Season Leaf Bowl SHOP Episode: Sweet & Spooky This serve bowl in black was the perfect vessel for the lime green granny smith apples sitting on her counter for this Halloween-themed episode.

Envirosax Monochromatic Bag SHOP Episode: Sweet & Spooky Giada takes this reusable tote along while shopping for candy at The Candy Baron with Jade.  This particular style is no [...]]]>

Season Leaf Bowl SHOP
Episode: Sweet & Spooky
This serve bowl in black was the perfect vessel for the lime green granny smith apples sitting on her counter for this Halloween-themed episode.

Envirosax Monochromatic Bag SHOP
Episode: Sweet & Spooky
Giada takes this reusable tote along while shopping for candy at The Candy Baron with Jade.  This particular style is no longer available but the Midnight Safari set has a similar design.

Chilewich Cubic Gunmetal Runner SHOP
Episode: Elegant Appetizers
Giada uses this runner to dress up the table for her appetizer party.

Beach-Themed Ornaments from Seaside Inspired SHOP
To go with Giada and Todd’s coastal lifestyle, the outside Christmas tree was decked out in adorable ornaments like these surfboards and shells.  The full assortment can be seen on seainspired.com.
Episode: Christmas

Flow Large Pasta Dish SHOP
Giada serves her quinoa in this pasta bowl from West Elm’s Flow collection.
Episode: Giada’s Book Club

Glass Footed Dessert Bowl SHOP
The lemon meringue is served in these Crate & Barrel individual dessert bowls.
Episode: Giada’s Book Club

For Valentine’s Day this year, I was inspired by this Gnome cookie collection and decided to make my own.  I first caught on to the ingeniously cookies by Dani Boglivi-Fiori when she appeared on the Martha Stewart Show in December 2010 to demo these Snow Globes.  Since then, Dani has gone full steam [...]]]>

For Valentine’s Day this year, I was inspired by this Gnome cookie collection and decided to make my own.  I first caught on to the ingeniously cookies by Dani Boglivi-Fiori when she appeared on the Martha Stewart Show in December 2010 to demo these Snow Globes.  Since then, Dani has gone full steam ahead with her cookie business and continues to amaze with ideas like this year’s holiday work of art, the Nativity Scene and Lovebird Owls.  The best news of all… she recently tweeted that her book is tentatively launching at the end of the year!

This is my take on Dani’s Gnome collection.  I went with the traditional gnome color scheme and added blue.  And a good 8 hours later…..

Gnome couple and the mushroom family

Just getting started.  All half naked.

Sweet Gnome in need of Gnomi

Recipe:

Gnomi on Martha Stewart’s site to get the list of decorations Dani used

Notes:

• If you have the time, wait 4-8 hours in between colors that touch.  I didn’t and mine started to bleed into each other.
• Use the flattest cookies possible.  It will help you have an even icing layer.  My Gnomi’s dress started to run a bit.
• The icing bottles are great to really guide the icing around the cookie.  I used standard size bottles from Michaels which are decent but would definitely like to have the different sized tips like on the ones Dani designed.

Supplies:

Below are the links to purchase the cookie cutters.  I printed out images from the links and cut out my own guides for tracing the cookies.  Official templates will be in Dani’s book.

Gnome and Gnomi cookie cutters by SweetDaniB
Mushroom cookie cutter, the mini ones I traced myself
Icing Bottle Kit by Sweet DaniB

And I thought I’d never figure out what to do with lobster cookie cutters. Happy Valentine’s Day!

See the Friends clip here

Along with my macaron tasting, I was able to fit in some cookies without having a sugar overload. My latest find, the cookies at Levain Bakery, were so good, I had to make a second trip for more so everyone at home could experience them.  Okay and because I wanted another for myself. Here are [...]]]>

Along with my macaron tasting, I was able to fit in some cookies without having a sugar overload. My latest find, the cookies at Levain Bakery, were so good, I had to make a second trip for more so everyone at home could experience them.  Okay and because I wanted another for myself. Here are some snapshots of Levain and my other favorites in the city.

It’s hard to miss this Upper West Side bakery as there is always a crowd spilling out onto the sidewalk.  To get to the shop, you walk down a set of stairs as if entering a basement and are welcomed with the sweet smell of cookies.  If it weren’t such tight quarters inside, only a few bar seats by a window, I would stay in there just to inhale more of the aroma.

