NY Summer Fancy Food Show Highlights

The only thing that can beat hundreds of specialty food and beverage vendors gathered in one place is the same event followed by after parties with even more food. Fortunately, I decided to eat everything in sight, just for you.


The Flavors of Chile event brought exotic foods and Chilean wine into the relaxed atmosphere of Puro Chile downtown.

Wine cellar in Puro Chile

Meredith and me at Puro Chile

Boiled, cold shrimp in a light green cream sauce

We also went to the launch party for Covet Restaurant and Lounge. The lounge was down a flight of candlelit stairs. It was very crowded and gave off an "exclusive" vibe, but the food was great, and there were two bars serving up fun drinks along with the basics.

Covet served up finger food like sauteed peppers with a creamy aioli, mini egg rolls, cod in lettuce cups, and small tomato mozzarella servings.

Last we went to an Austrian food and wine event. The Austrian even had some fun food as well as some bizarre products.

Cheese display with flags denoting the different types

Olives stuffed with cheese

Alcoholic and sports drinks in a tube.

Assorted mustards packaged in tubes.

Vienna ice coffee and milk: this is a ready-to-drink coffee drink with "unskimmed milk cream" that I actually received in my gift bag from the event. Once I build up the courage to try it, I'll tell you how it is.

How to Make Your Own Pancake Mix

The morning rush makes breakfast the easiest thing to miss. A great way to bypass the stress of fitting in time for food is to prepare something ahead of time. 

You can cook delicious, fluffy homemade pancakes in little time when you make the batter the night before.

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How to Vary your Strawberry

Perhaps the most delicious member of the rose family, strawberries have impressed me with their beauty and variety. With 600 different species of strawberry found today, it appears that we all have a lot of berry tasting to catch up on. Take a trip over to your local farmers market and hopefully you'll be able to witness some of the assorted colors and shapes. 

Typically, a strawberry's size is linked to the size of its water content: larger strawberries have a larger water content, while smaller ones have a more intense flavor. Beyond intensity, different species of strawberries actually do taste different. Learning more about the different types will help you to navigate through the strawberry fields forever.

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Aquavit Restaurant

New York City’s Restaurant Week is a 14-day period in the dead of summer when a wide array of the city’s most esteemed and least affordable restaurants create a $35 prix fixe dinner menu. It truly is a great deal and a wonderful time to be had by all –all those who pay close attention to the small print.

Imagine my shock when I sat down to dinner at Aquavit on July 9^th and was given a menu that had only two dining options: a $78 per person prix fixe and a $105 per person chef’s tasting menu. The server then alerted me that everyone at the table would have to make the same menu choice – the least of my problems.

So, remember the date July 12^th. Repeat it five times every night before you go to sleep. Write it on post-its and stick it on your mirror. Unfortunately, I’ll always remember July 9^th because it was on the 9^th that I realized Restaurant Week begins on the 12^th.

The goods news, other than the fact that I now have a quite comical reason for declaring bankruptcy, is that I got the true Aquavit experience. I reluctantly ordered three courses, which reminded me of how much money I was spending, and enough wine to help me forget.

Smoked salmon accompanied by a watermelon salad sprinkled with edible flowers, compliments of the chef, arrived at our table first.

The smoked salmon tasted, oddly enough, like smoked salmon, the watermelon salad was fine – you can only do so much to watermelon – and the flowers were unnecessary, adding a tough bite and bitter taste that was unflattering with the rest of the course.

The appetizers arrived next. Hidden beneath a forest of garnish was one piece of chilled Maine lobster in its basic form and lobster that was mashed up and mixed with what tasted like green onion, all wrapped in a bland dumpling-pasta-like structure.

The meager serving of lobster failed to measure up to the ornate presentation. The pickled tomatoes stole the show on this plate, which wasn’t a difficult feat, but they truly were different and delicious. The pickling process gave these tomatoes an explosion of tangy juice. I should have just ordered a plate of those.

My appetizer was the venison tartare, joined by its typical entourage: capers, vinaigrette, mustard.

