Culinary Muse

Cupcakes are the Puppies of the Food World

They oohed. They aahed. The cable car conductor exclaimed (I never use the word ‘exclaimed’ but there is no other way to describe it) that he was sure there were enough for everyone, didn’t I think so? When I presented the tray to my friends they shrieked with delight. What could evoke such spontaneous glee? A Baked Alaska? A two story high souffle? A serving of flaming crepes Suzette? No, dear reader. Just a tray of cupcakes. White cupcakes in heart patterned paper cups topped with pale pink frosting and sparkles to be exact. Nothing that I thought was particularly brilliant culinary-wise but apparently I was wrong. Witnessing this response immediately reminded me of the days when our Boxer dogs were puppies. Take a puppy anywhere and you will not be alone for long. You could be dressed as the Grim Reaper and people will drop to their knees in front of you to play with a puppy. People will do almost the same thing when presented with a cupcake.
My earliest cupcake memory goes back to nursery school.  Yes, I can remember back that far.  This nursery school was a co-op which now seems very progressive for what I would describe as my very conservative suburban hometown across the bay from more progressive San Francisco.  It was a wonderful school run by a woman named ‘Miss Lorna’.  Birthdays were celebrated with a cake (which your mother was expected to provide) as well as cupcakes.  This was before the days of concern over children’s sugar intake, obviously.  (I can honestly say that I don’t remember one overweight child in my class).  Anyway...you received a slice of cake to eat at once and a wrapped cupcake to take home with you.  Two cupcakes if you had a sibling.  These were carefully wrapped in wax paper and packed away in your lunch box for the trip home. 
So where did the cupcake come from? It may be that the name comes from the measurement of ingredients needed to produce a cupcake.  Just as the pound cake is a result of a pound of butter and pound of flour the cupcake required a cup of flour, a cup of butter and so on.  You get the idea.  Also, these small cakes were originally baked in earthenware cups.  Therefore the small cup shape and size and the name. Cupcakes were mostly confined to children’s parties, the Hostess Cupcake and Saturday School Bake Sales and mediocre bakeries until 1996.  That was the year that the Magnolia Bakery opened in New York.  They created a cupcake buzz (lines out the door).  And then all the buzz needed was a nudge from an appearance on ‘Sex in the City’ and it became a cupcake craze.  Former employees left and opened more cupcake bakeries.  Then SPRINKLES opened in Bevery Hills.  More lines out the door.  So what is the big deal, anyway? Why have people become so possessed by a sweet treat that they are willing to wait in a line that winds down the street?
I have been aware of this cupcake phenomena for a few years now and am surprised that it has lasted as long as it has. I have tried a couple of the most au courant versions, organic no less, from very good bakeries and found them dry and flavorless.
So what is it exactly that people are reacting to if not the flavor and texture? I think it must be a fond childhood memory of Room Mothers (remember those?) baking a batch to be distributed during the Valentine’s Day party. But the appeal here goes beyond the concept of comforting food. People do not giggle when a plate of macaroni and cheese is placed in front of them. A cupcake is about the compact cuteness of something that fits into the palm of your hand that does not require a fork and knife and will sometimes even be dyed pale pink or blue and often leaves a speck of frosting on the tip of your nose.Bigger than a cookie but not quit as big as a slice of cake.  And you can eat it with your hands.  Can’t do that so easily with a slice of cake which requires a plate and a fork. Not culinary brilliance but maybe folks don’t need food brilliance in their lives. What people seem to be craving is whimsy and silliness and a chance to shriek with delight over a simple pink cupcake.  It may also have something to do with portion control.

So what do I do when I need a cupcake fix?  I bake up a batch of cupcakes using a Duncan Hines Yellow Cake mix but I add a teaspoon of almond extract to the batter.  For frosting I recommend the recipe that appears on the side of the C & H Sugar Powdered Sugar box.  Use sweet butter and add a generous pinch of salt (finely grained sea salt is best, also known as ‘fleur de sel’.  Delicious!

