What ever happened to dessert as spectacle? Too often, dessert is something that happens out of sight. It's made earlier in the day and tucked away; or it's bought from a bakery or dug out of the freezer, the frozen last resort of mango sorbet or some bite-sized thing from Trader Joe's. The flaming drama of crepes Suzette and bananas Foster, it seems, is long behind us.

But why not reclaim the last course's potential as a little bit of interactive performance? After all, your guests have already been fed. If you screw up, no one's going to have to call for pizza delivery on the way home, loudly bemoaning your hubris in the kitchen. No one thinks you can just make a cake, snap, like that, right under their noses while the dishes are being cleared and the coffee made. Thus, I've turned what is actually a fault--not getting it together on time to show up on the doorstep with a cake already baked--into a party trick, showing up with a bagful of ingredients secretly pre-measured and ready to mix and bake. Certain simple butter cakes, especially those topped with sliced fruit and an aromatic sprinkle of cinnamon sugar, like this ever-popular plum torte, are perfect for this, with the added benefit of making everyone's mouth water with their alluring scent of browning butter, sugar, spice, and fruit.

Madeleines, those dainty, shell-shaped little cakes, are even easier, and have the added benefit of being French and therefore, to American eyes, fancy. They also give those who have put their time in reading Proust a chance to show off, especially if they can quote the relevant passages in the original. You can please, or one-up, these people by serving a tisane de tilleul (linden-flower tea), since that is what Proust's narrator was drinking when his fragment of madeleine, soaked in the tea, brought forth its famously prolific gush of memory.)

Now, the thing about madeleines is, they're at their most delectable fresh out of the oven. Yes, the ones sold three at a time in little plastic bags at Starbucks or out of the vending machines in the Paris Metro are still pretty good; as spongy little cakes go, they're surprisingly resilient. But I still remember the grande geste of some very posh French restaurant in New York City where, post-dessert but pre-check, the waiter brought out a complementary bowl, swaddled in a huge napkin, that was unfolded to reveal freshly baked madeleines snuggled in the white linen like baby birds in a nest. Ooh la la, how I wanted to kiss that waiter and leave him a huge, huge tip!

So, to make this happen effortlessly after dinner, a few tricks. You can easily make the batter beforehand and stash it in the fridge. Because it depends on well-beaten eggs, not baking powder, for its puff, it won't lose any potency for being made ahead of time. The ingredients are pantry-simple--sugar, butter, flour, a little lemon or orange rind, a splash of vanilla and a pinch of salt--meaning no frantic last-minute trips will be needed to search out 85% chocolate or a bottle of Grand Marnier. The only thing you must have is a madeleine pan. Usually, I am all about the good-enough substitution; many are the pie crusts I've rolled out with a tequila bottle and the chickens baked in a cast-iron skillet rather than an All-Clad roasting pan. No matter what the nice lady at Crate & Barrel tells you, you do not need a plastic strawberry huller shaped like a strawberry. Nor do you need an egg slicer or a mango pitter.

But in this case, there is no way around it; you want to make a madeleine, you need the pan that makes them what they are: neatly cupped, oblong and indented like a elongated scallop shell. Personally, I prefer the plain metal French version, the kind you need to thoroughly butter and flour to prevent sticking. They are work perfectly and last pretty much forever, so long as you wash and dry them carefully afterward to prevent them any flecks of rust from showing up. (The easy way to do this? Soak the pan for a few minutes to loosen any baked-on bits, give a gentle scrub and rinse, then flip over and return to the turned-off but still-warm oven to dry upside down.) There are non-stick versions, and those creepy, flippity-floppity silicone ones, but in my experience, the extra buttering and flouring the metal ones require help give the subtlest whisper of a crust, just a tiny bite of nutty golden-browness to contrast with the sunny, spongy crumb.

As for flavoring, lemon is classic, orange delightful, some specks of vanilla bean perfectly wonderful. You could rub some lavender flowers into a canister of sugar and use the softly floral results. You can even make savory madeleines, crunchy with cornmeal and a hint of rosemary, particularly nice with soup as a first course. I've long adored this corn-muffiny recipe created by Molly O'Neill, which I tore out of a New York Times Magazine circa 1996 and have kept tattered, splashed on, and well-loved ever since. You can melt the butter and then keep going, gently cooking until it smells nutty and turns the color of honey. Strained to remove the solids, this beurre noisette, as our French friends call it, deepens the flavor with a aura of toasted hazelnut. Right now, my favorite accompaniment to a bowl of summer peaches and nectarines is a batch of Meyer lemon madeleines, made from with a backyard lemon picked right off the tree.

