Sunset Celebration Weekend: Fabulous Frickle, My Favorite Candy, and the Incredible Potato Tower

Ever since I was a kid, I've been reading Sunset magazine.  My mom always subscribed to it, and once I graduated from college I subscribed too. Over the years I've enjoyed the creative, upbeat tone of Sunset and its array of ideas for the Western home, garden, travel, and food. Now that I think about it, it's probably the magazine I've read the longest, for about forty years (egads!).

Sunset's headquarters office is just a few miles away in our town of Menlo Park. Every summer Sunset hosts a Celebration Weekend with a variety of demonstrations, hands-on activities, foods, beer & wine, and exhibits. This year my husband Brad and I took our 10-year-old daughter Amanda to check it out. Among the highlights:

- Numerous food stands where we tried not only the usual lemonade and kettle corn but also Fabulous Frickle fried pickles, Acme bread, Recchiuti Fleur de Sel Caramels and Spring Jasmine Tea chocolates, Straus yogurt, and my favorite candy in the whole wide world, R & J Toffees premium almond toffee. Needless to say, I bought a bag of the toffee! We also bought an Acme walnut loaf, some of the best bread around.

- Gourmet food trucks including Seoul on Wheels Korean BBQ and Sam's Chowdermobile.

- A variety of wines and beers. Brad's favorite beers were the Lagunitas India Pale Ale and the Sierra Nevada Torpedo Extra India Pale Ale.

- A tour of the Sunset test kitchens where all their recipes are created and perfected. Surprisingly, the food staff is not made up of professional chefs, just really good cooks. They publish about 35 recipes in each monthly issue, and each is tested about five times before it's printed. Since they have 3-12 month leadtimes, sometimes they have to go to great lengths to create their recipes out of season. Our guide told us one time they spent $80 making a strawberry pie!

- Making an original munch mix with Amanda using Post cereals, popcorn, and pretzels. This mixture can then be customized by combining with various seasonings and baked. They have many fun recipes on their website for all kinds of cereal snack mixes.

- Exploring the Sunset gardens and chicken coop, with an emphasis on fruit and vegetable gardening. One of the most clever ideas I saw was the Potato Tower, an ingenious way of growing potatoes that saves space, creates 2-3X the usual yield, and requires no digging! You can just reach in and get your potatoes when they're grown or undo the tower and watch all the grown potatoes tumble out.

We enjoyed wandering around, listening to the live music, seeing the exhibits, and smelling the wonderful foods. Celebrity chefs demonstrated their cooking prowess all weekend, featuring recipes to try for yourself.

What a treasure to have Sunset in our home town. I'm already looking forward to next year's celebration.

Very Berry Crisp with Webb Ranch U-Pick Berries

What could better than picking and eating fresh, delicious, organic berries? We're fortunate to have a local gem of a farm that opens its berry fields for picking every June. The Webb Ranch in Portola Valley has been owned and operated by the Webb family since 1922. They began by planting strawberries and have since expanded to include a variety of vegetables including corn, green beans, squash, pumpkins, tomatoes and bell peppers. The ranch operates a local farmers' market open daily on Alpine Road near the 280 freeway, and its U-pick berry farm is just a bit farther west up Alpine Road. Webb Ranch is widely known for its corn picked hourly. They never sell day-old corn, instead feeding it to their pasture horses.

Our whole family has enjoyed picking berries there for about five years. Some tips for picking:

- Wear sunscreen, a hat, and comfortable, closed-toed shoes

- Pick inside the bush for berries with the best flavor

- Ripe berries come off easily

- Look for the berries with dark coloring

- Bring gloves since some of the vines have thorns

The ranch planted 6,000 new berry plants last season so this year's crop is particularly abundant. And there's an impressive variety of berries available: strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, boysenberries, and loganberries.

