gourmandadventurer's Profile
How to make brandied cherry cordial bon bons?
I love the ganache idea. I ended up making chocolate shells and filling them with a cherry I'd soaked for 6 weeks in brandy / sugar. They were incredible the first day. The next day they looked pretty sad.
I have some brandied cherries left and i think I will try the fondant approach. So yummy though. Thanks for the info.
Best work-from-home cafes -- Oakland/Berkeley
Hi, Good news. Farley's oakland location is very lively. http://www.farleyscoffee.com/
I love their food too.
It may be my old affiliation with Berkeley but Cafe Roma at Ashby and College now that they remodeled has a nice ambiance that's very light and bright. The back room is full of people who I think write entire theses. You will find more berkeley types than internet / worker types there.
Pizzaiolo in the morning is always full of mac laptops.
Best work-from-home cafes -- Oakland/Berkeley
Elwood Cafe doesn't have Internet. But it's awesome for working (and not wanting to be distracted by the internet!)
How to make brandied cherry cordial bon bons?
I've seen lots of recipes that call for painting chocolate to cover the filling of a bon bon, but what do you do if the center is liquidy like with a cordial or drippy caramel? Make a separate "bottom" and paint it on? I'd love some advice. Since liqueur won't freeze, that's not an answer for the cordial.
I've seen fondant that can melt after many months but I'm hoping for a quick fix.
Thanks!!
Curing Olives--Where to buy Lye?
Useful thread! I just used lye to cure some manzanilla olives and hopefully they will not get mushy. Here is a link to that UC manual, which is really meaty and educational: http://ucanr.org/freepubs/docs/8267.pdf
Favorite Cafees / Coffee in Chicago?
San Franciscan visiting Chicago for my first time. It's kind of exciting I know next to nothing about Chicago - and visiting awesome cafes and coffee roasters is one thing I love. If there are any cafe / bakeries you love even better. Ideas?
Peanut butter brittle (soft crunchy peanut butter candy)
If you're a west coaster you might know See's peanut crunches and california crunches. I'd love to know how to make that kind of peanut butter filling and I have a feeling it might be "peanut butter brittle."
I've seen a few recipes involving pb, corn syrup, sugar and water. Have you ever made it or do you have a recipe for this, which is one of my fave things ever?
If so does it work just as well with natural pb?
Thanks!
Barcelona foodies / chefs - interest in American artisan foods?
Hello,
I'm heading for a long awaited trip to Barcelona in a couple of days and thought to see if you know anyone who might be intrigued to try American "fleur de sel" or other interesting food products made small food producers in the US. My main motivation is I'd love to meet people in food and also share these great discoveries.
Please post or send me a message if so!
And thanks to everyone for your fabulous food guides here which will be my main source of reference. If there are any food get togethers (meetup style) I'd love to meet new people that way while I'm in BCN.
Barcelona/Sitges Dining Report
Very timely report for me! Thanks for all the details, a perfect addition to my guides.
Spain Itinerary- Help?
I'm excited to see your tip about El Celler de Can Roca. Someone told me that Mas Les Cols had the best meal ever but seeing your knowledge of the area I'll go to your fave resturant instead! I'd love to hear if you have an opinion of Mas Les Cols too. Gracias!
Trip Report: Madrid, Barcelona, San Sebastian
Completely and utterly fabulous to have this guide and to come upon it just after you wrote it! I can't wait to spend some time perusing it for an upcoming trip. Thanks so much for sharing!
Did you hear of any towns outside /nearby Barcelona that are great to visit for food experiences?
Street fruit sellers in residential areas
Lately I've noticed people standing on residential corners selling strawberries and other fruit, whereas I used to see this more on busy urban streets.
Have you seen this and do you know if these people are organized from a central fruit selling source? The corners seem to be very random and in quiet suburban areas. Just curious!
Best of LA - help some OC'rs
Tommy's! - Rampart and Beverly Blvd. Eat standing up, get everything on your doublecheeseburger. That is all.
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Tommy's Original World Famous
2575 Beverly Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90057
Where can I still get Maine Shrimp?
