Last weekend, Rondout Valley Growers had their 4th Annual Orchard Dinner in Stone Ridge, N.Y. The purpose of this event, besides offering a festive night out, is to raise money for the marketing of this consortium of farmers, residents and businesses promoting local, sustainable agriculture by strengthening family farms and preserving open space.
It's definitely a noble and worthwhile cause, but I also like it because I get to hang out with my friends and eat a five-course meal prepared by local restaurants using locally grown food, all washed down with five different New York-state wines. And, the dining room can't be beat — it takes place in a tent, deep in the heart of Stone Ridge Orchard, under the largest oak tree I've ever seen in my life.
It’s hard to capture the essence of an orchard dinner in one photo, but I thought the image of Mike Biltowen, the farmer of Stone Ridge Orchard, and Harris Silver, local food advocate, sipping their sparkling wine on a glorious summer night tidily sums it up.
Remember last week when I said ice cream sandwiches were my favorite summertime treat? Well, scratch that. Whoopie pies are my new warm-weather obsession! I'm a fickle food lover, I know.
Whoopie pies don't offer the same jolty frost as a frozen treat, but the idea is kind of the same. Two little mounds of cocoa-flavored cake (the stick-to-the-roof of your mouth kind) cling to a creamy filling. They're best after a summer BBQ (as I recently discovered after bringing a batch to my friend Karlyn's baby shower), because after piles of pulled pork and creamy mac-n-cheese, they keep the comfort food theme going. A cross between a cupcake and a devil dog, whoopie pies just really scream summer.
I must confess that I used a non-Food Network recipe to make my whoopie pies, although I realized soon after that we have a few versions here on our site. I've made the same recipe once more since then (just 4 days later, in fact), but am still searching for the perfect filling.
The first time, I made what seems to be just one type of whoopie filling (confectioners' sugar, butter and marshmallow Fluff). But when I'm baking, I like things to be as homemade as possible. The next time, I set out to make one entirely from scratch. After some searching, I found a recipe on this baking blog I like. It was good, but basically a buttercream frosting without all the butter.
I'm wondering if any of you out there have found the perfect whoopie pie filling. Perhaps I just need to make the Fluff myself?
After the second New York Times article in as many months on cold-brewed iced coffee, I figured I had to give it a shot. Cold-brewed coffee is the traditional method for making iced coffee in New Orleans and has also been bantered about in online food forums like Chowhound and eGullet for several years. Instead of brewing coffee with hot water and letting it cool, you combine coarsely ground coffee with cold water, set on a counter for 12 hours and then strain it. For your labors, you get coffee syrup that can be refrigerated for several weeks. Any time you desire an iced coffee, you pour a shot of syrup into a glass and top with water or milk, and ice.
I’m a true coffee fanatic — I freshly grind beans and set up a self-timed coffee maker every night right before bed. In the morning, I wouldn’t dream of getting up without my first cup or two in bed. Although I have this deep love (or addiction?) of coffee, I have never liked iced coffee (except for Vietnamese Ice Coffee!) — it has always tasted burnt to me.
So, I was eager to put cold-brewed iced coffee to the test and see if I could be swayed. By nature, I’m a gadget girl, so I used the Toddy Cold Brew Coffee System.
And the results? Cold-brewed coffee is UNBELIEVABLE — all the hype is justified. The purported beauty of cold-brewed coffee is that it has 67% less acid than hot-brewed coffee — this translates into a rich, velvety coffee with hints of chocolate and caramel. Mixed with milk and ice, it's like drinking a (highly caffeinated) milkshake. I made my friend Martin taste it — instead of saying "yum" or offering some other profound culinary insight, he looked covetously at the Toddy system and asked "how much did that cost?" (about $30). You can certainly make cold-brewed coffee with readily accessible items, like a large mason jar, sieves and cheesecloth, or even a French press (1/3 cup ground coffee per 1 1/2 cups water), but I find the Toddy system convenient and the carafe for storing coffee syrup both attractive and useful.
I drank cold-brewed iced coffee several times a day for the last week and I even took a couple of quarts to a 4th of July party. Although most of the acid is removed, little of the caffeine is — which makes for very lively parties.
