Poster designed by Megan of Say It’s Not Soy

Get ready to have your preconceptions about vegan desserts knocked down in a very delicious way. This ain't your elementary school's bakesale.

The SF Vegan Bakesale, sponsored by Vegansaurus.com and VegNews Magazine, is a tradition that started in 2009 and is organized by Laura Beck and Karin Olsson. Every few months the vegans of the Bay Area band together, hold a sale and donate all the proceeds to various charities, mostly animal welfare organizations.

The next one takes place this Saturday, January 15, 11am-3pm, in front of SpeeSees at 1415 Valencia Street with over 30 home bakers participating, as well as several professional ones, including Cinnaholic, A Fire Inside, Scarlette Poppy, Por Vida, Sugar Beat Sweets, and Fat Bottom Bakery. Proceeds from this sale are going to MickaCoo Bird Rescue and Muttville Senior Dog Rescue. SpeeSees is also offering a 10% discount on their organic kids clothing to all bakesale customers. Follow updates on the bakesale on twitter @SFVeganBakeSale.

But none of all this good-doing would be possible without those two lovely vegan ladies who work their butts off each time for an event that is truly about nothing but helping animals.

Laura Beck pretty much has her hands in every vegan event or animal-rights-related initiative in the Bay Area and is a founding editor of SF-based vegan lifestyle guide Vegansaurus.com. She has worked for several animal rescue, welfare, and rights organizations and is the community manager for vegan recipe site VegWeb.com. She is also a columnist for VegNews Magazine and has contributed to SFist, Huffington Post, The Bold Italic, Crazy Sexy Life, SF Weekly, San Francisco Magazine, and Eater SF, among others.

Karin Olsson has volunteered with various animal groups. She was one of the organizers for California’s Prop 2 campaign, which passed in a landslide victory in 2008 and outlawed the cruel confinement of egg-laying hens, veal calves, and pregnant pigs. For her day job, Karin works with schools and restaurants to adopt corporate policies that improve animal welfare (such as ending their use of eggs from caged hens and adding more meatless menu options).

Laura Beck and Karin Olsson. Photos by Mark Shrayber of Legally Blind Photography and Walker Phillips

Here, Laura and Karin tell us a little about how the SF Vegan Bakesale started, their thoughts on a vegan lifestyle, and what animals share their homes with them.

How were the SF Vegan Bakesales started and what do you hope they'll accomplish?

Laura: We were inspired by the Worldwide Vegan Bakesale and grew from there into a more regular event in San Francisco. We want to spread the joy and awesomeness of vegan baked goods and show the world that veganism is fun and tasty and should always involve cake.

Karin: After the Worldwide Vegan Bakesale, Laura and I got to talking about doing a sale to benefit a local cat rescue that was in desperate need of funds. Thanks to a bunch of wonderful volunteers who donated their time and baked goods, we were able to raise nearly $3,000 for the cat rescue in just a few short hours. We realized what a great tool this was to raise funds for local charities and decided to make it a regular thing. The bakesales are such fun events that bring so many people together for a good cause. Plus they’re an excellent excuse to stuff your face with cupcakes and brownies!

How do you choose the beneficiaries of each bakesale?

Laura: We choose local organizations that the money can hopefully really impact. We've done everything from bunny rescue to programs that help kids from low-income families get bicycles. If you know of any organizations that could use our help, please let us know! We're always taking ideas.

Bunnies up for adoption at previous Vegan Bakesale

What is the most delicious pastry you’ve had at a bakesale?

Laura: Uhhh... that's REALLY hard. Davey from A Fire Inside makes these tremendous cinnamon rolls called "Weekend Ruiners" that are mind-blowing. Cinnaholic also makes amaaaaaazing cinnamon rolls with a variety of crazy delicious toppings. Fat Bottom Bakery makes killer baklava. And Sugar Beat Sweets has the greatest brownies on earth. And that's just the beginning. We've had such luck with tasty treats, from Bike Basket Pie's delicious hand-held pies to homemade sea salt caramels. Seriously, it's out of control.

Karin: Oh man, there have been so many… Some highlights for me have included strawberry shortcake, chocolate croissants, and white chocolate chip macadamia nut cookies. Oooh, and of course Pepples Donuts’ glazed raised donuts, Idle Hands Baking Company’s cookies n’ cream cupcakes, In the Mood for Food’s bialys with cashew cream cheese, and Fat Bottom Bakery’s savory hand pies are all out of this world. And ditto on Sugar Beat Sweets’ brownies! I’m getting hungry just thinking about this!

Pastries at a previous bakesale

When did you decide to be vegan and what led you to that decision?

Laura: I became vegan after reading Diet for a New America by John Robbins. I'd been vegetarian previously because I didn't want to eat animals. Why should I hug my dog and eat a pig? A pig is smarter than my dog! But my reasoning didn't go much beyond that. Reading Diet for a New America really drove home all that's wrong with the way we raise and slaughter "food animals." I mean, it's beyond screwed-up from any perspective. I figured the best way to fight back was with my wallet since all animal-product-producing companies care about is money.

Karin: I’ve always loved animals, and even as a young kid I couldn’t bear the thought of eating them. My folks were very supportive of my vegetarianism, and my mom used to make her own tofu burgers (which was pretty unheard of in the 80s). Once I began to learn more about factory farming and the abuses that occur not only in the meat industry but also in the egg and dairy industries, I went vegan.

What do you feel is the biggest misconception about a vegan lifestyle?

Laura: That we don't eat and enjoy delicious food. The opposite is true; the people I know who love food the most are vegans. Honestly, Karin and I are two of the most food-motivated people you will ever meet. Over the holiday break, we both went on eating tours of other cities. Karin even had all of her meals planned out on an Excel spreadsheet!

Karin: It’s true—I did plan an epic eating tour in Excel. I have to second what Laura said—vegans do eat amazing flavorful food, and yes, we do get enough protein.

If a friend were visiting the Bay Area for just one day, where would you take him/her out to eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner?

Laura: Breakfast: brunch at Souley Vegan in Oakland (biscuits and gravy!). Lunch would probably be falafel at Old Jerusalem or a vegan cheesesteak at Jay's Cheesesteak. Dinner would either be Saha or Millennium. Only one day? That's hard!

Karin: For breakfast I’d have to go with the soyrizo breakfast burritos or vegan french toast from Sun Rise Restaurant in the Mission. Then I’d do a quick trip over to the East Bay for cinnamon rolls from Cinnaholic and a vegan milkshake at Saturn Café, followed by lunch at Cha-Ya [Vegetarian Japanese Restaurant]. I’d definitely pick Millennium for dinner, and if we needed a late night snack, I’d take them to get vegan pizza at Beretta!

What is your favorite vegan dish in the Bay Area?

Karin: I always crave Ike’s sandwiches. There are so many amazing vegan options to choose from, but my standby is the Meatless Mike. Ike’s is now at Lime, so you can grab a drink (or three) to go with your sandwich! [Rumor has it that Ike’s in SF is moving again to a new permanent location of their own soon.]

Laura: The Toasty Crispy at Souley Vegan!

What is the one ingredient you couldn’t live without?

