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Yum's October Must Haves

partysugar — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 09:00:02 -0700

Happy October! Although I can hardly believe both Summer and September are over, I'm fully embracing Fall and all of its deliciousness. From pumpkin carving parties to Halloween bashes, there's a lot to do! To get you in the mood for tricks, treats, and cool-weather foods, I've rounded up some items I can't live without. Here's what you must have to survive the next 31 days.

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Meet the Newest Dining Hotspot: The Ballpark

YumSugar — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 09:00:29 -0700

Masaharu Morimoto isn't the only celebrity chef to be serving stepped-up stadium food at future Yankees games. As part of the stadium's new Legends Culinary Series, at select games, famous New York chefs will serve up signature dishes at the stadium's Legends Suite Club.

In addition to Iron Chef Morimoto, the star-studded lineup of chefs will include Alex Guarnaschelli of The Cooking Loft and Butter restaurant, April Bloomfield of The Spotted Pig, and Sirio Maccioni of Le Cirque. Chocolatier Godiva will also be on hand to create signature chocolate desserts.
Food Network has announced that it, too, will be rolling out its first-ever food stands. The stands will feature "quality takes on classic" foods that incorporate "the ethnic cuisines of New York City, Food Network's hometown," according to a statement from the network. Hot dogs, burgers, and fries will be in the mix - but so will Puerto Rican pork sandwiches and Chinese cold noodles.

Since variety is the spice of life, and because dining options at sports events do seem to be trending toward the upscale, I suppose premium dining at the stadium makes business sense. PartySugar and I both agree, however, that canapés can never take the place of chili dogs at the ballpark. What do you think? Would you want to eat gourmet cuisine at a sporting event?

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Going Inside the Cooking Loft With Alex Guarnaschelli

partysugar — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 09:00:12 -0700

This weekend the Food Network debuts its newest show, The Cooking Loft. Like Secrets of a Restaurant Chef, the host of the show, Alex Guarnaschelli is the head chef of a popular New York City eatery, Butter. The Cooking Loft is an interactive show in which Alex teaches a group of students how to make several dishes with a specific ingredient. After watching an episode of the show, I was excited to speak with Alex on the phone. To find what she had to say, read more.

Alex was exposed to food from an early age because her mom was a cookbook editor. She's worked at acclaimed restaurants in New York and Los Angeles, but it was her appearance on Iron Chef America that started her relationship with the Food Network. She refers to the network as "one big happy family" and is nervously awaiting the debut of her show.

PartySugar: With your show what are you hoping to teach the American people?
Alex Gauranaschelli: I think the most important thing people should learn from my show is how fun and easy cooking can be. All you have to do is something simple, make things special, more unique, more flavorful.

PS: What's your criteria when considering dishes to feature on your show?
AG: The show is topic driven. We have a very unique format. We first choose the ingredient - tomatoes, chicken, etc. - and than I pick my favorite recipes. I like to take a different approach, to teach people how to reinvent ingredients, reinvent the basics.
PS: Are you worried about how the New York restaurant industry will respond to your show?
AG: I find the New York restaurant industry to be one big family. I'm hoping it will be well-received, but honestly I'm more worried about how my tomato recipes will look.

PS: What is your guilty pleasure food?
AG: What? Like stuff I keep hidden from other people? My homemade guilty pleasure is my mom's chocolate cake with caramel, we feature the recipe on the show. Of processed foods, it's a tie between Cool Ranch Doritos and Oreos. They are actually really good together. I like to make a little sandwich. It's quite appetizing, you get all salted up with the chips and cool it off with the sweet oreos.

PS: What did you have for lunch today?
AG: I'm glad you asked me! I had a really chefy lunch. I had a salad with lolla rosso [a type of lettuce] and shallots. I made an omelette with local eggs and goat cheese and I cooked it really slowly until the goat cheese melted, then I rolled it up and put it on top of the lettuce. It was so good, it was like a religious experience.

PS: Beer or wine?
AG: Wine.
PS: Cookie or cake?
AG: Cake
PS: Soup or salad?
AG: Soup
PS: Iron Chef or Top Chef?
AG: That's cruel! Iron Chef.
PS: Los Angeles or New York?
AG: New York
PS: Butter or olive oil?
AG: Butter
PS: Potatoes or pasta?
AG: Pasta
PS: Truffles or foie gras?
AG: Truffles
PS:Crème brulee or panna cotta?
AG: Neither, creme caramel.

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Guess Who Was in Aspen?

YumSugar — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 05:50:06 -0700

Aside from the entertaining seminars and enticing offerings at the Grand Tasting, one of the coolest things about the Food & Wine Classic is the fact that you're constantly running into celebrity chefs. Last year, we spotted Padma Lakshmi and got chatty with Rocco Dispirito; this year had its share of celeb chef sightings as well. Just about everybody in the culinary world - from Alex Guarnaschelli to David Chang - was in town. Can you guess which star chefs we spotted around the festival? Find out when you take our quiz!

Question 1 of 5

Guess who signed a fan's shirt right on her back?

Is There a Difference Between Male and Female Cooking?

partysugar — Wed, 27 May 2009 10:15:04 -0700

Food blog Eater recently featured an upcoming course at New York City's Astor Center. The class (which is really more of a social experiment) will examine the myths of gender in the restaurant kitchen. During the event, 10 chefs‚ including Alex Guarnaschelli and Johnny Iuzzini, will cook a five-course meal to be blind taste-tested by Grant Achatz and Gwen Hyman. The judges will try and discern which dishes are made by a man and which ones are made by a woman. While I find the concept behind the class fascinating and am curious to see the final results, I doubt there will be a notable difference between the way a male and female cook. What do you think?

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What's Yummy This Week - YumSugar Weekly Recap

YumSugar — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 09:00:06 -0700

My homemade ultimate Popsicle comes with an edible stick!
Before you chow down on that tuna sashimi, know that it might actually be red snapper.
We've got the 411 on making the perfect cocktail for a sunny Summer day.
PartySugar chats with NYC chef and new Food Network star Alex Guarnaschelli.
What do you know about the American favorite the banana split?
Learn more about sherry, a fortified wine that's making a comeback.
Get in on PartySugar's gourmet nacho bites.
We went behind the scenes of a book launch party and learned the secrets to making killer meatballs along the way.
If you're unfamiliar with preparing melon, check out our step-by-step guide to cutting cantaloupe.