cooking

Autumn Culinary Retreat Package at Australia's Luxe Wolgan Valley Resort & Spa

Filed under: Dining, Luxury Travel & Hotels

Wolgan Valley Resort & Spa, an Emirates property and Australia's first luxury conservation-based resort, is celebrating autumn in Australia with the "Autumn Retreat" package for gourmet aficionados.

A member of The Leading Small Hotels of the World, the luxe resort is located within its own 4,000 acre conservation reserve nestled between two national parks. This secluded refuge features 40 individual suites surrounded by private decks, each with its own indoor/outdoor swimming pool. The resort's architecture is designed to be reminiscent of traditional rural Australian homesteads.

The Autumn Retreat package includes an on-site cooking demonstration by a Wolgan Valley chef featuring fresh autumnal produce from the resort's kitchen garden and local suppliers, showcasing uniquely Australian cuisine enhanced by a seasonal, regional and organic food philosophy.

Tags: Australia, cooking, Emirates, food, luxury resorts, suites, Wolgan Valley Resort Spa

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Celebrity Chef Todd English to Host Cooking Demonstration at The Plaza Food Hall

by Carrie Coolidge (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining, Luxury Travel & Hotels

On Thursday, November 18th Celebrity Chef Todd English will host a holiday-themed cooking demonstration at The Plaza Food Hall in the Concourse level of the Plaza Hotel in New York. The event will run from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm

Called "Happy Holiday Hors d'Oeuvres", the cooking demonstration and tasting will be free and open to the public. English will teach guests how to make festive appetizers for easy, elegant holiday entertaining, preparing Lobster Popovers, Plaza Food Hall Prime Rib Sliders and Chestnut Soup with Nantucket Bay Scallops.

A departure from the usual cocktail fare, these appetizers are unique and delicious while easy to make. Guests will have the opportunity to sample the hors d'oeuvres and take away recipes so that they may try their hand at making them at home.

Gallery: Todd English Food Hall

The Sushi Bar at The Plaza Food Hall by Todd English

The Front Entrance of The Plaza Food Hall by Todd English

The Noodle Bar at The Plaza Food Hall by Todd English

The Ocean Grill at The Plaza Food Hall by Todd English

The Pizza Station at The Plaza Food Hall by Todd English

Tags: awards-main, cooking, demonstration, luxist-awards, Plaza Hotel, recipes, The Plaza, The Plaza Food Hall, The Plaza Food Hall by Todd English, The Plaza Hotel, Todd English

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J.A. Henckels' Damascus Knives For Williams-Sonoma

by Michael B. Dougherty (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining

Creating true statement pieces, which will also serve you very well in the kitchen, J.A. Henckels has just released a line of Damascus steel knives, under its Zwilling brand, available exclusively at Williams-Sonoma.

The high-end of a new three-tiered collection, which includes Zwilling Pure and Zwilling Cronidur (made from the same steel NASA uses for Space Shuttle ball bearings), Zwilling Damascus is 160 layers of razor-sharp beauty. Designed by architect Matteo Thun, and hand-forged by a top German blacksmith, each knife receives an acid bath after its creation to reveal the undulating patterns distinctive of Damascus steel. The blade is then mounted to a handle of untreated, oiled grenadill wood. Perfectly balanced, the thumb instantly gravitates towards the generous bolster, which provides an unusual amount of comfort and precise control. At 61 on the Rockwell scale, the knife is incredibly hard (meaning edge retention is excellent) but the blade also possesses the proper amount of limber flexibility.

Currently offering a chef's, bread, pairing and Santoku knife, the line is the first German-made Damascus steel on the market. And since each blade's pattern is unique, the Zwilling Damascus isn't just the one you'll want to reach for, it's the one you'll want everyone to see you reaching for.

Tags: cooking, DamascusSteel, germany, J. A. Henckels, knives, williams-sonoma

Pueblo Bonito's Annual PacifiCooks Culinary Event Coming in July

by Jonathon Ramsey (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining, Luxury Travel & Hotels

What if you could be on Top Chef, but instead of cooking your job was to eat what was cooked – taking your time, savoring flavors, with a bottle of wine perhaps and maybe even an ocean view? Baja's Pueblo Bonito has put together the closest thing to that scenario with its 2010 PacifiCooks week, happening July 18-25.

