Photo by Chris Andre

Most of the presenters at the sessions are the winemakers at their wineries, which was true for all 4 of the presenters at the session I attended. My session included Rob McNeill of Mumm Napa Estates, Tom Rinaldi of Provenance Vineyards, George Bursick of J Vineyards and Ed Sbragia of Sbragia Family Vineyards presenting with Evan Goldstein of Full Circle Wine Solutions moderating.  This group has been doing these events together for 8 or 9 years now and have definitely built a synergy.  They've also build a following.  They are the best attended session of Vintners' Holidays, no matter if they are first, last or somewhere in between in the series.

Photo by Chris Andre

The lectures are a mixture of wine tasting and wine learning. Some vintners bring barrel samples for the tastings and some bring recent releases.  They discuss the wines, wine making, terroirs, wine regulations, and much more.  In one session we even got to do a wine sushi pairing, but most sessions do not include food pairings.

Photo by Chris Andre

Some interesting tidbits that were shared during the session I attended include:

• -Mixing sweet wines with heat is going to be a hit
• -When pairing wine with food always taste the wine on its own first, then have the food and taste again to see how it has changed.
• -A wine must contain 75% of a single varietal to be labeled as that varietal
• -A wine must contain 95% of the grapes from a single vineyard to be vineyard designated.
• -Cellar wine at 55-60 degrees
• -and many more.

PermaLink

I think I can safely say that all of us here at Project Foodie love chocolate - milk, dark, white and everything in between.  A great piece of chocolate is like a great glass of wine, complex, soul-satisfying and just plain delicious.  This year I have had the great pleasure of hanging out with the folks at Scharffenberger chocolate for some neat events. 

Back in July I went to my first ever chocolate tasting sponsored by the well known chocolatier.  The event was in celebration of the release of the movie Julie & Julia.  There is a scene in the movie where the Julie Powell character, after a particularly grueling day at the office, walks by a Scharffenberger chocolate display and becomes inspired to make a chocolate crème pie that same evening.  The chocolate tasting, which was held at the French Culinary Institute in New York City, featured a cooking demonstration by Jacques Pepin, world renowned Chef and great friend of Julia Child. The actual tasting was led by founder and owner John Scharffenberger. The chocolate tasting was not unlike that of a wine tasting.  We were instructed to take a small piece of chocolate let it rest on our tongues, and as we tasted we were led in a discussion about the various flavor profiles we might experience.  There was talk about cacao percentages, levels of sugar, and the various countries where Scharffenberger acquires his cacao supply. During the demonstration we were also treated to a lunch featuring several savory dishes that featured chocolate as a key ingredient.  I left the event far more knowledgeable about chocolate than I ever thought I’d be and with an even finer appreciation for it.

Last month Scharffenberger hosted another event, this time at my alma mater the Institute of Culinary Education, to kick off their Chocolate Adventure Contest with the website Tutti Foodie (no relation to Project Foodie).  Between now and January 3, 2010 enter an original recipe featuring Scharffenberger artisan chocolate and one or more of 16 different “Adventure” ingredients for a chance to win $10,000.  Some of this year’s adventure ingredients are smoked, sea salt, sumac, and black-eyed peas just to name a few.  I wasn’t able to attend the event in September, but I was able to participate via webcast where we were able to interact with Top Chef Masters’ finalist and San Francisco pastry chef Elizabeth Falkner, who made some fantastic desserts featuring adventure ingredients. She's also one of the judges in this year’s contest.  So for those of you out there that love chocolate as much as we do, get in the game and show the folks at Scharffenberger that you’ve got what it takes.  We plan on interviewing this year’s winner here at Project Foodie.  In the meantime, and perhaps for a little inspiration, listed below are a few chocolate recipes made perfectly with Scharffenberger chocolate of course.

Chocolate Cream Pie (Gourmet, April, 1994) My Rating: 1 2 3 4 5 View: finding recipe... More Actions: add comment cancel add comment | view comment (0) hide comment | edit notes cancel edit notes | show tags hide tags | share hide share My Notes: - Private info just for you! Edit Tags Rename Tag to Add Comment: Comments:

Bittersweet Chocolate Truffles (Bon Appétit, December, 2006) My Rating: 1 2 3 4 5 View: finding recipe... More Actions: add comment cancel add comment | view comment (0) hide comment | edit notes cancel edit notes | show tags hide tags | share hide share My Notes: - Private info just for you! Edit Tags Rename Tag to Add Comment: Comments:

Roasted Beef Tenderloin With Rosemary, Chocolate And Wine Sauce (Healthy Appetite With Ellie Krieger, Episode: Chocolate Surprises, Season: 4) My Rating: 1 2 3 4 5 View: finding recipe... More Actions: add comment cancel add comment | view comment (0) hide comment | edit notes cancel edit notes | show tags hide tags | share hide share My Notes: - Private info just for you! Edit Tags Rename Tag to Add Comment: Comments:

PermaLink

Halloween is a fun holiday that can be even more fun with some creative cooking. The Halloween tag on Project Foodie has a collection of nearly 80 Halloween recipes ranging from appetizers to desserts.  To help you find some of the scariest, I've highlighted some of our favorites at the end of this post.  And to help you even more with your Halloween preparations, Heather and I searched the web for some fun, freaky and frightening ways to dish-up Halloween for both the kids and adults.

-The Food Network has a freaky party menu, creepy recipes, pumpkin carving, over-the-top costumes and more ghoulish delights.

-Better Homes and Gardens has 22 quick Halloween party food recipes. 

-Picky Palate's Breadstick Mummy Dogs may not be a foodie taste test favorite but these fun Halloween recipes will definitely get you well on your way to having a freaky Halloween. 

-Healthy Eating for Healthy Living has some ghoulish looking treats that will keep you on the healthy side. 

-Disney's Family Fun has a neat assembly of 20 spooky Halloween snacks.

-Kiwi Magazine has 'do it yourself' Halloween costumes, down under recipes and a collection of spooky books and movies to keep you scared silly this Halloween.

And who says you need kids to enjoy Halloween? 

-Hostess Blog serves up some great Halloween cocktails.

-Woman's Day takes it a step further with tips on having a great adults-only Halloween party with elegance.

Last, but not least, here are a few of our favorite Halloween picks from the Project Foodie recipe box. They're all tagged with the Halloween tag, so if you don't find what suits your need, check out the other tagged recipes.

Mini Ghost Cupcakes (All You, October, 2006) My Rating: 1 2 3 4 5 View: finding recipe... More Actions: add comment cancel add comment | view comment (0) hide comment | edit notes cancel edit notes | show tags hide tags | share hide share My Notes: - Private info just for you! Edit Tags Rename Tag to Add Comment: Comments:

Owl Cookies (Sunset, October, 2005) My Rating: 1 2 3 4 5 View: finding recipe... More Actions: add comment cancel add comment | view comment (0) hide comment | edit notes cancel edit notes | show tags hide tags | share hide share My Notes: - Private info just for you! Edit Tags Rename Tag to Add Comment: Comments:

Scary Spiders (All You, October, 2009) My Rating: 1 2 3 4 5 View: finding recipe... More Actions: add comment cancel add comment | view comment (0) hide comment | edit notes cancel edit notes | show tags hide tags | share hide share My Notes: - Private info just for you! Edit Tags Rename Tag to Add Comment: Comments:

Chocolate Marshmallow-Ghost Cake and Mini Cupcakes (Martha Stewart Living, October, 2006) My Rating: 1 2 3 4 5 View: finding recipe... More Actions: add comment cancel add comment | view comment (0) hide comment | edit notes cancel edit notes | show tags hide tags | share hide share My Notes: - Private info just for you! Edit Tags Rename Tag to Add Comment: Comments:

Jack-O’-Lantern Cookies (All You, October, 2006) My Rating: 1 2 3 4 5 View: finding recipe... More Actions: add comment cancel add comment | view comment (0) hide comment | edit notes cancel edit notes | show tags hide tags | share hide share My Notes: - Private info just for you! Edit Tags Rename Tag to Add Comment: Comments:

Mini Ghost Cupcakes (All You, October, 2006) My Rating: 1 2 3 4 5 View: finding recipe... More Actions: add comment cancel add comment | view comment (0) hide comment | edit notes cancel edit notes | show tags hide tags | share hide share My Notes: - Private info just for you! Edit Tags Rename Tag to Add Comment: Comments:

Skull Madeleines (Martha Stewart Living, October, 2008) My Rating: 1 2 3 4 5 View: finding recipe... More Actions: add comment cancel add comment | view comment (0) hide comment | edit notes cancel edit notes | show tags hide tags | share hide share My Notes: - Private info just for you! Edit Tags Rename Tag to Add Comment: Comments:

Chocolate Spiderweb Cookies (Cooking Light, October, 2003) My Rating: 1 2 3 4 5 View: finding recipe... More Actions: add comment cancel add comment | view comment (0) hide comment | edit notes cancel edit notes | show tags hide tags | share hide share My Notes: - Private info just for you! Edit Tags Rename Tag to Add Comment: Comments:

Do you know of more freakish foodie fun?  Leave a comment or email me ( This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it ) to share your favorites...

