Chorizo Breakfast Sausage (no grinder needed!)

Homemade breakfast sausage has never really been on the top of my culinary accomplishments to tackle. It seemed difficult and messy, and I wasn't sold on how much better it would taste. I was wrong on all counts. Well, except for the messy part…you do need to get your hands in there.

I started to rethink the benefits of making my own sausage from scratch when I saw this month's Charcutepalooza Challenge: Grinding. For those who are unfamiliar with Charcutepalooza, it's a monthly online cooking group, like Daring Bakers or Tuesdays with Dorie, where everyone makes their take on one dish and posts about it on a given date. In this case, it is all about meat. The group, created by Mrs. Wheelbarrow and The Yummy Mummy at the beginning of this year, quickly developed an ardent following as charcuterie novices and pros alike shared their experiences of salting, smoking, curing -- and yes, grinding -- tasty meat treats.

Now, I love me a fine prosciutto any day, but admittedly, I'm not a huge charcuterie lover by nature. My husband, on the other hand, can frequently be seen in the kitchen around 9:30 p.m. making himself a plate of meat dessert. Charcutepalooza was just the thing I needed to step up my carnivorous game.

A whole lot of pork

This month's challenge focused on free form sausage-making (sans creepy skin casings). A good way to ease into things, I thought. First thing's first, I needed to get my hands on some pork shoulder and fatback. I've never asked for fatback before; it felt a little badass.

Snowy white fatback

The experts all say that the secret to a good grind is Eric Nies--sorry, I couldn't help myself--no, the real secret is ensuring that the meat and equipment are very cold. So, I stuck my metal mixing bowl and food processor blade in the freezer while I cut the meat and fat into small cubes. Then, I added my spices.

Spices

The inspiration behind my breakfast sausage seasonings comes from some tasty Chorizo Sausage Patties I had once in New York. I had done a remake of them at home before, using store-bought sausage and chorizo and adding a blend of seasonings, but this time I would attempt to do it all from scratch.

Spice rub

I raided my spice drawer and decided on a healthy dose of chili powder and smoked paprika, cayenne for some heat, cumin, ground fennel seeds, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and a touch of garam masala to keep it interesting.

Thyme + Sage

I also added some brown sugar, garlic, and lots of fresh thyme and sage.

Ready to mingle

This party of flavors got doused over the meat and fat, and it all chilled and mingled together for two hours.

Sausage via Food Processor

Since I don't have a grinder, I used the food processor method. I worked in small batches, pulsing until everything was evenly ground. To this I added an egg yolk, a bit of milk, and vinegar to help bind it all together. I fried up a test patty, and it was good…but something was missing. My brain when to burgers (it does that sometimes) and voila! I knew what I needed -- the secret ingredient to my homemade burgers: caramelized onions.

Wit onions

That did the trick. My sausage patties were tangy, smoky, sweet, and savory, with a hint of heat. I think the biggest difference between my homemade sausage and store-bought was the texture. These definitely have more chew to them, and the fat added some great flavor. I'm already fantasizing about the killer breakfast sandwich I'm going to have tomorrow. And then, the day after that? This with Huevos Rancheros.

At this rate, I may just be on my way to meat dessert too one day.

It’s no secret that online coupons are exploding in popularity, especially for foodies looking to spend less on a great meal. I’ve purchased more than my fair share. And a recent study released by BlogHer even states that 51% of all women online are using coupon sites like Groupon and LivingSocial.

However, a recent New York Times article discussed whether restaurants actually benefit from the online coupon trend. It seems to be a trade-off with some establishments finding them a positive marketing tool while others claiming the discounts do not boost profits.

Let’s breakdown the different types of online coupon sites recently popular with food lovers.

Sites like Scoutmob and Blackboard Eats offer users a discount passcode to various eateries that they can access on their mobile phones and use the next time they frequent that business. There’s no pre-purchasing a certificate or gift card, involved. Blackboard Eats, however, does charge $1 for each passcode you want, or a fee of $20 for unlimited access to their discounts for one year.

Restaurant.com allows you to purchase gift certificates to a large list of pre-determined restaurants affiliated with the site, at a huge discount. Many times, you can find a discount code online for up to 80% off the listed price, which can bring a $25 gift certificate down to $5. There are many restrictions, though, and they differ with each restaurant, so it pays to read the fine print before you confirm your order.

That brings us to sites like DealPulp, TownHog, LivingSocial and Groupon, which require you to pre-pay for a largely discounted deal at a variety of different merchants, including eateries. Deals are usually 50% off or more, and have less restrictions than a certificate from Restaurant.com. Deals change daily, so you have a limited amount of time to purchase it.

There have been horror stories of some merchants being overwhelmed by the popularity of their online coupon or discount, and not being able to handle the response. But the owner of Milkshake Werks, Leslie Widmann in Redwood Shores had a great experience working with one of these sites.

“Groupon helped us set up a structure that would be good for our business. It was a great experience for us. The result was almost instant increased awareness of our business. Even folks who didn’t purchase the offer came by because they didn’t know about us. Now many of them are regulars.”

But success in the world of online coupons for a merchant doesn’t necessarily translate into dollars. It’s more about marketing.

Widmann explains, “You have to look at it in terms of effective advertising and where you’re going to spend your ad and marketing dollars. We’ve done some print ads and the effect was very subtle. The urgency and instant name recognition of a site like Groupon sparks excitement and people feel like they have to take advantage of the deal right away.”

Scoutmob’s social media manager, Nicole Jayne, has a similar theory for why online coupon sites are so successful.

“In the past, for a local small business, the only advertising options they had were billboards, radio, television and print. There was no real way to measure the success of that type of marketing. Online coupon sites allow these businesses to measure the effectiveness of getting their name out there almost instantly and translate that into traffic and revenue.”

There’s also no doubt the popularity of these sites is due in part to the recession and unstable economy. However, couponing is no flash in the pan trend, says Denise Tanton, the senior community manager at BlogHer. She, herself, recently started writing a popular series of blog posts about extreme couponing. “I started noticing couponing blogs more and thought this was a new trend. But after researching, I realized it wasn’t new, it’s just that the media has caught on because of the recession. And now TLC has latched on to it with a new show.”