Laura: I'm gonna be totally lame and healthy and say kale. But also, chocolate chips for baking. And Gardein Buffalo wings. Uh, I could go on.

Karin: Earth Balance Natural Buttery Spread. It bakes up just like butter! And soy yogurt—it’s delicious on its own but also works as a super easy egg replacer in cakes and muffins.

Do you have any companion animals? What are their names/hopes and dreams?

Karin: I have a wonderful rescued cat named Sweetie Pancakes whose favorite pastime is to sit in the bathtub and drink water out of the faucet.

Laura: I have an adorable pit bull from Rocket Dog Rescue. Her name is Hazel and I think one day she'd like to be a professional eater. We have that in common.

So, grab a wad of cash and hit the SF Vegan Bakesale this Saturday for scrumptious treats, and adorable dogs and pigeons. I mean, frankly, if charity isn't a good enough reason to gorge yourself on pastries, then I don't know what is.

To pump you up for the sale, we’ve included a recipe from bakesale volunteer baker Robin Means of ieatcupcakes.com for vegan cupcakes that will be making an appearance at the sale. Based on vegan cream-filled chocolate-glazed donuts that are offered at two favorite vegan-friendly donut shops (Ronald’s Donuts in Las Vegas and Voodoo Doughnut in Portland), these sweet treats are her take on the donuts in cupcake form. It is a reimagining of a recipe for Boston Cream Pie Cupcakes featured in Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World. We figured you’d want this, in case you go to the sale, taste them, realize you can’t live without them, and decide to make a batch everyday for the rest of your life.

Enjoy!

Voodoo Ronald's Donut Cupcakes

Makes: 22 cupcakes with icing

Ingredients:

Cake:
3 c unbleached white flour
½ T baking soda
½ T baking powder
2 T cornstarch
½ t salt
1 ½ c sugar
2/3 c sunflower oil
1 ½ c soymilk
½ c water
1 T vanilla extract
1 T apple cider vinegar

Filling:
1 c soymilk
1 t agar powder
3 T arrowroot powder
1 package silken tofu
2/3 c powdered sugar
1 T vanilla extract

Icing:
1 12 oz bag of chocolate chips
½ c soymilk
3 T agave nectar

Cake Preparation:

1. Preheat the oven to 350º. Line muffin pans with paper liners or set up silicone wrappers on baking sheets.
2. Combine vinegar and soymilk and let sit. In another bowl, sift the flour, soda, powder, cornstarch, and salt.
3. Mix oil, sugar, water, vanilla, and the soymilk mixture and beat for 2 minutes. Add dry ingredients slowly and mix until smooth.
4. Fill the baking cups about 2/3 full.
5. Bake for approximately 18 minutes. When you insert a toothpick into the center of one, it should come out clean. Cool for 2 minutes in pan, then remove and put on a cooling rack.

Filling Preparation:
1. Boil half the soymilk and the agar. Once boiling, reduce heat and simmer for 3 minutes or until the agar dissolves.
2. Whisk half the soymilk and the arrowroot. Add mixture to pot and whisk for 3 minutes over heat. Remove from heat.
3. Blend tofu, sugar, and cooked mixture until creamy. Add vanilla extract and blend more. Transfer to Tupperware with lid and chill for 2-3 hours.

Icing Preparation:
1. Boil the soymilk and then remove from heat and add remaining ingredients. Mix until smooth.
2. Dip the top of each filled cupcake into the ganache and set on a cooling rack to harden.

Shaker Lemon Pie from A Sweet Spoonful

You've probably heard. The New York Times and NPR are both saying pie is the new "it" dessert. In her piece for the New York Times, Julia Moskin writes "Pie had been lurking below the radar in recent years: taking cover during the ice cream trend, perhaps waiting to see which way the macaron tide would turn." Perhaps you disagree. Perhaps you have another vote. Or maybe you're tired of food trend predictions altogether. Maybe, you simply like to poke fun at them as Cheryl Sternman Rule has done in her witty post, The Most Superlative Food Trends List Anywhere.

Trends aside, you've got to admit you've been seeing some major pie love lately. For her piece "Cupcakes are Dead, Long Live the Pie," Bonnie Wolf writes, "Texas and New York restaurants offer pie happy hours. Pies are showing up at weddings, and pie shops are opening in a neighborhood near you. Pies come in sweet and savory, maxi and mini, deep dish and deep-fried." Reading and musing on pie this past week got me thinking about my two very favorite spots to grab a slice. One is here in San Francisco. The other? Brooklyn, New York. Judging by what these neighborhood shops are baking each day, I'm thinking pie is here to stay.

Mission Pie: San Francisco, CA

If I lived in the Mission, I'd eat a lot of pie thanks to Mission Pie. They have a seasonally rotating menu of pies and source their fruit and produce from local and organic farmers. If you are even a distant fan of banana cream pie and haven't had a slice of theirs, your New Years Resolution has been written. I also love their Black Walnut which is not, as is often the case, too, too sweet. And they have a fabulous savory line with everything from pot pies to quiches and galettes. With their buttery walls and big communal table, this is a great spot to enjoy a flaky piece of pie and some peace and quiet right in the heart of the bustling Mission.

Mission Pie
2901 Mission St. (at 25th Street)
San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 282-1500

Four & Twenty Blackbirds: Brooklyn, NY

Four & Twenty Blackbirds has been getting its fair share of press lately. It seems like everyone from Ready Made Magazine to The New York Times is chatting about this charming pie shop in Gowanus, Brooklyn run by sisters Emily and Melissa. They're known for their Salted Caramel Apple pie and fruit pies made with aromatics and bitters. When I visited over Thanksgiving, we tried the Maple Custard and that infamous apple. I'm not sure if I was more smitten with the pie or the space itself. Emily and Melissa have done an amazing job of creating a very old-fashioned yet modern and breezy space that you just want to linger in for an entire afternoon. It feels good in there. No one's rushing to get to their next meeting or yammering away on their cell phones (at least when we were there--I'm sure it probably happens). The sisters do savory items as well and make one mean cup of coffee. When in Brooklyn, eat this pie.

Four & Twenty Blackbirds
439 3rd Avenue (at 8th Street)
Brooklyn, NY 11215
Park Slope / Gowanus
(718) 499-2917

Oh, you modern Americans, what is wrong with you? Why do you recoil, as if from a snake, from the very muttered hint of mincemeat? Pie may be sneaking back into the spotlight, weary of being upstaged by all those pink cupcakes beehived with frosting, but still, you could look far and wide here and find nary a scrap of mince on our menus.

Once, mincemeat was our heritage, our honor guard, the leading light of American pie fillings. It was exalted at holiday time but consumed with gusto year-round, at Automats and church suppers, carried on Formica trays through cafeterias and paraded on gold-rimmed china in the dining rooms of downtown hotels.

The history was, of course, a British one, but the legacy of the dense, sweet-spiced, citrusy-raisiny-almondy filling stretches back at least a handful of centuries, when the line between sweet and savory was a much more porous one. Originally, mincemeat was made with both beef and beef fat, added to a rich mixture of dried fruits, spices, candied citrus peels, and almonds, preserved with a hefty dose of spirits. Over the years, the meat receded, although the fat (typically suet, the particularly pure fat taken from around the kidneys) remained, to give an unmistakable richness to the mixture.

