December is our biggest month for baking, and we couldn't make it through the holidays without King Arthur Flour. It is truly the best we've tested! They pay close attention to detail, consistency in milling, and set rigorous standards for their wheat. This means the best flavor, and dependable results in your baking.

And, for our gluten-free friends (and guests) you can't go wrong with Cup 4 Cup Multipurpose Flour. All you need to do is substitute it directly in a recipe, and it really works!

We love Dufour Classic Puff Pastry because of its pronounced buttery flavor with a flaky texture and easy-to-shatter crust. It is the best quality pastry we can find, because it is made using only butter. It is crisp, flaky, and especially light. You can use it to make puff pastry twists (both sweet and savory).

You will notice the difference if you use Kerrygold Pure Irish Butter in your holiday cooking. Kerrygold's richness is fantastic in al kinds of dishes where it's creamy, smooth, and subtle taste can shine. Their unsalted butter has a higher butterfat content and is a perfect butter for baking as well as a delicious eating butter.

Piedmont’s Own Garlic Butter is made fresh in our cheese department. Delicious over veggies, in sandwiches, or spread on a crusty bread. Also melted, it is a great dipping sauce for artichokes and shellfish.

Fabrique Délices Truffle Butter is made from Beurre de Baratte. It is the perfect and simplest addition to any red meats, fish or lobster, pasta, risotto, baked & mashed potatoes, steamed or sauteed vegetables as well as the finish touch to any sauce.

Fabrique Délices Rendered Duck Fat enhances the flavor of anything it touches. Duck fat is one of those ingredients that chefs are deeply passionate about, with good reason—it is simply one of the finest animal fats for cooking.

Stutz California Extra Virgin Olive Oil is gourmet olive oil at supermarket prices. We are all about Stutz Olive Oil. It’s a perennial staff favorite. This versatile oil is sweet, fragrant, refreshingly fruity, and perfect for everyday use.

The dried herbs and spices you choose play a big outcome in everything you prepare, that is why we recommend Morton & Bassett for more dimensional flavor. We carry their full line—try a few in your holiday baking and cooking!

Guittard Organic Chocolate Chips in Bittersweet, Semi-Sweet, and Milk Chocolate are bold chocolates that are deal for baking, ice cream making, and confectionery applications. They are the ones that we use when we want out goodies to come out just so. And, we love their Cocoa Rouge, red Dutch-process cocoa powder for both baking and drinking.

And we always use Nielsen-Massey Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla in our baking. But, have you tried their other extracts? Their Pure Chocolate Extract is amazingly delicious as is the Almond and Orange Blossom Water.

Diamond Krystal Kosher Salt is used in top restaurants by top chefs around the country. It’s chosen for its simplicity, purity and coarse texture. Unlike other kosher salts, Diamond Crystal is coarse enough to pick up and fragile enough to crush between your fingers for perfect seasoning.

Bud's Eggnog is like ice cream in a cup. It’s thick and frothy with a just-right off-white color. The flavor is sweet but not overly sugary. Locally made, Bud’s indeed tastes farm fresh.

Grandpa Lundquist Glögg is a classic (non-alcoholic) Scandinavian winter warming beverage. It is spiced with cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, and citrus. Just heat and serve in a small cup garnished with raisins and almonds.

Lake Champlain Hot Chocolate is gourmet hot chocolate as it’s meant to be: simple, pure, and delicious—because grown-ups crave the soul-soothing taste of rich hot chocolate, too.

Sustainably grown in California and made from American White Sturgeon. Make the holidays extra-special with this classic delicacy. Caviar can take your dish to new levels, and a little goes a long way. Tsar Nicoulai Classic Malossol Caviar has complex flavor noted for its briny finish. It has a small size bead with a brown to black color and a delicate surface that melts on your palate.

Ideas for Serving

This caviar is simple and classic, delicious straight as a garnish or almost any low-salt, mild base. Create delightful flavor combinations by adding this caviar to anything from mild seafood or eggs, to Blini (Russian pancakes) or water crackers with unsalted butter or sour cream.

We carry a variety of Tsar Nicoulai caviar including their Reserve Malossol, Classic Malossol, Ginger Whitefish Roe, and Saffron Whitefish Roe.

Usually at the end of the year you start to see articles or news stories about what they big trends were in during the past year and what they will be going forward. I have not seen any yet…but if I had to pick a big trend for 2020, it would be bread baking.

The shelter-in-place order in March caught a lot of people off guard and put a huge strain on the food supply chain. On top of that we were bored. So, many people turned to bread making, not only out of necessity, but as a mean to pass the time and, frankly, for some much needed therapy. Suddenly people were sharing sourdough starter and trading baked goods for yeast.

