Mountain View Baker Using Freshly Milled Grain

Organic flour milled on site sets The Midwife and the Baker apart from most of its peers. But it’s the outrageously craveable breads and pastries that are earning fans.  This incipient, healthy trend is spreading among the nation’s top artisan bakers, resulting in delicious baked goods like killer croissants bursting with chocolate, crusty, tasty whole-grain breads and other addictive items produced by baker “Mac” McConnell and his crew. Read all about it on KQED’s Bay Area Bites.

 

Bountiful South Bay Bakeries

Divine breads, cakes, cookies pastries and more can be found at the terrific bakeries in the South Bay.

(To be published by South Bay Accent magazine.)

In our heart of hearts, scrumptious baked goods usually outrank self control, which has been good news for a slew of talented local bakers feeding our jones for all manner of treats, from naturally leavened breads, Paris-perfect pastries and gasp-inducing custom cakes to many enticing specialties. But let’s be clear: baked goods of all descriptions are in abundance in our region, reflecting our diverse population and tendency to celebrate with something sweet at the drop of a hat — or sombrero or turban or beret.

(Recipe) Irresistible Cookie Recipe for the New Year

These two-bite-sized butterscotch shortbreads dipped in bittersweet chocolate are unbelievably tasty and make a standout addition to a cookie platter.

I whipped up a cookie assortment for holiday gifts this year and this particular not-super-sweet was the runaway favorite.   Easy to make, this shortbread can be cut tiny or larger, as you please.  Go with tiny because it’s definitely rich.

High-End Carbs Are Enchanting Local Eaters

Breads and pastries are rising to new levels in Bay Area bakeries.

(Published by South Bay Accent magazine in October 2015.)

An airy cake crowned by thick swirls of silky, intensely chocolatey icing. Right-out-of-the-oven bread with a crunchy exterior that contrasts with a warm, soft crumb as delicate as baby skin. Since we eat with our senses, carbs have an absolutely unfair advantage. They entice us away from stringent diets and are so often the centerpiece of major events. Just inhale the voluptuous aromas inside a bakery and your body will instantly respond regardless of your intentions.

(Recipe) Classic Almond Tart, Updated

The almond tart from Chez Panisse is one of their original signature dishes, featuring caramelized nuts in a cookie crust.  It’s quite wonderful but I think it’s in need of some updates.

When the now-famous Chez Panisse restaurant opened in Berkeley in 1971, pastry chef Lindsey Shere had an almond tart on the menu that has, in various forms, been offered ever since and has appeared in countless articles and blogs.  The original version was quite simple but the recipe has become more complicated over the years (as seen in the updated versions in various CP cookbooks) and, I think, still needs some modifications.

Recipes from Former Cubicle Dwellers

Former office drones are finding their bliss in the cooking world.

(Recipes published with the preceding article in the San Jose Mercury News and its affiliates on March 1, 2012.)

Former corporate workers have created some delicious recipes in their new culinary careers including: Southern Cornbread Muffins, Golden Almond Cake and Polpettini (cheese-stuffed meatballs).

(Recipe) “Lite” Chocolate Turtle Cookies

Like a cross between a chocolate turtle and a salted caramel truffle, these cookies are intense but have very little butter.

These cookies were inspired by a tasty bittersweet chocolate/almond/sea salt bar along with chocolate turtles, but I like hazelnuts so I used those instead. Since they have hardly any butter, they’re less guilt producing than they could be.  At least, that’s what I tell myself! They’re deeply chocolatey because they’re made with bar chocolate rather than cocoa. With fudgy chocolate, crunchy hazelnuts and melted caramel pieces, they’re like the best chocolate turtle candy turned into a cookie, with salt flakes on top to increase the intense flavors. Consider making a double recipe because these cookies don’t last long. This recipe makes about 40-50 smallish cookies.

Recipe: Bittersweet Chocolate Tart with Raspberry Dust

This tart recipe is based on one made by renowned French chef Joël Robuchon. It’s simple to make, deeply bittersweet and quite rich.  The berry “dust” is an optional addition and gives the tart a modern edge — “dust” is popular in molecular gastronomy dishes and is made from dehydrated ingredients, pulverized. Garnishing dishes with “dust” is a simple way to zip up your cooking and surprise your guests.  The tart shell includes almonds, but skinned hazelnuts could be substituted.