You may think you'd hate it—prunes? suet?—but not so. This holiday season I passed around many of these tarts, filled with Delia Smith's unbeatable recipe for Homemade Christmas Mincemeat. Served up small and warm, in the late, lowering afternoon with a cup of steaming tea or after dinner with a glass of port, naught but lard-and-butter crust crumbs came back on the plate. (A word of advice, though: halve Delia's recipe, and you'll still have more than enough mincemeat to feed everyone you know.)

But now that the indulgence of the holidays has passed, mincemeat might be a tougher sell. Enter Black Tart, a lovely winter dessert based on a 17th-century recipe for "black tart stuff," which the eminent British food writer Elizabeth David praises in An Omelette and a Glass of Wine as "rich and dark without the cloying and heavy qualities of mincemeat." She also recommends it as having "a certain originality which provides a small surprise at the end of the meal."

Leafing through cookbooks heaped from shelves to floor, I can trace the roots of my own Black Tart to several recipes: David's 1969 recipe, itself a modern interpretation of Robert May's recipe from The Accomplisht Cook (1660); the Harvest Tart from the The Silver Palate Cookbook (1982); and the Winter Fruit Tart from the Bay Wolf Restaurant Cookbook (2001).

Mostly, though, it came from messing around with the memories of all these things in a friend's kitchen on a raw, gray afternoon, when we both wanted something sweet to eat without having to leave the house.

What was on hand in the winter pantry? Dried fruit and nuts, candied fruit peel left over from holiday baking, and plenty of liquor, likewise left over from holiday parties. Thus, Black Tart, a lazy-day sort of dessert that will warm the kitchen and perfume the house with a deep medieval scent of winter at bay--a whiff of whiskey, a breath of ginger and cinnamon, a Mediterranean sparkle of fresh tangerine.

The dried fruits aren't poached so much as steeped. After a slow warming, they sit on the back of the stove for an hour or so, soaking up the wine and spices, swelling up soft and plump as they absorb nearly all the liquid.

A cookie-like tart dough, a little sweeter and richer than regular pie crust, works particularly well here. To make it, sift together two and a half cups of flour, a quarter cup sugar, and a half-teaspoon salt. Using a pastry blender, cut in 12 tablespoons (one and a half sticks, 6 oz) of chilled butter, until mixture looks sandy and flaky, like dry oatmeal. Then, instead of the usual ice water, moisten the flour with two egg yolks, one teaspoon vanilla, and three to four teaspoons of water to form a soft dough. Chill for several hours while the filling is cooking and cooling.

Black Tart
This tastes best on the day it's made, but will last for several days if well wrapped. The recipe can also be used to made small individual-sized tarts. For the prettiest crust on small tarts, brush tart crust with milk and sprinkle with sugar before baking.

Ingredients
1 large apple, peeled, cored, and diced
1 cup dried apricots, chopped
1 cup pitted prunes, chopped
1/2 cup raisins
2-3 tbsp candied orange peel
1 cup red wine OR 1/2 cup port and 1/2 cup water
1/4 cup whiskey or brandy
1/8 tsp EACH cinnamon, cardamon, nutmeg, and ginger
Big pinch of freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar, or to taste
Zest and juice of 1 tangerine
1/2 cup toasted walnuts or almonds, chopped
Dough for two-crust tart (see above)
Whipped cream for serving

Preparation
1. In a heavy-bottomed pot, mix all filling ingredients except for walnuts. Warm over low heat, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes. Turn off heat and let fruit absorb the rest of the liquid for an hour or so.

2. Divide the tart dough into two rounds and roll out. Line an 8-inch or 9-inch tart pan with first round.

3. Stir walnuts into filling. Cut remaining dough into 1-inch wide strips. Lay strips in a criss-cross lattice pattern to cover most of the filling. Cover entire tart with foil or waxed paper and chill in the fridge for an hour or so.

4. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Unwrap tart and bake until crust in golden brown and filling is bubbling, 30-35 minutes. Cool on a rack. Serve with whipped cream.

Yesterday on BAB we highlighted the year's food news in food safety, D.I.Y. food, food politics, school food, and street food.

The top ten for 2010 continues:

Phat Beets Produce is a food justice collective in Oakland - the Beet Crew. Photo by Zachary Matthews

Late in the year in a cover story on class Newsweek explored the growing gap between the haves and have nots on the food front. "The Dinner Divide" noted that we are a nation where Gourmet Ghettos and food deserts co-exist, often in close proximity in places like the Bay Area. The sad truth is that while many of us indulge our "passion" for local, organic chow, an increasingly larger group of Americans simply don't have access to enough healthy food to eat. Meanwhile, another European is attempting to help Americans in need feed themselves, namely Spanish native and James Beard Award-winning chef Jose Andres, who heads up the nonprofit DC Central Kitchen, which offers professional culinary training for formerly homeless, addicted, or imprisoned adults.

Local angle: Actor Dan Hoyle skewered, among other things, hipster San Franciscans obsession with pristine produce with a politically-correct pedigree in his solo show at The Marsh The Real Americans. Meanwhile, Phat Beets Produce, a volunteer-run collective, launched a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) box, nicknamed the "Beet Box," in Oakland, to help under-supported small farmers and get produce to people who don't live near a farmers' market.

Eataly in NYC. Photo by Megan Gordon

Lest this list be accused of being too parochial, let's turn our attention to food news out of New York City this year. There was lots, much of it of a legislative nature. Depending on your perspective, Mayor Michael Bloomberg is either a crusader for the people's health or a publicly-funded no-fun-nik: The city took a stand on sodium, introduced letter grades to evaluate restaurant cleanliness, tried to prevent food stamps recipients from using benefits to sip soda, a controversial move (even among anti-hunger and public health advocates) and outlawed alcoholic energy drink Four Loko. Furthermore, a calorie count initiative in restaurants begun in the Big Apple went national on menus across the country this year.

There was fun stuff too: Hello Eataly, a high-end food emporium boasting all things Italian, launched late summer by the city's reigning food Mafia, covered in a photographic homage recently on Bay Area Bites by Megan Gordon.

Local angle: San Franciscans welcomed Manhattan transplant Anthony Mangieri and his much-lauded Una Pizza Napoletana to town.

Jonathan Safran Foer at KQED holding his book, Eating Animals. Photo by Wendy Goodfriend

Meat mattered this year. The culinary conversation among carnivores, omnivores, vegetarians, and vegans continued as people pondered whether they could morally eat sustainably, humanely-raised animals and wrestled with conflicted or confused feelings about carnal consumption. Now more than ever, how much and what kind of meat we eat reflects our ethics, environmental values, economic status, as well as class, culture, and convenience.

That said, butchers made a comeback, hosting cleaving parties from coast to coast. Meanwhile, the Meatless Monday campaign, which asks folks to forgo meat once a week for health and the environment, garnered the endorsement of celebrity chef Mario Batali, long-known for serving plates laden with animal protein.

And in books and online vegetarian gals chronicled their carnal adventures as they discovered the joys of the flesh.