The oceanfront spa's own award-winning chef Antonio de Livier will host the event, which gathers Mexico's top chefs at the resort's four locations. Each evening will feature five-course, all-star menus designed by the two different chefs every evening, along with cocktail receptions and cooking seminars. In case you're worried about pedigree – because we know you take your savoring seriously – the Pueblo Bonito Sunset Beach Resort & Spa has already been on Condé Nast Traveler's Gold List for "The Best Food in the Americas."

The dish pictured is La Boquita de Frida. If you attend the event, please let us know how if it's as delish as it looks...

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Tags: cooking, food festivals, mexico, pacificooks, pueblo bonito, pueblo bonito sunset beach

Ferran Adria, Harvard Professor

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining

The man who many considered the world's best chef has a new gig, Harvard professor. Adria, who announced in January that his El Bulli restaurant in Spain would be closing in 2012, will teach at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences this fall. He will be working with Harvard University on an undergraduate course in culinary physics. The course will use food to explain principles of soft matter physics in which culinary creations like suspensions and gels play a role. Adria is famous for his work in molecular gastronomy, framing food in new ways and new consistencies. The course will also include guest lectures from Wylie Dufresne, chef-owner of New York's wd-50, José Andrés and Dan Barber, co-owner of several restaurants in New York specializing in farm-to-table dining.

Tags: cooking, ferran adria, harvard, Jose Andres, molecular gastronomy, wylie dufresne

Artisan Fire Pizza Oven by Kalamazoo

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining

Everybody loves pizza but for those who really love pizza, and like making it at home, this Artisan Pizza Oven by Kalamazoo brings old-fashioned baking techniques right to your backyard. The second generation oven has an open front and exposed flame, and heats from 350° up to a whopping 800° for the perfect pizza no matter what the recipe or crust. It comes with a professional grade composite baking stone, requires no installation (other than hookup to your portable gas supply), preheats quickly, and can bake a pizza in as little as 30 seconds. My mouth is watering just looking at it. $6,645

Via Trendir

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Tags: cooking, kalamazoo, outdoor cooking, pizza, pizza oven, PizzaOven

A Guide to Meat Cuts

by Andrea Hangst (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining

When it comes to grilling a steak, many home cooks often think that they can quickly run to the grocery store, pick any cut or steak they see, and just slap it on a hot grill and - voila! - a good dinner. However, many of us who have tried this have inevitably run afoul of the Great Beef Gods, with cinder-dry steaks or tough hunks of gray meat. Here is a very simple list of great cuts of beef for grilling, and the best ways to prepare them.

Steaks for One or Two

Filet Mignon: Butter soft, boneless and best served rare to medium-rare, this tenderloin steak is considered a delicacy. From the short loin, these exceptionally tender steaks are ideal for the high-heat sear of the grill because they are best served between rare and medium in doneness for best flavor. While filet mignon is famous for its tenderness, it lacks the deep meaty flavor and richness of the rib eye and strip steak. Consider topping the steak with a dab of butter after grilling.

New York Strip: Another meaty, big-flavored grilling classic, the New York Strip is cut from the tender short loin of the cow. Less marbled than a rib eye, but with a thick band of fat around the edge, the strip steak sears beautifully using direct heat over hot coals.

Porterhouse: The Porterhouse, like its little brother, the T-Bone, is a highly prized, and highly priced, cut. One half of this steak is the New York Strip, while the small meaty bit on the other side is a filet, cut from the tenderloin. These steaks come from the extra-tender "short loin" of the cow, which is located on the steer's middle-back. The meat is highly marbled and usually quite tender. They are excellent for grilling or quickly seared over hot coals and finished slowly over indirect heat. Marinating and seasoning can vary, but just sprinkling salt and pepper on it prior to putting it on the grill can also suffice.

Rib Eye: Arguably the champion of the grill, the rib eye steak is tender, flavorful and marbled with fat. The rib eye - named as such because it is the center cut of the rib section of the cow - are extremely flavorful but benefit from a good marinade. These can come bone-in or bone-out, or with a giant bone sticking out also called a "Tomahawk." Choose the bone-in rib eye to ensure a juicy, complex flavor. Most steak lovers prefer their meat served rare to medium-rare; this cut can even stand up to extra cooking time and still be richly flavored.