BEST NON-CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE: Levain Bakery Oatmeal Raisin

Weighing in at 6 oz, each mound individually placed on a scale for accuracy, these are the heftiest cookies I’ve ever had.  I don’t even want to know how many calories there are but every bite is worth it.

Oatmeal Raisin- this classic cookie was never a favorite of mine because of the texture from the oats, so I was pleasantly surprised with this.  The texture is not like any oatmeal cookie I’ve ever had.  No sign of oats at all.  I assume they are ground up into the batter.  The consistency is chewy and dense.  The raisins are plump and juicy.  Hands down, the best I have ever had.

Chocolate Chocolate Chip- no surprises with this one.  It is what you’d expect from a chocolate cookie but what gives it an edge is the bites of fudge.  Some parts are chewy, others are fudgy and all very decadent.

Inside of Levain’s oatmeal raisin cookie.

BEST CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE: Jacques Torres’ chocolate chip

Above is a shot of Jacque Torres’ chocolate chip cookie.  I borrowed this image from his Facebook as the two times I’ve had the cookie, it was devoured before I could get a suitable photo.  All with good reason.  Ask for it warmed and it tastes like it is fresh out of the oven.  The cookie is crispy and flaky.  I like how the chocolate is swirled into the cookie but remains in nice large chunks so you get bites of it.  There is a nice salty component as well.

To really go all out, have this cookie with a cup of Wicked Hot Chocolate.  The ancho and chipotle chili peppers add a kick that I noticed mostly in the back of my throat but still a fun beverage.

MOST CREATIVE COOKIE: Anything from Momofuku Milk Bar

I love Christina Tosi.  She has such unique cookies and on her recent book tour I got to taste them all.  Here is my post from her October visit to Williams-Sonoma.

Blueberry and cream cookie- this is still my favorite concept of all the cookies. I love berries and this reminds me of a blueberry muffin.  I did think it was a little too sweet but I had a taste from the Momofuku cookie mix at Williams-Sonoma and it was perfect.

BEST COOKIE RE-MAKE: Bouchon Bakery Nutter Butter

Thomas Keller’s version of the peanut-shaped cookie is extremely rich but so good you forget that you may feel sick afterward.  Best eaten over the course of a few days or shared with others. The cookies are crisp and the filling is thick and sweeter than the original.

If peanut butter is not to your liking, there is also the TKO, the Thomas Keller Oreo.  To me it doesn’t exactly replicate the Oreo.  It is a more sophisticated version.  The dark chocolate cookie has more cocoa flavor.

Cookie Location List:

Levain Bakery
167 West 74th St

Jacques Torres Chocolate (Upper West Side location, one block from Levain Bakery)
285 Amsterdam Ave

Momofuku Milk Bar
251 E 13th St

Bouchon Bakery Columbus Circle (also one at Rockefeller Plaza)
10 Columbus Cir

On my latest trip to New York I decided to make it a macaron trip, the idea mainly inspired by the opening last year of Ladurée, the famous Parisian tea salon that finally has come to the states. I hope Pierre Hermé will follow suit but for now I will settle for a little piece [...]]]>

On my latest trip to New York I decided to make it a macaron trip, the idea mainly inspired by the opening last year of Ladurée, the famous Parisian tea salon that finally has come to the states. I hope Pierre Hermé will follow suit but for now I will settle for a little piece of Paris in Ladurée, literally, as the macarons are flown over every week.

And before I get into the little details of each macaron, here is my blurb, macaron tasting 101, because I take it that seriously. It’s like wine tasting.

Ladurée’s pastel green is as recognizable to sweet lovers as Tiffany’s blue is to shopaholics. In the midst of the rainy weather, the window display on Madison Avenue was a welcoming spring combination of green and lavender. This is the only photo I have of the shop, as true to the Paris locations, photography is not allowed inside.  I figured the window was acceptable since it is viewable from the outside.

Rose- the consistency of the filling was closer to whipped cream but I let that go because the flavor was lovely.  Sweet and just a subtle hint of floral. I usually find rose and jasmine to be safe picks if going with floral flavors.

Orange Blossom- a more adventurous pick that didn’t work for me.  It was much too strong, not quite like I was tasting soap but heading in that direction.

Caramel- one of my exceptions to my buttercream-only rule. Ladurée’s version is one of my favorites as it has a nice balance of salt to sweet.  I believe the caramel is cooked longer because it has a burnt caramelized taste that I really like.