Then, just as the year drew to a close, New York Magazine announced that vegetables are the new meat, despite significant evidence to the contrary. Make of that what you will.

Local angle: A queen of vegetarian cuisine, East Bay resident Mollie Katzen, came out with a cookbook that included meat dishes, a decision she found herself explaining in every interview about Get Cooking.

While across the bridge the butcher's shop in Bernal Heights Avedano's Holly Park Market, run by a gaggle of self-taught gals, typifies the new-style yet old-fashioned meat market, offering cleaving classes using traditional tools and selling only local, sustainable meats. And the Oakland Unified School District hopped on the Meatless Monday bandwagon.

Macarons - Photo by Stephanie Stiavetti

Now to dessert (with all due respect to the First Lady). Move over cupcakes macarons are the new trend treat.

The Wall Street Journal reported on French fretting that these formerly high-end confections (not to be confused with chewy coconut sweets with a similar spelling known as macaroons) are finding their way onto shelves at such mainstream American stores as Whole Foods and Trader Joe's. The soft, sandwich-like cookie, which resembles a pastel-hued minature hamburger, has also been popping up in patisseries and restaurant menus around the country. Natch, the blogosphere weighed in, with negative reviews for the meringue-style pastries on offer at Starbucks, and an amusing update that cupcakes are the new macarons in Paris. Go figure. For you D.I.Y.ers: Pastry chef Hisako Ogita's I Love Macarons details how to make the crunchy and chewy morsels at home.

Local angle: These dainty nibbles can be found in Bay Area bakeries including Miette in the Ferry Building, Paulette in Hayes Valley, Pamplemousse in Redwood City, and Bouchon Bakery in Yountville.

Bay Area Bites blogger Stephanie Stiavetti sung the praises of these egg white, ground almonds, and sugar concoctions in a week's worth of recipe posts on her own blog.

10. Virtual Food

Social media and cyberspace continued to impact food consumption. As noted previously (see item #5 in Part One), Twitter + new wave food trucks = content consumers and cooks. Everyone seemed very app-y happy, with Mark Bittman, the Food Network, and even Gourmet (R.I.P.) embracing the new technology. Not all old-school media, though, marveled at the development. (Ruth Reichl, writing on Twitter, ironically, called the move a "pity.") Regardless, cooking, eating, and drinking apps found fans: There are apps for wine enthusiasts, environmentally-friendly eaters, and ethnic edible adventurers, among other food-focused iFinds. And, although some people doubted it would come to pass, cookbooks made the leap to ecookbooks in a big way in 2010.

Local angle: Budding Bay Area food businesses turned to social media to cash up their new edible enterprises. Examples include Awaken Cafe in Oakland, and an olive oil press and cheese-making venture that utilized Kickstarter to, well, kick start their companies in Berkeley. Early ecookbook adapters include Marin-based chef Eric Gower.

And over at 7x7 food editor Sara Deseran wondered out loud what a lot of local food writers have been thinking: With the explosion in new media -- think Yelpers, bloggers, and Tweeters -- is San Francisco suffering from a gluttony of information on all things edible?

What say you readers: Are there too many citizen scribes (not to mention a healthy helping of professional writers) weighing in on the minutia of every meal made in this city? Or does this town have an endless appetite for food news?

And that, folks, was the year in food.

Comfort food, gluten-free recipes and vampire prevention appeared to be peak areas of interest for BAB readers in 2010.

Here are the top thirteen stories and recipes most visited on Bay Area Bites during the year:

#1 Creamy Chicken and Rice Casserole by Denise Santoro Lincoln

"The casserole is undergoing a resurgence in popularity. After years of being maligned as a tasteless and gloppy suburban dish made with Campbell's cream of mushroom soup, it is finally coming into its own. Blame it on the economy and the rising cost of food, but high-end cuts of meat seared faultlessly and served with the perfect wine are passé in this environment: extravagant and unseemly amidst layoffs and foreclosures. Comfort foods are the new at-home gourmet chic, and there's nothing more heartening and reassuring than a chicken casserole."

#2 Giving Up Sunday Gravy: A Lost Food Tradition by Denise Santoro Lincoln

Have you ever given up a long-held family food tradition? I have. Years ago I gave up Italian Sunday Gravy, which is basically manna for Italian Americans. Although I stand by my decision, I often regret it as well.

#3 Hachiya Persimmons by Denise Santoro Lincoln

Hachiyas are the misunderstood fruit of winter: although they are sweet and wonderful when baked into cakes and puddings, many people are afraid to eat them because they are truly awful when immature. A firm Hachiya is extraordinarily astringent and inedible. I admit that taking a bite out of one is sort of like eating an unripe bitter walnut while suddenly having all the moisture sucked out of your cheeks and tongue. But there's a very simple way to avoid this: don't eat Hachiyas until they're ripe.

#4 Gluten-Free Thanksgiving Recipes by Stephanie Stiavetti

Slowly, as I learned to bake using a completely new set of rules, I discovered that gluten-free baked goods can rival their wheaty counterparts. I learned how to make a gluten-free version of Thanksgiving stuffing, a fantastic butternut squash pie, and everything else that a normal person would sit down to enjoy with their loved ones. Sure, at first my family balked at my "weird" cornbread, but once they came around, they discovered that what I was making tasted good. Actually, I'd venture to say that my from-scratch versions tasted better than a lot of the prefab, processed stuff that my family normally layed out on the table during the holidays.

#5 Caramel Cake, The Recipe. by Shuna Fish Lydon

Shuna's famous CARAMEL CAKE with Caramelized Butter Frosting

#6 Meyer Lemon Ricotta Pancakes by Kim Laidlaw

On Sunday mornings, especially when the weather is rainy and cold and grey, I love to make a decadent breakfast, like brown butter waffles, a full English, or, one of my all-time favorites: delicate, soufflé-like ricotta pancakes. The first time I ate them was at the much beloved neighborhood restaurant, Rockridge Café, located on College Avenue in Oakland. I was hooked immediately.

So, with a bowlful of Meyer lemons, I decided to make some extra-lemony fluffy ricotta pancakes. You can make these for breakfast but they're also perfect for dessert.

#7 Froyo: How to Make Homemade Frozen Yogurt by Denise Santoro Lincoln

Frozen yogurt is going through a bit of a makeover. Soft serve that tastes like ice cream is out while creamy swirls that burst with the flavor of real yogurt are in. Shops serving cups of froyo that burst with yogurt's innate natural tartness are opening everywhere. Forget my favorite college flavor of orange, which tasted more like creamy ice cream that had been melded with baby aspirin. Today's frozen yogurt highlights sweet fruit flavors and is enticingly tangy.

#8 Vampire Pantry Preventatives by Stephanie Lucianovic

If you want to keep vampires at bay, you should stock your kitchen with the following vampire-fighting ingredients...

#9 Dacquoise & Meringue. A Detailed Instruction by Shuna Fish Lydon

Traditionally, dacquoise is defined as nut meringue. These edible architectural details can usually be found demurely hiding in between layers of buttercream as they start out crunchy but softly melt into a layer of sweet nutty unctuousness.

