FoodCandy Featured Blog Posts

Kids and Cupcakes

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:56:00 -0400

x-posted by Nichelle Stephens in Cupcakes Take The Cake

I saw a bunch of kids eating (illegal) bake-sale cupcakes outside their school yesterday. It was all kinds of awesome to see. I wished I had a camera on me, because lord knows I love me some "kids and cupcakes" shots.

"Ivy reaching for a cupcake" by fortinbras.

Yet another return visit by Brandon:

"Birthday cupcake" by jencu.

Painted cupcake piggybanks:

"Birthday party" by niclindh.

"Evonne's Baby Shower" by isthisREALLYmylife?.

"Happy Birthday Layla!" by Greene/Ellis.

"Enjoying Royal Cupcakes" by hubertk.

"MMG with cupcake" by Terence Gilheany.

Ohhh noes!

"Sarah and Lys having a cupcake" by zoopress.

and, finally:

"Leah's Bunny" by diathesis.

Roasted Peppers and Baby Bellas

Tue, 02 Feb 2010 01:35:00 -0400

x-posted by cacahuete in Au Naturel - Atom

Simple, slow-cooked preparations can often do wonders for the taste buds. The thought of colorful vegetables slowly roasting beneath a cozy blanket of olive oil is enough to make me crave their rustic taste on a daily basis. I thus find myself eating a lot of roasted vegetables as of late; while I find the easy preparation quite attractive, I also find that the ability to roast vegetables in mass quantities is quite favorable for someone working over 50 hours per week.

This week I roasted green bell peppers with baby bellas. Last week I roasted a sweet mélange of carrots, sweet potatoes and parsnips. The week before was broccoli, acorn squash and beets. The possibilities are endless as long as you have an oven and some good olive oil. Play around with different combinations of vegetables and notice how their tastes change depending on their different arrangements.

Roasted Peppers and Baby Bellas
Serves about 3 as a side dish

2 green bell peppers
1 container of baby bella mushrooms
Generous amount of olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Wash and cut the peppers into slices. Dust the mushrooms with a paper towel to remove the dirt. Toss the pepper slices and mushrooms together and spread, in one layer, over a baking sheet. Coat with a generous amount of olive oil and gently stir the vegetables, with a wooden spoon, to ensure that they are evenly coated. Bake for one hour or until the peppers and mushrooms are tender and a tinted a golden brown. Remove, add a sprinkling of salt and pepper, and serve immediately or pack away a container in the fridge for lunch the following day.

McDonald's

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 18:00:00 -0400

x-posted by EatingInTranslation in Eating In Translation

The flavor is more reminiscent of creme de menthe than any mint found in nature.

Nevertheless, in a yearly ritual, lovers of McDonald's Shamrock Shake lick their lips in anticipation, then find only disappointment in the five boroughs. I tracked down this St. Patrick's specialty (medium; $2.49) a PATH ride away, in Hoboken; rightly touted as "triple thick," in a cooler bag it could easily have survived the trip back to Manhattan.

Previously, at another location: Small fries ($1) + hamburger ($1.29) = 480 calories (6 oz.; $2.48 including tax). Even with fries, a single burger — dressed here just as it was served, with pickle slices and a little ketchup — makes a mighty thin lunch. At bottom: still another McDonald's. They seem to be all over.

McDonald's
234 Washington St. (at 3rd St.), Hoboken, New Jersey
(one of many locations)
201-659-9612
www.McDonalds.com

John and Lisa are Interviewing...Chef Lisa Savage of Sage Restaurant

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 18:47:00 -0400

x-posted by John Howard-Fusco in John and Lisa are Eating in South Jersey - Atom

Here is our second interview this week with chefs involved in Atlantic City's Restaurant Week.

We were all set to go to one restaurant for dinner in Atlantic City this week, but when we read over the menu for Chef Lisa Savage's Sage Restaurant in Ventnor, we quickly changed our minds (a review of Sage will be upcoming). We're happy that Chef Lisa took some time to answer our questions.

J&L: On your website, you talk about blending Mediterranean, Italian, Asian, Spanish and American cuisines. If you have one word for your cooking style, what would it be?

Chef Lisa: Clean. I don't like a busy plate. I like to keep it fresh and I want to taste everything going on in that particular dish.

