« February 2006 | Main | April 2006 »

Daily Olive Shopping Guide

KITCHEN
	Sur la Table
	Cooking.com
	Chefs.com
	Food Network
COOKBOOKS
	eCookbooks.com Save up to 40% off on bestselling cookbooks

March 22, 2006 in A Food & Wine Gift Guide | Permalink | Comments (0)

The New York Times Follows the Blog Trend with "The Pour"

It seems that just weeks ago Daily Olive posted a link to the newly launched food critic blog from The New York Times. Oh we did. Now, Eric Asimov, the chief wine critic for the publication, has also joined the blogging trend with his new blog titled "The Pour", which launched today.

Read "The Pour"
Eric Asimov's biography is available online
Read Daily Olive's post about "The Diner" in our Food News section

March 15, 2006 in All Things Wine, Food News | Permalink | Comments (1)

Line up for NY's Magnolia Bakery cupcakes on video

This video of the line for cupcakes outside Magnolia Bakery in New York's West Village reminds me of the Krispy Kreme craze from years back. 

March 15, 2006 in Food News | Permalink | Comments (0)

Instant kitchen by Basic Bachelor

Are you moving into a new place and don't have a single kitchen utensil?  Bachelor Kitchen has the solution that will save you hours of shopping at Bed, Bath & Beyond.  The Basic Bachelor is a comprehensive set of kitchen tools from top manufacturers that will get your new kitchen off to a great start.  This set might even be good enough to throw away your old hand-me-down kitchen set and start over.  Includes 39 items, some from Zyliss, John Boos, Vollrath, Matfer, and Polder.

Basic Bachelor  |  $399.00 from The Bachelor Kitchen

March 15, 2006 in Kitchen Essentials | Permalink | Comments (1)

Best Mac and Cheese in NYC

Today New York Magazine posted its 2006 Best of New York issue online. In a previously posted Daily Olive article, we pondered what could be considered great mac and cheese. According to the New York Magazine article, "Cesare Casella's whimisical take on penne a la vodka" is "a mac 'n' cheese for grown-ups". You can taste the "Best Macaroni and Cheese" at Maremma in New York City.

March 13, 2006 in Cheese, Restaurant News | Permalink | Comments (1)

WinePod: State of the Art Winemaking at Home

Mozaic's WinePod is the next step to at-home winemaking.  Wirelessly to your home PC or Mac, the WinePod tracks your winemaking process and directs you to make necessary adjustments.

The WinePod's a computer-equipped, two-foot-high metal egg/vineyard that yields up to six cases per batch. Any grape will do, but if you buy from ProVina you can watch your fruit ripen on the vine on their Vineyard-Cam -- an inspiring process, provided your life's completely empty. Once you've obtained raw materials, simply flip the lid, dump them in, and the mechanical press will start mashing.

The computer wirelessly connects to your PC/Mac, and makes daily suggestions (adjust pH or temperature, add water, "drink me", etc.). If you run into problems, the Pod's networking software puts you in touch with professional winemakers and wine enthusiasts -- you can ask them questions, or send them grape porn.

Fermentation time depends on the varietal: Beaujolais can take four months, certain Cabernets up to a year, Fecal Raisin Mad Dog about as long as it takes Dominos to deliver the medium Meat-Lovers you're pairing it with. Of course, any machine that can produce velvety Pinot is going to be expensive -- but well worth it to become your own vintner without risking the INS bashing down your door.

via Thrillist  

March 10, 2006 in All Things Wine | Permalink | Comments (0)

Pairing Wine with Food: It's OK to Have Fish with Red

When most people start pairing wine with food, two rules are followed: drink red with meat and white with fish. Nowadays there are so many different kinds of reds and white wines to choose from, you can mix it up. Pinot with a seared tuna? Sure. Just make sure the wine isn't overpowered by the food, and vice versa. "But there are limits", as a Chicago Tribune article points out. Find out more about pairing wine with food in the entire article.

March 9, 2006 in All Things Wine, Cooking, Food | Permalink | Comments (0)

Wine Events in Chicago for St. Patrick's Day

This year, the famous St. Patrick's Day Parade in Chicago will take place on March 11. If you're not a beer drinker, may we suggest you go to some local wine events - after you've seen the river turn green and watched the parade, of course. If you're in town on March 17, you can catch more wine events. Don't worry: they don't dye the chardonnay green.