Mother’s Day: Buffet Mandatory, Corsage Optional

My birthday sometimes falls on Mother’s Day. In the past this has meant that it is the Moms and I lining up at the hostess stand for Sunday Brunch at the fancy restaurant.  Not my mom, however.  My mom was born during the Depression and she felt that spending a lot of money on what was essentially just breakfast food was a total waste.  Unless, of course, it was a buffet.  Now a buffet spoke to her.  It said ‘you will not leave hungry, you will get your money’s worth’. My mom’s favorite place for Mother’s Day brunch was the Crown Room of the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco.  The view and abundance of food was quite the spectacle to behold: silver bowls heaped with fresh red strawberries and mounds of whipped cream. The carving station held a huge baron of beef, a whole roasted turkey and ham on the bone.  There was a station with omelettes being made to order.  And for those of us who love pancakes there was an interesting concoction that I am sure was inspired by the classic English Trifle.  At least a dozen pancakes about twelve inches in diameter were spread with a thick layer of raspberry jam. They were then stacked on top of each other in a silver bowl and topped with whipped cream.  This gooey delicious mess was my favorite.  My mom was crazy about the cold seafood display complete with an ice sculpture of the Golden Gate Bridge.  I can still see her plate heaped with pink prawns and crab legs.

I can’t see an ad for a buffet without thinking of her. I wrote the piece below in her honor three years ago.  I am reprinting it now because she passed away a few months ago and she is on my mind daily.  She reminded me often that she would not always be around and that she thought about her own mother every day. I now know exactly what she meant.

My Mother’s favorite ‘dining experience’ has always been the ‘buffet’. As a child of The Depression, I think she is overcome with joy and relief when she sees dish after dish spread out before her with a sign that reads “Take all you can eat but eat all that you take”. Because it was a good way for a single mother in the 60’s to feed her child and herself inexpensively, my childhood was full of these buffets or, as we called them in San Leandro, “Smorgy’s” (short for smorgasbord?). Our favorites were the “The Pipers” on MacArthur Boulevard and the less expensive “Perry Boy’s Smorgy” on the other side of town in the Marina area.
Both restaurants were dimly lit except for the bright spotlights that hung low over the buffet tables. A tall stack of hot, damp white plates fresh out of the dishwasher marked the beginning of these groaning boards. After years of eating at various buffets I became a smorgasbord strategist, I knew that it was important to find a cooler plate or my Jell-O selections would melt before I got back to the table. Also, it was important to approach in stages. A plate heaped too high would find your slice of roast beef swimming in a pink pool of beet juice and salad dressing before you could eat through to the bottom layer.
The first trip to the buffet was for salad – chopped iceberg lettuce, slices of canned beets (the fancier Piper’s served them sliced julienne) all smothered under a big ladle of creamy blue cheese dressing. If the plate was cold I could load up on the lime Jell-O and cottage cheese mold. The second trip was for hot food – canned corn, mashed potatoes, gravy and crispy fried chicken. Finally a trip to the dessert table where two HUGE clear plastic Melmac bowls full of yellow pudding and brown pudding were sunk into a bed of crushed ice. You had to pay extra for drinks so we drank water.
After dessert, my Mother always made one last trip to the buffet. This is when she loaded up her plate with fried chicken thighs and legs. Back at the table, she would look around the restaurant to make sure that no one was watching as she wrapped each piece of greasy chicken in the white paper napkins she had hidden in her black patent leather purse. Still smiling, she snapped her purse shut, asked the waiter for the check and paid the cashier on the way out. Did the waiter see what was going on? She was never busted. No one ever said, ‘Excuse me Madam, hand over the chicken’. I remember being embarrassed but I also remember how fun it was to empty out her purse when we got home. And how delicious that chicken was. I hope that all they saw was a pretty young woman and her child dining alone. But if they did see her ‘slight of hand’ I know that they would have understood it for what it was. Not stealing, but rather just a single mother trying to figure out how to feed herself and her child one more day.

