Supper Club Event

A few yummy pics from a house party we did a few weeks back.

Kara's Kitchen Adventure with Culinista Kate

Since I started working with The Dish’s Dish about seven months ago I’ve wanted to experience the service firsthand. And this past weekend it finally happened. I was SO excited. As my boyfriend Joe and I are far from picky eaters, I pretty much gave Culinista Kate free reign to create a seasonal menu based on what inspired her at the market. She did not disappoint.



Kate got down to business from the minute she arrived at my house. I could tell right away that she was a total pro and at ease while I hung around -- asking tons of questions, snapping tons of photos. I had a blast and all of the dishes were so delicious and light. Thanks Kate! ;)

The Menu

• Tomato Salad with Corn Vin


• Swordfish Tomato Skewers


• Farro Kalamata Salad


• Roasted Cauliflower with Caper Vin


• Chicken Green Chili


• Pulled Turkey Salad with Roasted Shallots and Currants served on a bed of spinach (my personal fave!)


• Strawberry Rhubarb Crostada


• Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies (these were honestly gone in two days)

Bachelor's Kitchen Party

A sneak peak at what your next party could look like... if The Dish's Dish is cooking and the awesomely talented and incredibly hot Kyle Dean Reinford is behind the lense.

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Bachelor's Kitchen Party - NY STYLE

When The Dish's Dish and The Supper Club threw our premier Bachelor's Kitchen Party in LA at Dany Levy's gorgeous Spanish home earlier this month, it was a smashing success - enough to get the attention of the glambots at Vanity Fair.

This week, we are doing it NY style. The event will be held at a Supper Club members' gorgeous soho loft. Take a sneak peak at the menu. Interested in joining Supper Club? Shoot an email and maybe you can come to the party.

Appetizers: Mini Gougeres with Roasted Corn, Risotto Cakes with Roasted Mushrooms, Toasted Cornbread with Black Eyed Pea Salad Cups

Salad Selects: Crisp Romaine, Fennel, Fresh Pear, Roquefort, Maple-Ginger Dressing, Quinoa, Green Beans, Frizzled Shallots, Date and Thyme Vinaigrette

Dinner: Winter Vegetable Lasagna, Braised Short Ribs, Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Hazelnut and Wilted Arugula, Tomato Braised Lentils with Broccoli Rabe

Sweet: Bittersweet Chocolate Tart with Pecans, Dried Cherries and Ancho Chili, Apple Bread Pudding with Zacapa Rum Sauce

Best. Week. Ever.

In this edition of Best Week Ever, not only does Daily Candy holla at The Dish's Dish but Vanity Fair bills our launch party as a tasty addition to LA dining. Bring it, soulja.



Our Culinistas made a true feast.... Mini Mexican Spicy Pork Quiche, Cilantro and Shrimp Salad, Chimichurri Steak on the Grill, Broccolini that got eaten in a snap and an incredibly vegan berry tart for dessert.... just to name a few highlights!

Delicious and gorgeous as well! Special thanks to my friend Dany Levy who hosted the event in her to-die-for LA home.

An evening to remember it was. The Culinistas got their LA feet wet and we wowed socialites and entertainers galore with the feast.

Flaky Crab in Filo

From a recent DISH party ;)

The Feeding Frenzy

Sometimes New Yorkers let things get a little out of hand. Actually, it's more likely the case that they push things in that direction.  Such is the case with the recurring, "FergusStock" as Eater is calling it.  Each year, Fergus Henderson comes to New York and makes a bevy of dishes at the Spotted Pig (and this year The Breslin as well).  While I take no issue with what he's serving, it's the manner in which surely New Yorkers will receive this news... It's going to be a FEEDING FRENZY!  I have no idea of what the health benefits (or short comings) are of a pig's head but I cannot imagine it's good to eat too much of it or perhaps paired with the myriad other dishes he's offering and that, YOU KNOW!, people will be ordering en masse and will contain every part of the pig. Guys, just go easy.

Taste of Abbot Kinney

Yesterday, I was invited by a team of LA food bloggers to hit up Taste of Abbot Kinney, the first ever restaurant tasting festival on AK in Venice.  The event was sold out though it didn't seem crowded. The tastings were inside of the restaurants (not along the street), which made for an awkward, if interesting time.  It worked well at Tasting Kitchen, as the "tasters" took over the back bar room.  It also worked well at Lemonade and sort of cafeteria style resto that's been proliferating like the LA fires.  Oooo zing. Lemonade was actually my favorite nibble. Photo below.



I also liked the desserts from Comme Ca at Intelligentsia Coffee.  The baristas were there usual intense selves. I snapped a photo.  Ah-wooooo! Coffee is serious, man.



There was a lot more tasting going on... at Joe's, 3 Square, N'ice Cream and The Brig. It was good but inconsistent, the way one of the food bloggers described eating out in LA in general.  Oddly, the restaurant I've been encouraged to try on Abbot Kinney, Gjelina, was not offering up anything.

Expansion

Bloggings been a little slow lately because we've been plotting world domination... Starting mid October, The Dish's Dish will be servicing, not only NYC and the Hamptons, but LA and Malibu, too! Here's what the office currently looks like.

Monkey Bar

A few weeks ago, I enjoyed a lovely dinner hosted by The Supper Club at Greydon Carter's Monkey Bar.  Menu, service and company were all wonderful in their own right.  Take a look at our line up.

