Test Driving AmazonFresh

I guess you could say that I've been a professional grocery shopper for almost eight years now--since launching San Diego Foodstuff. I love shopping and markets--whether it's chatting up vendors at our farmers markets, discovering new ingredients at ethnic markets, or ooohing and ahhhing over the annual reappearance of seasonal produce at Whole Foods or Sprouts. Don't even get me started on Trader Joe's.

So, when I received Amazon's notice of the San Diego launch of AmazonFresh--their fresh produce and grocery delivery service--I was curious. How would it work? They brag that they offer products from local vendors, but who would they be and why wouldn't I just head over to their shops? How easy would it be to order what I want? How long would it take to get to me? Sure, we've been through other online grocery delivery businesses, like FreshDirect and WebVan. But this is Amazon. I have certain expectations.

Well, before I go any further with this let's bring up the shock factor--the annual $299 fee for what is called AmazonFresh Prime. So, if, like me, you already are an Amazon Prime member for $79 a year (yes, that fee is increasing, too, and I've lately noticed that the two-day free delivery is edging closer to three or four or more days), you now have to spend another $220 a year to be able to order and get grocery delivery, along with all your other Prime membership benefits. This applies to you whether you're in San Diego, L.A., or San Francisco. (Interestingly, in Seattle Amazon Fresh is open to anyone, so long as you pay an $8 to $10 delivery fee or place a big enough single order or are part of the Big Radish, their frequent buyer program.)

Gulp.

I'd love to hear from you about whether or not you think a grocery delivery service is worth $299 a year--remembering that you only get "free" delivery if you spend more than $35 on an order. Clearly the rationale on Amazon's part is that you'll feel compelled to spend an awful lot on Amazon groceries and other goods to justify paying that annual fee. Good for them. But is it good for you?

The company also promotes the promise that if you order by 10 a.m. you'll have delivery by dinner. If you order by 10 p.m., you'll have your order delivered by breakfast.

Not so fast. Literally. On Tuesday morning I ordered a combination of groceries that were part of their basic AmazonFresh list and some local (meaning Southern California) groceries. But once my selections went into my cart, it turned out that some would be available Wednesday and others not until Thursday. Consequently, I set my delivery date for Thursday late morning.

But, let's start with how it works once you get on the site. You'll enter your address to see if you qualify for delivery service. If so, then you sign up for a free, 30-day trial, entering all your crucial info, including payment details--all the usual stuff for this type of commerce. Once you get on the shopping site you have the option of shopping bestsellers, recipes, shopping with coupons, shopping neighborhood shops and restaurants, shopping grocery or Amazon.com items, or household, baby, health & beauty.

My initial interest was in seeing who was represented locally. And, remember that in this case local means Southern California. So, yes, there are shops and vendors you know like Eclipse Chocolate, Dallmann Fine Chocolates, Waters Fine Food & Catering, Bird Rock Coffee Roasters, San Diego Honey, Sadie Rose Baking Co., Cafe Moto, Venissimo, The Cravory, and Seaport Oil & Vinegar.

What this L.A. native also appreciated was the appearance of some old neighborhood favorites of mine from living in West Hollywood--Western Bagel, Canter's, and--be still my heart--the Diamond Bakery on Fairfax.


So, off I went to order. I bought a couple of heads of garlic, a jar of Medaglia D'Oro Instant Espresso Coffee, a 6-ounce container of blueberries, a bunch of organic dinosaur kale, turbinado sugar, and organic air-chilled chicken--items that already were on my shopping list. Then I picked up two loaves of corn rye bread from Diamond Bakery and a couple of potato knishes from Canter's--treats I can only buy when visiting L.A. Lastly, I scanned our local folks and picked up a pound of decaf coffee beans from Cafe Moto and both burrata and bucherondin chevre from Venissimo.

That's it. The total came to almost $68--meaning my delivery would be free. But, as I was checking out the form gave me the option of adding a delivery tip. The recommended amount was $4, but I could modify that or not include it. Their delivery people don't take cash. As for delivery, you get a choice of days and times, as well as a choice of selecting front door delivery (they just drop it off) or in-person delivery (you must be there and sign off on delivery).

Clearly, my list was not the usual weekly grocery list. For someone who isn't into marketing, doesn't have the time, or is unable to get around easily, grocery delivery is a tremendous service. The question is whether that $299 fee is justified.

It's a potential boon for local vendors. According to Venissimo owner Gina Frieze, who was approached by Amazon to participate as they were expanding into San Diego, it is a way to get visibility to potential customers in the county, as well as give them a presence in Los Angeles.

"That means millions of people who might never get to try our cheese would have a chance to try them," she says. "Even some of our regulars are thrilled to have this convenient option available to them. Same great cheese, cut fresh off the wheel, delivered next day to your doorstep. Not a bad deal."

So far their product selection on the site is smaller than in the shops. Currently they include a combination of customer favorites along with some that staff love and that they always have in stock--from cheeses and charcuterie to crackers, sweets, savories, and gift collections. Frieze says that her understanding is that as they get up to speed with real-time inventory, they'll be able to offer an even greater selection. And, AmazonFresh customers also get the full description of the cheeses that Venissimo's store customers have come to expect.

I'm hoping that product expansion applies to the other vendors. I wanted to order a package of chocolate nibs from Eclipse Chocolate, but they weren't to be found. I love Bird Rock coffee but their decaf beans were only available in a pricy and impractical five-pound order.

Similarly, even some basic grocery orders are limited. The only DeLallo whole wheat pasta I could find was spaghetti--a 16 pack.

For me, that's part of the limitation of online shopping--another issue for you to weigh, along with whatever preferences you have in the area of brands, whether you want produce that's already ripe or a few days from ripeness (think avocados), or what size produce you want (I like small russets not ginormous ones). In short, how picky are you about your groceries? Do you like to sniff and press?

It will also be interesting to see who else in San Diego will eventually participate. For example, Santa Monica Seafood is part of AmazonFresh, but Catalina Offshore Products says it hasn't been approached. Cupcakes Squared has been approached but hasn't decided. Another vendor I know felt that it wasn't worth it, while another is considering it. Will there be a way for farmers or other growers to get in on this directly?

Now, let's talk about the actual delivery.

I had scheduled my delivery for Thursday between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m., knowing I'd be returning home from a doctor's appointment by 11. As I swung around the front of my house at 10:50 I saw green bags on my front porch. So an A for timely delivery--even if it wasn't same or next day. As you can see, each large green bag is slapped with a scanning sticker to assure accuracy.

