This party served some wines that will be featured at their Social Hour. For example, the Nicolas Feuillatte Brut Champagne, Chateau Ste. Michelle [...]]]> Earlier this week, I was invited to an exclusive party hosted by Sheraton Social Hour at 620 5th Avenue at the heart of Midtown, Manhattan.

This party served some wines that will be featured at their Social Hour. For example, the Nicolas Feuillatte Brut Champagne, Chateau Ste. Michelle Meritage Artist Series 2006, Northstar “Columbia Valley” Merlot 2007 to pair with certain hors d’oeuvres or small plates of food. Toward the end of the party, they displense Chateau Ste. Michelle & Dr. Loosen Eroica Single Berry Select 2001 Riesling that was practically a dessert in a glass. It’s so rich, syrupy and sweet with nuances of honey, peach, and golden raisins that I almost don’t feel compelled to eat the desserts of adorable little red velvet cakes, brownie cookies, or chunks of Brix chocolates.

The Sheraton Social Hour is developed with iWine Spectator and the hotel brand’s food and beverage team to offer guests with premium wine experience at their 240 participating hotels globally. In North America, this Social Hour tasting will feature two Wine Spectator 90+ rated wines from Sheraton Selects as 2-ounce tasting for $5 each and three Wine Spectator 85+ rated wines.

Here’s some other highlights of this party:

Hanging focaccia on hooks…Unusual

Gorgeous view of St. Patrick’s Cathedral at night

A 360-degree view of the outdoor garden

As you might tell from these photos, the venue is gorgeous. The rooftop garden to have stunning views of Midtown since it’s at the heart of Rockefeller Plaza, off of 5th Avenue. I have even spotted supermodel Coco Rocha on the scene, as I’ve tweeted that evening.

It’s a great party and it did feature great wines that if I were to stay at a Sheraton Hotel, I know I can have a fairly priced glass of good wine.

To view more photos of this event, please click through the slideshow (or view my Flickr set: link):

Click here to view the embedded slideshow.

©2012 The Wandering Eater. All Rights Reserved.

Even though their name does mean (when [...]]]> I’ve been a long time fan of La Maison du Chocolat‘s sublime French chocolates and pastries, founded by chocolatier Robert Linxe in 1977. I even had the privilege to have a tour of their factory in Paris two years ago because they were aware of my fanaticism.

Even though their name does mean (when translated from French) “The Chocolate House” they are more than just chocolates, they create the most sublime and beautiful cakes, eclairs and French macarons. Since we’ve known each other for a few years shy of a decade, they’ve known of my graduation from graduate school and gifted me this amazing seasonal Andalouise cake!

I arrived at their Upper East Side location in the morning. Despite being familiar with the layout of their gorgeous boutique, I’m still in awe of how immaculate everything looks. They were also trying to change their seasonal display, getting ready for summer. While I was waiting for the cake to be glazed, I had a cappuccino to sip on while waiting. I stood on a corner of their marble bar, sipping my cappuccino and watching the staff setting up for the day and seeing a few Upper East Siders coming in to purchase chocolate gifts.

After refrigerating overnight, since I had to be out for events, I had this divine cake for breakfast. The Andalouise cake is a layered cake made of chocolate macaron biscuit, lemon crémeux (pastry cream), chocolate mousse, and chocolate glaze. The macaron biscuit gave it an ethereal crisp texture. The dark chocolate mousse and lemon cream gave it a smooth, creamy texture that it felt like a dark chocolate cloud with a little bolt of acidic lemon. It was an intensely flavored but very balanced cake that a modest slice can satiate anyone’s sweet tooth. All you really want was a cup of coffee or tea to accompany this cake.

I would like to thank La Maison du Chocolat again for this most wonderful cake I ever received. This means a lot to me, especially during the time of my graduation of graduate school. I am deeply humbled and honored.

To view more photos of this amazing cake, please click through the slideshow (or view my Flickr set: link):

Click here to view the embedded slideshow.

Information:
La Maison du Chocolat
Official website
1018 Madison Avenue (at E 78th St)
New York, NY 10075
Map
Telephone: (212) 744-7117
To find other La Maison du Chocolat boutique locations
A slice of Andalouise cake is $8; a whole cake is around $68. Only available at their boutiques.

©2012 The Wandering Eater. All Rights Reserved.

Last Monday, May 7th, I was hired to be the photographer for Huffington Post: Food section for the James Beard Foundation Awards 2012. Think of the James Beard Foundation Awards as the Oscars for food and restaurants in the United States. Considering that it’s my first time to [...]]]>



At the Red Carpet

Last Monday, May 7th, I was hired to be the photographer for Huffington Post: Food section for the James Beard Foundation Awards 2012. Think of the James Beard Foundation Awards as the Oscars for food and restaurants in the United States. Considering that it’s my first time to be there, it’s an overwhelming, festive, energetic experience unlike most events I’ve covered in the past. I am very humbled to be there to cover this entire event for Huffington Post.