Francois Payard’s chocolate wall at his Chocolate Bar shop in the Plaza Hotel.  Along with chocolates, this shop has a selection of pastries and macarons.  Payard’s macarons are the closest to Pierre Hermé that I have found in the US. The macaron to filling ratio and texture are almost spot on.

Raspberry Lychee- my favorite of the trio I bought that day. The raspberry buttercream was smooth and just slightly tart. The addition of lychee was a nice touch.

Caramel- the filling did not have as much punch as Ladurée’s.  It was sweeter and the caramel flavor more mellow.

Passion fruit- this is basically a replica of Pierre Hermé’s version, right down to the cocoa powder speckled top. Done perfectly. The tangyness of the passionfruit macaron is not overpowered by the chocolate.  This flavor combination works so well together.

I love this graffiti wall as you enter DessertTruck Works.  I had to come back after my initial discovery of their macarons last May.

The chalkboard wall with dessert offerings.

I was disappointed upon approaching the window display to find the shop no longer makes the individual size ones. I needed my monkey finger macaron!  The glass case had only mega size available so I selected my favorite flavor, salted caramel.  To show just how truly gigantic it is, I shot it next to the passion fruit macaron from Francois Payard.

It was such a beast I didn’t know how to eat it.  I managed to cut it in half with a knife and again into quarter segments.  This was a macaron for 4 people. I was skeptical of how the texture would be at such a large size but it was surprisingly good. The shell was a thick but still moist and fluffy.  The caramel was oozy and delicious.  In comparison to Ladurée’s caramel filling, it is sweeter.

Millefeuille is a little shop a couple blocks from Washington Square Park, where I took my macaron for tasting. I decided to give this place a try since the pastry chef had trained under Pierre Hermé.  And anyone who has that training, I felt pretty confident about.

Cheesecake- the shell was not chewy, rather it was moist and almost cake-like.  The macaron was a little cold so I’m not sure if that had something to do with it but it was odd. As for the filling, I could already tell by looking that there wasn’t enough and of what there was, it was too subtle in flavor. I did like that there were little bits of cheesecake incorporated into the filling for contrast in texture but I wanted more.

I think I’d give Millefeuille another try, perhaps with another flavor. I heard the green tea is good.

The colorful assortment at La Maison du Macaron. This stop was on a whim and I’m glad I did. I was overwhelmed by the array of options and certainly the most creative combinations I have seen anywhere, including Paris.  Nougat lavender, tiramisu, White Russian, Jack Daniels?! Should have gotten the Jack Daniels.   I went with Red Wine Poached Pear with Pink Pepper.

First of all how CUTE are the edible heart sprinkles?  I have not seen them before on any dessert so I can’t stop squealing when I see this picture. Okay so the macaron. The texture was chewy unfortunately but the flavor was good. A tad less red wine and it would have been fantastic. It was a bit tart but did not overpower the pear flavor. I also wanted to taste the pink pepper.

Birds-eye view on the macaron top.  More hearts!  Perfect for Valentine’s Day.

My NYC Macaron Location List:

Maison Ladurée
864 Madison Ave

Francois Payard’s Chocolate Bar
1 West 58th (in the Plaza Hotel temporarily next to the hotel shop)

DessertTruck Works
6 Clinton St

Millefeuille
552 Laguardia Pl

La Maison du Macaron
132 W 23rd St

I thought I’d write an entry on what I look for when I try macarons. For me, the ultimate macaron comes from Pierre Herme in Paris so I like to use that as a basis, but just that because if I were to compare everything to that, I’d probably be disappointed 95% of the time.  [...]]]>

I thought I’d write an entry on what I look for when I try macarons. For me, the ultimate macaron comes from Pierre Herme in Paris so I like to use that as a basis, but just that because if I were to compare everything to that, I’d probably be disappointed 95% of the time.  Here are my criteria for great macarons:

1. Macaron to filling ratio- Pierre Herme uses a generous amount of filling (some like it and some don’t) that is as thick as one of the macarons that forms the sandwich. It is sad when I come across macarons where I can barely see what is inside. That is usually my first clue not to buy it.

2. Texture- when I bite into a macaron, the shell should crackle and break and immediately you bite into the filling mixture combined with the soft inside of the macaron shell.  The key for me is, its a homogenous mixture once I take a bite.  I don’t taste chewiness or cakeyness of the shell.  This I think is the hardest part to accomplish.

