A Corn Bread Star

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A star is born.

When you think of Spago, you think of glitz and glamour.

Of Hollywood stars, and post-Oscar galas.

Of smoked salmon-caviar pizza and decadent tasting menus.

But down-home corn bread?

Not so much.

Well, you should, when it’s this feathery light, tender, and compellingly good.

“Honey-Glazed Spago Corn Bread” is from “Desserts By the Yard” (Houghton Mifflin) by Sherry Yard, executive pastry chef for Wolfgang Puck Worldwide.

OK, corn bread is not technically a dessert. But can you blame Yard for including it in her book when it’s this much of a sure hit? Consider this the summer blockbuster of corn breads. It’s a star turn that you won’t be able to take your eyes — or teeth — off of.

Cornmeal, all-purpose flour, and cake flour combine with eggs, milk, buttermilk, sugar and butter to create a texture that’s moist, airy, yet pleasantly chewy.

After removing the baked corn bread from the oven, you poke holes all over it like you would with an old-fashioned lemon tea cake. Then, brush on a glaze of water, honey, and more butter. The glaze seeps into the cornbread, making it even more moist and rich. It also gives the corn bread a subtle gloss, as well as a lovely whisper of sweetness.

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Chocolate That Benefits Farmers in the Ecuadorian Amazon

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Chocolate that helps farmers in the Amazonian rainforests.

In the world of chocolate bars, Kallari Chocolate Bars are a definite do-gooder.

All profits from the sales of these premium chocolate bars (available at Whole Foods) is returned to the Kallari Association, a cooperative of more than 850 Quichua families in Napo Province in the Ecuadorian Amazon. The association touts itself as the only farmers cooperative in the world that harvests, markets, and receives all profits from its line of organic chocolates. With this revenue, the Quichua families are able to make a viable living without succumbing to the temptation to make quick money from logging their rainforests or from extracting petroleum from their lands.

The chocolate-making venture was established with expertise and start-up funds from Stephen McDonnell, founder and CEO of Applegate Farms in Bridgewater, NJ, which produces natural and organic deli meats and cheeses. Visitors can even tour the cacao farms in Ecuador now to watch the harvest and the fermentation process.

The smoothest melting chocolate imaginable.

The bars do good. But do they also taste good?

I’ll use my patented scale of 1 to 10 lip-smackers, with 1 being the “Bleh, save your money” far end of the spectrum; 5 being the “I’m not sure I’d buy it, but if it was just there, I might nibble some” middle-of-the-road response; and 10 being the “My gawd, I could die now and never be happier, because this is the best thing I’ve ever put in my mouth” supreme ranking.

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Preview III: Ad Hoc’s Caramelized Sea Scallops

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Scallops that are so extraordinarily flavorful, one bite will make you a believer in this recipe.

Simple. Elegant. Timeless.

That’s my mantra when it comes to fashion, architecture, art, and often, even cooking.

And that’s exactly what this dish is all about.

If you’ve been following FoodGal over the past couple of weeks, you know I’ve been cooking my way through the small promotional brochure I got in the mail for the upcoming “Ad Hoc at Home” (Artisan) by Thomas Keller. Unlike the other cookbooks by this esteemed chef, this one promises to be much more accessible to the home cook, being that it’s based on dishes cooked at his most casual of restaurants.

What a tease this is. The brochure only includes four recipes as a sneak preview of the actual book, which won’t be published until November. If early results are any indication, this book looks to be a classic that we’ll all be reaching for time and time again.

Ad Hoc’s “Caramelized Sea Scallops” is the third recipe I’ve made, and like the others, it’s a winner, too. (You can find links to the other Ad Hoc recipes at the end of this post.)

A quick brine is the secret to this dish.

Keller starts with enormous scallops — graded U7, meaning seven make up one pound.

At my local seafood store, I couldn’t find U7. So I settled for “U Be As Big As They Get” — about 11 to one pound.

Keller actually brines the scallops before cooking, too. I’ve brined my share of turkeys, chickens, and pig parts. But never scallops.

He explains that he does this to season them all the way through. And what an amazing technique this is.

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Sundays at the Village Pub

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Lobster salad is a decadent way to start a Sunday. (Photo courtesy of the Village Pub)

Brunch is now being served on Sundays at the Village Pub in Woodside.

What a way to wake up, too!

Nosh on lemon ricotta souffle pancakes with blueberry butter ($13); eggs Benedict ($15); house-smoked sturgeon with sturgeon caviar ($17); Maine lobster salad with sweet corn blini and succotash $19); and the most expensive item, grilled New York steak with red-wine poached egg, foie gras and black truffles ($31).

Eggs Benedict. (Photo courtesy of the Village Pub)

Proprietor Mark Sullivan, who is also the chef-partner of sister-restaurant, Spruce in San Francisco, has a lot to be proud of lately. First up, a second location of Spruce will open July 29 at the Dakota Mountain Lodge in Utah.

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Foodie Events

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Ahi tartare at Restaurant Michael Mina. (Photo courtesy of the Mina Group)

Restaurant Michael Mina in San Francisco is celebrating its fifth anniversary with a “birthday tasting menu.”

For $125 per person, guests can enjoy a meal of signature favorites. It starts with a trio of classics (lobster corndogs, ahi tuna tartare, and caviar parfait); then butter poached South African lobster tail; seared day boat scallops; Four Story Hills poularde (a young hen); Brandt Farm beef rib-eye; and finally, a delectable Trio of Dessert Classics (root beer float, strawberry mascarpone, white peach financier).

Paired wines are an additional $55.

The gourmet birthday meal is available through July 11.

Mina’s Clock Bar (across from his eponymous restaurant inside the Westin St. Francis) also celebrates its first year in business with five nights of guest bartenders who will be shaking up special cocktails, starting July 13.

Among the celeb bartenders who will be making appearances will be Scott Beattie (formerly of Cyrus in Healdsburg) on July 13, and Erik Adkins, of Heaven’s Dog in San Francisco, on July 16.

Clock Bar is open daily from 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. For reservations or group bookings, contact Matthew Meidinger at (415) 397-9222.

Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar (with Northern California locations in Palo Alto and Walnut Creek) is serving up an Alaskan King crab legs feast for $99 for two people.

Alaskan crab summer special. (Photo courtesy of Fleming's)

The three-course meal includes butter lettuce salad with citrus vinaigrette, warm Yukon Gold potato salad, summer squash, and two berry cobblers with vanilla ice cream. Each guest then gets a choice of either 1 1/2 pounds of crab legs with drawn butter or 3/4 pound of crab legs plus a filet mignon.

This special is being offered through Aug. 31. If you reserve online, you’ll receive a $25 Fleming’s card at the end of the meal, which is valid for the month of September.

Fans of San Francisco’s Ferry Plaza Farmers Market will be glad to know that it’s now also open on Thursdays, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

This new market day features not only local produce for sale, but sustainable street foods to enjoy for lunch. Among the purveyors are: smoked hot dogs and peanut butter bacon brownies from 4505 Meats; Korean barbecue tacos and kimchee fried rice from Namu; pizza made to order from Pizza Politana; and smoked fish sandwiches from Cap’n Mike’s Holy Smoke.

Over in the East Bay, Pican Restaurant in Oakland is now serving weekday lunch and Sunday brunch.

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