« September 2006 | Main | November 2006 »
Melamine Diner Plate Set
With photographs taken from the Deluxe Town Diner in Watertown, MA, serving your morning eggs and bacon on this set of melamine plates will bring the diner feel to your breakfast table.
Melamine Diner Plates | $38 for set at Sprout Home
October 30, 2006 in Tabletop Design | Permalink | Comments (0)
Vessel's New Luau Portable Lamp
Vessel's new Luau Lamp is a rechargeable and portable light that can add a unique ambiance to your parties, whether indoor or out. The convenient handle lets you carry Luau with you and can stay charged to 6 hours.
Vessel: Luau Portable Rechargeable Lamp
October 28, 2006 in Parties & Entertaining | Permalink | Comments (1)
Batali & Silverton's Mozza Near Opening
Here in Los Angeles, our home stomping grounds, we're eagerly awaiting the opening of Mozza, the joint restaurant venture between NY's Mario Batali and LA's Nancy Silverton. Word has it that the official opening is November 6, and we've got a peek at the menu (.pdf) More news to follow. [thanks Josh]
October 27, 2006 in Restaurant News | Permalink | Comments (0)
New Release: The Barefoot Contessa At Home + a preview recipe
Ina Garten's new cookbook, Barefoot Contessa at Home: Everyday Recipes You'll Make Over and Over Again, has finally arrived at Jessica's Biscuit. This is Ina as her fans long to see her, in her home, cooking and entertaining. Along with beautiful photographs of her dishes, her home, and the East Hampton she loves, this book is filled with signature recipes that strike the perfect balance between elegance and casual comfort. With this cookbook, Ina Garten wants you to feel as comfortable entertaining in your home as she does in hers. To that end, there are menu planning tips, anecdotes, kitchen design strategies, and her secrets to making guests feel welcome and comfortable.
In her own words, from the introduction: "I hope in this book you'll find lots of recipes you'll want to make over and over again so that everyone who comes to visit will feel as much at home as you do."
See a recipe from her book after the jump - Frozen Berries with Hot White Chocolate.
Barefoot Contessa At Home | $21 at eCookbooks.com
Related:
Barefoot Contessa's Pantry Collection
Frozen Berries with Hot White Chocolate
Serves 6
My British television producers introduced me to this delicious concoction; it's hot white chocolate poured over frozen berries and it's served at two of London's most popular restaurants, The Ivy and J. Sheehey's. The combination of cold and hot is amazing. You can also use frozen berries; the individually flash-frozen kind are available in the freezer section of many grocery stores.
2 half-pints fresh raspberries
2 half-pints fresh blueberries
1 pint fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced thick
1 cup heavy cream
10 ounces good white chocolate (not chips), chopped
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Early in the day, spread the berries on a sheet pan in a single layer and place them in the freezer. (This prevents them from sticking together.) Once they're frozen, store them in a freezer bag.
In a heat-proof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, heat the cream, white chocolate, and vanilla just until the chocolate melts. Don't let the bowl touch the water. Heat the mixture until it's warm to the touch, about 110 degrees.
Place the frozen berries in one layer on 6 dessert plates and allow them to sit at room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes to defrost slightly. Pour the hot white chocolate evenly over the frozen berries and serve immediately.
In a sidebar, Ina Garten notes:
I use Callebaut or Lindt White Chocolate.
The chocolate can be melted early and then reheated over simmering water to 110 degrees. Don't overheat or the chocolate will separate and burn.
October 26, 2006 in Cookbooks | Permalink | Comments (0)
40 Grind Settings with Baratza Virtuoso Grinder
Made in Italy, the Baratza Virtuoso Grinder is a burr-type coffee bean grinder that has 40 different grind settings from espresso to French press. Order from Illy and you'll get a complimentary can of Illy coffee beans and measuring spoon. Fully warrantied refurbished Virtuoso grinders ($149) are available directly from Baratza.
