Check out my dear Jessica’s rundown of piquant libations on Brooklyn Based 

today!

That’s me, basking in the warm glow of a flaming Montauk Fog at Freemans. As part of the “Dark and Complex” portion of their cocktail menu, it was a refreshing blend of gin, orgeat and lime juice, with a layer of bright red bitters along the top. The green chartreuse came in an inside-out half a lime, fully aflame! I blew it out, dumped it in, and so it began. Who doesn’t love a bit of pyrotechnics at happy hour?

Last night I was having an after-work Hudson Buck (or two) at the Vanderbilt, paging through the new Brooklyn Bread Press (basically The Noise meets Patrick McMullan of the BK food nerd world,) and I came across not one, but two photos of yours truly (see page 28) from a recent Kimchee & Korean Pancakes class I took at Purple Yam in Ditmas Park. I kept meaning to share what I learned, waiting until I got around to kimchifying a couple of cabbages chez moi. I haven’t gotten there quite yet, but here you have pics from the fun Saturday afternoon we spent making cabbage kimchi, radish kimchi, brothy kimchi, kimchee stew and tasty pork belly and Korean pancakes to eat with it. 

What kind of food site would NewYorkavore be without a holiday gift guide? Here we have a slew of things for the foodie who has everything, who still manages to find stuff to want (me). 

COOKBOOKS

The New Brooklyn Cookbook features recipes and anecdotes from some of the best local restaurants from NewYorkavore faves Rose Water, Beer Table and the Vanderbilt to places I’ve been meaning to try like Red Hook’s the Good Fork and The Grocery in Carroll Gardens. Perfect for Brooklyn dwellers and curious Manhattanites alike

Keys to Good Cooking: A Guide to Making the Best of Foods and Recipes by Harold McGee, more of a reference book than a cookbook, it’s a primer on how to cook, not what to cook using science and know-how. Highly educational

India: The Cookbook by Pushpesh Pant, a scholarly tome to Indian cooking with 1000 recipes — dare I say the only Indian cookbook you’ll ever need?

REALLY LITTLE THINGS

Pouring cocktails is not like cooking — measurements need to be exact. A standard size jigger is essential to any home bar unless you want too-strong drinks. And who wants that? Not me.

We all know that the morning cafe ritual is a money-suck, so bring the money-sucking home with expensive home barista tools like this rosewood tamper. Goes perfectly with the Slayer (see below).

Sure, that timer on your stove is great, when you’re cooking one thing, but what about when you have all of dinner and dessert on the stove and in the oven(s)? It’s gunna take some quantum physics to time all that right. A Polder timer can keep track of it all, and makes a cool necklace to boot.

REALLY BIG THINGS

For those with an attached garage and a love of frosty beverages: may I suggest a Kold Draft commercial ice machine. Better ice than de Beers if you ask me.

Why bother hanging those Iberico hams from the ceiling of your studio apartment without the proper means to slice them? The Berkel is the only way to go. 

Sick of the attitude at your corner coffee shop? Install your own Slayer espresso machine at home and feel free to wear crocs/drink decaf without withering looks.

A few nights ago, I went to The Fat Radish for a Kanon Organic Vodka pairing dinner with drinks by David Clelland of Apotheke. They were nice enough to share the drink recipes, so I’m passing them along below. The Gripsholm Ginger is almost to the note what we served at our party (minus the bubbly) and The All Things Nice will definitely make a showing at my THX dessert table. 

Bergamot Cooler: 2 oz Kanon Vodka, 4 Cucumber Slices,  ½ oz Lemon Juice, 5 Drops Bergamot Mint, Dash of Vanilla Essence, ½ oz Agave Nectar

Gripsholm Ginger: 2 oz Kanon Vodka, ½ oz Fresh Yuzu, ½ oz Ginger, ½ oz Agave Nectar
 
All Things Nice: 1oz Kanon Vodka, 1 Cinnamon Stick, 10 Cloves, Nutmeg, 1 Vanilla Pod, 2 oz Heavy Cream, 1 Spoon Muscovado Sugar, Served in an Espresso Cup

I recently attended a fabulous tasting at Employees Only in the West Village. Perhaps best known for its cocktails, EO has revamped its menu with the help of chef Julia Jaksic. Jaksic’s father was a Croatian butcher, if I remember correctly (I did have a few drinks…) and so you’ll find a meat-centric menu (marrow, Elk, duck) full of intriguing flavors (paprika, caraway, foie gras), ideal with a cocktail on a cold night.

