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Pastry chef Alex Stupak is a master of innovative designs and textures, making him no stranger to the molecular gastronomy taking place at wd~50.  In a kitchen where science takes dishes to a whole new level, Alex has relied on experimentation and a precise sense of balance to perfect the creations that continue to delight and awe customers.  At the youthful age of twenty-six, chef Alex Stupak had earned the pastry chef position at one of most innovative and praised restaurants in America, Alinea.  There, Stupak worked alongside famed chef Grant Achatz, distinguishing himself with provocative creations and cutting-edge techniques. Alex reverses expectations with a cherry-covered chocolate, a dish of smooth chocolate mousse encapsulated by a blood-red cherry gel.

Single/Married/Divorced
Married.  My wife is the pastry sous chef at Babbo.

What was your first job in food?
A dishwasher at a tiny café in my home town.

You were a pioneer of the molecular gastronomy on the pastry scene. What first compelled you to experiment with unconventional flavors and cutting edge methods?
I am completely self taught as a pastry chef, so any methodology or technique had to originate from experimentation, that, plus the fact that conventionality bores me.

Which tools do you always keep on hand in the kitchen?
A retractable razor, a note pad, and my offset spatula.

What’s your take on classic desserts like apple pie and key lime pie?
I leave them alone.  I believe in perfecting classics, not altering them.

What are some of the challenges you’ve faced as a pastry chef in such top restaurants as Alinea in Chicago and currently at wd~50?
Working at places that pride themselves in their creativity leaves you no choice but to be creative.  There's immense pressure.  I get the impression people think this is fun.

What’s your favorite dessert on the spring pastry menu?
Rhubarb with olive oil and yogurt.  It's exciting because my Sous Chef, Rosio Sanchez, created it.  It's amazing to watch her blossom.

What’s your least favorite dessert on the menu?...
 

Some restaurants lack soul. Not Korhogo 126. You can taste the soul of its owners on nearly every plate. This French West African eatery marries the culinary heritages of Parisian-born Emmanuelle Chiche and chef Abdhul Traore, who made his New York City debut at Les Enfants Terribles on the lower East Side. Traore hails from Korhogo, a small town in the Ivory Coast that's become this prideful new restaurant's namesake.

The chef injects a rush of seasonings and flavors from his homeland into French bistro staples. This translates to a menu where African classics, like grilled prawns in a pili pili (chili pepper) sauce appear alongside steak frites. But here the steak frites gets an aggressively spiced marinade of thyme, cardamom and kanifi (African black pepper).

These intensely exotic aromas spill into...

To read the complete review at The New York Daily News

Prune
54 East 1st St.
New York, NY 10003
(212) 677-6221
www.prunerestaurant.com
Mother's Day is the one day of the year diners can actually make reservations for the wildly popular brunch at this East Village nook (pictured right).  So seize this rare opportunity to secure a table and indulge in sausage & oysters, the “Youth Hostel Breakfast,”  which features fish pastes, liverwurst, sausages and fresh breads, or cream of wheat with buttermilk ice cream and ingenious.  Don't miss out on an inventive selection of Bloody Mary's, like the wasabi-tinged "Green Lake" with beef jerky.

Country
90 Madison Avenue, at 29th Street
New York, NY 10016
(212) 889-7100
www.countryinnewyork.com
For $85 a person, Country's main dining room offers a veritable feast of finery to its guests with a choice between such hearty dishes as risotto, lamb, or a hearty bison for a main course.  Pulling out all the stops, there will also be stations for black truffled eggs, charcuterie, and soft shell crabs.   For dessert, a wonderland of French macaroons, chocolate, parfaits and tarts are served beneath a Tiffany’s glass dome.

Picholine
35 W. 64th Street
New York, NY 10016
(212) 724-8585
http://www.picholinenyc.com
Beginning at 1 p.m., this elegant Upper West Side institution will offer an all-day Mother's Day dinner menu for $85 per person.  Preludes celebrate spring with white asparagus soup and fava bean salad, while “day boats” and “the land” feature wild striped bass with couscous caviar and licorice-glazed squab. Finish with a liquid chocolate tart with earl gray meringue, or their ethereal peanut butter soufflé with banana ice cream and salty candied peanuts.

