Nespresso’s Aeroccino Frother
If you’re a latte drinker, cappuccinos, macchiatos or even cocoa, you’re going to need frothy milk. Which is why so many people throw on their coat and head to the nearest coffee shop. After all, it’s hard to achieve respectable froth or steam without scalding the pot, burning the milk, or just failing altogether. Not anymore. We discovered this good-looking chrome frother (pictured right). It’s compact and a seriously great find. It comes with two whisk attachments, so you can froth two cups of milk at a time and it’s just as good at steaming milk, too. The pitcher lifts off the base for easy pouring and its non-stick interior makes cleanup simple — no rigorous scrubbing involved. The automatic turn-off feature is also great for busy mornings when the last thing on your mind is turning everything...
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Q&A with Catch's Pastry Chef Thiago Silva
Chefs aren’t exactly the most normal people in the world. Case in point: Thiago Silva who went from singing at the New York City Opera to baking cakes for the likes of Sofia Vergara and the Knicks’ Amare Stoudemire. Lately, he’s been impressing guests at Catch (myself included) with his creative riffs on classic childhood desserts, like his Peanut Butter Cup Soufflé or Chocolate Brownie Cake with Tres Leches Ice Cream and Bourbon Chocolate Sauce. But what most people aren’t familiar with is Silva’s gift for creating cakes so beautiful and extravagant they look more like art. In fact, he has aspirations to start his own cake design company someday. If I had to choose [between designing cakes and making plated desserts], I’d choose designing cakes,” said, Silva who added that his favorite creation is his rose wine bottle cake....
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Seeds of Peace Market – Hummus Taste Off
If you haven’t already bought tickets, there’s still time to join in the celebration for peace in the MIddle East at this year’s Peace Market at The Metropolitan Pavilion. There will be a Hummus Taste-Off that I will be judging alongside Jehangir Mehta (Graffiti), Joe Campanale (Dell’anima & L’Artusi), Josh “The Magician” Beckerman and many more. The evening will also include three DJ’s, plenty of hummus from New York’s best Middle Eastern restaurants, and a live auction with Final Four and Grammy tickets. Hope to see you all there! When: Thursday, March 1st 6:30-11:30 Where: Metropolitan Pavilion Website for Tickets: Peace Market...
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Trendwatch: Suddenly Sexy Salmon
For years, salmon got a bad rap as being, well, boring and mostly farm-raised. But with the rise of wild salmon and recent popularity of Jewish-American deli cuisine, we’ve noticed that salmon has come into fashion. Especially cured and smoked salmon, and not just at Russ & Daughters or just Jewish delis. There’s a killer salmon trio at Kutsher’s, standout Danish gravlax smørrebrød at Vandaag, smoked salmon sashimi at Alta and even vodka-cured salmon at Cafe Boulud. And there’s plenty more where that came from. Here’s a few of our favorites… Acme Address: 9 Great Jones St., near Lafayette St. Phone: (212) 203-2121 Website: acmenyc.com Nordic food is having its moment in New York right now and it’s about time. Perhaps the most exciting spot to sample it right now is Acme, where Noma’s co-founder Mads Refslund fortuitously turned...
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Q&A with The Man Behind Kutsher's Tribeca
Sure, Jewish deli food is suddenly in fashion with places, like Mile End, smoking their own meats and baking their own breads. But Zach Kutsher decided to take it to a whole new level when he opened an upscale Jewish bistro of sorts called Kutsher’s in Tribeca. How many restaurateurs would dare add caviar to potato pancakes or use wild halibut to make gefilte fish? Kutsher turned nostalgia for his family’s Jewish country club in the Catskills (a real-life version of Dirty Dancing’s Kellerman’s) into a pioneering Jewish-American bistro in Tribeca. New Yorkers can’t get enough of his updated Kutsher’s, which adds wild mushrooms to knishes, makes their own syrups in house, and transforms chocolate babka into bread pudding. ‘ But other than running the Children’s Dining Room as a youngster at his parents’ Kutsher’s Country Club, Zach is a relative newcomer...
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On the Go Tea Infuser Mug
While we’ve been longtime drinkers of loose leaf tea, we admit it’s not the quickest or the cleanest way to make yourself a cup. Now, you have no excuse. We recently discovered these colorful tea mugs from David’s Tea (pictured right). Each one comes with its own infuser, which fits right into the mug itself. The lid keeps the flavor in while it’s steeping, and when it’s done, you can use the lid as a coaster for the infuser. It’s dishwasher safe and comes in plenty of colors. While you’re at David’s Tea, pick up a few of their unique and tasty flavors, like Chocolate rocket, Oh Canada, or our personal favorite, Forever Nuts. Tea time! David’s Tea...
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Where To Celebrate Mardi Gras
Seeing that Valentine’s Day is officially over and Mardi Gras is less than a week away, we thought we’d better start planning. Afterall, this holiday is about so much more than just beads and booze. In fact, Mardi Gras is French for “Fat Tuesday,” the last night of feasting your heart out before Lent. Whether you promise to give up your favorite foods for Lent or not, there’s plenty of reasons to celebrate the Louisiana cuisine that goes hand and hand with Mardi Gras. It’s southern comfort food meets Creole favorites mixed with a Cajun flair, from jambalaya at Bourbon Street Grill to po’boys at Cheeky’s. Sip on a few classic New Orleans libations at Maison Premiere or slice into a traditional King’s Cake at Silver Moon Bakery. After all, it’s Fat Tuesday, and we’re up for the challenge....
