Getting ready to be festive...

This week I received an evite to a holiday party. I flipped to my calendar quickly, thinking…this host is on the ball…it’s so early! What? No…the party is less than three weeks away? Yes, it is already that time. I’m not sure how that’s possible. Baseball season just ended…that’s a summer sport, right?

Nevertheless, the holidays are among us and the entertaining portion of the year has begun. And if you are anything like me, then you have a full schedule of work and play already. Forget the time needed to figure out what you are going to wear to so and so’s ugly Christmas sweater party (good thing I saved mine from last year), or to plan, shop for and cook for your own party. Office pot-lucks, secret santa, travel plans, Thanksgiving…there are only 40 days of shopping left! Less, if you celebrate Channukah (Oy)!

Enter: Catering. La Boulange Catering, even better.

We’ve updated our menu, the cute little book got a face-lift, and our party food did, too! Still just as easy to order online, still delivered to my home. Woot! So, I go online to check out what is new and necessary for my upcoming holiday-time par-tay. My menu will be:

mini croque monsieurs, gooey and cheesy and delicious

brioche tea sandwiches

savory puff pastry canapé (think caramelized onion and bacon, oh my!)

and

parmesan palmiers

I’ll just need to pick a few sweet treats from the list and this little gathering is all wrapped up (in cute packaging). And like I said, delivered in the boulange blue bus. Which gives me a little bit more time to figure out just what Christmas ornament “represents me best.” There are prizes involved, people.

Pumpkin Power

The presence of pumpkins has been getting stronger for the last month. They are versatile little things! Used for décor as a spooky porch light, or as a centerpiece, or tucked into a corner. They can be carved, seeds roasted, made into soups, or seasonal side dishes. Just earlier this week I saw one with a wig on, pretending to be Tim Lincecum. But, our favorite application of the pumpkin has to be, without question, the pumpkin tart. We all know our pants are going to fit a little bit tighter beginning in November, when our Thanksgiving products come out, and we’ve been rubbing our hands together in anticipation for weeks. Well, for the tart…not for the tight pants.

And since we love ours so much, (I think it’s the decadent swirl of crème fraiche that makes it special) we want to share the recipe with you! This delectable treat along with a pecan tart, cranberry and currant baguettes, a wreath made of epi baguette and new spice or chocolate shortbread cookies are all part of the Thanksgiving Holiday line-up, which you can order for your holiday table and pick up, even on Thanksgiving day. We’ll be there til 2. In fact, if you order by the 10th, we're giving you 15% off!

Tarte a la citrouille et a la crème fraiche

Pumpkin tart with crème fraiche

Filling:

1 ¼ cups (10 oz) solid pack pumpkin puree

½ cup plus 2T firmly packed dark brown sugar

1 tsp ground cinnamon

½ tsp ground ginger

¼ tsp ground nutmeg

1/8 tsp ground cloves

2 extra-large eggs

1 cup heavy cream

1 chilled, unbaked deep 9-inch tart shell

¼ cup crème fraiche, for garnish

Makes one 9-inch tart

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. To make the filling: in large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree, brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves. Add the eggs, then whisk in the heavy cream until well combined. Pour the filling into the chilled tart shell. Dollop on the crème fraiche and, using a knife, swirl into an attractive design on top of the filling.

Bake for 40-50 minutes or until the filling is set. Cool completely before removing from pan. Best served at room temperature.

Feeling Giant

We like to consider ourselves a worldly bunch. We travel to far off lands (like Danville and Novato) and we enjoy cuisines and beverages from all parts of the world (think Moroccan lamb stew, French wine and Belgian beer). We also pay tribute to globally cultural type things like the Actor’s Conservatory Theatre and the de Young museum’s current exhibition of masterpieces from the Musee d’Orsay. But this week, we are most excited about the worldly event happening in our backyard. The San Francisco Giants have landed a spot in the World Series, and you can bet that if we can get away, we’ll be parked under a plasma screen, biting our nails like the rest of you, watching it all happen.

So, San Francisco, grab something snazzy and rock the orange this week, learn some key phrases like “Fear the Beard” and GO GIANTS!