Telltale signs of successful berry picking include berry stains on hands and mouth, purplish lips, and a big smile. Of course the berries are delicious fresh, but we also love them with whipped cream and baked in a berry crisp. One of my favorite desserts is fruit crisp, especially when made with ripe, flavorful fruit. Below is a berry crisp recipe that I've had for so long I can't remember where I got it. Even though I can't trace the originator, I know that whoever created this recipe has left a delectable legacy for all those who have enjoyed it.

Very Berry Crisp

5 cups fresh berries of your choice

4 tablespoons granulated sugar

1/2 cup regular rolled oats

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

3 tablespoons plus 1/4 cup all-purpose flour, separated

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg, ginger, or cinnamon

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup chopped nuts or coconut

1. Place washed fruit in a 2-quart square baking dish. Stir in the granulated sugar and 3 tablespoons of the all-purpose flour.

2. For topping, in a medium bowl combine the oats, brown sugar, 1/4 cup flour and nutmeg, ginger, or cinnamon. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in the nuts or coconut. Sprinkle topping over filling.

3. Bake crisp in a 375 F degree oven for 30 minutes or until fruit is tender and topping is golden. Serve with a dollop of whipped cream or your favorite vanilla ice cream. Makes 6 servings.

Berry crisp is best eaten outdoors after a nice summer meal. It tastes even better if you picked the berries yourself. Look at the luscious berry colors, smell the intoxicatingly sweet, buttery fragrance, and dig in. It's summertime!

Google's Big Table Cafe

One of the well-known perks of working at Google is free lunch served at a variety of cafes on campus. My husband Brad, the Gmail Spam Czar, sometimes takes this benefit for granted, but every time I join him for lunch there I remind him how very fortunate he is to be so well fed at work.

Eating at a Google Cafe is not like eating at an ordinary company cafeteria.  From the start, Google has taken its food seriously, and hired skilled chefs who have created food not only big in quantity but also big in flavor, variety, and nutrition. Over the years, I've tried about ten of Google's cafes. This month I joined him at the Big Table Cafe at a new office building he recently moved into near Shoreline Park in Mountain View. Surprisingly, there is no actual big table at Big Table. Rather, the cafe's moniker refers to the codename of some technical project that I'm not privy to. As Brad says, 'It's too hard to explain,' but Googlers are in on the secret and to them it makes perfect sense.

I greatly enjoyed my Asian-inspired meal, just one of the many meal options offered that day at the cafe:

- Baby bok choy and pickled red cabbage
- Ginger garlic noodles
- Ginger sesame asparagus
- Onion pancake with spicy Szechuan peanut sauce
- Grilled corn on the cob with butter and lime juice
- Hint water flavored with pomegranate and tangerine
- Pineapple
- Rum ball

It's truly a delight to eat excellently cooked vegetables, and the bok choy delivered.  It had a firm yet delicate texture, and its simple sauteed preparation allowed the fresh flavor to express itself. Even with its small size, the baby bok choy varied as I ate starting with the light green, mild, crunchy bottom up to the richly dark green and slightly bitter leaves. It oozed not only with flavor but with nutrients and cruciferous crunch. I know a vegetable has been perfectly prepared when eating it is as enjoyable as eating dessert. Knowing how good it is for me only increases the pleasure.

I also loved the ginger garlic noodles, thin and cooked al dente, delicately coated with a sparkling touch of ginger garlic sauce. The combination of those two Asian ingredients creates a well known combustion of fiery flavors that have been enjoyed for centuries. The delicate noodles provided just the right amount of bite and sustenance to carry the flavors forward all the way from tongue to stomach.

The grilled corn on the cob also started a flavor party in my mouth with its sweet, rich and sour combination of caramelized corn, butter, and lime juice. I've always loved corn on the cob, best hot off the coals and dripping with butter. Sweet and crunchy, corn on the cob is the taste of summer, eaten in rows like keys on a keyboard, and bringing back memories of 4th of July picnics.