Now that supplies have normalized, there are still several “new” bread makers that have embraced the hobby, but might need some new equipment to take them to the next level. A good bread pan can make a fantastic holiday gift either by itself or filled with something freshly baked and yummy. Quick breads like Banana Bread or a Cranberry Tea Loaf make great gifts—and an even better snack with a hot cup of tea on a chilly afternoon. Decent bread pans can cost $15-$18 depending on how serious you want to be. The fancy ones with different shapes and designs on them are, obviously, a bit more but a good basic loaf pan is always a good piece to have in your kitchen.

For those who want to show off their newfound bread making skills, this Classic Cinnamon Swirl Bread is a perfect choice. (High-end cinnamon would make a great stocking stuffer too!)

It’s an easy enough recipe that a novice bread maker can handle it, but it looks like it is much harder to make. The flavor is divine. I like to toast my slice, but my kids cannot wait that long. They just slice and eat. A double batch of this for Christmas morning would also make some tasty French toast….

With the perfect balance of sweet and tart and a great acid edge, satsuma mandarins have a melt-in-your-mouth texture. Their skins peel readily, and segments are easy-to-separate. Plus, they contain an abundance of juice with less pulp—which makes them perfect in drinks and recipes.

Botanically speaking, the fruit of mandarins and of all citrus species, is a special berry known as a hesperidium. (And we were just getting used to the idea that olives and avocados are fruit.) Satsumas are a type of mandarin—a name that comes from having been cultivated in China. The name Satsuma refers to a former province in Japan from where the first plants were brought to the United States.

When shopping for satsumas, look for fruit with firm, tight peels, and no hollow-feeling or dented spots. And, heavier feeling satsumas can be juicier. So, when the fruit has bright green twigs and leaves still attached, it means they have been carefully picked and handled.

Increase your meat counter confidence with this must-have companion for cooking beef, pork, lamb, and veal with more than 300 kitchen-tested recipes.

Part cookbook, part handbook organized by animal and its primal cuts, Meat Illustrated is the go-to source on meat, providing essential information and techniques to empower you to explore options at the supermarket or butcher shop (affordable cuts like beef shanks instead of short ribs, lesser-known cuts like country-style ribs, leg of lamb instead of beef tenderloin for your holiday centerpiece), and recipes that make those cuts shine.

Meat is a treat! This book teaches you the best methods for center-of-the-plate meats like satisfying Butter-Basted Rib Steaks, meltingly tender Chinese Barbecued Roast Pork Shoulder, and the quintessential Crumb-Crusted Rack of Lamb. Also bring meat beyond centerpiece status with complete meals—Shake up surf and turf with Fried Brown Rice with Pork and Shrimp. Braise lamb shoulder chops in a Libyan-style chickpea and orzo soup called Sharba.

Illustrated primal cut info at the start of each section covers shopping, storage, and prep pointers and techniques with clearly written essays, step-by-step photos, break-out tutorials, and hundreds of hand-drawn illustrations that take the mystery out of meat prep, so you'll execute dishes as reliably as the steakhouse. Learn tricks like soaking ground meat in baking soda before cooking to tenderize, or pre-roasting rather than searing fatty cuts before braising to avoid stovetop splatters. Even have fun with DIY curing projects.

Piedmont Grocery will hold special hours over the next two weeks. We are extending our shopping hours on Wednesday, but close early on Christmas Eve so our staff can go home to celebrate the holiday. Get your holiday shopping completed early so you, too, can enjoy the holiday!

Please note that for the first hour each day we are open for seniors and those who are immune compromised. The general public can begin to shop after that first hour.

Also note that our Meat Department will have different hours than the general store. (We know this is complicated!)

9 to 10 AM seniors and immune compromised

10 AM to 8 PM general shopping

9 AM to 6 PM Meat Department

9 to 10 AM seniors and immune compromised

10 AM to 8 PM general shopping

9 AM to 7 PM Meat Department

12/23 Wednesday

8 to 9 AM seniors and immune compromised

9 AM to 8 PM general shopping

8 AM to 7 PM Meat Department

12/24 Thursday

8 to 9 AM seniors and immune compromised

9 AM to 6 PM general shopping

8 AM to 6 PM Meat Department

12/25 Friday

CLOSED

9 to 10 AM seniors and immune compromised

10 AM to 8 PM general shopping

CLOSED Meat Department

We will also close early on New Year’s Eve at 6 PM, and be closed on New Year’s Day. Check our website next week for more details.

We hope you have wonderful holidays!