J&L: You are involved with supporting many local charities. Where do you see the food industry's place here?

Chef Lisa: Restaurants can raise money. I've done quite a few successful fund raisers and charity events.

J&L: What was the most important thing you learned during your time studying in Torino, Italy?

Chef Lisa: The passion the Italians have for food!

J&L: What lessons have you taken away from the time you ran Savaradio, and how have you applied then to Sage?

Chef Lisa: Stick with your first initial feeling.

J&L: You got your start dealing blackjack in Atlantic City and training at the Academy of Culinary Arts at the Atlantic Cape Community College. What makes the Atlantic City area so special - what draws you to it? Why do you have your business here?

Chef Lisa: I really am not drawn to the Atlantic City area. I am originally from Bergen County. I've been in business in Ventnor for 16 years, have a great following and I'm really very happy here.

J&L: What do you like about Restaurant Week?

Chef Lisa: It gives people a chance to try new restaurants.

J&L: As a woman in a male-dominated industry, do you still find (in 2010) that you have special challenges?

Chef Lisa: I don't feel it. I think as women we have proven we can hold our own in the kitchen. Over the years I have had the pleasure of working with a lot of great women in the kitchen. I have two women in my kitchen now and they are awesome.

J&L: Besides your own place, what restaurants in the area do you really like?

Chef Lisa: Girasole, Steve and Cookies and Dock's Oyster House.

J&L: During these tough economic times, what it is the one thing you have focused on to keep your customers?

Chef Lisa: Giving the customer a good value for their dollar.

J&L: What do you love most about the restaurant business?

Chef Lisa: The insane pace. We are a rare breed. It's a crazy business. I am a lucky person to do what I have a passion for. My life revolves around food.

Quand la tempête gronde, derrière la vitre je la regarde passer avec le plus gourmand des crumbles à la main…

Sun, 28 Feb 2010 12:47:00 -0400

x-posted by Dorian in Mais pourquoi est-ce que je vous raconte ça... - Atom

J’ai toujours aimé les mélanges de textures, quand le fondant le plus rassurant rencontre le craquant le plus féroce, et dans ce domaine-là le crumble peut être roi ! Il faut dire que cette petite merveille de la cuisine anglaise peut entraîner la cuillère à travers les plus croquants des mélanges à crumble avant d’aller ramasser des fruits fondants à souhait, et quand en plus dans cette histoire on rencontre un brin de crème et un fond de sirop… j’en ai le poil du dos qui se hérisse sauvagement rien que d’y penser !
J’ai toujours aussi aimé la tempête… enfin la tempête pour moi c’est un peu comme le sport, le sport c’est dans le canap’à’couette, la tempête c’est derrière la fenêtre avec plaid’à’chat intégré… La tempête je l’aime en cinémascope et au sec.
Du coup tempête et crumble m’ont paru aller de soi, il fallait au moins ça pour rassurer l’hypocondriaque climatique que je suis. Parce que moi à la moindre goutte d’eau j’imagine tout de suite les torrents qui finissent pas envahir les rues de mon petit village, et moi et les miens sur notre radeau de la méduse dévalant les torrents… et quand le vent apparait je vérifie les attaches de la maison, même si je sais que ça ne sera pas suffisant…
Alors pour me rassurer, sur ma chaise presque tremblant, je serre mon crumble bien fort et je profite d’une accalmie pour plonger ma cuillère dedans, vite vite avant la prochaine rafale…
Crumble pomme-poire et vanille et gingembre
Ingrédients :
Pour le fond : 2pommes relativement acidulées – 2poires pas trop mûres – 3càs de sucre roux en poudre – 1 gousse de vanille – du jus de citron
Pour le crumble : 3biscuits du type digestive (Mc Vities) – 2càs de sucre roux en poudre – 10g de gingembre confit râpé – 3càs de céréales aux noix mélangées
Pour finir : de la crème fraîche battue
Commencez par gratter la gousse de vanille au dessus du sucre roux, puis mélangez.
Pelez puis coupez en tranches bien fines les pommes et les poires, citronnez-les légèrement au fur et à mesure. Quand elles sont toutes coupées, mettez-les dans le moule, choisissez-le assez petit pour monter les fruits en hauteur.
En même temps que vous mettez les fruits dans le moule répartissez le sucre roux à la vanille sur les couches.
Versez 30cl d’eau dans le plat contenant l’eau, posez dessus l’assiette vapeur puis le moule puis couvrez avec la cloche vapeur. Mettez en position Cuisson vapeur SC 2 poids 0,6kg.
Vous pouvez aussi réaliser cette partie en posant le moule dans un plat contenant un fond d’eau et en couvrant le tout avec un papier d’aluminium, comme pour une papillote. Laissez alors cuire jusqu’à ce que les fruits soient bien fondants.
Pendant ce temps, émiettez bien les biscuits puis mélangez-les avec les autres ingrédients du crumble.
Recueillez ensuite le jus contenu dans le moule en laissant les fruits.
Versez le jus recueilli dans une petite casserole et faites-le réduire en sirop pas trop épais.
Saupoudrez les fruits avec le crumble puis enfournez le moule posé sur le plat Crousty et réglez le four en position Crousty cc2 réglée sur le poids 0,6kg.
Dans un four traditionnel, utilisez la chaleur tournante et faites cuire pendant une vingtaine de minutes à 180°.
Quand tout cela est prêt, il ne reste plus qu’à déguster le tout en versant dessus quelques jolies cuillerées de crème et le petit sirop.
Cette recette a été réalisée avec le four Duo Chef LG et permet d’utiliser deux fonctions particulièrement intéressantes la Cuisson vapeur sous cloche et la Cuisson Crousty.
Produit offert

