Much Ado About Madeleines

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A holiday box of buttery, chic madeleines.

If you’re too swamped to bake this holiday season, the next best thing to homemade might just be Donsuemor Madeleines.

Namesakes Don and Sue Morris have been making traditional madeleines in the East Bay since 1976. Their elegant, scalloped-edged, cakey, buttery cookies are crispy along the edges, and soft and tender in the centers.

They are available in five flavors: traditional, dipped, lemon zest, chocolate, and dipped chocolate. Being the chocoholic that I am, my fave is definitely the chocolate-dipped chocolate madeleine. It’s like having your own tiny chocolate frosted cake in the palm of your hand — a sinful little treat to hoard all to yourself.

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Viva La Gourmet Foods

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Foodies who used to line up for hours when the fab Made in France/Village Imports would occasionally open its gourmet warehouse to the public, will rejoice at the news:

The former owners have opened a retail store, the Gourmet Corner, 873 N. San Mateo Drive in San Mateo (three blocks south of the Burlingame train station), which is open daily, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.

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Introducing the Food Gal Hat for Fashionistas with Stupendous Taste

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Is this too cute or what?

Just in time for your holiday gift-giving comes the new rockin’ Food Gal military cap with signature embroidered logo. It’s the perfect accessory for all your food-loving pals, as well as for yourself. Natch!

Choose mocha, olive or black.

Don’t forget, there’s also a wide range of other Food Gal items, including aprons, tote bags, and girly T’s.

Guys aren’t left out, either. Find manly Meat Boy aprons and T’s, named for my carnivore husband.

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Exceptional Chocolates in Berkeley

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Bright, bold, and beautiful chocolates from Chocolatier Blue.

Artisan chocolatier Christopher Blue has elevated the art of chocolate making to a whole new level at Chocolatier Blue in central Berkeley, which opened earlier this summer.

Blue, who has worked with the likes of Chef Charlie Trotter of Chicago, is the only chocolatier in the United States to use Amedei chocolate from Tuscany that’s made from 100 percent Venezuelan sun-dried cacao beans. He also uses Five Star organic butter, which has the highest fat content of any butter in the world.

His chocolates are organic. What’s more, the fillings are made using such techniques as grilling, roasting, and sous vide. The packaging is all biodegradable, and much of it made from recyclable materials.

Christopher Blue (Photo courtesy of Jessica Steeve)

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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