Zingerman’s, the famed Michigan gourmet shop and extensive online specialty website, is having a Winter Oops We Bought Too Much Food Sale. Score deals on Zingerman’s brand gourmet goods as well as smoked sea salt from Wales, candied chestnuts, and a super special bottle of one hundred year old balsamic vinegar, on sale from $700 down to $500.
Other gems of the sale include delicious, specialty muesli from England, peanut butter chews, hailing, oddly enough, from Jersey, pistachio cream that I imagine will be lovely with a piece of soft cheese, pomegranate molasses, and licorice jam. If you are in the market to buy any gift or just want to spice up a bare pantry, now is the time to hone in on Zingerman’s finds.
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Rothschild Descends Upon New York
If you’ve been saving your pennies, queue up tomorrow night at Sotheby’s for a very special auctioning of the private cellar of Baroness Philippine de Rothschild of Chateau Mouton Rothschild. The lion's share of the auction will be bottles from and of her legendary First Growth Chateau. Bottlings date from the 1887 vintage through the present. Most of the bottles are of her famed chateau, gilded with the classic golden lamb with labels commissioned by Picasso, Chagall, Miro and other world-renowned artists since the 1945 bottling. However, the Baroness is also auctioning bottles from the other First-Growth producers Chateau Lafite-Rothschild, Chateau Margaux, Chateau Latour, and Chateau Haut-Brion. Opening bids for these lots start anywhere from $500 to $80,000. The later price for one of the highlight of the auction- a ‘45 Mouton in Jerobaom-a legendary wine from the beginning of Mouton's artist series and certainly considered a treasure amongst eonophiles. A great value, if one can call it that, is the ‘26 Chateau Margaux. And, keep your bidding paddles en guard for the ‘61 Haut Brion and the ‘47 Cheval Blanc. Happy Bidding!
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Oscar Toddy
With snow on the ground, the Academy Awards approaching, and parties being planned, preparing hot toddies for your get-together will be a welcome, relaxing bonus to the highly anticipated evening.
Scots named it for a specific type of palm tree juice, but today, the Toddy is more commonly a mix of brandy, hot water, lemon, cinnamon, and sugar. Variations abound; substitutions like whiskey for brandy, tea for hot water, and honey for sugar still put the warming elixir under the same category.
The concoction is ideal for cold nights, after a long day’s work, or for fighting off a cold. And, as you settle in with friends and family to watch the awards, sipping your Hot Toddy will keep you warm as the stars heat up the red carpet.
Scots named it for a specific type of palm tree juice, but today, the Toddy is more commonly a mix of brandy, hot water, lemon, cinnamon, and sugar. Variations abound; substitutions like whiskey for brandy, tea for hot water, and honey for sugar still put the warming elixir under the same category.
The concoction is ideal for cold nights, after a long day’s work, or for fighting off a cold. And, as you settle in with friends and family to watch the awards, sipping your Hot Toddy will keep you warm as the stars heat up the red carpet.
Culinista™ Spotlight: Josie Gordon
The Dish had a chance to sit down with angel face Culinista™ Josie Gordon last week and hear what she had to say about minced meat and macaroni, a perfect roasted chicken, and tasting raw custards.
Dish: How did you get interested in food?
JG: I grew up in a Caribbean family and food is just the thing. I helped my mom everyday to make so many Caribbean dishes.
Dish: I’ve had your mom’s cooking—I am a lucky girl for that! What was your favorite dish that you learned to make with her?
JG: Minced meat and macaroni…hahahaha! It’s soooo good. It’s like a casserole; so good!
Dish: Hmmmm, I’ll have to try it..do you make it a lot?
JG: Actually, I made it two days ago, but I don’t make it a lot.
Dish: Do you feel like your Caribbean upbringing has had an affect on the culinary choices that you make with The Dish’s Dishes?
JG: Absolutely. Caribbean’s use a lot of vegetables—their supermarkets are more like our farmers markets here. So I tend to shop at the Greenmarket a lot. I also use a lot of spices—Caribbean’s love spices! Everything that I make tastes like it comes from the height of summer!
Dish: What has been your favorite thing you’ve cooked for a client?
JG: It’s always the simplest thing for me, you know—a roast chicken. I can make the most beautiful, glistening, crispy on the outside, moist on the inside roast chicken. Clients love that. I love it. It’s so satisfying to have that picture perfect end result. Oh, and note that the chickens I use are always organic.
Dish: Last Question. What’s the most important thing you learned in culinary school?
JG: To taste everything. It’s drilled into your head—but it really is the most important thing. You should taste throughout the preparation—I’ll taste raw custards if I need to.
Now that’s dedication! Josie Gordon can cook for one more family; please contact us for her delicious food.
Dish: How did you get interested in food?
JG: I grew up in a Caribbean family and food is just the thing. I helped my mom everyday to make so many Caribbean dishes.
