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As if By Magic

Originally I was going to give away the new La Roux album today, since that comes out this September and I thought it would be really cool. But since I think this website treads on enough illegal territory as it is (hehe), I will offer up instead

The Definitive Gold Box Edition of Twin Peaks!!!!

David Lynch fans, get your cursors ready! To win, answer the question below in the comments section. Whoever does so correctly first, will have Laura Palmer to stare at forever after.

What is the second largest wine-growing region in Switzerland?

Marry Me

 

Two weekends ago, my sister Julianna married Boujeloud Reed at St. Mary's church in Hudson, New York, followed by a beautiful celebration at nearby Mount Merino Manor. Julianna and Bou had their first date in Hudson, so the town holds a certain romantic significance for them. In fact, the day before the big event, Julianna took her bridesmaids and I on a mini-tour of her love story, stopping at Swoon Kitchenbar on Warren St, for a midday cocktail before getting our nails done. If you like spicy Bloody Marys with shredded dill and cucumber or crisp glasses of rosé, it's a great place to visit! That evening after the rehearsal dinner we enjoyed some soulful barbecue at a terrific catering hall, Space 360. I'd never spent much time in Hudson prior to that weekend, but I found it has a bunch of great culinary gems. Unfortunately, there wasn't time to explore more of them because...we had a wedding to go to! Since a wedding is nothing if not a big fat food-filled affair, I thought I'd share some of the culinary highlights here. All of the catering was provided by Terrapin Restaurant in Rhinebeck, and they really brought my sister's vision to life!

During the Cocktail Hour...An artisanal cheese display with Sprout Creek and Old Chatham Varietals New York Sharp Cheddar and Humboldt Fog, baguettes, crisp breads, and seasonal berries were set up on a side table on the porch of the manor. In addition, there were platters of sweet dried sopresatta with cornichons, Pommery mustard and Russian dark bread, seasonal raw vegetable crudites with basil aioli and white-bean tapenade with sun dried tomatoes and  Kalamata olives that had been drizzled with truffle oil to be smeared on top of griddled bruschetta.



Because the appetizer station and the bar (stocked with everything from Guinness to Grey Goose) were slightly congested, some guests chose to sit inside the parlour on the first floor of the manor. This was, as it turned out, a pretty smart move, as all of the passed hors d' ouvres were prepared in the adjoining kitchen. Some of the treats included crisp artichoke and spinach spring rolls, Alsatian onion tartlets, Grilled Gulf shrimp with a Meyer lemon mousse (my personal fave), Spinach with feta phyllo triangles, Pan-roasted crab and shiitake mushroom cakes with citrus aioli (my number two fave), Rare duck breast with orange butter on a polenta cracker, Smoked salmon with chive cream fondant and caviar on Russian black bread (my number three fave) and Blackened beef tenderloin with red onion jam and horseradish cream on griddled bruschetta (Jason's fave).

Family Style Dinner Menu

As 120 guests made their way down the lawn from the manor to a large tent, a light drizzle began to fall. But no matter. There was plenty of room inside for dancing, mingling, an impromptu cigar lounge, and of course lots and lots of eating and drinking: A cornucopia of peasant breads, cured olives, grapes, pears, apples, and wedges of Asiago cheese were spread along each rectangular dining table for easy nibbling in between courses. The idea was that guests would be literally ripping hunks of bread from the loaves with their hands and casually passing the other items around, just as they would at home.

After a welcome blessing and toast by my father, the Salad Course was served: Organic mesclun greens with a Maine Lobster cake, and a white balsamic vinaigrette. After the father-daughter dance, mother-son dance and some other group boogies, Dinner Entrees were butlered Russian style to each guest, with a choice of carved New York sirloin with creamy horseradish aioli, Mediterranean-style grilled butterflied leg of local lamb with Tzatziki, a lightly poached halibut or any combination of all three depending upon how hungry one was.

Accompaniments were passed person-to-person, family style, and second helpings were definitely encouraged! Platters of pan-flashed spinach with garlic chips crossed arms with

a medley of roasted red bliss, purple Peruvian, and fingerling potatoes, alongside bowls of grilled summer squash with a Tamari glaze or orzo with sun dried tomatoes, fire-roasted artichoke hearts and a basil pesto with shaved asiago.

For the Dessert finale, there was, naturally, a beautiful wedding cake that my sister and Bou gracefully carved the first slice from. The flavor was Terrapin's signature carrot cake with whipped cream cheese frosting, and it had the perfect balance of creaminess to veggie crunch. But just in case you weren't a cake kind of person, each guest was also served a chilled chocolate creme brulee on a thick cocoa wafer with raspberry sorbet and chocolate raspberry croquettes (the last of which yielded a very pleasing explosion of gooey chocolate once you bit through its fried exterior—yum!).

Just writing all of this has made me full all over again and I feel like cutting loose to some Beyoncé on the dancefloor, but alas...it's been packed up for days. Which is all to say that we had a wonderfully amazing and laughter-filled time. It was truly a special occasion for my family and I'd be lying if I said I hadn't been reliving it every day in my mind since!

p.s. All of the photography featured above is by J.Castro. I just couldn't wait to post any longer, hence the "copyright" infringement. But I plan to purchase many many many more J!! He is an amazing photographer!

I Will Be Grateful For This Day: Winner!

Well, yesterday's giveaway was certainly an exciting one! While Mr. Smith was quick on the draw and posted first, he ultimately failed to answer both halves of my two-part question. Spying this mistake from her monitor across town, Jamie swiftly staked her claim to the flip-flops with her own two-part answer...and, not incidentally, a little "take that" slap.

