The annual Fancy Food Show in San Francisco is just that: Fancy.
Food buyers and grocery store managers and journalists
– among others – descend on the city to view, taste and
experience more good food than one can possibly consume in a
day.
The annual Fancy Food Show in San Francisco is just that: Fancy. Food buyers and grocery store managers and journalists – among others – descend on the city to view, taste and experience more good food than one can possibly consume in a day.
Countries like Spain and France and Italy bring huge constructions into Moscone Center and hang artwork on the walls. They build shelves, sometimes balanced on Roman columns, and fill them with their country’s best cheeses, wines, olives and patés. They send beautiful women and sharp translators, to explain their newest delicacy.
Regardless of the foreign allure, California steals the show. The bounty of our state must be seen to be believed. People from other states murmur things like, “The blue cheese from California was better” while nibbling at the Wisconsin cheese booth. Or, with surprise, “You’re located in California, too?”
Because the show fills both the south and north halls of Moscone Center, there’s no way to visit each booth, much less taste something at each one.
Each year, I pick a couple of focus groups: Last year, I ate balsamic vinegar, exotic grains, and chocolate. This year, it was cheese, tea and chocolate, arguably three of the most heavenly food groups ever invented.
As soon as I sort through the interviews, brochures and business cards, you’ll be reading more about each category, especially our California stars. Today, I’ll highlight a few of the best producers outside of California. Some of these aren’t yet available in grocery stores, so I’ve listed an e-mail address or web site.
• Laucke Bread Machine Pre-Mixes from Australia: Hands down, the best bread machine pre-mixes I’ve tasted. The German Grain Bread Pre-Mix produces a crusty, full-flavored dark loaf. It contains several healthy cereal grains, such as linseed, rye and wheat bran. This is hearty bread, the kind where one slice equals breakfast. Not available in the U.S., though they’re working on it. www.laucke.com.au.
• Fruits & Passion, Canada: Picture creamy avocado and luscious cream blended into a soothing hand lotion for the cook. That’s Fruits & Passion.
The Canadian company will soon have freestanding stores, similar to Bath & Body Works, in the U.S. Of particular note are their plant-based home cleaning products, like Blue Lavender Botanical Detergent for Delicate Fabrics, and Lavender-Mint Botanical Glass Cleaner. They smell heavenly and fresh, rather than fake, like some “herbal” cleansers. For now, you can find the products at www.fruits-passion.com.
• Three Little Pigs all-natural patés: Patés don’t excite me. These from New York’s Les Trois Petits Cochons (the Three Little Pigs) are an exception.
They contain all natural ingredients, no fillers, nitrites, artificial colorings or flavorings, or MSG. Many patés contain artificial preservatives; these do not. I loved the vegetable terrines, like Terrine d’Epinard au Roquefort, a terrine of spinach accented with Roquefort cheese and tomato basil puree. The Paté Paysan (Country Paté) contains chicken, pork, parsley, garlic and spices. The array of flavors is immense. If you order, they are shipped to you two-day express in Styrofoam coolers. Perfect for your next party. www.3pigs.com or (800) LES PATES.
• Girlfriend Confections, Milwaukee: This Wisconsin company is riding the trend of “girlie is good.” Girlfriend Cookies come in paper “purses” complete with a handle, and are shaped in the form of lipstick, tiara, clutch purse, cell phone, nail polish and vanity mirror. Sour Lips candies and Smitten Mints also come in mini purse-shaped boxes. Perfect for a girlfriend or slumber party. www.whosyourgirlfriend.com or (414) 276-0277.
• Color-a-Cookie, New York: Here’s a new idea for your child’s next birthday party. Kits contain a cookie and two edible-ink markers. Kids can color the cookies, which come in the shapes of zoo animals, dump trucks, flowers, farm animals and the Rugrats, to name a few. www.coloracookie.com or (516) 349-0077.
• Easy cheese hors d’oeuvre: Here’s a recipe I tasted at the Fancy Food Show. The Gouda was made by a Dutchman who lives in Los Angeles and ages his cheese in semi-truck trailers. An interesting method for great cheese from the Winchester Cheese Co. – www.winchestercheese.com.
Aged Gouda with Balsamic Reduction
2 cups balsamic vinegar
8 tsp. sugar
12 small wedges of aged Gouda
12 tender spears steamed asparagus
Watercress or Italian flat-leafed parsley for garnish
In small saucepan over high heat, bring vinegar to simmer. Continue cooking until vinegar is reduced to 1/2 to 3/4 cup. Whisk in sugar; set aside to cool. For each serving, put three spears of steamed asparagus and three wedges of aged Gouda on a plate (or serve as above from a large platter). Drizzle with balsamic vinegar reduction. Garnish with watercress or parsley.
• Simple dinner: Next time you have half an hour to whip something up, try this recipe. You’ll need to buy asparagus and a baking potato, but you might already have those in the house. This serves 4.
Asparagus/Potato Frittata
1 large potato, peeled and thinly sliced
1 lb. asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
4 large eggs
4 egg whites
1/2 cup fat-free milk
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1 onion, chopped
Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Put potato into a saucepan and add enough water to cover by 3 inches. Cover and bring to a boil; boil for 5 minutes.
Add asparagus and cook 2 minutes longer. Drain and set aside to cool.
Combine whole eggs, egg whites, milk, 3 T. Parmesan cheese, salt and baking powder into a bowl. Mix in asparagus and potatoes.
Heat nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat skillet with nonstick spray and add onion; cook, stirring occasionally, for 2 minutes. Add egg mixture and reduce heat to medium. Cover and cook until almost set, about 10 minutes. Uncover the skillet, sprinkle with remaining Parmesan cheese, and transfer to the oven. Bake until frittata is cooked through and the cheese has browned, about 5 minutes. Invert frittata onto a plate and cut into wedges before serving.
Tip of the Week:
To “paint” the sauce on a dessert plate, pool a little of the sauce in the bottom of a plate, then with a second sauce of contrasting color in a squirt bottle with a fine tip, make a series of concentric circles in the first sauce. Then at regular intervals, draw a knife tip or toothpick across the sauce rings, creating a wavy effect.
~ Jean Anderson, “1,001 Secrets of Great Cooks”
Notes from Jenny’s Kitchen
• To spruce up canned soup, stir in some sherry and a little garlic; simmer for at least 5 minutes.
• A note from reader George Carlton: For garlic-flavored potato chips, place a peeled clove in a bag of chips, seal, and let stand several hours.
• Celebrate Valentine’s Day a little early with the winemakers of Santa Clara Valley. On Thursday, Feb. 6, from 7 to 9:30 p.m., taste wine and eat decadent desserts, while listening to great opera. Ten wineries from the Santa Clara Valley Wine Growers Association will showcase their wines, ports, late harvest wines and dessert wines. Chocolate “artists,” pastry chefs and bakers will share their desserts, too, and Sandra Rubalcava, a soprano from Mexico, will serenade attendees. The event will be held at the Opera San Jose Rehearsal Hall in San Jose, 2149 Paragon Drive, San Jose. The cost is $40 per person in advance, $45 at the door. For credit card reservations call Cindy at 686-1050. For details, call Valerie Brockbank 778-2979 or email her at vb********@****ga.com.
• End notes: “We all have weaknesses. But I have figured that others have put up with mine so tolerantly that I would be less than fair not to make a reasonable discount for theirs.” ~ William Allen White
Jenny Midtgaard Derry is the Executive Director of the Santa Clara County Farm Bureau. Write to her c/o The Dispatch, P.O. Box 22365, Gilroy, 95021. E-mail: jd****@****ic.com.