PermaLink

That would be Metropolitan Bakery not the Opera House. But, I have to say that my day there was just as enjoyable as a night at the opera would be. 

Metropolitan Bakery was started by former White Dog Pastry Chef James Barrett and his longtime friend and associate Wendy Smith Born.  In 1993 they had a vision to bring great artisan bread and pastries to Philadelphia.  Today, their vision is alive and well with six retail locations, a presence in many other gourmet markets, specialty stores and an on-line store.

Recently, Foodie Pam sampled some of the Metropolitan Bakery's granola and was curious to see if their bread was just as good (it is). Since I only live about 45 minutes south of Philadelphia, I got the honor of checking out the Bakery along with my sister who lives in Philadelphia. 

Denise (my kid sister) and I started our day at the actual Bakery which also houses their warehouse and corporate offices.   We were greeted by the wonderful James Barrett who graciously gave us the grand tour.  Everyone we saw seemed to be focused on the job at hand including putting French Baguettes into the oven and preparing seasonal pastries. James also showed us the original starter that he came up with many years ago for the Met's sourdough bread which is still used today.  After the tour I had an opportunity to ask James a few questions:

Q: What are the bestsellers here at Metropolitan Bakery?

A: The French Baguette is our number one and has been for years, coming at a close second is the multi-grain Boule and now the granola/granola bars. 

Q: What special blends are you working on now?

A: At the moment we're mostly sticking to our classics, but we have experimented with seasonal pizzas, whole wheat sourdough, pretzels, and a great gluten-free crispy cornmeal and orange cookie. And, of course, the granola.

Q: What is your take on the whole no-knead bread method?

A: I think it's a good thing, anything that will get people into the kitchen and making their own bread is a great thing.  But, there are a few holes in the original no-knead process.  Cook's Illustrated did a great job of deconstructing the no-knead method and perfecting it. 

We also talked about the importance of the local and sustainable food movement, where I learned that the Metropolitan uses organic and, when available, local ingredients. My conversation with James didn't end there, but after a while I stopped taking notes as I felt like I was having a conversation with a good friend (we're both partial to roast chicken when we cook for ourselves when home alone).   

As much as Denise and I were enjoying James's company our tour wasn't over just yet.  We still had to head over to one of the retail locations to check out the finished product. 

The Rittenhouse Square location, which reminds me of a classic European bread shop, is where I met Sasha - the Met Bakery Director of Retail Operations.  Quiet and soft spoken she was more than happy to share with us her experiences working with the customers and what day-to-day operations are like on the retail end of a bakery.  Sasha also discussed the Metropolitan's involvement with the community and local charities. The Rittenhouse location also serves as a CSA pick-up location for one of the local farms.

Sasha would not let Denise and I leave empty handed.  We took home with us a loaf of Brioche, a multi-grain Boule, delicious shortbread cookies, a fantastic semolina loaf studded with sesame seeds, Metropolitan's very own homemade Ricotta (James failed to tell me that he'd gotten into the Artisan cheese making business as well), and of course their best selling granola. I wouldn't imagine myself saying this, but that granola was the best I have ever had, it had an incredible homemade quality to it, the perfect balance of sweet with nuts and dried fruit. 

Incidentally, I have a trip to Philly scheduled this coming weekend. One of my first stops will be to the Metropolitan Bakery at the Reading Terminal Market to stock-up on more from what I consider the best bakery in Philadelphia.

PermaLink

Chef Jesse Ziff Cool

Never heard of Chefs' Holidays?  It is a series of Chef led cooking classes and demonstrations held over 2-3 day periods in Yosemite National Park each winter.   While you might think winter in the Sierra Nevadas is not something to celebrate, the reality is that Yosemite Valley is a bit isolated at a lower elevation so the amount of snow and overall temperatures are not as extreme as you would think, and the whole park is as beautiful in the winter as it is in the summer.  Not to mention that in addition to the classes, each session has a "Meet the Chefs" reception, a behind-the-scenes kitchen tour of the Ahwahnee Kitchen, and a five-course Chefs' Holidays Gala Dinner with wine pairings prepared by the headliner chef. This year's event includes 8 sessions between January 10 to February 4, 2010; details can be found here.