Recipe: Meyer Lemon Madeleines

Summary: These spongy, delicate little cakes taste best fresh out of the oven. If you need to make them ahead of time, reheat gently and dust with powdered sugar just before serving.

By Stephanie Rosenbaum

Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 8-12 minutes
Total time: 23-27 minutes
Yield: 12 to 40 madeleines, depending on the size of pan

Ingredients
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp finely grated Meyer lemon rind
2 eggs, at room temperature
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup flour, plus an additional 2 tbsp for pans
1/4 cup (2 oz/4 tbsp) unsalted butter, melted, plus an additional tbsp of softened butter for pans
powdered sugar, for dusting

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 375F. Depending on whether you have a sluggish or an eager oven, this can take up to 20 minutes. You really need your oven good and hot to get the batter to rise up in that characteristic madeleine hump, so turn the oven on as soon as you walk in the kitchen. Prepare the madeleine pans: Rub each scallop lightly but thoroughly with softened butter, making sure to grease all the ridges and crannies. Dust the greased pan with flour, shaking it to and fro to make sure each scallop is completely coated. Turn the pan upside down and tap sharply to remove any excess flour. Set aside.

2. Mix lemon rind and sugar together. Add eggs and salt. Using a wire whisk, a hand-held electric mixer, or a stand mixer, beat eggs and sugar together vigorously until mixture lightens and becomes creamy, pale, and thick. By hand, this will take 5-8 minutes; using a mixer, from 4-6 minutes. Don't skimp on this part, since the volume of air mixed in at this stage is crucial to making the cakes spongy and light.

3. Stir in vanilla extract. Gently fold in the flour, followed by the melted butter. Fold gently until just combined.

4. Spoon batter into each scallop, filling it 2/3 full. Bake for 8-12 minutes, until firm and just beginning to color around the edges. Remove from the oven. Let stand for 1 minute, then flip pan over and tap firmly. Most of the scallops should drop out; run a butter knife around the edges of any that remain to loosen.

5. Wrap in a napkin to keep warm. Sift powdered sugar over the madeleines just before serving.

This past spring I traveled with fellow KQED QUEST producer Gabriela Quirós to the Sacramento area to film at Sterling Caviar, one of two Californian companies currently producing this delicacy.

This company raises white sturgeon, one of two native species to California (the other is green sturgeon). They originally obtained their stock from the Sacramento River. Once they were able to create their own brood stock for the next generation, they no longer needed to harvest fish from the river.

Learn more about sustainable caviar production in the video, "Green Eggs By The Gram: Sustainable Caviar."

Related Story and Slideshow on QUEST:
Science on the SPOT: Green Eggs By The Gram – Sustainable Caviar

Looks like beer but it's wine. Photo credit: Karen Hester

The first time I heard the term "East Bay Wineries" I immediately thought of Livermore Valley home to dozens of wineries including Wente and Concannon. I wasn’t aware of the nearly twenty urban wineries that dot the industrial west side of Berkeley and Oakland. As it turns out, one of the best ways to explore the growing East Bay wine scene is by bike. So, one recent hot summer Saturday, I met up with some friends in the Temescal neighborhood of Oakland. We pumped up our tires, donned backpacks to carry our bounty of wine bottles and set off on a twenty mile ride through Oakland.

Steve Shaffer with Urban Legends mascot, Sunshine

Urban Legend
Our first stop: Urban Legend Cellars, one of three wineries in the Jack London Square area. Steve and Marilee Shaffer own and make the wine at this mom and pop cellar and it all happens in the company of their pit bull, Sunshine.

We bellied up to the tasting bar just as they were opening their doors. For five dollars you can run through at least a half dozen tastings and the fee is waived if you make a purchase. I loved these wines -- crisp, acidic, good food wines with not a lot of barrel overtones. Some of my favorites included: a 2010 Rosato di Barbera from Clarksburg ($18); a 2009 Rhone style blend of reds called Lolapalooza from Amador County ($26) and a 2009 Uptown from Mendocino County ($20/liter).

