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the sweet scoop
8 Unusual Culinary Herbs on The Daily Meal
Friday, May 10, 2013 at 06:05 PM - Posted by Megan - (0) commentsHerbs are some of the easiest plants to grow, whether in a spacious backyard garden or small apartment windowsill. Common varieties, such as rosemary, parsley, and mint, offer both ornamental appeal and distinct culinary value. But as fundamental as these popular greens are, there are many unique and exotic herbs that are worth planting, as well. It’s time to think outside the basil!
Lesser-known culinary herbs can create a more fragrant garden, and introduce bold new flavors and aromatics to your cooking. Green-thumbed gourmands will love the rich essence that chocolate mint can bring to baked goods and herbal teas, or the jalapeño peppery zest that conehead thyme infuses into savory dishes. Want to kick cocktails up a notch? Try muddling in some fresh, citrusy lemon basil. The possibilities are endless.
The Daily Meal invited me to round up eight offbeat herbs to spice up your garden and taste buds — check out my article and slideshow here.
Cheers to Spring! Cocktails to Celebrate the Season
Saturday, April 20, 2013 at 05:04 PM - Posted by Megan - (0) commentsSpring is finally in full swing, and there are plenty of reasons to celebrate. Warmer weather, longer days, shorter hemlines, Cinco de Mayo, Mother’s Day, the Kentucky Derby… just to name a few. And what better way to properly ring in spring than with a refreshing seasonal cocktail?
Whether you’re hosting a springtime soirée or just need a reason to raise a glass, here are a few of my favorite fresh and vibrant cocktail recipes to sip this season. Cheers!
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NY Chefs fight hunger with Holy Apostles Soup Kitchen
Thursday, April 18, 2013 at 11:04 AM - Posted by Megan - (1) comment
Some of New York City’s top chefs have taken on the 100 Mile Menu Challenge to fight hunger. Their task? To create a delicious tasting menu using only ingredients sourced within 100 miles of Holy Apostles Soup Kitchen.
On May 16th, Holy Apostles Soup Kitchen—the largest emergency food program in New York City—will host From Farm to Tray, a sustainable food benefit to raise much needed funds before the busy summer season. This cocktail reception and celebration will feature the locally-sourced, “100 Mile” dishes from participating chefs Colt Taylor (One If By Land, Two If By Sea), Kevin Lasko (Park Avenue Spring), Kurt Kretschmar (Cocktail Caterers), Preston Madson & Ginger Pierce (Freemans, Peels & Isa) and Yvan Lemoine (Season 8 Food Network Star Finalist), with a VIP cocktail hour hosted by executive chef Norma Jean Darden of Spoonbread.
Like the hungry NYers who eat at the soup kitchen every day, From Farm to Tray guests will dine in the beautiful landmark Holy Apostles Church, a sanctuary that New York Times journalist Anna Quindlen dubbed “the most majestic dining room in New York City.”
Join me on May 16th at 7pm for this uniquely delicious fundraiser to benefit fellow New Yorkers in need. Tickets are available here. Hope to see you there!
Time Out New York’s 2013 Food & Drink Awards
Tuesday, April 2, 2013 at 11:04 AM - Posted by Megan - (0) commentsIt was another thrilling year for the New York City dining scene, and last night, Time Out New York held their annual industry awards honoring the best new restaurants, bars and chefs. “It’s been an incredibly exciting year for food and drink,” shares Mari Uyehara, TONY’s Food & Drink editor. “Sensational new restaurants opened on Madison Avenue and in the West Village, but also in Bushwick, Flushing and Red Hook. It also brought national superstars, celebrated cookbook authors and daring upstarts to town. Our roster of winners reflects the astonishing range of drinking and dining experiences in New York City right now.”
Taking over the spacious Stephen Weiss Studio, the 2013 Food & Drink Awards paid tribute to the city’s culinary finest in a grand celebration attended by top toques, restauranteurs, mixologists and industry insiders. Before the winners were announced, guests sampled bites from nominated spots, including L’Apicio, Pork Slope, Dear Bushwick and Gran Electrica, and sipped prosecco, Stella Artois and Frederick Wildman cocktails—all while eagerly anticipating the results.
TONY’s food-obsessed readers voted for their faves out of 40 nominees to determine ten winners in the Readers’ Choice categories—top honors included Best New Restaurant (The NoMad), Chef of the Year (Daniel Humm), Best New Italian Spot (Perla), Best New Cocktail Bar (Pouring Ribbons) and Best New Bakery (Ovenly). Additionally, ten Critics’ Picks were presented, in aptly named categories ranging from Best Big-Pimp’ Brooklyn (Blanca) and The New Nordic Wonder (Aska), to The Same Same But Different Award (Pok Pok NY) and The High Rolling Stoner Sushi Award (Chez Sardine). You can check out the full list of this year’s winners here.
Many congrats to all the winners and nominees!
Related: My Time Out New York Food & Drink Awards coverage from 2012 & 2011
The Clean Plates Cookbook Giveaway!