She says coupons have been popular since the seventies. Even with the slowly improving economy, coupons will never go away, just evolve.

“I think we’re going to see more e-coupons, texted and mobile coupons. As smartphones become more pervasive, we’ll see more companies offering digital and smartphone based coupons. Companies will get more control over their offers that way.”

As for the money-saving food lover like me, there are three rules I live by before I hit “purchase”:
1. Would I actually go to this eatery, even if I didn’t have this coupon? If I don’t answer yes, I’m out.
2. Did I read the fine print? Some of these places don’t allow you to use your offer on a Friday or Saturday, have restricted times, or have expiration dates that are sooner than you’d like.
3. It’s not a deal, unless you actually use it.

Let the chestnuts roast and the eggnog flow, it's that time of year again! Here's our short list of unique food-centric gifts that will bring a smile to your favorite foodie's face.

1. Sushi Booties (For the Avant-Garde Baby)

Photo Credit: Sushi Booties (via Etsy)

You're never too young to develop a shoe fetish. These super soft fleece Sushi Booties ($24), fashioned to resemble your favorite piece of soosh, are the perfect gift for hip parents or the sushi-deprived mommy-to-be. Each set of booties is handmade to order and comes in a sushi bento box ready for gift-giving!

2. Booze-inspired jewelry (For the Life of the Party)

Photo Credit: Sora Designs

She's the life of the party. She's stylish. She's bold. She loves boozin' and she loves looking good while she's boozin'. This necklace was made for her. Local SF jewelry designer Yueh-Wen Chang (Wen) of Sora Designs has created the ultimate statement pieces with her Owl-t on the Town Bottle Opener Necklace ($35.50) and Fish Bottle Opener Necklace ($29.50). Gift your girl this necklace and she'll be the most popular person at the party…as if she weren't already.

3. Tell Tale Society CSA (For the Discerning Sweet Tooth)

Photo Credit: Tell Tale Preserve Company

Tell Tale Preserve Company is Pastry Chef William Werner's (formerly of Quince) latest project. The modern pâtisserie and delicatessen is slated to open Spring 2011 at 33 Maiden Lane. In the meantime, company's monthly CSA of heavenly confections is in full swing. Join the Tell Tale Society ($35/month) and receive a burlap bag full of inspired creations like Turrón of White Chocolate, Walnut and Yuzu; Hazelnut, Frankincense and Muscovado Toffee, and Pain D'épices Laced Caramels.

Customers can order one month at a time, or pre-purchase months in advance. Society bags can be shipped or picked up at the Ferry Building Farmers Market on Tuesdays (8:00 am - 2:00 pm) or at Coffee Bar. The bag of treats can also be purchased at the Ferry Building Farmers Market on Tuesdays and Saturdays (8:30 am – 2:30 pm) and at Big Daddy's Antique Trunk Show Monday to Saturday (9:00 am – 5:00 pm) starting 12/10. Come along, sugar plum fairies, come along.

4. Marianberry Confections Doggy Cookies (For the Furry)

Photo Credit: Marianberry Confections

Let's not forget your four-legged friend. He does put up with all your shenanigans. While Marianberry Confections focuses mainly on treats for people (like amazing chewy, crispy, thin Oatmeal Raisin cookies), they have baked up something just for that special pup in your life. Honey Crunch Dog Cookies nestled in a classic Black and White Bone Motif Bowl ($15). The all-natural cookies are made with whole wheat flour, steel cut oats, honey, milk & eggs.

5. Homegrown Mushrooms (For the Green)

Photo Credit: Back to the Roots

BTTR (pronounced better), which stands for "Back to the Roots," was started by Nikhil Arora and Alex Velez after they graduated from UC Berkeley last year. During their last semester, the two discovered that they could grow gourmet mushrooms entirely on recycled coffee grounds. And so, they created a 100% sustainable urban mushroom farm in Berkeley (which now diverts 10,000 lbs/wk of coffee grounds from Peet's Coffee & Tea, produces 500 lbs/wk of fresh oyster mushrooms, and sustains 10 urban school and community gardens by donating post-harvest grounds which have turned into nutrient-rich compost from the leftover mushroom roots).

BTTR now brings sustainable mushroom farming into your own kitchen with their Easy-to-Grow Mushroom Garden ($19.95). Just open the box, mist it twice a day, and watch your own science experiment grow. Harvest up to 1 pound of oyster mushrooms in as little as 10 days, and harvest as many as four crops.

This is the ultimate feel-good gift of the year. Support young entrepreneurs, recycle would-be waste, grow your own delicious , sustainable, as-local-as-it-gets mushrooms, and help raise money for the Susan G. Komen Foundation all at the same time (through December 5% of sales will be donated to support breast cancer research). This officially puts you on Santa's Nice List.

6. Breakfast in Bed (For the Sweetheart)

Kodiak Cakes Gift Bowl

Nothing says "I love you" like breakfast in bed. Especially when breakfast entails thick, fluffy flapjacks sweetened with a touch of honey. This pretty gift package from Kodiak Cakes ($29) includes their famous hearty and healthy Frontier Flapjack and Waffle Mix (comprised of only the finest American wheat and Canadian oats), all-natural handmade berry syrup, a soft dish towel, and a 10-inch wire whisk, all nestled in a jumbo 2-quart glass measuring bowl with a rubber lid.

7. Smocks (For the Stylish Hostess)

Photo Credit: Smocks (on the left: "Kelly"; on the right: "MacKenzie")

These sassy designer aprons ($34.95-$39.95) from Smocks are flirty, feisty, fun, and functional. Yeah, alliteration. They are inspired by contemporary designers and designed to fit and flatter a woman's body. Favorite picks include the flouncy Kelly, with deep pockets cleverly hidden on each side to avoid bulk on your hips, and the retro-chic MacKenzie with those sexy back ties.