Now there are a couple of cool things about this last wine. First, it's sold by the liter in a refillable bottle and second, it's named after a neighborhood in Oakland. Each harvest, Steve and Marilee pick a local Oakland 'hood to feature. Next year visitors can expect a West Oakland Wine. "What will that taste like?" I asked. "The wine will likely be a spicy blend of Petite Syrah and Zinfandel, sort of capturing that Brown Sugar Kitchen food renaissance of the neighborhood," Marilee told me over the wail of a passing Amtrak train. A scientist by training, she explained her wine making philosophy and answered my friends' many questions which included "how do you spit properly" since we were all two-wheeled designated drivers that day. Needless to say, we could have stayed at Urban Legend all day but we had other city cellars to discover. We bought a couple bottles and headed off to the farmers market a few blocks away.

Irish Monkey Cellars. Photo: Karen Hester

Irish Monkey
After fueling up on ceviche and tamales from a food truck, we peddled off along the Oakland harbor between the estuary and I-880 freeway down towards the High Street Bridge. We were looking for Irish Monkey Cellars which is easy to miss as it’s located in an industrial park tucked back behind Embarcadero Cove. A banner hanging from a chain link fence gave us a clue we were near. We parked our bikes against the warehouse wall and went into the rather small, but elegant, darkened tasting room where we found the winemaker, Bob Lynch. He was quite chatty and shared the story behind the winery's name. Six years ago he and his wife Loreta coined the name "Irish Monkey." Bob's background is Irish and he wields a unique sense of humor. We started out with a 2008 Torrontes ($12), the grapes sourced from Lodi. That was followed up with a Contra Costa Viognier and then we moved on to their reds, many award winning. My favorite was a 2009 one hundred percent Napa Merlot ($24). I liked the diversity of varietals and local vineyards from which Irish Monkey sources. We were eager to get back into the sun so we thanked our host and headed out over the High Street Bridge to Alameda.

Riding along Alameda. Photo: Karen Hester

We peddled across Alameda over to Shoreline Drive where we hung a right and rode up past Crown Beach and the throng of sunbathers. If we were on an organized East Bay winery bike tour, this is where we would stop to eat our specially prepared picnic lunch. Owner Jon Zalon’s trips, and his wife's lunches, get rave reviews. But we were a motley crew, armed only with fruit bars and a curiosity for the upcoming wineries housed at the decommissioned naval air station at the tip of Alameda.

Looking for Rock Wall Wine Company. Photo: Karen Hester

Rock Wall Wine Company
It was hard to believe we were going to find a winery somewhere in this vast old military base full of old airplane hangars, barracks and officer's clubs. But we had been finding wineries all day tucked behind chain link fences and graffiti strewn walls. We eventually found the Rock Wall Wine Company which provides production space and a tasting bar for more than a half dozen wineries. This is a top of the line tasting bar with expansive views of the Bay Bridge and two city skylines. Rock Wall has a little outdoor patio where on nice days customers can sit at tables and enjoy drinking wine accompanied by small plates cuisine. For our tasting they started us off with a Rock Wall sparkling which was one of my favorites. I also enjoyed the 2009 Rock Wall Zinfandel Reserve from Sonoma. This spicy Zin, which goes for $30 a bottle, was a gold medal winner at the California State Fair this year. Unfortunately, none of my wines included tastings of the other wineries that use the space.

Tasting at Rock Wall Wine Company. Photo: Karen Hester

The celebratory mood of our Rock Wall visit was probably enhanced by the fact that it was getting later in the afternoon and we were swallowing most of our tastings now. We tried to squeeze in one more stop, Rosenblum Cellars, one of the largest wineries in the East Bay. But as we approached the winery, we heard "all aboard" coming from the ferry dock below. Rosenblum would have to wait for another time. On the five minute ferry ride back to Jack London Square we agreed to visit the winery one warm Sunday afternoon for their "Music on the Deck" series. I did come back, the next week, to check out Dasche Cellars on 6th Street in the Jack London Square neighborhood. If you like bone dry wines, this urban cellar is for you. I bought a bottle of excellent 2008 Todd Brothers Ranch Zinfandel ($32). If you are curious about East Bay wines and you want to experience as many as possible in just one trip, you're in luck. On Saturday, August 6, The East Bay Vintners Alliance is hosting the 6th Annual Urban Wine Experience. Over twenty cellars will be pouring their wines along with local food purveyors serving food. Come forth and taste urban wines! And for those that won't be spitting, BART is just a few blocks away.

