A San Francisco Sugar Crawl with Top Chef Just Dessert’s Tim Nugent

Tim Nugent

SF pastry chef Tim Nugent may have been asked to pack his knives stack his measuring cups and leave Top Chef: Just Desserts last week, but it was just in time for him to take ES on a tour of all his favorite local desserts. From the classics to the craziest, here are Tim Nugent’s favorite San Francisco treats.

TCHO Pot de Creme at Absinthe

chocolate

“This is done the right way, the French way,” says Tim — just eggs, sugar, and super-rich chocolate from SF-based TCHO. “I get all that other stuff out of the way and just go right to the chocolate.” (Photo: Alex)

Crazy donuts, crazier ice cream and the one dish that strikes fear in the heart of all Top Chef-testants. Keep reading for more of Tim’s favs…

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Celebrity Chef Apps

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If Jersey Shore’s “The Situation” can have an iPhone app, then so can the celebrity chefs of the world. In fact, “The Situation” is pretty late to the iPhone app party. There are hundreds if not thousands of food and recipe related apps out there, almost making cookbooks a thing of the past. But don’t throw out those cook books just yet, we take a look at some of the features our beloved celebrity chefs have in their apps.

Bittman

Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything – $4.99

With over 2,000 recipes this is certainly one of the more comprehensive collections from any of the apps. “Bittman’s Picks” provides some of his more notable dishes with must try recipes. The recipes contain built in cook timers: hit the link and a nifty countdown will appear, perfect for those of us who can’t cook an egg. Another great feature is his suggestions for alternative dishes, search for Chicken Pot Pie and there is also a recipe for a mashed potato crust. However, for such a streamlined app the one thing it is sorely missing are pictures, perhaps on the next update. Thanks Mark.

Florence

Tyler Florence Fast – $4.99

If like me, when cooking, you tend to curse out the author of the cookbook, then this is the app for you. Tyler has included an “Ask the Chef” feature. Just click on the button and you’ll be directed to your email– to chat with Tyler himself. But do we really think he reads those things. The app updates seasonally, adding to the 500 plus signature recipes already featured. Another interesting feature is linking the kitchen timer to your iTunes. Listen to your favorite Lady Gaga as you wait for that prime rib to cook.

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Feed Us Back: Comments of the Week

macaroons

Coconut macaroons (above), key lime pie and bread pudding — thanks for all the great recs on what to make with condensed milk! Ariel’s idea deserves a special shout-out:

Put the sweetened condensed milk in a double boiler or place the open can in boiling water, stirring frequently for about an hour (until the milk turns thicker and light, nutty brown). This is the short way to make dulce de leche.

Yum!

– As far as pie shakes go, Jenna is having none of it:

I still think that sounds disgusting. Pie crust getting all soggy mixed with ice cream? No, no, no. Pie is meant to be pie – crisp crust encasing a sweet and soft fruit filling. A milkshake is meant to be a milkshake – cool ice cream blended with milk and flavoring. Give me a piece of pie a la mode any day over this perversion of both the pie and the milkshake.

But averagebetty is willing to give it a try:

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Gridiron Grub: Peach Bourbon Wonton with Gorgonzola Mornay Sauce

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If you saw the first post in our Gridiron Grub series, you know that I am a fan of the Philadelphia Eagles. If the fact that I am writing about football food once a week doesn’t turn you off, the fact that I am an Eagles fan might.

Philadelphia sports fans get a pretty bad rap and only some of it is deserved. We’ve been accused of throwing snowballs at Santa, cheering when opposing players get hurt, throwing batteries on the field and earlier this year, there was coverage of this disgusting incident. Particularly well known is Section 700 of the old Veteran’s Stadium. It was  home to a group of especially rowdy and inebriated fans.

I have had a difficult time getting excited about this year’s team considering we traded one of the most respectable guys in the league and are now starting the infamous Ron Mexico. Because of this, I have been reminiscing about some of the great times I have had with friends at games through the years.

This week’s recipe I put together as a testament to the 700 Section and all the other fans out there like me. Fiery and sweet; fun and a little boozy.

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Top Chef Just Desserts Exit Interview: Episode 2

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What, you thought we’d let you get away without Top Chef: Just Desserts interviews? Don’t be silly. If you’ve not watched Just Desserts, stop what you are doing and set your DVR — this show is how we all remember Top Chef — a sprinkle of awesomeness and a dash of crazy. I like to think of it as Real Housewives of Top Chef.

So, without further ado, I bring you last night’s loser:

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Better Than a Tiara of Ginger

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At this point, a purple pepper and a yellow watermelon barely excite me. I get it. Change the color of a food and it’s like new again.

But what about actual new. Last year fresh ginger, with hot pink streaks and the stalks strung together to look like a tiara, totally pleased me. But like a drug addict, I needed more.

And then, there it was. Edamame. It wasn’t all that cute on the stem, brown and hairy. But it was more interesting than dipped in soy, as I boiled it and led it star in a succotash.

I crowned edamame as my favorite summer farmers’ market find. What was your warm weather food discovery before the autumnal equinox takes over later tonight?

Getting Sauce-y in San Francisco

Sauce Restaurant potato sticks with dipping sauce

Earlier this year, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed a resolution officially encouraging local restaurants to adopt the mantra of “Meatless Mondays,” the one-day-a-week-without-meat initiative pushed by such visionaries as Yoko Ono, Kim O’Donnel and gansie. But contrary to what you might think, not all SF chefs are hippie-dippie enviro crusaders who immediately rallied to the cause.

Ben Paula, the executive chef at Hayes Valley neighborhood spot Sauce and a proponent of putting bacon on everything was one who did respond quickly — by adding a Monday night prime rib special to his menu. After dining at Sauce, I can see why. We here at ES support eating local, lowering your meat intake and all the rest of it, but this is one restaurant where I might cry if I returned and they had dropped the pork.

We started with the app you see above, which Chef Ben humbly calls tater tots, but that’s a bit of an undersell. Creamy mashed potatoes are mixed with white truffle oil and cremini mushrooms, then breaded and fried crispy. A tasty snack even for a vegetarian, actually, but I dare anyone not to dip them in the smoked gouda and bacon fondue provided. Personally, I wanted to take a bath in it.

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