Here is everything I ordered. Clearly, it all fit on my cutting board. Yet it required four large bags, two of which had two styrofoam coolers with the requisite ice packs for delivery. The coolers are in six connecting pieces like a jigsaw puzzle so you don't have to pull a big cooler out of the bag. And I guess you can reuse them if you put them back together in the bag. These will get recycled. The bags are your basic recyclable grocery bags only much taller and with velcro closures at the top and snaps on the handles. I guess you can take these to the market or find other uses for them, but they're kind of an ungainly size. And if you order from AmazonFresh regularly you're going to accumulate a lot of them, not to mention the ice packs. (Note: I've just learned that you're supposed to bundle the bags and cooler pieces together and leave them for pick up when your next delivery is made.)

Another thing I noticed is that there are holders on the side of the bags for product advertising. Those Bounty and Crest notices are just ads, not coupons. There are also ads on the site. So, Amazon is getting passive income from manufacturers.

As for the products themselves, everything arrived as it should, fresh, cold--if required--and intact. As it should, given all that packaging. Okay, one caveat, Gina Frieze, your Venissimo cheese package was moist so the labeling with the info you want your customers to enjoy is kind of smeared.

You'll have to determine for yourself whether all these factors will turn you into an AmazonFresh member. For me, the best thing about it was being able to order from Canter's and the Diamond Bakery. The rest, meh. But I'm a shopper so I don't feel a need for home delivery. What I wish is that there were no $299 fee. If this were simply part of my current Prime membership, I would feel compelled to take advantage of it periodically if I didn't have time to shop or at least head over to places to get specialty items--or order products from favorite spots in Los Angeles. But I just don't see spending $300 for a service I don't have much use for. And I simply think that number is prohibitively high. I hope the powers that be, Mr. Bezos, rethink that.


For those of you who do join, you can do your ordering online on the website, but there's also an AmazonFresh app for iOS and Android at their respective shops.

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Hatch Chile Frittata

I don't live in New Mexico, but nevertheless I get absurdly excited when hatch chile season pops up in late summer. This year Labor Day barely passed when I came across them at my local Sprouts--on sale for 99 cents a pound (I've also seen them in past years at Albertsons, Bristol Farms, and various farmers markets). I scooped up a couple of pounds of these long, firm green chiles and headed back to my kitchen for the annual roasting session.

I wish I could tell you I had some fantastic hand-cranked fire-roasting contraption that you see at the farmers markets. Nope. It's just the chiles, heavy cookie sheets, and the oven broiler. There's no special trick to it. Just line them up in a single layer and fire them up. Let your nose tell you when they're ready to be turned--once--and then removed from the oven. You'll get the distinctive aroma of burning chiles and, indeed, they should be well charred.

Then it's time to gather them into plastic or paper bags, close the opening, and let them steam for about 10 to 15 minutes. This helps loosen the thick skin from the flesh. Then peel off the skin, remove the stem and seeds, and chop or slice them. I bag what I don't use immediately and put them in the freezer, so I have them to use the rest of the year. Which means I'll be heading back out to Sprouts again soon to stock up.

You could rightly ask at this point, "What's the big deal about Hatch chiles?" Clearly, there's some superb marketing going on. The chiles, known as Big Jims, are grown in one region, the Hatch Valley, along the Rio Grande in New Mexico. Maybe it's the elevation that gives them their distinctive flavor; maybe it's the volcanic soil. Or the hot days and cool evenings. Or the combination of all three. Our Anaheim chiles are descendants of the Hatch chiles, but Anaheims don't have nearly the allure or the flavor. The Hatch chiles have a uniquely smoky, earthy scent and flavor.

Traditionally, your prepped Hatch chile can go into posoles and enchiladas. I have long used them in a pork stew, corn bread, and tomato sauces. They can run from mild to hot, so gauge your accompanying ingredients accordingly, whether its for a savory dish or even desserts like cookies and brownies (you'll want to use a puree for those to create a uniform flavor).

No time to fuss over a big recipe? Then how about a Hatch Chile Frittata? That's what I did with a couple of the chiles I had after packaging the rest. There's no recipe here, just some suggestions.

Take a look in the fridge and see what's in need of being used. I had a quarter of an onion, a couple of boiled red potatoes, and a wedge of Pondhopper farmstead gouda that I'd just picked up at Venissimo. It's a goat milk that's slightly yeasty thanks to being steeped in beer. It would easily match the flavors of the chiles.

You'll need a well-seasoned cast iron pan. I have several but my favorite is an eight-inch Lodge pan I bought about 30 years ago at a hardware store on Broadway on the upper west side of Manhattan, where I lived once upon a time. It's in perfect, shiny condition from years of use.

Heat up the broiler. Slice the onions, chop the chiles and potatoes, and break the eggs. Beat them with a little milk till frothy. Heat the pan on the stove and add about a tablespoon of olive oil. Then add the onions and sauté until they start to brown. Then add the potatoes and do the same, adding some salt and pepper. While they're cooking, dice up some cheese. Once the potatoes and onions are browned to your liking, reduce the heat and add the beaten eggs. Let them just start to cook, then sprinkle the chile pieces over the forming omelet. Let it cook for a minute or so, then top with the cheese. Use a thick towel or oven mitt and carefully move the pan to the broiler. It'll just take a minute or two to finish it off.

The result will be a puffy, almost souffle-like egg dish. For me, two eggs and an egg white made a complete solo dinner. More eggs, more servings. Add a salad, a glass or wine or beer and you've got an easy meal.

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Cheesemaking 101 a la Venissimo

"If you can't make ricotta, you probably shouldn't be in the kitchen."

So says Chef Jack Fisher of Nine-Ten--according to Gina Frieze. Frieze, the owner of Venissimo Cheese and self-described "Cheese Wiz." Frieze teaches a class on making both ricotta and mozzarella at her downtown shop, and it's great fun.

This is a demonstration class so you won't be getting your hands dirty here, but be prepared to eat. For while Frieze alternates between showing the various steps taken to make both cheeses, she'll also be offering plates of all sorts of decadent cheeses to try, along with a few wines. Among the selections were a delightful Boscetto, a goat cheese infused with truffles, and Verde Capra, a beautiful and exotic blue goat cheese.

But, to the cheese making. Frieze explains that there is some basic equipment you'll need, including a heavy (non-aluminum) pot, non-mesh colanders (the cheese tends to stick in the tiny spaces), a food thermometer, and cheese cloth.

That evening she started with the ricotta because it needs time to strain and drain. Talk about your three-ingredient recipes. All you need for robust ricotta is a gallon of milk (of any fat content), a quart of buttermilk for richness and to add a tangy flavor, and a teaspoon of salt, again for flavor. Okay, if you're a little nervous about whether or not it will all come together you can add a teaspoon of citric acid, but it's optional.

Basically, all you do is combine the ingredients and heat over a medium flame until the mixture reaches 180 degrees--giving it a periodic stirring while looking for curds to develop. Remove the pot from the heat and let it sit for 15 minutes. Then you remove the curds by pouring the mixture into a cheesecloth-lined colander set in a larger bowl.

