Join me, 6 p.m. June 25 at Macy’s Valley Fair in Santa Clara, when I’ll be hosting a cooking demo with Chef Robert Sapirman of Citrus restaurant.
Sapirman, head chef of the restaurant at the Hotel Valencia in San Jose’s Santana Row across the street, will be dropping by to cook up a storm with local, sustainable ingredients. You may remember the long-time South Bay chef from his years at Parcel 104 in Santa Clara, too.
Cherries and oats galore in these hearty muffins by Pastry Chef Joanne Chang.
These muffins are loaded. With oats, cherries and a whole lot of goodness.
They fill the pan with an avalanche of batter, rising up with bountiful domes.
Joanne Chang, the Harvard grad-turned-baker extraordinare with four Flour bakeries and the Myers + Chang diner, all in Massachusetts, has done it again. If you loved her first cookbook, “Flour” (Chronicle Books), you’re sure to treasure its follow-up, “Flour, Too” “Flour, Too” (Chronicle Books). The second cookbook, of which I received a review copy, includes 100 recipes, not just for sweets, but savories, as well, including apple-wood smoked BLT, “Mama Chang’s Hot and Sour Soup,” and mushroom and leek lasagna.
Of course, having the sweet tooth that I do, I couldn’t resist zeroing in on the pastries first.
“Brown Sugar-Oat Cherry Muffin” is like a nourishing bowl of morning oatmeal — only in muffin form. Which means it’s just a little naughty, as a result.
Huckleberry sorbetto at Campo 185.
Months ago on a lark, just because I happened to be wandering through downtown Palo Alto on a chilly afternoon, I stopped into Campo Pizzeria to grab something warm for lunch.
At the time, the name of the restaurant included the word “pizzeria.” Back then, the kitchen was also headed up by Chef Sean O’Brien, formerly of Myth, Gary Danko and Zinnia, all in San Francisco. I remember the pizzetta dough as quite crisp and the cup of minestrone truly impressive in the way it maintained the integrity of each and every vegetable.
Fast forward to earlier this month, when I was invited in as a guest of the restaurant. Now christened Campo 185, in reference to its address on University Avenue, the “pizzeria” moniker had been jettisoned, though pizzas are still on the menu. What’s more, a new chef now runs the place — Robert Holt, former executive chef of Marzano in Oakland.
(Photo courtesy of La Boulange)
All through June, La Boulange bakeries throughout the Bay Area will salute PRIDE month with a limited edition box of rainbow-hued macarons.
What’s more, La Boulange will donate $1 from each box sold to the Richmond/Ermet AIDS Foundation, which raises funds for AIDS service organizations through the production of entertainment programs.
The limited edition box of seven macarons is $12.50.
And you thought a library card was only good for checking out books?
Not the Santa Clara City library card.
Now, show that library card at participating local businesses to reap discounts such as 10 percent off at Athena Grill, $10 off a tab of at least $50 at Justin’s Restaurant, 10 percent off at Fuji Florist, free coffee with purchase at Stan’s Donut Shop, 10 percent off Mission City Creamery and many more. For a full list, click here.
StarChefs will salute its 2013 “Rising Star” award winners 6:30 p.m. June 13 at AT&T Park in San Francisco.
An easy, delightful way to dress up grilled corn.
Want to dress up corn on the cob in a whole new way?
Look no further than “Corn with Hosin-Orange Butter” from the new “The Grilling Book: The Definitive Guide from Bon Appetit” (Andrews McMeel), of which I recently received a review copy.
It’s easy as can be — just a matter of grilling whole, shucked ears, then smearing them with a creamy mixture of softened butter, hoisin sauce, Chinese chili-garlic sauce and grated orange zest.
Grab a cob with your fingers and take a bite. You’ll be greeted with a delicious smokiness plus the sweet-savoriness of hoisin sauce that compliments the natural sugars of the corn so well. The orange zest is really what makes it, though, adding a bright, perky complexity. You know the orange butter you like to smear on cornbread? Imagine that flavor with Asian hoisin sauce thrown in. Irresistible, right?