Mais pourquoi, je me demande si Rantanplan aimerait voler… va savoir avec cette drôle de bête... est-ce que je vous raconte ça…

Fleur de Sel Caramels

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 11:49:00 -0400

x-posted by Jennifer in Sweetly Tart - RSS

Is there any better combination than sweet and salty? Before I even understood anything about complimentary flavors and tastes I knew that movie theater popcorn must be eaten with a tall, icy sweet Coca Cola. The oily, (well, we know it should be buttery but we are talking about mainstream movie theater popcorn here so let's face it, it's butter flavored oil) salty crunch of the popcorn just went so well with sips of the syrupy sweet Coca Cola. I couldn't explain it but I knew it was right. Ever since those first movie theater visits I have been hooked on salty and sweet.

Nothing brings those two tastes more into harmony with each other than salted caramels made with Fleur de Sel. Except for chocolate, chocolate is lovely with salt. The next time you are baking a tray of brownies, go ahead and throw in an extra pinch of salt. It enhances the chocolate...you'll thank me. But as I often do, I digress. This is about caramels. Rich, buttery, milky sweet caramels touched with a kiss of salt. Heaven. And so easy to make. Do you make candy? I grew up eating homemade candy, my Nana made wonderful caramels. Not frequently but when she did decide to make some, I would stuff my pockets and chubby cheeks with as many as I could get my hands on.

We had a snow day yesterday, we got well over a foot of snow! I happened to have some leftover heavy cream in the fridge from another cooking endeavor and while thumbing through my cooking binder, I came across my recipe for Fleur de Sel Caramels. I know you are not supposed to make candy on a rainy day, the humidity makes it hard to set up but I wasn't sure if that meant snow also. Luckily I am cool with winging it (and possibly failing) and it turned out wonderfully.

~Fleur de Sel Caramels~

1 cup heavy cream
5 TBSP unsalted butter, cut into pieces (I used salted)
1-2 TSP fleur de sel (mine had rather large grains so I used the 2 TSP)
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup light corn syrup (I've read that you could use honey in it's place)
1/4 cup water

Line an 8" pan with foil and butter or spray the foil with cooking spray. I buttered mine because I firmly believe in gilding the lily.

Bring the cream, butter and salt just to a boil and set aside. I use cream from the Battenkill Valley Creamery. It's so thick that simply combined with the butter and salt and boiled, it looked like a thick sauce. How beautiful is that?

In a separate pan, combine the sugar, corn syrup and water, stirring to dissolve. Set over medium high heat and bring to a boil without stirring. For extra insurance, I like to wipe down the sides of the pan with a pastry brush dipped in water. Like so.

Swirl the pan every so often until the sugar turns golden. Like so. At this stage, be careful. It's a mere matter of seconds from golden to burnt. I know this too well.