Tags: Beef, Cooking, Food, grill tips, Grilling, grillt ips, GrillTips, luxist-awards, main-pedia, meat, meat cuts, MeatCuts, outdoor-entertainment-pedia, Steak

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How to Sweeten Up Without Sugar

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining

Trying to cut back on sugar but love sweets? Although the only real solution is to wean yourself off sweets altogether (at least to a degree) there are other ways to quiet your sweet tooth without going the refined sugar route. Here are a few ideas, many of which are great for baking.

Honey Made up of a combination of fructose, glucose, maltose, and sucrose, honey is as much as 50% sweeter than sugar and has a distinctive flavor that can vary depending on location, time of year, and the bees diet. Honey also offers some nutritional benefits in the form of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and other nutrients.

Maple Syrup Real maple syrup (not the 'maple-flavored' syrups) contains magnesium and zinc and comes from sugar maple trees. It's boiled down to the desired thickness and is usually about 60% sweeter than traditional table sugar.

Agave Nectar A fructose syrup that's slightly thinner than honey and originates from the Agave plant in Mexico, it's 25-30% sweeter than white sugar and has a mild flavor along with some nutrient properties (mostly minerals). It also has a lower glycemic index than sugar so is often favored by diabetics.

Molasses A byproduct of the sugar refining process, molasses is dark and heavy and has a very strong flavor. It is sweet (made up of fructose, glucose, and sucrose) but slightly less so than sugar itself. Molasses is high in iron and calcium and also contains several B-vitamins.

Raw Sugar If you must have sugar then go for raw sugar, or sugar that has not been refined and still maintains its nutritional value. Tastes very much like brown sugar (essentially it is, although even less processed).

Stevia Made from the leaf of the stevia plant, stevia sweetener is 200-300 times more potent than sugar and is usually found in liquid and powder form. Stevia leaves (although not always the end product) contain many nutrients like iron, calcium, and zinc.

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Tags: agave nectar, AgaveNectar, baking, cooking, dessert, desserts, dining, honey, main-pedia, molasses, stevia, sugar, sweets-pedia

Going to Boot Truffle Camp is New Year's Resolution You Meant to Make

by Jonathon Ramsey (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels

There are base camps, boot camps, band camps, and low-rent gatherings in faraway locations for every sport known. But what if you want to ditch the grind and shack up somewhere idyllic and secluded so you can really focus on... truffles? What kind of options would you have? As fate – and Chef Ken Frank – would have it, there is exactly one: Truffle Camp in Napa Valley.

Chef Frank is the owner and culinary mind behind Napa's La Toque, one of but a dozen restaurants in the world to have a truffle menu. To begin your initiation into the arcane world of gourmet fungi – and distinguishing your Italian tuber magnatum pico from your French tuber uncinatum – you'll fly to Napa and settle into your room in the in the Westin Verasa. The first night you'll relax, to be ready for your first 3-hour truffle-laden cooking lesson under Chef Frank's tutelage the next morning.

Afterward, Chef will take you on a tour of Long Meadow Ranch to sample the local farm's delicacies. The next day begins with another 3-hour truffle extravaganza, followed by a tour of a private winery and barrel tastings with Chef Frank and La Toque's wine director, Scott Tracy. The evening concludes with an "All Truffle Dinner," paired with Tracy's wine selections. And you're not finished there: to properly prepare you for return to native lands, you'll be fed a truffle omelet breakfast and then plied with goodies to take home.

The camp runs from January 17-19, 2010. No, it doesn't have the awkward tenderness of a few weeks spent in a dorm with the tuba section, but you'll probably enjoy reminiscing about it a great deal more.

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Tags: california, cooking, journey, journeys, ken frank, KenFrank, la toque, LaToque, napa, napa valley, NapaValley, travel, truffle camp, TruffleCamp

Binova Fires Line Helps You Cook Your Ducks in a Row

by Jonathon Ramsey (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Decor, Dining

There is nothing new about gas, or stoves, beautifully-designed cooktops. But put them all together, then put them in a straight line, and have them brought to you by Italian firm Binova, and all of a sudden you might have something to refute that old saw about there being nothing new under the sun.