Crowded Press Room

The Beard Awards is a mixture of hectic and festive atmosphere where celebrity chefs (locally and/or nationally) show up at the year’s most important food and restaurant award event. It’s a black-tie event so everyone had to be in a suit or in a cocktail dress. Lucky me, I had to stand and run around in 4-inch heels when a certain chef came across your path, and no one announced that he or she just won and try to flag that person down for photos (it’s impossible to hear anything from the TV screens in that crowded Press Room unless one is trained to read lips). Nevertheless, it’s a good learning experience.

James Beard Foundation Award Winners

If you’re inclined to read the list of this year’s winners here’s the official list. On the NYC level, the winners were Chefs Christina Tosi of Momofuku Milk Bar for Rising Star Chef of the Year, Daniel Humm of Eleven Madison Park for Outstanding Chef (seen at the top of this group of photos, toasting with Chef/Restauranteur Daniel Boulud on the photo’s right), Michael Anthony of Gramercy Tavern (seen on bottom photo, second person from the left with his boss/co-owner Danny Meyer), and Jim Meehan and his crew of PDT Bar (2nd row, left photo) for Outstanding Bar Program.

After the three hours of standing and shooting for the awards ceremony, the lavish Gala kicked in. Since it was a public event, it’s crowded with hungry and thirsty attendees. There’s lots of delicious dishes that ranged from simple plating to beautifully complex terrarium of Ham and Parsley Terrine with fresh and preserved mustards from JBF Winners Barbara Lynch and Colin Lynch (seen on the far bottom left photo). There was a 10-minute long wait for the dungeness crab reuben since they’re grilling to order but it’s not amazing as I hoped probably because the cooks were rushing to feed the mob. The best dishes of the evening were the Heirloom beans with wild ramps, cracklin’ cornbread and tomato gravy by JBF Award winner Sean Brock of McCrady’s, Charleston, SC (seen on second to last row photo next to the Gala crowd) and the beautiful savory flan-like custard that’s topped with pulled duck from Jediah Hawkins Inn (seen on the top of the group of photos, right under the sculpted James Beard cake). Best desserts were Chef Emily Luchetti of Farallon, San Francisco, Almond Joy Cake (seen on the bottom row of the photos) and Port-infused Prunes with Citrus Creme and Candied Violets by JBF Award Winner Pastry Chef Angela Pinkerton, Eleven Madison Park.

Champagne spraying at Eleven Madison Park’s After Party

Every year during James Beard Awards, there’s always going to be after parties. Since Chef Daniel Humm of Eleven Madison Park won his award for Outstanding Chef, he threw a party at his flagship restaurant Eleven Madison Park. Around 11:30 PM, he, his business partner Will Guidara and a few of his sommeliers gathered at the area that’s near the bar, where most of the party goers were. The DJ started to play “We Are the Champions” by Queen and they all shook their own bottle of Champagne, pop the corks and started to hose down everyone surrounding them in Champagne. After all of that dissipated, the DJ started to play dance jams that everyone who loosened up (drinking enough beer and Champagne) danced on tables and on the dining room floor. And this went on until the wee hours of the morning.

In all this was an unforgettable experience. It felt like a marathon photographing people but the adrenaline rush didn’t make me think of the time or my exhaustion until I really sat down on the cab ride back home past midnight. Would I do it again next year? Sure, why not. I’ll just come prepared with a disposable rain poncho to shield myself from the Champagne spray when I do go to a winner’s after party and maybe take a nap a few hours prior to the start of Awards.

To view more photos of the James Beard Awards’ Red Carpet Arrivals, Winners, and Gala, please click through the slideshow (or view my Flickr sets: Red Carpet Arrivals, James Beard Award Winners, and Gala):

Click here to view the embedded slideshow.

James Beard Foundation Awards
http://jamesbeard.org/

Location:
Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center
1941 Broadway (at W 66th St)
New York, NY 10023
Map

©2012 The Wandering Eater. All Rights Reserved.

Modern Bite Bakery’s cookies

Modern Bite Bakery has a [...]]]> In case you haven’t checked your calendar, Mother’s Day is two Sundays from now – May 13, 2012! Just to give you some ideas what you may give for your beloved mom, here’s some food (prepared and ingredients) and wine ideas.

Edible Gifts

Modern Bite Bakery’s cookies

Modern Bite Bakery has a beautiful and addictive assortment of cookies that are balanced in flavor and not too sweet. Their Mother’s Day sugar cookies ($42 per dozen) colored in bold and bright colors and patterns that is great any fashionable mom who loves her sweets.