8. Bacon iPad Case (For the Devotees)

Photo Credit: Media-Digest

This is for the die-hard bacon devotees. I know you're still out there. The Bacon Case ($59) from Antjes is the ultimate fantasy. Tasty fatty pork makes sweet love to sleek shiny iPad. There's something viscerally disturbing in that statement, but I stand by it.

9. Homemade Goodies (For the Crafty)

Homemade Christmas Cookie Jars

• Christmas Cookie Jars
• Homemade Granola (via Lick My Spoon)
• Cookies Galore (via Brown Eyed Baker)
• Candy Galore…and darling packaging ideas (via Martha Stewart)
• Flavored Salts (via Breakaway Cook)
• Homemade Vanilla Extract (via Use Real Butter)

10. Classes (For the Hands-On)

Photo Credit: Curiosity Atlas

If you’re a believer that things own you rather than the other way around, this could be your savior this holiday season. Curiosity Atlas is a Bay Area initiative that aspires to provide inspiration and access to unique, local and hands-on experiences that foster personal growth and cultivate community.

Today, Wednesday 12/8, Curiosity Atlas is hosting A Curious Affair, a unique experience gift market that will bring together a broad range of vendors who could very well hold the key to the perfect experiential gift for that special someone who is always impossible to buy for. Some food-centric experiences to look out for:

• Butchery classes from Avedano’s Meats
• Community dinner and food classes from 18 Reasons
• Cooking experiences from La Cocina
• Discovering the joys of preserving from Happy Girl Kitchen
• Workshops on topics like brewing Kombucha, baking bread, or urban gardening from Urban Kitchen SF
• Parties, classes and tastings from Slow Food SF

That's a wrap! Jingle bells, everyone!

For more foodie gift-giving ideas, check out last year's wishlist.

Olive Oil Granola with Cherries and Pecans

I recently made this granola on my own blog, so naturally I was hesitant to write about it here. But you know what? Every time I crack open my jar of granola in the morning, I feel like singing from the rooftops. And I've made this recipe two additional times since writing about it, and have discovered a few tweaks and changes I'm excited to share with you. It's now utterly perfect.

Now, do you all remember the craze last fall when everyone was talking about the New York Times' Olive Oil Granola recipe? It seemed like food bloggers and food writers couldn't get enough. I began seeing it slowly pop up in little area cafes and my friend's mom made me a batch after a particularly hard week at work. I was hooked. But I never made the stuff on my own because I've always had a recipe I stick by. You know your old standards that you just can't cheat on? Yeah, that's my granola. The one I started making while living in Boulder, CO that uses orange juice for sweetener. Kind of a cliche (if you've ever visited Boulder, CO).

Then lately, I've noticed this resurgence of recipes calling for olive oil instead of butter or more traditional vegetable oil. It's obviously cool health-wise, but it also lends a very distinct flavor to baked goods that you just can't achieve another way. If you're making brownies or cakes with a distinct flavor, it doesn't really matter what type of olive oil you're using. In my humble opinion, it makes little sense to use your good stuff. However, for mildly flavored cakes or delicate cookies, I'd use a extra-light cold pressed olive oil--it's really perfectly suited for baking because it's relatively free of strong olive-oil aroma or flavor.

Now for some conversions so you can try experimenting with your favorite recipes at home. A few months ago, I visited We Olive in the Marina. They gave out a cool conversion chart to help clarify how to experiment with the new baking method. After much googling and light research, I realized there are differing opinions on these substitutions--like anything, experts like to weigh in with their tweaks and theories. But I've used the below conversion in my own baking numerous times and it seems to be the most popular out there. Like anything, experiment and find out what works for you.

Laying out Ingredients for Olive Oil Granola

Butter/Margarine --> Olive Oil
1 tsp. ----> 3/4 tsp.
1 tbsp. ----> 2 1/4 tsp.
1/4 cup ----> 3 Tbsp.
1/3 cup ----> 1/4 cup
1/2 cup ----> 1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp.
2/3 cup ----> 1/2 cup
3/4 cup ----> 1/2 cup + 1 Tbsp.
1 cup ----> 3/4 cup

So today I'm sharing with you my tested and tweaked recipe for the best granola you'll taste, and giving you a few other links for olive oil baking inspiration.

Olive Oil Granola with Cherries and Pecans
I like baking granola in a convection oven if you have access to one--makes for very even cooking and no little burnt bits around the edges. So for this recipe, I gave both conventional oven and convection oven cooking times. Feel free to play around with other dried fruits or nuts if you'd like. This recipe is forgiving that way.

Ingredients:
3 cups rolled old-fashioned oats (not instant)
1 cup raw pecan halves
3/4 cup sliced, raw almonds
1/2 cup raw pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup sweetened coconut
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1/2 cup dried cherries
3/4 cup maple syrup
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup olive oil
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. cardamom

Method:
1. Preheat the convection oven to 275 or the standard oven to 300 F.
2. With the exception of the cherries, mix all the ingredients together in a big bowl and spoon out onto a large, rimmed baking sheet.
3. Bake:
Bake Times:
–Convection Oven: 35-40 minutes, stir every fifteen minutes.
–Standard Oven: 45 minutes, stir every ten minutes so granola doesn’t stick to the sides of the pan and burn.
4. Granola will be done when it’s golden brown and well toasted. Remove from the oven and stir in the dried cherries. Let cool completely. Serve with dollops of plain yogurt and fruit. Or whatever floats your boat.

Makes: 8-9 cups

Awesome Olive Oil Recipe Links
Olive Oil Ice Cream from The Kitchn (not technically baking...but so, so good)
Olive Oil Cookies from The New York Times
Olive Oil Brownies from Spoonful
Spelt Olive Oil Cake with Chocolate Chunks from Blue Ridge Baker
Apricot, Olive Oil, and Cornmeal Upside Down Cake from the L.A. Times

Sometimes it's hard to keep up. Between seemingly daily San Francisco restaurant openings and brand new food websites, it seems like change is a constant. And like all things, some of those additions are good and some--not so much. So today I'm going to show you around five new food websites that are aiming to make a name for themselves by finding a little niche in the market. Who knows? Maybe you'll find one you like (I did).

