Egg Hunt

Gluttony

I'm in SF this week, wheelbarrowing my belly across this delicious town. In the spirit of Ash Wednesday, I'll abstain from delivering the entire tour of obesity and stick to the the highlights:

• a perfect, salt-and-pepper-crusted leg o'lamb with root vegetables and mint jelly, cooked by my host
• a scoop of brioche bread pudding from Tartine

beef bone marrow and horseradish on grilled bread at Blue Plate

green garlic soup, clams and sausage, and a slice of apple tart with huckleberry ice cream at Chez Panisse

a fabulous, new-wave sundae from Bi-Rite Creamery: two scoops of dark chocolate ice cream topped with sea-salt (sorry Regina!), bergamot olive oil, and whipped cream

made-to-order cannolis from Pizzeria Delfina- might be the best I've ever had: warm, crispy shells, fresh, cool ricotta, orange peel, pistachio, bits of chocolate

Tomorrow will find me sampling treats from Ferry Building markets, later snacking on pizza at A16; Saturday, a trip down the coast to Pescadero, artichoke soup at Duartes, and Harley's goat farm.

By Monday I'll be again living among the lean cupboards of Plumas County, but for now, I'm tasting this city 'til  it runs out of food! 

Foiled Again!

A coupla' months ago, I was slinking 'round the Ferry Building markets(as much as a chubby girl can slink, anyway) with no money in my pocket and a brutal resolve (as brutal a resolve a libra can have, anyway) not to break out the plastic. Trolling and eyeballing, grabbing samples where I could, I was content with my vagrancy until I reached Boulette's Larder, where a golden disc on a modest white plate stopped me dead in my tracks.

It all went to hell from there.

.

Peanut and Sea Salt Cookies

This recipe is adapted from David Lebovitz's Ripe for Dessert, where he pairs it with a recipe for Margarita sorbet. These crispy cookies are quite rich and salty; serving them with something refreshing and fruity - pineapple granita, mango sorbet- makes them sing.

1 1/4 c roasted unsalted peanuts, divided

3/4 c flour

8 tbl unsalted butter, room temp.

1/2 c granulated sugar

1/4 c packed light brown sugar

1 large egg, room temp.

1 tsp b.soda

2 tsp hot water

coarse sea salt, to taste

Preheat oven to 325 degrees and line a sheet pan with parchment paper.

Place peanuts into a zip-locked bag and crush with a rolling pin. Reserve 1/2 cup and set aside.

Beat butter with sugars until just combined. Mix in the egg.

In a small bowl, mix baking soda with hot water and add to the batter. Mix in the 3/4 c ground peanuts and flour until just combined.

Form the dough into teaspoon-sized balls and lightly roll in reserved crushed peanuts. Place onto prepared sheet pan (they will spread quite a bit), and sprinkle each cookie with a bit of coarse sea salt.

Bake for 7-9 minutes until deep golden brown. Let cool a bit before removing to cooling rack.