Easy on paper, the meringue (French, Swiss or Italian) is a component which can frustrate even the most seasoned baker. When recipes rely on egg whites or meringue as their main leavener, the workings and instructions of the recipe are very important. Few cookbooks can afford to take the time to explain thoroughly what I am about to here.

#10 Wheat Berries by Denise Santoro Lincoln

If you've never heard of wheat berries, you're not alone. When I mentioned to a few people that I wanted to write about them, I received some quizzical looks. So, for anyone not familiar with this whole grain, let me end the suspense: wheat berries are simply individual kernels of wheat. They are what King Arthur and other grain companies mill to produce baking flours, from whole wheat to cake and all-purpose. And, just as there are many different types of wheat, there are just as many types of wheat berries, with their color ranging from light tan to a reddish brown. But the most important thing about wheat berries, at least as far as this post is concerned, is that they are scrumptious.

#11 Pulled Pork Sandwiches by Denise Santoro Lincoln

Tangy barbecue sauce dripping over slow-cooked pork on a bun. Yum. I freely admit that I am a fan of all things pork. I love pork chops, bacon, and roast loin, not to mention all those sausages. But there's something astonishing about taking one of the least expensive cuts of pork you can buy and turning it into one of the tenderest and juiciest sandwiches you can eat. Ah -- the miracle of pork.

#12 Recipe: Apricot Jam by Stephanie Rosenbaum

Apricots, while more accessible, still have a certain forgotten-fruit quality to them. Just as quince gets described as apple's tough, weird older sister, so apricots are often just a placeholder for peach-lovers, something sweet and orange with a pit that will do until the real goodies come along.

But apricots are good for cooking in a way that peaches aren't, their flavor intensifying into an ineffable tangy sweetness that leans just right against a crumbly, buttery short crust or a piece of whole-grain toast, especially one spread with mild fresh chevre.

#13 Rich as Rockefeller by Michael Procopio

Today, I wanted something rich. Something that would make me feel like that big shot I will more than likely never become.

So I up and made myself a dish named for America's first billionaire-- Oysters Rockefeller.

What's a Bûche de Noël? Well, in English, it would be a Yule Log, a fat jellyroll of a cake that's filled and rolled into a long log shape, then iced and decorated to look like a branch fallen in the forest, complete with grooved bark, broken-off stumps,and cute little mushrooms clustered here and there, all under a dusting of powdered sugar "snow."

Typically, the "wood" of the log is a light, spongy cake, baked in a thin layer on a sheet pan. Flexibility is the key here, as the cake needs to keep its shape when rolled up without cracking, smushing, or falling apart. So, most bûche de Noël recipes start with genoise, a French-style sponge cake made from egg yolks, sugar, and a small amount of flour, lightened with stiffly whipped egg whites.

Personally, though, I find that while genoise has a nice springy texture, it tastes like very little, which may be why, in most French desserts, it's usually brushed with liquor or syrups then smothered in fillings and glazes. For true tree-bark verisimilitude, the filling and frosting is typically a truffle-rich, deep-brown chocolate or mocha buttercream. Decorations are exuberant and goofy: bright green-and-red marzipan holly leaves, meringue or marzipan mushrooms, little chocolate banners scrolled in icing spelling out Joyeux Noel.

Classic, then, means old-fashioned, butter-heavy and frankly, a little tacky. But still, the concept remains festive and fun. Why not come up with a seasonal, local cake made for a California Christmas?

So, to start: no more foam-rubber genoise. Instead, an equally light but more substantial almond cake, using whole eggs beaten to a thick cream, then folded together with toasted almonds, flour, and a surprise splash of hot milk.

And instead of a mouthful of chocolate-flavored butter, the filling is a creamy blend of mild fresh goat cheese (chevre) and quark, lightened with whipped cream and flavored with tangerine or clementine zest. I love Spring Hill Jersey Cheese Company's vanilla quark, a mild, spreadable fresh cheese speckled with real vanilla bean, which you can find at many farmer's markets around the Bay Area, but you could substitute Cowgirl Creamery's fromage blanc, or use whipped cream cheese or mascarpone instead.

To decorate, cover your log in lightly toasted almond slices for a rough, eucalyptus-looking bark. Surround with fresh or sugar-dusted rosemary sprigs and whole clementines with leaves or the dried clementine slices sold by local farm Everything Under the Sun. Finally, add a few fat dried figs, poached to plumpness in spiced wine or tea. Nuts, citrus, fresh cheese, dried fruit: that's the taste of California in the wintertime.

Happy Holidays!

California Bûche de Noël
Since both the filling and the cake mixtures require a lot of beating, a stand mixer comes in very handy here. However, you can also use a hand-held electric mixer. Feel free to substitute walnuts or hazelnuts for the almonds; omit almond extract and amaretto. You can make cake, filling, and garnishes the day before serving; filled and rolled, it will keep well in the refrigerator for 1-2 days. Add the garnishes just before serving.

Makes: 1 cake, serves 8-10

Almond Cake

Ingredients:
1 cup sliced almonds, divided
¾ cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
¼ tsp almond extract
2 tbsp amaretto liqueur, optional
1 cup + 1 tsp sugar
½ cup milk
1 tbsp butter

Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9" x 13" rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Lightly grease and flour paper, shaking off excess. Sprinkle a thin, clean tea towel with powdered sugar and set aside.

2. To prepare almonds, spread slices out on a baking sheet and bake for 5-8 minutes at 325 degrees, until they smell toasty and are light golden brown in spots. Remove from oven and let cool. Measure out 1/3 cup of almonds, and set remaining almonds aside. Toss 1/3 cup almonds with 1 tsp sugar. Chop finely or, using a food processor or blender, pulse in short bursts into a coarse powder.

3. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt together. Stir in ground almonds. Set aside.

4. Beat eggs with vanilla, almond extract, and 1 tbsp amaretto (if using) for 1 minute. Add sugar a little at a time, beating vigorously for at least 5 minutes, until mixture is very thick (about the consistency of soft mayonnaise) and a pale creamy-yellow. When you lift the beaters, the mixture should form a ribbon as it falls back into the bowl.

5. Over low heat, heat milk and butter together until butter is melted and milk is hot but not boiling.

6. Gently fold flour mixture in eggs. Pour in milk and butter and stir gently until batter is smooth. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 30 minutes, or until top is pale golden and springs back when pressed with a fingertip.

7. Holding onto the parchment, lift cake off baking sheet and reverse onto prepared tea towel. Peel off parchment and discard. Using a small sharp knife, trim off any hard or crunchy edges. Starting at the short end closest to you, roll the cake and towel together away from you into a fat log. Set aside to cool for an hour or so. (It’s important to roll up the cake while still hot, so it will stay flexible as it cools.)

Chevre-Citrus Filling
If you're a goat cheese hater, substitute whipped cream cheese or Neufchatel. Leave out the orange liqueur if you don’t want to splurge on a name brand; cheap triple sec will make the whole batch taste like baby aspirin.