For something that isn’t as colorful but addictive is their gourmet classic cookies ($15 per flavor, per dozen). The ones I’ve tried were the sublimely crumbly pecan shortbread cookies and the pecan center was the wonderfully crisp. The Mexican wedding cookies were as close to melt-in-your-mouth as a cookie can get. I have shared these cookies with my mom and she can’t stop eating them! The chocolate truffle cookies were my answer to my craving for a fudge-y brownie (but in bite size form). The sweet and salty, and nutty toffee peanut pretzel cookies were for the kind of person who likes the sweet and salty dessert with a crunchy texture from the pretzel baked on top.

Brewer’s Cow Ice Cream

One doesn’t normally associate beer for mom but my mom does drink beer – and she’s one of those discerning beer drinkers, too so this beer infused ice cream makes sense for her. Brewer’s Cow Ice Cream is based out in Old Lyme, Connecticut. They are one of the few artisan, premium ice cream makers (as far as I know) that make this type of ice cream. The three flavors Brewer’s Cow have now are Ten Penny Beer Nut Parfait Ice Cream (made with Ten Penny Ale), Black and Tan Ice Cream (made with Guinness beer), and Bavarian Beer Brittle Ice Cream (made with Samuel Adams beer).

All were dense, rich, creamy and well balanced with the specified beer. Since I like to drink stout, the Black and Tan won my palate’s preference and this ice cream flavor was the most intense beer flavor of the three. I would serve the Ten Penny Beer Nut Parfait Ice Cream, if it was a person who is adverse to beer’s bitter nuances. The Bavarian Brittle is middle-of-the-road in terms of beer flavor potency and the chunks of sweet brittle was a good counterpoint to the beer ice cream.

Their ice creams can be purchased at their website as linked above ($67 for 6 pints, includes all 3 flavors, not including 2-Day shipping) or the following Whole Foods Markets: Hingham, MA, Glastonbury, CT, West Hartford, CT, and Cranston, RI.

La Maison du Chocolat has recently released “Un été en Bretagne” (translates to: A Summer in Brittany) summer collection with the newly appointed Creative Director, Nicolas Cloiseau. The inspiration was based on the Bretagne (or better known as Brittany). This collection contains five new bonbons. The perfectly blend salted butter caramel in a creamy milk ganache, crunchy chocolate enrobed twigs of Breton sablé cookie, a dark plain ganache with spicy notes, a dark praline blended with the delicate crispy crêpe of Brittany, and dark ganache blended with apple compote. The box seen above is 12 pieces for $24. Available through their online shop or their standalone boutiques.

Torn Ranch Wine and Champagne Truffles and Wine-Infused Chocolate Indulgences

Torn Ranch is a manufacturer and purveyor of gourmet specialty foods located in Northern California (in between Napa Valley and San Francisco). Most of the time, I hear or read that you would pair a certain wine with a particular chocolate bonbon or chocolate type. They took it one step further by literally combining rare vintage port wine, sparkling champagne, buttery chardonnay, and a full bodied cabernet are joined together in blissful harmony with their milk chocolate. Prices: Assorted Wine Truffles Box (8 piece) $20; Champagne truffles (4 piece) $10; Wine infused Chocolate Indulgences $22 (includes 4 different wines/tins)).

For the mom who is a discerning coffee drinker, Verve Coffee Roasters is a good option for her. Verve is based out in Santa Cruz, California, and supports the producers and exporters who grows the best green coffee beans – which in turn, makes a great cup of coffee for you (or your mom) in the morning.

Their Kenya Kagumo (VCR Reserve) ($23.40, 12-ounce bag) had Earl Grey-like complexity and sweetness and hints of nut-toned cocoa in aroma and cup. Bright acidity with lightly syrupy mouthfeel. The lemon and cocoa notes carry into a crisp finish. It’s a crisp, cleanly bright breakfast cup and it’s best to drink without milk, in my opinion.
The El Salvador El Majahual ($18, 12-ounce bag) was sweetly tart, wine-toned fruit dominates in aroma and cup, with hints of pungent cedar and crisp cocoa. Gently bright, wine-like acidity and rich mouthfeel.
Their signature Streetlevel Espresso ($15, 12-ounce bag) had prominent notes of soft citrus and floral spice. The classic heavy body remains a constant as the three Guatemalan coffees (sourced from El Tambor, La Florencia, a d Acafesam) hint at chocolate syrup.