3. Filling- the classic macaron filling is a buttercream. I know variations with a whipped filling or jam, in which case I would make an exception if the flavor is truly amazing, but I remain true to buttercream.

4. Price- I list this here only to say that macarons are expensive.  I never walk into a bakery and look at the macaron price because I know it is generally $2-3 a piece.  To make the perfect macaron, especially with my criteria above, it is not easy to do and we’re paying for the labor.  So I just accept it and pay.

Lastly, when I say that Pierre Herme has the best macaron, I’m sure it is partly because I was in Paris and anything in Paris just tastes better but still I find his macarons are the most consistent in texture and strength of flavor. This of course does not discourage me from still tasting others. There are a lot of creative flavors out there and are worth a taste.

It’s not too late to put together a great gift.  The place to go?  The Ferry Building.  Here are a few of my favorite things, all under $10, that can fill Christmas stockings or be assembled into a basket for a foodie friend (hint..hint).

The Ferry Building dressed up for the holidays

It’s not too late to put together a great gift.  The place to go?  The Ferry Building.  Here are a few of my favorite things, all under $10, that can fill Christmas stockings or be assembled into a basket for a foodie friend (hint..hint).

The Ferry Building dressed up for the holidays

G.L. Alfieri’s Egg Nog Almond Brittle $4.50 for 4 oz, $8.50 for 8 oz
Alfieri’s is one of my favorite weekly stops for the samples of their popular dark chocolate almond brittle.  For the holidays they have an egg nog version.  It has a nice flavor that reminds you of the festive drink.

Recchiuti S’more Bites- $8.00 for 4 SHOP
These are little heavenly squares of deliciousness.  The marshmallow is light and fluffy and covered in a thin layer of chocolate.  The thin graham cookie base has a nice crunch.

Miette Gingersnaps- $8 SHOP
Anything from Miette would look so cute in a gift basket, but for the holidays I like these generous-sized ginger snaps with scalloped edges.

Acme Bread Panettone- Small $4, Large $8
I love the petite panettone.  It is about 6″ tall, the perfect individual size.  The bread is dense and filled with raisins, golden raisins and pine nuts.

Happy Girl Kitchen Jam- 4 oz for $7.00 SHOP
Great to go with Christmas morning breakfast or for filling linzer cookies

Kika’s Treats Caramelized Graham Crackers- $7.50 for 5 SHOP
Stop by the La Cocina booth to support local small businesses. Kika’s caramelized graham crackers are a stand out and would taste even better if you made s’mores with them.

Ferry Building/Blue Bottle Shop Tote- $10.00 SHOP
An eco-friendly way to present your gift and also a nice way to share where everything came from.  On one side of the tote is an illustration of the Ferry Building and the other is the Blue Bottle Coffee kiosk.  (I’d say add a bag of coffee but that is $12 and goes past my $10 limit)

Ferry Building Marketplace
1 Ferry Bldg
San Francisco, CA 94111
Neighborhood: Embarcadero

Farmer’s Market
Tuesday: 10am–2pm
Thursday: 10 am – 2pm
Saturday: 8am-2pm (will be open Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve)

When I saw this adorable tweet by Donna, owner of pot + pantry, an equally adorable kitchen boutique in the Mission, I was instantly in the Christmas spirit and inspired to make a whole clan of gingerbread men.

The whole lot in ugly Christmas sweaters!

If you’re not one for details, [...]]]>

When I saw this adorable tweet by Donna, owner of pot + pantry, an equally adorable kitchen boutique in the Mission, I was instantly in the Christmas spirit and inspired to make a whole clan of gingerbread men.

The whole lot in ugly Christmas sweaters!

If you’re not one for details, this may not be an ideal project.  Each sprinkle was applied one by one with royal icing.  It took about five hours on a cold Saturday afternoon, which to me was therapeutic and relaxing.

Getting ready to be wrapped.

All set for gifting!

This was my first attempt at making cookie ornaments and I didn’t think to use a dough that was more suitable for longevity on a tree.  If you use the recipe below, the cookie will become soft if hung without packaging.  So better to eat it!

Gingerbread Cookie Recipe from Patti Paige
via the blog Of Cats and Cardstock

Makes 25 gingerbread men or women

Ingredients:
10.5 tablespoon unsalted butter (1 stick plus 2.5 tablespoons)
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1.5 teaspoons salt
1 large egg
3/4 cup dark molasses
3 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Directions:
1. Cream together butter and sugar. Add spices, salt, egg, and molasses and beat well. Sift together flour, soda, and baking powder; add to butter mixture and beat again. (I use a stand mixer for this step…it’s a very stiff dough.)