6th Annual Urban Wine Experience
Saturday, August 6, 2011
2-5 p.m.
Jack London Pavilion
One Broadway
Oakland, CA 94607
Early Bird Rate (until 8/1): $40, After Aug 1: $60, $10 designated driver
Advance tickets: East Bay Vintners
Facebook: East Bay Vintners

The Cat in the Hat surprised the guests on the set of Check, Please! Bay Area at KQED

Check, Please! Bay Area Season 6: episode 4 airs Thursday July 28 at 7:30pm on KQED TV 9. View other airtimes and channels.

You can watch individual restaurant segments as well as view the entire episode online. The website also provides restaurant information not specified on the show, written reviews from the guests and restaurant recipes. If you have opinions on the restaurants featured please feel free to share your thoughts. This season, Leslie Sbrocco will be sharing wine tips with each episode.

The fourth episode of the season features these restaurants: Alhamra Indian & Pakistani Restaurant (San Francisco), Mandalay (San Francisco) and Café Gibraltar (Half Moon Bay).

Leslie Sbrocco: Wine Tips -- Navigating Wine Lists

A big crowd gathered last night at the Make-Out Room to celebrate Mission Street Food's forthcoming cookbook, "Mission Street Food: Recipes and Ideas From An Improbable Restaurant," published by McSweeney's new cookbook imprint.

Unfortunately, the cookbooks were tied up at customs and so no copies were to be had for the foodie groupies. But there was music, free beer, a short and funny presentation given by MSF duo Anthony Myint and Karen Leibowitz and Popeye's fried chicken -- lots of it. Apparently this chicken holds a soft spot in their hearts, especially Anthony's.

Anthony and Karen also took time out of their busy schedules to answer a few questions via email about their new project.

1) You've had quite a journey in the past 3 years, from street food vendor, to Mission Burger, Commonwealth, Mission Chinese Food and now you're launching a cookbook. What was your initial inspiration for the cookbook?

Our editor, Chris Ying, suggested we write about Mission Street Food, because he was starting McSweeney’s food imprint. We hadn’t been planning to write a book—as you mention, the last few years have been a bit of a whirlwind for us—but actually, the process of writing has helped us make sense of everything that’s happened. The story of MSF’s evolution takes about as much space in our book as the recipes, because we wanted to show how the food came out of our peculiar circumstances as an ever-changing pop-up restaurant.

2) There are loads of Chinese cookbooks out there. What will folks come away with from the Mission Chinese Street Food's book that's unique?

In this book, we really focused on recipes from the Mission Street Food era, rather than Mission Chinese Food. The book’s cover is modeled on a classic American-Chinese restaurant placemat, because we wanted to reflect the way that MSF was contained within Lung Shan, though our food was inspired by culinary traditions from around the world. The recipes in our book reflect that international approach to cooking, so you’ll find our version of Peking Duck juxtaposed with our version of a Nordic dessert, and we happily admit that neither is “authentic.”

3) How would you compare the collaborative cookbook writing process to your food ventures? Was it harder, easier, and/or gratifying in other ways?

Writing the book was probably a little bit easier than starting Mission Street Food, because the hours were more flexible. We worked very closely on the book, and literally passed the laptop back and forth between us as we talked. Working in a restaurant can be so ephemeral—if the food is good, then it disappears—so it’s nice to have something so solid that we can point to, and say “We made this!”

4) What's up next for Mission Chinese Food? Any plans to expand?

Hard to say. We’re definitely bursting the seams of our current arrangement, but our priority has always been to make food that’s really personal, so we don’t have any plans to expand right now.

5) The book party for your cookbook served up Popeye's fried chicken. What's the connection to Mission Street Food?

Well, there’s no connection between Popeye’s and Mission Street Food, but we do discuss how Popeye’s deserves culinary respect for their combination of deliciousness and low price—part of a general open-mindedness towards various foods.

I've been walking by for months trying to peek through the papered windows. Hoping and hoping that one day on my stroll, the doors would just magically swing wide open. Sometimes I'd actually force myself to go a few weeks without checking, convinced that the next time I did, a new bustling cafe would be livening up the sleepy morning stretch of Grand Avenue that I call home. You see, for all of the cafes and amenities we have, we don't have an independent morning spot with great espresso, coffee and interesting morning pastries. Until now.

