Year: 2010

Champagne for Everyone!

It’s one of my favorite lines from the BBC series “Little Britain.” It’s also the phrase that I hear frequently during this holiday season. Champagne and New Year’s Eve go together like turkey and Thanksgiving, chocolate and Valentine’s Day, eggs and . . . well, you get the idea. Although many countries produce sparkling wines, only the Champagne region of northeast France creates the bubbly beverage known as champagne. This region has been crafting its eponymous libation since the 17th century. Unsurprisingly, the area is home to some of the oldest champagne houses including Taittinger, Veuve Clicquot and Moet and Chandon. Various legends surround the origins of the first champagne. Many point to the Benedictine monk and cellar master of the Abbey of Hautvillers, Dom Perignon, as its inventor. While Perignon did develop the techniques of blending wines to improve the flavor and of tying down corks with strings or wire cages to prevent popping or bottle breakage, he did not create champagne. Apparently, no one invented champagne. The drink’s trademark fizziness was merely a …

holiday cocktails

Holidays – Just Another Word for “Cocktails”

Maybe you’re like me, an only child who grew up in a small family that quietly celebrated the holidays. On the other hand, maybe you’re like me and you have 30 friends coming over on Christmas Eve to revel in the holidays. Then again maybe you’re like me and believe that the key to any small or large holiday gathering is a wickedly good cocktail. As I mull over my drink offerings and make last minute adjustments to Friday night’s dinner menu, I thought that I’d share a few cocktail favorites. Easy and quick, they’ll add a little sparkle to any occasion. For the most part they’ll also relieve any stress associated with the holidays and/or two dozen loved ones crammed into your overheated kitchen. So . . . mix those cocktails, spread some cheer and enjoy the company of those near and dear! Happy holidays! PROSECCO POMEGRANATE FIZZ Serves 8 to 10 I love Prosecco and I love pomegranate. Hence the Prosecco Pomegranate Fizz. 1 bottle prosecco or champagne, chilled 8 ounces pomegranate juice …

Something’s Fishy

With Christmas Eve and the Italian-American “Feast of the Seven Fishes” a week away I’m in the mood to chat about fish. Truthfully, at times selecting seafood seems about as baffling as choosing a new car. There are so many questions to be answered. Should I buy farm-raised or wild? If I opt for wild-caught, is it at risk of being over-fished? If I go with farmed, how do I know which countries practice safe aquaculture techniques? And shouldn’t I be stocking up on local rather than imported seafood? Once I tease out the correct answers, I have to determine which fish possesses the greatest health benefits and fewest health risks. Add in concerns about oil-contaminated Gulf Coast catches and I’m tempted to skip cooking and order a pizza instead. Thankfully, healthful and eco-friendly seafood does exist. The wild European anchovy sits at the top of the Environmental Defense Fund’s “eco-best” seafood list. Although this small, omega-3-rich fish swims in all warm oceans, the most prized come from the Mediterranean Sea. Here the supply is …

Couscous and Other Good Food from Morocco

Conveniently enough, I fell in love with Moroccan cuisine while visiting Morocco. All those succulent tagines flavored with tart and tangy preserved lemons and dusky olives. Accompanied by platters of fluffy couscous, these rich, aromatic stews bowled over my taste buds. Then there were the flaky, nut-filled pastries and delicate, filigreed glasses of hot, sweet, minty tea. Utterly enchanting! As soon as I returned home, I set out to recreate those fabulous meals. And what better to aid me in the kitchen than Paula Wolfert’s comprehensive guide to Moroccan cooking, “Couscous and Other Good Food from Morocco” (William Morrow, 1987). First published in 1973, “Couscous and Other Good Food from Morocco” is the book that not only I but also most other cooks reach for when contemplating an authentic Moroccan meal. No other cookbook has come close to capturing the essence, culture and history of this cuisine. Similarly, no food writer has possessed as much knowledge or has written as beautifully about Moroccan cooking as Paula Wolfert. In “Couscous . . .” Wolfert explores such …

Holiday Gifts for the Cook: Kitchen Gadgets!

If you cook, write about food or just enjoy a good meal, chances are that you own a kitchen tool or two. If you fall into all three categories, then you may be like me — swamped with cooking gadgets. Over the years I’ve compiled a mental list of what’s fun, what’s functional and what’s foolish for the home cook. Below are some of the best that I’ve collected. Relatively inexpensive and easy to find, they’re bound to delight you and/or the food lovers in your life. I love a little kitsch in the kitchen. Hence my delight over these quirky kitchen timers. Functional and fun, no one will mind owning more than one. Along with lady bugs and cats, chickens, cows, frogs, dogs, ducks and portly chefs all can keep track of your cooking times. How could you not enjoy cooking with these cheerful guys taking care of your casserole count down? I can’t help it — graters are great! Although you truly only need one all-purpose, hand-held grater, I’ve ended up with five. …

The Perfect Holiday Gift? Edible Treats!

