisco Connections

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A perfect lamb stew for a cold winter night.

Lava Lake Lamb of Idaho, 100 percent grass-fed and certified organic, is luscious, juicy and flavorful meat to be sure.

But what really sets this lamb apart is that all profits from the sale of the meat benefit land and habitat conservation efforts across nearly 1 million acres in south-central Idaho. Those efforts include restoration of wetlands, and studies of rare plants and songbirds.

I recently had a chance to sample some of this fine lamb and to learn more about this unusual enterprise near Sun Valley, Idaho.

Philanthropists Brian and Kathleen Bean of San Francisco purchased 20,000 acres of land on the Pioneer Mountain range-land. Of that, 7,500 acres were made permanently protected in a conservation easement held by the Nature Conservancy, where Kathleen worked for seven years. Her husband is an investment banker.

One of goals of the Beans was to run a sustainable business that sold lamb. The meat is now served at a number of Idaho restaurants. It also can be purchased on the Lava Lake Lamb Web site.

The rosemary garlic lamb sausages I tried made a simple, harried weeknight dish of pasta and tomato sauce something extra special.

The sample of lamb stew meat, tender and mild tasting, went into a recipe from “Flavors of Tuscany” (Broadway) by Nancy Harmon Jenkins.

“Lamb with Black Olives” is an easy stew flavored with garlic, rosemary, a little tomato paste and some dry white wine. As the dish cooks, the lamb juices infuse the sauce, giving it a richer flavor. Like most stews, the taste is even better the next day after the flavors have really melded.

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