Last night was the 20th Anniversary of the Top Ten Pastry Chefs in the U.S. by Dessert Professional Magazine, hosted at the Institute of Culinary Education in Chelsea. This industry event had many recognizable food writers, editors and chefs that made it fun. In the midst of waiting for the announcement of the winners, Bobby Flay started a hoopla (my photo of him) as he made his presence for his winning pastry chef Clarisa Martino.
Top 10 Pastry Chefs of 2013
This year’s awarded chefs are:
Andy Chlebana, Joliet Junior College, Joliet, IL Bill Corbett, Absinthe, San Francisco, CA Christophe Feyt, Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas, NV Brooks Headley, Del Posto, NYC Malcolm Livingston II, wd-50, NYC Jimmy MacMillan, JMPurePastry, Chicago, IL Laurie Jon Moran, Le Bernardin, NYC Clarisa Martino, Mesa Grill, NYC, Las Vegas, Nassau Nancy Olson, Gramercy Tavern, NYC Roy Shvartzapel, Common Bond, Houston, TX
This year’s Hall of Fame Honoree is Florian Bellanger of MadMac.
The New Taste of Upper West Side: Comfort Classics – Inside the tent, Host Adam Richman, Pastry Chef Christina Tosi of Momofuku Milk Bar, Momofuku Milk Bar’s birthday cake truffles, 5 Napkin Slider
The New Taste of Upper West Side’s Comfort Classics is one of the three-part food event created by the Columbus Avenue Business Improvement District (BID). This event (and others) benefit the Columbus Avenue BID’s Streetscape Project as well as support the Wellness in its Schools program at the O’Shea School complex and P.S. 87.
Comfort Classics is hosted by Travel Channel’s Adam Richman and pastry chef Christina Tosi of Momofuku Milk Bar took on the helm of signing her books on behalf of Ford (and served a delicious trio of cake truffle flavors – pretzel, passion fruit chocolate chip, and birthday cake). The food is created by Upper West Side’s chefs with their soul-satisfying classics and new takes on old favorites. Continue reading “The New Taste of the Upper West Side: Comfort Classics (2013)” »
Plan B restaurant is an eccentric, tongue-in-cheek kind of tapas restaurant that sticks out from other tapas restaurants. Some menu items are familiar but have a certain twist the makes it different (like their take on a Cubano sandwich) and some are offal cuts that not many restaurants would think of selling (e.g. bulls testicles, which I’ll explain that experience later). All of these foods are cooked under the helm of Roberto Hanechak.
The interior looks like an edgy skateboard park landscape of urban Bilbao and Barcelona. Graffiti art brightens one wall, banquettes are covered in horsehide, jars of octopus specimens offer a Dada touch. Chicken-wire wine cabinets house bottles of txakolina wine , port and sherry. Clover Club alum Ivy Mix consults on the cocktail program.
Vilarnau Cava Rose, Skuntx cocktail and a tasting of the Basque cider & Amuse of Chicharrón Tuiles
My dining companion and I started with glasses of a pleasant, red berry forward Vilarnau Cava Rose and Skuntx cocktail that has refreshing complexity starting from the main thread of orange and bourbon that’s lightened by the uniquely tart Basque cider. The Chicharrón Tuiles were a very good, balanced starter. Crispy, nicely rendered and fried pork belly wrapped in a slightly crisp sweet-savory cookie with a delicate garlic aioli. Continue reading “Dinner at Plan B Restaurant – A Creative Tapas Restaurant in Nolita” »
Recently, I’ve received a large wheel of KerrygoldCashel Blue Cheese. Since I love cheese of every kind my mind was buzzing with ideas as to what to do with it.
Languedoc-Roussillon is one of the 27 regions of France. It comprises five areas, and borders the other French regions of Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, Rhône-Alpes, Auvergne, Midi-Pyrénées on the one side, and Spain, Andorra and the Mediterranean Sea on the other side. It is the southernmost region of France.
They will take over New York City to let food enthusiasts to discover the delights and culture of Languedoc-Roussillon thanks to the Sud de France Festival, which runs from Sunday, June 2nd to Sunday, June 23rd, 2013. This festival has large diversity of events ranging from wine classes to concerts, wine tastings, seminars, festive bus tours and local restaurant events that has wine pairing dinners and brunch like places at Calliope and The Pines.
This particular dinner was cooked by Executive Chef/Co-Owner Adam Longworth (and his wife/Co-Owner Lorien Wroten who is general manager and this evening’s wine director) of The Common Man Restaurant in Sugarbush, Vermont and Pastry Chef Ron Paprocki Gotham Bar & Grill in New York City. Both chefs collaborated (for the first time) essentially because they (or for Chef Longsworth, did) work for Chef Alfred Portale of Gotham Bar & Grill.
Chef Portale did make a visit during the cocktail/hors d’oeuvres hour, talking to the chefs and inquiring how it was made, and talk to some of the guests.
Hors d’oeuvres (starting from top left): Fava bean purée with mint on toasts, Eggplant caponata crostini, BLT “sandwiches”, Foie gras pastrimi crostini
Out in the garden (it was a glorious, summer-like Tuesday evening), guests mingled and sipped over a refreshing, not too effervescent Château de Lavernette Granit Brut Nature NV. We had spoons of refreshingly tart hamachi crudo with orange, cucumber, and avocado, crostinis of hearty eggplant caponata, robustly spiced foie gras pastrami (think foie gras blended with pastrami seasonings), creamy and minty fava bean toasts, and arguably, the kind of flat tasting spoons of BLT “sandwich”. Continue reading ““Uncommonly Fabulous” Dinner at The James Beard House” »
Interior of Astor Court and its lounge; our full spread of afternoon tea
Afternoon Tea at the St. Regis New York Hotel, an historic Manhattan landmark at 55th and 5th Avenue, serves as the perfect oasis from the frenzy of New York City to the calm of a centuries-old British tradition – for Mother’s Day.
As my mother and I sat in the luxurious Petit Salon sipping various blends of teas and enjoying an assortment of pastries and desserts, it seemed like the chaos of the city just outside the hotel’s doors was hundreds of miles away. In fact, it was quite a jolt to our system upon returning to the city’s streets after 90 minutes of solitude.
First “course” of finger tea sandwiches, Tower of sweets, and my mother’s Lemon Mango Tango tea (during and after pouring), and the lovely harpist performing near my table
Like last year, the party was fabulous – good food, very good wines, we’re all in a gorgeous suite that has views of Times Square, a glimpse of Central Park, and the Hudson River. And we had a celebrity to mingle with us normal folk. (This year was the beautiful actress, Debra Messing, as seen above.) Continue reading “Sheraton’s Toast Around the World/Social Hour 2013″ »
My gift to my mom and the spread for Mother’s Day brunch
The past weekend for Mother’s Day, my mom wanted a home cooked brunch with the entire family. Since we’re a hungry bunch and my mom did not care what kind of cuisine, we cooked a hodgepodge of dishes that satisfied our cravings. Continue reading “Mother’s Day Brunch” »