THE WELL STOCKED DESSERT PANTRY

In the next few months I plan to give you an idea of what the New Pantry of the 21st Century should look like. Some of it will seem exotic (hearts of palm), some of it is a matter of personal choice (only Tellicherry black peppercorns, please) but all of it will enable you to fix something delicious fast.  Let's be honest - life in the kitchen is mostly about 'I am so hungry right now I could eat that tuna right out of the can with my bare hands' and 'Have I really spent $100 on take-out food this week?'.  You need a PAR list of foods that have a long shelf life and can be combined to serve up something delicious on short notice.
I am inspired by my long time friend, NA, who has always said we should write a cookbook together.  She and I have had hour long conversations on the phone about what a well stocked pantry must contain. She speaks from experience. She is the first person I had ever met that always had heavy cream in her refrigerator ‘just in case’.  A little background: NA came of age in New York City during the Swingin’ Sixties.  With a husband in advertising and her job as a booker for one of the top modeling agencies in the country, every evening held the potential of a party and she was always prepared. I imagine her hosting many an impromptu cocktail party at their apartment on Riverside Drive before departing for dinner at La Pavilion.  In her honor we are going to start with the Dessert Pantry for two reasons.  NA and I are both confirmed Chocoholics and who couldn’t use a little sweetness during tax week?

The Dessert Pantry: Even the most basic cookbook will tell you that you need basic ingredients like flour, salt, sugar, baking powder in your pantry if you plan on baking.  We agree.  But you also need some ready-made ingredients that can be combined to create last minute desserts.  This list of ingredients will give you the tools to create something sweet that is more than a candy bar but not as elaborate as a four layer cake.
Non-perishable:
Sweetened condensed milk , 2 cans (makes fudge fast and easy.  See recipe below)
Dark chocolate chips, 2 - 12 ounce packages or at least 1 ½ pounds Purchase the best quality you can afford and as far as we are concerned, the darker, the better! Chips come in handy for eating out of hand or for topping ice cream.  Sometimes I just melt a quarter cup in the microwave and pour on top of a scoop of plain vanilla ice cream.
Lemon curd (can be spread on or sandwiched between shortbread cookies for a quick treat)
Shortbread cookies (good dipped in melted chocolate)
Raspberry jam (can be warmed up to use as a topping for premium vanilla ice cream)
Unsweetened chocolate
Cake flour
Baking powder, baking soda, salt
Sugar
Vanilla extract, Bourbon or Tahitian
The recipe for Bittersweet Chocolate Cake from the first Silver Palate cookbook, page 291.
Perishable: (you will note that even these perishables have a long refrigerator life)
Eggs       
Heavy Cream (at least 8 ounces)
Vanilla ice cream
Butter, sweet (no salt)
Nuts (shelled whole walnuts are the most versatile, store in freezer).  It is a nice touch to toast nuts before using.  Spread nuts on a baking sheet, place in pre-heated 400 degree oven for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring every five minutes.  When nicely toasted (not burnt), immediately turn out into a shallow bowl to cool.

Favorite Easy Recipe:
During times of high stress I can be found, late at night, standing over the sink with a spoon in one hand and a can of sweetened condensed milk in the other muttering to myself ‘Why in the world don't they put pull tops on these f%*$! cans?!?!’. I am not suggesting that YOU eat sweetened condensed milk right out of the can. Nor should you consider serving it to your guests. Just know that it is a great staple for your pantry and the short cut to this ultra creamy fudge.  This very adult fudge is the just the post-tax treat you are looking for. And for those of you who have filed an extension, keep this recipe handy for July 15th!

ESPRESSO FUDGE
16 ounces semi sweet chocolate chips, MELTED
1 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
2 teaspoons freshly ground espresso
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
Stir together all of the above. Pour into a buttered 8" x 8" pan. Chill one hour. Cut into any size square you want. Or just cut it in half and dig in. No one is watching and you have our blessing!