Robert Lambert has one of the more unique and unusual marmalade out in the market. The Ramgpur lime marmalade ($16) tasted like bright, smoky, sour mandarin orange and it’s great with a cheese platter or roasted meats like pork. The fig jam ($14) is made with a blend of turkey and black mission figs from old trees in Napa, California with a fine French cognac, Meyer lemon, raspberry, cinnamon, ginger. Honestly, I’m addicted to anything fig so I don’t mind eating it straight from the jar with a spoon! But those who like to accompany it with food, it’s great with cheese and I would imagine it would be great to bake with as buttery, jam thumbprint cookie. The malted milk chocolate sauce ($14) is made from creamy Swiss milk chocolate blended with malt, triple Madagascar vanilla and Jack Daniels bourbon. It’s best served with homemade vanilla ice cream. Simple as it sounds, it’s the best way to showcase that chocolate syrup.

Robert Lambert’s products are available at his website, as linked above, or locally in NYC at Dean & Deluca.

For the cheese lovers, Laura Chenel’s Chevre is a very good goat’s cheese that’s made in Sonoma County, California. All of their goat’s milk cheeses are pleasantly tart without being too goat-y as some other cheese brands are. The Cabecou cheese is creamy yet firm but is infused with an herbaceous punch of flavors. The Chef’s Chevre is a large tub of creamy, clean tasting chevre that may be used in many applications from toast to pasta fillings. The Mélodie is an ash-rinded, aged cheese that is great as part of a cheese plate and it’s great as a warm sandwich with smoked turkey and arugula. (You may be able to find their cheeses in the local NYC area at Fairway.)

Emmi Roth cheeses creates tasty cheeses of many different types of varieties from European styles to American. Their fondue kit ($11.99) is a prepared kit containing the appropriate amounts of Swiss cheese, wine and seasoning. All you have to do is find a fondue pot (or even a saucepot) and heat up this mixture and serve; making it easy to have a little fondue party.

Skillet Street Food‘s skillet bacon spread is a pretty intense bacon spread. It’s sweet, smoky and savory, almost barbecue-like flavors but of course, with shreds of bacon. You can serve it warm with toasted bread or even add some into quiche with caramelized onion.

For the Cook or Baker Mom…

These are cooking ingredients or baking mixes for the moms who like to cook or bake.

Sisters Gourmet creates gourmet baking mixes that would impress anyone who likes to make baked goods that are easy and straightforward without needing to measure everything – all you need to add to the mixes are usually butter and have a greased/prepared sheet pan or brownie pan to bake in. The Chocolate Overload Brownies ($15.99) were decadent and fudge-y; the white chocolate cranberry cookies ($15.99) were chunky and delicious; the oatmeal chocolate chip cookies was probably one of my favorite oatmeal cookies I’ve eaten as of recent; their triple chocolate chip cookies was chocolate decadence for the three kinds of chocolate and it’s the cookies are nicely chewy.

I’ve recently “discovered” Acetaia Bellei beautifully aged balsamic vinegar. It’s sweet, viscous, syrup-like vinegar is complex and special that I’d drizzle on salads or even add on vanilla ice cream, in lieu of other toppings. Available at Dean & Deluca $35 each.

Eléia Greek extra virgin olive oil grown in one of the largest olive groves in Greece with around 40,000 trees in the Lechaina Plains in the South Ilia prefecture. It is one of the fruitiest olive oils I’ve had in a long while. From the beautiful, streamlined glass bottle to the gorgeous transparent olive green oil, I’m blown how good and robustly flavored it is. It’s great to cook with in a variety of dishes and I love to bake it as olive oil cake or muffins, and even make ice cream with it since it has so much flavor. Exclusively available at Dean & Deluca: 1/2 liter bottle $32; 1 liter tin $45.

Gran Cru Affiorato Extra Virgin Olive Oil by Galantino is cold extracted from olives hand picked in the groves on the Galantino Family estate. This olive oil is excellent to finish a dish rather than for cooking, thanks to its delicateness and to the richness of its bouquet. Available at Dean & Deluca, 500 mL $40.

Wines & Spirits

Nicolas Feuillatte Blanc de Blanc 2004 ($49.99) Lime and grapefruit on the nose, with a touch of chalk adding complexity. Dry with tightly wound citrus and underripe orchard fruit flavors. The tangy, persistent finish offers very good vivacity. The Millésimé Brut Speciale 2000 ($60) is a well-balanced, elegant champagne with racy acidity and flavors of toast, pears, lemon, smoke and honey. This is a vibrant, expressive bottling that’s easy to like with a wonderful, dry finish. Palmes d’Or 1999 ($125) is a very special Champagne that has hints of toffee and anise run through the fresh quince paste, coffee, and candied orange peel flavors in this supple Champagne, with a rich flavor profile in a restrained package, and a smoky note echoing on the finish. The Palmes d’Or Rosé Champagne 2003 ($150) is a bit darker red rosé, but much fresher in aroma, with huge raspberry character that is tempered by those aged wine/Madeira notes. It’s a very sophisticated rosé with great balance.

Pol Roger White Label Champagne ($40) is a fresh and apple-y champagne with good mouth feel from the vibrant bubbles. This was the perfect aperitif as well as having depth and a definite ability to age gracefully for a few years.

