Artist Sander Plug must have something against chocolate bunnies. His video Chocolade Haas (see below) depicts the slow, melting demise of three chocolate Easter bunnies - with an iron, a heat lamp and a hairdryer. The oozing flow of chocolate as the rabbit forms buckle and collapse is actually kind of beautiful, and the monochromatic pastel backgrounds are disturbingly soothing. This is art you can sink your teeth into.

Chocolate Bunny
In collaboration with: Lernert Engelberts
Commisioned by: Cut ‘n Paste for KRO Youth,
in association with the Dutch Culture Fund
Music by: Nathan Larson

– Jenny Slafkosky

MENU
Roasted Mahi-Mahi with Mac-Nut Beurre Blanc
Bacon-braised Green Cabbage
Baguette
TIME: About 25 minutes hands-on, maybe 40 minutes total time.
COST: $20 for two
CLEAN UP: Two pots.

I’ve been in a rich-food mode since, oh, last Christmas. Once I latch onto a piece of protein, I start thinking of ways to fatten it up. So, when I found some translucent pink-toned mahi-mahi on sale I immediately thought of macadamia nuts and butter. It may sound like a Travel PR push, but mac nut beurre blanc over mahi-mahi is a classic — the fish’s soft sweet flesh calls out for the nut’s crunchy vanilla-y character. Trust me, I was a chef in Hawaii for years and bought mahi directly from the fishermen. Luckily, the sauce comes together faster than you can say Humuhumunukunukuapuaa. A beurre blanc is traditionally made in a sauce pot but why make a big mess when you can make it right in the saute pan? I seasoned the top side of the fish liberally with kosher salt and fresh-ground black and layed it seasoned-side down in hot olive oil hit with a little butter (the brown butter helps caramelize the fish flesh). I put the pan in the oven, cooking the fillet on the seasoned side the whole time — when it’s almost done, I transfer it to a warm plate, pour out any excess fat from the pan and hit with a double glug of white wine, a small handful of minced shallots and a squeeze of lemon. Over high heat the wine reduces down to a viscous state in just a minute. I take it off the heat and swirl six or seven or maybe eight tablespoons cold butter, a tablespoon at a time, until it takes on a saucy texture and glossy sheen. Then I add capers and some crushed macadamia nuts that I had toasted earlier. Lusciuos, nutty, tangy sauce. Spooned over tender fish. Yum. I served this with green cabbage that I braised in bacon fat (just in case the sauce wasn’t caloric enough) and a little cider vinegar.

MENU: Potato, wild mushroom and feta pizza
TIME: About 30 minutes hands on, 50 minutes all told
COST: $20 for two
CLEAN UP: Easy. 1 pan.

I’m a klutz when it comes to pizza dough. I ran the kitchen at Tourelle (now Postino) in Lafayette back when it had a wood-burning pizza oven, but if I had ever had to run the pizza station, diners would be waiting a mighty long time for there mishapen pie. Pizza dough is easy enough to make (and now you can get ready-to-go dough at Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods) but getting a perfect circle has always eluded me. I brought my dough home and just rolled it out with a pin after making a few weak attempts at tossing it in the air. I got it thin easily enough but it looked more like a sick polygon than a circle. Toppings, however, I feel confident about. I cooked off some smokey bacon bits half way, took them out and sauteed some sliced wild mushrooms (I used chanterelles) and cipollini onions, throwing a little fresh sage in at the end. I sliced a yukon gold potato thinly on a mandoline and layered it around the border of the pizza, then brushed the edges and the potatoes with garlic oil I had leftover from an earlier dinner. My crust was so thin, I didn’t want to put any more toppings on it before I got the creature in the oven.

So, I pulled out the rack that held my pizza stone, put down the crust, and built my pizza from there — sprinkling it with the mushrooms and onions and lots of good feta cheese. The result was truly fantastic. It looked like hell, but the crackery crust was strong enough to hold the toppings and remain a little chewy. The potatoes, which cooked tender in the oven, added more substance. It was so good I never even touched the salad I made — just-ripe wedges of avocado and fresh grapefruit segments. No dressing needed.