The whey will rush into the larger bowl, leaving the curds, excuse me--the cheese--to drain.

Now you can pour the whey into another container and use it in a power shake, soup stock, to soak beans, make bread, or feed to your tomato plants. (If you have other suggestions, I welcome them in the comments section.) Then place the ball of ricotta over a strainer and let it drain until the whey is drained out and the cheese has cooled. At this point, you can eat it plain or add flavor enhancers--honey, lemon zest, lavender, truffle salt, or herbs, for example. Frieze left it plain and it was smoother and creamier than any packaged version I've had. With this amount of ingredients you'll end up with four to five cups of cheese, but you can easily halve this recipe so you can be sure to eat it within a week.

Mozzarella is a little trickier. Frieze likens it to baking because of the precision that's needed. Again, we're talking few and simple ingredients but it's like watching a good thriller--you're just not sure what the ending will be. Will it all come together in the end or fall apart into little curds?

Our class had a nail biter here. Frieze has made the cheese many times and still admits to the challenge. You need rennet for mozzarella, preferably animal rennet, which comes from the stomach lining of a calf. Yes, you can try vegetarian rennet, which is derived from the thistle, but Frieze doesn't really recommend it. The rennet is dissolved in bottled or non-chlorinated filtered water. Citric acid is also dissolved in filtered water. You'll need a gallon of whole milk, but be sure it isn't ultra-pasteurized. And, you'll need salt for flavoring. That's it.

The method is to first pour the citric acid solution into the bottom of your large stainless steel, teflon, or enamel pot and then add the milk. You'll stir the mixture briskly for 15 seconds and bring the temperature up to 90 degrees over low heat. Then remove the pot from the heat source and stir in the rennet solution using an up-and-down motion, for 15 to 30 seconds.

Cover the pot and let it sit for 10 to 15 minutes--or even 30 minutes--until the curd forms. It should look like a smooth custard and the whey should be a yellowish color. It didn't form? Well, Frieze says you can put it back on the heat at this point and bring the temperature of the mixture to 100 degrees and see if the curd forms then. You'll cover the pot again and let it sit another five minutes. Assuming you've now got curd, you'll cut the curd into one-inch cubes and then put it back on the burner, heating the mixture to 105 to 110 degrees, gently stirring to release more whey.

Then it's time to remove the curds with a slotted spoon and place into a colander to drain.

Now, here's where you'll need some patience. Once the curds have drained, put them in a microwave-safe bowl and heat on high for 30 seconds. That's it. This should release more whey, which you'll drain off. Repeat this again until the curd reaches 135 degrees and gentle kneading will pull the cheese together.

You should then be able to knead the cheese almost like bread and stretch it like taffy until the cheese is smooth and shiny (you may have to reheat it again to help it stretch). For a softer cheese texture, stretch and knead less.

You'll add salt at this point--just enough to get the flavor you want. With this amount of ingredients, you should get six to eight smallish balls, which you can now shape and then place in cool water to firm. You can store it in plastic wrap or cold salt water for up to five days or do what we did--eat it immediately.

If you're looking for a source for cheesemaking supplies in San Diego, Frieze recommends Curds & Wine, which is at 7194 Clairemont-Mesa Blvd. (858-384-6566). You can find supplies online at www.leeners.com or www.cheesemaking.com. And, you can sign up for classes at Venissimo on their website.

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Slumber Party with Camp Confab at Suzie's Farm

Play in the dirt, take a hike, horseback ride on the beach, learn how to compost, hear scary ghost stories at a campfire. And eat! All these things are for you to enjoy at the upcoming Cook's Confab at Suzie's Farm in Imperial Beach.

“We often hear the words farm to table, but most people don’t really know what that means and how our food gets from the field to their kitchens and favorite restaurants,” said Andrew Spurgin, co-founder of Cooks Confab. “We want to bring San Diegans closer to their incredible local produce and to the lush setting from which it comes while giving them a fun experience that reminds the of childhood.”

 Lucila de Alejandra

Activities throughout the weekend will include tours of Suzie’s Farm with Head Weed Puller Lucila de Alejandra, Composting 101, Tijuana Estuary Tour, Riding Horses on the Beach and, of course a Camp Fire Program complete with talent show and ghost stories! Rolling in for lunch will be the talented team from MIHO Gastrotruck, who will incorporate Suzie’s Farm products into their already delicious local and sustainable hot-off-the-truck cuisine. Local Cheesemonger Gina Freize of Venissimo will also be teaching West Coast Cheeses 101, and providing some incredible artisan gems for dinner. To wash it all down, guests will choose from a selection of local craft beers provided by celebrated Master Brewer Tomme Arthur of Lost Abbey. Tomme will also be teaching a class on craft beer for all beer lovers!

Then participants will join the chefs as they forage on the farm to select ingredients for a family-style  dinner. Mixologist Ian Ward of Snake Oil Cocktail Co. will create pre-dinner beverages. Produce will be accompanied by a barbacoa of locally raised goat and stick fire roasted locally caught fish. After dinner there will be a tasting of award-winning Casa Nobel Tequilas and a few words from the owner. Then it's off to the handmade Marshmallow S'Mores bar!

Campers will wake in the morning for a fascinating demonstration by Falconer Andrea Asbaugh as she clears the field and will enjoy a Cowbell Breakfast prepared by Cooks Confab Chefs.

Participating Confablieri include: Amy DiBiase – Cosmopolitan, Andrew Spurgin/Donald Coffman – Waters Fine Catering, Antonio Friscia – Stingaree, Christian Graves – Jsix, Ian Ward – Snake Oil Cocktail Co., Katie Grebow – Café Chloe, Melissa Mayer – Suzie’s Farm, Olivier Bioteau – Farm House Café, Paul McCabe – KITCHEN 1540.

Joining the Confablieri as guest chefs for this special occasion will be acclaimed Chefs Marc Ehler and Patrick Ponsaty of Mistral at Loews Coronado Bay.

Only 50 people can join in this sleepover at the farm Sept. 11 and 12. Tickets will be $225 and will sold on a first come, first served basis at www.cooksconfab.com. Tickets will go on sale at 9:00 A.M. September 1st and 100% percent of proceeds will be donated to Slow Food Urban San Diego.


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Cheese, Lite

Want to make a die-hard foodie crazy, absolutely loony? Start talking about reduced-fat or, better still, "lite" cheese. I know, because when I mentioned on Facebook that I was going to be writing about this topic, I got lectured and harangued by people who are convinced that the only good cheese is a full fat cheese and that if people just ate in moderation they could enjoy a triple cream Brillat Savarin, a Herve Mons Camembert, or luxurious Italian Gorgonzola Dolce.

