Demand soars for 'Obama cookie'

Looks as if the First Family has a sweet tooth.

President-elect Barack Obama and his family have put a bakery in Des Moines, Iowa, on the map after it was discovered that the White House-bound Obamas have a fondness for the chocolate chunk cookies baked up by Baby Boomers Cafe. According to the Associated Press, the small downtown restaurant is struggling to keep up with demand for the "Obama cookies," soaring from about 400 sold each week to more than 1,000 a week.

"Two months ago I was giving these cookies away," said co-owner Rodney Maxfield. "Now, it's like, 'I need two dozen cookies. I need four dozen cookies.' "

Photo: Kevin Sanders / Associated Press

'Top Chef' quote of the week

This week, the "Top Chef" contestants cooked for Alinea chef Grant Achatz and the Foo Fighters. The clincher was that the chef-testants had to cook with only microwaves and toaster ovens, outdoors. And of course, it started to rain....

Says Fabio Viviani, in his Italian accent: "I'm not going home because it rain in my tiramisu, no friggin' way."

See more "Top Chef" coverage by Denise Martin at Show Tracker.

Photo: A determined Fabio Viviani. Credit: Bravo TV

A Valley cheese shop not to be overlooked

In this week's Food section, a listing of cheese stores that accompanied an article about the great American cheese plate glaringly omitted a well-loved cheese store in the San Fernando Valley, the Artisan Cheese Gallery in Studio City.

It was my bad, and I heard about it. Says one reader: "Somehow you could not manage to locate, let alone mention, the extraordinary cheese shop we have right here in Studio City ... the Artisan Cheese Gallery. It's on a little side street called Ventura Boulevard, near another dirt road called Laurel Canyon Boulevard." 

Melody Dosch, who owns the store with her parents, Fred and Kay Dosch, says she carries 200 to 250 different cheeses at any one time. "I like to carry as many American cheeses as I can," Melody Dosch says, including cheeses from Petaluma, Calif.-based Andante cheesemaker Soyoung Scanlan, goat cheeses from Pug's Leap in Sonoma, and sheep's milk cheeses from Rinconada Dairy in San Luis Obispo County, as well as cheeses from other artisan and farmstead American cheesemakers such as Jasper Hill Farm in Vermont, Vermont Butter & Cheese and Hidden Springs Creamery in Wisconsin.

Dosch, a former lawyer, opened the store more than three years ago. "There wasn't a cheese store in the Valley, and my kids were young enough that if I did this and it didn't work out, I could always go back to being a lawyer and still pay for college.  But so far it's going well."

Another reader pointed out that her favorite Silver Lake cheese store is Say Cheese. If there are other cheese shops that you love in your neighborhood, please let us know.

Artisan Cheese Gallery, 12023 Ventura Blvd., Studio City, (818) 505-0282. Say Cheese, 2800 Hyperion Ave., Los Angeles, (323) 665-0545.

-- Betty Hallock

Photo credit: George Wilhelm / Los Angeles Times

Sampler Platter: A Korean barbecue taco truck, food-stamp frenzy, the invention of TV dinners

Here it is: Sampler Platter, the holiday edition.

• Doughboys to reopen on Third St.? Eater LA
• The mysterious butcher of Framingham strikes again: "For the sixth week in a row, a pile of [rotting] meat was found on the common." Metro West Daily News
• A Korean barbecue taco truck? Yes, you read that right. Pleasure Palate
• How TV dinners were invented: in 1953 when Swanson Co. overstocked and was left with more than half a million pounds of unsold turkey. Consumerist
• Entrepreneur who "couldn’t deal with failure" commits suicide by eating poisonous yew berries. The Argus
• 7-Eleven expands its "upscale" 7-Select label to 180 products to include cookies, beef jerky, kettle-cooked potato chips. Wallet Pop
• Why food writers hate Thanksgiving. Slate
• Anthony Bourdain calls him "the Dark Prince of Italian fine dining." Pino Luongo writes a book: "Dirty Dishes." Grub Street
• Americans' food-stamp use nears all-time high. Washington Post

-- Elina Shatkin

Illustration: Elvis Swift / For The Times

Leftovers: The feast after the feast

Looking for something light after Thursday's feast? But you've gotta do something with all those leftovers? How about an Asian salad with shredded turkey and a cilantro-sesame dressing? You can then use the rest of those leftovers for a turkey pot pie, turkey quesadillas and more.

-- Rene Lynch

Photo: Carlos Chavez / Los Angeles Times

Chocolate maker turns on the sweet heat

Still feeling overfed? Just looking won't hurt. This Mayan truffle won a grand prize in the Scovie Awards recently at the Fiery Foods and Barbecue Show in Albuquerque.

The Mayan-theme shell opens to a chile verde ganache and sweet-corn-infused center. It's among the unusual chocolates Joanne Hansen makes at Bon Bon Bakery and Chocolates, the shop she opened in 2006 at the Bernardo winery in San Diego.

A former mortgage broker, she gave in to a lifelong passion for baking and cooking, inspired by her mother, a wedding cake maker.

"I kind of grew up with a pastry bag in my hand," Hansen, 48, said by telephone from her shop, which she renovated.

Other chocolates she makes are filled with habanero marmalade and tequila cream, smoky chipotle caramel or caramelized blue cheese and pear. For the holidays, she says, she'll make eggnog truffles, gingerbread truffles and perhaps a pumpkin truffle.

-- Mary MacVean

Photo credit: Joanne Hansen

These foodscapes are making you hungry. Very, very hungry.

Today we were sent these incredible pictures, called foodscapes, by London photographer Carl Warner. Unfortunately, we can't just web-nap the photos and put them up, but we can link to a recent article by the Telegraph, which displays 14 of the arresting, hungry-making photos, along with quotes from Warner and a breakdown of how he creates the images. Trust us, you won't be disappointed. Click here, now! 

-- Jessica Gelt

Southern Californians gather to celebrate Thanksgiving -- and to give assistance

Charities and other groups served turkey dinners to the homeless and needy this Thanksgiving. Meanwhile, at the San Gabriel Mission, worshipers at a morning Mass gave thanks in English, Spanish and Vietnamese. Read more here, and check out a photo gallery look at how we celebrated a day dedicated to being grateful for what we have.

Photo credit: Michael Robinson Smith / Los Angeles Times

Turkeys for Thanksgiving as friend, not feast

One woman's Thanksgiving meal will be vegan -- and will include two rescued birds as guests. The holiday season can be challenging for those who abide by the diet free of all animal products, but the soy "meat" will be bountiful. Read the rest of her story in this L.A. Times article by Carla Hall.

-- Rene Lynch

Photo credit: Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times

Thanksgiving recipes: You asked, we answered

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanks again to everyone who joined us for the chat with Times Test Kitchen manager Noelle Carter. Here are links to the recipes we discussed, plus a few others:

• Pumpkin pie, plus additional dessert and pumpkin recipes
• Chestnut recipes
• Creamy mashed potatoes and other potato dishes
• Cranberry sauces and relishes
• More side dishes
• Popular turkey recipes
• Vegetarian recipes
• Stuffings

We've posted additional recipes at latimes.com/Thanksgiving, and we'll continue to add to this collection of our most popular archival recipes. If we missed one of your favorites, please let us know, and we'll get it posted for you right away.

-- Rene Lynch