Neat Thoughts About Food, Wine, Travel & More
This wine from Alsace is pale salmon-colored in the glass and offers sweet strawberry and ripe cherry aromas. In the mouth, it’s typical (and lovely) Crémant – moussy and creamy. Luscious, yet light, strawberries-and-cream flavors.
Style: Rosé Sparkling
Grape Type(s): Pinot Noir
Region: Alsace, France
Around $25
Shaved Porchetta Sandwich
I am an avid fan of Locanda Verde and its sublime food attentively prepared by Food and Wine Best New Chef award winner, Andrew Carmellini. I have written about Locanda Verde in the past, but on a recent visit, I brunched and it is worth noting what a super job the staff does with this meal.
For me, a key component of brunch is a good cocktail. I typically go for a spicy Bloody Mary and Locanda Verde does not disappoint with its fiery Bloody Mary Della Casa ($13) served with Italian hot peppers and Mortadella.
Our party began its meal with the Pastry Misty Del Giorno ($14), a basket of delectable pastries: cranberry muffins, olive oil coffee cake and apple breakfast pie. I would not skip this starter expertly prepared by pastry chef Karen DeMasco; it is delicious with the dark roasted coffee served at this establishment.
Scampi and Grits
Some can’t miss brunch entrées are the soft scrambled farm egg crostino with leek, mushrooms and speck ($17) – the bread used to make the crostino might be the best I have had in New York City and the contrast of soft-cooked eggs over the crunchy bread is amazing. The “Scampi and Grits” ($20) with organic polenta, tomato, sausage and coddled eggs is a winner – the polenta is creamy, the shrimp is cooked with the flavorful sausage and the soft-cooked eggs create a yolky ‘sauce’ that helps marry all the flavors together. Another stellar option, and perhaps one of the best sandwiches in town, is the shaved Porcetta sandwich ($16) with grilled onions and Provolone – the meat is juicy and cooked perfectly and the Provolone is especially sharp and a tremendous asset to this succulent sandwich.
Brunch is served Saturday and Sunday from 10AM until 3PM. Making the trek down to Tribeca is a small price to pay to be rewarded by fabulous food, a trendy, sexy space and a helpful staff.
377 Greenwich Street
New York, NY 10013
212-925-3797
Cheers,
Veronique
Growing up, my Grandma made jelly roll cake all the time. A favorite was the vanilla cake with raspberry jam tucked inside and confectioner’s sugar lightly dusted over. Every Christmas, our family shares a Bûche de Noël, in recent years, it has been purchased because nobody has wanted to tackle making it from scratch. This will be the first Christmas we spend without Grandma and I have decided to bite the bullet and make our family’s Yule log. Here is a version I might use, unless I have a chocolate craving.
Ingredients:
Directions:
Serve 10.
My friend Lisa is a huge caramel fan and I’ve designed this simple-to-make frosting with her in mind. Great used as icing on a cake or as frosting on cupcakes.
Ingredients:
Directions:
Makes about 2 cups of frosting.
Pork Belly
Michael’s Genuine, in Miami’s up-and-coming Design District, is a foodie’s paradise dressed down as a casual neighborhood bistro. Chef Michael Schwartz excels at what should be three basic restaurant concepts: the space, the staff, the food and wine.
The bistro, opened in 2007, can accommodate up to 100 diners both indoors in a comfortable dining room and outdoors in a bustling courtyard area. The ambiance is relaxed, even with a roomful of some of Miami’s most beautiful people.
The staff is friendly, helpful and knowledgeable about the menu and its ingredients. There is a palpable excitement amid the crew about the product being offered that is akin to being a kid in a candy store.
The food…is absolutely amazing. Chef Schwartz masters New American cuisine and many of the ingredients used or served are housemade. The pork belly over kimchee is succulent. The short rib Panini is rich and delectable. The beet, heirloom tomato and blue cheese salad is ultra-fresh and perfectly dressed. A special of the day, the croque-madame sandwich is prepared with house-cured ham is comforting and completely old school perfect. The restaurant’s wood fire oven also works miracles on the ultra-fresh fish sourced by Chef Schwartz and his team.
Croque-Madame
The wine list is eclectic, interesting and offers great value. There are over twenty wines by the glass ranging from Austrian Gruner Veltliner to Krug Grande Cuvée and Piedmonte Barbera. The list is smartly designed to be unintimidating to all fans of the grape. The Chardonnays are categorized into ‘unoaked’, ‘light oak to moderate’ and ‘moderate to heavy oak’ and varietals are divided by region making it straight-forward to select the right wine for the occasion or dish.
Chef Michael Schwartz hits it out of the ballpark with this venue by offering unpretentious food in a casual atmosphere. A must-try dining experience when in Miami.
130 N. 40th Street
Miami, FL 33137
305-573-5550
Hours of operation:
Lunch: Monday – Friday 11:30AM – 3PM
Brunch: Sunday 11AM – 2:30PM
Dinner: Sunday 5:30PM – 10PM; Monday – Thursday 5:30PM – 11PM; Friday – Saturday 5:30PM – midnight
Happy hour: Monday – Friday 4:30PM – 6:30PM
The holiday season is in full swing and families across the country are planning their perfect holiday meals, tastiest treats or most delectable hors d’oeuvres.
Starting December 5, the Virginia Beach CVB is looking for creative, original recipes with its “12 Days of Christmas” Coastal Food Tours Getaway Giveaway Contest, a virtual cooking competition that will earn the winner a three-day, two-night stay in Virginia Beach for two people, with the chance to experience the new Coastal Food Tours program.
Now through December 16, visitors to the Virginia Beach Facebook page can submit a favorite recipe based on one of the days in the holiday classic, “The 12 Days of Christmas.”
In addition to free transportation and accommodations during their three-day, two-night stay, the winner and a guest will receive complimentary tickets to the Boardwalk Food Tour in Virginia Beach, the Granby Street Food Tour and complimentary tickets to other attractions, including the Virginia Aquarium and Marine Science Center. Estimated value of the package is $2,000.
How to enter:
Good luck if you enter!
Veronique
This weekend, I was asked to bring dessert to a potluck dinner. The hostess is a caramel fanatic, so I knew that my Dulce de Leche Cheesecake would be well-received, but I wanted something more portable. This recipe yields 24 two-bite cheesecakes, but can easily be halved if you only need a dozen.
Ingredients:
Directions:
Yields 24 mini cheesecakes
Cambozola blue cheese has the rich flavor of Gorgonzola with the lovely gooey texture of Camembert. The off-white interior offers striking blue veins. It’s a cheese that’s growing in popularity because of its creamy texture and buttery, slightly tangy flavors.
This grilled cheese sandwich uses fig jam to compliment the delicious sharpness of the blue cheese. The mayonnaise adds to the comfort level of an already comforting dish.
Ingredients:
Directions:
1 serving.
For my NY/NJ friends who don’t have New Year’s Eve plans yet, I saw this fun way to bring in 2012 that I thought I’d share.
Celebrate 2012 at Hoboken’s first biergarten, an old world experience welcoming the New Year.
Doors open at 8pm – $100 per guest includes:
1422 Grand Street
201.683.5465
Prost!
Veronique
My grandma used to make my sister and me peanut butter and banana grilled sandwiches in a cast iron contraption when we were kids. This contraption, an early version of a Panini press, had long handles that could be flipped on the stovetop until the bread was perfectly browned and gorgeous. I miss those days and decided to sort of recreate the sandwich using my modern day Panini press and a little twist – Nutella!
Ingredients:
Directions:
1 serving.
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