Author Archives: foodgal

Summer Sips, Part I

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The 2023 Dutcher Crossing Grenache Rosé made for the lazy days of summer.
The 2023 Dutcher Crossing Grenache Rosé made for the lazy days of summer.

2023 Dutcher Crossing Winemakers’ Cellar Grenache Rosé

Wisconsin-born and a teacher by profession, Debra Mathy shared a passion for wine with her father. So much so, that the two of them spent years looking at wineries around the world in hopes of one day buying one.

Sadly, just three months before she would buy Dutcher Crossing Winery in Geyserville in 2007, her father was diagnosed with melanoma cancer and passed away.

She pressed on, though, intent on fulfilling their dream. Indeed, she became the first single woman to own a winery in Sonoma. When she purchased Dutcher Crossing, it made five wines and consisted of 35 acres. Today, it produces more than 30 wines across 75 acres.

I had a chance to sample a bottle of the 2023 Dutcher Crossing Winemakers’ Grenache Rosé ($40) from the Dry Creek Valley. The pale salmon-hued wine is full of the lively flavors of strawberries and raspberries. Tangy and refreshing, it spent four months in neutral French oak barrels, giving it a tad more body.

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Jammy Crumble Crostata

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One dough is used for the top and the bottom of this tart that gets filled with your favorite jam.
One dough is used for the top and the bottom of this tart that gets filled with your favorite jam.

You know those times where you devour something indulgent, then promise yourself that you’ll work out twice as hard in the gym the next day to make up for it?

Well, you needn’t worry about that with “Jammy Crumble Crostata.”

That’s because your biceps and shoulders will feel the burn when you make this buttery, crunchy, tart-like creation that has a hidden filling of your favorite jam.

Yet have no fear. This dessert isn’t complicated or overly time-consuming to make. But it does require that you freeze your dough rock hard, then grate the whole shebang by hand, an endeavor that will make your arms feel the burn. It’s all for a good cause, though — to fashion a unique tart with a crisp cookie-like texture.

This winsome crostata is from “Beatrix Bakes Another Slice” (Hardie Grant), of which I received a review copy.

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New Safe Catch Trout Fillets

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Tender, lightly smoked Safe Catch trout fillets make a great addition to pasta.
Tender, lightly smoked Safe Catch trout fillets make a great addition to pasta.

The name Safe Catch says it all.

The Sausalito canned seafood company purports to be the only brand that tests every catch for mercury. Its newest product, Safe Catch Trout Fillets, is tested to a limit of 0.1ppm, more stringent than the recommendation by the Food and Drug Administration. The product has even been given the nod by the American Pregnancy Association.

I had a chance to try the new products, which come in two varieties: Skinless, Smoked Trout Fillets in Water; and Skinless, Smoked Trout Fillets in Sunflower Oil with Chili. The former contains only trout, water, and salt. The latter has only trout, sunflower oil, salt, and chili.

Two new varieties of trout.
Two new varieties of trout.

The rainbow trout fillets in both are boneless, mild tasting, tender, and flaky.

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Bet You Can’t Resist Chili Crisp Biscuits with Honey-Butter Glaze

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Meet your new favorite biscuit.
Meet your new favorite biscuit.

These babies are total butter bombs.

They also possess a kick of heat, not the kind that knocks you for a loop but rather tickles playfully,

Like Detroit pan pizza, the corner pieces with irresistible crispy edges and sides are worth fighting for first, too.

“Chili Crisp Biscuits with Honey-Butter Glaze” are all that and more, thanks to an entire stick of butter being melted and poured into the pan first, so that the dough bakes up in the pool of it.

With your favorite store-bought chili crisp added to both the dough and the honey-infused butter glaze that’s poured all over the top after baking, these biscuits have personality to spare.

This fabulous recipe is from “Chili Crisp” (Chronicle Books, 2023), of which I received a review copy.

Written by James Park, a Brooklyn-based recipe developer and food writer, it is a collection of more than 50 recipes, both sweet and savory, that star everyone’s new favorite Chinese condiment, glistening orange-red and loaded with warmth and crunchy bits.

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All Roads Lead to Routier

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A most satisfying duck leg confit at Routier.
A most satisfying duck leg confit at Routier.

Watching the Olympics these past few weeks sure made me long to be in Paris.

Fortunately, San Francisco’s Routier more than satisfied my yearning with its comforting French bistro-like fare with California aplomb.

Audaciously opened during the height of the pandemic with only food to-go, Routier has grown into a warm, cozy dining spot, the type every neighborhood would be so lucky to have.

That it not only launched but overcame such a tumultuous time is a testament to its owners: Chef John Paul Carmona, former chef de cuisine of the former Michelin powerhouse Manresa in Los Gatos; Pastry Chef Belinda Leong, who also owns B. Patisserie a few steps away and B. On The Go, the kitty-corner sandwich shop; and Michel Suas, co-owner of B. Patisserie and founder of the San Francisco Baking Institute.

The main floor dining room.
The main floor dining room.

On a Friday night, the corner restaurant with windows all around, was humming with diners galore in the dining room done up in shades of blue.

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