And, for people who excel at moderation, I'm all for indulging in full-fat cheeses. But some of us have proven track records of excess and for those people, who need to cut back and need help doing it, there's an entire industry of cheese making that is offering products that are less fatty and lower in sodium than their counterparts. One of these company's Beemster, actually sparked this search. Their PR folks sent me a new product of theirs, Beemster Lite.

Now you won't find these "lite" cheeses, including Beemster Liter, at Venissimo or Taste Artisan Cheese in San Diego. Gina Freize, owner of Venissimo, explained that she doesn't carry reduced-fat cheeses because "True cheese is simply milk, salt and rennet. And milk naturally has fats. Of course, some cheese types are made with skim milk with naturally lowers the calories, but they are not altered in any other way."

Taste's Mary Palmer doesn't source for them either. She's tried a few so-called low- or reduced-fat cheeses and found that they seem to lose flavor, texture, richness, and many of the distinctive qualities we eat cheese for. But, she said, "I've had customers on restricted diets who are avowed 'cheese nuts' and so I try to search out the skim milk cheeses that deliver."

Now, as both said, some cheeses are naturally lower in fat. These include string cheese, part-skim mozzarella, farmers cheese, and Neufchâtel. Plus, goat cheeses tend to be lower in fat than cheeses made from cows milk. So, all is not lost, but other than the goat cheeses, these typically aren't exactly the most flavor-packing cheeses either. And, while you'll certainly find low-fat versions of Jack and Cheddar, Swiss and Muenster, you'll discover quickly that, by and large, the flavor is lacking and the texture rubbery. This is what has the foodies who lashed out so infuriated. And, they have a point. So, if you're looking for flavor and mouth appeal, are there any good options?

Armed with my package of Beemster Lite and in a quest to find other reduced-fat cheeses that might hold some promise, I headed to Trader Joe's, Taste, and Henry's to see what they had. I was already familiar with a couple of the cheeses, of the new ones some were quite palatable, even strikingly good; one was an utter bust.

Let's talk about the Beemster Lite first, since this is what launched my little quest. If you're unfamiliar with the Beemster name, let's just say that their Beemster X-O is a godly little Gouda. Made for centuries in The Netherlands, the cheese is matured for 26 months, which results in an intensely complex flavor and gritty texture, thanks to the moisture's evaporation, that makes it wonderful served on a cheese plate or grated like Parmesan. You can find it at Taste.

You can't say the same about Beemster Lite. Yes, it's in the same family but you simply can't get the same qualities in a cheese that contains 30 percent less fat than other cheeses and 20 percent less salt. That being said, if you can appreciate it as a different being, it still has a very clean, nice flavor that works for making a grilled cheese sandwich or even just munching on. You won't get that marvelous X-O texture, but it's not at all rubbery. I melted slices on homemade sourdough for breakfast and thoroughly enjoyed it.

 

Then I turned to a cheese I've bought in the past and liked for the same reasons I liked the Beemster Lite. It melts well and has good flavor. That's the Kerrygold reduced fat aged cheddar. Henry's carries this cheese and I'm quite happy to grate it onto a tostada or bowl of chili or eat it in a quesadilla or on a piece of toasted bread with sliced fruit for breakfast. I probably wouldn't serve it on a cheese plate for company, but it's a good workhorse of a cheese for people who want a flavorful lower fat cheese but are looking to cut back calories.

Since these tasting games are more fun and useful with other people involved, I invited my friend Gayle Falkenthal over to help with the rest of the cheeses, which included a Cabot reduced-fat cheddar, a "lite" Celtic cheddar from Trader Joe's--not surprisingly called "Paddy Joe's"--a "lite" Brie, also from Trader Joe's, and a slice of Tomme de Savoie from Taste.

Clockwise from top: Kerrygold Reduced Fat Cheddar, Cabot Reduced Fat Cheddar, "Paddy Joe's" Reduced Fat Celtic Cheddar, Trader Joe's "lite" Brie, Tomme de Savoie

We ate the cheeses alone, with crackers, and melted a few on flour tortillas to make quesadillas.

The very orange Cabot reduced cheddar was fine, but nothing special. It melted well, it had a clear cheddar flavor but without any real sharpness or interesting texture.

On the other hand, the Paddy Joe's Celtic Cheddar was Gayle's favorite. It had a wonderfully crumbly texture as opposed to the usual reduced-fat rubbery quality you tend to get and it had a pure sharp flavor.

The lite Brie was dreadful. It has 50 percent less fat and 30 percent less calories, according to its label, and 100 percent less flavor or texture, according to our palates. I had left it out for two hours to come to room temperature and it remained a rubbery example of what not to do to cheese. We each had a bite and then I tossed it.

Now, the Tomme de Savoie was a whole other animal. This is an example of what Mary Palmer and Gina Freize were talking about, a semi-firm cheese naturally made from skim milk--in this case cows milk--with an earthy, almost mushroomy flavor. Tomme de Savoie is an AOC-protected French cheese from the Alps ("tomme" simply means wheel of cheese, so it's a wheel of cheese from the Savoie region of France). These cows are dining on mountain grasses and the skim milk is the leftover from the cream used to make butter and richer cheeses. So, it's naturally lower in fat content (between 20 and 40 percent) but still packs the flavor and has a lovely creamy texture and pleasingly sour rind.

While, by no means comprehensive, the little scavenger hunt proved instructive to me. I think I have to agree with my foodie respondents when it comes to high-fat cheeses like Bries. I don't think you can come close to replicating the pleasure in a lower fat version. Indulge if you must, but moderately if you can. But, I've been back to Taste for more Tomme de Savoie (and Beemster X-O), and will continue to buy the reduced fat Kerrygold cheddar as well as the TJ's copycat. Let me know if you have some favorite lower-fat cheeses you enjoy and where they can be purchased.



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Election Night Partying: How Are You Rocking Your Vote?

I have to admit that I'm getting twitchier by the day anticipating walking into my polling place and then into the booth, ballot in hand. It could be one of the most momentous elections of my generation and I'm so anxious that it goes off without a hitch and, of course, the way I want it!

So, watching the results Tuesday evening is going to be a huge deal. It's going to require some hand holding, some camaraderie and, if all goes well, it will become a wonderful memory of where I was and who I was with at that historic moment. And, of course, it requires a great meal.

In anticipation of being on KPBS radio's These Days on Tuesday morning at 10, when San Diego Citysearch editor Erin Chambers and I will talk about election night food and events, I'm compiling a list of places to go, places to pick up election-themed foods and web sites/blogs where foodies are touting their election-themed recipes. If you have anything to contribute to these before Tuesday morning, please add your comments or send me an email.

So, here is what I have so far:

San Diego Events:

Official Political Parties:

• House of Blues: San Diego County Democratic Party. Free. Doors open at 8 p.m. (1055 Fifth Ave.)

• W Hotel, Magnet Lounge: SD County Young Democrats Election Night Party at 7 p.m. (Columbia and W. "B" St.) Happy hour prices all night, 3 flat-screen TVs w/results. Bring friends (if Obama supporters).

