Category — Food for Thought

Over the past few months I’ve tweeted, blogged and facebooked my holiday baking. One of moi most-requested recipes: Nutella Pound Cake. I’ve been a Nutella fan (if you don’t know, Nutella is an Italian hazelnut and cocoa spread. And no, it’s not French: but the French have adopted Nutella as one of their own, and is typically served on bread for breakfast) for years, even back when it was très cher and hard to find in the US: I used to drag it back with me from Europe. Now it’s everywhere, and not so expensive. Living in Paris I couldn’t satisfy my chocolate-covered pretzel cravings without alot of chocolate melting and mess, so I’d sit on the couch and dip pretzels sticks right in the jar of Nutella. I don’t even want to think about those calories!

Last fall I was walking in Riverside Park, listening to the Gayle King Show on Sirius. I don’t know who her guest was, but they mentioned Nutella pound cake. So naturally it stuck in my head, and when I flew to Omaha for my annual holiday baking marathon with bff J, we decided to bake Nutella Pound Cakes.

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I’ve been a city girl for a while now. Paris, Copenhagen, New York, Chicago: they took me out of life in the ‘burbs and changed me forever:

• car? Take a bus, metro or a cab. Or better yet, just walk.
• everything can be delivered. Even waffles and frozen yogurt. 24/7.
• washing machine? The laundry service down the block picks up and delivers. And nothing is better than freshly pressed sheets from the laundry.
• garage? We had a storage unit. For only $372 per month!

With a grocery market on every corner, I’m used to picking up a bag or two of groceries every couple days. I go to the farmers market for fresh fruits and vegetables, eggs and meats, and even fish and breads. There’s always an online grocery store that delivers.

Every convenience imaginable, all for a price.

I had long conversations with my Omaha bff J about the price of groceries: how can 3 small plastic bags of groceries, with no meat, fish or cleaning products, cost $127.50? My box of favorite tea bags from the Italian deli? $12.  I became immune to to the prices: it’s the cost of living in the city. But it provided endless entertainment for Moi suburban friends. It was almost an honor: I could top any price my friends ever paid for anything.

And now, I’m living part of the year in South Florida: the home of the car and big, wide roads. So today, for the very first time, instead of shopping at a corner grocery market, I shopped at Super Target. [Read more →]

There is almost nothing that can’t be improved with chocolate. I’ve tweeted about Trader Joe’s chocolate covered edamame before…so good, and it’s a health food! Recently when I went to stock-up before our drive to Florida (where sadly Trader Joe’s does not have any stores) I discovered 2 more health foods:

• dark chocolate covered ginger
• dark chocolate covered pomegranate seeds [Read more →]

The perfect do-ahead or last-minute gift: something homemade from your kitchen. Every year I go to Omaha for a holiday bake-a-thon with moi bff J. Every year we add new recipes, reject some previous efforts, and always bake our favorites. I return home with my freezer and pantry stocked up for holiday giving, family dinners, and anytime snacking and nibbling.

For home-baked gift-giving I purchased some monogrammed gift boxes in assorted sizes from Williams-Sonoma. I bought burgundy boxes with a gold monogram in quantity, but also purchased some white boxes with spring seasons in pastel colors for summer giving. The boxes fold flat for easy storage, and with the different sizes I can easily gift 6 cookies or a whole batch of peanut brittle. [Read more →]

We had 21 for dinner Thanksgiving, and 4 crockpots! Moi had dressing, The Queen Mum’s held mashed potatoes, Sister S had classic green bean salad, and Sister L’s had cornbread souffle and a surprise:

How had I never heard of crockpot liners! All of the flavor and none of the mess. Perfect for chili tailgates, holiday potlucks, or just easy clean-ups at home. At a grocery store near you, a package of 4 under $3.

It makes me happy! [Read more →]

During the years we lived in Paris, and long before, The International Herald Tribune reprinted a column by writer and columnist Art Buchwald. He’s no longer with us, but his words will make us smile once again this Thanksgiving. This reprint ran several years ago in the IHT.

Bon Appétit, Art

We’re back in NYC for the week: TBG is booked all day with business meetings, then the Notre Dame v Army game at Yankee Stadium is on Saturday. But the nights are mine to schedule for romantic dinners and walks in our favorite parts of the city.