To make this meal even more memorable, we sighted both Larry Page and Sergey Brin. I admit I'm a groupie when it comes to Silicon Valley movers and shakers, and felt a little thrill spotting the two Google guys. It was all very ordinary for Brad, but for me it was a treat. Enjoying lunch with Googlers talking and eating animatedly all around us, I felt a palpable energy, a kind of social vibration that emerges when I'm around engaged and enthusiastic people. That kind of energy is contagious, and I want more.  I'm convinced the food at Google is an integral driver of this vitality, not only delighting and nourishing employees, but also instilling a creative energy that fuels their ideas just as much as their work. It's part of the secret sauce that propels innovative thinking and helps the company stand out from the rest. It's no wonder why Googlers are feeling lucky. 

Hooray for Hobee's

Why has Hobee's been voted best breakfast in Palo Alto by readers of the Palo Alto Weekly newspaper so many times it's now in the Hall of Fame? Let me count the ways. Hobee's offers the quintessential California breakfast and brunch with a lively atmosphere and comfortable setting. You can even order breakfast for dinner and no one will bat an eye. Starting with their very cinnamon-y hot or iced tea, robust coffee, or fruit smoothie, a meal at Hobee's brings comforting nourishment as well as big flavor and smiles. Featuring a diverse, friendly, healthy, and mouthwatering selection of choices, Hobee's is as sure-fire a restaurant for anyone looking for a satisfying meal as there could be.

Widely known for its tall blueberry coffeecake with cinnamon crumb topping, Hobee's features seasonal coffeecake flavors including apple walnut, peach pecan, cranberry, and banana toffee. The omelets and scrambles never fail to deliver. My favorites include the Florentine scramble with spinach, mushrooms, and cheese; the Pruneyard omelet with turkey bacon, onion, mushrooms, and Swiss; the Santa Cruz scramble with artichoke hearts and lots of garlic; and the breakfast burrito, a whole wheat tortilla stuffed with eggs, rice, salsa, cheese, and guacamole.  Sometimes I'll either take the coffeecake to go or just eat the top, which of course includes the cinnamon brown sugar topping. My husband often orders the BDBIT, the Best Darn Breakfast in Town -- two eggs, country-style hashbrowns, and coffeecake or toast.

Hobee's sells some items to go, including large tins of coffeecake, cinnamon tea, and crunchy granola. They also sell their famous t-shirts, and if you bring in a photo of yourself wearing the t-shirt at some far away yet recognizable landmark location, you can earn a free meal. Just look at the wall of photos inside every Hobee's to get an idea of its devoted fans and the lengths they will go to to get a free Hobee's meal.

Hobee's is always busy so if you go at the height of the breakfast or lunch hour, you may have to wait. I think the longest we've waited to get into Hobee's was forty-five excruciating minutes, but it's always worth it when nothing less will do. Luckily they have many locations in Silicon Valley. Just make sure if you're meeting a friend, to make it very clear *which* Hobee's you want to meet at so that you're not waiting and wondering, growing hungrier by the minute! (I speak from experience.) It is a good place to meet people, and sometimes you will overhear Silicon Valley business deals being made at nearby tables. It works for both business and pleasure get-togethers, but choose another restaurant if you're looking for a romantic meal or quiet conversation.

The restaurant is extremely kid-friendly with crayons, a kid's menu, and a fun happy face made of fruit on glass plates to start. My daughter Amanda's usual choice is the Mickey's Pancake, and she always gets a kick out of the menu item which reads, "Liver & Onions--with brussel sprouts, broccoli, eggplant, and lots of beets, $29.95." Dinner meals also please the palate: pastas, wraps, and sandwiches fill the menu, as well as burgers, salads, hash brown concoctions, and any of the breakfast egg dishes. It's a good place to bring a largish group with kids because there's something for everyone.

There must be something special in their cinnamon, because the cinnamon tea and cinnamon coffeecake have a special allure that always brings me back. It's extra spicy and flavorful, the kind that makes my taste buds do a little dance, and something about it fires off powerful neurons in my brain that reinforce my love of the place and the food. I wouldn't be surprised if scientific studies showed the cinnamon triggers endorphins which have the magical effect of stimulating animated conversation and pleasurable eating.