Vietnamese-Style Iced Coffee
Combine equal parts cold-brewed New Orleans-style coffee syrup (coffee with chicory) with sweetened condensed milk. Stir well, and serve over ice.
For an after-dinner coffee drink, add a shot of vodka.
In May, I took took a ten-day trip to France and Spain with my husband Daniel. We ate way too much camembert and pain au chocolat in Paris, lingered over lavish, four-course dinners at La Fargo, a lovely country inn, and sampled grilled sardines and Catalan cuisine in Collioure, a colorful seaside town.
And in the spirit of saving the best for last, we ended our trip in Roses, Spain with dinner at El Bulli.
For years I'd longed to visit what many call the best restaurant in the world, a food lover's mecca of sorts. But as hard as this might be to believe considering my place of employment, I could never figure out how to get a reservation. In fact, it was the blog Chocolate & Zucchini that taught me how to snag one! You can read the full story -- and I think it's a fairly funny one -- here.
All guests at El Bulli get a quick tour of the kitchen, and here I am with Ferran Adria himself. Daniel made me pose for a picture and as embarrassed as I was at the time, now I'm happy he did.
The review of our dinner is on my personal blog, but I will say that the meal exceeded my expectations, and it was by far my most memorable dining experience ever.
There's the stunning setting and the mysterious mountain road you take to get there. And the meal itself is a mind-blowing, dizzying 30-course event that's delivered over five hours by a flawless, multi-lingual staff. Never in my life have I had such impeccable service. Just Google "Dinner at El Bulli" and you'll see that everyone else who has eaten there feels the same way.
But now that I've been, I need a new restaurant for the top of my must-try list. A place to tuck away and dream about until the next time I'm able to plan such a spontaneous and kind of extravagant trip.
While we've all been celebrating the pleasures of summer, Food Network Kitchens has been immersed in developing the holiday lineup of cookies for 12 Days of Cookies newsletter. Many of you may be be surprised to learn that the kitchen starts working on these recipes in May, allowing them months to test for the best method, flavor, storage and fun-factor.
Last week, they organized a tasting to get some fresh palates and insight into the project. After all, these poor souls have been eating butter, sugar and flour in a myriad of combinations for weeks on end.
Here we are, the Cookie Committee, hard at work. We're tasting and evaluating each cookie (and washing them down with ice-cold milk) to help assure you get the best cookies ever this December. As you can probably tell, we take our job very seriously.
Judging from our experience, this is going to be a very exciting cookie year — I think you’ll all be pleased. I wish I could tell you more, but we’ve been sworn to secrecy. Don’t forget to sign up for the 2007 12 Days of Cookies newsletter!
A few years ago, I edited this Austin travel guide that my former colleague Alexandra produced. While visiting friends in Texas for the 4th of July, I put it to the test.
Alexandra was right on target with Maudie's, a local favorite for true Tex-Mex and potent margaritas. Guero's Taco Bar, as promised, was loud, lively and the place to be seen.
In the fine dining category, I'd include Jeffrey's of Austin. The menu was inventive -- think watermelon gazpacho with lemon shrimp and creme fraiche, pecan crusted halibut with wild asparagus, morels and strawberries, and peach cobbler with blackberry bourbon ice cream -- and our waiter gave us a warm Texas welcome.
For the top ten things to do in Austin list, I'd add: treat yourself to a top-notch massage at Lake Ausin (I went with the Moor Mud Back Relief one) and try migas, a traditional Tex-Mex breakfast dish.
The "Love Migas" at Magnolia Cafe -- eggs scrambled in garlic-serrano butter with tomato, onion, bell pepper, tortilla chips and jack cheese -- sat in my stomach like a sack of flour, but was worth the pain.
I wasn't able to try out any of the barbecue places Alexandra recommended, but I did discover another list-worthy one thanks to our new web designer, Tom.
A laid-back, family-style spot about a half hour from the city, The Salt Lick looks like a camp cafeteria and feels like a low-key Texas wedding. Cowboys direct traffic in the parking lot, live bands play twangy country tunes and big groups crowd around picnic tables for heaping helpings of beef, sausage, pork ribs, potato salad, cole slaw, pickles and raw onions. Best of all, it's BYOB and $15.95 for all you can eat!
