Clover Club's Green Destiny Cocktail
By Brad Farren(Serves 1) Ingredients: 1 ½ parts Beefeater 24 (Green tea and Japanese sencha tea ¾ part simple syrup ¾ part grapefruit juice ½ part dry vermouth ½ part lemon juice 1-2 shiso leaves Procedure: Muddle shiso leaves in simple syrup. Shake ingredients and fine strain into a cocktail glass. Address: 210 Smith St., between Butler & Baltic Sts.Phone: (718) 855-7939 Photo Credit: Sarah...
Read MoreFlour Sifter
There are lots of wonderful and not so wonderful signs of the holidays. (The unpleasant involve long lines, credit card debt, and frigid temperatures.) The most pleasant signs are the aromas coming from the kitchen. When you’re baking anything from cookies to cakes, clumps are the enemy. This sifter not only un-clumps flour, but can also be used for any other dry ingredients like sugar, baking soda or cocoa. What sets this apart is its curved shape allows you to scoop flour right out of the bag and the trigger sifting mechanism let’s you scoop and sift with one hand. And the mesh opening prevents messes, so you can even use it to add finishing touches, like powdered sugar for the tops of cakes, right at the table. $13.99,...
Read MoreRecession Proof Baking Tips: Holiday Edition
Christmas is only a few days away. Sweets are the perfect, last minute gift! (Not to mention affordable.) Here’s a few tips to making the perfect X-mas goodies… Chocolate bark is a surprisingly easy and delicious gift that you can personalize according to the recipient’s taste! (Some people prefer chocolate and pretzels, some are partial to dried fruit or nuts.) Simply melt however much chocolate you want (I recommend 20 oz.) in the microwave. (I like to use white and dark chocolate for a marbling effect.) Then, mix it with crushed cookies, toasted nuts, shredded coconut, candied fruits, M&Ms, candy canes…anything you have on hand. Spread the mixture on waxed paper with a spatula and place in the freezer until hard. Some bakers use a knife, but I like to just break it up with my hands. Gift wrap it in a...
Read MoreVia dei Mille's Rigatoni with Braised Lamb Ragout
By Executive Chef Emanuel Concas(Serves 10) Ingredients: 1 kg. Rigatoni de Cecco 2 lbs. fresh chuck of lamb 3 small white onions 1 c. extra virgin olive oil 3 c. white wine 3 small cans of Italian plum tomatoes salt and pepper Procedure: 1. Cut lamb in big pieces and then pan roast it. 2. In another pan, cut onions julienne style and sautee them until brown. 3. Put everything into the sauce pan and pour on the white wine. Let the white wine reduce and then add the peeled tomatoes and place the pan in the oven at 360 degrees for 2 hours. 4. Let it cool off and then add the salt and pepper. 5. In another pot, boil water with some salt and add the rigatoni once boiling. Cook to al dente – about 10 minutes. Drain...
Read MoreQ & A with Cesar Ramirez
It’s not often a chef moves from an ambitious restaurant kitchen to a gourmet market, but Cesar Ramirez couldn’t be happier about the dramatic change. Ramirez trained at Bouley where he met his then, future partners for Bar Blanc. Other than its name, it wasn’t really a bar at all. The food was sophisticated, sometimes precious, and there was even a $72, four-course tasting menu. His cooking earned him attention and positive reviews. Suddenly, he parted ways with his partners and disappeared for awhile. Just recently, he resurfaced as the executive chef at Brooklyn Fare, a gourmet market where he prepares takeaway lunches. Instead of roasted red snapper with dashi broth and tofu puree, he now makes daily soups, chicken fingers, and salads. But more importantly, he still gets to be a chef five nights a week where he...
Read MoreTipsy Parson – Reviewed
**** — Four StarsAddress: 156 Ninth Ave, at 20th St.Phone: (212)620-4545Cuisine: Southern-inspired comfort cuisineVibe: Charming brownstone Occasion: Casual date; Group dinner; Bar dining.Hours: Dinner, Mon-Thu, 5:30p.m.-11a.m., Fri & Sat, 5:30p.m.-12a.m., Sun, 5:30p.m.-11a.m; Brunch, Sat & Sun, 10a.m.-4p.m.Don’t Miss Dish: Hush puppies; Catfish; Brussel Sprouts ;Sweet potato pie; Tipsy Parson dessert.Average Price: Appetizers, $12; Entrees, $23; Dessert, $8.Reservations: RecommendedPhoto Credit: Jennifer Calais Smith Capsule: Warm hospitality and wonderful cooking at Tipsy Parson in Chelsea. How great would it be if you could go out for dinner in your pajamas? Unless you’re going to a local diner, eating out requires a certain amount of sacrifice. You have to jump on the subway, walk in the rain, hail a cab, and look slightly presentable. Or, you could just sit on the couch and eat mediocre take-out. As much as I wanted to...
Read MoreBest of – Holiday Cocktails
Winter doesn’t officially start until December 21, but the temperatures outside suggest otherwise. What’s the point in fighting the inevitable? We thought we’d embrace the season with this holiday’s best cocktails. By RG Writer – Agatha Khishchenko Char No. 4 Address: 196 Smith Street Brooklyn, NY 11201 Phone: (718)643-2106 There are a lot of destination restaurants, but this is what I like to call a destination bar. If you live in Carroll Gardens, consider yourself lucky. If you don’t, you’re really missing out. The bar is a glowing shrine to whiskies from all over the world with a 400-bottle selection. This is the perfect season for the Noreaster, a whiskey-based cocktail featuring Old Crow, ginger beer, lime and Canadian maple syrup. The Bourbon Insider is set to debut just in time for the holidays. This warm, fragrant...