Kitchen Monki
Kitchen Monki touts themselves as "your ultimate cooking utensil." The site is designed for home cooks and aims to be a place to store recipes, set up a weekly meal plan and generate grocery lists working from that plan. It's basically like a technologically advanced version of what I remember my mom doing on legal pads while we were growing up. It's not for me, personally. I'm far from that organized and rarely know what I'm going to have for lunch let alone what I'm going to have for dinner next Friday. But I can see it catching on, and it's a great tool for busy families who want to lay out their weekly meals and move on to other things. Once you generate your grocery list, they'll actually shoot it over to your iphone or blackberry which is pretty cool and they have an easy-to-use sort and search function to help you find exactly which recipe you're looking for based on ingredients, meal types or courses. So all in all, I think it'll stick around. If you're a planner and have a few people in your household, it might be worth checking out.
Twitter: @kitchenmonki

Yummly
Yummly started up in June and is, from what I can tell, one of the first semantic search sites for food and recipes. They claim to have over 500,000 recipes from all over the web although when I did extensive searches, it seemed most were mainly from Epicurious and Food.com (Formerly Recipe Zaar). You can search by ingredient, nutrition, taste, price, and even by allergy. Then when you find a recipe you're interested in, Yummly will pull up its full profile, showing a rating by taste profile (salty, savory, sweet, sour, bitter) and nutrition facts. I found the taste profile to be a little kitschy and wondered who exactly deemed each recipe as such: have they made and tasted them all? You can become a member of the site for free (then you'll be coined a "tastebud") and will receive taste specific recipe suggestions, can connect with other "tastebuds," and can organize and edit all of your recipes. Members can "favorite" things so you can begin to establish a rapport with other people online and see what they're cooking. I like the idea of this site, I just think the execution needs some polishing. More variety of recipe sources would help, and sometimes--call me crazy--the social media component of a website or concept could just be left at home. I'm not sure it's working here. Personally I'd never join because there's no part of me that wants to be coined a "tastebud" and between twitter and facebook, who has time for more online networking?
Twitter: @yummly

Punk Domestics
I smiled when I came across Punk Domestics a few weeks ago. Why? Because it's just downright cool. The site itself is largely user-generated, meaning folks join and can then post relevant content about preserving, canning, pickling or "otherwise celebrate the resurgence of the domestic arts our forebears held so dear." What's cool about the content is it literally links to other folks' blogs so you are introduced to blogs you'd never heard of and techniques that may be new to you. In addition to canning and pickling recipes, there is a "Tools" page (self-explanatory) and a "Techniques" page with great tips to help the at-home "punk domestic" get going. The site isn't too busy, its scope is pretty narrow, it's organized well, and with the popularity of urban farming and preserving, I think it's going to be a success.
Twitter: @punkdomestics

Homegrown
The concept behind Homegrown is a little tough to pin down at first. So let me try and lay it out for you. Their introduction states that they're an online community of people "interested in all things homegrown: growing, cooking, crafting, brewing, preserving, building, making and creating." So when it comes right down to it, this is a spot where folks can share ideas and book recommendations or ask questions in the Forum. You can also join groups or mini communities that are more topic-specific (for example, join up with people who are into canning). You can also start a Member Blog, where you're posting original, relevant content on the Homeroom site. There's a lot to like here in my opinion because it's all about the genuine sharing of ideas and interests in an organized, relevant way. Like-minded folks seem to finding it and relishing it. That's a good sign of things to come.

Plummelo
Plummelo is in its beta version and is similar to Kitchen Monki in a sense but I almost like it better. While the design is starkly simple and a bit uninspired, the user has much more control over the content (so you're not just working with recipes from Epicurious and Recipe Zaar). The site itself is designed to help cooks save recipes that they find anywhere online and move forward to plan their shopping lists. Once you join for free, you'll have a little Plumello Browser Button on your browser's toolbar and it automatically stores recipes you like that you've found from all over the web (food blogs, online magazines etc.). Then from there, you can share them, organize them, and generate shopping lists. Cool idea. I think their success depends on the number and variety of users and the content they'll bring to the site.

So there you have it. If anything, creativity abounds here as people try and pull away from bigger food sites and infuse their concept with elements of sharing, conversation, and social networking. I suppose the main question is how well they pull apart from the big boys, what kind of niche they create, and if they can capture new user's attention. Some are certainly doing it better than others. Those will be the ones I'll return to.

Blackberry Cornmeal Muffins from my blog, A Sweet Spoonful

There's something about this time of year. I find myself baking much more frequently, leaving the Kitchen Aid out on the counter instead of storing it in its proper winter-time home, and bookmarking dessert recipes right and left. Then I start thinking about opening a bakery...but that's a whole different post. On my own blog recently, I've made very special muffins (above) and Jim Lahey's whole wheat bread. And I have big plans for some cupcakes for a party I'm attending this week. So I'm certainly not lacking in the inspiration department. But you've got to be prepared with everything you need, the recipes that inspire, and a few extras just for fun. So here are some of my favorite things to help kick start your time in the kitchen this spring:

Batter Bowls

Some love them, some hate them: you either find them useful in an 'Oh, my mom used those for our pancakes' kind of way or you're not quite sure what to do with them. But batter bowls are actually fabulous: you can mix batters right inside the bowl and neatly pour into your cupcake tins, waffle-maker, or cheesecake pan. I also use them to help pour eggs for omelettes and I might occasionally mix and pour cocktails in my batter bowl. Yes, you heard that right. You can get them many places, but I find Stonewall Kitchen's batter bowls to be very sweet--nice spring colors and a generous handle.

Prettiest Apron You'll Ever See

I can't get enough of Ice Milk Aprons. I actually don't own one yet, but I gawk frequently online. They're a small family company that does heirloom aprons that are super simple and inspired by the founder's grandmother who always wore an apron when she fixed a dinner of waffles, fresh fruit, and ice milk at home. They do full traditional aprons, but they also do a gorgeous "Rolling Pin Waist" style that is more life a half apron with a sash up top. In many ways, they're almost too pretty to really muck up in the kitchen--but that hasn't stopped me from hinting to friends and family.