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In Fashion – Our Favorite Layer Cakes
With all the talk about cupcakes, pies and mini desserts of all sorts, we got to thinking about classics that have come back in style and we couldn’t help but notice how layered cake has made its way back into the spotlight recently. Just think of Parm’s newly famous layered ice cream cake or Billy’s Bakery’s criminally good ice box cake. What we found were some pretty inspired and delicious takes on this old fashion cake, including Baked’s caramel apple layer cake. Here’s a few of our favorite discoveries… Sugar Sweet Sunshine Bakery Address: 126 Rivington St, btwn Essex & Norfolk Sts. Phone: (212) 995-1960 Website: www.sugarsweetsunshine.com This East Village bakery crafts a variety of terrific baked goods, but people often overlook the standout selection of layer cakes. They’re so serious about their layer cakes that they make them...
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The Perfect Omelet
Cooking the perfect egg is an art and there are so many forms to perfect – from coddled eggs to poached and beyond. One of the most popular is the omelet, which can be tricky. Cook it on high heat and you’ll get rubbery eggs. Cook it too low and you’ll get runny. And then, there’s folding your omelet, which is the hardest of all, unless you have this Over Easy Omelet Express (pictured left). It might be a little too easy. Just add your eggs (up to 3 at a time) and whatever you like in your omelet, like mushrooms, spinach and cheese, then close the lid. No fuss with flipping or folding. There’s a hinge to flip your eggs and the surface is non-stick, so your eggs slide right out. This Kitchen Selectives Cooker works just as well...
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Edible Valentine's Day Gifts
Love it or hate it, Valentine’s Day is just around the corner. In our opinion, it’s not Valentine’s Day or a noteworthy holiday, for that matter, without the ritual sweets. Besides, February 14th isn’t just for lovers. It’s for anyone who loves a good excuse to eat! Forget roses and jewelry, there’s a number of Valentine’s Day edibles, from handmade marshmallows at Three Tarts to Kyotofu’s heart-shaped miso chocolate brownies. Look out cupid, we’re skipping straight to the sweet stuff. Kee’s Chocolates Address: 80 Thompson Street (multiple locations) Phone: (212) 334-3284 Nothing says February 14th quite like chocolate. For the chocolate lover who’s seen it all, there’s a selection of truly unique chocolates from this jewel box-size chocolate shop. Owner Kee Ling Tong handcrafts her chocolates daily with a variety of exotic flavors and fillings, like fennel, cognac, honey kumquat, elderflower, pepper,...
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Valentine’s Day Dining
The holiday many love to hate is fast approaching. If you’re single, Valentine’s Day can be depressing. If you’re coupled, it can be a lot of pressure to buy roses at inflated prices or fancy chocolates. And, of course, you have to pick the perfect restaurant with a pricey prix fixe menu, a romantic setting, and aphrodisiacs of the oyster and fig sorts. Instead of giving into a “sucker’s night out” meal, we found a few great options we could actually get excited about. Valentine’s Day could be an excuse to sample sexy Austrian food at Edi & The Wolf or take a couple’s cooking class at DeGustibus. Here’s a few of our favorite options… Millesime 92 Madison Ave btwn 28th & 29th St 212.889.7100 www.millesimerestaurant.com Millesime has a reputation for being one of the most romantic date spots in...
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Ultimate Valentine’s Day Gift For BBQ Fanatics
Just in time for Valentine’s Day, we found the perfect gadget for barbecue and tech geeks. Yes, the iGrill (pictured right) is a thermometer, but it also links to your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch, so you don’t need to hover over the grill or even the oven, making sure you’re meat doesn’t overcook. Nope. Talk with your guests and monitor the roast’s internal temperature from your phone wherever you are. It has an alarm that goes off when the desired internal temperature is reached. Plus, it’s Bluetooth-enabled, with a range of 200 feet. This stand-alone thermometer also has a built-in probe storage space, and an easy-to-read, lighted display, which comes in very handy for outdoor barbecues long after the sun’s set. The iGrill has a touch display, and comes with two probes, which means it can actually monitor...
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New York’s Tea Parlor Trend
With all the buzz around coffee these days, tea sometimes gets neglected. And while New York’s experiencing a coffee revolution, there are just as exciting things happening in the world of tea. We can’t help but notice several new tea spots determined to change the way we see and sip tea. There’s the French-inspired Bosie Tea Parlor with a Bouley-trained pastry chef turning out killer macaroons and one-of-a-kind David’s Teas made with everything from popcorn to chili and chocolate. Here’s a few of our favorites… David’s Tea Address: 275 Bleecker St., btwn. Jones and Cornelia Sts. (multiple locations) Phone: (212) 414-8599 Website: www.davidstea.com We can thank Canada for this exciting, new tea shop, which just recently opened in Manhattan. David’s Tea (pictured above) ups the ante with one-of-a-kind blends that will change the way you think about tea. Think we’re exaggerating? How...
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