BiteClub

Valentine’s Day treats from Sonoma County (mostly)

Romantic treats for Valentine's Day from the bounty of the county

cake.jpgThe fastest way to romance is straight through the gullet. BiteClub nibbles through the bounty of the county to find the tastiest tidbits for your sweetie pie. Just grab a Lipitor or two before getting busy.

Nipples of Venus: Chocolate ganache truffles from Forestville chocolatier Guy Daniel’s of Gandolf’s Fine Chocolate. Available online at gandolfsfinechocolate.com or on Saturday mornings at the Santa Rosa Farmer’s Market.

Better Than Sex Hot Fudge Sauce: Creamy fudge sauce made with chocolate, cream and vanilla. Available at Patisserie Angelica, $5. 6821 Laguna Park Way, Sebastopol, 827.7998.

Palet: Solid choclate truffle with a coconut black tea infusion. $8, Patisserie Angelica.


lolly.jpgDark Chocolate Caramel lollipop: $4.50, Patisserie Angelica

Raspberry Truffles infused with raspberry puree, $1.75 each, Patisserie Angelica

Peanut Envy in a purse: Peanut caramel with organic peanut butter and grey sea salt, $5, Patisserie Angelica.

Chocolate Covered Crickets: Farm-raised crickets enrobed in chocolate, www.flukerfarms.com.

Ice cream cupcake filled with sweet cream or cake batter ice cream available at Cold Stone Creamery,

Baked oysters with artichoke, leek and smoked bacon. Stark’s Steakhouse, 521 Adams, Santa Rosa, 546-5100. $9.99 for six.


fudgy.jpg

Tater Tot Casserole: From “There’s Not A Healthy Recipe in This Whole Damn Book, A Guide to Southern Comfort Food” by Paula Thomas Oandason. Available online at Barnes and Noble online.

The recipe couldn’t be simpler (and doesn’t include any specific measurements in the cookbook). The gist of it: Cover the bottom of a greased baking dish (I used a 9X9 pan) with frozen tater tots. On top of that, layer sour cream, pats of butter (about 1/2 a stick, but to your liking), shredded cheese (I used a bag of pre-shredded cheddar) and cooked crumbled bacon. Bake at 350 degrees, covered with aluminum foil for about 45 minutes. Remove the foil and cook for an additional 10 minutes uncovered. Serve. Brent Farris from KZST thinks it would be good with caramelized onions added in.


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Comments

12 thoughts on “Valentine’s Day treats from Sonoma County (mostly)

  1. Whoa- tater tots must be right up there with bacon for stirring up some controversy, eh? Who woulda thunk? That casserole isn’t something I would normally think to make (not much of a casserole person, myself) but I imagine it would be something the dude in my life would go nuts for. Full disclosure: he’s also a big fan of bacon wrapped weenies.

  2. Too bad for you. It was actually really tasty. One day I’m at Cyrus. The next eating tater tot pie. Not a bad life.

  3. Tater tot casserole? Surely you jest! I used to think Sonoma County was “foodie heaven”, but no more. The casserole sounds truly disgusting!

  4. It’s from a local author’s cookbook called “There’s Not A Healthy Recipe in This Whole Damn Book”. That was pretty much it. Tater tots, sour cream, butter and other goodness.

  5. Hey Heather, I heard you on KZST this morning(for all of ten seconds) when you were explaining the tater tot recipe before those two DJs interrupted you with their yapping. Was there more to the interview? Did I just catch the last bit? The chocolate looks good(I’ve wanted to try Nipples of Venus ever since I saw them in Amadeus) but I’m more of a savory man, definitely going to try the casserole.

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