It’s Cookie Palooza this weekend. For those of you who may be confused, Cookie Palooza is the weekend that my daughter and I make an insane amount of holiday cookies and other treats to give to our family and friends. This year my sister is joining in on the fun so I am expecting any number of crazy shenanigans and a whole lotta sprinkles. (Don’t worry. My sister and her family have been in our pod since Day 1).

There will be Gingerbread Men with scarves (my sister), there will be Macarons (my daughter) and there will be Toffee and Caramels (me) as well as an explosion of other cookies from Swedish Ginger Cookies to home made Cranberry Orange Biscotti  (I like the dried cranberries and some grated orange peel to make them more festive.)

Cookie Palooza could not happen if I didn’t have decent cookie sheets. Of course, everyone’s definition of decent will be different. Some bakers prefer the double-layer cookie sheets that allow the air in the pocket between to heat up. Others like the heavy duty rimless sheets that allow your cookies to slide right off. Personally, I like my heavy duty half sheet pans they’re just so versatile. You can make drop cookies or bar cookies and of course, you can make an excellent dinner. At an average of $20 for a quality cookie sheet, they also make a useful and cost-conscious holiday gift for your favorite baker. And if you really want to treat them, pre-cut parchment sheets can be life changing.

While my family has already enjoyed the first batch of our traditional ginger cookies, (You can’t trim the tree without ginger cookies.) what they are really waiting for is the toffee I make every year. It’s melt-in-your-mouth happiness and must be kept under lock and key if you want to have it around for more than an afternoon.

With the latest stay at home order in full swing, now is the perfect time to plan a Cookie Palooza of your own…

Here are a few more neighborhood favorites. We are spreading love around the Avenue for some local holiday shopping. Piedmont Avenue shopping boasts an impressive list of great, independently-owned shops and services. So, do some exploring while selecting your holiday gifts.

Stores are taking orders online for in-store or curbside pickup, shipping orders, taking appointments, and also doing walk-ins. It varies from store to store, so check their website to find out the best way to shop.

Check out our Shop Local post from November 22nd for the first part of the list, and here is our next installment…

I think it's safe to say that we all have all been doing more cooking than ever this year. Some of it born out of necessity and some of it just out of mind-numbing boredom. On the positive side, maybe you learned a new skill. Or, even better, found a new passion for preparing your own food. To do it right though, you need the right tools.

I have always loved to cook—and I have an embarrassing collection of tools in which I create my favorite flavors. However, there are certain pieces that I use day in and day out. The workhorses if you will. These are my “stuck on a desert island” tools and there are a variety. But, if I had to choose the single most useful thing I have in my cooking arsenal it would be my 12-inch cast iron skillet.

I am fortunate to have collected a number of Le Creuset enameled pieces over the years. Their Dutch ovens are hands down the best investment you can make. But, that’s the thing, they are a rather expensive investment.

My Lodge cast iron skillet however is $25 at Target for the 12-inch. (Or you can check out the Lodge Cast Iron website for the whole line.) If you are looking for the perfect gift for someone who has just discovered cooking, this is the one. And, even better, the price is right. What if your recipient already has one? It’s never a bad idea to have two of the same or another one in a different size.

Cast iron skillets heat evenly and they hold the heat well. You can take the skillet from the stove top to the oven and not have to worry about ruining the pan. They are basically nonstick once you get a good “season” on it. They last forever if you take care of them correctly . More than any other benefit I have found is that you get much better browning with a cast iron pan than with any other.

One of my favorite recipes I use my skillet for is this one for These Canal House Style Chicken Thighs. If you already have a cast iron pan, pull it out and make this for dinner tonight. I promise it will become your new favorite. I admit I leave the preserved lemon out more often than not. Sometimes less is more. The real star of this dish is the crispy skin.

If you like the idea of cast iron as a gift, include a card with this recipe on the pan and maybe a few other favorite recipes for your recipient to try out.

Bauli is the authentic Italian cake maker since 1922, making holiday cakes and pastries that combine the skill of ancient homemade recipes with modern technology. The Bauli family’s guiding principle has always been a desire for excellence.

Bauli’s Panettone are made with simple ingredients—fresh butter, sugar and eggs. They are leavened using a mother dough that rises naturally, staying fresh for much longer than regular bread or cakes with absolutely no preservatives.

Panettone di Milano—with raisins and glazed orange peel.

Panettone is a traditional Italian cake, loaded with soft candied fruit and raisins. The dough is baked in a cylindrical mold, which gives it a distinctive look. A symbol of the city of Milan, Panettone is traditionally prepared and enjoyed during Christmas and New Year in Italy.

Pandoro di Verona—Veronese star-shaped Christmas cake.

