Category Archives: Stores

Ultimate Foodie Gift Guide 2011

Posted on November 28, 2011 | 1 Comment

Many women angle for jewelery, others make-up. For me (no shock here), it’s all about food and drink (and some minor home improvements)! Below, find the edible presents I’m hoping to receive or own and heartily recommend this season (I know, I know, some of these are a bit extravagant, but I can dream!):

Custom spice blend from La Boite a Epice in Manhattan: The most recent issue of Food & Wine Magazine profiles Lior Lev Sercarz, the founder of this spice boutique in New York City’s Hell’s Kitchen. I’m dreaming of my own customized mixture, or at least, a few of the already-created blends made for expert chefs, such as Ana Sortun of Cambridge, MA’s Oleana and Sofra Restaurants. www.laboiteny.com (price unknown)
Hamilton Beach 6 Quart Programmable Stovetop Slow Cooker (33567T): Since beginning work on my slow cooker cookbook for The Taunton Press, I’ve fallen increasingly hard for slow cooking–and this new reasonably-priced appliance makes the technique even easier! Brown meats and saute aromatics in the stovetop-safe crock. No more dirtying an extra pan or losing precious fond (brown bits) on the bottom of the pan! www.hamiltonbeach.com, about $75
Davao White Chocolate Bar + Pistachios from Askinosie Chocolates. I love the subtle tang that goat’s milk lends to chocolate, and am further tempted by the addition of gorgeous, rich pistachios. www.askinosie.com, $10.50
Any treats, especially petit fours, from Valerie Confections in LA. A couple of years ago, I received a shipment of their petit fours, and was entranced. Now I’m itching to try the rose petal and ginger varieties. www.valerieconfections.com, $50 for 12 petit fours.
A trip to my favorite (domestic) foodie destination: Northern CA. As always, I would make a pilgrimage to San Fran’s Ferry Plaza Market, try Cotogna Restaurant (the casual offshoot of Quince) and Manresa, and spend a few days in the Napa Valley, returning to Ubuntu and the Oxbow Public Market, and trying new restaurants that have cropped up since my last visit.
Decorative painting of my tired kitchen cabinetry. I would love the nicked, farmhouse-y wood to be coated in a creamy off-white matte finish. There’s no better way to wake up a blah or outdated kitchen.
A larger outdoor grill. We can’t cook burgers, hot dogs, veggies, and BBQ chicken rapidly enough with our standard Weber Genesis Silver B model.
…And while we’re on the subject of outdoor entertaining, a standing heat lamp (to extend outdoor entertaining season in my neck of the woods: Southern New England), a large and attractive umbrella or awning, and a fire pit.
An outdoor shower. I know it’s not food-related, but my husband and I are still dreaming of the one we enjoyed at Manka’s Inverness Lodge in California’s Marin County. Cue in bird song and the aromas of eucalyptus and redwood. Need I say more?
Black truffle butter, the perfect complement to rib eye steaks.
A selection of varietal honeys, including some I’ve never tried, such as California’s stir thistle.
Sea urchin. I have yet to try it, and am eager to do so.
A new fridge, preferably a Sub-Zero (told you I was dreaming!). The model I inherited is over 20 years old, and on its last gasp.
High-quality tea (especially flavored black and green) and coffee, such as The Perfect Sip Allegro Coffee gift set available at Whole Foods Markets. www.wholefoodsmarket.com/products/774
Gift certificates to Dean & Deluca, Williams-Sonoma, Balducci’s…

Should I add anything to this list? Let me know, and have a happy and healthy holiday season!

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Posted in A Food Writer's Life, Chocolate, Gifts, Kitchen, Sense of Taste, Stores

Best Potato Chips

Posted on November 4, 2011 | Leave a comment

Some months, my work for the “Taste Test” column hasn’t been so enviable: imagine tasting 300 salad dressings! Not so with my assignment for the October 2011 issue of Everyday with Rachael Ray. I crunched my way through 130 different potato chips! Sour cream and onion, traditional, sweet and spicy, salt and vinegar, low-fat, and cheese, I tried them all!