2. Chill dough for several hours. (This is important…it rolls best if it is well chilled. I bake a few cookies at a time and re-chill the dough before rolling out each batch.)

3. Heat oven to 350 degrees.

4. Roll dough to 1/4 inch thick. Cut into shapes.

5. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Cool on wire racks.

My recipe notes:

• Make sure to chill the dough. I split the dough into two discs and flattened really thin to speed up the chilling time.  It is so easy to roll out.  Also, you can re-roll the scraps several times. I always worry that the cookies will be tough when I do that, but there was no difference.  Every batch was just as good as the first rolled.
• This recipe makes great tasting cookies.  The molasses is prominent so if you are not a fan, I would cut down a little bit.
• I baked my cookies on William-Sonoma’s non stick gold touch sheet pan and after 10 minutes they were still soft, so keep that in mind when using a light colored pan.  I needed more in the 15-18 minute range to get nice crisp cookies, but make sure to keep an eye on them.  I had a few blackened gingerbread men.

Supplies

• Gingerbread cookie cutters- mine were 5″ cutters
• Snowflake sprinkles
• Holly and Berries sprinkles
• Red and Green Tree sprinkles
• Christmas Tree Candies from the Williams-Sonoma Holiday Deco Kit, similar ones are in Wilton’s Snowman and Tree Mix
• Royal Icing Mix

With creative concoctions such as crack pie, cereal milk and compost cookies, (just noticing my unintentional alliteration) pastry chef, Christina Tosi has developed quite a following at Momofuku Milk Bar in New York.  With the release of her new cookbook, Christina embarked on a nationwide book tour and brought her east coast treats to the [...]]]>

With creative concoctions such as crack pie, cereal milk and compost cookies, (just noticing my unintentional alliteration) pastry chef, Christina Tosi has developed quite a following at Momofuku Milk Bar in New York.  With the release of her new cookbook, Christina embarked on a nationwide book tour and brought her east coast treats to the Bay Area.

Her stop at Williams-Sonoma Union Square, San Francisco included a demo and samples of her famous cookies.  No thanks to city rush hour traffic, I only caught the last bit of her demo, but the cookies did make up for it.  FYI, I did not eat all of these on my own.  I spread the love for Milk Bar to a few friends   Here are my notes on each one.

Taste Test:

Compost Cookie- chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, graham crumbs, pretzels, potato chips, coffee grounds and oats.  Sounds like something you’d make when you have too many expired things in your pantry, but every one of these ingredients are essential to the incredible flavor of the cookie.  The most immediate flavors I tasted were the graham/brown sugar and coffee.  It was comforting.  My favorite cookie of the bunch.

Corn Cookie- like a sugar cookie but with the sweetness from corn. It is easily recognizable but in no way overpowering.  It makes for a very interesting cookie.

Chocolate-Chocolate Cookie- so intensely chocolatey, the name needs to repeat the word twice.  It is actually not too sweet.  There is much more focus on the cocoa.  Must be eaten with a cold glass of milk.

Cornflake, Chocolate Chip, Marshmallow Cookie- this one reminds me of a rice krispie treat. Christina first bakes a sugared cornflake mixture that gets  folded into the cookie dough.  Its gives a crispy, chewy texture like in a krispy treat.

Blueberry & Cream Cookie- had a bit of cookie overload so I didn’t get one, but I did get it from the actual Momofuku Bakery in NY.  Its like a blueberry muffin in cookie form.  A bit too sweet for me.

Christina Tosi’s tips for great cookies:

• 10 minute creaming process!  I have never heard of creaming that long but if that’s what it takes to create her delicious cookies I won’t argue.
• Refrigerate for 1 hour before baking so the butter in the cookies can firm up again after the creaming process.  The cookies will then bake before spreading.  From experience, unless you like a sheet pan of one cookie, this is an important step.
• Pat down cookies slightly before putting in the oven.  This will help the cookies have an even spread.

If you can’t make it to NY, luckily Momofuku cookies can ship!

Momofuku Milk Bar 
251 e 13th st
new york, ny 10003
Order online

My long over due post on this year’s Dessert First event in San Francisco!