I don’t know how those same flowers made their way back onto my plate, but they still weren’t welcome. The huckleberries that surrounded the meat were what made this dish. The deep sweet juice of the dark fruit perfectly complemented the savory tang of the mustard and capers.

The chef then served another inter-course dish: a lobster bisque  with a cheese biscuit.

The soup came warm, not hot, which worked well with what it was. The frothy top was fun. There was a lot of foam, but it wasn’t too much. And the biscuit was, of course, fantastic – all butter.

One of the main courses was the seared char, which was served with a rich, creamy, white sauce that resembled hollandaise, minus the color.

The fish was very salty and tasted like smoked salmon. The entire dish was very rich without being too rich to devour the plate

The halibut confit was unfortunately subpar. It was served with braised octopus and angamat terrine.

At the risk of sounding too harsh, the fish was pathetic. It had absolutely no seasoning, not even salt and pepper, and left me questioning this alleged “confit.” Confit is when a piece of meat, usually a leg of duck, is seasoned, salted, slowly cooked, and left to sit in its own fat. Seeing as each item of that list should add immense flavor, I seriously doubt the menu’s claim that this fish is “halibut confit.” It tasted boiled and rubbery. The angamat (a creamy vegetable soup) terrine (usually grinded meat that is turned into a creamy loaf like pate) was not a pleasant combination. The loaf was like bland custard. The server dwelled over the caviar inside, but it was just sparsely sprinkled over one area.

The course to cleanse our palates – a shot of ginger/pear juice topped with yogurt whipped cream – was a delicious mix and fun treat.

For dessert, the rhubarb trifle was fine.

But what stole the show of the entire meal was this “goat cheese parfait” that I would more adequately like to title as a “frozen white custard lava tart.”

The goat cheese created the texture of the parfait without contributing to the flavor. The dessert was frozen but still soft. Then, you dive your spoon into the center and out pours a liquid vanilla custard. The chef topped this heavenly tour with homemade blueberry sorbet, which added a sweet and sour sharpness to the richness of the parfait. Simply superb.

Considering the price of this mistake, the meal at Aquavit was a little disappointing. If I could make any suggestions, just go for dessert. Or buy a calendar.

Restaurant Aquavit of New York

65 East 55th Street

New York, NY 10022

212-307-7311

Ode to Harry & David Pears

Yes, it's true, I have succumbed to the elite New-Englander hype and jumped on the $5/pear bandwagon. In my defense, the pear was free, and I was hungry. Despite my loss of pride, this pear has opened my eyes to an entirely new world of fruit.
For a long time, I've asked Harry & David fans why the pears are so special and delicious. They could never give an adequate response. So, I will.
These pears have a darker, tougher skin than most, but I've concluded that this leathery layer is necessary in order to hold the overflowing, goodness that anxiously awaits inside.
Once you break through the tough exterior, you reach a sweet and juicy realm that's too magical to be legal. The interior is soft -- not mushy -- like a network of delicate roots whose sole purpose is to provide the juice with a place to sit.
Harry & David pears don't believe in clean bites, and neither do I after tasting these little flavor capsules. I'm sorry that I couldn't provide you with a picture of its inside, but I was too busy enjoying my pear.
Click here to find a Harry & David store near you.

Beans, Beans, They're Good for Your...

Protein intake as well as your cholesterol level.  

Learning more about beans will help you add variety and nutrition to your diet. 

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Ten Foods You Can Now Dip in Chocolate

Strawberries are too cliché and pound cake is for amateurs. I’ve conducted tedious, pain-staking, chocolate-covered research, and, at the expense of my love-handles, landed upon ten new foods to get excited that you can now dip in chocolate.

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macbar

Contrary to the hoards of self acclaimed “bars” that slap the word onto the end of their name in the hopes of boosting their trendy factor in the New York City restaurant scene, macbar in SoHo is, surprisingly, just as its title suggests.

The yellow macaroni-shaped establishment, seating a maximum of about 15 diners, doesn’t even meet the building requirement that necessitates a bathroom, but don’t let the size – or the slightly sour smell – deter you.

