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José Andrés Brings Spain to the American Kitchen

partysugar — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 09:00:33 -0800

A couple of weeks ago I had the wonderful opportunity to speak with Spanish chef, José Andrés. From his recently opened Beverly Hills restaurant, The Bazaar, at the SLS Hotel to his PBS television show to his new cookbook, Made in Spain: Spanish Dishes For the American Kitchen, the chef has had a very busy end of 2008. He's opinionated, proud, and incredibly creative - Spanish master Ferran Adriá was his mentor. To find out what the chef had to say about his book and what he thinks of Mario Batali and Gwyneth Paltrow's televised trip around his native country, read more.

PartySugar: Tell me about the book.
José Andrés: It's a great book. I love to work on my books. Especially this one - every photo was shot in my house. The reason for the book is the television show. I'm trying to show America Spain. I want to get into the house of everyone who will let me in and show them Spanish cooking authentically.

PS: What's one Spanish dish you would recommend for the American home cook?
JA: To really bring the spirit of Spain into your house make toasted bread with good garlic. Rub the warm toasted bread with fresh tomatoes. Top with manchego cheese. It's the best option, you can make it for breakfast, lunch, dinner, whenever.

PS: What Spanish ingredients are must haves for the American kitchen?
JA: Spanish olive oil. It's the best. Piquillo peppers. Tuna packed in Spanish olive oil.

PS: What's your guilty pleasure food?
JA: I try to be a good role model for my young daughters and not commit too many crimes, but once in a while, I do have too many gin and tonics. Bombay Sapphire is my favorite. Some of my mixology friends think I don't have any refinement, but I don't care.

PS: When in the states, what do you most miss about Spain?
JA: The fish markets. America is very big, the fishing markets aren't right there. Barcelona is such a great fishing port with little fisherman who wake up in the morning early to get fish. Here, there are fisherman, but it's not the same freshness. Really good fresh fish is not as readily available for the average Joe. At the end, it is the ingredients that define the cooking of a country.

PS: Being a Spaniard, what do you think of the portrayal of your country in Mario Batali and Gywneth Paltrow's Spain on the Road Again?
JA: Well I can tell you my show was the first show that showed Spain to the Americas. The other show - I am very proud that they are highlighting my country. Anyone that is doing, telling anything to promote Spain is good. It only helps me on my mission. I have a very great relationship with them. I'm very happy that they did it.

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Meet the 2009 James Beard Award Nominees!

YumSugar — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 11:30:53 -0700

Last month, we introduced you to the semifinalists for the 2009 James Beard Awards. This morning, the short list of final nominees was unveiled, and the winners of the awards - nicknamed the "Oscars of the food world" - will be revealed at an awards gala at Manhattan's Lincoln Center on May 4. In addition to the highly anticipated nominations for outstanding restaurateur, outstanding chef, and outstanding restaurant, among others, the foundation's other honors - in cookbooks, newspaper writing, restaurant design, and blogs - were also announced.

Did any of your favorite chefs and restaurants make the list? View the all the nominations, or check out a summary of some of the biggest award nominees when you read more.

Outstanding Restaurateur Award
Tom Douglas, Tom Douglas Restaurants; Seattle, WA
Keith McNally, Balthazar, Lucky Strike, Pastis; New York, NY
Richard Melman, Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises; Chicago, IL
Drew Nieporent, Myriad Restaurant Group; New York, NY
Stephen Starr, Starr Restaurant Organization; Philadelphia, PA

Outstanding Chef Award
José Andrés, Minibar; Washington, DC
Dan Barber, Blue Hill; New York, NY
Tom Colicchio, Craft; New York, NY
Suzanne Goin, Lucques; Los Angeles, CA
Paul Kahan, Blackbird; Chicago, IL

Outstanding Restaurant Award
Babbo, New York, NY; Chef/Owner: Mario Batali, Owner: Joe Bastianich
Boulevard, San Francisco, CA; Chef/Owner: Nancy Oakes, Owner: Pat Kuleto
Fore Street, Portland, ME; Chef/Owner: Sam Hayward, Owner: Victor Leon and Dana Street
Highlands Bar & Grill, Birmingham, AL; Chef/Owner: Frank Stitt
Jean Georges, New York, NY; Chef/Owner: Jean-Georges Vongerichten, Owner: Phil Suarez

Rising Star Chef of the Year Award
Nate Appleman, A16; San Francisco, CA
Sean Brock, McCrady's; Charleston, SC
Johnny Monis, Komi; Washington, DC
Gabriel Rucker, Le Pigeon; Portland, OR
Michael Solomonov, Zahav; Philadelphia, PA
Sue Zemanick, Gautreau's; New Orleans, LA

Best New Restaurant
The Bazaar by José Andrés, Los Angeles, CA; Chef/Owner: José Andrés
Corton, New York, NY; Chef/Owner: Paul Liebrandt, Owner: Drew Nieporent
L20, Chicago, IL; Chef: Laurent Gras, Owner: Richard Melman
Momofuku Ko, New York, NY; Chef/Owner: David Chang
Scarpetta, New York, NY; Chef/Owner: Scott Conant