Baking Supplies

While I obviously support going to your local cookware shop, I have found the folks at Layer Cake Shop stock some interesting baking accoutrement that you may not be able to find as easily all in one spot. I love their simple paper tags that come in a variety of colors--great for labeling desserts. And they have all different colors of bakers twine and an incredible variety of little muffin and cupcake cups. Useful and inspiring.

Cupcake Toppers

Once you make those cupcakes, you're going to want to decorate them. And this is where on one recent Sunday morning I got sucked down the Etsy rabbit hole. You know the one I'm talking about--the one where you start looking at one shop and all of a sudden you've lost two hours of your life. Well I took a liking to these vintage-inspired cupcake toppers. The seller scanned in prints of the 1950's ladies from her vintage cookbook collection and mounted them on a sturdy bamboo stick. She'll also work with you on different colors of backing or increased quantities for larger parties.

Good Quality Vanilla (and other extracts)

No cutesy aprons here folks. For your spring baking projects this year, be sure you're using really good quality vanilla--whether it's an extract, a vanilla bean, or vanilla paste (my absolute favorite discovery of the year). Nielsen Massey not only stocks incredible vanilla, but they also do harder to find extracts that I'm excited to experiment with. They have chocolate, coffee, and a really nice lemon extract. You can check out their online site and they'll guide you to shops in your area that stock what you're looking for, and they have great information on the history of vanilla and how to choose which product is right for you.

Three Book Suggestions
Now this isn't a formal review because I only own one of these books. But here are a few recent baking books that have come out that I'm eager to get my hands on. If you're looking for a little baking inspiration, look no further:

• Deborah Madison's Seasonal Fruit Desserts: I'm a huge Madison fan, and have made many of her vegetarian entrees in the kitchen, but I'm even more excited to try out some of her well-regarded dessert recipes. She's the master of seasonal recipes, and this is no exception.
• Kim Boyce's Good to the Grain: I've leafed through this book and the photos by Quentin Bacon are truly stunning. But even more important--the recipes are really exciting. Boyce makes baking with whole-grain flours (not always an easy feat) look approachable and second-nature. And we're not just talking whole-wheat flour: she experiments with teff and amaranth and twelve different kinds of other whole-grain flours. I can't wait to start baking from this book.
• David Lebovitz's Ready For Dessert: If you're tuned into the food blogging world, there's been a lot of talk about this book ever since it came out. I have Lebovitz's other books so initially I was hesitant to purchase this one, but there's something appealing about having the best recipes all within easy reach (plus, those photos!). For those who aren't familiar with his recipes, this is the perfect book for you. From relatively easy cookie recipes to Lebovtiz's incredible sauces--inspiration abounds here.

Picking lemons from my mom's generous backyard lemon tree

Spring has sprung in the Bay Area. Unless you've been living under a rock, I'm sure this isn't news to you. Haven't you noticed coworkers with a little extra spring in their step--perhaps an unexpected smile on the bus? Asparagus is in the markets, flowers are popping up at the corner store by my place, and it's no longer getting dark at 5:30 p.m. Hallelujah. For me, there's something so appealing about the notion of fresh starts, new beginnings, and second chances that always leads me to put spring on a bit of a pedestal. Who doesn't love the chance at a new beginning? Even if it doesn't come to fruition literally, spring always gives me a surge of creativity and energy. It means going for runs after work instead of hunkering down, making fresh salads for dinner, and doing a little spring time baking. So here we find ourselves.

I spent some time at my mom's place in Marin last weekend and she has an amazing lemon tree with more lemons than she knows what to do with. I started bagging some up and racked my brain for what I wanted to do with them. Then I remembered reading a recipe for a Lemon Pudding Cake recently that I was curious to try. The recipe is from one of my first blogging friends, Kelsey, over at The Naptime Chef. If you haven't seen her blog, it's pretty great. She loves cooking and baking but found herself strapped for time after having her first child. So she started choosing and adapting recipes for the naptime hour--most that can be done in an hour or less. While I don't have kids, I appreciate Kelsey's tasteful recipe choices, great cookbook recommendations, and smart voice. Oh, and this cake.

A bowl of Lemon Pudding Cake right out of the oven. Enough said.

Kelsey adapted this cake recipe from Cooks Illustrated Entertaining 2010. As printed, the directions were much more complex, so Kelsey made it more approachable and do-able in under an hour. It's somewhere in between a luscious lemon pudding and a light fluffy cake, and I loved it right out of the oven. But I've also discovered that, with a cup of strong coffee, it makes a nice breakfast. And in addition to Kelsey's recipe, I've included some links below for other lemon desserts popping up around the web--all from bloggers or food sites that I read regularly. So here's to new beginnings, fresh starts, and cake for breakfast.

Juicing, Zesting, Mixing, and Separating: all in the name of Lemon Pudding Cake!

Lemon Pudding Cake
From: The Naptime Chef; adapted from Cooks Illustrated Entertaining

Makes: 8-10 servings

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 tsp. cornstarch
1 1/4 cups sugar
5 Tbsp. unsalted butter, room temperature
2 Tbsp. grated lemon zest
1/2 cups fresh lemon juice
1 1/4 cups whole milk
5 eggs, separated; yolks in one bowl with whites in another

Preparation:
1. Adjust oven rack to center position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Lightly butter an 8" square baking pan. Bring several quarts of water to boil for water bath. Mix flour and cornstarch together in a bowl, set aside.
2. Cream the butter, 1 cup of the sugar and lemon zest until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Then, beat in the egg yolks and flour mixture, mixing until smooth. Slowly mix in the lemon juice, then stir in the milk.
3. Set the custard mixture aside and beat the egg whites until they hold soft peaks. Then, add the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar and beat egg whites to stiff, moist peaks. Gently stir a dollop of the egg whites into the custard. Then, working slowly, fold the remaining egg whites in bit by bit until they are all incorporated, but not overly beaten.
4. Pour the batter into the baking pan and place the pan inside a larger baking pan. Then fill the larger baking pan with hot water bath until it comes halfway up the side of the pan. Bake until pudding cake center is set and springs back when gently touched, about 1 hour. Remove roasting pan from oven and let pan cool for 1 hour before serving.