Read MoreGive A Cookbook That Gives Back
The holidays are all about giving. That means wracking your brain for what to give who. Some people want the latest gadgets, others jewelry, and some an espresso machine or gizmo’s for the kitchen. How about giving a gift that gives back? I love that idea, especially when it comes to giving to people who are suffering this holiday season. Every aspiring chef or aspiring Martha adores getting cookbooks. Park Avenue Potluck Celebrations is two gifts in one. Give the cookbook — filled with some really simple and delicious recipes from New York “savviest hostesses” — and you’re also giving care to sick patients at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC.) There’s recipes for everyone, from beginners to expert chefs, and they’re all inspired, like a Texas watermelon margarita, fried green apples, or egg nog. Every time you buy...
Read MoreEmployees Only's Southside Cocktail
This week, Employees Only restaurant is celebrating the end of Prohibition (December 5th, 1933). Chocolate coffin cakes, to acknowledge the death of the former amendment, will be served through Sunday, December 13th, as well as vintage cocktails like this one, The Southside. By Bar Chefs Jason Kosmas and Dushan Zaric(Serves 1) Ingredients: 2 ounces Plymouth gin 1 ounce freshly squeezed lemon juice 1/2 ounce simple syrup Pinch of fresh mint 1 splash club soda Directions: Pour all ingredients except club soda into a cocktail shaker. Add large cold ice chunk and shake vigorously. Open the shaker and add a splash of club soda. Use a julep strainer to strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Address: 510 Hudson St., between 10th & Christopher Sts.Phone: (212)...
Read MoreVacuVin Instant Marinater
I don’t know about you, but I can hardly keep track of what day it is, never mind remember to marinate the meat for tonight’s dinner before I leave the house in the morning. Of course, by the time I get home, I either have to settle for a bland meal or eat at 11 pm. Marinating is a wonderful way to add flavor to everything from steak to tofu, but it usually takes time for the meat to absorb the marinade. Not anymore. We found this instant marinater, which manages to marinade anything in just a few minutes. There’s a vacuum attached to the container that seals in flavor with just a few pumps. The container itself can hold a single or stacked layer allowing for dinner for one or four. Even better, it can also be used...
Read MoreBest of – Brooklyn Diners
So a girl walks into a diner… Brooklyn, I’ve recently discovered, does a lot of things well. Even diners. There are a wealth of wonderful spots with excellent pancakes, eggs, French toast, oversized, late-night sandwiches, and a great bottomless cup of coffee. By RG writer – Caitlin Decker Tom’s Diner Address: 782 Washington Ave (corner of Sterling Place and Washington Ave) Phone: (718) 636-9738 My first visit to Tom’s Diner (pictured right) was anything but eventful. TV cameras were swarming the entrance. The Mayor was eating at a nearby table. Say what you till about the Bloomberg’s politics, but the man has great taste in diners. But Tom’s is prepared for big crowds, whether the mayor’s there or locals. On the weekends, they set up chairs outside and bring table plates of cookies, sausages, toast, and orange slices...
Read MoreCharles' The Jane Cocktail
Ingredients: 1 1/2oz. Crop Organic Vodka 1/2 oz lemon juice 1/2oz simple Muddled grapefruit and mint Sprite float Mint garnish Procedure: 1. Muddle grapefruit segment and 3 mint leaves in shaker. 2. Add other ingredients and shake with ice. Strain into a martini glass. 3. Add Sprite float and garnish with mint. The Charles Address: 324 W 4th St., at 10th St.Phone: (212)...
Read MoreSpice Carousel
If you’re a regular Gizmo girl reader, you know how fond we are of gadgets that multi-task and this spice carousel is a great one. Not only does it hold 12 spices to avoid cluttered cabinets with a bevvy of bottles, but it also measures & dispenses them for you. The auto-measure dial measures spices in quarter teaspoon increments, so you can put your bowl right under the dispenser, turn the dial, and out comes 1/4 or 1/2 a teaspoon of the spice. The top of every spice section opens, so you can spoon out larger measurements. And you can take out each spice and use it as a shaker as well. The spices are all stackable, making it easy to add another carousel if you’re into your spices and like to keep up to 36 on hand. It...
Read MoreRecession Proof Desserts: Ice Cream Tricks
1) Eating ice cream with your hands is sorely underrated. Most people get a popcorn and a coke when they go to the movies. Me, I get ice cream bonbons. It’s frozen finger good. Unfortunately, it’s hard to find them in the freezer aisle. I decided to experiment and came up with a great, easy recipe. Take a scoop of your favorite flavor with a rounded tablespoon, or a melon baller, and place it on a plate lined with wax paper. Stick toothpicks in each one, and freeze until hard. In the meantime, melt two parts chocolate, one part butter, and set aside to cool. When ready to dip, take out the ice cream balls and quickly plunge into the melted chocolate. Move quickly as this stuff will melt fast. Return it to the freezer and there you have it...
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