Gobba Gobba Hey

Illustration by: Phoneticontrol Illustration & Design/ Eric Broers

August and September flew by and October is threatening to do the same here at Gob Central. So it seemed like it was post now, or wait another two months til I had a chance to share the latest. Lots has been happening. Gobs just aren’t for the street corner anymore. There have been art openings, like the Street Food X Street Art event at Fabric8 Galleries here in SF, where the ridiculously skilled Phoneticontrol inked out this gob-inspired piece. There have been weekend festivals, like the Eat Real Festival in Oakland in August where so many Twitter followers came out to show their support that I was overwhelmed. The gobs also got their first TV coverage because of that gig, thanks to KRON 4, also here in SF. More gob fans have come calling, as have retail opportunities. The Commonwealth Club has asked me to participate on a panel discussing the street vendor scene, October 29th, and the talented bloggers over at Food Buzz have requested gobs for their upcoming November festival. Also, the discerning tastebuddies over at Foodzie.com will soon be offering gobs for mail order from their web site. But before any of that happens there are some exciting events on the immediate horizon, including LitQuake and Southern Exposure happenings, and last but not least, the gobs’ first marriage! Actually, the gobs aren’t getting married, it’s their first appearance on a dessert table at a wedding, but it feels very ceremonious – ceremonial? – just the same, doesn’t it?

Well, another week, another batch of orders to fill! Thanks for the continued support, and as ever, gob loves you and so do I.

While I’m not always a believer that less is more, sometimes I do think less can be better. In certain situations. When it comes to All Things Gob, for instance, I realize there are occasions when a smaller confection might be better-suited to the circumstances at hand. So, I set out to deliver all of the same gob goodness of the original in a package half the size. The result? Gobbles.

In the pic above you can get an approximation of just how big they are. These, of course, are the black cherry lime gobbles. The cherries and spoon next to them are meant to provide scale, btw. They are not my attempt to create an homage to Claus Oldenburg.

And this image is not a suggested wine pairing for these gobbles. It’s actually the juice I extracted from the cherries. This gorgeous stuff is in the gobbles’ batter, along with bits of the fruit shown above, and it’s also in the frosting. The color was so rich that I had to snap a picture of it before I continued baking.

Also, I think in this era of “Food, Inc” not to mention food recalls, that it’s nice to see what goes into your food before it goes into your stomach!

Hopefully all of the gob flavors will take to this smaller size as well as the black cherry lime did. I’ll post pics of those as soon as they’ve cleared the test kitchen. Until then, remember: Gob loves you.

Until I can work on my digital imaging skills, I’m afraid some of the gobs are going to look an awful lot like some of the other gobs. I mean, really, all you have is my word when it comes to being able to discern if these are indeed a new variety. But you’ll have to trust me on this. And hopefully I haven’t steered you, or your taste buds, wrong yet! 

Today we have the Orange Cardamom Ginger Gob with Saffron Frosting. (Pictured above, btw.) The cake halves are scented with ground cardamom and rounded out by orange zest and ginger threads. The frosting has been whipped with my recipe for saffron syrup. I am not prone to boasting – the sake of self-promotion aside, ahem – but these are amazing. Vision-inducing even. Nirvana. Here. Now. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed… but then again your idea of nirvana is possibly quite different than mine! 

We also have Strawberry Gobs. I can’t think of summer without thinking of strawberry shortcake, so I decided that I wanted to try to make a gob form of the seasonal classic. What I ended up with is more like a cross between something you would be served at high tea and the traditional strawberry dessert. Bits of fresh strawberries are in the batter as well as the frosting and there’s a hint of lemon to keep things tasting fresh. I think you’ll like them! 

And today I also have the Black Cherry Chocolate with Lime Butter Cream Frosting. People keep asking for these so who am I to say no? Enjoy!

We all know gobs are better by the dozen, so keep that in mind when you read over this week’s gob selections. Also, a quick shout out and thank you to Daniel Delaney of VendrTV who went out of his way to try to include Gobba Gobba Hey Gobs while filming in San Francisco last week. The VendrTV crew was in town, but I was unfortunately out of town. Still Dan made extraordinary attempts to be inclusive. Will the gobs make the final cut? Let’s hope so! We’ll have our answer this Wednesday at http://vendr.tv . 

Until then, take a gander at the gobs we’ll be baking this week:

* Black Cherry Chocolate with Lime Butter Cream Frosting – I’m going to file this one under: “Why Mess With A Good Thing?” Everyone seems to really dig these so might as well give you all more to dig, right? 

* Peaches N Cream with Sour Cream and Lemon Ginger Butter Cream – Again, it’s all about giving the people what they want. These are popular, so why mess with a good thing?

* Pistachio and Orange with Orange Butter Cream – I received some special requests for these and since they’re also one of my favorites I’m happy to oblige. 

* Carrot Cake with Lemon Cream Cheese and Butter Cream – This gob has stayed on the charts from the very beginning and seems to be one of the ones to beat. Until its popularity falls, I’ll be making it available. 

* Lemon And Thyme with Lemon Thyme Butter Cream – the Original Blonde On Blonde Gob. Its fans are rapturous when describing it, so far be it from me to deny someone an opportunity to swoon!

* And there will be some new additions that I’ll post about later this week. I’m at the mercy of the markets but I’m going to do my best to deliver at least one new gob with some real “Wow”-inducing power!

… With Peaches herself playing town tonight I had to make something this week in her honor. So… Eat The Pain Away! It’s the Peaches & Cream Gob! Baked with fresh pureed peaches, vanilla bean, cinnamon, and a bit of ginger (because you know it’s good for you.) It’s all held together with a peachy butter cream frosting that has a little lemon and just enough sour cream in it to keep all that sweetness in check! (*I realize now that the Peaches & Cream Gobs probably look like the Carrot Cake Gobs in these pics, but trust me, your taste buds will know the difference! Hmm.. maybe you should try them both?)

Carrot cake gobs with organic carrots, ginger and orange with orange lemon butter cream in the middle. See you soon?

The gobs made a solo appearance yesterday in The Mission. I busted out two new flavors, Black Cherry and Pistachio Orange. I’m happy to say they were well-received!

Thanks so much to everyone who showed support by buying one or even just stopping to chat, but I need to give a special shout out to Amuse Bouche and another one to B. Frank for being so welcoming and kind!

I’m still getting the hang of this WP blog and until I do you can find me at thewarmestroominthehouse.blogspot.com . 

I’ll be out again later this week but until then thanks to everyone again!