Other Lemon Desserts to Check Out:

• One of my favorite bloggers, Tim over at Lottie + Doof, made The Ultimate Lemon Butter Bars
• The Kitchn featured a recipe last week for Sticky Lemon Rolls with Lemon Cream Cheese Glaze
• Denise Santoro Lincoln makes Homemade Meyer Lemon Marmalade for Bay Area Bites
• I've heard very good things about David Leibovitz's Lemon Tart recipe
• Joy the Baker whips up Lemon Tea Cloud Cookies

George Howell's online hub for some of the best single-origin coffees around

Although it's not until July, the anxiety has begun. My mom has a little summer cabin in upstate New York; I’m not sure if you've been to upstate New York, but there’s not a lot of coffee going on. You can buy vacuum-sealed packs of Starbucks at the local Walmart, but it tastes like just that: vacuum-packed coffee that's been sitting on a shelf forever. My sisters and I visit over the July 4th weekend, and the caffeine situation always disappoints. Last year we made the mistake of having my Aunt Jill bring us beans in from the city. She brought Folgers. Jill will not be bringing coffee again this year. So I've decided to be proactive. I'll obviously bring some beans when I come up--probably Blue Bottle or Four Barrel (who both do shipping, by the way) but I've been doing a little research for my mom who will be there all summer and who has resorted to those little instant sleeves of coffee. So Mom, this post's for you or for anyone who could use some good beans arriving on their doorstep.

Let's face it: coffee's come a long way from the days when the gals from Friends had their foamy latte or when picking up a bag of Sumatra on the way home from work felt pretty exotic and edgy. In his recent piece for Time Magazine, Josh Ozersky details where we find ourselves today, the "Third wave" of coffee: buying prized lots of single-origin beans and roasting them less frequently, treating coffee as seasonal, and paying attention to slight nuances in bean selection and roasting technique. Essentially, the artisan roasters I'm about to discuss have left Starbucks in the dust.

And a quick side note: While I've tried some of the coffees below, I haven't sampled all of them. I've done some research and talked to coffee folks about the most highly respected roasters and what they're up to. So this post is really more about options and starting to think about coffee in a new way more than it is a "Best of" piece.

Intelligentsia

Chicago's favorite artisan roaster

This was my go-to spot when I was in Chicago for a wedding a few summers back. The space itself is stark and modern yet simultaneously warm and inviting. And the espresso is almost sweet on its own. I was hooked. They work closely with the actual coffee producers, not just the importers or exporters, so they control quality from the beginning. While many roasters claim to do this, Intelligentsia is there each month of the year--aiming to forge a true collaboration. Intelligentsia is also known for their adamancy that coffee is seasonal, and they try and educate their consumers daily. As a mass product, so many of us are in the mind-set that good coffee is a year-round crop, and it's just not. Depending on the origin, the coffee bean is just like any piece of produce at the store: it has its high season. Intelligentsia only wants you to try it then, so you choose your coffee depending on when it was harvested. For this reason, you won't see twenty different types of coffee on their website: you'll find a few blends, a few single-origin coffees and two or three reserve coffees.

Terroir

Terroir's impressive education page

George Howell's been on the fine coffee hunt since 1975--some people see him as the trailblazer for sourcing fine boutique lots around the world. The thing that makes Terroir stand out is their firm commitment not to use blends, and their belief that in the same way you wouldn't mix fine wines, you shouldn't mix fine quality coffee. Like some of the other roasters listed here, educating the consumer is part of their mission, so they've actually created an excellent link page with information on everything from How to Keep Roasted Coffee Fresh to Principles of Brewing Coffee. In their shop, you can search by Region, Top Selling Coffees, Category (Organic, Decaf), or even pick up brewing equipment. When you click on a specific region, Terroir provides an overview of the area, and in-depth information on the coffee beans for purchase. They go farther than typical information about taste and origin, listing considerations like the type of soil, altitude, and farm size. They want the consumer to feel a similar connection with the bean that they initially felt when purchasing it.

Counter Culture

Searching by region at Counter Culture

Out of Durham, North Carolina, Counter Culture is known for their "micro-lots" and fabulous single-estate coffees. They don't keep much roasted coffee on hand because they're adamant about roasting to order and bagging and shipping on the same day. If you happen to live in North Carolina, they extend their mission to create cutting-edge coffee people by offering a variety of coffee courses, from Beginning Espresso Lab to Milk Chemistry Lab. They also offer free weekly cuppings or tastings. For those of us who aren't so lucky to live close by, they make purchasing online a cinch with brief notes on each coffee, allowing you to search by region (Africa, The Americas...), microlot, or their custom blends (I've heard from an old college friend that the Crook's Corner blend is like nothing else--a little bit sweet and nutty at the same time). For the online or mail-order shopper, they also do Coffee subscriptions.

Ecco Caffè

Sonoma's favorite boutique roastery

Sonoma's artisan coffee roasting company has a thriving online and wholesale business and a cache of major industry awards. Andrew Barnett's signature organic coffee roaster, custom roasts each batch in the Northern Italian style--with enough time for the flavor profiles to surface but not long enough for bitterness to ensue. All coffees are shipped within 24 hours of roasting--not something that many roasters claim or guarantee these days. On his website, Barnett says, "I like to introduce to people flavors that open them to the world of exemplary coffee...premium coffees that are roasted properly taste great and leave a pleasant sweet aftertaste, similar to great wines and chocolates." And good news for us: Eater SF reported last month that Ecco is moving to an undisclosed location in Potrero Hill. It's slated to be a café and roastery, allowing Bay Area folks to taste the sweet, single-origin espresso whenever the urge should strike.