There were torrential downpours almost every day I was in Austin, so the lake looked brown and muddy and I never did get to see the Congress Bridge bats. At least I now have two reasons to go back!
Where are some don't-miss spots for the next time I'm there?
Most gardeners consider purslane an annoying, invasive weed and they do anything in their power to eradicate it. But last Friday, when I realized I was surrounded by it while picking green beans at my CSA, I, on the other hand, ran for my camera and clippers.
Purslane is an unsung superfood. Its leaves are the best vegetable source of omega 3 fatty acids (five times that of spinach) and the stems are high in Vitamin C. I also think it tastes great: Its flavor is fresh and clean with a slight hint of lemon. Although purslane is wildly popular in Latin America where it's known as verdolaga, is reputed to have been Ghandi's favorite vegetable, is used in soups and salads throughout the Mediterranean, and found in the cuisines of India, Africa, Australia and China, it tends to get ignored in North America. Ironically, what we view as a lowly weed is making a name for itself on expensive restaurant menus.
If you come across purslane at a farmers’ market, or better yet, growing in your backyard or patio, give it a taste. I toss clusters of the dark green, attractively shaped leaves into salads (both green and vegetable salads) where it not only adds an interesting acidic flavor but also a crisp visual contrast. Purslane complements grilled fish or chicken beautifully when mixed with other herbs and dressed with just a fruity olive oil, squeeze of lemon, and salt and pepper. It's also delightful tucked into a cucumber sandwich or lightly wilted in olive oil and cooked into a frittata.
So, next time you're about to tear this persistent weed out of your garden, please reconsider: A serving of purlsane is cheaper than fish oil pills for those beneficial omega 3s, and tastes better too.
Last Wednesday, Mark Bittman had a brilliant article in the New York Times Food Section on 101 Simple Meals Ready in 10 Minutes or Less. There are no formal recipes, just outlines, and bringing pasta water to a boil doesn't count as part of those 10 minutes.
Bittman's dinner ideas are so effortless and appealing that it makes you wonder why we so often rely on bad takeout or unhealthy convenience foods. I'm ashamed to admit it, but I'm one of the worst offenders of all — I'm the queen of weeknight takeout.
I did an informal study around the Food Network to find out what some of the folks here like to cook in 10 minutes or less, and this is what I came up with:
Suki Hertz (Food & Drinks Editor) - Sauté thinly cut pork chops rubbed with spice blend (I love Penzey's Northwoods Fire) in a little olive oil, about 2 minutes per side. Serve it topped with a heap of arugula dressed in olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper, a few shaves of Parmigiano-Reggiano, and a lightly salted/peppered sliced heirloom tomato on the side
Katherine Alford (Test Kitchen Director) - Make a pot of couscous, serve with sauteed lamb sausages and a chopped cucumber, tomato and mint relish.
Sarah Copeland (Recipe Developer) - Smear toasted sprouted grain bread (Ezekial 4:9 brand) with fresh ricotta, sliced radishes, a sprinkle of sea salt, freshly ground pepper and fruity olive oil. Top with chopped chives if you have them on hand. Serve with simply dressed baby greens.
Mory Thomas (Recipe Developer) - Sauté chopped chorizo sausage in a little oil. While sausage is browning, slice kernels off fresh corn. Add corn kernels to the pan and cook until corn starts to caramelize (about 1 minute). Add chopped green onions and serrano chile. Remove from the heat and stir in fresh cilantro, crumbled cotija cheese and mayonnaise. Serve with tortillas.
Vince Camillo (Food Stylist) - Sear a strip steak and served thinly sliced over a salad of greens, cherry tomatoes, feta cheese, peaches and almonds, all drizzled with a little aged balsamic vinegar and extra-virgin olive oil.
Robert Bleifer (Executive Chef) - Season peeled shrimp with salt and aleppo pepper; sear in a hot skillet with olive oil and a clove of chopped garlic. Remove the shrimp and add damp, clean spinach. Cook until wilted. Return the shrimp to the pan, add the zest and juice of one lemon; toss.