Now let's get one thing straight: Charlie Hallowell, chef/owner of both Pizzaiolo and Boot and Shoe Service, doesn't do things half-way (and thus, I think, the wait for the perfect time to take that kraft paper down from the windows). From wonderful fresh salads and delightful wood-fired pizzas at Pizzaiolo to those fantastic salty olives and strong cocktails (and pizza, of course) at Boot and Shoe Service -- there are innumerable reasons to visit both. And since moving to Oakland I find myself frequenting one of the sturdy wooden tables at Pizzaiolo drinking a macchiato, nibbling on a cinnamoney donut hole and stealing internet from the tenants upstairs. The morning service there is lovely and the locals have caught on: it's packed.

And finally: the new cafe adjoining Boot and Shoe Service, formally DiBartolo Cafe, opened last week and looks pretty promising. In short time, I predict, it too will be packed. Like Pizzaiolo's morning service, there are a variety of simple pastries and morning cakes and lots of seating (they are keeping it wi-fi free for now) at counters along the whole periphery of the space. The inside is spare and clean with high ceilings, brick walls, and fantastic light. Hallowell has opted to serve Sightglass coffee, and the staff and other customers I chatted with seem thrilled with the decision for a few reasons. It's local, it's excellent, and it's not Blue Bottle (which, while fantastic, is ubiquitous these days).

You can find a short list of coffee drinks including lattes, cappuccinos, macchiatos and the like along with a special mocha made with a housemade chocolate consisting largely of dark Valrhona chocolate. If you're into drip coffee they brew one cup at a time, taking just as much time and care with a simple cup of coffee as they do a more involved espresso drink.

They also offer housemade granola in a bowl with fruit and milk/yogurt or in a big ball jar for $10 ($1 of which is a deposit for the jar). I haven't had a chance to try the granola yet, but the staff insists it's the best you'll ever have. It's on my to-do list this week.

What I have tried are their perfect cappuccinos, crumbly currants scones and buttery almond cake. The pastries are all done in-house by the pastry chef at Pizzaiolo, so if you're familiar with the carefully curated sweets there, you'll feel right at home. I've always been a big fan of their scones because they're not huge and hefty, but rather: light, simple, and seasonal. And the almond cake is the perfect morning compliment to a cup of strong coffee: not too sweet, buttery, with a nice sweet layer of almonds on top.

While they're not currently rolling out any special savory items midday, there are plans to do a variety of breads and spreads and more fixed-menu sandwiches in the future. So stay tuned. And another exciting aspect of the space to come: there are plans to open in the evenings for espresso beverages, plated desserts, and cocktails. The idea is that it can serve as a spillover for folks waiting for a table at Boot and Shoe Service but can also be a new spot to come and snag a cocktail or have an evening espresso before a stroll around the lake.

So they're off to a great start. And like all great starts, there's a definitive reason to go and check it out now, but there's also promise in what's to come down the line. A most welcome addition to the neighborhood.

Boot and Shoe Service
3308 Grand Avenue
Oakland, CA 94610
(510) 763-2668
Hours: 7 a.m.-3 p.m. everyday

Tartine Afterhours menu from The Perennial Plate dinner. Photo: The Perennial Plate

Daniel Klein, creator of The Perennial Plate, an online weekly documentary series dedicated to socially responsible and adventurous eating, shares some thoughts about his new Bay Area episode. Under the guidance of Chef Samin Nostrat they visited three local farms, gathered stories, harvested food and then created a Tartine Afterhours dinner at the Tartine Bakery in San Francisco. Watch the episode about the farm visits and event.

From your experience traveling across country what qualities are unique to the Bay Area with regard to food awareness and food community?

The first part of our trip was in the South where local food appears to be more along the lines of "the way things are" -- unless, of course, there is nothing -- food deserts are also often the case down south. But in the Bay Area it is a way of life in the sense that people are passionate about it -- where food comes from is important. And beyond that, California is where so much food is grown. In other parts of the country we say "oh that's from California" -- but here, well, it's all from California.

When you were putting this episode together what were the key points you wanted to communicate to your audience:

...about sustainable eating in the Bay Area?

I didn't really want to convey a message about sustainable eating, I wanted to share the story of our dinner at Tartine and the farmers that let us visit and harvest their crops. There isn't an intended message, more a hope that people will enjoy the spirit of the dinner and days proceeding.

...about the Bay Area farms you visited?