Dish: I’ve had your mom’s cooking—I am a lucky girl for that! What was your favorite dish that you learned to make with her?
JG: Minced meat and macaroni…hahahaha! It’s soooo good. It’s like a casserole; so good!
Dish: Hmmmm, I’ll have to try it..do you make it a lot?
JG: Actually, I made it two days ago, but I don’t make it a lot.
Dish: Do you feel like your Caribbean upbringing has had an affect on the culinary choices that you make with The Dish’s Dishes?
JG: Absolutely. Caribbean’s use a lot of vegetables—their supermarkets are more like our farmers markets here. So I tend to shop at the Greenmarket a lot. I also use a lot of spices—Caribbean’s love spices! Everything that I make tastes like it comes from the height of summer!
Dish: What has been your favorite thing you’ve cooked for a client?
JG: It’s always the simplest thing for me, you know—a roast chicken. I can make the most beautiful, glistening, crispy on the outside, moist on the inside roast chicken. Clients love that. I love it. It’s so satisfying to have that picture perfect end result. Oh, and note that the chickens I use are always organic.
Dish: Last Question. What’s the most important thing you learned in culinary school?
JG: To taste everything. It’s drilled into your head—but it really is the most important thing. You should taste throughout the preparation—I’ll taste raw custards if I need to.
Now that’s dedication! Josie Gordon can cook for one more family; please contact us for her delicious food.
Celebrate Fat Tuesday Today!
Purple, green, and gold are the colors to look out for in bakery windows this afternoon if you want to score a piece of the traditional Mardi Gras treat, King Cake. The New Orleans delicacy is a ring-shaped cake covered in purple, green, and gold icing and twisted with anything from fruit to nuts to cinnamon to cream cheese. In every King Cake, however, there is always the legendary porcelain (or maybe just plastic) baby, whose implications range from the bearer being crowned king for the day to bearing the brunt of purchasing the next cake. The oldest myth is that whoever finds the baby in his slice will be crowned king for the year but will then be sacrificed in the following year.
To make sure that your King Cake is worth dying for, head to Mara’s Homemade, a Creole restaurant on East 6th Street. Tonight she’ll serve up traditional Creole festival fare as well as sell outstanding King Cakes in full or by the slice.
To make sure that your King Cake is worth dying for, head to Mara’s Homemade, a Creole restaurant on East 6th Street. Tonight she’ll serve up traditional Creole festival fare as well as sell outstanding King Cakes in full or by the slice.
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Pizza Stoned.
Staying in for pizza can be romantic and fun on Valentines Day...so long as you’re equipped to make a good pie. On a tip from a culinary-oriented friend, my mother purchased a pizza stone. Both mother and friend discussed how the idea of a pizza stone just seems like one extra gadget in a kitchen. However, the friend had bought one with a gift certificate and was reveling in its use and results. Even if you get dough from your favorite pizzeria (a trick that everyone should try), it’s the pizza stone that will have all of your friends salivating for your pies. This flat piece of light stone provides evenly distributed heat from your oven and easily absorbs moisture, ensuring a crispy crust. Seriously, it’s like magic. (Pizza stones are available at most cookware stores.)
Last Minute Valentines Day Remedy
It’s too late to book a table and too late to call a bakery and order your favorite cake; it’s even too late to call on your Culinista™ to help you whip up a Valentines Day treat. In this emergency, it’s never too late to call on the Cake (mix) Doctor.
On Valentines Day, people always struggle over what an ordeal the whole thing becomes—from making reservations, to doing something romantic, to buying the right chocolates, flowers, and heart-shaped memorabilia.
Well, if you haven’t done any of this, don’t sweat it! All you have to do is use a recipe from The Cake Mix Doctor. In this cookbook—and website (www.cakemixdoctor.com)—one ambitious baker shows how to improve cake mixes into just about any type of cake. From the base of a yellow cake mix, making recipes like Peanut Butter Surprise Cake, Strawberry Cake, and Banana Pudding Cake are a snap with only a few extra ingredients. Chocolate cake mix manifests itself into molten chocolate hot pots, rich raspberry brownies, and Fudge Bites.
The recipes are great in a pinch because the ingredients can be purchased almost anywhere—your corner deli or even at a Duane Reade. So long as you’ve got a cake mix, butter, and perhaps a hand full of chocolate chips on hand, all you’ll need to present an elaborate cake to your love will be the showcase ingredients in the recipes you choose—peanut butter? Strawberries? Lemon meringue?
Take a moment to peruse the recipes, evaluate your kitchen, and then run to the store to get your odd ingredients. While you are there, get some of those heart-shaped tins that are everywhere right now.
To make your chosen specialty cake into the Special Valentines Day Cake, just pour the batter into a big heart shaped tin. When it’s cooled, scatter some heart-shaped candies or chocolates or some sliced strawberries on or around the heart.
