About the Author
Sarah Fidelibus is a longtime educator with over ten years of experience in curriculum development and course implementation at the high school, college and professional levels. In addition to her work on and off campus, Sarah is a writer whose work has appeared at Poynter.org, the San Francisco Appeal and SF Public Press. In her free time, Sarah also writes the blog, San Francisco Treats--her tribute to all the best treats you can find in one of the best cities in the world. She can be reached via email at s.e.fidelibus [at] gmail [dot] com, and through all of the social media channels you see below.Connect
- "@mimijohnson Haha! I'm not surprised--did you read the superb #longreads by the woman's nephew? He finds it amusing, too."8 minutes ago"@mimijohnson Is that the movie about the guy who murdered that older woman?"14 minutes ago"@traceykthompson Haha! Nice."3 hours ago
Category Archives: Foodstuffs
Grateful for Family, Friends, and a Fabulous Biscuit Recipe
I’ve had several great biscuits in my day, but none of them had ever come out of my kitchen. The ones that I had tried to make were always disappointing, failing as they did to compare with the biscuits I had meant to make: that is to say, biscuits that would be fluffy and not dense, moist and not crumbly. Continue reading
Food Network Challenge: A Very Special Olympics
Lately I’ve become obsessed with Food Network Challenge, a televised weekly food battle that features bravado, trash-talking and excessive compensation–it’s like professional sports, only without the face-painting and lame halftime shenanigans.
The challenges run the gamut, from best burgers to top tailgate fare, but I’ve found that I’m particularly enamored by the cake-related challenges, partly because of the unabashed absurdity underlying the “challenges,” and partly because sexy cake decorator Jason Ellis doesn’t appear on Food Network Challenge: Chili Cookoff or Food Network Challenge: Extreme BBQ. Ellis is as hilarious and charming as he is cute; it’s an irresistible combination. Continue reading
Budget-conscious Bliss: The Sweet-tooths take San Francisco
A couple of weekends ago, three friends and I spent our Saturday afternoon on a “Dessert Crawl,” an event that was part tea party, part walking tour of San Francisco’s Mission District.
The idea for the crawl was born on Facebook, when various people were offering a friend recommendations for good places to go for dessert. As different folks chimed in with suggestions for my friend Katie, another friend, Frances, remarked, “Dessert crawl!”, and because we all recognized what a lovely thing such an event would be, we immediately commenced planning Dessert Crawl #1. Continue reading
From Scratch: Coffee Cocoa Snack Cake
This cake, from Fine Cooking magazine, is particularly good. It’s very chocolatey and unbelievably moist, and most people will have all of the ingredients on hand to make it whenever the whim strikes. It’s always frustrating to be craving a certain something, only to realize that, in order to make it, you need buttermilk or sour cream or some other such ingredient that you may not have in your fridge all the time. With this cake, you can go from desire to dessert in about an hour’s time. Yum. Continue reading
Front Burner #4: Risotto with Spring Vegetables and Smoked Ham
Risotto is one of those dishes that takes practice; you have to make it a few times before you feel like you have it down, but it is definitely a skill worth cultivating. It’s economical and oh so comforting; and if you’re a fan of leftovers, as I am, you can make a big pot of it and reheat it in the microwave throughout the rest of the week. Continue reading
Front Burner #3: Strawberry-Almond Cream Tart
Strawberry-Almond Cream Tart from Cooking Light magazine: The graham cracker crust lends a great crunchy texture paired with the almond-scented cream and luscious topping of strawberries. You may be inclined to regard the toasted sliced almonds as purely decorative and therefore not “necessary,” but it takes no time at all to toast them (and only a few minutes to rim the tart with them), and they add that wonderful, toasty, nutty element that cuts through the sweetness of the cream. Sometimes it’s the littlest details that elevate a dish from pretty good to total standout, and I think the almonds are that detail in this recipe.
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Front Burner, Episode Two: Springing Forward with Lavender and Honey Shortbread
A recipe for Lavender and Honey Shortbread that will have the most skeptical eaters asking for more. Continue reading
Posted in Foodstuffs, From Scratch
Tagged easy shortbread cookies, honey, lavender, lavender and honey, linkedin, shortbread, shortbread cookies
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Front Burner Episode One: What’s cooking in verbal cupcake’s kitchen
Far more often than writing reviews of an actual recipe, people seem to use the “recipe review” function on food websites to write about their own version of a given dish, often with long lists of ingredient substitutions and changes in method that would greatly affect the final product. “I loved this recipe,” someone might write, adding, “But instead of baking the banana bread, I whipped the batter extra long and served it as a mousse.” Or someone else will say, “My husband loved this. I swapped out the raisins for goat cheese and added jalapenos instead of walnuts. It was a hit!” Continue reading
Posted in From Scratch
Tagged breakfast, butter, cinnamon, donut muffins, epicurious, muffins, recipes, reviews, sugar
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Unpleasant aftertaste: Season Five of Top Chef reminds fans why the judging is often hard to swallow
This week, fans of Bravo’s culinary competition will say goodbye to Season Five as another “top chef” goes home with all the spoils. With a final four of Hosea, Carla, and the “two Euros,” Fabio and Stefan, it’s anybody’s guess … Continue reading
Posted in Alternate Realities, Foodstuffs
Tagged Bravo, Carla, Fabio, Hosea, Jamie, judging, Leah, Season Five, Season Four, Stefan, Toby Young, Tom Colicchio, Top Chef
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Dark news about a once sweet treat
The Hershey Company announced this week that it will be moving production of Scharffen Berger and Joseph Schmidt chocolates to its main plant in Robinson, Illinois. As is the case with many company closures, the news makes one’s heart go … Continue reading
Posted in Foodstuffs, My SF
Tagged artisan, Bay Area, chocolate, economy, gourmet, Hershey, Joseph Schmidt, Scharffen Berger
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