Chef Annie Somerville

Up first is Chef Christopher Lee who will be presenting at the Chefs' Holidays for Session 3 on Sunday January 17, 2010 through Tuesday January 19th. 

Chef Christopher Lee went to culinary school at CCA in San Francisco following which he's had an impressive career at a number of big name restaurants.  After culinary school, he started as a line cook at the 5th Floor in San Franscisco before moving to New York City were he was also a line cook at Daniel and Jean George. He was then a Sous Chef at Oceana and Chef at the Striped Bass in Philadelphia.  Most recently he was the Chef at Gilt and is now the Chef at Aureole both in New York City.  As busy as he is, he recently took the time to answer some questions Heather Jones passed his way:

Q: When did you decide you wanted a career in food?

A: I decided to go into the food industry at the age of 17 after doing a summer job with a catering company under a Chef that had a C.I.A. background.

Q: What trends in the food world right now have you most excited?

A: I see two trends, one in Spanish Cuisine and the other in Casual Dining making a run. And I see Fine Dining taking a hit and suffering a little.

Q: Could you tell us a few restaurant secrets/tips that home cooks could benefit from?

A: First would be blanching vegetables with proper ice bathing to help keep all the great nutrients in the vegetables themselves.  Another would be knowing how to use a blender:  Do not over fill the blender to the top. That way, the blender can actually do it job and it will save the motor because it will put less stress on the machine.

Q: When you’re not at your restaurants/businesses where can we find you?

A: Usually I'm at home hanging out with my 10 month old son and wife. Or taking long drives along the shore, or strolling in parks.

Q: You’ve been called the champion of New American cuisine, how would you define New American cuisine?

A: American Cuisine is an evolving style of cooking built on classical French cuisine. It has a focus on American regional ingredients that thrive on seasons.  It is a cuisine that allows us to use global flavors.

Q: I live in the Delaware Valley area and I know you spent some time at Striped Bass in Philadelphia.  In your opinion, what is the biggest difference between the restaurant scene in Philadelphia versus New York?

A: New York has too much competition, everyone wants to out do the other.  In Philly, everyone wanted just to be your friend and enjoy the restaurant community. New Yorkers always think about wants next….    

PermaLink

This month we've been tasting a bunch of drinks and found a couple we thought worthy of sharing with you…

First up is a sparkling wine from Argentina - NV Extra Brut Sparkling Wine by Trapiche.  I've had several Argentinean wines before, particularly Malbec's, but this was my first Argentinean sparkling wine.  As with many other Argentinian wines that I've tried, the Trapiche sparkling is a good value for its cost of around $15.  Once a month or so, my friend Athena and I have a girls night out with bubbly, appetizers and girl talk.  The Trapiche Sparkling impressed us, even in comparison to our other favorite sparkling at our girl's-night-out-price of $15-20.  The wine, from the Mendoza area of Argentina, is a blend of 70% Chardonnay, 20% Semillon, and 10% Malbec. I think the addition of the Semillon and Malbec added the character to this sparkling that we really liked. 

While it's hard to top a great wine, we also tried some non-alcoholic drinks this month that deserve mention.   Sparkling Essence from R.W. Knudsen Family and Me from Juice Creations are sparkling beverages that I consider grown-up replacements for soda.  I don't know about you, but I find cola and other soda's have too much sugar for me and are much heavier than I'd like. In fact, I often don't finish a whole can of soda which seems like a waste. These sparkling beverages tone down the sugar and provide a refreshing drink that fills the soda void for me in 10.5 ounce cans. While Sparkling Essence and Me are both what I term soda replacements they are both pretty different.  

Sparkling Essence is a zero-calorie sparkling spring water with the essence of flavors like Organic Lemon, Organic Cucumber, Organic Blueberry and Organic Mint.  They are ultra-light with a hint of flavor that tones down the sparkling water just a bit.

Me on the other hand has a stronger flavor profile, making it closer to a soda, but at only 70 calories it's still not nearly as sweet or heavy.  Me offers four flavors, but I most enjoyed berry lime which they call Curious.  The others are similarly named (Vivacious, Unavailable, and Uninhibited) which correspond to tangerine pineapple, dragonfruit blackberry, and pink grapefruit.  Personally, I found the marketing-heavy names annoying, but if you overlook that the drinks can be appealing.

Disclosure: Items discussed in the Taste Test posts are provided by vendors, publicists, and/or manufacturers to Project Foodie.

PermaLink