Riverdog Farm -- What an incredible farm. It seems they have held on to their ideals while expanding into a large and very professional operation. In my limited experience it seems to be a great example of what a slightly larger organic farm can be. Diverse and with incredibly pristine product. Really refreshing -- so many farms we visit are small, so it was cool to have the perspective of Riverdog (by industrial ag standards, its still tiny of course). We wanted to convey that it was larger, but also the spirit of its founder Tim Mueller.

Sunny Slope Orchard -- Bill is passionate about his stone fruit. He farms for the joy of it. But more than the farm, I wanted to share how delicious his fruit was. That plum and those apricots were like nothing I've ever had before. Truly eye opening/mouth opening? experiences.

Pluck and Feather Farm -- We were rushed at Pluck and Feather, the dinner was approaching and we needed herbs. Esperanza was there for us. We wanted to get something from an urban garden, and this place was perfect, especially with the giant McDonalds sign looming overhead.

...about the process of creating a pop-up dinner experience?

I wanted to convey that we didn't know the menu until the day of, that it was collaborative and just really fun. We chose some over the top music to drive home the culmination of two serious days of traveling, harvesting and cooking.

Preparing the Perennial Plate dinner in the Tartine Bakery kitchen. Photo: The Perennial Plate

How did you decide on the menu for the Tartine dinner?

We decided the day of based on what we had. Samin and I just shot ideas at each other and came up with simple but delicious food. Samin had made pasta a few days earlier, so we knew that was going to happen, other than that, it was just trying things out.

Cherry Tomatoes with Pluck and Feather Farm Oregano. Photo: The Perennial Plate

I know you worked together with Tartine Afterhours chef Samin Nosrat on this dinner. How did you connect with her to make this all happen?

We connected through our mutual friend Alex of 4SP Films, he suggested Samin as a story and then through a phone conversation we decided that doing a dinner together would be awesome. I could tell it would work as Samin is so lighthearted and fun.

What went into making this event a reality?

I had come out to SF for a meeting and I met with Samin. We hit it off, although I think she hits it off with everyone she meets. It was really just a matter of arranging a date. Samin in turn decided on which farms to visit. I think these were places that she really wanted to check out, so it was win win.

Trio of Daniel's Salads: New Potato, Roasted Beets and Shaved Summer Squash. Photo: The Perennial Plate

Were you able to make money from the event to help fund your project?

No, we look at the event as an opportunity to share our food and stories, not to make money. A lot of the work was on the staff, Samin and Tartine, so we were just happy to be a part of it.

I know you enjoyed a meal at Gather in Berkeley. What else did you and Mirra experience in the Bay Area that was memorable?

We went to Ubuntu in Napa which is similar to Gather in that it makes use of vegetables in unique ways. I don't know if Manresa is considered the Bay Area, but we ate there as well. All three of these restaurants represent a new wave of cooking that loves the vegetable as much as the protein, I think it's the future of cooking, so it was fun to try these three restaurants -- each has a very different take but I think a similar spirit in their dishes.

Sunny Slope Orchard's apricots al cartoccio. Photo: The Perennial Plate

It's summertime, and we might just be the one place in the country actually enjoying itself, rather than wilting under an onslaught of brain-melting heat and humidity. So get out of the house! Some of our favorite bloggers have already told you where to eat outside this summer. Still, maybe you'd like to find yourself some green, rather than spending it. Forget the food trucks for a minute; let's go hang out with the farmers!

Getting on the electronic mailing list for Marin Organic, promoters and advocates for sustainable agriculture in Marin, is a great way to keep on top of tours, talks, and special events happening just across the bridge. Coming up next month are a dairy tour of Straus Family Creamery, an orchard walk through the olive groves of McEvoy Ranch, and a discussion with bakers Chad Robertson (Tartine Bread), Celine Underwood (Brickmaiden Bakery), and David Muller (Outerlands) about their adventures in sourdough. You can also go to Sonoma Farm Trails to downloads maps and farm guides and plan your own tour of that area's rich agricultural offerings.

CUESA, the Center for Urban Education about Sustainable Agriculture, is best known for running the San Francisco Ferry Plaza Farmers' Market, but they also organize periodic tours of local farms and producers. On August 10, you can join CUESA for an Organic Greens & Blue Cheese Tour featuring County Line Harvest, growers of excellent lettuces, strawberries, and more, and the family-run Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Company.