• Progressive Post Election Night Party. At the Halls, 1591 Dawson Dr., Vista 92081. 8 p.m. Watch the election returns on a giant screen, meet great local progressives. The Progressive Post will provide a main dish. Please bring your favorite dish to share. RSVP. captain.hall@cox.net.

• North County Democratic Unity Office, 135 E. Grand Ave., Escondido. 8 p.m. Food and drinks provided. Donations appreciated. RSVP: 760-690-4015, ext. 11 or christinenava@hotmail.com.

• Eagles Lodge: San Diego County Dems can be found here at 3848 Centre St. in San Diego.

• E Street Cafe: More Dems at this Encinitas restaurant. 128 W. "E" St.
  

• Versailles Room at the Westgate: San Diego County Republican Party and California Republican Party, 8 p.m.

No event listed on SD Young Republicans web site.

San Diego Hotels:

• Grant Grill and VeeV throwing a Poll Party featuring their election selection menu of cocktails and appetizers named for the candidates. 6-8 p.m. Bring your “I Voted” sticker to receive complimentary VeeV cocktail.

• Omni Hotels lobby and lounge: 6 to 10 p.m. multiple large-screen TV, poll-sliders miniburgers (cheese, grilled onions, pickle, tomatoes, fries), red recovery cocktails (citrus vodka and triple sec with cranberry juice and Sprite), Pull the Lever loaded up nachos (red-and-blue corn tortilla chips w/chiles, jalapenos, chicken, avocado, tomatoes, cheese and sour cream), All-American Patriot Apple Pie a la mode. At 675 L. St.

• Ivy Hotel: Starting at 5 p.m. for San Diego's urban young professionals in the Ultra Lounge of Envy Nightclub. Featuring multiple large flat-screen TVs; red, white and blue decor and Obama and McCain drink specials for $5. 600 "F" St. in the Gaslamp.
  

San Diego Universities:

• UCSD’s Eleanor Roosevelt College, free, all-campus event from 7 p.m. TVs to watch returns, panelists and student speakers, election prediction contest, free food and drinks

• USD Hahn University Center Forum: 4 to 11. Free. Snacks and drinks served.

San Diego Restaurants and Bars:

• Urban Solace: Featuring two special drinks on election night: the Barackatini and the McCain Wallbanger. The (red, white and blue) Barackatini includes: citron shaken with sour, pomegranate seeds, and a float of Blue Curacao. The McCain Wallbanger includes: Greygoose and Galliano In addition, they will be keeping a tally of drink order “votes” from patrons, and they will put up large board with a big map featuring the constant updates from the real election. 3823 30th St. in North Park.
  

• Tango Wine: Election Night Wine and Cheer; 2161 India St., from 2 to 10 p.m.

• East Village Tavern & Bowl: Obama campaign election watch party, 930 Market St.

• Crescent Heights: The newest addition to downtown's eateries is hosting an "Eat, Drink and Be A-merry-can" evening with an all-night happy hour on election night. 655 W. Broadway.
  

• Moonstone Lounge: It's the Hard Rock's roof bar and it has election-themed cocktails all night long, including the now ubiquitous "Ciroc Obama" as well as the "Palin Punch." 207 Fifth Ave.

• Seau's: Those big screen TVs will have election night returns playing on them starting at 8 p.m. At Mission Valley Center.

• Seaport Village Ben & Jerry's: Both locations are giving away free ice cream cones from 5 to 9 p.m. for those who vote (and even those who don't). Just tell the cashier you voted and you'll get a free cone. Limit one per customer. 849 W. Harbor Dr. at the food court and East Plaza.

• Sea Rocket Bistro: A free glass of champagne to all guests election night and election returns shown on the restaurant's 10-foot projection screen throughout the evening. 3382 30th St. in North Park.

• Sicilian Thing: Free cannoli with purchase on Election Day if you bring in your "I Voted" sticker/ballot stub. 4046 30th St. in North Park.

• Starbucks: Tell them you voted and you'll get a free tall brewed coffee.
  

San Diego Foodstuff:

• Venissimo Cheese: Cheese trays for wine and cheese on election night. For those rooting for the blue team, there’s a wide variety of blues in stock (made of all types of milk: cow, goat and sheep). For the red team, there are Red Dragon, Red Hawk and other red-washed rind beauties!

• BGD Foods at Little Italy Mercato: Burnin’ Barack Obama Salsa for a Change and Kickin’ John McCain Maverick Style Salsa.

• Cupcakes Squared: Get in the election mood with blueberry cupcakes with donkey flags and raspberry cupcakes with elephant flags. 3772 Voltaire St. in Point Loma.
  

Web sites:

• Chowhound: Election Night Parties - What to Serve. Lots of great ideas for Blue- and Red-themed party eats.

• Food Channel: Top Ten Foods for Your Election Night Watch Party: Kool-Aid, Chocolate "Moose" (or Baked Alaska), Cheese, Sloppy Joes, Keystone Light Beer and more.

• iVillage.com: Winning Election-Party Food and Drinks. The Ciroc Obama, the McCainarita, the O'Bomber, the White Tornado and more.

• Recipe4Living: Plan a Patriotic Election Party: Recipes such as Presidential Salsa, Congressional Bean Soup in a Crockpot, USA Flag Pizza, Senator Russell’s Sweet Potatoes and Patriotic Parfait and Cocktails.

• MyRecipes: Election Night Celebration: Mad for McCain Tex-Mex classics like Arizona Tortilla Soup and Margarita Sunrise. Over the Moon for Obama? Wife Michelle says one of his home-cooked favs is a big pot of chili. Also Chicago-style deep dish pizza and Italian beef subs. And a uniter dessert: Chewy Red, White, and Blue Cookies.

• Cooks.com: Maine to California Election Night Casserole and Election Night Stew.
  

• Yumsugar: Frosted sugar cookies decorated with your favorite patriotic design.

• Clever Parties Blog: 2008 Election Night Candidate Favorite Recipes -- John McCain's Arizona Baked Beans, Barack Obama Chili Recipe, Senator Bidens' Favorite Oatmeal Raisin Cookies, and -- what else -- Sarah Palin Moose Stew Recipe.

• Cooking & Blogging: Show Your Colors with Election Night Cake. American flag cake.
  

• BlogHer: My Twitter friend Kalyn Denny has Barack Obama's Family Chili recipe and John McCain's Rib's recipe up on her BlogHer blog.

• Karina's Kitchen: Karina has a cozy brown rice casserole that will bake while you watch the returns. Beef, cranberries, black olives. Yum!