Ingredients:
1 cup (8 oz) quark, fromage blanc, or mascarpone cheese
4 oz mild, fresh goat cheese, crumbled
1 tbsp good quality orange liqueur, such as Cointreau or Grand Marnier
2 tbsp honey, or to taste
1 tbsp grated tangerine or clementine zest
1-2 tbsp milk, as needed
1 cup heavy cream
1 tbsp finely chopped candied orange rind and/or 1 tbsp finely chopped candied ginger

Preparation:
1. Beat mascarpone, goat cheese, orange liqueur, honey, and zest together until smooth, adding milk as necessary to get a smooth consistency.

2. In a separate bowl, beat cream to soft peaks. Fold cream gently into mascarpone mixture. Fold in candied rind and/or ginger. Cover and chill until needed.

Sugared Rosemary Sprigs
Fresh rosemary sprigs are a nice touch of greenery around your completed cake. However, if you want to go all out and make them look winter-frosted, beat 1 egg white until frothy. Dip rosemary sprigs into egg white to coat, then dip and turn in granulated sugar to cover. Set aside to dry.

Poached Dried Figs
You can use any liquid you like to poach the figs, such equal parts water and red or white wine; apple cider; or spiced tea.

Ingredients:
10 dried figs
2 cups liquid
Rind of 1 orange or tangerine, in large pieces
1 tbsp honey
1 cinnamon stick
4 or 5 whole cloves

Preparation:
Cover figs with liquid, add rind, honey, and spices. Bring to a simmer and cook over low heat for 20 minutes, or until figs are soft and puffed up. Remove from heat and let cool in liquid. Refrigerate until needed.

To Assemble Cake
Almond Cake
Chevre-Citrus Filling
Remaining toasted almonds
Fresh or Sugared Rosemary Sprigs
Whole clementines with leaves, or dried clementine slices
Poached Dried Figs, drained and halved

1. Unroll cake from towel. Sprinkle with 1 tbsp amaretto, if using. Spread half the filling across cake, leaving a bare margin of about ½ inch on all sides. Starting from the short end again, roll up cake tightly (without towel).

2. Using a butter knife or offset spatula, cover cake with remaining filling. Trim ends to reveal spiral pattern. Press sliced almonds over filling. Drape cake with plastic wrap and chill for several hours or overnight.

3. To serve, arrange rosemary sprigs, clementines (or clementine slices), and figs around cake. Slice and serve, including 2 poached fig halves with each slice.

Beautifully decorated cookies are a high-point of the holiday season for me. This year, I wanted to do a post on tips and strategies for creating gift-worthy sugar cookies at home, and I thought to myself, who better to turn to than the experts at Miette? Lucky for me (and you), Miette holds monthly classes on decorating sugar cookies. In class, you'll learn about necessary equipment, how to make and color royal icing like a pro, how to make parchment icing cones, and techniques for flooding and embellishing cookies. Owner Meg Ray and instructor Jeff Gosche were kind enough to let me sit in on the most recent cookie decorating class, snap some photos, and learn how the Miette elves create their stunning holiday cookies. Today, I'll share those tips with you.

Jeff was our trusty instructor and the man behind the sugar cookie magic at Miette. Jeff doesn't have any formal training or culinary instruction, but he's always been passionate about baking and decorating. He started helping Miette with cookie production solely around the holiday season and then about one year ago, Jeff was asked to stick around more frequently as a regular staple. After spending the afternoon with him, I can see why.

Jeff began class with a discussion on planning out your project and equipment. In terms of planning, it's important to be aware of baking times, cooling times, and setting times for frosting. Jeff recommends taking the entire project into account when thinking about how much time it'll take from Point A to Point B, especially if you'll be gifting or delivering the cookies. The last thing you want to do is rush the process! As far as equipment, a stand mixer, rolling pin, Silpat mat, and cooling racks are important for actually baking the cookies. For decorating, small metal bowls are handy for mixing up numerous different colors of frosting, good quality food coloring, parchment triangles to make your piping cones, and a spoon-spatula to spoon your icing into the bag. If you'd rather not deal with raw egg whites in your royal icing, Jeff recommended meringue powder as an easy and just-as-good substitute.

After we talked equipment, we set about making our own royal icing. Jeff did a demo using the whisk attachment on a stand mixer, turning it up to high (an 8 on a Kitchen Aid) and allowing it to mix for 3-4 minutes. The important thing to know here is that the icing should be quite thick--thicker than you think it should be on an actual cookie. You'll spend time later thinning it after you add the color, not now.

Jeff Gosche talking royal icing & our attentive class

After the demo, students all went back to their stations to add the egg whites and powdered sugar together and begin mixing away.

Learning how to mix up the perfect royal icing

Once everyone had royal icing down, we discussed the art of coloring the icing. Now anyone can throw green food coloring into a bowl of royal icing and call it a day, but it's often very difficult to get more subtle, interesting tones. This is where Jeff's icing tips come in handy:

• It almost always takes more than one color to get the shade you're going for, and Jeff gives an example of the infamous "Miette pink" used on so many of the in-house cookies. How to achieve that perfect pink? Add a little brown to the icing! Jeff explains how adding just a little brown to most colors of royal icing will just tone it way down and add more depth to the color.
• To achieve more warmth in any one color (Christmas red, for example), add orange. Orange is a miracle worker.
• When adding color to your icing, you may want to put the drop of color onto your spatula and work it in slowly. That way, if you add a little too much, it's easier to swipe off with a finger rather than having to scoop out color from the icing itself.
• When you're mixing up bowls of different colors of icing, you also want to cover each bowl with a slightly damp dish towel so the icing doesn't dry out.
• Don't thin out the icing until you're completely done with the color.
• To thin, just add a tiny amount (1/2 teaspoon or so) of water at a time. Ultimately, you want the icing to flow right off your spatula back into the bowl but leave a noticeable ribbon inside your bowl. So it shouldn't be liquidy, but it shouldn't be too thick either.

The Art of Royal Icing

After the icing was made and colored, it was time to get piping! Jeff showed the class how to form parchment piping bags and discussed how nice they are because you can just throw them away. With nicer piping bags, the royal icing can stain and they can be tough to clean.

Learning How to Make Parchment Piping Bags

Parchment cones are tough to describe in print but it turns out Wilton has a handy video so you can learn at home! With piping bags in hand, it was time to decorate the cookies.

Students decorating their Christmas cookies

Jeff's tips for decorating cookies were relatively straightforward and really involved a little planning and practice. He had templates on hand so students could practice their lines and shapes before really committing to a cookie. The gist of it? Outline the cookie first with the royal icing and then you flood (or fill) the cookie in a back-and-forth motion with the tip of the bag slightly immersed in the icing itself (this helps it flood more evenly).

Flooding Cookies

Then you can add sprinkles, add another color to do some blending, or wait around 15 minutes for the icing to dry so you can layer in another color. It does help to do a little planning and thinking about what you're going for with your design to ensure you have enough of each color and don't sit there stumped (as I did) seeking out inspiration while your icing is slowly drying out.

I can't recommend Miette's classes enough and thank Jeff and Meg for letting me tag along. The classes are sold out through February (so get on the March bandwagon!), but they're thinking about possibly adding additional cookie classes and, of course, there are other classes as well if you're ready to dive right in to the pastry/confection world. Happy baking and royal icing making!