Chez Panisse is planning a series of pricey fundraisers for the Edible Schoolyard in conjunction with its 40th birthday next month, but there is one free, family-friendly OPENeducation event happening on August 27 at the Berkeley Art Museum. (Tickets are free but must be reserved in advance.) The day is planned as a series of "interactive cooking installations" between museum-goers and a posse of farmers, educators, and artists, using corn, beans, and squash planted in the outdoor spaces of the museum.

And speaking of family fun, devoted Bay Area Bites readers may know Devil's Gulch Ranch as one of our favorite sources for locally produced rabbit, but they're more than just bunnies. They also host a ranch camp for kids, with three more weeklong sessions remaining.

Apples in August? For anyone born and bred on the East Coast, where apples mean autumn, the idea of this can seem a little bizarre. However, our California-grown heirloom apple, the Gravenstein, is a early ripener, ready for pie by mid-August. Celebrate its yellow-and-red striped delights at Sebastopol's down-home Gravenstein Apple Fair on August 13 and 14. You can even go up against this one-time grand champion in the Apple Pie Contest.

Most small producers have their hands full just getting their day-to-day chores done, especially when there are animals in the mix--which means your favorite cheesemaker or farmer is rarely available for drop-in visits. On August 7, Bay Area Green Tours is planning a daylong "Tomatoes, Peaches, Corn, and More" tour of Brentwood, with stops at Frog Hollow Farm, Dwelley Farm, and Smith Family Farm. (Don't forget your sunscreen and sun hat, as Brentwood bakes in the summertime. Good for the peaches and tomatoes, a little shocking to fog-dwelling San Franciscans.) On August 18, take a One Valley, Three Milks tour and get a behind-the-scenes peek of Bellwether Farms (sheep), Two Rock Valley Cheese (goat), and Valley Ford Cheese Company (cow).

You can also sign up (for free) as a member of Weirauch Farm, a small sheep dairy and creamery, and save the date for their next members-only tour on Aug. 13. The setting, in the rolling hills of Petaluma, is beautiful, and the sheep (pictured above) are as friendly and inquisitive as puppies. While owners Joel and Carleen Weirauch finish up their sheep-milking parlor (they're hoping to have it completed in time for next spring's milking season), they're making some delectable cows' milk cheeses, available after the tour for tasting and purchase.

But what if you want to stay closer to home, enjoying the flavor of local farms without getting mud on your shoes? Then head over to Potrero Hill's sweet, sunny Plow. Look for the metal pig hanging outside, or the many happy diners inside, all grooving on lemon-ricotta pancakes or (my favorite) dreamy French toast gobbed with mascarpone and topped with thick wedges of brown sugar-and-butter roasted Summer Zee peaches from Blossom Bluff Orchards.

The menu shifts daily, but a recent meal included breakfast and lunch offerings like a soft scramble with lambs quarter greens, mushrooms, and goat cheese; housemade yogurt and granola with fruit and Potrero Hill honey; cucumber-buttermilk gazpacho; green bean and Sungold tomato salad with purslane and fresh mozzarella; and a BLT stacked with Nueske bacon and glowing, gorgeous heirloom tomato slices. Farms, orchards, ranchers, bakers, and producers are thanked in four lines of small type at the bottom of the menu, name-checking all the purveyors we know from markets around the Bay Area: Mariquita Farms, Dirty Girl Produce, County Line Harvest, Hamada Farms, Frog Hollow, Straus Family Creamery, Marin Sun Farms, Acme Bread, and more. Happy summer!

After two months of relishing the transient taste of summer fruit, I've reached the midsummer doldrums. Suddenly I'm not as obsessively smitten with the cavalcade of fruit available this time of year. Of course I still enjoy eating a ripe peach or crisp cherries, but after spending most of May and June smelling and caressing each peach or apricot as I pick through the lot to find the perfect one, I'm a little over it. Nope. At this point I now simply toss four or five pieces of stone fruit into a bag, cart them home with everything else, place them in a bowl on the counter and hope that someone eats them in the next day or two so they don't molder and collect fruit flies. The more I think about it, the more I find that my relationship with summer fruit is sort of like a romance. You start off all hot and bothered by the unique amazing characteristics that make you fall in love, and end up taking the object of your devotion for granted later when life returns to normal. But that doesn't mean that my time romancing summer fruit is over, because baking brings out a whole new sense of wonder.