Monday, March 25, 2013 at 02:03 PM - Posted by Megan - (4) commentsWe can all use a little spring cleaning in the kitchen. And no, I’m not talking about organizing your pantry, but incorporating clean eating as part of a healthy lifestyle.
Nutritional Consultant and Clean Plates founder, Jared Koch, makes it easy with his newly released, The Clean Plates Cookbook, which continues his mission to educate people on how it can drastically pay off to eat cleanly. “Clean eating, as I define it, means eating high-quality real food as often as possible, based on what is right for your body and what stimulates your taste buds.” Jared shares. “In other words: healthy, sustainable, and delicious.”
This cookbook is particularly near and dear to my heart because I was honored to contribute to it and work with celebrated participating chefs including Jamie Oliver, Marc Forgione, Michael Anthony, Bill Telepan, Daniel Holzman and Michael Chernow, Sarma Melngailis, Ed Cotton, Jeremy Bearman, Ann Gentry, and more. It’s a truly incredible resource packed with tons of inspiring information and simple, healthy, delicious recipes—from meat- and seafood-based dishes to vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options. There’s really something for every body and every palate. Here’s a taste of some the recipes you’ll discover.
Hungry to dive in and get cooking? Find out where to grab yourself a copy here or enter my giveaway below for the chance to win a special signed cookbook!
{ ENTER TO WIN }
What does clean eating mean to you? Just comment with your answer below, on Facebook, or tweet me @ThisGirlCanEat. I’ll be picking a winner next week to receive a copy of The Clean Plates Cookbook personally signed by Jared Koch. Wishing you the best of luck & cheers to a clean, mean 2013!
Images courtesy of Clean Plates
Highlights & Best Bites from Choice Eats 2013
Wednesday, March 20, 2013 at 12:03 PM - Posted by Megan - (1) commentOn Tuesday, the Village Voice’s sixth annual Choice Eats tasting event took over the 69th Armory on Lexington Avenue. The highly anticipated affair featured Voice food critic Robert Sietsema’s culinary favorites from more than 50 handpicked restaurants spanning the five boroughs, along with beverage pairings from craft beer, wine and spirits producers.
As if all this wasn’t enough, VIP guests were invited inside a full hour before general admission for a live culinary demo from City Grit’s Sarah McSimmons and offerings from a dozen local restos including Pig and Khao, Qi Thai Grill and Exchange Alley. VIPs also indulged in the exclusive “Choice Sweets” dessert lounge featuring confections from Butter Lane, Grandaisy Bakery, Ovenly, and more.
A few of the night’s many standouts included Anella’s velvety handmade burrata with tomato jam and basil salt, fresh seasoned shrimp rolls from both Luke’s Lobster and Red Hook Lobster Pound, tangy buffalo chicken balls from The Meatball Shop, Porchetta’s savory crackling-topped pork crostini, John Brown Smokehouse’s succulent pastrami sliders with sweet ‘n’ tangy slaw, moist red velvet squares from Carlo’s Bakery, and perfectly indulgent fudge brownies from Robicelli’s. A selection of suds from Blue Point Brewing Company, Lagunitas and Stella Artois, along with creative cocktails mixed with Sidney Frank spirits and Prairie Organic Vodka, helped wash it all down.
Whether you prefer savory, sweet, spicy, ethnic, Americana, inventive, classic, vegetarian or carnivorous, Choice Eats aims to please any palate. And with a surprisingly reasonable ticket price point, the bang-for-your-buck appeal is just another reason to attend the eating extravaganza next year.
Fan of Village Voice events? Don’t miss out on the 2nd annual Choice Streets on May 7th to taste the best fare on four wheels from NYC’s most beloved food trucks. Get your tickets here!
2013 Cochon 555 NYC: Princess of Porc Competition
Saturday, March 2, 2013 at 01:03 PM - Posted by Megan - (0) commentsThe fifth anniversary of Cochon 555 kicked off in NYC with the tour’s first-ever all-female lineup of chefs. The nationwide traveling culinary competition, designed to raise awareness of heritage breed pigs and sustainable practices, challenged Big Apple chefs Alex Guarnaschelli, Missy Robbins, Elizabeth Falkner, Leah Cohen and Shanna Pacifico to create a multi-course menu using an entire 200-lb. porker, from nose-to-tail. Hundreds of swine-loving gourmands gathered in Chelsea’s Pier Sixty to savor the meat-centric spread, while sipping wine from five different producers, a variety of spirits and punches from local mixologists.
A panel of esteemed chefs and judges, along with the crowd, voted for their favorite of the day. Besides scoring the ultimate bragging rights, the winning chef was crowned Princess of Porc and will advance to compete at Grand Cochon during the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen. Cochon 555 founder Brady Lowe invited me to shoot a video at the action-packed event. Check out the clip below to see which fierce female was crowned 2013 NYC Princess of Porc!
Congratulations to Brady and everyone who participated!
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