Calle Ocho
446 Columbus Ave (between 81st and 82nd Streets)
New York, NY 10024
(212) 873-5025
www.calleochonyc.com
A lively alternative to a conventional Mother's Day brunch, this Latin American spot serves fiery twists on brunch classics. Chocolate banana macadamia pancakes are enriched with a dulce de leche sauce, while the “Latin Benedict” features Serrano ham with a chipotle-flecked hollandaise sauce.  Plantains, beans & rice, and corn arepas complete the tasty ensemble.

Aureole
34 E. 61st St.
New York, NY 10021
(212) 319-1660
Celebrate at Charlie Palmer's upscale American restaurant set in a serene midtown townhouse with a special Mother’s Day brunch for $95 per person. Truffled rabbit and ham hock tortellini luxuriate in a spring vegetable consommé with foie gras, while lamb confit arrives with an eggplant fondue and garlic mashed potatoes.  For dessert, opt for the cornmeal buttermilk waffle, topped with warm rhubarb compote and blueberry ice cream.

Gilt ...

by Deborah Snyder
(8 servings)

Ingredients:

• 2 c Lemon Curd (recipe follows)
• 2 egg whites
• ½ c sugar
• ½ c heavy cream, whipped

For Lemon Curd:

• 4 ½ T crème fraiche
• 3 eggs
• 2 yolks
• ¾ c lemon juice
• ¾ c sugar
• 1 ½ t lemon zest
• 1 ¾ t gelatin powder
• ½ c butter

Procedure:
Combine crème fraiche, eggs, yolks, lemon juice, zest and sugar in a non-reactive sauce pot.  Whisk to combine.  Heat, whisking steadily, until the mixture thickens and begins to boil.  Do not allow to boil rapidly.  Place the gelatin in water 1/8 c cold water, then stir the gelatin into the curd.  Pass the mix through a fine-mesh sieve and cool slightly.  Add the butter and stir - use an immersion blender if necessary, until everything is smooth. Put plastic directly on top and cool.

For Semifreddo:
Whip the cream to soft peaks and set aside.

Prepare 8 individual rings or a 6 cup soufflé dish by spraying lightly with Pam.  Combine ¼ c water and the sugar in a sauce pot and bring to a boil over medium heat.  Using a candy thermometer, cook the sugar to 242°, or soft ball.  Meanwhile, whip the whites in an electric mixer with the whip attachment until soft peaks form.  Slowly stream in the sugar syrup and continue to whip until cool.

Place the curd in a large boil.  Carefully fold in the cream, then the whites.  Try not to deflate.  Spoon or pour into the rings or soufflé dish, then freeze to set, at least four hours. Can be frozen overnight covered tightly. 

Serve with:
Whipped cream, candied pistachios, candied lemon zest.

Whether you're an eggs benedict fanatic or an egg salad devotee, this egg cooker and poacher will alleviate all anxieties in cooking the perfect egg.  The Henrietta Egg Cooker and Poacher not only looks cute, it chirps when eggs are hard boiled or poached to completion.  This chick holds up to seven eggs for hard boiling, or four for poaching.  Pass the hollandaise sauce, please...

Henrietta Egg Cooker and Poacher

Care to share your favorite kitchen gizmo? Email Us.

Until we eat again,
Restaurant Girl
**Don't forget to subscribe for Restaurant Girl's Weekly Newsletter**
 

Pastry chef Karen DeMasco has distinguished herself not with subversive creations or unconventional methods, but with exemplary, classic desserts.  Trends may come and go, but Karen's elemental style that embraces seasonal fruits has sustained her ever-evolving career and a seven-year run at Craft.  Karen first honed her techniques at Gramercy Tavern, and then Della Femina, where she was well-received by the New York Times. She was then lured by chef Tom Colicchio to helm the pastry department at Craft, and later Craftbar.   