Sometimes it feels as though I’ve spent a lifetime rooting around jam-packed stores, searching for, but never finding, the perfect holiday gift. That’s why I’ve started giving edible presents. Who can resist a basket filled with tea, coffee, candies, cakes and breads or bottles of local wine, liqueurs and infused oils? In my case, no one. Whether homemade or store-bought, gourmet edibles satisfy everyone on my shopping list. Giving food is not a novel idea. During the Viking Age the Norse god Odin traveled across the cold winter landscape with his reindeer to deliver fruit and corn. Centuries later Saint Nicholas took over Odin’s route and filled European children’s shoes with sweets. In Colonial times old Saint Nick brought American youth cakes and fruits while they in turn left out hay and carrots for his faithful white horse. As a little girl, I often heard tales of how my uncle and mother would bound down the stairs on Christmas morning to find their stockings bulging with oranges, whole walnuts and penny candy. The oranges were …

A Collection of Christmas Cookbooks

We probably all would agree that you don’t need a fancy, Christmas-themed cookbook to create a memorable holiday meal. Neither my mother nor grandmothers relied upon books to help them whip up their Christmas dinners, dinners that I remember to this day. Instead they served the foods that their mothers and grandmothers before them had made. Yet, sometimes it’s nice to have a little break from tradition and the decades of green bean casseroles, herb stuffings and mince pies. That’s when I turn to the following cookbooks to spice up my yuletide offerings. Packed with color photographs, menus and backgrounds on such holiday favorites as eggnog, fruitcake and gingerbread, “The Martha Stewart Living Christmas Cookbook” (Clarkson Potter, 2003) provides home cooks with all the tips and recipes needed for a spectacular seasonal feast. Don’t let the title deceive you, though. You can use “The Martha Stewart Living Christmas Cookbook” long after December 25th. I make Stewart’s porcini-stuffed mushrooms and roasted beets with feta and pecans, among other dishes, throughout the year. In some respects Elizabeth …

Give the Gift of Cookbooks

With the holidays right around the corner and Black Friday looming on the horizon I’m serving an assortment of new cookbooks in this week’s review. Whether shopping for the culinary novice or expert, you’ll find something for any and every cook here. However, if none match your gift recipient’s exact interests, check out my past suggestions under “Cookbooks.” NIGELLA KITCHEN by Nigella Lawson (Hyperion, 2010) I kicked off Tuesday’s cookbook treasures with Nigella Lawson’s first book. Now I’m celebrating her latest, “Nigella Kitchen.” Filled with the cleverness and wit that made “How to Eat” so enjoyable, “Nigella Kitchen” is likewise loaded with Lawson’s homey recipes. Take, for instance, the cheerfully named sunshine soup, date steak or jumbleberry jam. With roughly 190 dishes at their fingertips home cooks will consult this fun, approachable book for years to come. SUBSTITUTING INGREDIENTS by Becky Sue Epstein (Source Books, 2010) Ever get halfway through cooking a meal before you realize that you’ve run out of a crucial ingredient? Take heart. Thanks to Becky Sue Epstein’s “Substituting Ingredients,” you’ll know …

Talkin’ Sides for Turkey Day

Since virtually every food writer in America is talking about Thanksgiving this week, I’ve decided to jump on the bandwagon and share a bit about turkey day. As you’ll see, the history lesson is short. The recipes, however, are plentiful. As most may know, Thanksgiving didn’t become a national holiday until President Lincoln declared it so in 1863. Even so, early 19th century Americans still gave thanks for successful harvests and other welcomed events with sumptuous meals. These celebrations featured an array of meats such as pork, venison, duck, goose, chicken and turkey. They also included sweets such as dried fruit, plum puddings, fruit pies and tarts. Missing, though, were many of the delicious side dishes that I so enjoy. While these dinners lacked my garlic-chestnut Brussels sprouts and three cranberry conserve, they offered something that the present holiday doesn’t – a strong religious tone. This was particularly the case in New England where colonists spent their days of thanks in church rather than at the table. By the late 19th century the religious aspect …

Wild Food from Land and Sea

Long before Gordon Ramsay bellowed expletives at his kitchen staff or Anthony Bourdain snarked his way around the globe there was Marco Pierre White. Dubbed the original enfant terrible of the culinary world, White became the youngest and first British chef to earn three Michelin stars. He was also the first ever to give them all back. Now a renowned restaurateur as well as an occasional cooking show host, White is the author of this week’s cookbook pick, “Wild Food from Land and Sea” (Melville House Publishing, 2010). In his second cookbook White shares not only his iconic recipes but also the techniques that turn these dishes into extraordinary foods. With “Wild Food from Land and Sea” I’m able to take a simple sea scallop, whole chicken or brisket and, using White’s tips, transform it into a gustatory delight. My family and friends may think that I’ve had their gourmet dinner catered but in fact they owe their repast of poached oysters, guinea fowl with morels and lemon tart to me and Marco Pierre White. …