NOTES: I pounded this down with a Louis Latour Chardonnay — only 10 bucks. You could cover the whole pizza with thin potato for a more substantial pie — be sure to sprinkle it with salt.

The rumors are true. That was Anthony Bourdain you saw at both El
Grullo and Mi Grullense taco trucks on International Blvd. in Oakland’s Fruitvale district on Sunday afternoon. I know because I was the one fumbling with the pen and notebook trying to write down everything he said.

Always one to keep it real, Bourdain agreed (probably with a nudge from his publicist) to trek across the bridge, share some tacos with us, and talk about his Travel Channel show and companion book “No Reservations.”

“Bogus Mexican food fills me with rage,” he said, chowing down on a carne asada taco from El Grullo taco truck. “It’s so far removed from what they eat in Mexico…but this is the real thing.”

When it became apparent I was neglecting my al pastor taco in order to take notes (why did I think I could eat tacos and take notes at the same time?) he politely ate it for me.

Then we headed down to Mi Grullense in the Goodwill parking lot where he got the cabeza and I went for the tripas (he politely held the tripas taco for me until the interview was over and I could eat it). Chowing down on cabeza with the traffic whizzing by, he was a man in his element. And, for the record, he said the tacos at both trucks were great. If I’d had more time, I would’ve taken East Bay writer (and occasional contributor to the Tribune and Times) John Birdsall’s advice and brought him to La Gran Chiquita for tripitas tacos and Mexico City-style barbacoa. Maybe good fodder for the Bay Area “No Reservations” coming up (nudge nudge)?

To learn what Bourdain has to say about the Slow Food movement, hear his plans for the Bay Area “No Reservations” episode or hear him talk about fatherhood and the pork-related arts, check back in with us at www.insidebayarea.com/food and www.contracostatimes.com/foodandwine on Dec. 5. Then we’ll post the video we shot that afternoon, along with a companion story, lifted from my tripas taco-stained notebook. — Jenny Slafkosky

Illustration by Tristan Elwell, Chow.com

You know who you are. You’re the one who (like me) is just starting to look up recipes two days before Thanksgiving. You’re the one who hasn’t exactly figured out where the feast is going to be, or even who’s gonna be there. Fear not, dear slacker. Chow.com is here for you. Chow’s Neoslacker Interactive Thanksgiving advocates letting your friends do all the work (or at least share a good portion of it with you). Even better, their chic menu, which includes dishes such as Apple-Chestnut Soup with Parsley Croutons, Bacon-Wrapped Turkey with Pear Cider Gravy, Mushroom and Fennel Bread Pudding and Celery Root and Squash Gratin with Walnut-Thyme Streusel will impress even your foodie friends. And if cooking up all this fancy food is way too much for your slacker mentality, don’t fret - click on “Slackerize this menu” and take Chow’s suggestions for where to buy perfectly good pre-made substitutes for each dish. All the skill you’ll need is an ability to slide your credit card at the supermarket. How’s that for cutting yourself some slack? - Jenny Slafkosky

Would you like to die laughing? No? Well then maybe you’d like to come close. Or perhaps you’re curious: Maybe you’d like to know what Satan brings to potlucks, or take a trip through the wondrous world of aspic? Maybe reading a chapter called “Fun Things to Make with Ground-Up Cow” really floats your boat. Well, James Lileks is here to help. He’s the author of the new book “Gastroanomalies: Questionable Culinary Creations from the Golden Age of American Cookery” and the personality behind Lileks.com.

Seriously folks, nothing since Wendy McClure’s “The Amazing Mackerel Pudding Plan” has made me laugh so hard, or so snortily, in the office. McClure’s work is actually an homage of sorts to Lileks, so how I managed to miss owning Lileks’ previous books “The Gallery of Regrettable Food”, “Mommy Knows Worst” and “Interior Desecrations” is a mystery to me — one that fills me with deep shame. On the upside, I’m putting all his books on my gift list — both for giving AND getting. You should too. “Gastroanomalies” will be in stores on Nov. 27. — Jenny Slafkosky

iEat is a new series at All You Can Eat in which Nicholas Boer, Bay Area News Group’s intrepid food editor and an experienced chef, whips up dinner and documents it on his super cool new iPhone. Got a question for Nick? Leave a comment below.