Pandoro or pan d’oro means golden bread, a traditional Christmas bread from Verona. Sprinkled with confectioners’ sugar, it gives the appearance of fallen snow on a mountain. This unique star shaped cake is so light and delicate in texture; it is an instant delicacy. Sliced horizontally, it has a beautiful star-shaped cross section that is perfect in trifles and other creative deserts.

News & Events

As the days are growing shorter, Golden Gate Park will transform Peacock Meadow into an enchanted forest of otherworldly shapes and ever-changing light.It sounds like time for an evening (socially-distanced) stroll along paths in the meadow and lounge under the illuminated canopies of a grove of trees. Small sculptures of flowering bushes, comprised of 2,000 LED lights, will make for a captivating floor of radiating color. The final effect will create an awe-inspiring representation of nature, like raindrops, thunderstorms, and ripples on a pond.

Entwined, the creation of San Francisco artist Charles Gadeken, is being installed in celebration of the park’s 150th anniversary, and is scheduled to open on December 10th. The installation will remain up at least through February 8th.

There is no cost to visit.

Here is a map with Peacock Meadow with a red X

We love celebrating winter holidays with a cup of sangria, and this Cranberry and Orange Sangria is infused with holiday spirit. It is a great set of flavors to help you feel celebratory, and it makes for a nice, light cocktail.

You can also improvise a kid's version with grape, cranberry, and orange juices for the young'uns at your table.

We have hand-picked some of our favorite recipes for your winter holiday celebrations.

This cocktail calls out for celebration! It is fizzy and a little sweet. And, it is great for serving at a party because it is simple to mix.We find it works well with nice, California sparkling wine as well as champagne. And, our elderflower liqueur of choice is always St. Germaine.

If you are looking for a festive, holiday cocktail this White Chocolate Martini just might be perfect. It may not be an actual martini, but it’s rich, delicious, and features the flavors of the holiday. We mixed Godiva white chocolate liqueur, vodka, vanilla, cream, and white creme de cacao.

Looking for something special to sip over the holidays? This wintry, Figgy Rum Cocktail combines the subtle flavors of aged rum with the sultry sweetness of figs, plus the bright pop of sparkling wine. It is simple enough to make, but you do need to prepare the Fig and Brown Sugar Reduction in advance.

Wassail is a traditional British Christmas drink whose praises many a troubadour has sung. Mentions of Wassail date back to the 13th century. There are many recipes, and this one leans toward the more traditional. Apple slices are roasted in brown sugar and ale before being added to more ale, sherry, lemon peel and spices. The result is a warming and delicious drink filled with holiday flavors.

The perfect cocktail to serve with appetizers. It will help to spark your appetite for dinner. Sage lends a subtle earthy edge to drinks, and this sparkling cocktail blends it with sweet pear liqueur for a lovely pre-dinner cocktail that will complement a festive meal.

A cheese plate is an easy appetizer to throw together and with some simple rules of thumb, you can create one that is delicious and varied. Cheese plates can be artful, with lots of room for improvisation.

This classic dish is 100% festive. And, there are many excellent domestic caviars on the market—we carry a good variety at Piedmont Grocery. These simple pancakes are best with a dab of crème fraîche and a spoonful of caviar.

Our version is made with a Maple Bacon Onion jam that we sell here at the store but it would also be good with a Balsamic Onion Jam or even a Fig Jam. Of course, anything spicy would work well too—like a little Thai Sweet Chili sauce…Yum!

This recipe is a classic Julia Child version of French Onion Soup. It is quintessentially French and Julia would definitely be okay with a little wine for you as well as the soup…

This recipe is from a Pence family favorite cookbook that was published by the Junior League of Palo Alto in 1980. It’s festive and wonderful on chilly night.

This is special occasion soup and definitely not for everyday. It is decadent with heavy cream and butter. It is also a nice and elegant addition to your holiday dinner.

Cauliflower, raw or lightly cooked, is a wonderful salad ingredient. It soaks up flavors particularly effectively and benefits from anything sweet and sharp.

To dress up a typical watercress salad for the holidays, we added orange segments, avocados, and a sweet-tangy pomegranate dressing.

This salad comes together quickly and is a sweet addition to your holiday meal. Choose Fuyus that are saturated orange in color and as firm as a slightly underripe peach. This salad is also nice with a few sprigs of watercress for contrast.

Another sweet and colorful salad that is both festive and tasty. Again, we use Fuyu persimmons and not the torpedo-shaped Hachiyas.

Short Ribs and Red Wine Sauce

Beef Short Ribs Braised in Dark Beer with Bacon and Red Onions is a classic bistro-style braised recipe that is delicious served with mashed potatoes. It combines Guinness, red onions and bacon.