In case you feel like road tripping, I just saw this site today: http://www.portclydefreshcatch.com/
Best Boston Farmer's Markets?
You're right! For some reason I was thinking since the Northwest ones open earlier that Boston's would. Thanks for cluing me in. I'm glad to find out now!
use for one old vanilla bean?
A few months ago I put a vanilla bean in a little jar of vodka. It totally scented the alcohol and was a great use of it. Add a little simple syrup and you've got a nice elixir!
Best Boston Farmer's Markets?
Hi there
I'll be in Boston area during spring and would love the insider scoop on which farmers' markets you think are the best in terms of selection and breadth of vendors...and if you happen to know the days please let me know or I can look them up.
Thanks!
$2500 worth of gourmet pleasure (Help needed!)
Is the bonus gone yet? I hope not! I personally would order every chocolate bar from BonBonBar, which is a single person chocolatier in LA: http://bonbonbar.foodzie.com
I happen to know that the peanut butter and strawberry jam bar is brand new as is the caramallow bar and while it is way too early in the morning to be thinking about chocolate I can't stop staring at it!
How many vinegars can I *get by* with?
As a random aside, several people I know including a doctor swear by the health benefits of taking a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar a day. It's also nice to have around to splash on salads so you might want to add that to the pantry!
TJ's Crystallized Candied Ginger- what to do?
When I'm on a "diet" I eat pieces of this along with dark chocolate.
When I'm feeling especially motivated I nuke the chocolate and dip it. Instant heaven plus the ginger will soothe your stomach, not to mention give you an excellent sugar high!
Tasty treats in the Tenderloin and around?
I've heard good things about Melba's Crack Shack.
Wait is it too early for April Fools?
I love Shalimar but I think that's more "Tender Nob" or "Lower Nob Hill" although it's definitely Tenderloin adjacent.
Semifreddi's Bread in Nob Hill Area
Cheese Plus could have it although that's Nob Hill adjacent. It might be fastest to call Semifreddi to find out. :)
Bulk Guittard chocolate in San Francisco?
Anyone know a place within San Francisco (not surrounding cities) that sells chopped up 10 lb bars of Guitdard chocolate? I don't mean E Guittard or any other brand, just wondering about regularly old Guittard bulk chocolate.
Thanks!
Best farmer's markets in LA area?
I love Saturday in Santa Monica and Sunday in Hollywood. But are there other markets I'm missing out on, from which I should leave this well beaten path?
I'm willing to go from the Valley down to the south bay area and as far east as Pasadena.
Thanks!
Bizarre air bubbles in chocolate air bubbles
I've dipped a lot of chocolate but have never seen anything like this, and I'd love to hear thoughts from any experts:
I dipped some peanut butter creams in milk Guittard chocolate, which I'd nuked, then sprinkled a very small amount of sea salt on top.
I don't think the salt coated the whole chocolate but it looks like tiny little air bubbles appeared all over the chocolate then popped.
The chocolate had melted a little as my friend was storing it at around 65 degrees.
Have you seen this? Any idea why it happened? Thanks!
(no good camera on hand for a pic)
Faks About Skafs
I adore skafs and while I don't live in LA, I always go there when I'm flying from Burbank.
It's a great family business, totally friendly peeps, and they have some great off the beaten path items sometimes like meat-stuffed eggplant.
Their pastries, I believe made by their grandmother, rock. If they have the cashew fingers in stock try them...especially if you've never had them before. Completely addictive.
Celebrating National Pie Day today?
Wow never heard of it. That makes banana cream pie sound like health food! All I needed...one more excuse to eat toffee. :)
Food that Most People Love and You Don't...
I don't love: caviar, raw oysters, truffles, pate, or any of those extra gourmet things. Never have and I don't get it! That's my true confession. Although I do love escargot.
lunch for 50 women
Random idea: If your friends are into slow food, look into Vino Locale in Palo Alto. There's a big back area that could be really nice.
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Vino Locale
431 Kipling St, Palo Alto, CA 94301
