Ramekins Cooking School and Inn in Sonoma

We pulled up to the quaint Ramekins Cooking School and Inn in Sonoma, and knew I’d like this place as soon as I laid eyes on the spork and spoon handles on the front door.

I was invited by Ramekins to check out one of their many cooking classes and stay at their 6-room bed and breakfast. Cooking classes include both demonstration and hands-on classes, and are geared toward food enthusiasts and home cooks. Well, I’m always saying how I really need to make it up to wine country more often than I do, and this sounded like the perfect excuse!

Joyce Goldstein

Plus, I saw that the esteemed Joyce Goldstein would be teaching a Regional Tour of Italy: The Veneto with this mouth-watering menu:

• Warm Scallop and Mushroom Salad
• Crab and Fennel Risotto with Meyer Lemon Gremolata
• Pork with Chestnuts served with Pumpkin Polenta
• Blood Orange Marmalade Tart

» Continue Reading “Cooking Class at Ramekins with Joyce Goldstein”…

Bourbon & Blood Orange Punch

It all started with a G-chat…

Ali: Do you make punch ever?

Me: My punch knowledge is pretty limited. It’s either from middle school (sherbet and ginger ale with random floating fruit) or college (a.k.a. Jungle Juice – Kool Aide, grain alcohol, batches made in trash bags)…neither of which are particularly appealing.

Ali: Hahahahhaha. I have bad memories of Jungle Juice.

Me: I have no (clear) memories of Jungle Juice.

Ali: Good point. Can we bring anything for Saturday??

(Pause)

Me: Punch?!

And so, our limited experience with party punch progressed from the unremarkable and nauseating, to the tasty and tasteful! Ali’s Bourbon & Blood Orange Punch was a knockout (har har) and guests were clamoring for a taste of the gorgeous hued elixir.

» Continue Reading “Punch Drunk Happy”…

On the set at KQED: Stephanie Im, Thy Tran, Leslie Sbrocco

Some exciting news…last Friday, Leslie Sbrocco, host of the new food and wine segment on KQED 9’s This Week in Northern California (you may also know her from Check, Please! Bay Area), invited me and another Bay Area Bites blogger, Thy Tran, to chat with her about celebrating the food and traditions of the Lunar New Year.

We chatted about dumplings, more dumplings, traditions, and fun facts about SF’s Chinese New Year Parade. Enjoy the clip!

Poco Dolce Toffee Square Sampler

Not off my toffee kick yet! Poco Dolce brings a grown-up spin on the classic treat with flavors that are sophisticated and exceptional.

Their Toffee Square Sampler is comprised of four different flavors, each hand-cut into one inch squares and coated in bittersweet chocolate: Sea Salt, Burnt Caramel, Super Chile, and Double Shot Toffee.

Maybe it’s the glutton in me, but I love a good sampler. Because, really, life is too short to pick just one.

» Continue Reading “Poco Dolce Giveaway”…

The 15 day celebration of Chinese New Year (or Lunar New Year, as many Asian cultures refer to it) comes to a close this weekend, and with it, so does my dumpling stash. Resembling little purses stuffed with riches, it is tradition to eat plenty of dumplings during this time because they symbolize prosperity. The more you eat, the more wealth and good fortune will come your way in the New Year. (Maybe I should save a batch to eat right before I do my taxes this year).

Dumplings are a bit of a time commitment to make, but if you can manage to enlist the help of a few friends, it’ll go by in a flash, and you’ll all be rewarded with more homemade dumplings than you can eat in one sitting.

» Continue Reading “Pork and Shrimp Dumplings (Jiao Zi)”…

Brandini Toffee Bites and Poppers

Brandini Toffee tastes like it was made by your sweet little grandma-ma…buttery, comforting, and chock full of love. All true, except for the grandma-ma part. Quite the opposite in fact, the company was started by (then) high school freshmen, Brandon Weimer and Leah Post, in order to raise money for a school trip to Italy.

Leah Post and Brandon Weimer, co-founders of Brandini Toffee, Spring 2007

As you can tell from this photo of the young entrepreneurs at the Trevi Fountain in Rome, they reached their goal! One bite of their decadent confections and you’ll understand why.

Generously thick toffee that crumbles into the perfect texture, a smooth layer of rich dark chocolate, and a sprinkling of roasted almonds…

» Continue Reading “Brandini Toffee Giveaway”…

Valrhona Degustation Grands Crus & Equinoxe Collection Box

Congrats to last week’s giveaway winners! Dskco will be enjoying her Honeysuckle and Clover EMBER from JimmyJane…

Valrhona’s decadent Degustation Grands Crus & Equinoxe Collection Box will hopefully be just the thing Les needs to help her heal her broken ankle quickly…

and Michelle will be receiving gift certificates to enjoy this week’s inaugural Sonoma County Restaurant Week!

Thanks, everyone, for all the wonderful responses! Stay tuned this week…more prizes to come

Fran’s Chocolates, Gray & Smoked Salt Caramels

Today I have something really special: Fran’s Gray & Smoked Salt Caramels.

For those who know…oh, you know. For those who have yet to experience the heavenly bliss that is Fran’s Chocolates…you just have not lived until you put one of these salted caramels in your mouth.

These caramels are perfection. One bite and you will be transported for a brief moment, when all you can concentrate on is the sublime texture and taste you’re experiencing. And then you will wish that you can stop time so that it all lasts just a little bit longer.

Heaven

As you bite down, the thin chocolate couverture seductively melts away, giving in to the luxurious, velvety caramel hidden inside. Buttery, soft and chewy, each caramel is handmade in small batches from fresh organic butter and rich cream. Each precious caramel is then hand-dipped in fine chocolate, and bejeweled with a sprinkling of sea salt that gives you that nice bit of gritty crunch against your back teeth.

» Continue Reading “Fran’s Chocolates Giveaway: Gray & Smoked Salt Caramels”…

Sshhh…don't tell!

When I started procrastinating about an hour ago, Facebook group Secret San Francisco was at 42,654 members. Now, it’s at 43,736 members.
A mere 12 days ago, it was just a glint in Jamie Quint’s eye.

The 24-year-old entrepreneur started this group based on the model of Secret London, which went from zero to 180,000 members in under 20 days. The group is an open forum for people to spill San Francisco’s best kept secrets, from restaurants and bars, to events, shows, and random cool things to do.

Discussion boards contain threads on topics like Best Sandwich, Best Brunch (for foodies not alchies), and Best Outdoor Workout…to burn off all those carbs and eggs benedicts. There is even a brief diatribe that ensues when an out-of-towner catastrophically requests some good tips on where to go when she visits “Frisco” this summer. Eeek. Poor thing won’t be uttering that jaunty little nickname for a long time.

» Continue Reading “Not So Secret San Francisco”…

Yess…the Oprah giveaway streak continues! Not to worry, I’m not done with the chocolate yet…but let’s take a brief respite for some food and wine

The first-ever Sonoma County Restaurant Week begins February 22nd and will run through February 28th (about time, huh?).

The seven day event will celebrate Sonoma’s wealth of local, farm-fresh food, sustainable practices, and of course, wine! Some of the county’s best restaurants (the girl & the fig, Dry Creek Kitchen, Zazu, El Dorado Kitchen, just to name a few) will be serving three-course dinner menus at $19, $29, or $39, depending on the restaurant.

The good folks at the Sonoma County Tourism Bureau are offering you the chance to win a $25 gift certificate to two of Sonoma’s finest restaurants, the girl & the fig in Sonoma and Charlie Palmer’s Dry Creek Kitchen in Healdsburg.

» Continue Reading “Sonoma County Restaurant Week Giveaway”…