Now You See Them, Now You Don’t

Posted on by 11 comments

Ginger Babies play hide & seek in chewy molasses cookies. Recipe follows.

I call these my “Invisible Man” cookies.

OK, really they’re “Chewy Molasses Crinkles” from my newest fave baking book, “Martha Stewart’s Cookies” (Clarkson Potter). But you know how I can’t resist ginger? Well, I couldn’t resist tinkering with the recipe a smidge when I got a sample of the new “Ginger Babies,” made by the Ginger People and sold on the King Arthur Flour Web site for $10.95 for a 6.7-ounce jar ($7 on the Ginger People site). They’re crystallized ginger in the shape of tiny gingerbread men. How cute is that?

Since they’re packed tightly in a glass jar, some of them emerge less than whole. The ones with missing limbs? I just eat those strGinger Babiesaight out of the jar. Sorry, I can’t help myself.

The label says they go well with cheese, chocolate, muffins, creme brulee, and gingerbread. I, of course, had cookies on my mind.  But then again, when do I not have cookies on my mind? In particular, I thought one of these cute little guys would look just adorable in the center of a chewy, spicy cookie.

The resulting cookies made me chuckle when they emerged from the oven. They reminded me of that famous scene in the Arnold Schwarzenegger movie, “Predator,”  where before becoming Governor of California, Arnie outwits an extraterrestrial beast by coating himself with mud to blend in completely with his jungle surroundings. You can’t even see him until he opens his peepers to reveal the whites of his eyes.

My “Invisible Man” cookies are kinda like that. The little guy blends in pretty well with the molasses brown cookie after baking. But if you look closely, you’ll spot him — that little extra treat in a cookie that is soft, chewy, and filled with warm spices such as cinnamon and allspice. Eating one makes you feel as if you just got a great big hug.

Read more

Cupcake-itis

Posted on by 15 comments

Clockwise from back: Strawberry-filled vanilla, chocolate, peanut butter-filled chocolate, and marble cupcakes.

I blame this on Nate of the House of Annie blog.

After returning from my Los Angeles vacation, where I made the rounds of bakeries, I thought I was done with nibbling on cupcakes. At least for a little while.

But then Nate had to tell me that one of my favorite South Bay bakeries had started making cupcakes.

Darn him. Darn him.

So, of course, I had to try them.  Calories be damned.

Off I went to Sugar Butter Flour’s original location in Sunnyvale (there’s a second one in Campbell now, too). Last year when I was still writing for the San Jose Mercury News’ food section, I had picked Sugar Butter Flour’s pastry chef-partner, Irit Ishai, as one of the top pastry chefs in the South Bay. Consider her resume: Former pastry chef at Sent Sovi in Saratoga under then-Executive Chef David Kinch; former pastry chef of Kinch’s subsequent restaurant, Manresa in Los Gatos; and an apprentice at Fleur de Cocoa in Los Gatos, owned by Pastry Chef Pascal Janvier, whom I also singled out in that same story as a stellar pastry chef.

Sugar Butter Flour’s cupcakes are $3 each. I picked one of each available that day to cart home: a strawberry-filled vanilla cupcake, a marble cupcake topped with chocolate buttercream, a chocolate cupcake with a white squiggle a la Hostess, and a peanut butter-filled chocolate cupcake with peanut butter buttercream.

Read more


Whet Your Appetite with Burgers, Cheese, Sandwiches, Cocktails, and Wine

Posted on by One comment

Spruce's gourmet burger (Photo courtesy of Frankie Frankeny)

Sundays were made for burgers and red Burgundy.

Spruce in San Francisco sure thinks so. The glam restaurant is offering a “Burgers and Burgundy” menu every Sunday through November in the lounge or dining room.

Chow down on the classic burger snuggled inside a house-made English muffin with pickled onions, zucchini, and remoulade, while sipping one, two or three rotating selections of Burgundy. The burger is $14; the Burgundies are available at $12, $25, and $50. A flight of all three wines also is available for $40.

Big spenders can add foie gras to their burgers for an extra $13.

Cheese more your thing? Then, you’ll be glad that the postponed sixth annual “Cheese & Wine Dinner” at Parcel 104 in Santa Clara is back on for Nov. 8.

Parcel 104 Executive Chef Robert Sapirman will be joined by chefs Chris Schloss of Cin-Cin Wine Bar in Los Gatos, Mark Dommen of One Market in San Francisco, and Arthur Wall of The Restaurant at Wente Vineyards in Livermore. They will prepare a five-course dinner, each showcasing a different artisan cheese, and paired with an appropriate wine.

Local cheese authority and cookbook author Laura Werlin will be on hand to answer questions about cheese. The night’s appetizers will be made from recipes from her cheese books. The dinner is $145.

Togo\'s turkey-cranberry sandwich (Photo courtesy of Togo\'s)

For those watching their pennies, Togo’s has a deal for you. Wednesdays through Nov. 26, participating Togo’s shops will roll back the price of a different select sandwich every week to the original 1970 price of $1.99. For Northern Californians, you’re in luck, because every Togo’s in Northern California is participating in the promotion.

During “Flashback Wednesdays,” with every $1.99 sandwich purchase, Togo’s will make a donation to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. Togo’s, though, has not yet stated how large a donation that will be.

Read more

New Robert Mondavi Institute Opens at UC Davis

Posted on by 3 comments

Breaking ground for phase 2 of the institute. Phase 1 was completed earlier this month. (Photo courtesy of UC Davis)

The $93.5 million Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science has opened its doors at the University of California at Davis.

The late-great Robert Mondavi, who passed away in May at the age of 94, would no doubt be pleased at the sight of the completed first phase of the 129,000-square-foot, three-building complex, which houses the departments of viticulture and enology, and food science and technology, as well as administrative offices.

Read more

Penzeys Spices to Open Its First Northern California Store

Posted on by 6 comments

Lucky Menlo Park will be the home of it, too.

Penzeys, whom foodies love for its vast array of spices, started as a store in Milwaukee, Wisc. in 1957. Over the years, it has become a mail-order phenomenon, selling everything from adobo seasoning to zatar. It now boasts 39 retail stores across the country, too.

Fliers are already being mailed to Peninsula residents about the new 771 Santa Cruz Ave. store that will open “soon.”

Read more

« Older Entries Recent Entries »