Being able to cook in a single row on the Fires Line cooktop means you -- or your chef -- will no longer need to reach behind the champignons to get to the coq au vin. Depending on how you place it, you can reserve an area in front for preparation and your Benihana-like ministrations, with the cooktop in back and away from the little ones' hands, or reverse it and have a perfectly convenient places to slide dishes that need to get off the heat. If you're exceptionally daring can place the Fires Line in an island so that four of you can cook together. Yet some old saws, like the one about the cooks and the soup, probably bear heeding.

The Fires Line is 54 inches long and 13.75 inches deep, is fashioned in in stainless steel, works anywhere there's gas, and is available in traditional or flush fittings from Haute Living.

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Tags: binova, binova fires line, BinovaFiresLine, cooking, fires line, FiresLine, kitchen

Gourmet Magazine's Archive Finds A New Home

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining, Books

Gourmet magazine may be gone but its library lives on. The NY Times reports that the 3,500 cookbooks in Gourmet magazine's research library will become a key part of the impressive Food and Cookery Collection at the Fales Library of New York University. According to the Times article cookbook author Rozanne Gold gave N.Y.U. $14,000 to buy the books from Conde Nast. The wide-ranging Gourmet collection will arrive at Fales next week in some 500 boxes.

Fales already has about 20,000 volumes about food, with 1,500 titles from before the 20th century. The collection includes books and manuscripts documenting food with a particular emphasis on New York City. The Fales Library is open to all NYU students, faculty, staff, administrators, alumni, researchers, and scholars from other institutions throughout the US and abroad but appointments are necessary for researchers looking to consult archival and manuscript materials. Private scholars and others need to make appointments to use both print and archival collection. The Fales Library operates on a closed stack system which means that books are retrieved for patrons who read them in the reading room but the books do not circulate outside of the library.

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Tags: cookbooks, cooking, fales library, FalesLibrary, gourmet magazine, GourmetMagazine, library, research

The Most Impressive Desserts

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining

Looking to impress your guests with a dessert to die for? Or maybe you'd like to bring something amazing and memorable to a holiday party? Whatever the occasion whenever desserts are present they invariably draw the eye and wet the appetite, and they have the uncanny ability to impress despite (sometimes) being deceptively simple.

Some desserts, however, have a reputation and an edge when it comes to their ability to impress guests. All truly impressive desserts have at least two things in common: they have a beautiful presentation and of course taste wonderful as well. If you're looking to make a statement and don't know where to start consider serving one of these:

Mousse Originating in France, mousse is a rich and creamy dessert that presents well in individual portions and can be made ahead of time.

Trifles Available in every version from chocolate to fruit to red-white-and-blue, the trifle gets its glamour from the gorgeous and colorful layers that go from pleasing the eyes to pleasing the palette.

Cheesecake First created in ancient Greece and always a fan favorite, a great cheesecake is not something many are able to make for themselves at home so it becomes all the more fantastic to have it served up at a party. It's also extremely versatile and can be left plain and classy, or dressed up with fresh fruit, chocolate shavings, or anything else your heart desires.

Crème Brûlée Literally translating in French as "burnt cream," creme brulee is another delectable dessert that is not easily recreated in the average kitchen. Simple, rich, and elegant, it's sure to impress.

Chocolate Cake A standard, classic dessert that is loved wherever it goes. The trick to a truly impressive chocolate cake is in the recipe: find one you love and stick with it.

Tags: baking, cooking, dessert, desserts, luxist-awards, main-pedia, sweets-pedia

How to Have a Stress Free Thanksgiving, Dine Out

by Deb West (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining, Holiday Guides

What is the best way to have a Thanksgiving spread that turns out looking like the glossy photographs in your favorite foodie magazine? I'm sure some readers are expecting a list, organizational techniques or special tips on how to create the perfect meal when you are working full time.