We’ve been wanting to eat at Blue Hill NYC for a long time, and decided to make it a priority this trip. Chef  Dan Barber is passionate about the farm-to-table menu this family owned restaurant offers with their sister restaurant and farm upstate. I new it would be difficult to get a reservation: Blue Hill is always booked, and reservations open at 10am one month in advance (since Michele and Barack visited Blue Hill on their “date night” in NYC last year its even become more difficult to get a reservation!)

I scored a 9pm reservation for Wednesday evening! And the anticipation and salivating began. In the month waiting for our big dining event it seemed I was bombarded with Blue Hill: TBG’s cousin facebooked about a lecture he attended by Dan Barber. A Zagat review of the restaurant appeared in my inbox (an impressive 27 rating). And on the flight to NYC, I browsed the Delta in-flight magazine and found an article on Blue Hill!

Wednesday we took a dare-devil cab ride to the Greenwich Village resto. 3 steps down: and voila! We were in the tiny entry to an intimate, formal dining room with every seat taken. We were immediately welcomed and invited to sit at the bar, where not a seat was available. After only a 5 minute wait, our table was ready and we were seated.

The wine list is small and select; I’m a gewurztraminer fan, and I was surprised to see a gewurztraminer from Italy: I’ve only had the wine from Germany and Alsace. But we both ordered a glass and were impressed by the dry spicy wine. Then on to the menu. I had planned to choose the tasting menu and sample the chef’s farm fresh recommendations. But once I saw the duck on the a la carte menu, I was hooked. My menu choices were The Farm Egg with lobster, duck with quince and pistachio and a side of brussels sprouts, and for dessert the honey crisp apples (sort of a de-constructed apple tart). It was all so good… TBG chose gnocchi followed by bass and topped off with honey ice cream. The dining room is tightly packed so we were able to easily see the other choices: the smoked tomato soup smelled heavenly and the chicken was roasted to perfection.

To start we were offered an amuse bouche of tiny tomato burgers on buns, very intense tomato burst! And with our check came “the dessert for people who don’t order dessert”: 2 tiny homemade marshmallows studded with toasted cocoanut, and 2 tiny dark chocolate cakes: so rich and not too sweet. The perfect ending with our coffee.

the details:

Moi Note: I’m out of town and working from my iPhone: Sorry for the poor quality of the pictures: they don’t do Blue Hill justice. But you get the idea!

Just got back from Walgreens where I bought 2 huge bags of Blue Diamond Almonds Bold Wasabi & Soy Sauce:  almost 1/2 price! Have you tried them yet? Moi traveling friend S introduced me to them a while back: I’m addicted!

Bold is a good word to describe these almonds: the strong spicy flavor is a perfect afternoon snack, and great to serve to friends with cocktails. Keep a stash in your cabinet for companies…if you can resist eating the whole bag!

Moi tip: Wasabi Soy Almonds are on sale at Walgreens thru November 20 at your local Walgreens store or at Walgreens.com. The 16oz bag is regularly $7.99: it’s on sale now for $4.99! They’re also available in purse-size 1.5 oz bags.

A tweet from Saveur Magazine featured international candy bars that are hard to find in the US: British Cadbury Crunchie Bars, Swedish Daim Toffee Bars, and Indonesian Silver Queens. That’s the problem with being both a traveler and a grocery store junkie: you easily become addicted to foods that may not be easily available.

When I get a craving for  ethnic groceries I head to World Market, a one-stop global shopping bazaar for

• foods: Cadbury chocolates, German cake mixes, Italian olive oils, Indian curries, Dutch cocoa powder, spices of the world
• fashions: jewelry, purses, scarves
• beers and wines from around the world
• furniture and accessories including beds, sofas, candles, rugs and curtains, artwork
• kitchenware: platters, French coffee presses, grilling tools
• bed and bath: towels, soaps and lotions, storage units [Read more →]

I’ve seen a lot of publicity on the recently opened Chicago French Market, but hadn’t visited yet.  Friday I was in the neighborhood so I entered the name into my iPhone, got directions, and voila! a short 10 minute walk later I was standing in the concourse of the Metra train station. Why hadn’t all the PR simply said the Chicago French Market is in the Metra North station: instead of advertising MetraMarket, Randolph and Clinton, and other location descriptions. No matter: I found it.

Live in Chicago? Work in Chicago? Just visiting? Go to the French Market: The French Market is an indoor fresh produce, prepared foods and specialties market comprised of independent vendors selling

• breads and pastries
• cheese
• meats
• fruits and vegetables
• pasta
• gelatos, smoothies and juices
• coffee and teas
• soaps
• nuts and candies
• flowers
• complete meals to eat there or take home [Read more →]