Two Wheels Will Get You There

Forget planes, trains and automobiles…one thing San Franciscans have figured out is that biking it is one of the best ways to get around the city. Between circling for parking and traffic, my cyclist friends usually beat me to the destination, plus they don’t get tickets and they have zero emissions. And then there’s that whole cool one pant leg rolled up look they get to sport. The only thing that might be better than riding the wiggle through San Francisco would be watching the pros do it through the French countryside…in the Tour de France.

Already well underway, this race through the mother country will cover a span of 3,642 kilometers (that’s 2,263 miles to you and me) and will test the strength and endurance of the best cyclists in the world. And you thought cycling up Filbert street was tough.

So, in honor of the Tour de France and all of our own cyclists right here in the bay…we’re offering a couple of sweet incentives for fueling up! On weekday mornings through July 16^th, get a free latte when you purchase our breakfast special, the Country Egg Sandwich, and then the following week, Monday through Friday, through the end of the race, pick up one of our grab and go baguette sandwiches and we’ll give you a bag of our house-seasoned chips (both are a cinch to pack in your backpack). We’ll remind you on twitter, but all you have to do is show us your helmet to take part. Vive le Tour!

An Artful Meal

Our private showing of the de Young’s Birth of Impressionism exhibit this Saturday was a perfect start to our weekend. Over 100 people joined us at the de Young for a Boulange breakfast in their beautiful room overlooking the music concourse, followed by a viewing of the exhibit. Thank you to the de Young staff for making this special opportunity possible and thank you to all of our loyal customers for spending their Saturday morning with us!

Let the sunshine in!

It’s June! Which gives San Francisco license to begin to pretend like summer is upon us. The parks are nice and full on sunny days and we’re all wearing shorter sleeves and sandals. We, of course, all have our coats tucked into our bags for when the fog starts to roll in, but for all intensive purposes, summer is creeping in.

And one of our favorite things about summer is all of the delicious produce and cool fresh flavors that compliment the season so well. Outdoor picnics, entertaining and simply the inspiration to cook, make projects like the lemon tart a fun and fabulous hit with all of us. We’ve decided to post the recipe below so you can try your hand in it as well. So let the sunshine in.

TARTE au CITRON

Lemon Tart

1 pre baked shallow 9 inch Pate Sucree tart shell

4 extra-large eggs, at room temperature

1 cup sugar

¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, strained

1 Tablespoon freshly grated lemon zest

½ cup plus 1 Tablespoon heavy cream

Makes one 9-inch Tart

1. Place the pre baked tart shell on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Set aside. In a medium, stainless steel saucepan, whisk together the eggs, sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest, and cream over low heat. Cook, stirring constantly with a heat- resistant flexible spatula to avoid scorching, until slightly thickened, 8 to 12 minutes. Do not let the custard get so hot that it bubbles, as this will curdle the filling. The filling should lightly coat the spatula when it’s done. If not using right away, transfer to a small bowl and place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the custard. The custard can be kept, covered and refrigerated, up to 5 days. If chilled, bring the filling to room temperature before proceeding.
2. Preheat the oven to 325. Pour the filling into the tart shell to within ½ inch of the top, and smooth the surface.
3. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes or until just set. To test, gently jostle the baking sheet-the edges will be set but the very center will move softly like a bowl of gelatin. Cool in the pan on a wire rack, and then refrigerate for at least 2 hours to set the tart completely. Just before serving, remove the side of the pan and transfer the tart to a serving platter.

The Hour is Happy

Actually three of them are, at three of our stores, every weekday. And we’re waiving our flag about it.

So anytime you see the French flag posted outside of our Polk, Noe or Fillmore stores, then you can get happy too, because inside you’ll find $5 glasses of wine, $3.50 bottles of Kronenburg (yum) and cheese plates for $8. Plus, we’ve got a whole new punch card for Happy Hour partakers. If you come in and buy a happy hour beverage, you get a punch. Once you have nine, we’re buying your tenth. Go ahead, you can smile.

So come check it out, Monday through Friday, 3pm-6pm and put a little something in your stomach to start the night off right. We’ll be very Happy to see you.

La Boulange de Polk (at Polk and Green)

La Boulange de Noe (24^th and Sanchez)

La Boulange de Fillmore (Fillmore between Pine and California)