Château La Nerthe is a French Certified Agriculture Biologique (AB) organic wine ($59.99). This wine has an engaging, robust, fruity spiciness when young that makes them perfect for hearty fare. But unlike many wines whose “fruit-forward” flavors just fade with age, the flavors of Châteauneuf-du-Pape blossom with age into complex, exotically earthy ones that are perfect for game or grilled meats. It has aromatics of licorice, blueberry, black raspberry, and leather are followed by a ripe, full-bodied, elegant, accessible wine offering rich fruit, a substantial, full-bodied mouthfeel, and silky tannins.

Morro Bay Split Oak Estates Cabernet Sauvignon 2009 ($11) is sourced from several vineyards within the Lange Family estate. The Lange Family have been farming in the Lodi appellations for four generations dating back to the late 1800’s.

When I tasted this wine, it’s herbal, blackberry, black currant and some earthiness on the nose. Light entry of slightly watery, herb-tinged blackberry and black currant flavors. Finish is mildly tannic & highly acidic. This wine needs to be paired with food to shine.

Dashwood Winery Sauvignon Blanc 2011 ($14.99) is a Certified NZ Sustainable wine.

This wine is a light straw color. The aromas of gooseberry, citrus, stone fruit, and wonderful tropical fruit notes. Those same bright fruit flavors are on the palate, all in harmony to create this refreshing wine. The finish is nice and has some mineral notes, and just the amount of acidity to make this wine pair well with food. This the kind of wine you want to sip on a spring or summer day. I would pair this wine with fresh goat cheese or light seafood dishes.

Goldwater Wine Sustainable wine from Malrborough, New Zealand. The flavors are vibrant, but nuanced – peaches, passionfruit and kiwi with bracing acidity and a whisper of minerality with 13% alcohol. ($17)

Villa Massa Limoncello is a lemon liqueur, has been made by the Massa Family since 1890 in Sorrento, Italy. The best thing about Villa Massa is that it not as overwhelmingly sweet as some Limoncellos can be. Instead of tasting like oversweeted lemonade, Villa Massa tastes like a delicate Italian ice. Villa Massa’s light green color comes from the green lemons used to make it. ($26)

To view more photos of this gift ideas, please click through the slideshow (or view my Flickr set):

Click here to view the embedded slideshow.

Disclosures: This is not a paid or sponsored post. All products were tested by me and expressed with my own opinions. All links to the companies’ sites are not sponsored or paid; it’s for your informative use.

©2012 The Wandering Eater. All Rights Reserved.

It was hard to grasp that it was Sunday. We’re all exhausted from cooking and/or baking our heads off on Saturday. (I couldn’t fathom how the chefs felt, who [...]]]> The final day of New York Culinary Experience at The International Culinary Center, co-hosted by New York Magazine was a bittersweet ending to this fun weekend.

It was hard to grasp that it was Sunday. We’re all exhausted from cooking and/or baking our heads off on Saturday. (I couldn’t fathom how the chefs felt, who have to teach Sunday morning classes, after working on the busiest day of the week at their own kitchens.) We all made friends with other guests who attended this culinary weekend and made a connection with the chef with whom you’re a fan of his/her food. Even though it is now two days past the Culinary Experience weekend, I’m still recalling everything that’s happened – and they were all good memories.

I blame my low energy level, despite inhaling cups of Illy coffee that I ended up focusing on two classes with Paul Liebrandt, Chef/Owner of the 2* Michelin restaurant Corton in the morning and Angela Pinkerton, James Beard Award winner (2011), Executive pastry chef of 3* Michelin restaurant Eleven Madison Park to cap off this Culinary Experience weekend.

To those of you who are unfamiliar with Chef Liebrandt’s food, you may take a look at my dinner that took place last November. Liebrandt’s food, in my perspective, is very special by pushing the boundaries of flavors but keeping the integrity of each ingredient in each dish. It’s not the simply seductive, elegant food that certain restaurants serve. It’s sort of a thinking person’s food that would provoke you to think even though it all looks too beautiful to eat.

Knowing that Liebrandt is a culinary artist and technician, I was (and am still) intrigued as to how he would create some of the dishes at his restaurant. He does utilize the immersion circulators, food preservers, and certain enzyme powders and compounds for his dishes but it’s really meant to enhance and highlight the ingredients.