Fresh ham is uncured and unsmoked, so we pack it in an herb cure for several days for incredible flavor and juiciness. When roasted, the skin transforms into addictive, crispy-sweet cracklings that may cause fighting at the dinner table.

A really good roast beef is very easy to make. They key is to cook it low and slow, and not mess with it to much. Rub it with salt and pepper and maybe some chopped fresh herbs, and you’re good. Shove it in the oven and walk away. Comeback a few hours later and dinner is served.

Roast Beef Tenderloin with Garlic and Rosemary

If there is a roast that screams celebration, it would be a beef tenderloin. Wildly popular due to its natural tenderness and flavor, beef tenderloin is the roast of choice for many holiday dinners. Because beef tenderloin has such great beef flavor, it doesn’t require a lot of sauce to make it better. The simpler the better with this cut of beef.

If you are looking for something memorable for dinner, a beautiful duck breast can be an elegant main course. This is a straightforward and simple recipe. You start by scoring the skin and then cooking the breast slowly so the fat can render away. Just don’t skip the demi-glace—it’s the secret ingredient to this dish!

This is a very simple, straightforward method of cooking your salmon and the result is a buttery-textured salmon that literally melts in your mouth. It’s fantastic!

This is the best dressing for steamed green beans—and we need some green on the holiday dinner table. It is not only a perfect balance of flavors, but it cuts all the richness of the holiday meal.

This down-home recipes has no trouble cleaning up for the holiday table. It is so good served warm with melted butter, and a perfect accompaniment to any roast.

This recipe originated with Ina Garten, and it is a vegetable of choice on the holiday table. It’s rich, creamy, and amazingly good.

Winter Squash Casserole

This dish can be either a vegetarian main or a side for a holiday dinner with meat as the centerpiece. It is sweet and cheesy and adds a splash of color to your table.

In the Pence family, this recipe is so identifiable with Christmas Dinner that they almost never eat it during the rest of the year. The dish pairs well with any roasted meats or poultry. It can even suggests using it as a stuffing for game hens.

This is a perfect holiday gratin that we reserve for special occasions. It is rich, creamy, and decadent. This is the kind of food you close your eyes to eat!

We love Stonewall Kitchen because their products taste great every time we use them. And we carry a lot of their stuff! Their jams, condiments, and sauces are superlative. We love their baking mixes, pancake mixes, and syrups. You just can't go wrong…

So, if you want to simplify your holiday preparations, pick out a few of these treats. They will elevate your meals and make life a little easier.

You want your holiday breakfasts to be special and at the same time straightforward to prepare. This is why we reach for Stonewall Kitchen Farmhouse Pancake & Waffle Mix for perfect results. Try them with the Wild Maine Blueberry or Raspberry Syrup.

Another route is their Traditional Scone Mix with an assortment of jams, jellies, and marmalades. We carry so many flavors! Some of our favorites are: Sour Cherry Jam, Peach Apricot Cherry Jam, Red Raspberry Jam, Mixed Berry Jam, Maine Blueberry Cherry Jam, Pink Grapefruit Marmalade, and Tangerine Marmalade.

We also have Caramel Apple Butter, Fig & Walnut Butter, and Maple Pumpkin Butter that go well on both scones and pancakes.

These make all the difference for your holiday baking. We especially love their Gingerbread, Sugar Cookie, Chocolate Brownie, and Cornbread Mixes.

We carry a wide assortment of crackers and dips for appetizers. Choose from these crackers: Sea Salt Flatbread, Rosemary Olive Flatbread Crisps, Avocado Oil & Sea Salt Cracker, Asiago Cheese, Seal Salt, Simple White, Olive Oil, Roasted Garlic.

And then add some spreads and sauces for extra flavor: Lemon Herb, Sriracha, or Chipotle Aioli or their Vidalia Onion Fig Sauce.

And for dipping shrimp we have New England Tartar Sauce and Down East Tartar Sauce.

If you are looking for a holiday gift for your favorite foodie, stop by and pick out a themed selection that they will love. Here are some ideas:

Daily from

10 AM to 8 PM

Special shopping hour for seniors

9 AM to 10 AM

We will update you with any new hours as the shelter-in-place situation unfolds.

4038 Piedmont Ave.

Oakland, CA 94611

(510) 653-8181

The Cheese Plate

https://piedmontgrocery.com/the-cheese-plate/

Tahini Noodles with Green Beans and Carrots

Sausage and Apples

Cream of Wild Mushroom Soup with Cheesy-Garlic Croutons

Vietnamese Steak Marinade

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