Who Doesn’t Need S’Mores?

I once wrote that cupcakes are the puppies of the baking world.  People come undone and practically fall to their knees when confronted with the cuteness of a cupcake.  I would like to add another sweet to the list: the s’more. While the s’more was once only an a-la-minute-do-it-yourself gooey treat served campfire side, it now serves as muse to confectioners and cookbook authors alike.
I realize that spring just began a few weeks ago but aren’t we all thinking about what we are going to do for our summer vacation? I thought it would be a great idea to give the reader a few ideas for summer entertaining and gift giving, especially since all of these ideas involve ordering ahead. 

S’Mores Cookbook: Before I tell you how charming this cookbook is I must disclaim that I was involved in the early stages of its planning.  (Really, all I did was read the first draft and provide a couple chocolate suggestions). 
GIMME S'MORES  is a self-published cookbook by John Felts. On vacation in Maui one summer, John was inspired by his family’s tradition of having s’mores for dessert after dinner.  While reaching for his glass of port and his second s’more he was heard to say ‘what the world really needs is a S’MORE COOKBOOK!’  And who are we to argue?  I think of this photo packed cookbook less as a collection of recipes and more as an indispensable handbook of assembly ideas.  There are recipes ranging from the classic to the experimental.  Loaded with photographs and diagrams the reader will learn how to roast the perfect marshmallow and how to create a s’more when there is no campfire in sight. How about a Range Top S’more or a Microwave S’more?  Wondering what other uses you might have for that blowtorch?  Never built a campfire before?  No problem. The Technique chapter offers how-tos on building a classic campfire.

There is no reason to confine the enjoyment of a s’more to summertime only.  Why not start your own Christmas tradition by leaving Santa a special peppermint Christmas S’more  - much more interesting than a chocolate chip cookie! And just in case you thought that s’mores are all about child’s play, there is a section on wine pairing.  Very adult, indeed!  A copy of this book ($21.00 soft cover) will make an amusing summer hostess gift, along with a box of graham crackers, a bag of marshmallows, some great chocolate and lots of imagination.

S’More Gear: August 10 is unofficially National S’Mores Day.  The Girl Scouts may have invented this graham-cracker-roasted-marshmallow-chocolate treat but my earliest s’more memory is from a Camp Fire Girl’s overnight camping trip.  The camping trip took place in a regional park not too far from our home but it still felt like we were all braving the wild. We were each responsible for finding our own marshmallow roasting stick that we had to strip the bark off of using our pocketknives. Why whittle when you can just go to PIE IRON  and purchase one of their marshmallow roasting forks?  You thought that it would be easy to decide what fork to use?  There is the ‘#RT-12 Roaster Toaster Fork, the #2200 Picnic Forks in four fashion colors, the #3000 Marshmallow and Weenie Roaster with vinyl dipped handle, or, my favorite, #4900 Marshmallow Tree fork made from steel that is bent and turned to look like the branches of a tree.  Each end holds a marshmallow allowing the user to roast ten marshmallows at a time.  I am trying hard to think of an occasion where I might want ten marshmallows ready all at one time.  I have always viewed the roasting of marshmallows as a kind of do-it-yourself activity.  I roast mine, you roast yours.  Clearly there are gaps in my marshmallow education

On the Go S’Mores: I received an email last week from RECCHIUTI   announcing the return of their ‘S’Mores Bites’.  I am a big fan of these easy, on-the-go treats.  No assembly required and they fit nicely in a handbag or lunch box.  The description reads: Fresh Recchiuti marshmallows lay atop tiny handmade graham crackers that are blanketed in pure bittersweet chocolate.  4 pieces, $8.00.  If you plan to ship these be sure to read the important note that will bring a smile to your face:
S’Mores Bites are made with fluffy marshmallows filled with air.  They are very yummy, but they pop their tops in high altitudes.  Shipping = Airplane = High Altitude. When your Bites arrive after shipping they will be slightly cracked on top. 