But the real winner ended up being KT who, despite answering several hours later, was essentially gifted the flip-flop winnings by Jamie and Smith, since they were apparently both competing solely for bragging rights. (You guys brag about winning on my blog? Seriously, that's awesome.)

As for the dark horse winner KT, I'd start playing the lotto today because them is some good odds!

I Will Be Grateful For This Day

 Sorry for skipping last week's giveaway! But between trying to get rid of a terrible cold and being in the midst of last-minute preparations for my sister's wedding, I was a little crazed to say the least. Tomorrow, I will provide a full-on foodie recap of the weekend's festivities. But for today, I am going to stand on ceremony and go straight to the sweeps!

Today's freebies are two pairs of Brazilian label Havaianas flip-flops (navy and white, respectively) in size 35-36.

To win both pairs, answer the following question in the comments section below. Whoever answers correctly first, can kick back on the back with a cocktail in style!

Question: What is Brazil's national cocktail? AND what type of alcohol makes up its base?

Sick Child

I need a hug.

I've been sick since Saturday and on antibiotics since Monday—as well as Claritin D, and a neti pot nasal-clearing ritual before bed. To help flush things out further, I've been drinking my weight in tea and consuming nothing but spicy Japanese soups for lunch. For dinner, it's been more fiery foods, in the way of basil curry vegetables or red-pepper-flaked bean salads. See, I've always believed in the curative powers of cuisine. There are many healing foods out there: chicken soup, daikon radish, ginger, to name a few.

If anyone has any recommendations for fast-fixes for colds...I am all ears!

Use Somebody

Tab For Two: Get Fresh Table & Market
Address: 370 Fifth Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11215
718.360.8469

What to wear, who's there: This restaurant is one of a handful that have opened recently in the boutique-grocery/easy-going-cafe-with-an-upscale-menu category. In the front of the house, tables are surrounded by bookcases filled with jarred preserves, pickled vegetables, and artisanal dry goods while the opposing wall is comprised of glass refrigerators holding more precious items, like meats and cheeses. The rest of the casual smart furnishings evoke something like being in a friend's home: well-worn floorboards,  vintage water bottles, soft—but not too dim—lighting and a backyard patio where you can gossip away the night over a plate of marinated olives or radishes with homemade salted butter at picnic tables.

What They're Serving: If you're the type of indecisive diner who wrestles for hours with thought cycles like, "do I want Mexican or do I want Indian? Or maybe I want American bistro?," fret no longer. The menu at Fresh Table & Market collects dishes inspired by multiple cultures, from the Tacos Del Dia—handmade tortillas made by the chef's mother and then stuffed with juicy fillings like pulled pork or chicken—to pickled vegetables served with lavash, an Armenian flatbread,  or striped bass with a saffron-potato mash and bouillabaise sauce, you can satisfy many global cravings at once.

We Effing Loved: These lips have seen a lot of scallops in my day. But I felt as though my senses were reawakened to the succulent sea food when it was prepared in a massaman curry sauce of coconut milk and peanut with sprouts and seaweed salad served in a large seashell nested on a bed of salt and paired with a bowl of sticky white rice, fragrant with mint and thai basil. Me love it long time.

Pickled veggies with lavash cracker-bread

homemade shredded chicken taco appetizer

striped sea bass

the piece de resistance

Second Hand News

For all you burger lovers out there, check out The Burger of the Month Club's website for coupons toward free fries, a bottle of steak sauce, shakes and more at various locations around the city!

Raw Sugar

Sometimes I absolutely dread my Monday-night shift at the Park Slope Food Co-op. It comes once every four weeks and lasts for a measly two hours, so it's not as if it takes up that much of my free time. It's the fact that I work as a cashier, and handling other people's money makes me very uncomfortable for some reason. I get nervous that I will be distracted and mistakenly shortchange someone. Or worse, maybe I will shortchange the store by giving someone too much money back! Sometimes bills stick together! And the nightmares I have about counting out my register at the end of the shift make those two hours feel like a 15-year prison sentence.

But the reward for all of that worry is that I often go shopping immediately after I clock out. And the low prices that result from The Co-op not having to pay employees are not only a boon to my standard grocery budget but also make me feel freer to explore new foods and brands.

Cases in point: a young coconut that I cracked open at home and sipped fresh coconut water from, as if I were vacationing in Tahiti; and a bar of decadently creamy 78% Ecuador Cacao by Fine and Raw chocolatiers in Brooklyn. The bar cost $6.09, which made the man at checkout do a double-take. And I know that that is still kind of a crazy amount to pay for a bar of chocolate that wasn't dipped in gold or guarantees entrance into a mystical factory with a glass elevator. But anywhere else, that bar would cost upwards of $8.50—including on the Fine and Raw website itself. So I felt justified that my splurge chocolate was received at a discount. And, more importantly, it tasted like effing magic.

First Cut is the Deepest: Winner!

Wow, someone really wanted that Mr. Potatohead. And that someone was Mr. Matt Smith! Not only was Matt's post the first and, more importantly, correct. But it was also the longest and most in depth explanation. I don't know where you Googled that information from, Matt. But I like the overachiever you became in order to secure your victory. Way to go! You are the winner! Please e-mail me your address off-blog, and I will have my people send it to your people immediately.

First Cut is the Deepest

Today's weekly giveaway will take you back to the days of Saturday morning cartoons and Kay-Bee toy stores. I am offering up two modern yet nostalgic prizes:

1. A Taters of the Lost Ark Mr. Potato Head (new in the box)

and 2. A new large Transformers t-shirt. (You will just have to trust me that it is really cool, as I can't find an image online with the exact illustration.)

How to win? Answer the following trivia question in the comments section below. The first person to post correctly, gets to relive their youth and make all the neighboring kids jealous.

Question: Where does the word "POTATO" originate from?