And, just as your companion was beginning to think that you hadn’t planned a thing, the cake doc can heal a broken heart.
On Valentines Day, people always struggle over what an ordeal the whole thing becomes—from making reservations, to doing something romantic, to buying the right chocolates, flowers, and heart-shaped memorabilia.
Well, if you haven’t done any of this, don’t sweat it! All you have to do is use a recipe from The Cake Mix Doctor. In this cookbook—and website (www.cakemixdoctor.com)—one ambitious baker shows how to improve cake mixes into just about any type of cake. From the base of a yellow cake mix, making recipes like Peanut Butter Surprise Cake, Strawberry Cake, and Banana Pudding Cake are a snap with only a few extra ingredients. Chocolate cake mix manifests itself into molten chocolate hot pots, rich raspberry brownies, and Fudge Bites.
The recipes are great in a pinch because the ingredients can be purchased almost anywhere—your corner deli or even at a Duane Reade. So long as you’ve got a cake mix, butter, and perhaps a hand full of chocolate chips on hand, all you’ll need to present an elaborate cake to your love will be the showcase ingredients in the recipes you choose—peanut butter? Strawberries? Lemon meringue?
Take a moment to peruse the recipes, evaluate your kitchen, and then run to the store to get your odd ingredients. While you are there, get some of those heart-shaped tins that are everywhere right now.
To make your chosen specialty cake into the Special Valentines Day Cake, just pour the batter into a big heart shaped tin. When it’s cooled, scatter some heart-shaped candies or chocolates or some sliced strawberries on or around the heart.
And, just as your companion was beginning to think that you hadn’t planned a thing, the cake doc can heal a broken heart.
Union Square Scores with Singles
Romance and a glass of wine have gone hand in hand for a long time.
Each year, Union Square Wines & Spirits hosts a sultry Valentines Day tasting. The Salon is stocked with spirits that will get anyone in the mood. This year, however, the tasting is unabashedly targeted towards singles looking to score…great deals on Champagne, Banyuls, and other enticing elixirs.
The wine line-up will be paired with chocolates from Scharffen Berger and the USQ team will be luring in lonely aficionados with a drawing for a Tocqueville Gift Certificate, Champagne, and free tasting points for the wine shops Enomatic machines, which dole out 50+ unique bottles daily.
The tasting is set from 6—8pm and the admission is free. So, whether you really are a single, serious about wine or just a cheap date, the USQ Valentines Tasting will inevitably add a little spark, or at least something sparkling, to your evening.
Each year, Union Square Wines & Spirits hosts a sultry Valentines Day tasting. The Salon is stocked with spirits that will get anyone in the mood. This year, however, the tasting is unabashedly targeted towards singles looking to score…great deals on Champagne, Banyuls, and other enticing elixirs.
The wine line-up will be paired with chocolates from Scharffen Berger and the USQ team will be luring in lonely aficionados with a drawing for a Tocqueville Gift Certificate, Champagne, and free tasting points for the wine shops Enomatic machines, which dole out 50+ unique bottles daily.
The tasting is set from 6—8pm and the admission is free. So, whether you really are a single, serious about wine or just a cheap date, the USQ Valentines Tasting will inevitably add a little spark, or at least something sparkling, to your evening.
Tuesday, February 6, 2007
Roasted Garlic
Roasting garlic is a user-friendly method of enjoying it without the abrasiveness of the raw version. It’s a very simple method in itself. Cut a garlic head in half, width-wise and preheat your oven to 350°. Drizzle the garlic with olive oil and wrap it in foil. Bake for 45 to 60 minutes. You roasted garlic! …and the apartment smells amazing!
Roasted garlic is easy to incorporate into spreads, dips, oils, sauces and dressings. Mix roasted garlic with butter and spread it on baguette. Eat it alone or add other roasted veggies to make a delicious sandwich.
If there are garlic skeptics at home, head to Blue Ribbon Bakery where $6.50 gets you a whole roasted garlic without having to do the work yourself and unlimited bread from their delicious
Roasted garlic is easy to incorporate into spreads, dips, oils, sauces and dressings. Mix roasted garlic with butter and spread it on baguette. Eat it alone or add other roasted veggies to make a delicious sandwich.
If there are garlic skeptics at home, head to Blue Ribbon Bakery where $6.50 gets you a whole roasted garlic without having to do the work yourself and unlimited bread from their delicious
Blue Ribbon Empire Expands Again
As the Blue Ribbon Empire opens up its seventh outpost in total—Blue Ribbon Bar—the Dish recollects favorites from each existing restaurant. (And, they are all wonderful places to go with your sweetie on Valentines Day.)