March 11
St. Patrick's Day Wine Tasting
California Wine Extravaganza
A Tour of Italy

March 17
Wine & Cheese Uncensored
Syrah vs. Shiraz

March 7, 2006 in All Things Wine, Gourmet Food Events | Permalink | Comments (0)

Enjoy Food and Wine Abroad

 

Some say that you can't really learn the language unless you live in the country. Food lovers may argue the same can be said about cooking. Face it, it'd be much easier to cook an authentic Italian meal accompanied by the perfect local wine if you were actually IN Tuscany. There are many reputable wine and food travel tours out there, but we know a good place to start your research: Gourmet on Tour. It has excellent reviews and several tours to choose from. Check it out and hopefully your next marinara sauce will be simmering in an Italian kitchen.

March 6, 2006 in All Things Wine, Cooking Schools, Food & Wine Country Travel | Permalink | Comments (3)

Ina Garten launches the Barefoot Contessa Pantry

Author and Food Network hostess, Ina Garten, has launched the Barefoot Contessa Pantry with specialty food producer, Stonewall Kitchen.  The exuberant chef with the down-to-earth cooking style has recently completed overseeing the development and production of this line of products that includes preserves, baking mixes, savory and dessert sauces and more. Each recipe has been carefully created from Ina’s tried and true favorites from her four cookbooks.

The Coconut Cupcakes, Outrageous Brownies and Chocolate Chunk Cookie mixes make Ina Garten’s decadently delicious recipes easy to make at home with little effort and only a few added ingredients like eggs and butter. Also in the line are cooking and marinating sauces that replicate many of the most popular dishes made famous on Ina’s show and in her cookbooks.

Realizing that today’s cooks may not always have the time to cook from scratch, Ina wanted to make it easier for everyone to be able to enjoy her incredibly flavorful favorites. Her mission is to bring her most loved recipes into homes tasting and looking precisely like her original recipe. The line, currently hosting 35 products, will continue to grow and will be available nationwide in specialty food stores and gift shops and through Stonewall Kitchen’s Company Stores and website at Stonewall Kitchen.

Visit the Barefoot Contessa Pantry at Stonewall Kitchen.com

March 3, 2006 in A Food & Wine Gift Guide, Food | Permalink | Comments (6)

Hip Wine Glasses: Stack 'em Up

Stackable wine glasses? It's new to us, but we think they're pretty cool looking. These stackable acrylic wine glasses from Crate and Barrel can spruce up any party. They come in green, blue (pictured), and clear and are much hipper than any plastic ones you can buy. And just a bit more sophisticated, don't you think?

March 3, 2006 in A Food & Wine Gift Guide, All Things Wine, Parties & Entertaining | Permalink | Comments (0)

Yuzu Wine: Sake or Wine?

In the April issue of Bon Appetit, you'll find a mention of yuzu wine and a bright blue bottle of Kiuchi Yuzu Wine (similar to what is pictured here). What is it, exactly, you may wonder. Yuzu fruit is a rare Japanese citrus, which offers a complex flavor of lime, lemon, grapefruit, and mandarin orange. Yuzu wine is simply fermented yuzu juice. Still confused? Bon Appetit writes "think Riesling crossed with sake". You can find out more about yuzu wine at the Kiuchi Brewery website.

March 2, 2006 in All Things Wine | Permalink | Comments (0)

A Wolfgang Puck Oscar Menu: Choose the Right Wine for Braised Food

Wolfgang Puck and epicurious.com have collaborated on a very well-done Oscar party menu. "Wolfgang Puck's Oscar Party" offers ideas for food, drinks, decorating, and more. The main course consists of Wine-Braised Brisket of Beef, which calls for one bottle of red wine. It doesn't specify what kind of red wine, so Daily Olive has a word of advice: cook with wine that you would drink. Wine Spectator agrees and a recent article in the magazine also explains what wines to use in all kinds of cooking. The key is to enhance the flavor of the fish, chicken, or beef, not to overwhelm it.

If you like his Oscar recipes, you can buy Wolgang Puck cookbooks at ecookbooks.com.

March 1, 2006 in All Things Wine, Cooking, Parties & Entertaining | Permalink | Comments (0)