S’Mores Kits: For those who want to kick up the s’more experience a notch or two or three, Recchiuti San Francisco also offers a S’Mores Kit.  The kit contains eight handmade Vanilla Bean Marshmallows, 8 Recchiuti Graham crackers and a Bittersweet 85% Chocolate Bar.  Makes 4 to 8 servings. $22.00.

The Second Annual San Francisco International Chocolate Salon

Be sure to mark your calendars for Sunday, April 13, 2008 for this year’s International Chocolate Salon.  With over 30 Chocolatiers and Wineries participating it should be even more fun than last year’s event.  For more information click here. .

Fort Mason Conference Center, San Francisco.  Tickets $20.00 for adults, Advance Purchase $17.50. 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.  Get there early!

In memory

This is an excerpt from a piece I wrote two years ago.  I am republishing it now in memory of my mother who passed away just a few weeks ago.  She is missed.

I see the cheesecake that my mother could talk the baker in Pelton Shopping Center into selling to her for half price when it was a day old. It was so delicious. Apricot and peach halves were baked into the top. She would buy an entire jelly roll pan full. And we would go home and feast on cheesecake. As a child of the Depression it was always about quantity for her. Quality mattered but quantity was the key. She would never have gone into the bakery and purchased just two pieces of cheesecake for the regular price. Just as she would rather have a closet full of clothes that she had purchased on sale than just a few pieces of better quality. No, she did not wear most of the clothes she bought on sale. They just hang with their tags marked up to show the drastic reductions. Having it was the most important thing. A talisman against poverty, lack, hunger??? I come now to appreciate her thrift. But I have learned that there is such a thing as too much cheesecake...

The chocolate flows this weekend in Napa

How does the Muse amuse herself on a wet Saturday in February?  By heading up to Napa to enjoy DEATH BY CHOCOLATE at Copia.  Join me, won't you, as we taste our way through the chocolate offerings of over 50 chocolatiers, confectioners and pastry chefs. Tickets still available.

A Very English Sweet Shoppe

I am on a train pulling out of Victoria Station.  There is a family of five seated across the aisle.  Just as the train begins to move, the children spring from their seats and gather around their mother.  She produces a clear plastic bag filled with wrapped hard candies.  Each child is allowed one piece - to begin with, that is. For the next two hours I watch this family consume piece after piece after piece of candy.  And they are clearly enjoying every sugar high moment of it.  I am jealous.  Why didn’t I pack sweets for the trip?  Well, probably because I am an American.  It is 1978 and all I can hear is my mother’s voice in the back of my head warning me of the dangers of eating candy outside the range of a toothbrush and sink and flouride. A piece of fruit, maybe.  A hard butterscotch?  Never.  Reckless abandon like this would surely lead to a mouth full of cavities.  Or worse, a toothless grin.

I return home and still can’t get the image of the happy, sweet-eating English Family out of my mind.  They may have been consuming their own weight in empty calories, but they sure looked damn happy doing it.  I know that I must get my own bag o’ sweets.  But where?  They must be imported.  Brach’s simply won’t do.  And then I remember Woolworth’s Drug Store at the corner of Market and Powell.  At the cable car turn.  (If you ever see a postcard of the cable car turn, circa 1940, you will recognize the building as the Owl Pharmacy.  It is now a Gap.)  In the 70's, this Woolworth’s was known for its amazing stock of imported hard candies.  The candies were displayed in the clear plastic bags they were shipped in.  The tops of the bags were carefully rolled down to reveal the candy inside.  There were at least eight display islands, about 6 foot square, that the bags were displayed on, one nestled right next to the other.  A cardboard sign on a wooden stick was stuck in the middle of each island displaying the flag of the country the candies on that particular table were from.  England had at least four tables to itself.  I was very impressed.  Scotland and Ireland each had a table.  The last two tables were for American candies.  I took a paper bag and began filling it.  One of these, two of those.  My memory tells me that all of the candy was priced the same.  No minimum. 