Each summer I try to find one or two new fruit recipes. Last year I couldn't seem to make my cherry almond tea cake enough, and I still find that recipe to be very appealing. This summer it's an apricot cream tart. Like so much in life, a series of mishaps led to the creation of this recipe. I was going to make a peach tart, but then the peaches I had bought turned out to be flavorless (more evidence of my waning devotion to picking the perfect summer fruit). So with only eight apricots on hand, I stared at my blind-baked tart crust and began to imagine new possibilities.

The idea of a cream tart sounded intriguing, and so with some advice to check out Julia Child's Tarte Normande aux Pommes recipe from Mastering the Art of French Cooking, I proceeded. As with most Julia Child recipes, the cream filling in the recipe had a lot of actual heavy whipping cream in it, an ingredient I didn't have on hand. Plus I am trying to reduce the use of whipping cream in my life (and arteries). So after doubling the recipe and altering some key ingredients, I laid my apricots on top of my crust with some sprinkled sugar and then poured in the filling. After about a half hour I opened the oven door to find one of the prettiest tarts I've made in ages. But would the taste live up to the presentation? As a matter of fact, it did. The cream filling was rich and dense while the apricots nestled within offered not only sweetness, but also a welcome hint of tartness to counterbalance the flavors.

My love affair with summer fruit is now revived.

APRICOT CREAM TART

An apricot tart with cream filling inspired by the Tarte Normande aux Pommes recipe from Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child, Louisette Bertholle and Simone Beck

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes
Total time: 40 minutes
Yield: One 10-inch tart

Ingredients:

1 pre-baked tart crust (recipe below)
8 medium to large apricots (you can also use peaches, apriums, pluots or nectarines)
2 large eggs
2/3 cup sugar for the cream filling plus 1/4 cup for the fruit
1/3 cup flour
1 cup whole milk
1 Tbsp brandy or 1 tsp vanilla extract
2 Tbsp apricot jam (optional)

Instructions:

1. Line the bottom of the pre-baked tart crust with apricot jam if using.

2. In a medium bowl, whip the eggs with 2/3 cup of sugar for about one minute. Add in the milk, flour and brandy (or vanilla extract) and then whip until fully incorporated.

3. Cut the fruit in half and remove the pits and mix with the remaining sugar. Lay the fruit on the tart crust in a circular pattern.

4. Gently pour the filling into the crust, being careful not to cover the fruit.

5. Bake for 20 - 25 minutes, or until the filling is just firm.

6. Remove tart from oven and let cool before serving.

CREAM CHEESE TART CRUST

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes
Total time: 35 minutes
Yield: One 10-inch tart crust

Ingredients :

1 stick cold unsalted butter (cut into small pieces)
3 Tbsp cold cream cheese
1 3/4 cups flour
1/2 Tsp salt
~5 Tbsp cold water

Instructions:

1. Mix butter and salt into flour with your fingers, a pastry cutter or in a food processor while pulsing until mostly incorporated.

2. Add in cream cheese the same way you added in the butter.

3. Slowly mix in the water (being sure that it's very cold) until the flour mixture starts to hold together and then stop.

4. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap or dump in a large ziplock bag (I prefer the latter) and refrigerate for at least a half hour (or up to one day).

5. Preheat oven to 350 degrees (or 325 in a convection oven) while you roll out your dough and then place in a 10-inch tart plate.

6. Poke some holes with a fork on the bottom of the tart crust, line the dough with foil or parchment paper and then lay some pie weights or dried beans on top.

7. Bake for 15 minutes and then remove the pie weights/beans and foil/parchment paper and bake for another 7-10 minutes or until just barely turning golden.

8. Remove crust from oven and let cool.

Check, Please! Bay Area Season 6: episode 3 airs Thursday July 21 at 7:30pm on KQED TV 9. View other airtimes and channels.

You can watch individual restaurant segments as well as view the entire episode online. The website also provides restaurant information not specified on the show, written reviews from the guests and restaurant recipes. If you have opinions on the restaurants featured please feel free to share your thoughts. This season, Leslie Sbrocco will be sharing wine tips with each episode.

The third episode of the season features these restaurants: Grand Oaks Restaurant and Sports Lounge (Oakland), Risibisi Italian Restaurant (Petaluma) and The Elite Cafe (San Francisco).

Leslie Sbrocco: Wine Tips -- About Stemware