Miriam Garron (Sous Chef) - Boil diced new potatoes in salted water. Combine undrained Italian tuna (light tuna packed in oil) and chopped red onion in a medium bowl. Drain potatoes and immediately add to tuna mixture while they're still hot. Season with red wine vinegar, salt and pepper. Add chopped celery and celery leaves last. Eat while still warm.
What are some of your favorite 10 minutes or less meals?
Fast dinner contributors: Katherine, Sarah, Morey, Vince (and Jake)
This weekend, I had my usual overabundance of farm stand fruits, and as usual, I needed to bring a dessert to a party. I’d heard of Bumbleberry Pie over the years and always assumed that it was made from whatever fresh summer fruits you had in your house, thrown in a pie and baked. I thought that would be a great use for my two quarts of peaches, two quarts of blueberries and pints of both raspberries and blackberries. I did a quick Google search to see what other people are doing with Bumbleberry Pie and was surprised to see it is a real recipe that almost always includes apples, rhubarb, and different combinations of berries. OK — it may be a perfectly lovely pie, but, when rhubarb is available, apples have probably been in cold storage for about nine months and berries are prohibitively expensive, and if you wait until apple season, there is not a stalk of rhubarb to be found.
I proceeded to make my own version of Bumbleberry Pie with fruits that were all harvested at the same time — it was luscious, jewel-like and had summer written all over it.
Uncooked Bumbleberry Pie (with Blueberry Pie)
Closeup Cooked Bumbleberry
High-Summer Bumbleberry Pie
Serves 8 (one 9-inch pie)
2 TBS unsalted butter, plus more for buttering pie dish
6 medium ripe peaches, peeled and sliced (about 4 cups)
1/2 pint raspberries
1/2 pint blackberries
1/2 pint blueberries
3/4 cup sugar
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Pinch cinnamon
Pinch fine salt
4 TBS Minute tapioca
Double pie crust of your choice
All-purpose flour (optional)
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. F and set rack to a lower-middle position. Lightly butter a 9-inch pie dish.
Gently toss the fruits, sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon, salt and tapioca in a medium bowl.
Roll one piece of pie dough to a 12-inch disk and transfer to the pie dish. If the fruit is especially juice, scatter a couple of tablespoons of flour over the crust. Add the fruit and dot with 2 TBS butter.
Bake for 20 minutes until the crust is slightly golden, then reduce heat to 350 degrees F. and cook for an additional 35 minutes or until filling is bubbling and thickened. Cool on a wire rack for at least two hours.
Working at Food Network is pretty cool. But working in Chelsea Market is way cooler.
Even though our offices moved to the market three years ago, I still thank my lucky stars every morning. We're out of overcrowded midtown, for one, but we're also in a place full of really good food.
Every morning, I'm welcomed by the the smell of freshly baked cookies, brownies and bread. On the days when I forget to bring my lunch, I can treat myself to an all-organic meal or pick up a cheap plate of Thai.
All my summer road trips start with a lobster roll (at $12, they're a steal!) and I prefer to buy fruits and veggies in the coldest produce market known to man after an hour in the sun. I can stock up on kitchen supplies (and discover a secret sandwich shop), fill baskets with gourmet goodies, sip espresso while picking up Italian staples , and even have a spot of tea.
But best of all is the new Ronnybrook Milk Bar, a place I'd be happy to visit every day.
Originally a small storefront, the new and improved space is sleek and airy. They still sell silky smooth ice cream and farm-fresh milk, but there's now an expanded breakfast menu with different egg dishes (the cast iron ones with spinach, shallots, country ham, and cheddar caught my eye), plus hearty salads and sandwiches for lunch. Our senior designer Jannie is also a big fan of their mac n' cheese, a creamy concoction that should not be missed.
For those craving something sweet, you can't go wrong with homemade oreos from a Park Slope patisserie, ice cream in a doughnut bowl, and my personal favorite, two warm chocolate chip cookies and a side of milk.
I keep forgetting to bring my camera to get a proper picture of the place, so for now, these cell phone shots will have to do. I plan on having many "meetings" at Ronnybrook Milk Bar, and whether you're in the building, or work nearby, you should too!
Ronnybrook Milk Bar
75 Ninth Avenue, between 15th and 16th Streets
New York, NY
212-741-6455