• The Nibble: Election Night Cocktails: Obama-Rama; Obama Poma; McCain Mojito; Red, White and Blue Mojito

• Dinner Tonight from the Editors of Everyday Food: Election Night (Food) Contenders: Editor and Twitter buddy Deb Puchalia gives a rundown on Martha Stewart's easy starters (cheese balls), mains (Deep Dish PIzza) and sweets (Baked Alaska), as well as her Shortcut Supper of chili. Plus, Deb tags other bloggers's dishes.
  

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Cheese Chat on The Gourmet Club

For this Friday's meeting of The Gourmet Club, San Diego cheese whiz Gina Freize will be joining us in studio. Gina and her husband Roger own Venissimo in Mission Hills and last year bought Aniata Cheese Company in Del Mar. Gina will update us on new spring cheeses (yes, many cheeses are seasonal) and, in anticipation of St. Patrick's Day, talk about Irish cheeses. And, I'm sure that between Gina and Robert, we'll get some insights on pairing wine and cheese.

And what about pairing cheese with meat? The San Diego Union-Tribune's Doug Verkaaik will be with us to talk about the great San Diego hamburger search. Got a favorite place? Call in and let us in on your local burger preferences.

We'll also have Mike Mitchell of Oceanaire and president of the California Restaurant Association's San Diego chapter give us the lowdown on new foodie hot spots in town.

Join Ron James, Robert Whitley and me for another meeting of The Gourmet Club at 1p.m. PDT on SignOn Radio or podcast it to listen at your convenience.


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Fancy Food Show: A Closer Look

I returned to the Fancy Food Show on Tuesday, the show's final day, and was able to focus more on local products and some healthier products. No worries, I also spent some time on some tremendous indulgences as well.

Let's talk local first. I immediately ran into a stall for Carlsbad Gourmet staffed by its president Russ Bruhn. He had what seemed to be dozens of products that revolve around, well, strawberries, of course: Strawberry Spread, Strawberry/Lavender Spread, Strawberry/Jalapeno Spread and the like. I enjoyed the strawberry/lavender combination -- it's a natural marriage. I wasn't as fond of the strawberry/jalapeno combo. It just seemed forced to put together the distinctive sweet strawberry flavor with a huge pack of heat. On the other hand, I've been raving to everyone about the Carlsbad Chronic Bar-B-Que Sauce. Made with Carlsbad Chronic Ale brewed locally by Port Brewing Company, the sauce is a stunner -- tangy, hot, sweet, thick. Definitely something to order online.


Another find isn't quite local, but close. Pollen Ranch fennel pollen is located up in Tulare County but their line of eight fennel pollen spice blends was created by the Marine Room's Chef Bernard Guillas. These include M-Ocean for fish and shellfish; Pollen Asian for all dishes; Hog Heaven for poultry, pork and veal; Little Devil for Cajun Creole beef; and Divine Desserts for baking and desserts. I took a few samples and tried out the Divine Desserts this week in an apple pie. The spice blend includes fennel pollen, dried ground orange peel, lemon grass powder, cayenne pepper, sour plum powder, star anise, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamon, ginger, vanilla powder, ground clove and coriander. I substituted a normal teaspoon or so of cinnamon for the equivalent of the Divine Desserts and hoped for the best. It turned out to be a huge success at my book club. The feedback I got was that it elevated the expected flavors and added a bit of an edge. I loved the fact that it melded so well with the apples and gave the pie another dimension. Currently, Jonathan's and Harvest Ranch markets carry the line of spices. The company told me that Taste in Hillcrest will also be carrying it soon.

In answer to the quest for some healthier foods, I tried valiantly and did find some interesting products -- but it really required more willpower than I had to eschew the fabulous in favor of the body friendly. I'm still enthralled with the Popcorn, Indiana products from Dale and Thomas that I wrote about Monday. But, I found another wonderful company called Lesser Evil that sells low-fat kettle corns and low-fat Krinkle Sticks. The latter was a hit on the Gourmet Club radio show yesterday. These are seasoned potato snacks, either Classic Sea Salt or SourCream & Onion. I loved the flavor but found them too salty. The Kettle Corns were simply fantastic in that classic salty/sweet combo. I'm told by the company that their snack bags are equal to two points for Weight Watchers. You can find them locally at Jimbos and the La Jolla Whole Foods.

Another interesting low-fat product is the Skinny Frappe, ice-blended drinks that boast they're low calorie, low in sugar and low in fat. Made by Caffe D'Amore, they come in coffee, vanilla, chocolate and mocha. I tried the mocha, which was delicious and very refreshing. All you need to do to make these is combine a package of the mix, skim milk and ice in the blender for 30 seconds. These can be found locally starting in February at Smart N Final.

As for other low-fat foods, truly most of what was there is already on our shelves and are products you're probably already familiar with. I didn't find much that was both novel and tasty. In fact, one attempt ended badly -- it was a green tea energy bar type of product that simply was foul. Another, a spinach-flavored, fat-free tortilla chip, wasn't much better.

Neither local, nor healthy but tremendously fun were the Soul Sisters from Paterson, New Jersey. These two ladies, Betty and Kathy Dixon, have come up with a wonderfully tasty frozen food: "soulful" egg rolls.


Wrapped in the traditional Asian egg roll dough, these Soul Rolls have several different fillings, each packed with wonderful flavors: sage sausage, Latin-Style Kitchen, Sun-Dried Tomato & Swiss, Jerk Chicken - "Ja Roll," Carne Asada Steak, Latin-Style Chicken and Smoked Turkey. They come four in a box along with a fabulous Jalapeno & Garlic dipping sauce. My favorite was the spicy savory Sage Sausage. It's still unclear what stores here will be selling these so check in on their website in a month to find out if they've made any local distribution deals.

I also enjoyed pear-flavored products from A Perfect Pear in Napa Valley. You can find their Pear Chipotle Grill Sauce, Buttermilk Pancake mix, Pear Fig Jam, Cinnamon Pear Maple Syrup and other items at Whole Foods and Bristol Farms. The flavors are slightly unusual in a good way. Local personal chef Amy Thom developed recipes for the products and made turkey meatballs in the grill sauce. The sauce really turned a low-fat (see, back to our theme) entree into something with a rich, elegant flavor. Also enchanting were pear and sweet potato pancakes using their buttermilk pancake mix, topped with cinnamon pear maple syrup.

If you're working up a good thirst by now, look for lemonade mixes from Urban Accents. I loved the lavender lemonade and the jalapeno lemonade. They also carry cucumber, ginger and spiced flavors. The lemonades are just one line of a variety of products that include spices blends, exotic rices, popcorns, grilling rubs and many other items. The reps couldn't tell me where their products are sold in San Diego, but you can buy them online.

Over by the international foods section, I encountered a young man enthusiastically carving a serrano ham for an engaged audience.


The ham, from a Spanish company called Ilbesa, was a little salty, a little fatty and all around a delightful burst of pork lusciousness. Next to it was a thick chorizo. Both can be found in town at Costa Brava in Pacific Beach.