At Craft, Karen’s signature desserts include gingerbread with roasted pear and crème fraiche, and chocolate cake with malted milk ice cream.  But hurry to have a "choose your own adventure" dessert, as she will soon be departing.  Officially ending her tenure with Craft and Craftbar this May, Karen plans to spend the summer finishing her cookbook and working on her own restaurant project to unveil in 2009.  DeMasco is a pastry chef on the rise and we await her imminent solo debut.   

Status: Single/Married/Divorced
Married, for 10 years this year.

What did you want to be when you grew up?
A truck driver, that didn’t really work out.

What was your first job in food?
Waitressing at Sand’s Delicatessen in Shaker Heights, Ohio during high school.

After spending time working in NYC restaurants (One if by Land, Gramercy Tavern), you moved to Portland, ME to work as pastry chef at Fore Street Restaurant. How was the transition from bustling NYC to a more tranquil lifestyle in Maine?
I loved it- we lived in a beautiful (and cheap) apartment on the east end of Portland overlooking Casco Bay and I walked to work every day. I learned how to ski and mountain bike, and made lots of good friends.

You clearly missed NYC soon, as you moved back not long after to become the pastry chef at Della Femina. What propelled that move?
My husband, Bobby, had a great opportunity to open his own business here (which is Pierless Fish- a wholesale seafood purveyor). It was a little scary, because it is a very comfortable lifestyle up there, but we both missed New York restaurants- and there were a lot more opportunities for me here as well. Looking back, I think we made a great decision.

Your current position rests within Tom Colicchio’s Craft-iness, assuming head manager of Craft and Craftbar’s pastry kitchens. How did this opportunity come about?
I had worked for Tom and Claudia Fleming at Gramercy Tavern before moving to Maine and I absolutely loved it. When I first moved back from Maine, I went back to Gramercy while I waited for Della Femina to open. Later, when I heard that Tom was going to open a restaurant I jumped at the chance to be considered. Tom hired me based mostly on Claudia’s recommendation, and it all grew from there. Craftbar opened next, and we sent the desserts from my pastry kitchen. Later, ‘wichcraft opened. We would carry all of the trays of pastries over each morning. In the beginning, they were all in a row along 19th street. That was great.

Tom Colicchio has made himself a notable icon, through both his restaurant accomplishments as well as Top Chef appearances. How is it working for such a critical Top judge?...
Tom is not a micromanager. He lets all of us make our own mistakes and figure out how to deal with them. Over the years, I have been able to pretty much do my own thing. That being said, he has an uncanny ability to spot the one thing in the kitchen that really did not come out right that day, and I have quite a complex about it. I always try to have him taste something else that is great after that happens. He doesn’t do it often, but when he tells me he doesn’t like something, I change it immediately.

Managing two pastry kitchens is tough when you can only be at one place at one time. How do you juggle the responsibilities?
At Craftbar, the desserts are plated by the garde manger. This has had its ups and downs, but the chef, Lauren Hirschberg, does a great job overseeing it. He cares about each plate that leaves the kitchen- desserts included. I have to trust him because I cannot be there most of the time. I spend my time at Craft, where we do all of the craftbar production along with everything for Craft.

As of late, we’ve seen a lot of shifting in pastry towards more savory flavors. What’s your take on this trendy transition?
I like desserts that are not overly sweet, but personally, I will leave the bacon to the hot line.

From the looks of it, you would never know there is a well-trained chef hustling in the kitchen at Eletteria, a restaurant that just debuted in Greenwich Village. Floating doors, cropped paintings and a fake staircase suggest a funhouse for frivolous culinary affairs. So does the audience, a hip, young crowd who tend to flock to the newest restaurants for sport.

But a deep-fried quail suggests serious pleasures. When skin this crisp gives way to such wondrously sweet meat, you don't debate the merits of frying. It's perfectly paired with a fried quail egg, bacon and pomegranate vinaigrette.

This appetizer is the handiwork of chef Akhtar Nawab, who spent a year cooking at pan-European gastropub E.U.

Elettaria is his latest project, a joint venture with partner Noel Cruz; they met while working at Craftbar. This is an entirely different script for this chef...