Recipe: Fresh Fruit Tart with Tarragon

I love fruit tarts, but not the overly sweet, overly rich kind with “glazed” fruit — which is the kind you usually see in bakeries and recipes.  My tart, however, combines a light, herb-flavored pastry cream (containing no cream) and fresh berries tossed in a little fresh lemon juice and sugar. I’ve served this tart at several dinner parties and guests invariably wanted extra helpings, which is gratifying. 

Three Desserts are Better than One

(Note: This article was published in South Bay Accent in early 2006.)

If you consider your appetizer and entree just pre-dessert, your time has finally arrived, cupcake. The end-of-meal treat in the post-modernist era is evolving into a showstopper as some creative chefs in tony dining rooms put main-course-level oomph into their desserts. No wonder there’s a new focus on the meal’s finale after the long dreary years when carbs topped the evil list, making most of us desperate for a sweet bite. And some South Bay restaurants are encouraging this rebellion by offering the most irresistible among today’s new dessert trends – dessert samplers. A hands-down hit, these multi-element sweet tastings “introduce the wow factor to desserts,” in the words of one restaurant manager.

Recipe: Pear and Almond Tart

This is a very French tart recipe that is utterly delicious.  It’s a popular tart among Parisian women, who sometimes cheat and use canned pears and a prepared tart shell.  But you’ll get far better results from the recipe below. The poached pears are surrounded by a not-too-sweet almond paste in a buttery crust. In my preferred variation, the pears are poached in red wine and honey, giving the tart an added depth of flavor as well as color contrast.  Recipes for both versions are included below.

Recipe: Chocolate Brownie Cookies

These sophisticated, super-chocolatey cookies have a different texture and flavor from most chocolate cookies because they’re based on melted chocolate rather than cocoa.

Most chocolate cookies are variations on a similar theme: cocoa, flour, butter, etc.  These wonderful mouthfuls are different and more intense in bittersweet chocolate goodness. The original recipe is by Claudia Fleming, former pastry chef at Gramercy Tavern in New York.  These cookies have much less butter and no cocoa, relying on their unforgettable texture and big flavors from melted chocolate.  I think they’re more enjoyable than brownies, personally. My favorite way to make them is to add some chopped nuts but they’re great any way.

Recipe: Low-Fat Pumpkin Pie Cookies

These little cookies are great during the Thanksgiving season — or anytime. They freeze well, too.

These are wonderful, cakey and moist, despite not having any butter or shortening. The “secret ingredient” is white chocolate chips, which might seem odd with pumpkin but it just works.  I found  the recipe a few years ago in the newspaper. It was created by Amy Guittard,  from the local chocolate family. I’ve only slightly modified the recipe.  It could be made vegan by using vegetarian egg substitute.

Light Recipe: Rhubarb Ginger Sorbet with Swanton Strawberries, Aged Balsamic Vinegar and Greek Yogurt

Dieters, this delicious dessert is almost guilt free.

Sounds ho-hum? In fact, it’s wonderful: light in calories, big in flavor and as satisfying as it is  guilt free.  My friend Patti, a Midwestern girl, introduced me  to the rhubarb sorbet concept (rhubarb is a popular ingredient back there but not so much during my California upbringing). I’d never bought rhubarb before but now I’m a believer. The sorbet is intense and creamy, the latter being a natural property of cooked rhubarb.  Also helping is the fact that no water is used in the sorbet recipe (sorbets usually are made with sugar water).  The best choice for the  strawberries are the wondrous ones from Swanton, which are available at the Menlo Park farmers market, Whole Foods and elsewhere.  And the Fage brand Greek-style yogurt is to yogurt what Domaine de la Romanée Conti is to pinot noir. Another discovery I have Patti to thank for.

Recipe: Vegan German Chocolate Cookies

This is a reinvented (and improved) version of Whole Foods’ delicious cookies. The store’s version is on the left and my version is on the right. Enough said (if you love chocolate).

Any serious chocolate lover will adore these intensely chocolatey, addictive cookies – and can do so without too much guilt, happily. I reinvented these based on what might be the best item offered in Whole Foods’ bakeries – namely, their vegan German chocolate cookies. However, I reduced the fat (the Whole Foods version are little grease balls), cut back on the sweeteners and otherwise revamped the recipe (or rather, what I assume is the recipe because I’ve only seen the ingredient list on the package) to maximize what’s most delicious in this wonderful treat. Truthfully, these are less “German” due to the intensified chocolate-ness but that should be fine to most folks. My version is way easy to make, too.