Thanks to Project Open Hand and their Facebook dessert photo contest, I got to attend Dessert First in August. San Francisco’s pastry chefs come together to for what I call the ultimate dessert tasting. All the proceeds go toward Project Open Hand’s efforts to provide healthy meals [...]]]>

My long over due post on this year’s Dessert First event in San Francisco!

Thanks to Project Open Hand and their Facebook dessert photo contest, I got to attend Dessert First in August. San Francisco’s pastry chefs come together to for what I call the ultimate dessert tasting. All the proceeds go toward Project Open Hand’s efforts to provide healthy meals for those in need in the Bay Area. What better way to help out than by eating desserts?

There seemed to be a couple of recurring themes, not sure if it was an intentional or not, but peanut butter was a common ingredient and anything cream/yogurt-like was the dessert of choice.  Here are my highlights from the event.

Upon first walking in, there was this gorgeous dessert display from Daniel Corey at the Intercontinental Hotel where the event was held.

Favorite Dessert of the Night: Starting off my post with the best. Yellow peach and yogurt parfait with basil gelee and basil meringue. It was a burst of summer in a glass. The yogurt was refreshing and the tangyness was balanced by the lovely basil flavor.  The bits of fresh fruit on top were a nice contrast in texture. Extra points for the generous serving size.  It’s hard to see from the photo but the glasses were approximately 3″ in diameter or a good restaurant dessert portion.

Next stop was Elizabeth Falkner of Citizen Cake.  I love the golden pig on the table.

Most Creative Dessert: Chef Falkner is known for some pretty inventive desserts and this did not disappoint. She served a creamy vanilla ice cream with caramel, popcorn and Corn Nuts. It sounds crazy but it all worked! It was like a sophisticated ball park dessert. The popcorn and corn nuts were so fun to crunch into and tasted fantastic with the ice cream.  The caramel drizzle rounded out the whole creation.

A dessert party is not complete without cupcakes. American Cupcake was on hand with a colorful assortment of their creations.

Most Playful Dessert: My eye went immediately to the neon-tinted snowballs. I don’t see it on their menu, so that’s the name I’m giving them. I’m usually hesitant of things dyed in crazy colors but these were too cute to resist.  Each snowball was a dense, incredibly moist and flavorful cake  covered in coconut flakes. I love that the cake flavors were surprises when you bite into them because you really can’t tell with the covering of coconut.  Both the vanilla and red velvet were fantastic.

Humphry Slocombe brought out peanut butter ice cream with peanuts and chocolate sauce.  While Elizabeth Falkner’s ice cream was more refined and delicate, this was rich and intensely peanut buttery, the ultimate dessert for a peanut butter lover.

All the chefs really impressed with their dessert plates but sometimes you just need a little bit of home and I loved the simplicity of this table by Dynamo Donuts.  Simple clear stands with stacks of donuts and sunflowers for a pop of color.

Dynamo’s banana and peanut butter donut was tasty. I could have used a little more banana flavor, but all in all good.

Most Inventive Display: Janine Fong of Meritage Restaurant cleverly used TCHO chocolate bars to create an eye-catching table.  The dessert on top was a TCHO  chocolate beet cake with goat cheese panna cotta.

Chef Francis Ang of Fifth Floor presented this black tea panna cotta with calamansi sorbet. After doing a check on wiki, calamansi is from the Philippines and of the orange family. If it were not for the yogurt parfait I had earlier, this would have been my favorite.  I loved the sweet black tea with the tart citrus topping.

Best Use of Savory in Dessert: Suzanne LaFleur of Perbacco restaurant created this beautiful sweet corn bonet with blackberry sauce and toasted amaretti crumbs.  I could have used a bit more the blackberry sauce to contrast the sweetness of the corn but it was overall an impressive dessert.

CHEESE. Way in the back corner of the room but it saved the night. I couldn’t have eaten as much dessert without this. I wish I could give credit to the vendor but I definitely helped myself to several samplings of the delicious brie.

Note to self for future photo boothing: there is a chair to sit on inside. The sugar must have gotten to my head.

Featured Chefs:

Daniel Corey
Intercontinental Hotel, San Francisco

Elizabeth Falkner
Citizen Cake

Devin Apler
American Cupcake

Jake Godby
Humphry Slocombe Ice Cream

Sara Spearin
Dynamo Donuts

Janine Fong
Meritage Restaurant

Francis Ang
Fifth Floor

Suzanne LaFleur
Perbacco