Since Woolworth’s closed, it has been impossible to find a selection of sweets imported from the UK. Until last month, that is. Fiona’s Sweet Shoppe has magically appeared.  Like a candy store out of a scene from Mary Poppins, Fiona has filled her cozy shop with floor to ceiling shelves stocked with clear glass jars filled to the brim with English, Irish and Scottish treats. Quarter pound minimum.

FIONA’S SWEET SHOPPE, Fiona Frie, Founder. “Bewitching Candy”, 214 Sutter St., SF, 94108. 415-671-9162, fiona@fionassweetshoppe.com

FOG CITY NEWS CHOCOLATE HEADLINERS

FOG CITY NEWS  is a chocolate Carnegie Hall.  If you are a player in the chocolate world you must play Fog City News when you visit San Francisco or you simply haven’t arrived.  It is the one venue in the City that I can count on to run into any chocolate celebrities passing through town. Why is this so?  It is all due to the hard work of proprietor Adam Smith. He has a discriminating palate. He knows the chocolatiers and confectioners.  And they are pleased to make in store appearances to meet their fans. He also carries over 250 different kinds of premium, origin-specific chocolate bars imported from around the world. If you are seeking out an esoteric bar of chocolate that is proving difficult to locate there is a great chance that Fog City News will have it.

Their February In-Store Confectioners Appearance schedule is as follows:

Richard Donnelly of Donnelly Chocolates, Santa Cruz,
Friday, February 1, noon - 2 pm

Michael Recchiuti of Recchiuti Confections, San Francisco
Friday, February 8, noon - 2 pm

Lloyd Martin of Chocolate Visions, Scotts Valley
Monday, February 11, noon - 2 pm

This might be the year that you break away from the traditional red velvet heart-shaped box and dive into the fresh confections offered by these confectioners.  Fog City News will receive their shipments just seven to ten days before Valentine’s Day, thereby insuring utmost freshness.  Consider what a real chocolate truffle, made with fresh cream just days ago might taste like. Heaven.

Food from the Heart: Join the Muse for Chocolate Tasting

The fifth annual “FOOD FROM THE HEART” at the FERRY BUILDING MARKETPLACE  kicks off on Friday, February 8th, with a benefit for Slow Food from 5:00-8:00 p.m. The public is invited to stroll through the candlelit Grand Nave where the merchants and restaurateurs of the Marketplace will offer seasonal hors d’oeuvres ($2 - $4 per taste) and Slow Food volunteers will pour wine from several wine bars ($6 per glass). There will also be music by Golden Gate Hot Club and Classical Revolution, tango dancing, and a chocolate tasting led by Karletta Moniz of this website, Culinary Muse, and THE ART OF TASTING CHOCOLATE . Scharffen Berger has kindly donated chocolate.  Proceeds from wine bar and hors d’oeuvres purchases benefit Slow Food San Francisco. The entire Marketplace will be open until 8:00 p.m. for Valentine shopping. Inspired by the season of love, the Epicurean revelry and delights carry on through Saturday, as the Marketplace and the Ferry Plaza Farmers’ Market will be brimming with heartfelt foods and local chefs will offer cooking demonstrations on how to prepare seasonal, romantic meals.
Slow Food San Francisco seeks to promote the pleasures of farm to table gastronomic culture through taste education and community involvement. In addition to their efforts to protect the pleasures of the table, Slow Food raises funds to support a variety of organizations with similar goals. The proceeds of the FOOD FROM THE HEART event will be directed towards the Sanchez School Garden Program and will sponsor a Ferry Plaza Farmers Market food artisan, producer or farmer to Terra Madre, a world forum for those who are also engaged in the ideals of sustainable, local and human food production.