At Jacques Torres’ chocolate factory on King Street and Hudson Street, there stands Christmas Trees, Santas, and Snowmen made of divine dark, milk, and white chocolate. These aren’t the usual chocolate objects; JT’s festive chocolate molds are more like artwork. On Christmas trees, hints of colored chocolate create lights and ornaments. Snowmen and santas are festooned with chocolate buttons, collars, and other features so that any merrymaker can identify the cocoa creature.
These jovial edibles come in three sizes. The smallest is perfect for a stocking stuffer; the middle is great to give as a treat to a grandson or niece to share with his/her siblings. The largest model—it’s about a foot tall—will make a whimsical centerpiece.
It’s not just the finished product—and the consumption of the creature—that’s so impressive. Go to the factory to pick yours up and watch as hundreds are molded and made daily through the glass display window—it’s the true miracle of Christmas!
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
Sunday, December 10, 2006
Wine Gums
Why didn’t we think of this?
I recently tried the British gummy candy made by Maynard’s called Wine Gums. They look a little like JuJubes; however, imprinted on each gummy are wine messages: port, sherry, champagne, burgundy and claret.
The kidney, crown, circle, and diamond shaped candies don’t taste like wine but do have a subtle fruitiness similar to a sip of fine wine, according to Cadbury Trebor Bassett. Perhaps it’s a more sophisticated flavor than many American gummy counterparts, but most are typical candy flavors: lemon, apple, and orange. The gem of the bunch is the black one, which tastes like black currant.
The delicious, glucose-laden gummies are available at Myers of Keswick on Hudson Street.
I recently tried the British gummy candy made by Maynard’s called Wine Gums. They look a little like JuJubes; however, imprinted on each gummy are wine messages: port, sherry, champagne, burgundy and claret.
The kidney, crown, circle, and diamond shaped candies don’t taste like wine but do have a subtle fruitiness similar to a sip of fine wine, according to Cadbury Trebor Bassett. Perhaps it’s a more sophisticated flavor than many American gummy counterparts, but most are typical candy flavors: lemon, apple, and orange. The gem of the bunch is the black one, which tastes like black currant.
The delicious, glucose-laden gummies are available at Myers of Keswick on Hudson Street.
Fesenjan
I walked into my apartment a few weeks ago and was immediately seduced by the smell coming from the kitchen. My roommate happens to be a wonderful cook. When he made Fesenjan, a special Iranian dish, I had to have the recipe. Sweet and sour, crunchy and velvety, the combination of pomegranate, walnuts, and tender chicken makes for the perfect winter warming stew. It is traditionally served over slightly burnt rice.
Fesenjan
1/4 cup olive oil
2 small onions, sliced thin
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
2 1/2 cups walnuts, finely ground
2/3 cup pomegranate syrup
2 1/2 cups chicken stock
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon salt
2 teaspoons pepper
1 1/4 teaspoons saffron (optional)
2 limes
2 1/2-3 lbs bone-in chicken
1. Heat oil over medium heat in a large Dutch oven.
2. Add onions and sauté until wilted and translucent.
3. Add garlic, cinnamon and nutmeg and sauté, stirring, for another 1-2 minutes.
4. Stir in walnuts, pomegranate syrup, stock, sugar, salt, pepper and saffron.
5. Adjust sugar and salt to taste.
6. Bring to a low boil and simmer 1/2 hour.
7. Add chicken and simmer on low heat another 30-60 minutes.
8. Halfway through the cooking time, add the lime juice from both limes to taste.
9. Add water or stock if necessary to prevent the sauce from thickening too much and scorching.
10. Remove the bones from chicken; meat should fall right off.
11. Serve with plain white rice. Serves 6-8.
Fesenjan
1/4 cup olive oil
2 small onions, sliced thin
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
2 1/2 cups walnuts, finely ground
2/3 cup pomegranate syrup
2 1/2 cups chicken stock
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon salt
2 teaspoons pepper
1 1/4 teaspoons saffron (optional)
2 limes
2 1/2-3 lbs bone-in chicken
1. Heat oil over medium heat in a large Dutch oven.
2. Add onions and sauté until wilted and translucent.
3. Add garlic, cinnamon and nutmeg and sauté, stirring, for another 1-2 minutes.
4. Stir in walnuts, pomegranate syrup, stock, sugar, salt, pepper and saffron.
5. Adjust sugar and salt to taste.
6. Bring to a low boil and simmer 1/2 hour.
7. Add chicken and simmer on low heat another 30-60 minutes.
8. Halfway through the cooking time, add the lime juice from both limes to taste.
9. Add water or stock if necessary to prevent the sauce from thickening too much and scorching.
10. Remove the bones from chicken; meat should fall right off.
11. Serve with plain white rice. Serves 6-8.
Last Minute Gifts
In extreme crunch time like this, it’s always good to head to the Broadway Panhandler, newly relocated to 8th Street. The store is filled with so many culinary knick-knacks that it’s impossible to leave without finding something that is perfect for your gift recipient.
Check out the Shun’s Classic 3-piece Knife Set, which is on sale for $199 (from $239.95). It would surely put a smile on your dull-knife owner-friend’s face. Consider the wide variety of Le Creuset cookware on sale and going fast. Any Le Creuset piece—from grill pan to Dutch oven—is la life long investment that your friends or family will love. Finally, an adorable and kitschy item is the Pop Art Toaster for $34.95. Made by David and Goliath, these toasters are perfect for your witty friends and come with two different coil inserts that create unique grill marks after you toast your bread. Choose from “Bite Me” and “I’m Hot!” to create a clever slice of bread!
