La BouTube

First, we pittered with Twitter and set up our Facebook page, in hopes that you would ‘Like’ us. Getting a handle on the Social Network and new ways to entertain and inform the super savvy of San Francisco on what our status is has been fun and challenging. It’s a fast city to keep up with. And now, we are testing our techie talents out with actual video footage. (queue the oohs and ahhs, we know…..it’s big)

Okay, so video is hardly the final frontier, but we thought it would be fun to virtually let all of you meet the managers at our Boulanges via short clips of them answering some fun questions about their week and weaknesses at La Boulange. And to top it off, since we know all of you are way ahead of us already with the whole video thing, we are challenging you to get out your Flip, or whichever messaging media you prefer, to film your own short clip answering the same little interview. We have a gift card for our favorite, so send them in via email to kate@laboulangebakery.com and we'll pick a winner!

The interview questions are:

1. Describe your neighborhood, what are your favorite things about it?

2. What is your favorite thing in the pastry case?

3. What is the funniest thing you’ve seen in your Boulange this week?

4. What is your go-to beverage to wake up with in the morning?

5. And of course, is there anyone you’d like to give a shout-out to?

We just posted a hello from the Pine street Boulangerie and already have footage from Hayes Valley and Polk street in queue for days to come. Stay tuned for your Boulange to be featured on our Facebook page. We hope you ‘like’ it as much as we do.

Spread a Little Love...

Handmade paper cards, chocolates, pink and red and white professions of love and like. This is the short list of things that are surrounding us while Valentine’s Day approaches. And whether you have a valentine to get all smooshy and gushy about, we are willing to bet you have lots of love to give, when presented with a good cause.

This year, La Boulange is spreading a little love around as well, by raising funds for the SPCA. We see daily all of the love our guests have for their furry friends. Tails wagging, tongues out as they stand patiently in the doorway at our stores, salivating over the treats to come, guests rush through the lines to join them again at outside tables. These little guys are lucky to have your love, and we know there are so many more out there that need a place to call home, or some sort of special care and the SPCA works to do just that.

So, from February 1^st through the 14^th, bring in a donation of a minimum of $5 for the SPCA of San Francisco, and we will say thank you with a Valentine, just for you. Inside the valentine, you’ll receive some love in return by way of a variety of discounts and goodies redeemable at our stores! What’s not to love about that?!?

Mmm...Soup will warm us up.

Cold grey days just beg for curling up under a warm blanket with a good book, or perhaps a movie, and bowl of soup. We are crazy about our Butternut Squash Soup, part of this winter’s line-up, and think bitter cold days like we’ve been having make a perfect opportunity for staying in and cooking. It helps to warm up the house as well!

BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP ~ SOUPE A L A COURGE

Feeds six hungry people

Ingredients:

1 medium sized butternut squash

½ medium yellow onion, thinly sliced

7 cups of vegetable stock

1 cup heavy cream (optional)

1 teaspoon curry powder

1 ½ tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon kosher salt

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Pre heat oven to 400 degrees. Cut top & bottom ends off the squash & then cut lengthwise in half. Remove the seeds & lay flesh side up on a baking tray. Drizzle with olive oil & sprinkle with salt & pepper & place in the hot oven for 40 minutes until the squash is fork tender. Let the squash cool & scoop out the flesh. Saute the onion in 1 tablespoon of olive oil until soft, add curry powder & saute for 1 additional minute . Add the squash & vegetable stock to the pot & bring to a boil. Purée soup in a blender, in batches if necessary, until smooth (use caution when blending hot liquids). Return to pot and finish with heavy cream (optional), salt & pepper to taste. If soup is too thick add additional stock or water.

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!