Although they do serve a classic mac and cheese dish to appease children and the occasional picky friend, the true highlights of the menu are their more unique combinations. Macbar is making some bizarre strides in the world of mac and cheese with their additions of lobster, corned beef, and duck confit.

My brother picked up the check for the “mac stroganoff” while I picked up the plastic wear, appropriately shaped like a long yellow noodle. Our order arrived hot and, considering how long we waited for it, I’m assuming freshly made.

The mac was served baked-casserole-style in a macaroni-shaped container. A mild white cheese, I'm guessing white cheddar, coated the top. Breaking through this stringy layer revealed the macaroni coated in a sour cream sauce accompanied by tender, shredded pieces of braised beef.

The mac stroganoff was a rich dish that would have been difficult to finish alone, but it certainly was a treat. Standing true to the “bar” description, there isn’t much of a dining experience, or even a dining room, but if you’re in downtown New York and in need of a cheese-fix, then you should definitely bar hop over to macbar.

macbar

54 Prince Street, New York, NY

(212) 226-0211

Cake 5 Ways

Last week I was assigned the deliciously bizarre task of bringing 12 unfrosted vanilla cakes home from work. Mix-and-matching store-bought frosting with items found around the kitchen, I was able to create five fun and tasty cakes.

And what do you do with five carefully crafted cakes?

Well, you eat them one bite at a time.

Vanilla Ice Cream Cake

Ingredients:

• 2 vanilla cakes
• 2 pints vanilla ice cream
• 16 oz. vanilla frosting

The Steps:

1. Take the vanilla ice cream out of the freezer and allow it to soften (the outsides should be slightly melted while the center is still frozen; if you wait until the entire pint is softened, then the ice cream won’t hold its ground and it will drip off your cake).
2. Using a knife, stir the ice cream until you get a thick milkshake-like consistency.
3. Take one cake and turn it upside-down (this is so, when you put the second layer on top, it doesn’t topple, tilt, or slip).
4. Spread the pints of ice cream evenly across the upside-down cake
5. Turn another cake upside-down, frost the bottom side (the dark, flat side) with vanilla frosting, flip it back over, and place it on top of the layer with the ice cream so that the ice cream and the frosting are touching.
6. Continue frosting the entire double-layered cake with a spatula or knife.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Cake

Ingredients:

• 2 vanilla cakes
• 1 jar grape jam
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 16 oz. cream cheese frosting

The steps:

1. Transfer the frosting to large mixing bowl and add the peanut butter. With a spatula or spoon, fold the peanut butter into the frosting until they are well mixed.
2. Take one of your vanilla cakes and turn it upside-down (this is so, when you put the second layer on top, it doesn’t topple, tilt, or slip).
3. Then spread the jam on the cake so that there is about ¼ to ½  inch of smooth jelly surface.
4. Take another cake and spread the frosting/peanut butter mix on the bottom side of the cake (the darker side of the cake). Set this cake on top of the first cake so that the frosting and jelly sides of the cakes are touching.
5. With the remaining frosting, cover the top and sides of your double-decker cake with a spatula or knife.

Browned Butter Ice Cream Cake

Ingredients:

• 2 vanilla cakes
• 16 oz. container cream cheese frosting
• 2 pints of butter pecan ice cream

The Steps:

1. Take the ice cream out of the freezer and allow it to soften (the outsides should be slightly melted while the center is still frozen; if you wait until the entire pint is softened, then the ice cream won’t hold its ground and it will drip off your cake).
2. Using a knife, stir the ice cream until you get a thick milkshake-like consistency.
3. Take one cake and turn it upside-down (this is so, when you put the second layer on top, it doesn’t topple, tilt, or slip).
4. Spread the pints of ice cream evenly across the upside-down cake
5. Turn another cake upside-down, frost the bottom side (the dark, flat side) with cream cheese frosting, flip it back over, and place it on top of the layer with the ice cream so that the ice cream and the frosting are touching.
6. Continue frosting the entire double-layered cake with a spatula or knife.