You can read about the five winners (Utz Kettle Classics Reduced Fat, Trader Joe’s Hickory BBQ, Archer Farms Salt and Vinegar, Herr’s Creamy Dill Pickle, and Boulder Canyon Sea Salt & Cracked Pepper) in the October issue of the magazine or here. Read on for the finalists:

Traditional/Plain: Kettle Brand Krinkle Cut Sea Salt, Deep River Snacks Cracked Pepper and Sea Salt, Trader Joe’s Hawaiian Style, and Utz Wavy

Lowfat: Herr’s Reduced Fat Kettle Cooked, Michael Season’s Kettle Cooked Honey BBQ Reduced Fat, Laurel Hill Kettle BBQ Reduced Fat, Popchips Original Potato, and Kettle Brand 40% Reduced Fat Sea Salt

BBQ (other than traditional, the largest category): Utz BBQ, Lay’s Tangy Carolina BBQ, Wise Sweet Heat BBQ, and Deep River Snacks Mesquite BBQ

Salt and Vinegar (my own weakness): Utz Kettle Classics Salt and Malt Vinegar, Kettle Brand Salt and Vinegar, Herr’s Salt and Vinegar, and Wise Salt and Vinegar

Oddball: Deep River Snacks Sweet Maui Onion, Utz Red Hot, Herr’s Hot Sauce, and Hawaiian Chips Wasabi

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Posted in A Food Writer's Life, Sense of Taste, Snacks, Stores

Best Frozen Waffles

Posted on February 2, 2011 | Leave a comment

Having two toddler sons, I was thrilled to get charged with evaluating frozen waffles! After all, other than homemade pancakes and French toast (when I have more time) or cinnamon toast, scrambled eggs, and oatmeal (when I have less), they’re my boys’ most frequent breakfast.

Ever since conducting the research for an article for Everyday with Rachael Ray Magazine, my family’s breakfast (and dessert) habits have indeed changed. Now, when we want a decadent treat, we rush to pick up Julian’s Recipe Natural Butter Waffles in any flavor — one of the most delicious product lines I’ve ever tasted. For healthful, tasty staples, we turn to waffles from Nature’s Path (in addition to the winning Homestyle Gluten-Free product, we love the Hemp Plus and Buckwheat Wildberry), 365 (the winning Organic Flax variety), or Kellogg’s Eggo Nutri-Grain line, especially the blueberry flavor.

Here are some other products that really stood out (but didn’t make it into the article): Aunt Jemima Homestyle and Buttermilk waffles (for tender, white-flour goodness); Smucker’s Snack’n Waffles, especially blueberry (another dessert option); and Eggo Blueberry (for pillowy treats).

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Posted in A Food Writer's Life, Breakfast, Desserts, Feeding Kids, Shopping, Snacks, Stores

Mini Vanilla Tasting

Posted on April 14, 2010 | 1 Comment

The Vanilla Extract Tasting Kit

The Three Small Bottles

I’m not much of a clothes shopper. So, it’ll probably come as no surprise that I’ve avoided the behemoth outlet center, Woodbury Commons, for several years. Yet, once I found out that Williams-Sonoma had a store on the premises, I knew that a visit was in order.

That’s how my husband, Koby, and I found ourselves in Central Valley, New York a couple of weekends ago. I must say, the crowds did not a relaxing day make, but I did walk away with some booty from Williams-Sonoma, including a Nielsen-Massey tasting kit of three vanilla extracts (originally $32, on sale for $20).

If you’re suffering from sticker shock, know that anything with real vanilla is pricey — and for good reason. Vanilla comes from the flowers of orchids, and — since these flowers open only one day a year — can only be harvested then. Plus, about five pounds of vanilla pods yield only one pound or so after the several-month-long curing process.