When your sugar is golden brown, add the cream mixture. Stand back, pour carefully and make sure you've used a big enough pot as the mixture will violently boil and expand. Stir with a long handled spoon and clip a candy thermometer to the side of the pan. Lower the heat to medium and simmer, stirring frequently until the mixture reaches 248 degrees.

Pour the caramel into your prepared pan and cool at least two hours before cutting.

When you are ready to cut the caramels, lift them out of the pan, peel off the foil and set them down on a cutting board. I like to spray my very sharp knife with cooking spray so I get clean cuts. I'm sure some people might get a ruler out at this point to ensure even pieces, but I am a big fan of eyeballing. I'm not aiming for perfection here, rustic will do.

Now to store these you have to wrap them. I know, how tedious. But if you try to store them loose in a jar or container, they will stick together. Heed my warning...learn from my mistakes. :)
I used to cut aluminum foil or waxed paper into small squares and wrap the candy that way but last Christmas I treated myself to precut foil wrappers from Amazon.com and I will never cut waxed paper again.

Now...ahem. There's a step missing here. This is real life and in my real life I forget things or get distracted. A lot. At some point after I poured the candy into the pan, after it's cooled a bit but before it's set, I should have sprinkled fleur de sel on top of the caramel. It's lovely, the crunchy grains of salt on top of the silky sweet caramel. It's a small touch that brings the caramels over the top. And I forgot it. Never mind, they are still wonderful and I still made them all by myself.

Ladies Supper Club: Dishing Up Vermont!

Thu, 18 Feb 2010 08:22:02 -0400

x-posted by JennDZ in The Left Over Queen RSS Feed

(Sunshine with Toad Hollow Goat Milk Caramel and Mary Joy with none other than Ben & Jerry’s!)

As many of you know, I am part of a fabulous group of ladies, who love food, in Saint Augustine. Every month we hold an all out foodie event, that we call, Ladies Supper Club. Each month, on a rotating basis, one of us hosts and picks the theme or main dish for the month, then each of the women is assigned a dish – welcome cocktail, appetizer, soup or salad, veggie side, non-veggie side, dessert and wine. We let our creative juices flow, and come to the dinner with dishes based on our best interpretation of the theme. We have had some really memorable themes, like Blueberries, Cooking with Julia Child, Tamale Fiesta, etc. I really love spending time with these ladies each month and seeing what creations everyone comes up with. We all lead busy lives, and it is nice to have scheduled time to come together each month, and spend time finding out what has been going on in each others’ lives over the last month. I am really going to miss these ladies when we move to Vermont. Ladies Supper Club was a great way for me to meet some wonderful women in Saint Augustine. Who knows, maybe I will start one, in the Great White North.

In January, it was my turn to host. Last January, I hosted a Moroccan inspired meal, which I was happy to learn was memorable for the ladies. We had a great time feasting on spiced foods, and worked off some of the meal later by blasting the music, and having an impromptu bellydancing dance party!

This month, in honor of our upcoming move to Vermont, I decided to make the theme none other than Vermont. I have an awesome cookbook called Dishing Up Vermont 145 Authentic Recipes from Green Mountain State, by Tracey Medeiros. The book contains 145 authentic recipes from the Green Mountain State. Contributors are various restaurant proprietors, chefs, bed & breakfast owners and farmers who are all inspired by the bounty of food available in this beautiful state. This is a cookbook of local and seasonal foods. Something I am very passionate about. So I decided to choose a recipe from this book for Ladies Supper Club.

(Brie Stuffed Chicken, with a Pear and Cider Sauce – and Apple Pie for dessert!!!)

The dish I choose to prepare was Brie-stuffed Chicken Breasts in Pear and Cider Sauce. This dish is from The Dorset Inn. I was really intrigued by the flavors, and you can never go wrong with Brie, especially in my Supper Club group! I sent my choice for a main dish around to all the girls a few weeks in advance, and looked forward to what everyone would bring to dinner!

(Old Vermont Cocktail)

When the ladies got to my house, they were all carrying bags of food! For our welcome cocktail we had a maple syrup and bitters cocktail, which was reminiscent of curry (weird, but actually quite tasty). To eat along with the cocktails we had a yummy brie dip, the recipe from a Vermont B & B. The soup was a cheddar ale. We had delicious roasted root veggies and fresh baked rolls to accompany the chicken. For dessert, homemade apple pie with Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream (3 flavors) and Toad Hollow Goat’s Milk Caramel ( This is to die for!).