The first recipe he taught us was the slow cooked egg, asparagus veloute, Parmesan crumble, sorrel. The egg was poached in a immersion circulator at 62.8°C for 47 minutes. The white asparagus veloute was made with white asparagus (Austrian is preferred because it’s grown in soil than sand, therefore more tender asparagus) aigo boulido stock, milk, vanilla bean, chicken bouillon powder, extra virgin olive oil, xanthan gum and salt and pepper. The Parmesan crumble that was the base of the dish was made of Parmesan cheese, almond flour, confectioner’s (or powdered) sugar, brioche breadcrumbs, butter, potato starch, and tapioca maltodextrin. I tasted the Parmesan crumble prior to baking in the oven. It was relatively sweet and delicately nutty, rather than pungently salty with almond undertones that I would normally associate for Parmesan cheese.

I admit I made my own and it doesn’t look as beautiful as Paul’s plate, which you see above. However, it does taste amazing. Delicately sweet and nutty, creamy from the yolky poached egg, and the toasted Parmesan crumble added some textural crunch.

The other two dishes he cooked with us were Asparagus with toasted hazelnut, yuzu, Parmesan sabayon and Peekytoe Crab Salad with green mango, pickled daikon, toasted pistachio, pistachio with tarragon dressing.

This particular white asparagus dish was generally monochromatic with the exception of his toasted hazelnut powder. It was sublime with subtle hints of orange, yuzu, and toasted hazelnut with a certain “secret spice blend” which he won’t divulge. The tender yet firm white asparagus still gave the dish some structure to the CO₂ Parmesan sabayon. The Peekytoe Crab Salad was divine. Subtly crunchy and sweet, tart, and nutty with a little punch of herbaceous flavors from the cilantro, red shiso leaf, and tarragon dressing.

When I left his class, it just reinforces my awe of Paul’s brilliant cooking. It’s very technical and artistic but that what really makes him stand out. If I were to attempt any of these recipes, I would have to devote my entire weekend cooking but I know I would be greatly rewarded from all of the efforts poured into each element of the dish.

Of the two lunch Q&A series, I’ve attended Gillan Duffy, Culinary Editor of New York Magazine and Susan Ungaro, President of James Beard Foundation talk. They’ve touched on topics about Ms. Ungaro’s past working experience as a magazine editor, how she ended up presiding over the Beard Foundation and how it grew over the years since she’s taken helm. Now is a busy time for the Beards Foundation since the Beard Awards are this Friday, May 4th (for the press and journalist awards; it’s a private event) and next Monday, May 7th (for restaurants and the gala) which are open to the public with admission.

Lunch was provided by Eli Zabar’s sandwiches and cookies. A light, simple but very enjoyable meal.

I was a fan of pastry chef Angela Pinkerton’s desserts for a long time. Even making a batch of her chocolate truffle ice cream (I made her black truffle and chocolate mignardes during Thanksgiving) from the Eleven Madison Park Cookbook it made me love her desserts even more. Pinkerton’s desserts have familiar flavors but have subtle savory elements, which you’ll see.

We ended up baking a batch of lemon poppy seed cake (which could be created into madelines if we were to refrigerate the cake batter overnight and bake them in madeline molds), lemon curd (that had to be toiled over a double boiler for 20 minutes but it’s really addictive), caramel (for the olive brittle), and frozen lemon yogurt.

What you see above is Angela’s plated dessert that we all got to eat at the end of class.

The plated dessert does showed lots of complexity even though the elements were relatively straightforward. The cake was broken down into two parts – thin slices to mimic tuile cookies and crumbled up as the crumbles for fluffy texture. The lemon curd brought a sharp, creamy, lemony highlight that brought the dessert together. The dehydrated olives were coated in caramel then ground into a powder. The frozen lemon yogurt was the cold element to give a little shock of surprise to the palate. It blew everyone’s minds. Even Ms. Gillian Duffy walked in toward the final minutes to observed and she was astounded how great this dessert was. This class was fun and I have tried a different technique of making caramel (dry rather than wet).

During the Champagne reception, it’s capped off with tasty small plates of food by Tolani and Paul Goerg Blanc de Blancs. Gillian Duffy and Dorothy Cann Hamilton picked the winner of this year’s raffle to a 3* Michelin in south of France.

I can’t wait until next year! Supposedly, there’s a rumor that they’ll do it on James Beard weekend… I think that would be a doozy but nevertheless exciting for those who aren’t from New York City and experience the gala once.

To view more photos of this fantastic event, please click through the slideshow (or view my Flickr set):

Click here to view the embedded slideshow.

To read about Day 1′s Culinary Experience, please CLICK HERE. If you’d like to see the recipes from Chef Paul Liebrandt or Angela Pinkerton’s class, please comment with your e-mail address or just e-mail me (wanderingeater [at] gmail [dot] com) with the subject line of which chef’s recipes you’d like to have.

Information:
New York Culinary Experience 2012 at The International Culinary Center, co-hosted by New York Magazine
Event’s Website: http://nyce.nymag.com/

The International Culinary Center’s website: http://www.internationalculinarycenter.com
Address:
462 Broadway
New York, NY 10013
Telephone: 888-324-2433

©2012 The Wandering Eater. All Rights Reserved.

