All posts filed under: desserts

san francisco weekend social calendar – june 29 to july 1

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I have decided to include a new entry on my blog called San Francisco Weekend Social Calendar.  The purpose of this entry is to loop you in on what I recommend  to do over the weekend in San Francisco. Tourists are welcome of course. So for this weekend, being June 29 thru July 1, I recommend the following  {click on photo for details}: Friday, June 29, 2012 – AT&T Park For The Garlic Festival. Need I say more, Garlic, The Giants, good times 🙂 Saturday, June 30, 2012 – Private Garden Dinner for 10 at Regazza. This is a special offer which in my opinion is amazing if you have a group of friends on a budget (or not) Sunday, July 30,2012 – Eurocup Final Italy vs Spain (Go Italy!!!) at Lalola Bar De Tapas . Whether you are a fan of soccer (a.k.a. football) or not doesn’t matter. It’s a fun filled experience for sure.

let them eat cake – a wedding cake that is

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While helping a certain bride-to-be choose her wedding cake, I silently wondered why the task would be so difficult. After all, the cake cutting ceremony is usually late in the evening and by that point most guests are either gone or don’t even pay attention to the tradition. But after doing my research on the significance of the cake cutting tradition here, I realized giving the decoration great thought is a representation of the bride (mostly) and sometimes the groom. Now, although traditionally round cakes were the norm, I personally prefer the square ones. They somehow make a bolder statement :).  What say you? {for photo credits and information please click here}

light recipe: glazed figs with mascarpone cream

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I love fresh figs and will probably eat an entire basket of them any chance I get, so last night or early this morning, since I couldn’t sleep, I decided to search online for a recipe I wanted to try over the weekend and found it here. The funny thing is, around the bay area, we can find fresh figs at a local market pretty much the entire year, no matter if they are out of season. Anyway, check out the recipe and let me know what you think? Keep in mind if you have nut allergies, to avoid the walnuts. Ingredients Cream: 2 cups mascarpone 1/2 cup heavy cream 2 tablespoons icing sugar (confectioners’) Glazed Figs: 1/2 cup orange juice 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar 1/4 cup sugar 1/2 teaspoon orange zest 1 pint fresh figs, halved 1/2 cup walnuts, toasted and coarsely chopped Special equipment: an electric mixer Directions For the cream: In an electric mixer whip the mascarpone until smooth. Continue whipping and slowly add the cream in a steady stream. Add the sugar and whip for 3 minutes. For the …

summer recipe: fresh fig tart

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Every summer I cannot resist buying a basket full of figs from my neighborhood farmer’s market. I prefer to eat them freshly washed right out of the basket. But while commuting home last night I contemplated incorporating the figs into a light dessert. Check out what I found here: For crust 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 cup yellow cornmeal (not stone-ground) 1 tablespoon sugar 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 stick (1/2 cup) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces 1 1/2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh rosemary 4 to 5 tablespoons ice water For filling 1/3 cup sour cream 1 cup mascarpone cheese (8 oz) 1/4 cup sugar 1 1/2 teaspoons finely grated fresh lemon zest 1/8 teaspoon salt 2 tablespoons red-currant jelly 1 tablespoon honey 1 1/2 lb fresh figs Special equipment: an 11 1/4- by 8- by 1-inch rectangular or 10-inch round fluted tart pan (1 inch deep) with a removable bottom preparation Make crust: Pulse together flour, cornmeal, sugar, and salt in a food processor. Add butter and rosemary and pulse until mixture resembles …

single mother’s day celebration – a tea room brunch and a show

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Single mother’s have it tougher than those fortunate enough to have caring husbands. So, in reality these amazing wonder women don’t really care for gifts. They prefer to be taken out, if anything, to spend a day with her children. Now, I am going on the notion that most everyone is familiar with or has access to a tea room in their part of the world, but if not, I apologize in advance. However, if you happen to be in a city full of tea rooms, than by all means please consider the option. The experience of having brunch in a tea room is amazing and for sure out of the norm, more so in the U.S. than anywhere else. Since I live in San Francisco, I have included some of my favorites below to consider.  In addition to the nice tea room brunch, take her to a show, that could mean a movie thearte or an actual theatre to see whatever is playing in your town.

recipe: panna cotta perfected

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Yes I am going to start the week off with a recipe because I feel as if I need a pick me up and usually sensual – yes food can be sensual – dessert recipes will do the trick, that is only if I cannot travel to Europe at the particular time. Anyway, I found this recipe here and in my opinion it is one of the best Panna Cotta I have ever tasted, well, outside of my “late” chef cousin who used to make them for me. So here it goes and if you try it, please let me know how you liked it. One piece of advice, get creative with the toppings. Also, if you are on a strict diet or a healthy eating kick, this recipe is not one to follow. Panna Cotta Eight servings Adapted from Secrets From My Tuscan Kitchen by Judy Witts I love this dessert and the great thing about Panna Cotta is that it demands to be made in advance. You can make them up to two days …