It was another great evening! Thanks ladies!

* Also, don’t forget to SPREAD THE LOVE THIS MONTH, purchase a copy of my e-book – The Secret Energy of Love Through Food! All proceeds during the month of February will go to Haiti Relief!

Brie-stuffed Chicken Breasts in Pear and Cider Sauce

INGREDIENTS:

Pear and Cider Sauce:
2 TBS unsalted butter
2 shallot heads, peeled and minced
3 ripe Bosc pears, peeled and cut into small chunks
4 fresh sage leaves
½ cup apple brandy ( I used bourbon, as that is what I had on hand)
3 cups fresh apple cider
salt & pepper

Brie Stuffing:
6 oz. Brie, cut into small pieces ( it says to remove the rind first, but I didn’t)
¼ tsp ground coriander
1 shallot head, peeled and minced
1 tsp minced parsley
salt & pepper

Chicken:
6- 4 oz. Boneless skinless chicken breast halves*
* For vegetarians, you can substitute Quorn patties.
2 TBS oil (I used olive oil)
½ cup all purpose flour
salt & pepper

METHOD:

1) Make the pear and cider sauce. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the shallots and cook for about 3 minutes, or until soft and tender, stirring often. Add the pears and sage and toss quickly and briefly.

2) Remove the pan from the heat and add the brandy. Ignite with a burner or match and let the alcohol burn off. When the sauce begins to thicken and reduce, whisk in the cider. Bring to a boil, then turn down the heat to a simmer, whisking frequently. Simmer uncovered for about 30 minutes , or until sauce thickens and reduces, whisking occasionally. Season with salt & pepper.

3) With a slotted spoon transfer the pears to a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Transfer pear puree back to the sauce and whisk until well combined and heated through. Discard the sage. Serve immediately, or place sauce in the refrigerator until you are ready to use.

4) Prepare the stuffing: Mix brie, coriander, shallot, parsley, salt & pepper to taste in a medium bowl.

5) Prepare the chicken: Preheat oven to 350F

6) Cut pockets in the chicken breast halves (cut a hole in the middle of the Quorn patties). You can also ask your butcher to do this for you. Starting at the center of the thickest part of the breast, insert a small sharp knife horizontally and cut , stopping about one inch from the opposite side. Do not cut all the way through the bottom. Open the incision with your fingers to create the pocket. Divide stuffing evenly and spoon into each pocket. This can be done a day ahead and refrigerated until ready for use.

7) Heat oil in a medium skillet ( I always recommend cast iron) over medium heat.

*8) Combine flour, and salt & pepper in a medium bowl. Dredge breast halves in the mixture, shaking off the excess and add to the skillet.

9) Brown the chicken in batches for about 4 minutes on each side. Then transfer to a small roasting pan. Roast the chicken in the oven for about 20 minutes, until cooked through. Remove from oven and set aside for 5 minutes before serving. I used a dutch oven, and so had to layer the chicken. I poured a layer of the pear sauce in between the layers.

10) Serve chicken with sauce.

* I skipped this step

Taste-Testers, I'd Like To Hear From You!

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 19:32:00 -0400

x-posted by cyberpenguin in Cook. Eat. Drink. Blog. - RSS

I'm really curious to know, have any of you tried any of the recipes on this blog, and if so, what did you think?

If you're going to respond to this, please keep in mind the following: While I welcome constructive comments/criticism & don't want anyone to feel like they've got to butter me up with compliments (pun intended!), please remember that there's still a human being with feelings behind this blog. :)

If you like or don't like a particular ingredient, that's a matter of personal preference. However, what I'm particularly interested in hearing about is:

(1) How did the recipe taste to those of you who were interested in the majority of the ingredients;

(2) What did you think of the balance of flavors? Were they to your liking? If not, please specify why;

(3) What was your experience like making the recipe(s) -- Were the instructions clear enough? How did you find the baking/cooking process?

Your feedback is an invaluable resource & would be greatly appreciated, especially as I go about the process of creating & compiling recipes for my upcoming cookbook. It's important that the recipes be appealing as well as easy to follow.