Since 1992, the Bromberg brothers, Bruce and Eric, have launched Blue Ribbon (1992), Blue Ribbon Sushi (1995), Blue Ribbon Bakery (1997), Blue Ribbon Brooklyn (2001), Blue Ribbon Sushi Brooklyn (2003), and Blue Ribbon Bakery Market (2005). Each spot has a character of its own while remaining unmistakably under the Blue Ribbon guise.
At the original Blue Ribbon, going late, late, late at night is the thing to do. And, sitting at the bar to eat oysters and sip champagne is consistently my favorite. There are always at least four varieties of oysters from which to choose and, even at 3 a.m., the staff will gladly explain the different tastes and textures.
One block away at Blue Ribbon Sushi—and, one bridge away in Park Slope—the sake ikura roll is a wining combo of salmon and salmon roe. Sweet salmon paired with salty roe is one reason why the Brombergs deserve a blue ribbon ::wink wink::
Blue Ribbon Bakery is by far my favorite of their restaurants so it’s difficult to choose just one dish. Luckily, I have already referenced the delicious roasted garlic, which leaves only a tie between the market salad piled with beets, artichoke hearts, asparagus, and grilled onions and the chocolate chip bread pudding, which has been a longstanding favorite of mine and was, in fact, one of the first dishes about which I wrote.
The Blue Ribbon in Brooklyn has an almost identical menu to the Manhattan location but something about going to Brooklyn always gets me in the mood for the Jewish stuff on the menu like the smoked salmon sandwich on rye.
Blue Ribbon Bakery Market carries an incredible selection of gourmet foods to take home as well as the signature breads. The best move here is to order toast with Mexican honey, for a sweet treat…or to tide you over as you wait for a table at the new Blue Ribbon Bar located conveniently around the corner. (34 Downing Street. 212.691.0404)
Since 1992, the Bromberg brothers, Bruce and Eric, have launched Blue Ribbon (1992), Blue Ribbon Sushi (1995), Blue Ribbon Bakery (1997), Blue Ribbon Brooklyn (2001), Blue Ribbon Sushi Brooklyn (2003), and Blue Ribbon Bakery Market (2005). Each spot has a character of its own while remaining unmistakably under the Blue Ribbon guise.
At the original Blue Ribbon, going late, late, late at night is the thing to do. And, sitting at the bar to eat oysters and sip champagne is consistently my favorite. There are always at least four varieties of oysters from which to choose and, even at 3 a.m., the staff will gladly explain the different tastes and textures.
One block away at Blue Ribbon Sushi—and, one bridge away in Park Slope—the sake ikura roll is a wining combo of salmon and salmon roe. Sweet salmon paired with salty roe is one reason why the Brombergs deserve a blue ribbon ::wink wink::
Blue Ribbon Bakery is by far my favorite of their restaurants so it’s difficult to choose just one dish. Luckily, I have already referenced the delicious roasted garlic, which leaves only a tie between the market salad piled with beets, artichoke hearts, asparagus, and grilled onions and the chocolate chip bread pudding, which has been a longstanding favorite of mine and was, in fact, one of the first dishes about which I wrote.
The Blue Ribbon in Brooklyn has an almost identical menu to the Manhattan location but something about going to Brooklyn always gets me in the mood for the Jewish stuff on the menu like the smoked salmon sandwich on rye.
Blue Ribbon Bakery Market carries an incredible selection of gourmet foods to take home as well as the signature breads. The best move here is to order toast with Mexican honey, for a sweet treat…or to tide you over as you wait for a table at the new Blue Ribbon Bar located conveniently around the corner. (34 Downing Street. 212.691.0404)
Falai’s Confit Soup
The new Caffe Falai on Lafayette Street just south of Prince is serving up a delicious onion confit soup. I’ve never had anything like it, and yet I always think about making some sort of rendition of it on my own. The soup is a very simple, yet brilliant, combination of caramelized onions and poached eggs in a vegetable broth hinted with a thin sheet of Parmesan.
It would be the vegetarian’s answer to a thick French onion soup; except Falai’s is hearty without being heavy at all. The sweet onions and crumbled bits of poached egg take on a comforting taste that is balanced by the sharp cheese. For $6 a bowl, it’s a wonderful afternoon lunch that will take the chill from frost bitten New Yorkers.
Served warm along side it, and with everything else, is the famed bread from which Iacopo Falai rose to chef celebrity status. The venerable bread, dunked in thick onion confit is a full-on masterpiece.
It would be the vegetarian’s answer to a thick French onion soup; except Falai’s is hearty without being heavy at all. The sweet onions and crumbled bits of poached egg take on a comforting taste that is balanced by the sharp cheese. For $6 a bowl, it’s a wonderful afternoon lunch that will take the chill from frost bitten New Yorkers.
Served warm along side it, and with everything else, is the famed bread from which Iacopo Falai rose to chef celebrity status. The venerable bread, dunked in thick onion confit is a full-on masterpiece.
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