It's comforting to know that a Silicon Valley institution like Hobee's is just minutes away, and that here I can find one of my favorite breakfast meals even if it's for dinner. It would be hard to count how many times I've eaten at Hobee's over the years. Sometimes I take it for granted, and going there is more of an afterthought than a destination. But it's good to take a moment to be grateful and appreciate the wonderful elements of ordinary life, including nearby restaurants that have always been there. Hobee's definitely delivers.

XANH

If you like the vibrant flavors of Vietnamese cuisine, hip decor, and exploring new restaurants, it's worth checking out XANH. Winner of four awards on OpenTable (hot spot, most booked, vibrant bar scene, and Vietnamese cuisine), XANH offers a flavorful and fashionable culinary adventure you won't soon forget. The restaurant achieves its goal to "fuse the culinary traditions of Vietnam with modern aesthetics and complexities."

XANH, which means 'green' in Vietnamese (I love Google Translator on my iGoogle page), also boasts the Michelin Bib Gourmand designation. Located on the eclectic and electric ethnic Castro Street in Mountain View, XANH offers a completely different world for your senses the minute you set foot inside. Decorated in soothing blues with thoroughly modern decor, hypnotic background music and traditional Vietnamese motifs, the restaurant immediately creates an intriguing and inviting ambiance.

As it should be, the food is what's most compelling. As servers bring out dishes for fellow diners, it's fun to see what others order. The biggest challenge is choosing what to have off the lengthy menu. We finally settled on these dishes:

kobe roll marinated beef, rice noodles, fresh lettuce, cilantro, carrots, cucumber, and roasted peanuts | served with nuoc cham vinaigrette

papaya salad poached shrimp, green papaya, carrots, cu cai trang, sliced mango, cilantro, mint, caramelized shallot | served with roasted peanuts and nuoc cham vinaigrette

bun thit nuong choice of sautéed beef, grilled pork, or grilled shrimp | with rice noodles, sliced cucumber, sliced green apples, cilantro, mint, carrots, and crispy shallots | served with shrimp cracker, roasted peanuts, and nuoc cham vinaigrette

XANH shrimp cakes minced shrimp and chicken, glass noodles, carrots, and garlic atop toasted bread | served with lightly spiced vinaigrette | servings of four or six pieces

XANH full moon wraps™ four baby rice crêpes stuffed with shrimp, bean sprouts, white and green onions | served with lettuce, sliced mango and fresh herbs

My favorite dish was the XANH full moon wraps. Everything comes piled on crispy green bib lettuce leaves, with a little dish of sweet sauce to drizzle over before rolling it all up in the lettuce and taking that first incredible bite. The melding of crisp, crunchy, sweet, and sour ingredients works beautifully together, like a symphony's crescendo sending chills up your spine. Eyes widen, pupils dilate, the heartbeat quickens, and salivary glands go into overdrive. It's one of those dishes I could easily develop a craving for, pulling me back for more addictive delight.

I also greatly enjoyed the kobe roll and bun thit nuong, which our server assembled quietly yet dramatically for us at the table. The papaya salad gave a wonderfully crisp and clean start to the meal. The shrimp cakes were my least favorite dish. While I enjoyed the interesting flavors (did I detect cinnamon?) and the stylish European fusion (the cakes came atop a circle of toast), it didn't quite work as well overall.

We saw so many other wonderful dishes that our fellow diners seemed to enjoy, all with beautiful presentation and a bit of drama (look out for the dry ice!). It's one of those places that draws me back to try out all the dishes that wouldn't fit in my stomach the first time. I think that's a mark of great menu design and food: describe and offer dishes so mouthwatering and enticing that diners return to try out more things and tell their friends about it. Next time I want to try:

lucky egg noodles (mi xao don) chicken, shrimp, shiitake mushrooms, carrots, baby bok choy, baby corn, and white onions upon a bed of golden crispy egg noodles

crab martini fresh crab claw meat, mixed bell peppers, avocado and other fresh herbs

ahi tuna tartare spicy ahi tuna, cucumber, avocado | served with wonton chips

tamarind prawns sauteed jumbo prawns on a lake of tamarind sauce

Ahh yes, I must go back soon to get my fix...the crave-worthy full moon wraps and other delectables await....