Portugal also had strong offerings, including a wonderful collection of cheeses with fruit spreads designed to complement them. I tried a couple of sheep and goat cheeses.


The Valle d'Aspe chevre was a little sharp but the edge came off when paired with their Black Cherry with Licorice fruit spread. I also was taken by another goat cheese, gardunha, and was able to find it at Venissimo on Wednesday. This intense cheese is wonderful paired with either sweet fruit or olive tapenade, according to store owner Gina Frieze. Let it sit out at room temperature to get good and soft before eating.

Finally, check out Whole Foods for the Mt. Vikos line of Greek Foods -- superb barrel-aged feta, the herb-spiked Fetiri and a line of appetizers. Next to Mt. Vikos and possibly distributed by the same people at the booth was an interesting product from Spain called Sweet Olive Oil Tortas. These crispy yet fragile, circular pastries are perfect for a cheese plate or just to snack on with tea. You can find them at Whole Foods, Henry's and Bristol Farms.

And that concludes the tour. I don't know about you, but I'm stuffed!

Have some thoughts about the Fancy Food Show in San Diego? Do you have a favorite neighborhood market or shop that carries unique or unusual foodstuff? Let me know or add to the conversation by clicking on comments below:

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Fancy Food Show in San Diego: A Glutton's Delight

For the first time, San Diego is playing host to the Fancy Food Show and as you can imagine, it is not for the faint of appetite. The show, which started yesterday and runs through Tuesday at the Convention Center, is aisle after aisle of specialty food and beverages from around the world, including for the first time on the West Coast, a Natural & Organic Pavilion.

I attended the show yesterday and while much of the crowd -- and it was a tremendous crowd -- was also fixated on the Chargers game, the aisles were packed with retailers, vendors, event planners and others in the food industry sampling an assortment of products that was simply overwhelming. After an hour or so, I had a moment when I unfocused my eyes and all I saw were mouths chewing and chewing. Gourmet? Yes. But gluttony was rampant -- forget New Year's resolutions and willpower. The Fancy Food Show is an industry chow down.

There were vendors from a number of different countries -- England France, Australia, Canada, Portugal, Spain -- and naturally there was a lot of cheese. I was mesmerized by what I saw from Italy, offerings that ran from pasta, sauces and olive oil to cheeses like Grana Padano, a hard granular cheese which looks much like Parmigiano Reggiano and is made with semi-skimmed cows milk in Emilia-Romagna, Lombardy, Piedmont, Trentino and Veneto. In the U.S., more people are familiar with Parmigiano Reggiano, but Grana Padano has been around since the 12th century, when Cistercian monks in Northern Italy's Po River Valley processed the milk of their cattle into these large -- 65 pound -- wheels of cheese. It's actually the largest selling hard cheese in Italy and in San Diego you can find it at Venissimo.

There were some sublime offerings in the world of chocolate. A few stood out, including Poco Dolce's bittersweet tiles with sea salt, the single-source Chocolates El Rey, which uses Venezuelan cacao and Schokinag Chocolate, which makes an outrageous hot chocolate. I sampled the Extreme Dark, with a 79 percent cocoa content, and instead of getting what I worried might be a stream of bitterness, instead enjoyed a very adult, very luscious sip of warm cocoa.



Among the more mundane, though tasty, displays was bagged popcorn. This is not something I would normally bother with, but I took a couple of bags from Dale and Thomas Popcorn and popped them open last night. Their Movie Theater Popcorn was surprisingly light and crunchy with just the right amount of salt and butter -- yes, they use clarified butter. And, the Kettlecorn popcorn was almost as good as what you'd find fresh at the farmers market -- that wonderful combo of sweet and salty with a good crunch.


I also had a wonderful surprise with licorice. Black Opal Aussie Licorice has a terrific, thick black licorice that diehard licorice lovers will love. It's chewy and rich and very satisfying. They also make a raspberry flavor covered in dark chocolate which is simply ridiculously divine.


Given the heady world of celebrity chefs, there were surprisingly few on hand. Paula Deen had a booth, but I didn't see her there. Same with Emeril and Rick Bayless (Frontera). A physically diminished Paul Prudhomme was gamely sitting on a mobility scooter, sauteeing a dish using one of his spice blends. The star of the show seemed to be the Barefood Contessa, Ina Garten, sitting at her booth, surrounded by cookie and cupcake mixes and dessert sauces, signing autographs.

I didn't see a lot of local vendors at the show, but I did meet one pair from Encinitas, Judy Nakatomi and Kazuyo Hirose, who own Kanaya Fine Tea. I tasted their "first plucking" Sencha and Hojicha teas, both of which were lovely and smooth. The partners are just introducing organic tea powders that can be used as a quick way to make a cup of tea or add to another beverage or to use for baking or creating sauces. The two flavors, Sencha and Genmaicha, are subtle and filled with the same vitamins and antioxidants you'd find in their leaf tea counterparts. Locally, you can find them at Zinc Cafe and Cardiff Seaside Market.

I know this is a ridiculously short list given the sheer scale of what was available (and I tasted everything from mozzarella stuffed red peppers, smoked sturgeon and brandy-infused caviar to chocolate truffles, duck sausage and at least seven different olive oils) but actually much of what was there is currently on the shelves and in the refrigerated sections of most of your favorite markets--products by Soy Vay, Republic of Tea, Ghirardelli and others that you already know. Others are less familiar but they are stocked in a variety of local shops. I'll be writing about some of them shortly, but in the meantime, the next time you hit Vons or Whole Foods or even CostPlus, take another look beyond what you've spotted on your shopping list. You might see something I tasted at the show that will open up new culinary possibilities for you.




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Taking on Thanksgiving

I’m not normally a fan of potlucks, but let’s face it, Thanksgiving is the ultimate potluck dinner and the best. Of course, every family has its ironclad traditions when it comes to food—don’t bother to rhapsodize about your mom’s oyster stuffing or your grandma’s cornbread stuffing; I want my mom’s chestnut stuffing. Period. So, if you’re a guest, it’s going to be a challenge to make everyone happy with a dish that works with the dinner you’re invited to. And, if you’re the host, how do you get your guests to bring a dish that complements what you’re serving?

I think the answer is to keep all the hardcore dishes intact—the turkey, the stuffing, the gravy, the mashed potatoes and the sweet potatoes probably all revolve around recipes handed down through generations. They’re the immovable objects of the meal. So, do the novel flourishes at the periphery—the appetizers, side dishes, salad and dessert.

Certainly, the recipes for Thanksgiving dishes overfloweth. But, if time or talent is in short supply and you need to bring something smashing to the big meal, you’ve got a great selection of high-impact, low-fuss prepared foods from around San Diego County that you can choose from.

