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We might not be able to travel as far as we would like this summer, but we can still be transported through food and drink. We had a chat with Joy Spence, the Master Blender of Appleton Estate Rum in Jamaica, to get her take on embracing summer with rum cocktails.
Read MoreAs much as I love cooking and sharing, the last few months have been particularly strange for me as someone who loves to learn from others. So even though it is looking like it will still be months before we can have a proper guest back in the kitchen, I am determined to keep learning from experts and bringing them to you! A little technology can go a long way!
Read MoreWine can be intimidating. There’s so many facts to remember and every list and shop is different and there’s always an air of “I know something you don’t know” about people who serve or sell it. But what if there were a few key clues you could use to your advantage?
Maryse Chevriere has the answers to make you feel a bit more confident without having to go get a PhD in wine. Her new book, Grasping the Grape, is a beginner guide to steer you in the right direction. Unlike a lot of wine books that might make some of us glaze over, her little tome is written like a friend who only has your best interests at heart. We got Maryse to come by and give us her best tips for navigating our wine choices. It’s a bit of new confidence to bring into the new year! Watch the video below to see what she says.
Read MoreIs there anything more universal than a hangover (or even for the non-drinkers, the days where we just feel particularly blah)? We all know the feeling of wanting something warming and filling that will hit that sweet spot to comfort us when we aren’t feeling well.
But maybe you hadn’t realized that the food for hangovers has global appeal. In her new book Hangover Helper Lauren Shockey explores the hangover cures that hit the spot across an array of cultures and gives us new ideas to shake up our old routines.
Read MoreThere are few dishes as popular at restaurants as beef tartare. And yet despite being among the easiest to execute, most people stay away from it at home. Raw beef in a restaurant setting seems fine, but there is some kind of mental block to making it yourself. But is it really just as easy for home cooks?
Luckily we had the perfect person to answer this conundrum - Chris Starkus, the chef at Denver’s steakhouse Urban Farmer also operates Lost Creek Micro Farm , so he knows about sourcing from a multitude of perspectives. We got his breakdown of what to look for when purchasing meat for serving raw, the best cuts to buy and the perfect recipe to make it all come together. You might not get to be on a cattle ranch in Denver, but you can come pretty close.
Read MoreThere is no other place like Shuko. The Japanese spot, which serves some of the best omakase and kaiseki in New York, has it’s own particular vibe that is unlike any other little corner of the city. A lot has been said about the music (let’s just say a lot more modern than most expensive temples to Japanese gastronomy) but more than that it is a sense of fun that often disappears when in the presence of excellent, high end food.
So I wanted to get a sense of what dish they felt best exemplified the restaurant, and I was not disappointed by the choice. Instead of the sushi they are most known for, the pick was a robata course from their kaiseki menu: the Grilled Gindara Cod. Why cod - one of the most common fish - for a restaurant that revels in finding the most special ingredients? Well because the best possible cod, prepared in the most thoughtful way, can still be the most excellent dish. And that’s the fun part of Shuko.
Read MoreFew people can make healthy food seem extremely fun, but Ellie Krieger has that effect. Through her many books and cooking shows she always gives the impression that you can have your cake, eat it too and somehow find a way to make it as good for you as possible.
But her new book takes it to a new level because not only is she giving recipes that are healthy, but she’s saving you time and energy in the kitchen. Whole in One is all about cooking with one pot and making your life as easy as possible. If you cant do it in one pot there are no cheats her - she has figured out how to make it work.
We had Ellie in the kitchen to chat about the new book and make her herbed lentil skillet with spinach, tomatoes and ricotta. I’m not even going to pretend like I didn’t subsequently make this dish every night for a week - it was the perfect type of dish for real life. It was easy, quick, minimal clean-up and most importantly delicious.
Read MoreIt’s not often that a major city gets an entirely new neighborhood right in the center of the city, but that’s what has happened in New York with Hudson Yards. And with this big new neighborhood has come a plethora of big name restaurants and restaurateurs so it was to no one’s surprise that Danny Meyer teamed up with the newest cultural institution, The Shed, to bring his stamp to the proceedings.
We got a chance to catch up with Meyer to talk about his newest spot, Cedric’s at the Shed, and we delved into the new area, the intersection of art and food, and why Meyer keeps finding ways to open up inside cultural space. Hopefully it’ll be a bit of inspiration to make your next dining experience an artistic one as well.
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