Mission Pie's Karen Heisler and Krystin Rubin. Photo by Todd Lappin of Telstar Logistics

Karen Heisler and Krystin Rubin first worked together to start Mission Pie, which is a for-profit business that serves sustainable food including sweet and savory pie. The two met a few months before Mission Pie opened in its original, smaller location. Rubin was finished with a farm apprenticeship and looking for work. Friends kept emailing Rubin the craigslist posting for a Mission Pie manager, so she decided "what the hell" and decided to apply.

Heisler is also a co-founder of Pie Ranch in Pescadero, which is a non-profit sustainable farming parcel. Pie Ranch is one of the ingredient sources to Mission Pie. Heisler is an original Mission Pie partner, and Rubin eventually joined her. Rubin said the two, "live upstairs, on the top floor," of the building that houses Mission Pie. Here are Rubin & Heisler's picks for Bay Area food spots.

LOCAL FAVORITE SPOTS
Rubin: "I am a creature of habit. I think that comes from being a baker." Both describe Middle Eastern Old Jerusalem Restaurant as a regular eating spot, and Heisler said it’s "the OJ," and that "I feel so blessed 'Wow, this is on our block.'" She is a fan of the OJ's cucumber salad, which is not on the current menu.

Rubin: "For a treat, I love Range. I love to sit at the bar. The bartenders are friendly and wonderful. I like to have a cocktail and a couple of dishes."

Heisler: "For a nice romantic dinner with Krystin, it's hard to match the quality of friendly intimacy of the bar at Range. I've never sat anywhere but the bar. The food is consistently excellent, and it's a place that I change my clothes for."

Rubin likes Zuni Café for "special occasion, Aunt and Uncle are visiting visits. Martinis and oysters, a Caesar salad."

Heisler: "Ti Couz is one of my favorites for a few reasons. I love their savory crepes. I'll get a caramelized onion crepe, and big organic salad with cheese. It's really a wonderful place to share a salad. The aesthetic is in the most positive way a throwback… the hand cut wood bar. It feels to me like the place has a design that really touches my heart. It's so evident that they have a community of ownership and workership and are committed to a sort of functionally sustainable workplace model. It's compelling because it's so lasting. Krystin and I go there for lunch and dinner, and it's a favorite to go with my daughter," who is twenty-three.

Heisler: "Sometimes I go out to the Latin American Club, early. If you can get that front window table…."

FOOD SHOPPING
Rubin said that the recently launched Mission Community Market, "has turned into the main place I get produce. It's nice to engage (there). We get stuff for (Mission Pie), twenty flats of berries." Heisler: "It's interesting to see it evolve, and feels important to go there. The producers are (of) super high quality."

Both also go to Rainbow Grocery regularly, and Heisler said she is "a Rainbow loyalist all the way back to 16th Street."

Nearby Semirami's is a favorite of both, "for olives and things like that," said Rubin.

You may spot Rubin reading the papers in front of Valencia Whole Foods. "It's a nice sunny spot. I read the Sunday Times, and get a kombucha."

Heisler: "I love going to the Alemany Market and rarely have the opportunity anymore. We both work on Saturday." The two did get to recently go the weekend after Thanksgiving, when Mission Pie was briefly closed.

CHICKEN
Heisler: "We have friends who started a farm: Dinner Bell Farm." Mission Pie is a pick up spot for their chickens. Heisler described the Dinner Bell Farm birds as "so wonderful. The birds are delicious. There is a Hungarian chicken that has dense tasting meat, with a thin skin. It makes me think of my heritage."

According to their Twitter feed, there's a chance of spotting the Mission Pie crew at this Friday's La Cocina Gift Fair, held at the nearby Mission Cultural Community Center for Latino Arts. Or go straight to the source, and see Heisler and Rubin in action at Mission Pie.

Apple and walnut pies. Photo by Travis E. Smith

Banana Cream Pie with Chocolate Ganache & Salted Caramel Sauce

I've been dreaming of banana cream pie ever since I had a taste of Melissa Chou's (Aziza) deconstructed version inspired by The Essential New York Times Cookbook. I thoroughly enjoyed Chou's elegant take on the dessert, but I had a hankering for something a little homier.

I had visions of a pretty Southern belle of a pie, with little flair, of course. A classic golden graham cracker crust coated with dark chocolate ganache, sweet bananas, thick vanilla-specked pastry cream, and pillows of soft whipped cream swirled with salted caramel.

Mmm…I could almost taste it already.

Graham cracker crust

To start, I got my crust in order. Honey Maid made it even easier than usual with pre-crushed graham cracker crumbs. I mixed it with some melted butter and a touch of sugar and baked it until it was golden brown and firmed up.

Chocolate ganache bottom

Then, I coated the bottom with a rich layer of dark chocolate ganache (flair #1).

Pastry Cream

For the pastry cream, I combined whole milk, sugar, and vanilla bean and let it come to a simmer. A tip with the vanilla bean, if it's too hard to split in half, throw the entire bean in the saucepan so that it softens as the milk warms up. Once it's pliable again, fish it out, splice it open, and scrape the seeds out. Meanwhile, I whisked together some sugar, cornstarch, and eggs. When the milk boiled, I whisked in the egg mixture. As it heated up again, the mixture thickened up to a pudding-like consistency. To finish off the pastry cream I folded in some freshly whipped cream and bananas.

Salted Caramel

For my second bit of flair, I wanted to bring some burnt salted caramel into the picture. The subtle tinge of bitterness and pop of salt in the caramel added an interesting dimension to the mix. Plus, salted caramel is always a good decision in my book. Making caramel is surprisingly easy, but for some added reinforcement, I turned to David Lebovitz for some great detailed tips on making the perfect caramel.

Assembly

Now that all the pieces were ready, I layered in all the goodness and got ready for my dreams to come true. It was even better than I imagined it would be! The flavors complemented each other beautifully. The banana and chocolate -– a classic combo -– but brought to another level of interesting with the addition of the salted caramel, which also played nicely with the buttery graham cracker crumbs. Cool, creamy, sweet, and decadent. This is the kind of pie you want to take home to meet the parents.

Beautiful Banana Cream Pie

Banana Cream Pie with Chocolate Ganache & Salted Caramel Sauce
Inspired by Amanda Hesser's The Essential New York Times Cookbook.

Serves: 8

Ingredients:

Graham Cracker Crust
1 ¼ cups graham cracker crumbs (10 or 11 whole crackers)
1 teaspoon sugar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Ganache Layer
1/2 cup heavy cream
3 ounces bittersweet chocolate (about 1/2 cup chocolate chips)

Pastry Cream
1 2/3 cups whole milk
¼ cup plus 3 tablespoons sugar
1 vanilla bean, split, seeds scraped out and reserved
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1 large egg
2 large egg yolks
2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Salted Caramel Sauce
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon water
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon fleur de sel (or kosher salt)

For Assembly
1 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
3 medium bananas

Preparation:
Make the crust:
1. Preheat the oven to 325 F. Combine the crumbs and sugar in a bowl. Add the butter and mix until the crumbs are moistened. Pour the mixture into a 9-inch pie pan and use a flat-bottomed cup to press the crumbs evenly over the bottom; press it up the sides with your fingers. The edges of the shell will be crumbly.
2. Bake until lightly browned, 10-12 minutes. Cool completely.

