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What were my most favorite bites of 2013, the ones I still remember to this day and can’t wait to enjoy all over again?
Take a look. Here are my Top 10 dishes of the year, in no particular order:
Bet you can’t eat just one.
What’s a party without meatballs?
Kind of like watching a movie without popcorn. Or celebrating a birthday without cake. Or ending a day of skiing without a cup of hot cocoa.
Just not the same, right?
“Pistachio and Pomegranate Meatballs” have party written all over them.
The recipe is from “The Washington Post Cookbook” (Time Capsule Press) edited by Bonnie S. Benwick. The book, of which I received a review copy, is a compilation of favorite recipes published over the past 50 years in the pages of the award-winning newspaper’s food section.
These highly seasoned meatballs taste exactly like falafel — except they’re made with meat and you don’t have to fry them.
Relax with Spiced Wine — hot, cold or room temperature. (Photo by Carolyn Jung)
If all that cooking, entertaining and shopping over the holidays has run you ragged, it’s time you gave yourself a little present, don’t you think?
Here are a few definitely worth considering.
There’s little that’s more relaxing than kicking off your shoes with a glass of red wine after a long, hard day.
Imagine one crafted from Zinfandel, Syrah, Petit Syrah, Granache and a bit of Sauvignon Blanc brandy, and imbued with heady spices to snuggle up with.
That’s what you’ll discover in Spiced Wine by Spicy Vines, which Bay Area founders Crystalyn Hoffman and Anders Pederson modeled after mulled wine or glogg.
Surprisingly, the sample I tried was not the over-powering, ultra-alcoholic, hit-you-in-the-face sweet mulled wine I’m accustomed to. Instead, it’s quite balanced and enjoyable.
At room temperature, the orange, clove and cinnamon are quite evident on the nose. It’s a festive-tasting drink with good structure and flavors of warm baking spices and deep, dark fruit.
When warmed — which you can do easily in the microwave — the citrus become more muted and the tannins more present.
“Gotta Do Chocolate” NadaMoo! dairy-free ice cream.
How cute is the name, NadaMoo!?
As you can tell, there is no cow’s milk in this ice cream.
Instead, it’s made with organic coconut milk.
That makes this ideal for friends and family members who can’t tolerate dairy. It’s also gluten-free and sweetened with agave nectar. If you need an easy, last-minute dessert for the holidays, just serve scoops in a festive martini glass.
A 1/2 cup serving has 130 calories and 7 g of total fat, both far less than regular premium ice cream.
But does it satisfy as much as the premium stuff?
A luxurious potato gratin made with an award-winning cheese.
To know California cheese is to know Cowgirl Creamery.
Pioneer cheesemakers, Sue Conley and Peggy Smith, started Cowgirl Creamery in the early 1990s in a dilapidated barn in Point Reyes.
Conley, an alum of Chez Panisse in Berkeley, and Smith, who helped found the iconic Bette’s Diner in Berkeley, got the notion to make cheese after working on their days off at Straus Family Dairy, where they fell in love with the lush organic milk and its distinct nuances from season to season.
Wanting to help local dairy farms that were going broke, the two set about to create a way to showcase that wonderful milk in value-added products.
Today, Cowgirl Creamery crafts some of the state’s most extraordinary cheeses. It boasts a cheese shop and restaurant, Sidekick Cafe & Milk Bar, both in the San Francisco Ferry Plaza. It sells at five farmers markets in the Bay Area. And its original creamery and cheese shop, Tomales Bay Foods at Point Reyes Station, still remains a must-stop for any visitor to West Marin County.
Now comes their first cookbook, “Cowgirl Creamery Cooks” (Chronicle Books), of which I received a review copy.
There are recipes galore for everything from their beloved grilled cheese sandwich to making your own fromage blanc at home. Moreover, the book is imbued with delightful stories about how their business came to be. Additionally, there are tips on creating a balanced cheese course, how to properly store cheese at home, and answers to whether you are supposed to eat the rind on cheeses (the French don’t for the most part, but Conley and Smith do).
With holiday entertaining on the minds of all of us, I couldn’t resist trying the recipe for Red Hawk Potato Gratin.