My Birthday White Board

Taylor and I have a white board on our fridge and every few weeks we craft a picture. I usually start by drawing something like a flower doodle or something else along the lines of a 3rd grade level stick figure.  Then Taylor comes in and doctors the image up to look professional. Once I drew a Christmas tree and then the next day the board was a gorgeous mountain scene filled with evergreens.  There was also one where I drew a bird and then he filled in an entire birdbath in the middle of a European-style garden. Incredible.

But this morning was my favorite. Because I didn't draw anything. And because it is for my birthday.

Meal Planning with Martha

Yesterday I was on Marth Stewart Radio. It was a fantastic experience and we had a great converstaion about meal planning.  We discussed how The Dish's Dish helps people eat more homemade meals as well as how people can cook more efficiently for themselves.  We also chatted about Culinista Kitchen, our new video venture! We are revealing the secrets of our Once a Week Cooking Technique™ in a fun, sexy DVD kit.

Take a listen here...



Or right-click and download the mp3 here to listen over & over on your iPod!

I'm on the radio, like, NOW!

Remember all that hype about Sirius radio a few years ago? Satellite radio. A place where Howard Stern could be as vulgar as he liked.  Well, now might be a pretty great moment to test-drive it. Why? – You may ask.  Well, because I am on it! No, no I haven’t registered my own show but I am speaking today at 2:30pm on Martha Stewart’s channel.
I’ll be chatting it up with Mario Bosquez on Living Today.  The topic: Meal Planning.  Listeners will get an inside scoop on how to cook like a Culinista® - from picking recipes to multitasking in the kitchen.
How can you listen?  Head to siriusxm.com and download a free one-week trial.  You can get (for free) an application for your iphone/ipod and sneak into the bathroom at work to listen to me.  Download the app first, then double back to download the free trial.  You can also start listening on your computer – just click “start now” under free online trial.  If on a mac, you might need Flip4Mac – a simple download as well. Just don’t forget to crank the volume way up!

IKEA retrospective

Sure it may not really have to do with food... But the Ikea, 69 Years exhibit at Liljevalch Konsthall was complete with many a dining surface. The retrospective recapped Ikea history from it's 1950 inception up through the present day. It was fun to learn about when my catelogue favorites came into existence and to pick out coveted discontinued/limited edition pieces. In typical Ikea manner, children were well accounted for- from the play spaces to a full-on Ikea style arts and crafts zone. There was even a little cafe where Ikea fans sat on PS collection chairs while nibbling on Ikea cookies. Oddly, they opted to leave the famed meatballs for the true in-store experience.

Shipping Out to Sweden Today

Hi Folks! I am leaving on extended travel to Sweden today.  I'll be living on an apple farm on Färingsö - an island near-ish to Stockholm.  It's called Applefactory and they grow all kinds of local Swedish apples.  There is a factory in which they produce a variety of different marmalades, chutneys, butters, glazes, syrups, jellies, and mulled wine.  I'll be there for about a month learning about organic farming and researching for a travel TV treatment.

In the meantime, I am handing over blog duties to none other than Mr. Taylor Thompson.  A gifted writer among other things, he'll keep your mouth watering with all sorts of stories and photos.  Taylor was raised in Louisiana and Florida so he's a pro when it comes to warm weather cuisine. Jolynn, Cecily and the rest of the gang will be contributing, too... along with a few surprise écrivains!

And hey - who knows, you might get a few Swedish stories dotted along the way from yours truly.

Mari Vanna

Leave it to The Supper Club to throw a dinner party at Mari Vanna - the Russian restaurant on East 20th Street still a month away from opening.  On a recent night, there were mini-Moets and Russian chocolates, excellent salads and of course vodka shots to go around!  Here's the menu:



Mari Vanna combines elegance - chandeliers - with the down home - old books and myriad tchotke.



The bar is sparkling.



And the snacks are the classic Russian sweet dough biscuits.



The food was really authentic (it seemed ?).  My favorite was the Sunflower Salad.



Although the cold cuts salad was a favorite of the men, and seemingly more Russian.  I think I made this while I was visiting Moscow 2 years ago.  And I was instructed to add Kbac, which Mari Vanni fortunately did not have on hand.



I forgot to snap a photo of the borscht, but take my word that it was yum.  I also forgot to shoot the entrées (blame the vodka shots?), but I did get one of the stuffed tomato.



I also got a shot of the dessert.  I didn't eat too much of it - I was more enjoying the chocolates, but it looked pretty.  Something called Bird's Milk - a homemade marshmallow with sweet crepes.



And of course, Tamsin herself.



All in all a fun evening.  It seems like the restaurant is going to be base camp for the fashion rew, celebs, etc.

Food Party

Thu Tran is a crazy sweet girl from Ohio... making Food Party since 2007 and recently picked up by the IFC. You don't need to watch the entire thing to see how wild and whacky she is.. Fingers crossed for the TV show!

Restaurant Week for Kids?!

Yup! Check it out! Cookie + Gourmet = Kid's Restaurant Week! It kicks off June 20th.... right around when the kids are off to... camp?

Fermenting 101

24/7 is teaming up with Kombucha Brooklyn to teach a class in fermentation. Stinky fun for all!

NYWCA Potluck

The NYWCA's annual potluck was last night. Theme: Air Your Dirty Laundry... as in, what are your guilty pleasures? Food tended towards sweet or cheesy.