Thank you in advance for your input!

Cheers,
-C

Andalu - Chismis with the GV Ladies

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 02:31:00 -0400

x-posted by Jo Boston in Taking Over the World One Bite at a Time

Restaurant: Andalu
Address: 3198 16th Street at Guerrero, The Mission, SF
Phone Number: (415) 621-2211
Cuisine: Tapas, Small Plates
Date Last Visited: February 6, 2010
Dining Partner: The Good Vibe Ladies - Rubber Duckie, Butterfly, LELO, Rabbit, and Bullet!

So, these ladies…where do I begin? Two of these ladies I met in high school. The three others I met in college. A good chunk of my adolescent life, I was a student at a little school called Skyline. I went there for 4 years. Yes, it took me 4 years to graduate from a 2-year college - couldn’t help it, I was having too much fun with the Filipino Student Union and Pilipino Cultural Night! For some reason, my high school life and college life collided because these ladies and I ended up working to put PCN 2005 and 2006 together. So we have basically seen each other stress out and perform on stage. I really miss those days. As always, we all graduated and left college to “grow up” and live in the “real world.” That was a shame since we all seemed to love each other’s company back then. Anyway, fast forward 4 years later and we are sitting at a tapas bar laughing our tails off over the trials and tribulations we faced since we saw each other last - it seemed like there was no time void there. Even before I got there, I knew it was going to be a RIOT.

Andalu was a fantastic choice for our get-together. There were six of us so their designated group menu fit the bill. There are 9 dishes brought out for the entire table to share family-style. There must be at least 6 people in the group in order to have this set menu. While 8 of the dishes are pre-decided, the first course (tartare course) you have a choice:

Selection of Tartares
Back: Salmon Tartare with Avocado
and Serrano Chilis on Gaufrette Potatoes
Front: Tuna Tartare Taco with Chili and Lime, Mango Salsa
Each person chooses either tuna or salmon. There were six of us, but I just realized they brought out an extra tartar on each plate because there were 8 brought out to us. = ) Score.

Tuna Tacos
My favorite of the two was the tuna taco. The taco shell was a bit flimsy, but it worked. The tuna was a bit tangy, which I liked, but that mango on top was killer. Perfect combination of salty and sweet. The salmon tartare was good, but not as good as the tuna. They served them on fancy potato chips which broke easily and were a bit on the burnt/salty side which skewed the flavor profile of the delicate salmon.

Crispy Mac & Cheese
with Herb Tomato Vinaigrette
When I saw these, I thought to myself that Bub was going to kill me when he found out I ate something fried, but oh, those calories were worth it. I knew these were going to be good from the get-go. A little bit of that tomato vinaigrette was perfect. It is reminiscent of dipping a grilled cheese sandwich in tomato soup or a fried mozzarella stick in marinara. Same concept and flavors, but I think this is a new favorite. Perfect crisp exterior and a lovely, tender mix of cream and pasta inside.

Shrimp “Pil Pil”
with Garlic, Tomato, Sherry, and Pepper
Shrimp goes best with garlic most definitely. While I didn’t know what “pil pil” was, I was very familiar with the aromas and taste - with that said, this was good, but it wasn’t extraordinary. I do have to say that the shrimp are very generous is size. I would even have liked mine more garlicky.

Cambazola Cheese Fondue
with Fuji Apples, Asian Pears, Crostini
After two or so bites, this was stolen by the other side of the table. Seriously. The girls loved it. Cambaloza is a blue cow’s milk cheese which is often referred to as a “blue brie” because it’s a hybrid of a gorgonzola and a triple cream cheese. The texture of the fondue was very rich and creamy with a slight tang. It went very well with the sweetness of the apples. I love cheese and apples together because the sweetness and juice of the apple offsets the viscosity of the fondue. Like I said, the girls on the other side of the table ganked it from me. =) I didn’t mind at all. I was glad to see how much they enjoyed it. I think more apples should be put on the plate, however.