Raspberry Cream Cheese Cake

Ingredients:

•      2 vanilla cakes
•      16 oz. cream cheese frosting
•      1 jar raspberry preserves

The Steps

1.      Take one of your vanilla cakes and turn it upside-down (this is so, when you put the second layer on top, it doesn’t topple, tilt, or slip)
2.      Then spread the raspberry preserves on the cake so that there is about ¼ to ½  inch of smooth raspberry surface.
3.      Then take another cake and spread the frosting on the bottom side of the cake (the darker side of the cake). Flip this cake over and set it on top of the first cake so that the frosting and jelly sides of the cakes are touching.
4.      With the remaining frosting, cover the top and sides of your double-decker cake with a spatula or knife.
5.      As a garnish, you can place a handful of fresh raspberries on top, or you can take some of the raspberry preserves, and, with the back of a spoon, smear it on the top of your cake in a zigzag pattern.

Tri-Berry Trifle

Ingredients:

• 2 vanilla cakes
• Raspberry preserves
• 1 cup blackberries
• 1 cup blueberries
• 4 cups JELLO vanilla pudding
• 1 can whipped cream
• 4 tall champagne or water glasses

The Steps:

1.     Cut your vanilla cakes into about ½-in. x ½-in. cubes and place a small handful of the cubes at the bottom of each glass

2.     Pour 1 tablespoon of raspberry preserves on top of the cake in each glass

3.     Pour 2 tablespoons of pudding on top of the preserves

4.     Sprinkle about ½-cup of a mixture of blackberries and blueberries

5.     Repeat steps 2-4 once more and top with whipped cream

The Serrano Experience

“When you’re in Spain, you don't go to a bar because of the wine, you go because of the tapas." After Miguel Sanz spoke these delicious words, I averted my eyes away from my wine glass and focused on the four-course menu placed at my seat. Every course at the Consorcio Serrano ham dinner had one thing in common, and, on the evening of June 23, I didn’t go to La Fonda del Sol restaurant for tapas, I went for ham.

Jamón Serrano or “mountain ham” is a staple of Spanish cuisine. Served with olives and cheese or used to flavor your favorite recipe, Serrano ham can easily be mistaken for Italian prosciutto by the novice eye.

One of the main differences between Serrano and prosciutto is that Serrano is hung and cured for a year or longer, while prosciutto is cured for only a few months inside a covering of lard, giving prosciutto a higher humidity content and Serrano a deeper flavor. Serrano's lower fat content and stronger bite also add to its appeal.

As guests arrived at the Serrano dinner, Master Carver Ricardo Garrido Robles from Spain performed a ham carving demonstration, placing the finished slices of delicate, red meat on a serving plate. After reviewing my failed attempts at picking up the ham with the provided skewers, the Master Carver told me that Spaniards eat the ham with their hands anyway.

The first course was composed of raw sea scallops that were hidden under two layers of Serrano, served with a side of horseradish. 

In this course, the chef did not put the ham on the plate with the intention of it being eaten, but rather it’s purpose was to cure the scallops.

 A softer flavor of Serrano was captured in the scallop, slowly introducing our palates to the strong ham flavor.

The scallops were followed by three more appetizers: 

oysters topped with Serrano jelly,

black mission fig with Serrano and montcabrer, 

and a tortilla Espanola with a ham aioli (not pictured). My favorite was the fig. Evidently, fig season had just started, which was made clear once I bit into the juicy, mildly sweet fruit. The light sugar from the fig helped to moderate and balance the sharp bite from the ham and the salt of the cheese.

The main course was a poached halibut, accompanied with Serrano ham and a slice of melon that must have been soaked in a spicy marinade of some sort -- a heat that Master Carver Robles and Miguel Sanz later admitted was not characteristic of authentic Spanish cuisine -- but it was an interesting touch for a night like this.

The most unique meal of the night was dessert: a tomato sorbet with arugula, roncal, and candied ham.

As we sat around the table, Sanz explained how one of the most beautiful aspects of Spain is how, compared to America where people will sit down for a meal and talk of other things, in Spain a group of people will sit down for a meal and then talk about that meal for the entire extent of it's consumption. And that's what we did -- talked about food for 3-hours.