Let’s address appetizers. No, we don’t want to fill up on them before the main act, but no one wants a crowd so hungry they feel compelled to pounce on the food as it makes its entrance. So, here are some suggestions for host assignments or guest offerings—and some will work well as side dishes, too:

• Brie en croute or a plate of luscious cheeses from Venissimo (Del Mar and Mission Hills). If you’re confused about what to order, Gina and her staff can help you select just the right cheeses, along with crackers, bread or fruit to accompany it. And, in Mission Hills, head across the street to Sausage King to pick up sliced Hungarian salami to accompany it.
• Homemade vegetable salads from the newly revamped Aaron’s Eatzz on Convoy—the spicy Turkish salad with carrots, tomatoes, onions and spices like cumin; the Matbucha salad (also with a bit of a bite) with tomatoes, eggplant, red and green peppers, onions and garlic; the sweet Spanish sliced eggplant with tomato sauce and the grilled chopped eggplant that’s magnificently rich in flavor. They also have tahini and baba ganoush and chopped liver, and in their refrigerated section, smoked mackerel in oil, herring and vegetarian chopped liver.
• Fresh ceviche (fish, shrimp or octopus) from Northgate Gonzalez Market, along with freshly made tortilla chips.
• Dolmas (stuffed grape leaves) or other stuffed vegetables (cabbage leaves, peppers, zucchini, eggplant and kale), fried eggplant and grilled eggplant are a little exotic and truly delicious. And, is there anything easier than buying cans of these at Balboa International Market, North Park Produce, Aaron’s Eatzz or Parsian? I’ve tasted them all and, yes, they are perfect party pleasers. All you need to do is plate them. Another option is a plate of fresh sliced feta, olives, hummus and freshly baked flat bread.
• The beet salad at Continent European Deli in La Jolla. It converted me to beets, with its sweet accompaniments of walnuts, prunes, garlic and mayonnaise. And, that beet vinaigrette salad with potatoes, pickles, carrots and sauerkraut is delicious with sliced mini rye bread. Like garlic? Try their mushroom salad. Finally, I’d suggest the Israeli salad, with its mild flavors of eggplant, garlic and mayo.

Assigned to make the green salad? Trader Joe’s comes in handy here. All you need to do is buy some bags of pre-washed lettuces—perhaps baby spring mix or the herb salad mix—along with a bag of dried cranberries, a package of candied pecans, a container of pomegranate seeds and their cranberry, walnut and gorgonzola salad dressing (or make a vinaigrette yourself). Add some thinly sliced red onions and slices of peeled orange and you have an amazing salad. Want to really impress? Add crumbled cranberry stilton from Venissimo (yes, I do love the place).

Speaking of Trader Joes… they really are the go-to resource for prepared foods for Thanksgiving. My friend Paula is a sucker for their corn and chile tomato-less relish, as am I. She loves to serve it as an appetizer with tortilla chips on a bed of greens. Pick up a few jars of one of their tapenades—olive or roasted red pepper and artichoke—or bruschetta—plain, mixed olive or mixed grilled vegetable—and loaves of sour dough baguettes to slice. Just stand in front of the refrigerated section of dips, close your eyes and pick. You’ll land on something amazing, like their spinach and artichoke dip, cilantro roasted pecan dip, artichoke jalapeño, or three-layer hummus (traditional, cilantro jalapeño and spicy). Then all you need are some boxes of crackers or, better yet, bags of pita chips with sea salt or “everything” bagel chips.

What about dessert? Again, Trader Joe’s is easy with their fresh pumpkin and pecan pies and a delicious-looking pumpkin cranberry pecan upside down cake. They also have pumpkin and apple pies as well as a lovely French apple tart in the frozen food section.

Of course, Julian pies are always a pleaser. If you can't get up to Julian, lots of shops sell them year round. I can find them locally at my little Tierrasanta Farmers Outlet and their sister store off Friars Road and Mission Gorge.

Want to send the crowd swooning though? Go for the non-traditional but oh so amazing pastries at Sage French Bakery on Convoy, next to Nijiya. Owned by a Korean baker, this Japanese-style French Bakery is one of the best in town and you can focus on chocolate with the Chocolate Mousse cake, Raspberry Ganache or Elby or enjoy the raspberry Mistral. This man is truly gifted.

I’ve only touched the surface. So, I leave it to you, dear readers, to offer some other irresistible ideas. Just click on “Comments” below and add your thoughts.

And, have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Caron

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San Diego Foodstuff Miscellany: The Bread and Cheese Edition

• Share Our Strenth’s Great American Bake Sale. Childhood hunger in America is a travesty—but we can do something about it! Share Our Strength is holding its fourth Great American Bake Sale this summer to raise money for local organizations that work to increase participation by low-income children in summer and after-school feeding programs. The funds also support nutrition education programs for low-income families.

How does it work? Mobilize your community to hold a bake sale—you and your kids know how to do that! Go to www.greatamericanbakesale.org to get more information and register your sale. They’ll send you a poster and tips for your sale. Then after you’ve had your bake sale send the money you raised to:

Share Our Strength's Great American Bake Sale
P.O. Box 75203
Baltimore, MD 21275-5203

If you’d just like to donate to the cause, send a check to the same address or call l (800) 761-4227.

• From Aniata to Venissimo. Hats off to Martyna and Bob Stonebrook for bringing back cheese to San Diego in 2001. Aniata Cheese Co. has been a wonderful addition to the region’s culinary repertoire. The Stonebrooks just announced that they’ve sold the shop in Del Mar's Flower Hill Mall to Gina and Roger Freize of Venissimo Cheese in Mission Hills so they can become wholesaler/distributors (known, of course, as Aniata Cheese Co.). So, effective Sept. 1, we now have a small chain of cheese shops in San Diego.

According to Gina, “This just really brings us one step closer to realizing our vision: to share the goodness and glory of cheese while building the brightest cheese retailer in the world! (Baby steps, right?) The beauty of this deal is that Aniata wanted to build its wholesale business, so now we can be assured of getting the world's greatest cheeses from them. It's such a great partnership...”

What’s next? Fingers crossed, downtown San Diego. Gina and Roger have their eyes on you for a third shop.

• Celebrate the Craft. Head over to the Lodge at Torrey Pines Sept. 20 to 23 for a weekend celebration of regionally grown ingredients, innovative cooking and winemaking—plus a little art on the side. Celebrate the Craft is in its fourth year of feting great food artisans in California, and this year has added “The Torrey Pines Plein Air Invitational” to showcase open air painters and their take on the landscape of the Torrey Pines State Reserve.

This year’s events will include a Saturday picnic in the park to watch the Plein Air artists do their thing, a Saturday night reception and art auction, a Sunday afternoon picnic with food stations to sample products and a Sunday evening family-style supper featuring dishes prepared with local ingredients.

Go to www.celebratethecraft.com for more information and to buy tickets.

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