Atlantic City is hot right now, what with the upcoming premiere of Boardwalk Empire on HBO. Over Labor Day, I stayed at the uber-hip Chelsea Hotel (named after the street it’s on, not the Manhattan legend of the same name). It’s a mod boutique hotel with lots of reimagined retro details and is the only fancy hotel on the strip that doesn’t have a casino, which is quite nice, actually. Ate dinner at their 5th floor steak joint Chelsea Prime, and it was such a delight. The service was great, the view lovely, and the food was simply fab. I am still dreaming about the aged Porterhouse for two — and those cocktails — let’s just say I’m glad Prohibition is over with.

I’ve been on a bit of a burger kick since I’ve been back in the city. I attribute it to the higher than normal ratio of vegan meals I’ve been having at the beach. Everything in moderation, so pre-Pumpkins, Guy and I ate outside at Five Napkin Burger in Hell’s Kitchen. We almost ordered the Burger For Two, but decided to try their signature Five Napkin Burger instead, which came topped with gooey Gruyère, rosemary aïoli and caramelized onions. So delicious that if we didn’t have the concert to go to, we probably would’ve stayed and ordered another one.

photos by Guy Savir

My goal this weekend is to take my new ice cream maker for a spin. Inspired by this article about an avant-garde ice cream man in San Fran and Tasting Table’s suggestion to make slushy cocktails with it, it’s high time I fired it up, or iced it down as it were.

Employees Only just launched EO Brands: their new line of artisan bar mixers created by mixologists Dushan Zaric and Jason Kosmas for bartenders—professional and amateur alike. The Grenadine is made with 100% pomegranate juice, sweetened with sugar and accented with natural spices and the Lime Cordial with 100% lime juice, sweetened with agave nectar, accented with kafir lime leaf. You can get it now at Employees Only (510 Hudson Street) and soon through Fresh Direct. Check out the concoctions they served up at the launch party and get inspired to come up with your own.

Billionaire Cocktail made with Baker’s Bourbon, lemon juice, EO Grenadine & Pernod Absinthe…served with a bone marrow tartlet (more after the jump)

Read More

I know I post about The Vanderbilt all the time, but give me a break—it’s excellent and it’s right next door to me! They’ve posted a new spring menu, which in addition to the Blistered Shishito Peppers and Golden Pickled Eggs you know and love, you’ll find Gratinéed Asparagus w/Creamy Morels, Cauliflower Soup w/Marcona Almonds & Caper-Raisin Purée and Crisp Veal Sweetbreads w/Spring Onion Purée & Oyster Mushrooms. They’ve even concocted some springy cocktails like the Tupelo Julep made with Rye Whiskey, Cognac & Apricot Mint Syrup. Spring has sprung—I am so there.

photo credit: Shutterstock

Last Friday’s seminar on Technology for the Home Cook was both inspiring and delicious. Led by French Culinary Institute’s Dave Arnold and Nils Noren, the two responsible for the informative blog Cooking Issues, the class reinforced some theories I’d learned at A Razor A Shiny Knife/Ideas in Food event I went to a while back (that’s my beautiful penmanship in the main photo, BTW), a few of which being:

+Using a pressure cooker can add/alter the flavor and structure of foods. For example, it can desulphurize and hence reduce power of onions, garlic, mustard seeds, horseradish and so on.

+Overcooking and then dehydrating foods into “glasses” or leathers and then deep frying them causes them to puff up: think pork rinds/pirates booty.

+The awesome power of liquid nitrogen instantly freezes foods to achieve completely different textures and effects. Makes quick work of everything from solidifying ice cream to chilling champagne glasses.

+That immersion circulators are the bomb and prices are about to drop significantly in the coming months for anyone interested in making their cooking lives easier.

+That I need a VitaPrep more than ever to make super creamy soup bases out of strained pistachios and stock, among other things.

+That you can carbonate not only the water in your drink, but also the gin and the lime juice, and said super fizzy cocktail goes straight to your head.

+That I want to play with agar agar to make fun edible gels out of coconut milk and nutella.

+And most importantly, that ketchup in chocolate form is a trip.