Barefoot Coffee

Checking out the Barefoot Coffee homepage

Barefoot is another artisan roaster that's adamant about seasonality and freshness of the bean. On the landing page of their website, they have a big space advertising a few coffees that are "Fresh Arrivals" and discuss treating coffee like any other high-quality, sought-after kitchen ingredient. Online, they explain the importance of "Realizing that each bean is affected by soil, varietal, processing, farm, elevation, micro-climate and every hand that crafts it, we are determined to let the coffee speak for itself." They don't describe their coffees as "dark" or "bold," but work to actually describe the flavor and essence of each roast. What I really love about Barefoot is their humble, straight-up way of explaining what they do and why they do it. They genuinely believe that good people who love what they do produce good coffee, so they travel to seek those folks out and work to maintain relationships with them. Their motto, "If you love the coffee, it will love you back" just makes sense and translates to whatever business or endeavor you find yourself in. They're also a recognized leader in sustainable and environmental stewardship, making great strides with green energy, composting, and using a small, local dairy source for their café.

Bringing Them Together

GoCoffeeGo

The relatively new online source gathering the best artisan roasters in one place

On some days, I find myself bombarded with irrelevant information and promotions from food PR people. But a few weeks ago, I got a note from GoCoffeeGo just to introduce themselves and tell me what they're up to. Since then, I've basically fallen in love with the site. If you're not familiar with them, they were founded by local coffee junkies, Scott Pritikin and Elise Papazian, with the goal of bringing together the country's top award-winning artisan roasters on one site with one stream-lined checkout. The coffee is roasted to order and shipped directly from the roaster to the customer (that being said, the shipping time can vary so if you need it pronto, do a little research on the ETA). It's kind of like the Amazon of artisan coffees: organized, streamlined, great customer service, and a really good product. The coffee selection is stellar. They carry most of the roasters I mentioned above, but they also carry one of my favorite local roasters, Equator Coffee and Tea out of San Rafael. Other great choices include Ritual, Verve, and Higher Ground.

On one of the morning talk shows last week, a woman was discussing a New Years resolution to streamline her online life. She lamented how it’d taken over her "real life," and had calculated how many hours she wastes on twitter and facebook alone. I'm sure we've all felt similarly at one time or another, although maybe you're still guilty of whiling away an hour online on the office clock and spending more time catching up with your Google Reader than your significant other. So this week I thought I'd put together a post for you highlighting a few food MVP's--online sites (many of which are local) where each moment you spend drooling, ogling, and researching will be time well spent. I promise.

Eat

Food by mail. Certainly something people are warming up to, but there's still some hesitation. With thoughts of honey-baked ham and bad coffeecakes, not everyone's jumping on the wagon. But there are some great sites out there, hand-selecting unique, small-batch products that you can't find at your corner grocery store. From small sites stocking heirloom beans (love them), to big-box stores with overnight shipping--you can get pretty much whatever your recipe calls for online these days. But local rock-star site, Foodzie and innovative Marx stand out for their diverse products and way in which they foster community by supporting small artisan vendors, blogging about their experiences, and hosting contests and giveaways.

I can't say enough about Foodzie. First, they're based right here in San Francisco, they're supporting small businesses from all over the country, and every time I sign on I find something cool I'd never heard about. If you're not familiar with the concept, essentially they're an online space, allowing small-time (or bigger-time) vendors to set up a shop. Then buyers purchase directly from these passionate food producers and growers. I've found a few favorite new products like handmade peanut butter cups from the small baking company, a little bit of sweet, and Sunchowder's Emporia unique hand-crafted jams (wrapped in beautiful papers). Their blog has dining recommendations, interviews and recipes, and there's a great "Discover" map that highlights artisan foods made in and around the Bay Area.

Twitter: @foodzie

Before 2007, only high-end restaurateurs knew about Marx Foods as they were essentially a supplier of wholesale, boutique, high-end products. Today, their product line has expanded and is now available to home chefs who can search by categories or ingredients, season, organic/free range etc. Their mission is to find the finest and freshest products, stay on top of food trends, and connect the customer to the food source (by taking out the warehouse/middleman element). Their "Foodie FAQ" delves into such topics as the spiciness of ghost peppers and freezing live mussels. And they also have a blog where they feature contests and post relevant pieces like "How to Store Fresh Truffles" or great recipes (like this one for chile-coconut crusted shrimp).

Twitter: @marxfoods and check out their flickr stream

Read

I won't even touch on blogs or online food communities because we all have our favorites and really, that'd be an entirely different post. If you want to know what blogs I read and admire, here's my current link list. Moving away from blogs, there are a few sites that stand out in my mind for fresh local content and literary voice.

Life is good for Marcia Gagliardi these days. She's currently hitting up the food scene in India and has a book coming out this spring. While I rarely give out my email and subscribe to newsletters and the like, I look forward to every Tuesday afternoon when the "hopper" arrives in my in-box (online version available on her website). Marcia's voice is light-hearted and humorous. She's sometimes self-deprecating and never takes food too, too seriously. But she's definitely got the inside scoop on the San Francisco dining scene: restaurant closures, changes in ownership, great reviews, and upcoming events. Her rotating "Ten Places to Eat at Now" list contains a few of my very favorite spots, and she provides a great free service called "tip please" that allows you to enter a bit of information and receive a personalized restaurant recommendation (service temporarily on hold while Marcia travels). She's not paid by restaurants to write a review, she doesn't accept ads, and she doesn't believe in writing negative reviews. She's a genuine voice coming out of the San Francisco food scene.

Twitter: @tablehopper

With a tagline like: Read. Chew. Discuss, eGullet has got to be good. There are a few parts to the website. First, they have a popular forum, where folks post questions in topics ranging from the best canned tomato soups to where to get dinner in Morristown, New Jersey. But the reason I come to egullet is for The Daily Gullet, the literary journal of the eGullet Society. Here, food writers and editors post longer, more literary pieces such as "Why Jews Like Chinese Food" and "The Frying of Latke 49." They're not always recipe-driven like many food blog entries tend to be these days, and are always smartly written. In the online world of short snippets and photos, sometimes it's nice to curl up with the laptop and read an actual essay on food. You get that here.