To read the complete review at The New York Daily News

Wine Cellar Sorbets
Whole Foods Market
4 Union Square South
New York, NY 10003
Sophisticated sorbet lovers can also fulfill their love of wine with these potent frozen desserts. For spring, a great choice would be the crisp Riesling, which has the taste of apples and citrus fruits and a sweet yet smooth finish. Wine Cellar Sorbets suggests serving it with croissant French toast and caramelized apples – a great brunch idea!

Cones
272 Bleecker Street
Btwn Jones St. and Morton St.
New York, NY 10014
(212) 414-1795
This shops makes thick, luscious Argentinean ice cream, but also offers a variety of refreshing sorbets for patrons to eat while strolling down Bleecker Street. Ginger is refreshingly zingy, while cantaloupe makes for a more unusual, ripe-tasting treat.

Yolato
120 MacDougal St.
Btwn Bleecker and West 3rd Sts.
New York, NY 10012
(212) 228-6303
www.yolato.com
This explosive franchise has managed to rise above the competition and provide customers with low fat frozen yogurt that is actually creamy and rich. The sorbets never fall short in consistency or variety either. Try the kiwi banana topped with mango and chewy rice cakes for a fun tropical twist, or embrace more traditional flavors like green apple and strawberry.

Blue Marble Ice Cream
420 Atlantic Ave. btwn Bond and Nevins St.
Brooklyn, NY 11217
(718) 858-1100
www.bluemarbleicecream.com
This popular ice cream shop, hailingfrom the Hudson Valley, has a small but potent list of flavorful frozen delights. There are three sorbets on the menu, two of which are tropical mango and coconut.  However, the mora (Andean blackberry sorbet) is by far the most exotic and intriguing.

Uncle Louie G’s
517 Henry St.
Brooklyn, NY 11231
(718) 246-5300
http://www.unclelouieg.com/italian-ices.html
Located in Carroll Gardens, Louie G’s churns out a surprising array of sorbet flavors, all of which possess a creaminess not unlike ice cream. “Holy Canoli,” peanut butter and jelly, and “Root Beer Mug” are all great choices.

Whatever Café
150 Centre Street
New York, NY 10013
Hidden away at the edge of Chinatown is this spacious, tranquil spot with countless varieties of exotic sweets.  If bird’s nest soup or double boiled papaya sound a bit too adventurous, try the mango pudding with mixed fresh fruit. Topped with strawberries and kiwis, and doused with a sweet mango sauce, fresh mango and airy coconut sorbet, it’s an unusual, refreshing ending to a meal on nearby Mott Street.

Until we eat again,
Restaurant Girl
**Don't forget to subscribe for Restaurant Girl's Weekly Newsletter**

by Wayne Harley Brachman
(Adapted from his cookbook, American Desserts)

Ingredients for the coconut macaroon crust:

• Nonstick vegetable-oil spray
• ¾ cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 2 ¼ cups unsweetened, shredded coconut
• 5 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pea-sized bits
• 2 large egg whites
• 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Ingredients for the key lime filling:

• 4 large egg yolks
• 1 14-ounce can of sweetened condensed milk
• Grated zest of 2 key limes (about 2 teaspoons)
• ½ cup Key lime juice (from about 6 key limes)

Whipped Cream for garnish:

• Substitute Persian limes if you can’t find fresh key limes (which are available in winter)

Preparation:
1.    Make the Coconut Macaroon Crust: Lightly coat a 9 1/2 –inch tart pan with a removable bottom with non-stick vegetable-oil spray.

In the continuation of April Pastry Month, and the onset of warm weather this weekend, Gizmo Girl brings you the waffle cone maker for the perfect afternoon ice cream cone fix.  Forget the ice cream truck: make your own homemade & warm waffle cone then stuff if with your favorite flavor.

Waffle Cone Maker

Care to share your favorite kitchen gizmo? Email Us.

Until we eat again,
Restaurant Girl
**Don't forget to subscribe for Restaurant Girl's Weekly Newsletter**