Edible Enjoyment in a Korean Strip Mall

I love exploring ethnic markets--deciphering packages, discovering new ingredients, and stepping into the unknown. One such Silicon Valley market is the Galleria Plaza Korean market in Santa Clara. In a little Korean strip mall at 3531 El Camino Real, the Galleria Plaza is full of items I know nothing about. I've started to learn a bit more about Korean cuisine ever since my brother Doug married Yoojung Kang, who moved to the U.S. from Seoul during college. (By the way, Yoojung used to be my daughter's preschool teacher and I introduced her and Doug to each other!)

After an 'extreme' Korean spa experience at the Lawrence Health Center next door (that's a whole other story), I went to the Galleria Plaza in my blissed-out state to look for some new items to try. I ended up purchasing:

- Sriracha chili sauce in the famous rooster bottle, made in California
- crunchy rice crackers, lightly seasoned with soy sauce and individually wrapped, making them nice lunch box snacks
- S&B Curry Sauce mix, made in Japan
- kimchi, one of numerous varieties offered, including huge jars that would last for years in our home (imagine the odeur) but probably would last a month or so in a big Korean family's refrigerator
- Super Lemon hard candies, surprisingly one of the most sour flavors we have ever tried (these make a great kid's activity or fun little gift)
- Hanmi pumpkin hard candies, just because I love pumpkin
- Orion Choco Pies, like moon pies (two chocolate dipped cookies with a marshmallow filling), because I once watched an infomercial on a Korean television channel all about this company and how singularly focused it is on producing the highest quality Choco Pie dessert snacks imaginable in the entire universe

In just one shopping trip I acquired a wide variety of interesting, tasty, and, for most Americans, unusual collection of edibles. Prices are so reasonable that it's little risk to try something completely unknown. If you don't like it, pass it on to someone who might. I enjoy conducting taste tests with our family of five to see what everyone thinks of new foods and to get their ratings. We all have very different preferences, and I have to say that there wasn't any one food (even the Choco Pies) that got an enthusiastic thumbs-up from all of us. My husband loves anything hot and spicy, so prefers the chili sauce (on almost anything) as well as the kimchi. The kids like the rice crackers, Choco Pies, and sour lemon candies best.

Our most eaten food in this list is the S&B Golden Curry sauce, one of those fairly rare dinner meals that we all enjoy. It's easy to make, and completely flexible in what ingredients you include. Just follow the directions on the back. The sauce cooks up in a saute pan on the stove top, while you can make rice in a rice cooker or however you prefer. We like to serve it over brown rice cooked with sauteed onion, carrots, and peas. It would be easy to add any kind of meat pieces or other vegetables like potatoes or broccoli. We usually get the mild version because of our kids' more sensitive taste buds, but the more adventurous can try the medium or hot versions. Japanese curry tastes different from Indian curry but has a familiar aroma and kick, both sweet and spicy, with a creamy texture that coats the ingredients in its velvety embrace. It's considered Japanese peasant comfort food, a meal that starts brightly in your nose and mouth, and settles warmly in your stomach.

I'll never forget when my husband and I were in Tokyo and we enjoyed a nice curry dinner from a unique diner. We ordered our food choices from a vending machine, handed our tickets to the fast order cook, and he made our curries to order. We ate in the casual diner-like restaurant, sharing tables with other curry fans, and watching the passers-by outside through the windows. Of course it's not as sophisticated or artistic as sushi, but Japanese curry hits the spot. If you'd rather eat it at a restaurant, Gombei restaurant at 1438 El Camino Real in Menlo Park serves Japanese curry dishes.