Look

If you’re a food blogger or a fan of "food porn," you already know Tastespotting and Food Gawker well. If these sites are new to you, the idea is simple: anyone can submit a photo and, if you meet the fairly rigid criteria (focus, composition, exposure and lighting), your picture could be chosen and posted for all to see. For bloggers, it's a great way to drive site traffic because viewers can click on your photo and be routed over to your blog or website for the recipe. For everyone, it’s a fun way to spend a few minutes, seeing what people are cooking and posting, and getting visual inspiration for future forays into the kitchen. If you're looking for a particular recipe or dish, you can search by category, popularity, and date to weed through the tempting photos and find what you're after.

Twitter: @tastespotting, @foodgawker

I

I'll admit it. Some of the food blogs I admire and read the most are ones with exceptional photos--sure, people like to read about food, but people really like to look at food. And that, my friends, is where the genius of Foodspotting enters. Instead of reading restaurant reviews to determine where to find a spicy mole or an authentic macaron, you check out the pictures on your own and judge for yourself.

Foodspotting is a new site that's been getting quite a bit of buzz lately for it's relatively genius concept, user-generated content, and clean and use-to-use interface. It's a self-proclaimed "foodie-powered field guide." Essentially, the idea is that when it comes down to it, you don't always care what Michael Bauer said about your favorite restaurant and researching new spots can make eating a bit more scholarly than it needs to be. So not only do users post photos of their favorite dishes, but Foodspotting has built in an important social element to keep the site fresh, interesting--and even competitive. Here's the nitty gritty (in brief) on how it works. Check out their site if you'd like more detailed information.

• You see a picture and like it, you "Want" it. "Wants" are sightings you'd like to try.
• "Noms" are for foods you've tried and loved the best.
• Champions: people who have spotted food at more places than anyone else.
• Follow: a little like twitter, you can opt to follow places, dishes, and other Foodspotters you trust to stay in the know on the latest sightings.

I'm particularly excited about this site. It's social functionality makes sense--it's all geared towards helping you find dishes you want to try from all over, getting to know your local scene better, network with others who have similar food interests, and perhaps freshen up those camera skills. In terms of travel and restaurant recommendations, it's a new and entirely visual way to check out a city you're traveling to and discover what looks good there.

Twitter: @foodspotting

This past Friday, January 15th at 8 p.m., 7 x 7 magazine hosted what they're calling the Friday Flash Mob. They encouraged diners, chefs, wait staff, or anyone involved in a restaurant that evening to take a shot of what was going on. From the guys manning the line at Tacoliscious to Chris Cosentino enjoying a quiet moment, it's a look at the kitchens, chefs, and dishes that were happening at the same moment all over the city. I'm a sucker for this stuff. While it's obviously too late to submit a photo (unless you have one from Friday at 8 p.m.), the Flickr photo stream will be used to help build the magazine's popular February food issue.

At gala events you expect to see top chefs preparing bite-sized nibbles for guests. But at StarChefs events working chefs are not just preparing the food, they are the ones being celebrated. StarChefs is all about the chefs of today, and the rising star events are a great way to get a taste of what's hot at the moment.

If you're not a chef, it's possible you've never visited StarChefs. The web site offers recipes, community features, publications and articles that are geared for the restaurant professional. Roughly every other year, they also hold an event in our neck of the woods. For the first time, this year they held a Rising Stars Revue™ in Napa and toasted the up and coming chefs of Napa and Sonoma at the historic Charles Krug winery in St. Helena.

Fifteen chefs, sommeliers and a mixologist were honored with food, wine and prizes to boot. Interestingly there were several husband and wife teams, one of whom had to close their restaurant in order to attend. Some favorite dishes from the evening were:

Ubuntu Fregola in Caramelized Vegetable Juices with Salsa Maro from Jeremy Fox of Ubuntu

Poached Poussin with Summer Vegetables from Christopher Kostow of The Restaurant At Meadowood

Ricotta Gnocchi, Salsa di Pomodoro della Nonna and Pecorino from Nick Ritchie of Bottega

Chicken Fried Sweetbreads with Green Bean and Mushroom Casserole from Matt Spector of Jolē

Sauteed Maryland Wild Striped Bass, Ragout of Salsify, Black Trumpet Mushrooms, Bloomsdale Spinach and Spinach Vin Blanc from Restaurateur Award winner John Toulze the girl & the fig, fig café, Estate

Lemon Verbena Parfait with Summer Stone Fruit from Pastry Chef Deanie Hickox-Fox of Ubuntu

Long Ranch Goat Two Ways: Grilled and Braised with Rancho Gordo Beans and Salsa Verde from Host Chef Richard Haake of Winery Chefs

At the event guests got a chance to vote for their favorite dish. I had a hard time choosing between intensely herbal and fragrant fregola dish and the delicate yet crisp striped bass but in the end, the winner was Matt Spector and his decadent sweetbread dish. Looking at the recipes that were in the program, it's clear why we love eating out. With complicated techniques, multiple preparations and long ingredient lists, these were not dishes you would likely make at home!

One of the most beautiful dishes was this plated dessert from Deanie Hickox-Fox. Basically an unconstructed tart, it featured a bit of crunchy crust, sweet apricot with lemon verbena cream accented with a fruit puree, and garnished with edible flowers and a thin wafer cookie.

To make at home, I'd recommend the cocktail presented by Scott Beattie, the Bella Ruffina, a pretty rose colored cocktail perfect for warm Summer days or nights...

Bella Ruffina
4 ounces Braquetto di Aqui
1 ounce Carpano Antico Vermouth
1 dash orange bitters
1 Amarena cherry, for garnish

Combine the sparkling wine, vermouth and bitters in a champagne flute and stir gently. Drop the cherry in the bottom of the glass to serve.

Recipe reprinted from Artisanal Cocktails by Scott Beattie, published by Tenspeed.