Outstanding Pastry Chef
Gina DePalma, Babbo; New York, NY
Kamel Guechida, Joël Robuchon; Las Vegas, NV
Pichet Ong, P*ong; New York, NY
Nicole Plue, Redd; Yountville, CA
Mindy Segal, Mindy's Hot Chocolate; Chicago, IL

Outstanding Wine Service Award
Bin 36, Chicago, IL; Wine Director: Brian Duncan
Blackberry Farm, Walland, TN; Wine Director: Andy Chabot
Le Bernardin, New York, NY; Wine Director: Aldo Sohm
Patina, Los Angeles, CA; Wine Director: Eric Espuny
Picasso at Bellagio, Las Vegas, NV; Wine Director: Robert Smith

Outstanding Wine and Spirits Professional
Dale DeGroff, Dale DeGroff Co., Inc.; New York, NY
Merry Edwards, Merry Edwards Wines; Sebastopol, CA
Garrett Oliver, The Brooklyn Brewery; Brooklyn, NY
John Shafer and Doug Shafer, Shafer Vineyards; Napa, CA
Julian P. Van Winkle, III, Old Rip Van Winkle Distillery; Louisville, KY

Outstanding Service Award
Daniel, New York, NY; Owners: Daniel Boulud and Joel Smilow
Emeril's New Orleans, New Orleans, LA; Owner: Emeril Lagasse
La Grenouille, New York, NY; Owners: Charles Masson and Giséle Masson
Spiaggia, Chicago, IL; Owner: Larry Levy
Vetri, Philadelphia, PA; Owners: Marc Vetri and Jeff Benjamin

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Food & Wine's Top Tastes to Try in 2008

YumSugar — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 16:22:11 -0800

In their recent January issue, Food & Wine magazine released their annual 100 Tastes to Try. This year the tastes have been broken down into 15 categories ranging from food trips to new ingredients. I took a look through the list and here are some of the ones that are topping my personal list of tastes to try in 2008. I don't know how feasible some of them are, but I know I can cross a few of these off my list.

A meal at Elizabeth Falkner's new restaurant Orson
Rare, edible plants like Sechuan button-flower bud
Honeydew-scented sake
Chocolate bars with popcorn
Saffron-flavored popsicles from Koolfreeze
Tom Douglas's Culinary Summer Camp

For the rest of my picks, read more.

More Sweetbreads - this one's easy, I already love that stuff!
A refreshing Amberjack
Faux Gras. I like the real deal, but am really curious about this one.
Barrel-aged American beers
Hungarian table wine
Exploring Instanbul's bazaars and Anatolia's clay-pot cooking with Nancy Harmon Jenkins
Something off the Treats Truck in New York

How about you? Why don't you look through the full list and tell me which ones you are hoping to try!

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Come Party With Me: Knitting Party - Drinks

partysugar — Wed, 24 Jan 2007 07:02:12 -0800

I love ripping pages out of magazines. There's something so satisfying about hearing the tear noise when I rip the pages out, it just makes me happy. I rip out everything and anything: fashion ads to decorate with, recipes to make, beauty products to buy, images to use as inspiration. A while ago I ripped out a page of Harper's Bazaar magazine that had the most beautiful charcoal gray cowl neck knitted sweater. I didn't want to purchase the sweater, I wanted to make it. There was only one teeny little problem: I had no clue how to knit. Well, I actually still don't really have a full understanding and that's why I am hosting a knitting party this Saturday afternoon. It's time to get up off the couch and plan a party that will gather together my girlfriends and teach us a new useful skill as well. The invites were sent and the menu is planned, so today I'm talking about one of my favorite parts of any party: the drinks! For my drink menu, read more

The party takes place in the late afternoon which is the time for both tea and cocktails. Thus I will be offering both options. First I'll set up a Tea Bar by brewing several kettles of different flavored teas. I'll offer a whole bunch of accompaniments for the tea: mini bottles of liquors (amaretto, rum, frangelico, etc.), milk, cream, sugar, lemon, whipped cream, flavored syrups, wedges of fresh citrus, ginger, cinnamon, and vanilla. The tea will be drank from Moroccan style embellished glass glasses.

It's the dead of winter and to liven things up I'll make a tropical Raspberry Rum Punch for the girls who are more in the mood for cocktails than tea. The punch is a vibrant pink color and fits in lovely with the purple/pink color scheme. The punch can be placed on the same banquette where I create the tea bar. It shall be served in festive red wine glasses tied with a piece of dark purple satin ribbon.

As with all of my parties I'll have pitchers of both sparkling and still waters. If anyone fancies a glass of white wine, I'll have a few bottles of Pinot Grigio chilling in the fridge too.

Click on the image below for the recipe:

Next up on the plan: the decorations!

Do you know a cock(or mock)tail that would be absolutely divine at a knitting party? Tell me about it below.