Make the ganache:
3. Set the chocolate into a bowl. Heat the heavy cream to boiling point and pour over the chocolate. Let stand a couple of minutes and gently stir until fully incorporated and glossy. It should be the consistency of warmed chocolate syrup. Cool to room temperature. Pour over the cooled pie crust and refrigerate.

Make the pastry cream:
4. Combine the milk, ¼ cup of sugar, and the vanilla bean and seeds in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. (Tip: If the vanilla bean is hardened, throw the entire bean in the saucepan so that it softens as the milk warms up. Once it's pliable again, fish it out, split it in half, and scrape the seeds out. Add it all back into the saucepan until the mixture simmers.)
5. In a small bowl, sift the remaining 3 tablespoons of sugar together with the cornstarch. In a large bowl, whisk together the egg and yolks.
6. When the milk comes to a simmer, strain out the vanilla bean pods. Add the cornstarch mixture to the eggs and whisk until well combined. While whisking, slowly pour in about one-quarter of the milk to temper the egg mixture. Transfer this mixture to the saucepan, set over low heat, and simmer, whisking constantly, until it reaches the consistency of thick pudding. (Be careful not to curdle the eggs.)
7. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter until incorporated. If the mixture isn't quite as smooth as you'd like, you can always run it through a sieve. Pour into a shallow bowl, place plastic wrap directly on the surface, and chill.

Make the caramel sauce:
8. In a heavy saucepan set over medium-high heat, stir together sugar and water, and bring to a boil. Let boil until amber-colored. Once it starts taking on color, keep a close eye because it will turn quickly.
9. Immediately add butter and stir to incorporate. Remove from heat, add cream and salt (be careful, it will splatter), and mix well. It should be smooth and have a syrup-like consistency. Let cool to room temperature.

To assemble:
10. Using an electric mixer or a whisk, whip the heavy cream into peaks. Add powdered sugar and incorporate. Transfer the pastry cream to a large bowl and whisk until smooth. Fold in about half of the whipped cream.
11. Line the bottom of the pie crust with a layer of bananas (approximately two bananas sliced into rounds). With the remaining banana, slice half if it into rounds for garnish, and roughly chop the other half to fold into the pastry cream.
12. Drizzle a thin layer of caramel sauce over the bananas.
13. Spoon the pastry cream evenly into the crust. Mound the remaining whipped cream on top. Drizzle some caramel sauce over the whipped cream, swirling it decoratively. Decorate with remaining banana slices.
14. Chill, and serve within 24 hours. Plate with remaining caramel sauce.

December is just about here, which means that bakeries are beginning to roll out their annual holiday treats. Those of us with a gluten allergy don't have to sit idly by, watching as our friends and loved ones enjoy a bevy of baked goods -- we live in the Bay Area, where gluten-free bakeries are popping up in many major cities (along with pizza places!).

Take, for example, Zest Bakery, an independent shop that recently opened in San Carlos. Located right off of Laurel Avenue, this cheerful bakery was opened by Patrick Luke and Charissa Fleischer, two sweets-loving newlyweds. A true family affair, Zest also features gluten-free mini-cheesecakes made by Charissa's sister, Cynthia, the mastermind behind the the AntiCupcake Company (her motto is "Down with the Cupcake! Up with the Cheesecake!").

Here are just a few of the tasty holiday treats you'll find at Zest:

• Pies: pecan pie, pumpkin pie, berry pie, Dutch apple pie with dulce de leche - some pies can be made dairy-free as well
• Cheesecake: pumpkin pie cheesecake, vanilla bean cheesecake, cranberry congnac cheesecake, eggnog cheesecake, mini firehouse smores cheesecake
• Breads: white dinner rolls, multigrain rolls, cornbread rolls
• Gingerbread men
• A gluten-free holiday survival kit

Zest Bakery
1224 Arroyo
San Carlos, CA 94070
(650) 241-ZEST (9378)
Twitter: @zestbakery

Another gluten-free bakery to recently appear in the Bay Area is Oakland's Good Chemistry Baking. Started by Jane and Rick O'Hara and serving up espresso, baked goods, and a wide selection of deli offerings, Good Chemistry has become an everyday stop for the locals of the Grand Lake area. This holiday season Jane and Rick have packed their pastry cases with a great selection of holiday favorites:

• Gingerbread loaves and cookies
• Tea loaves: cranberry nut and lemon poppyseed
• Linzer torte cookies
• Dinner rolls and stuffing cubes
• Challah

Good Chemistry Baking
3249 Grand Avenue
Oakland, CA 94610
(510) 350-7190

It wouldn't be the holiday season without a stop at Mariposa Baking Company, located in Oakland on Telegraph Avenue. Now an East Bay mainstay, Mariposa Baking has been baking up some of the best gluten-free brownies, muffins, and pizza crusts since 2004. Owner Patti Furey Crane is known for her creative goodies, so you're sure to find a range of delicious offerings in her display case. If you're in the northern Peninsula, you can also get Mariposa Baking baked goods at San Bruno's Carrot's Coffee & Tea.

Worth mentioning: once you're done shopping at Mariposa, head next door to The Wine Mine, where owner David Sharp stocks a great selection of gluten-free beers to take the edge off after a day of holiday shopping.

Mariposa Baking Company
The Wine Mine
5427 Telegraph Ave
Oakland, CA 94609
(510) 595-0955

Zest bakery has generous shared one of their most popular recipes: cranberry-cognac bread pudding. This dessert is so simple, you won't even need a special gluten-free flour mix to make it. You can just use the loaf of gluten-free bread that's been sitting in your freezer for the past month, waiting to be eaten, or make some homemade bread just for this dish.

Holiday Cranberry-Cognac Bread Pudding (Gluten-Free)
Compliments of Zest Bakery in San Carlos

Makes: 12 servings

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups fresh cranberries
1/4 cup cognac
3/4 cup water
2 tablespoons orange zest
3 cups granulated sugar, divided
3 cups cubed, stale gluten-free bread
6 large eggs, beaten
2 1/2 cups milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 vanilla bean pod
4 tablespoons butter
Course sugar or turbinado sugar for sprinkling

Preparation:
1. Pour cranberries, cognac, water, orange zest and 1 cup of the granulated sugar into a small pot and simmer on low for 20 minutes. Stir occasionally to keep from burning. Turn off the heat and set aside.
2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 13 x 9 x 2-inch pan.
3. Arrange cubed bread in a single layer in the pan and spoon dollops of the cranberries over the bread. Add the remaining cubes of bread and spread with a few more spoonfuls of cranberries.
4. Mix together eggs, milk, vanilla extract, cinnamon, and the remaining 2 cups of granulated sugar in a bowl. Split the vanilla bean pod lengthwise and use the tip of the spoon to scrape out the vanilla caviar. Add the vanilla caviar to the egg and milk mixture and whisk until combined. Pour mixture over cubed bread and let sit for 10 minutes.
5. Dot with butter and sprinkle with turbinado sugar. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, or until set. Remove from oven and allow to cool.