Miso-Glazed Sea Bass
in Lettuce “Cups” with Sweet Soy
Now I am the one who put “” around “cups.” When I saw this brought to the table, I just took the fork and put the fish on my plate and left the lettuce on the platter. I don’t know…perhaps the shape and size of the lettuce didn’t make it obvious to me that we had to eat the fish with the lettuce. If the lettuce was rounder, then maybe I would have gotten the hint. This was possibly my least favorite bite on the table. The sea bass was too firm and it didn’t taste fresh to me. There was an underlying (and I hate to say this) rotten tone in my mouth as I was eating it. The sweet soy didn’t help with anything…possibly making the dish even saltier. Not a fave. Sorry.

Frisee Salad
Goat Cheese, Pomegranate, Pears, Red Onion, Vinaigrette
I didn’t care for this much either. What is up with everyone leaving their salad greens so long that I have to have a mouth the size of a whale’s to eat it? I’m just venting here. I have had this combination countless times and I am honestly getting extremely bored with it. There were two, almost full, plates of salad taken from our table…and no one took it home.

Grilled Eggplant
Stuffed with Ricotta, Spinach, Pinenuts, served on Caponatta
I thought the presentation of this looked lovely. I love cheese-stuffed anything; however, I did find the eggplant to be rubbery. I like my eggplant tender. The stuffing was better - creamy ricotta and spinach made for a rich mouthfeel. BUT I hated the pine nuts. I enjoy silky, velvety, textures in my cheeses without the bumps of pine nuts. Iif the pine nuts were absent, it would have been better. The caponatta with various colored zucchini was fresh and tasty. I just wish the eggplant wasn’t so tough on the palate.

Coca-Cola Braised Spare-Ribs
with White Bean Salad
A-ha! I knew it! Rabbit doesn’t drink Coke anymore, but when I saw these on the menu, I immediately thought of her. I liked them a lot because they weren’t too smoky. There was a nice sweetness from the soda which also made for a sticky rib. Good stuff. I was a bit disappointed with the white beans. I didn’t really get a connection between them and the ribs. Maybe because they were TOO al dente? I imagined a softer, silkier bean to go with the fiber of the meat. That’s just me.

Sliders
Mini Burgers with Basil Aioli and Tomato, Fried Shallot Rings
These burgers were JUST RIGHT. Portion size, juiciness were spot on. By the time we got to this, actually third to the last dish, we were getting stuffed. They really give you a lot of food here! I would have liked there to be a bit of cheese. Brie would have been perfect. I didn’t really notice the aioli, but the shallot rings (on the other side of the plate which I neglected to take a picture of) were awesome. Still fried but a lot lighter than your conventional onion rings. LELO even spread some of the fondue on her slider. What I liked about all the dishes was that you can eat all of them together in some way, as LELO did.

Not everything was absolutely perfect, but hey, that’s what’s fun in trying out new restaurants. We talked and laughed so much that I don’t even think anyone cared if everything was flawless anyway. Andalu was the perfect place to hang out and drink sangria. OHHHH the sangria! I don’t know how I could have missed taking a picture of the sangria. For $15 a person, you get unlimited sangria for two hours - both white and red. I loved the white because it was flavored with apples. Red gets me buzzed way fast so I stayed away. Rubber Duckie opted for some Fat Tire beer, so that is an option for you non-sangria drinkers.

This is what I like about tapas bars. It's super chill and you really don't have to worry about what you talk about because everyone is there to have a good time. We were talking as if no one was in the room. Very candid coversation. That's how comfortable, at least, I was. It was a lot of fun - as if we were still in college. Don’t you just love that feeling? Even though one of us is now married, two of us are about to get hitched, someone went in one direction and the others went another, the personalities are still the same ones I remember. This made for a fun catch-up session filled with laughs and gasps and STORIES. Good Lord did we have stories! I can’t wait until the next time we all hang out again. It’s never to late to reunite with old friends. Thanks to everyone who went and special thanks to Rabbit for the field trip afterwards! Everyone went home with party favors courtesy of Butterfly. Yup, I had a FAB time!

Tea Book Buying Guide

Fri, 19 Feb 2010 12:23:00 -0400

x-posted by Bill in Tea Guy Speaks

Welcome to our Tea Book Buying Guide. It's not a comprehensive guide to tea books, mind you. Just a look at some of the more interesting titles I've reviewed or otherwise encountered over the course of the past few years.