Now, that's a culture we should all strive to be more like.

New Cheeses for our Macaroni

Mac n’ cheese – the beloved comfort food that warms the hearts of people ages 6 to 60. Whether you’re boldly ordering it off the kid’s menu or secretly forking it off of your child’s plate, you’re a loyal macaroni patron and you deserve to change up the cheese every once in a while.

So break out the macaroni, and please, for all of us, put the Velveeta away. Here are some tasty, new ways to make your noodles happy. So, get prepared. This ain’t your mama’s cheddar.

There are almost too many ways to make mac n’ cheese, and it’s basically impossible to go wrong. So, before you start, you must narrow down the options. You’ve got your tangy and your creamy, there’s the thick and then the steamy, not to forget the baked and of course the stringy.

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Serafina Restaurant

Almost every weekend, I walk by people indulging in mimosas and bellinis served out of champagne flutes under the yellow awning of Serafina restaurant. Regardless of whether it’s the ambiance or the alcohol, the diners appear to be enjoying themselves. So, on my half birthday I decided to celebrate this joyous occasion over brunch with my brother under the yellow Serafina awning.

The brunch menu, which “includes your choice of bloody mary, mimosa, bellini,

coffee or tea” and a bread basket, has the basic brunch necessities: pancakes, omelet, eggs Benedict, etc. The only items on the menu that have an up-charge from the $20 flat fee are the eggs with caviar and the “steak and fabulous eggs,” “fabulous” being “eggs any style” – sounds thrilling.

I ordered the “three salmon benedict” and my brother ordered an orange juice. My brother, in an attempt to remind the server that I also get my choice of a beverage, prompted our frazzled waiter to interrupt by asking if I wanted potatoes or fries. The two options sounded like one of the same, so I went with potato to see what I’d end up with. The waiter scurried off without collecting our menus and without asking what “included” beverage I would like.

After another long while of waiting, a second server came to take our order. My brother and I shot each other a look, questioning whether it would raise our odds of actually getting any food if we ordered again, but we decided to take a gamble and place our bets on the first waiter.

I was hesitant to be the negative one, but after about another ten minutes of waiting I finally said to my brother, “I thought with ordering the salmon benedict I was supposed to get a bread basket.” My brother quickly responded, “I thought with ordering an orange juice I was supposed to get an orange juice.” Touché.

My brother then signaled to server #2 who then got the attention of a nearby busboy who then ran right out of the restaurant and across the street. A couple minutes later, the busboy reappeared with what looked like a stolen breadbasket from the brasserie across the street.

My “basket of freshly made breads and muffins” was composed of a small, stale corn muffin and a dried out croissant. We of course had no plates, silverware, or napkins to enjoy the stolen spread, and, because the entire staff of Serafina was M.I.A., my brother got up and scoured the waiter station for plates.

Once he sat back down, my salmon benedict arrived, sans my brother’s orange juice. Shortly after waiter #1 finished explaining that the bar tender was currently squeezing it, waiter number #2 came to alert us that the juice machine was broken, so my brother just asked for a water. It never came.

As I was just about finished, a third server arrived with another plate. “Salmon benedict?” “Yep,” I said, “I’m eating it right now.” The server was confused. My brother and I weren’t.

I don’t suppose there was a moment during the meal when anyone would have noticed if my brother and I just got up and left. Saturday morning brunch at Serafina was the most disappointing meal I have had since I have been in New York City. So, congratulations Serafina on being a memorable experience in the worst possible way.

SERAFINA BROADWAY

210 West 55th St. NYC 10019 Tel: 212 315 1700 

How to Preserve Excess Fruit

Summer is a time when stocking up on fresh fruit seems like a great idea... until the moment you realize that half the fruit you bought had to be tossed and your refrigerator is left with a funky smell. 

Right as your fruit starts to lose its firm ripeness, it should be eaten or cooked immediately. If you choose to cook it, there are several different techniques that will help to expand the edible lifespan of your fruit.

Click here to read my article on goodbite.com about things you can do to get use out of your leftover fruit.