Today was my first day (and first time) at the New York Culinary Experience at The International Culinary Center, co-hosted by New York Magazine was overall, simply amazing. Even though I had to get up at an ungodly hour on a Saturday morning to get dressed, caffeinated and hopefully manage to [...]]]>

Today was my first day (and first time) at the New York Culinary Experience at The International Culinary Center, co-hosted by New York Magazine was overall, simply amazing. Even though I had to get up at an ungodly hour on a Saturday morning to get dressed, caffeinated and hopefully manage to wield a knife by 8:30 AM, it was worth it – and most importantly nobody got hurt.

This culinary experience was top notch from the start of basic necessity of (many cups of) Illy coffee with breakfast to the actual cooking classes with the chefs who are involved with this year’s experience and you are certainly not leaving there hungry. Every class you’ll have the opportunity to taste everything you’ve made and the moments that you are not cooking, you’ll be served with food.

I have participated in James Beard Award winner (2004), Dean of The International Culinary Center, and Executive pastry chef Emily Luchetti of Waterbar and Farallon in San Francisco, Executive Chef Shaun Hergatt of SHO Shaun Hergatt, Pastry Chef, MOF, Proprietor of Jacques Torres Chocolates and Dean of The International Culinary Center Jacques Torres.

During lunch

Lunch was delicious comfort food from The Meatball Shop with a Q&A and talk with the adorable couple who owns and runs Satur Farms, Chef Eberhard Müller and Paulette Satur with the Founder and CEO of The ICC Dorothy Cann Hamilton. After the afternoon class session, it capped off with a Champagne reception to reel in all the efforts of intense and fun day of cooking with nationally revered chefs.

Here’s some photo highlights:

At Chef Shaun Hergatt’s class: Uni + 64 degree poached egg + uni foam = bliss! If this every weekend, I would be a very happy woman. Uni’s sexy creaminess and subtle briny flavors worked wonders with the perfectly runny sous vided egg. The plastic poached egg with truffled celery root purée looks simple tasted so complex and delicious. The poached egg with hollandaise on crostini is a classic but elegant take of the eggs benedict (sans the pork product and it’s unnecessary here). The entire eating experience of these dishes (after putting all the work into it) was pure decadence.

Pastry Chef Emily Luchetti’s molten chocolate cake with caramel sauce and whipped cream topped with a chocolate pretzel bark was an in-your-face rich chocolate cake that’s packed with tons of chocolate flavor and the caramel (my recent flavor obsession) was bitter and salty enough to counterpoint the sweetness of the cake. Honestly, I wish I had taken the remainder of the caramel sauce since it’s so freakin’ delicious with the pretzel chocolate bark! (There were pear franginpane tarts baked as well.)

Chef Jacques Torres and one of his crazy antics during class – blowing up a rubber glove. Never a dull moment during the 2 hours with him. Hopefully within the next few days, I’ll upload my video clips of his class. It’s interesting and some parts hilarious.

Champagne Paul Goerg Brut Rosé and some of the hors d’oeurves served during Champagne reception to cap off the day.

My take-home gift to my mom from Jacques Torres’ chocolate class – an edible chocolate box topped with colored marzipan decorations and handmade flavored truffles by yours truly.

My autographed apron of chefs I’ve had the honor and pleasure to meet and cook with today.

I am very excited about tomorrow’s classes! If you want to be in the loop of what’s happening live during class session tomorrow, you may follow my stream of tweets.

To view more photos of this fantastic event, please click through the slideshow (or view my Flickr set):

Click here to view the embedded slideshow.

Information:
New York Culinary Experience 2012 at The International Culinary Center, co-hosted by New York Magazine
Event’s Website: http://nyce.nymag.com/

The International Culinary Center’s website: http://www.internationalculinarycenter.com
Address:
462 Broadway
New York, NY 10013
Telephone: 888-324-2433

©2012 The Wandering Eater. All Rights Reserved.

Le Cirque is an elegant, upscale French restaurant, tucked in the large glass skyscraper of the Bloomberg Building. The restaurant’s dining rooms (upstairs private [...]]]> I had the honor and pleasure to be part of Nicolas Feuillatte Rosé Champagne tasting and lunch at Le Cirque in New York City earlier this week.

Le Cirque is an elegant, upscale French restaurant, tucked in the large glass skyscraper of the Bloomberg Building. The restaurant’s dining rooms (upstairs private room and the main dining room) had lighting fixtures that vaguely reminds me of Dale Chihuly’s colorful artwork at the ceiling of Bellagio.

All of us were told to go upstairs, greeted with glasses of Nicolas Feuillatte Brut Champagne NV.