Baratza Virtuoso Grinder Kit | $200 at Illy
October 26, 2006 in Coffee & Espresso | Permalink | Comments (0)
Tord Boontje Designs Hit Target
You've probably seen Dutch designer, Tord Boontje's product designs at DWR or museum design shops. Now, we've found that he's designing for Target, creating a line of dinnerware, stemware, and glassware. His collection also includes votive and candleholders - perfect for dressing up your holiday dinner table. [via decor8 | happy mundane]
link: Tord Boontje at Target
October 24, 2006 in Tabletop Design | Permalink | Comments (0)
Rex Ray Designs for Recchiuti Chocolates
Graphic designer Rex Ray was invited to create a collection for Recchiuti Chocolate's Artisan Collection in another collaboration of local San Francisco artists. This boxed collection is made with Recchiuti's Burnt Caramel chocolates.
Rex Ray Artisan Collection | $18 at Recchiuti.com
October 23, 2006 in Chocolate | Permalink | Comments (0)
A Kitchen That Unfolds Like a Murphy Bed
Grandma's Revenge was designed as an entry into the International Kitchen/Environmental Design Competition as reported by Core 77 - "The seemingly flat, elevation-like panel folds, extends and opens to reveal a functional kitchen and dining area complete with dishwasher, chopping area, oven, refrigerator, table, chairs, and lamp" designed by Melanie Olle + Ilja Oelschl." [via Mocoloco]
October 21, 2006 in Kitchen Design | Permalink | Comments (1)
Gourmet Cakes Delivered to Your Doorstep
Now here is a great idea for a gift - Bake Me a Wish - a gourmet cake sent through the mail to your favorite person. All you have to do is specify the occasion and a delivery date, and your cake will be baked, decorated, and delivered.
This week, I was lucky enough to receive an unbelievably luscious rich chocolate mouse cake with fudgy rosettes in the mail from Bake Me a Wish, a New York based bakery that was founded in 2004. This has to be their most decadent offering, with the cake itself arriving in perfect order in an attractive gift box packed in a dry ice container, and they even put a message on the cake.
If chocolate cake is a bit rich for your tastes, there are plenty of others to choose from. These include the strawberry shortcake topped with whipped cream and Belgium white chocolate shavings or the vanilla bean layer cake with buttercream mousse.
link: Bake Me A Wish
October 21, 2006 in A Food & Wine Gift Guide, Special Delivery | Permalink | Comments (0)
I'll Take the BLT ... in Sterling Silver, Please
Jewelry designer, Carrie Weston, teamed up with The Grateful Palate, to create this 5-piece BLT ring set. Available sterling silver and 14k multi-color gold. Weston also has designed a layered hamburger ring set too. [via Cool Hunting]
Sterling Silver BLT Ring | $150 at The Grateful Palate
October 20, 2006 in Art & Photography | Permalink | Comments (0)
5 Great Food Photography Finds at Flickr
Photo-sharing site, Flickr, provides me with endless hours of surfing through a great variety of photos. Look long and hard enough and Flickr becomes a great inspirational resource of images for anything you're interested in. Try these tags for instance - cupcakes, sushi, paris restaurants, and red-fruit-food. See? It's quite amazing.
Meanwhile, here are 5 cool links to some amazing food photography I've found on Flickr recently.
- Dapan's Album is filled with desserts
- SpeedM calls his set Delicious, and it's truly mouthwatering
- Experience exotic Malaysian foods with Rasa Malaysia
- Marion's Gastronomique Album is a photo study of dishes from Germany's Gastronomique Restaurant and is simply beautiful
- I'm especially envious of rrichard's Food Set because he eats so well
5 Quick Tips to Shooting Great Food Photographs
October 19, 2006 in Art & Photography | Permalink | Comments (0)
Tequila - an Aphrodisiac?
Agavero is a 100 percent Blue Agave tequila that is blended with the Damiana flower, a flower known for centuries as a powerful aphrodisiac. The Damiana flower gives the liquor an extra kick, and at the same time adds several layers of complexity to the versatile spirit. As with most aphrodisiacs, its true power lies in the minds and hearts of the lovers themselves.
link: Agavero Website
October 19, 2006 in Spirits | Permalink | Comments (0)
New Familia Tableware from Normann Copenhagen
Designer Ole Jensen has created a new line of tableware called Familia for Normann Copenhagen. Jensen's inspriration for Familia came from ancient Mesopotamian traditions where the shapes of the plates and handles were refined through the creative process that removed all unnecessary details. Quite successful, we think. via Mocoloco.