MENU
Roasted Chicken Breasts with Wild Mushroom Demiglace Spinach with Meyer Lemon Baby Basmati
TIME: About 25 minutes hands-on, maybe 45 minutes total time.
COST: $20 for two (cream, Demiglace Gold and pricey mushrooms).
CLEAN UP: Three pans, have your lucky companion do them.

I’M A SUCKER for wild mushrooms so when I saw chanterelles at (only) $12.99 a pound (Hey, they’re usually $25!), I bought a half pound. It feels like buying drugs. With mushrooms as the star, I kept the rest simple: I picked up a couple of big, bone in chicken breast halves and a bunch of spinach. But for me, the must-haves with shrooms are shallots and thyme. When working at the Masters in the Westin Kauai, our crazy French chef would have us saute up five or six kinds of wild mushrooms, cooking each one separately and simply in olive oil until they were just soft and cooked through. Then, when an order for lamb came in, we’d finish them up by heating olive oil until almost smoking in a saute pan. To that we’d add a little butter, which would brown right away.

In went all the mushrooms and we’d saute them at high heat, crisping them up for a couple of minutes (that crispy texture is killer, especially if you’re put off by the “slimy factor” of mushrooms). At the last second, we’d add some finely minced shallots and fresh thyme. A few more tosses and then on the plate. At home, I took a similar approach, sauteing up the chanterelles and a few criminis in advance. I cleaned out the pan and got it rarin’ hot again. In went the well-seasoned breasts, skin-side down, leaving it on high heat on the stove for a minute or two. I transferred them to a 400-degree oven — leaving the skin-side down to get it extra crispy — and turned off the oven (this only works if you’re putting the pan on a pizza stone or have convection). Meanwhile I got my basmati rice going and washed up a bunch of spinach. After about 15 minutes, I transferred the chicken to a plate, leaving it in the warm oven and returned the pan to the stove, where I crisped up my mushrooms with shallots and thyme.

I hit them with a shot of vermouth, a glug of cream and a spoonful of Demiglace Gold (concentrated veal stock that’s sold as a pantry item in upscale grocery stores). Immediately I had a rich, thick-but-not-goopy wild mushroom sauce to die for. I sauteed my dried spinach in a little garlic olive oil and a squirt of Meyer lemon juice and sat down to a feast.

NOTES: I really like this baby basmati rice (found it in the bins at Whole Foods), and a technique I recently picked up: Rinse the rice and add it to your water, salt and a little olive oil in the saucepan, then just let it set for 15 minutes or so before cooking as usual. Nice ‘n’ fluffy.

Note: iEat is a new series at All You Can Eat in which Nicholas Boer, Bay Area News Group’s intrepid food editor and an experienced chef, whips up dinner and documents it on his super cool new iPhone. Got a question for Nick? Leave a comment below.

MENU - 11/14
Spicy farfalle with tuna, roasted garlic and broccoli
TIME: About 20 minutes hands-on, about 30 minutes all together.
COST: $15 for two, with leftovers.
CLEAN UP: Moderate.

When I went shopping after work, I remembered I had a container of garlic cloves in my refrigerator, and began to think about pasta. I also had some wilting oregano I needed to use up. And a few tomatoes. And I had recently bought some fancy dolphin-safe tuna (yellow fin in glass jars at Cost Plus). So I bought a head of organic broccoli, a box of farfalle and a big bottle of Safeway Select extra virgin olive oil (about 32 cents an ounce). OK, I also bought some Haagen-Dazs — Mayan Chocolate and Cinnamon Dulce de Leche (too milky for my tastes). When I got home I dumped the garlic cloves and a couple of cups of olive oil in a heavy saucepan and turned it on high while I copied the crossword and mixed some cocktails. When it started burbling, I turned it off and relaxed for a while. From there the pasta was simple. I brought my pasta water to a boil, and blanched and skinned a few tomatoes, chopping them roughly and seeding them (though I’m not sure seeding them is worth the bother). I put the tomatoes in a saute pan with a bunch of the cooked garlic cloves, transferring some of the fragrant olive oil in as well. (If the garlic cloves aren’t completely soft, return the pan to high heat for just a minute or so and turn it off again). I also added — and this is key — a big pinch of chile flakes. While my farfalle was cooking, I heated my tomato mixture, cooking them until they softened but still maintained their shape. Then I added my tuna (broken into big chunks) and a few chopped kalamatas I had lying around. When the pasta was almost done, I added a bunch of broccoli florets to the pot, cooked it for another minute and drained the whole thing. I tossed it all together and ate it with Mom in front of the TV — good brain food!

