June 2007 archives

Normally I’m not very good at taking direction.

But when someone hands you a big, fluffy white bathrobe and a pair of slippers, and tells you that you don’t need to take them off until you leave (even to eat), no further prodding is necessary.

I’m here at the Lake Austin Spa, convincing people that chocolate (and butter) is part of a healthy diet. So in between yoga, pilates, and exercise classes, everyone took a break to eat Dulce de Leche Brownies, Roasted Banana Ice Cream, and a few other previously off-limits delights.

Am I a bad influence or what?

After a couple of weeks of a my steady diet of Mexican food and Texas Bar-B-Q, though, I’m a good candidate for a few meals of spa cuisine myself. In between eating some seriously healthy (and delicious, I might add) food, I’m taking advantage of the warm southern sunshine, lounging by the lake, drinking copious amounts of ice herbal tea…and enjoying a heapin’ dose of Texas hospitality.

Lake Austin Spa
Austin, Texas
1-800-847-5637

One of the keys on my laptop keeps falling off.

It’s the ’5′ key. I never realized how often I typed the number 5 until every time I tapped that little plastic square, hot damn if that méchant little digit didn’t hop right off my keyboard. Since I’m in the US, I thought I’d head over to one of the Apple stores to see if they could fix it for me.

Within a few minutes, the cheery salesperson diagnosed the problem, returned with a new key, and popped that little dickens into place. For free!

Then he said something really odd to me, something I haven’t heard in a long time.

And it kinda freaked me out.

Continue Reading The Free 5…

You probably know what a sous chef is. It’s the person who’s second in command in a professional kitchen under the chef. In French, sous also means ‘drunk’.

But even though he’s Le Président, he could also be called le sous Président…

(Edited: Two weeks in America and I’ve already forgotten my French! See the comments for correct spelling of sous. Still, he does look sous, or ‘under’ to me…non?)

This weekend I’ll be continuing my classes here in Texas at Central Market stores across the state, which I’m having a blast teaching at. I love working with their staff and strolling the aisles of this unbelievable, enormous food market.

Also, Williams-Sonoma stores (which I call Sonoma-Williams, for reasons I should explain here someday…) is featuring The Perfect Scoop in a specially-priced paperback edition—just in time for summer ice cream churning…

Here’s the scoop for this upcoming weekend…

Jessica’s ode to ice cream.

Elise pops up homemade popsicles.

Françoise’s strawberry soirée.

Taking the icy rhubarb-raspberry route.

Matt’s plum crazy.

Exploring her sweet (not savory) side.

Derrick rocks with Hot Fudge Sauce.

Adam sings for his scoop.

In a full about-face, I’ve left fog-bound San Francisco and this morning I woke up in super-sunny Texas.

This week I’ll be teaching classes in ice cream making with recipes from my book, The Perfect Scoop, and sharing recipes for my favorite Parisian chocolate desserts at Central Market stores across Texas.

Here’s the dates, and hope to meet y’all there…

June 15 & 18: Austin

And on Saturday, June 16th, I’ll be at the Lake Austin Spa doing a class on spa desserts (ha!), which’ll be a lot of fun.

Come to the class…then jump in the hot tub with me afterwards!

Hey…it’s a Pledge Break!

Boy, could I use a massage or facial.
Click on the button to donate $1-$5 to my all-important spa treatment fund.

Funds raised as of 6/10: $20
Funds raised as of 6/11: $38
Funds raised as of 6/14: $38 (?!)
Funds raised as of 6/15: $39

You can find good Vietnamese food in Paris, and there’s a couple of nice addresses for Chinese food as well, but if there’s a good Korean bbq in the City of Light, that kalbi has yet to singe my lips.

When I come back to San Francisco, people ask me if I’m interested in trying the newest, hottest, most au courant restaurants in town. In general, I bypass those places and make a beeline for the ethnic joints when in town. And one of the best Korean bbq’s in San Francisco is located across from the Japan Center: Korea House.

Hike upstairs into a large dining room, and slide into a booth equipped with a coal-fired grill. Seconds after you place your order, the waitress reappears with a multitude of tiny bowls filled with everything from spicy-red kimchi to cubes of quivering agar-agar jelly. I’ve learned if you have any Korean friends, it’s definitely good to invite them along, since you’re liable to get a few extra banchan that you might not normally be offered.

Continue Reading 3 San Francisco Ethnic Eateries…