Preparing for the Rosé tasting, Nicolas Feuillatte’s Cellar Master David Hénault, and my flight of Nicolas Feuillatte’s Rosé Champagnes

As most were socializing, I watched the staff fill up the many flutes of with the various rosés this Champagne house creates with much agility and precision, preparing for the tasting and presentation with Nicolas Feuillatte’s newest Cellar Master David Hénault, who started earlier this year.

David Hénault was witty and lively when he discussed about the history of the brand, the techniques Champagne Nicolas Feuillatte uses to make their champagnes and rosés (such as blending and “bleeding”), and the house’s style (it’s about flavor than appearance, especially in the rosé).

Nicolas Feuillatte (he’s an 86-year old Frenchman, who is still around) created his brand in 1976, after inheriting a vineyard near Reims, the Domaine de Bouleuse.

Champagne Nicolas Feuillatte (CNF) has one of the oldest union of producers of Champagne in 1986 with Centre Vinicole. It comprises of 5,000 acres representing more than 280 vineyards, situated on a hill in the commune of Chouilly, on the road leading to Pierry, and overlooks the community of Épernay. This vineyard has 11 Grand Crus and 32 Premier Crus, which makes for very good wine. CNF is the third largest Champagne brand in the world.

If you’d like to see my video (it’s about 7 minutes long) of Mr. Hénault talk about Nicolas Feuillatte’s Rosé Champagnes, please play the above or CLICK HERE.

Of the five rosés set out for the tasting, I did find the 2004 Cuvée 255 Brut Rosé was interesting with the subtle woody notes as they were aged in oak barrels. It’s named 255 because it was aged in 255-liter barrels than the Champagne standard 205-liter barrel. (This cuvée is not available for sale in the U.S. unfortunately.) The Brut Rosé 2004 was refreshing and fruity. The Palmes d’Or Rosé 2003 with the deepest pink, almost red, blush was creamy and has subtle hints of allspice and pear.

After the wonderful tasting, we’re went back to the main floor for lunch, paired with more CNF Champagnes.

I sat and lunched with mostly professional trade wine writers, a modern lifestyle/etiquette writer, and a few who are in the wine industry.

The first course of sweet grilled shrimp with thin noodle-like strands of zucchini and coconut gremolata was a very good pairing with Nicolas Feuillatte Blanc de Blancs 2004. The smooth, 100% Chardonnay bubbly had subtle kaffir lime and pear with mineral notes worked with the coconut and curry flavors of the dish.

The Nicolas Feuillatte Cuvée Spéciale 2000 served with the wild mushroom risotto were simply fireworks. The earthy, mushroom-like flavors in the Cuvée Spéciale 2000 matched and emphasized the creamy, musky risotto.

My adjacent neighbors and I didn’t speak much throughout this course except commenting “this is sensational” and asked to pass that bottle of cuvée on the table to refill our glasses.

The third course (or entrée) was steamed halibut with truffled polenta, paired with Palmes d’Or Brut Vintage 1999. The halibut dish itself was pretty remarkable since I usually don’t care for steamed fish. It was perfectly steamed and it was a good backdrop to the creamy, truffle-y polenta.

The dish with the Palmes d’Or was very good. The dry, crisp wine is balanced, finely integrated, packed with subtle fruit and smoky flavors worked with the earthy, musky truffle polenta.

The strawberry shortcake dessert paired with Nicolas Feuillatte Rosé NV paired well. The rosé had strawberry notes that matched the dessert. The non-vintage Champagne was a wise move since the dessert won’t ruin the finesse and complexity of a vintage wine.

After dessert was finished, coffee was served. Reflecting my meal over coffee, it was a great experience to try the Champagne house’s current collection (especially the Cuvée Rosé 255).

All I needed was a nap and it was a good thing I took a day off from work.

To view more photos of my visit, please click through the slideshow (or view my Flickr set):

Click here to view the embedded slideshow.

Information:
Nicolas Feuillatte Champagne
Official Website

Le Cirque
Official Website
151 East 58th Street
New York, NY 10022 (Map)

©2012 The Wandering Eater. All Rights Reserved.

Thanks so much for your patience. For the past two days, my site was hacked and they managed to infect malware so that’s why your computer, laptop, and possibly iPhone/iPad/Droid devices are freaking out and panicking (so was I) that prevented you from proceeding. Everything should be fine now and business will continue [...]]]> Hi Readers,

Thanks so much for your patience. For the past two days, my site was hacked and they managed to infect malware so that’s why your computer, laptop, and possibly iPhone/iPad/Droid devices are freaking out and panicking (so was I) that prevented you from proceeding. Everything should be fine now and business will continue as usual.

Thanks everyone for your emails of concern and the staff who sorted out this mess. It means a lot to me.

xoxo,
Tina

©2012 The Wandering Eater. All Rights Reserved.