GET THIS BOOK! 834 Tips from Cooks Illustrated!

I recently came across this book put out by the Cooks Illustrated gang: 834 Kitchen Quick Tips - It's about the coolest book I've seen in a while.  It's perfect for your son heading to college... your newlywed daughter... even your husband!  585 pages of tips like, "restart the grill with a hairdryer. Use chopsticks to dry wine glasses spot-free. Peel a kiwi with a spoon. Skewer cheese using pretzel sticks. Leak-proof a cone with mini-marshmallows. Slice strawberries with an egg slicer. Protect a cake during transport with toothpicks with mini-marshmallows.  Soften butter with a rolling pin. Prevent a scorched saucepan with marbles. Clean a garlic press with a toothbrush. Melt chocolate with a coffee maker. Pit cherries with a paperclip. Drain lobster with a pair of scissors"  This is for MacGyver lovers and culinary afficionados alike!

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Fig Preserves

Figs are one of my favorite fruits so when Taylor's uncle Don led me out to his garden where two enormous fig trees draped into a dome of leaves and fruit, my jaw-dropped.



If you take a close look, you can see tons of green figs ripening on the tree. Don told me they'd be ready by July 4th and I want nothing more but to return to Baton Rouge to help him harvest them!  Since I'll be abroad by then, he gave me a consolation prize: fig preserves from last years harvest.



Every year, his trees produce way too much fruit for him and his family.  So he makes fig preserves by boiling the figs with sugar and jarring them.  He suggested having them on warm biscuits.  First slice the biscuit in half, then pour a little bit of the juice on each inside.  Ladle 3-4 figs onto one side of the biscuit and then smoosh the other half on top. Perfection.



Or, you could go for 'em plain like I did - I just couldn't wait! Just a few!

Felix's

Our last night in New Oreans, we ate at Felix's, an oyster bar that Taylor's dad had suggested. At Felix's, it is understood that anyone can come in from the street, "belly up" to the bar (standing) and order as many or as few oysters as he pleases.  Check out the master shucker.



For round one of our meal, we decided to sit down, reasoning that we'd want more than just oysters for dinner.  Nevertheless, we ordered a dozen to start (about $10 here!!).



Cocktail sauce is choose-your-own-adventure style.  My favorite.  Taylor made a perfect blend of ketchup, Worchestershire, tabasco and plenty of horseradish.



The oysters were phenomenal and fresh as can be.  I perfected Taylor's oyster technique in which the sauce is smoothered onto a Saltine cracker, oyster laid on top and the entire thing goes in the mouth in one bite.  This is one of my favorite pictures.



Sexy! When we'd finished the oysters, we moved onto splitting a fried oyster po'boy.  It was fantastic and we both decided that po'boys of the oyster variety are our favorite.



Surprise, surprise we got sweet potato fries.  They were outstanding at Felix's.  Clearly, they use their deep frier quite a bit.



We chased those with a little cup of crawfish etouffée, which we determined was seasoned with sherry.  It was tasty but not our favorite. Still, no disparaging remarks.



When all was said and done, we felt as though there was something missing. And, as we were standing up to leave, we realized that we could not pass up the experience of "bellying up."  So we walked up to the oyster bar instead of passing by and went for round two of oysters.  We thought we'd go for a half dozen but the shucker was so proud of us for marching right up even post dinner that he gave us two freebies.



Felix's is a perfect spot for any time of day or night. But whenever you go, don't be afraid to belly up!

What does a Dish week look like?

So what kind of food do you get when you sign up for the Dish's Dish?  WHATEVER YOU WANT!!!   I've posted some photos (cell phone shots, sorry) below of a complete menu for one of my clients.  Every menu is tailored to your needs and can be as fancy/simple or healthy/comforting as you want.  You could, of course, mix and match side items the way you would want for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

Roasted Eggplant and Elephant Garlic Soup with Graffiti Eggplant Croutons and Basil

Seared (local and grass-fed) New York Strip Steak
with Lemongrass-Peppercorn Sauce and Steamed Mixed Veggies with olive oil
(baby fennel, carrots, parsnip, sugar snaps)

Baked Chicken Breast with Citrus-Rhubarb Sauce and Lemon-Dill Brown Rice

Market Greens and Chickpeas with Herb Vinaigrette
(lollo rossa, french lettuce, mustard greens, buckwheat sprouts, radish sprouts, sunflower sprouts,
french breakfast radish, carrots, chervil, parmesan)

Baked Striped Bass (caught that morning)
with Lemon and Feta (goat milked on Sunday), Charred Tomatoes, Wild Rice

Smoky Baked Beans, Whipped Sweet Potato,
and Tuscan Kale with Button Mushrooms and Garlic Scapes

*About half of the buys were from the Greenmarket.
*The items are stored neatly in tupperware, not plated as in the photos.
*I'd like to give a shout-out to Culinista Jennifer for sharing some wonderful ideas with me.  :)

La Divina

I was caught off guard by the quality of La Divina gelato.  We'd read in a local paper that it had won best gelato/ice cream in New Orleans several years in a row.  But being from New York, skepticism is always the name of the game, huh?  Well, right off the bat there was something I really liked about Divina - the 2 oz bamino size for $2.  Everyone wins! It's the amount of gelato that you need.  And it's adorable.  Taylor went for the créme brûlè; I opted for the blueberry basil.  We could not decide which was better.



His was creamy, eggy and luxurious.  Bits of crunchy sugar were swirled throughout.  Mine was summery and rich.  The basil mixed with blueberry created an entirely new flavor sensation.  You must go and try for yourself.  Or, if you've been, what's your favorite flavor?

LE YUM - Beco

Last week, the nice boys at Beco showed me a few tricks in their Brazilian kitchen.  I learned how to make pao de queijo and caipirhinas. This might just be the perfect snack.  I can already see myself... munching on pao, sipping caipirhinas and getting a great Brazilian tan on the beach... oh I digress!  But that's what happens when you wander into Beco.  The little bar/restaurant located just off of McCarren Park in Williamsburg is transporting! Check out our exclusive video to see more.