Check out the Shun’s Classic 3-piece Knife Set, which is on sale for $199 (from $239.95). It would surely put a smile on your dull-knife owner-friend’s face. Consider the wide variety of Le Creuset cookware on sale and going fast. Any Le Creuset piece—from grill pan to Dutch oven—is la life long investment that your friends or family will love. Finally, an adorable and kitschy item is the Pop Art Toaster for $34.95. Made by David and Goliath, these toasters are perfect for your witty friends and come with two different coil inserts that create unique grill marks after you toast your bread. Choose from “Bite Me” and “I’m Hot!” to create a clever slice of bread!
Tuesday, December 5, 2006
Sweet Secrets
Seasoned Ginger Bread House afficionada, Mallory Edens, cued me in on a few tricks as we head into the holidays. A fan of candy, Edens stresses the usage of large, sugar-covered gummy candies because they keep for the longest.
A subtle yet lovely effect is to sprinkle a few flecks of sugar sprills on the lawn around your GB House to create a light snowfall.
Chocolate does not keep very well between the houses construction and its edible destruction. However, chocoholics should not be put off—Edens exposed her best-kept secret. She stocks her house with wrapped Kisses, Kit Kats, and the likes. “Just because no one can see it doesn’t mean it’s not delicious—it’s like finding a treasure!” says the pro.
A subtle yet lovely effect is to sprinkle a few flecks of sugar sprills on the lawn around your GB House to create a light snowfall.
Chocolate does not keep very well between the houses construction and its edible destruction. However, chocoholics should not be put off—Edens exposed her best-kept secret. She stocks her house with wrapped Kisses, Kit Kats, and the likes. “Just because no one can see it doesn’t mean it’s not delicious—it’s like finding a treasure!” says the pro.
Eating Not So Funions and Wonderbread
This week’s food article in the Wall Street Journal struck me as particularly bizarre. “Gourmet Canned Cuisine” read the headline. Captions showed gourmet dishes made at fancy New York and California restaurants with canned goods beside them, apparently headlining in the dish’s recipe. The article reviews David Bouley’s usage of Heinz ketchup and Jean Georges Vongerichten’s sweet shrimp that have Hellman’s mayonnaise to thank. More shocking is the Kraft singles used by a Seattle restaurateur and the Gravy Master that the head chef at Toqueville puts on his $75 Kobe beef. The list of restaurateurs and canned foods spanned an entire page.
The article doesn’t glorify these chefs usage of lowbrow ingredients; however, it doesn’t completely put it down either. This, I think, is absurd. The very reason one attends one of these haute restaurants is to enjoy fine cuisine. And, the expectation is that this food will be unprocessed, preservative-free gastronomy. Of course, there is a place for ketchup, mayonnaise, and sugar (sugar, see left) in our diets in small amounts, but in this day and age when we are becoming more and more aware of the dangers and repercussions of a diet saturated in chemical-laden food and unnatural substitutes found in many canned and bottled goods, do we want these shortcuts sneaking into our starred restaurants?
It is an atrocity that these chefs would cook in this fashion. Of course there is the pressure of creating buzz around one’s restaurant. And, certainly, fresh, seasonal food is no longer anything new. However, to revert to high fructose ingredients for this attention will certainly not fare well with our arteries, our hearts, or our belt buckles.
When Wonderbread is a main ingredient in crab cakes, it should make us think twice about throwing down $12 for the golf ball-sized delicacy, right? What happened to all that progress that Alice Waters made in the 1990’s? Was fresh food just a fad? Does anyone really care about health? About the ills of a sugary diet and the detrimental effects of preservative-infused food? In a time when trans fat at MacDonald’s is written about and fought against daily, what makes a $23 Funion-encrusted halibut filet any different?
The article doesn’t glorify these chefs usage of lowbrow ingredients; however, it doesn’t completely put it down either. This, I think, is absurd. The very reason one attends one of these haute restaurants is to enjoy fine cuisine. And, the expectation is that this food will be unprocessed, preservative-free gastronomy. Of course, there is a place for ketchup, mayonnaise, and sugar (sugar, see left) in our diets in small amounts, but in this day and age when we are becoming more and more aware of the dangers and repercussions of a diet saturated in chemical-laden food and unnatural substitutes found in many canned and bottled goods, do we want these shortcuts sneaking into our starred restaurants?
It is an atrocity that these chefs would cook in this fashion. Of course there is the pressure of creating buzz around one’s restaurant. And, certainly, fresh, seasonal food is no longer anything new. However, to revert to high fructose ingredients for this attention will certainly not fare well with our arteries, our hearts, or our belt buckles.
When Wonderbread is a main ingredient in crab cakes, it should make us think twice about throwing down $12 for the golf ball-sized delicacy, right? What happened to all that progress that Alice Waters made in the 1990’s? Was fresh food just a fad? Does anyone really care about health? About the ills of a sugary diet and the detrimental effects of preservative-infused food? In a time when trans fat at MacDonald’s is written about and fought against daily, what makes a $23 Funion-encrusted halibut filet any different?
Gobbling Green Goodies
Try adding a new flavor to your baked goods by including green tea! Trader Joe’s now sells a Matcha Green Tea Baking Mix that can be used to bake muffins, cakes, or breads with only the addition of eggs, butter, and water. The tea flavor in the mix is subtle, but surprisingly delightful, and kids will go wild for the vibrant green color! The baking mix is so versatile that the Culinista™ within us all will be inclined to add anything from slivered almonds to dried cranberries to chocolate chips to mix up your green tea delicacy. Impress your family and friends with mini green cakes with a lemon ginger icing. Spoon your green tea batter into muffin tins until they are half full and follow the box directions to bake. To make the icing, combine 1 cup of powdered sugar and 1 Tbsp of lemon juice into a bowl. Add 1 Tbsp of minced crystallized ginger and 1 Tbsp of water and mix. Pour the icing over the cake, garnish to taste with minced crystallized ginger, and serve!
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