Tonight, while our 2 1/2-year-old son, Max, dined on his bedtime snack (on tonight’s menu: watermelon, wholesome honey cookies, and warm milk), I sat down with the tasting kit. Max watched, stupefied, as I began sniffing the brown, six-ounce bottles. Each bottle featured vanilla extract with a different origin: Mexico, Tahiti, or Madagascar. While I photographed the bottles for this blog entry, Max asked, “What are you doing, Mommy?” “Smelling vanilla,” I told him. He didn’t seem to think I was crazy. After all, Max always asks for vanilla in his oatmeal.

The Mexican vanilla smelled strong, and brought to mind baby powder and flowers. The taste reminded me of caramel, with some bitterness and cedar notes. Meanwhile, the Madagascar, which the packaging describes as “the king of vanillas,” smelled similarly, but its aroma was less strong and was evocative of citrus. The taste, too, was reminiscent of orange.

The Tahitian was my favorite, probably because it was simultaneously complex and subtle. Very different from the other two, it smelled like butterscotch, with a bit of pine and maple syrup. The taste featured hints of toasted oak and caramelized sugar. According to the box, Tahitian vanilla is extremely delicate, retaining its flavor most when not exposed to much heat.

All in all, smelling and drinking the vanilla extract was extremely pleasurable. The liquid flavoring is a bit like a feminine, luxurious version of Whisky (after all, natural vanilla extract consists of ethyl alcohol, in addition to water, sugar, and vanilla bean extractives). While I put my 10 1/2-month-old son, Abe, to bed, I hoped the scent of vanilla on my breath would bring on sweet dreams (maybe of rice pudding with vanilla beans?).

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Posted in Flavorings, Sense of Taste, Stores

Chocolate Babka

Posted on January 10, 2010 | 1 Comment

Chocolate Babka

Although half of my ancestors are of Eastern European Jewish origin, my memories of babka (a sweet yeast bread associated with Jewish cuisine) don’t begin until college. It was then — while I was attending Columbia College and living in NYC — that I ventured into Zabar’s for the first time. The famed food emporium, located at 80th St. and Broadway, continues to be full of bustle, the aromas of roasting coffee beans and spices, and traditional Jewish baked goods, including babka in both chocolate and cinnamon flavors.

Back in the ’90′s, during my college days, Zabar’s offered loaves from two different companies: Green’s and the Delancey Dessert Company. While the former boasted a wealth of filling as well as a sweet crumb topping, they were a tad dry and slightly industrial in their perfect rectangular shapes. Meanwhile, the latter approximated perfection. Not only were they chock full of chocolate clumps, like lodes of ore in the ground; they were also supremely moist and topped with a wealth of crumb topping, like gold dust. Plus, their irregular, undisciplined shapes evoked an archetypcal grandma, her apron dusted with flour and her hands shaking a bit from arthritis as she lovingly shaped the dough into double figure 8′s before gingerly placing it in greased loaf pans.

I would walk briskly from New York’s Morningside Heights neighborhood down to Zabar’s, anticipating smoked whitefish salad, warm bagels, and babka. Then, I’d ferry my booty back to my dorm, warming it up in the microwave first, so that the filling would melt into a sauce. Sometimes, I’d even top my slice with some vanilla ice cream.

These memories informed my and my sister Jackie’s choice to prepare the chocolate babka in the new “Gourmet Today” cookbook. We set off on our mission, slightly intimidated. And sure, the process took several hours total (though much of that time was inactive, just waiting for the dough to rise – twice). Yet, it wasn’t difficult. And it was mouthwatering. The most enjoyable parts: rolling out and shaping the supple dough and placing the shingles of butter and shards of chocolate over its surface.

The result was delicious (naturally, we added more chocolate than the recipe dictated), with the glossy tops shiny and festive. However, next time we make it (and there will be a next time), we’re going to try using Nutella for the filling and adding a crumb topping (perhaps with finely-chopped toasted hazelnuts). That way, intense flavor will permeate the entire loaf, rather than just its interior.