The Empire of Tea:The Remarkable History of the Plant That Took Over the World
by Alan MacFarlane & Iris MacFarlane
You know you've read too many books on tea history when you find yourself getting weary of that quaint little myth about tea's origin. You know the one - the Chinese emperor who just happened to be boiling water...outside. A few tea leaves just happen to blow off of a conveniently located tree and land in the water. The emperor drinks it and oila, thousands of years later everyone's got their drawers in a pinch about how good this stuff is for you.
more
buy it

The Story of Tea: A Cultural History and Drinking Guide
by Mary Lou Heiss and Robert J. Heiss
In the two years I've been publishing a Web site about tea I've learned enough about it to make me realize that I really don't know much about it. Which is a roundabout way of saying that tea is a vast subject. This point was driven home recently when I read The Story of Tea, by Mary Lou and Robert Heiss. As "A Cultural History and Drinking Guide," it's got to rank right up there with the best of them. But there's really no way that such a work can do much more than scratch the surface of this topic.
more
buy it

Tea: Aromas and Flavors Around the World
by Lydia Gautier
It would be a bit of a stretch to call Lydia Gautier's Tea the ultimate book on the topic. But in less than 200 pages she and photographer Jean-Francois Maliet have managed to put together an entertaining, informative, and lavishly illustrated overview of a very expansive subject.
more
buy it

Tea: The Drink That Changed the World
by Laura C. Martin
Tea is an exceedingly wondrous substance, or so we're led to believe. Rarely does a day go by anymore, it seems, that we're not assailed with reports of the assorted and sundry miracles this noble beverage is said to wreak upon your body and psyche.
Tea will cure your lumbago and strengthen your frail and nervous constitution. It will enhance your virility and cause your you-know-what to grow. It prevents hangnails and may even aid in cases of boanthropy, the bizarre and often mistaken belief that one is a cow.
more
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The Tea Drinkers Handbook
by Francois-xavier Delmas, Mathias Minet, Christine Barbaste
from the publisher's description:
In a skinny-no-whip-mocha-latte world, The Tea Drinker's Handbook is a refreshing return to America's roots in tea-drinking. Though tea is one of the most-consumed beverages in the world, second only to water, it is far from mundane. For both the lifelong tea drinker and the recent convert, The Tea Drinker's Handbook is an indispensable reference for anyone interested in all things tea.
buy it

The True History of Tea
by Erling Hoh
from the publisher's description:
A lively and beautifully illustrated history of one of the world's favorite beverages and its uses through the ages. World-renowned sinologist Victor H. Mair teams up with journalist Erling Hoh to tell the story of this remarkable beverage and its uses, from ancient times to the present, from East to West.
buy it

The Meaning of Tea: A Tea Inspired Journey
by Phil Cousineau & Scott Chamberlin Hoyt
from the publisher's description:
The Meaning of Tea explores the calm and purposeful nature of tea through the words of tea growers, tasters, entrepreneurs, shopkeepers, scholars and experts from eight countries. Through more than 50 interviews, these engaging characters reveal a remarkable reverence for the plant, the ceremony, the manufacturing, the distribution of tea, as well as its ability to bring peace, calm, health, friendship, and often wisdom into their lives.
buy it

Cha Dao: The Way of Tea, Tea as a Way of Life
by Solala Towler
from the publisher's description:
In China, the art and practice of drinking tea is about much more than merely soaking leaves in a cup of hot water. The tradition is rooted in Daoism, and emerged from a philosophy that honoured living a life of grace and gratitude, balance and harmony, and fulfilment and enjoyment - what the ancient Chinese called Cha Dao, or the Way of Tea.
buy it

Great Teas of China
by Roy Fong
from the publisher's description:
Great Teas of China is an authoritative guide to the extraordinary tea world of China, written by the leading master tea merchant in the United States, Roy Fong. From hand-picked white teas from Fu Ding and expertly crafted oolong from Taiwan, to patiently aged puerh from Yunnan and everything in between, Fong offers his insights on choosing, brewing and enjoying over a dozen of his favorite Chinese teas.
buy it

All The Tea In China
by Kit Chow & Ione Kramer
buy it

Liquid Jade: The Story of Tea from East to West
by Beatrice Hohenegger
buy it

Buy Blooming Tea Gift Sets in Canada
RedUmbrella Tea, Canada’s Loose Leaf Tea Co.