October 18, 2006 in Tabletop Design | Permalink | Comments (0)
5 Quick Tips to Shooting Great Food Photographs
Over the past few months, I've been experimenting with taking more food photographs and learning the secrets of what it takes to capture a great food photo. My first source of inspiration is Heidi Swanson's photography featured on her blog, 101 Cookbooks. Her photographs are minimally composed and beautifully colored, and I couldn't help but be inspired to learn more about photographing food. After studying online and going out to take pictures, here's 5 important tips I've learned that's given me the best results.
- Shoot macro - Use the macro setting on your camera to get the shallowest depth of field you can. It's the one great secret to cool looking food photographs.
- Don't use a flash - Turn your flash off. Period. Use whatever natural lighting you have to shoot your pictures.
- Minimize clutter in the background - the caveat to this is to find a way to include the ambience of the setting you are in, whether in a restaurant or a friend's kitchen.
- Expect to adjust your color balance after shooting - use Photoshop or even something simple like Picasa's editing tools to take out the orange or blue color cast you may get from shooting indoors with incandescent or flourescent lighting.
- Burn film - an seasoned photographer once told me the only way to become a better photographer was to take more pictures. Before digital photography, this meant to "burn film". Go out and shoot, shoot, and shoot some more.
My reading sources for food photo tips came from Heidi's Food Photography Tips, chef Benjamin Christie's Creating Edible Food Photos, and Digital Photography's "How to Make Mouth Watering Food Photographs".
Heidi's photography is also featured in her book: Cook 1.0: A Fresh Approach to the Vegetarian Kitchen
Next Up: Our favorite food albums at Flickr
October 16, 2006 in Art & Photography | Permalink | Comments (2)
A Moody Champagne Chiller
The Moodlight Champagne Chiller glows and changes color to your own programmed lighting scenarios through a control at the base. Safe and waterproof, the chiller charges up to six hours away from its rechargeable base.
Mood Light Chiller | $184 at Unica Home
October 15, 2006 in A Food & Wine Gift Guide, All Things Wine | Permalink | Comments (0)
Sea Life Coasters
Bring a touch of natural sea life to your cocktail parties with these sea plant coasters. $95 for a set of four at NIBA Home.
October 14, 2006 in Parties & Entertaining | Permalink | Comments (0)
Architect Richard Meier Designs Wolfgang Puck's Newest Restaurant
When architect Richard Meier was in Los Angeles to oversee construction of the Getty Center during the mid 1980's, he struck up a friendship with Wolfgang Puck making regular stops at Puck's Spago. That relationship led Meier to help Puck design his newest restaurant - a steakhouse named Cut located at the Regent Beverly Hills Hotel. In addition to the restaurant interior design with its linear skylight centerpiece, Meier also designed all the furniture, flatware, and select pieces of the dinnerware. The room's sense of order, white walls, natural lighting, and warm wood tones makes Cut and adjoining Sidebar Lounge a classic Meier design.
View our slideshow of Cut at Flickr.
Reviews: Los Angeles Times | LA Foodblogging
link: Cut Restaurant
October 6, 2006 in Restaurant Design | Permalink | Comments (0)
For the Love of Macaroons
While visiting CitySearch last night, I stumbled across a story about French macaroons following in the footsteps of the cupcake in new food trends in our home base, Los Angeles. I did a quick search online and uncovered a whole world of macaroon lovers, recipe, and critics. I also found over 800 macaroon photographs on Flickr, including the one above taken by Bea of La Tartine Gourmand. Then in the food blogging world, here's a separate review and history of the macaroon experience in France. Sounds like we got to start eating more macaroons.
October 5, 2006 in Desserts & Other Sweets, New Food Trends | Permalink | Comments (0)