NOTES: I found this to be perfectly satisfying, but you could certainly add some bread and a salad if you want a more complete spread. I wouldn’t try this with ordinary canned tuna — the big chunks of clean-tasting yellow-fin really made a difference. And don’t use expensive olive oil to cook the garlic. But DO keep the oil and use it to add a garlicky kick to almost anything.

– Nicholas Boer

Note: iEat is a new occasional series at All You Can Eat. Nicholas Boer, Bay Area News Group’s intrepid food editor and an experienced chef, whips up dinner and documents it on his super cool new iPhone. Got a question for Nick? Leave a comment below.

MENU - 11/13
Prime Rib with Fresh Horseradish
Roast Yams with Lime and Butter
Tomato and Avocado Salad
TIME: About 15 minutes hands-on, less than hour total time after the oven is preheated.
COST: $30 for two (and a dog).
CLEAN UP: Easy.

When I get a red-meat craving, I usually buy a thick New York from Whole Foods, douse it in kosher salt and cracked black, sear the bejesus out of it, let it rest and cut thick slices to arrange over a salad or veggie ragout. But with my Ex’s dog in the house this week and the weather chilling, I wanted a bone-in prime rib. But for just two people (and a dog)?

It turned out great. I got a one-bone prime rib ($9.99 a lb.) at Whole Foods, which ran a little more than $20. I cranked my oven up to 500 degrees, letting it fully preheat. I popped in the seasoned, standing roast (bone-side down) along with a couple of yams and turned the oven OFF! 35 minutes later, after my martini, I pulled the prime rib and let it sit 10 minutes while I sliced an avocado and a tomato (drizzling them with a little salt, black pepper, sherry vinegar and lemon olive oil). I mixed some fresh grated horseradish with fresh grapefruit juice (I had a leftover half lying around; it provided great zing), sour cream and salt.

Then I pulled the yams, which had gotten a little oozily with beef fat, split them in half and mashed them in the skin with butter and lime juice. When I carved the prime rib: it was a gorgeous medium-rare. The nice thing about a roast for two, is that both people get end pieces (and the dog gets the bone, leaving you in peace with your prime rib).

Notes: I’ve got a ceramic bottom in my oven that helps cook foods faster and keeps the oven hot longer, so you may might not want to turn the oven completely off in a conventional oven (if you have a convection fan, turn the oven off and leave the fan on). We had a Bogle Merlot with this. A really big, balanced red recently recommended by Consumer Reports. It’s a “mind-Bogling” $9 at Cost Plus. — Nicholas Boer

Do mushroom puns ever get old? Don’t answer that.

But truffle fans should take note: Bob Klein, co-owner of Oakland’s Oliveto restaurant, carried a whopping one-pound white truffle (pictured above) home on Monday night, spoils from a foraging trip in Italy. Weather conditions made it a tough foraging season and white truffles were extremely scarce. Klein says he was lucky to get anything, especially a cache of truffles of such high quality.

You might get a bite of Klein’s giant truffle at one of Oliveto’s annual White Truffle Dinners, going on through this Friday (Nov. 16) from 5 to 9 p.m. Check out Chef Paul Canales’ truffle dinner menu here.

Call (510) 547-5356 for information about reservations for the truffle dinners. Oliveto is located at Oakland’s Rockridge Market Hall at 5655 College Ave., Oakland.