Choco Pies are another item worth mentioning in more detail. Considered the quintessential snack of Korea, Choco Pies could be considered the Asian equivalent of Oreo cookies.  The Orion Confectionery company has made these snacks for about thirty-five years.  They now make up an impressive two-thirds of the Chinese cookie market! Also big sellers in Russia and Vietnam, Choco Pies are apparently considered a sign of capitalism by the North Korean people. Similar to Oreo cookies because of their chocolate flavor, sandwich cookies, white filling, and manufactured appearance and flavor, Choco Pies still offer some fun, sweet pleasure with their squishy marshmallow middles, crumbly cookies, and chocolate coating. You don't have to be a capitalist to eat and enjoy one.

Next time you're in the area, wander around the Galleria Plaza and try something new. You just might find a new favorite.

Etoiles Michelin

Top tier restaurants around the world covet elusive Michelin stars. Michelin stars are the equivalent of Nobel prizes in the culinary world, and just as hard to attain. Awarded by anonymous, professionally-trained experts, Michelin stars instantly endorse a restaurant for outstanding quality in culinary achievement, not only for taste and appearance, but for innovative food, drink, and top-notch service. I've been to a handful of restaurants which have received this honor and enjoyed each one immensely. The three-star designation in particular is exceedingly rare with only 81 restaurants in the world achieving this status. The following Bay Area restaurants have received a Michelin star for 2010:

Three stars:

The French Laundry, Yountville

Two stars:

Coi, San Francisco; Cyrus, Healdsburg; Manresa, Los Gatos; The Restaurant at Meadowood, St. Helena.

One star:

South Bay/Peninsula: Chez TJ, Mountain View; Plumed Horse, Saratoga; The Village Pub, Woodside.

San Francisco: Acquerello, Ame, Aziza, Boulevard, the Dining Room at the Ritz Carlton, Fifth Floor, Fleur de Lys, Gary Danko, La Folie, Luce, Masa's, Michael Mina, One Market, Quince, Range.
East Bay: Chez Panisse, Berkeley; Commis, Oakland.
North Bay: Auberge de Soleil, Napa; Bouchon, Yountville; Etoile, Yountville; Farmhouse Inn & Restaurant, Forestville; La Toque, Napa; Madrona Manor, Healdsburg; Murray Circle, Sausalito; Redd, Yountville; Sante, Sonoma; Solbar, Calistoga; Terra, St. Helena; Ubuntu, Napa.

Of these, I have enjoyed deliciously memorable meals at Chez TJ , The Village Pub, One Market, Bouchon, and Chez Panisse. I count myself lucky to have this many Michelin starred restaurants to choose from in the San Francisco Bay Area, and look forward to trying even more.

This year I was pleasantly surprised to learn that the Michelin group has created a new tier of recognition for more ordinary restaurants called Michelin Bib Gourmand. These restaurants have been designated as high quality and good value for the money even if they don't achieve worldwide status. Good value for the money means that for less than $40, you can get two courses and dessert or wine, not including tax or tips. This category of more affordable, casual, and realistic options identifies a welcome new set of go-to great restaurants for Bay Area food lovers to choose from.

The ones I've eaten at include: Bay Wolf, Crouching Tiger, Junnoon, The Slanted Door, and Yank Sing.  I haven't been to elegant Bay Wolf in years, but used to love going there when I worked at the Clorox Company in Oakland.  Crouching Tiger isn't too far away from us in Redwood City, and features many spicy and mouth-watering Szechuan dishes. Junnoon takes Indian food to a new level with its Indian-California fusion cuisine and fabulous ambiance, featuring colorful decor and hypnotic music. The Slanted Door is a Bay Area institution, with to-die-for Asian dishes including spring rolls and BBQ steamed pork buns. Yank Sing features delicious dim sum and is always busy. A dim sum tip: Get a table near the kitchen so you have first pick of the hot dishes as they're wheeled out on carts.

Which Michelin restaurants have you eaten at? I would love to hear what you think of them, both good and bad, and what dishes you'd recommend. Bon appetit!