It seems that a better idea is to not slave over the stove, but take you and your family to the nearest upscale restaurant for the special meal. Eat, drink and relax, the turkey will be cooked to perfection. Handing the responsibility for a beautifully cooked Thanksgiving feast over to someone else might even make spending the day with your annoying cousins just that much more bearable.

Another bonus of not preparing your own Thanksgiving meal at home is that often the menu includes items for those at the table who really don't like turkey. It may be considered heresy, but there are many who, out of hunger, force down what is often a dry uninspired main course because that is the only option. There is often at least one vegetarian at every table who sits glumly while the rest of the guests are feasting.

For example, at Ken Aretsky's Patroon in New York City, pictured above, executive chef Bill Peet presents a family-style menu in the warm dining room of this midtown restaurant. In addition to the traditional free range turkey with all the old fashioned fixings (mashed potatoes, stuffing, roasted Brussel sprouts and giblet gravy) you will find chateaubriand as well as Scottish salmon for the vegetarians in your group. The restaurant will charge $85 per adult and $45 per child for the meal. Whether you live in the tri-sate region, are in the area visiting family or to see the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade I can't think of a better way to make you meal truly stress free.

For those of you who live around the country and are watching the parade or the games on t.v., there are great Thanksgiving menu options at the Craft and Craftsteak restaurants, run by the award winning chef Tom Colicchio, located in Atlanta, Dallas, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas. (New York too!) The restaurants offer holiday prix fixe menus - everything is served family style, except the choice of main course.

Leave the turkey in the freezer, save it for a random winter weekend, and eat out!

Tags: cooking, Craft, Craftsteak, food and drink, FoodAndDrink, Macys Thanksgiving Day Parade, MacysThanksgivingDayParade, Patroon Restaurant, PatroonRestaurant, stress reduction, StressReduction, Thanksgiving, turkey

Tour Hong Kong With Martin Yan

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining, Luxury Travel & Hotels

I have memories of seeing Julia Child on television as a kid but the chef that was most inspirational to me was another PBS veteran, Martin Yan. His Yan Can Cook show brought Chinese cooking to American audiences at a time when most American knowledge of Asian food was confined to sweet and sour pork. You can travel with the relentless cheerful legend on a special Hong Kong adventure this fall.

The package includes a stay at the Kowloon Shangri-La. Chef Yan will go with you to a local market and accompany you on other adventures including a full-day tour to Lantau Island to see the world's largest outdoor bronze outdoor Buddha statue and eat a meal prepared by the monks at the Po Lin monastery. The tour isn't small, it is open to 60 people and the first 50 people receive a copy of Chef Yan's cookbook, a kitchen knife and chopsticks. The tour costs $2.860 per person double occupancy and runs from October 27-31.

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Tags: cooking, culinary travel, CulinaryTravel, hong kong, HongKong, martin yan, MartinYan, travel

The Farmhouse Table Sicilian Culinary, Wine & Cultural Tours

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining, Luxury Travel & Hotels, Wine

Travelers with a sense of adventure and an appreciation for wining and dining will want to check out two upcoming trips to Sicily in the fall arranged by Cynthia Nicholson of The Farmhouse Table. Nicholson, a former food editor at Country Living and Real Simple magazines, has a flair for seeking out the culinary and cultural gems that only insiders know about. While the first trip is more food oriented and the second focused on wine, the two itineraries have a healthy dose of both and feature a cooking class, along with many opportunities to absorb unique Sicilian culture.

The culinary trip from Sept. 26 - Oct. 3 includes a stay at Buseto Palizzolo (above) near Palermo which produces its own olive oil, honey, wine, and organic fruits and vegetables, and a visit to an artisanal bakery where the ovens are fired with almond husks rather than wood. The second trip presented in conjunction with Swirl Wines runs Oct. 11 - 22 and includes a day trip to Solicchiata for a tasting and discussion with winemaker Frank Cornelissen. Full details on both itineraries can be found here and and you can sign up for The Farmhouse Table's mailing list here.

Tags: cooking, Cynthia Nicholson, CynthiaNicholson, Italy, olive oil, OliveOil, Palermo, Real Simple, RealSimple, Sicily, Swirl Wines, SwirlWines, The Farmhouse Table, TheFarmhouseTable, tours, wine

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