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Do You Seek Out Local Restaurants When You Vacation?

YumSugar — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 09:00:59 -0800

This holiday season, I took a brief hiatus from San Francisco to spend New Year's in Chicago with friends. Being the devoted diner that I am, before I arrived I made sure to score reservations at restaurants that I'd been itching to try, like the James Beard-nominated Spring. Do you do the same?

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Let's Dish: Do Things Taste Different on Vacation?

partysugar — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 10:17:23 -0700

My parents recently got back from a trip to Ireland where they fell in love with Smithwick's Irish Ale. My dad was excited when he found the beer at a local market, but he noticed a distinct difference in the taste, claiming that the American-bought Smithwick's was watery and not as creamy or flavorful as its Irish counterpart.

His remarks got me thinking about foods we enjoy on vacation. Was the American Smithwick's made with a different formula, or did it taste better in Ireland because of the experience? What do you think? Have you ever tasted something on vacation and found that it tasted different at home? If so, what was it and why do you think this is?

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Top 10 Foodie Destinations

partysugar — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 12:33:39 -0700

When planning your next vacation, why not do something a little off the beaten pack? I don't mean camping in some unheard of destination, I'm talking about a culinary adventure. Instead of choosing a place for its renowned museums, gorgeous beaches, or ancient architecture, select your travel spot based on the local cuisine! If it sounds crazy, think again: culinary vacations are a fast growing trend. Sure you can eat your way through the best restaurants in Paris, New York, and Rome, but wouldn't it be much cooler to stay in a teeny chateau in the French countryside and learn authentic Provencal cooking? Or how about learning to make wine in sun soaked Tuscany? For all that and more scroll through my top ten foodie destinations list and then click on each one for the reason why you need to go there now!

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For more on creating your own culinary vacation check out gourmet on tour and cooking in paradise.

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Must Read: New York Cooks

partysugar — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 10:15:56 -0700

Everyone knows New York City is one of the country's top places for eating, so it comes as no surprise that a new cookbook, New York Cooks ($30), celebrates the city's chefs and restaurants. Since I don't live in NYC, I was very excited when I got my hands on a copy of the book. To find out what I thought of it, read more.

Pros:

Each chef has multiple recipes. Before the recipes, there are a couple of pages that describe the restaurant with interesting quotes and details from the chef.
From appetizers to entrees to salads, there's a wide variety of dishes.
Although the cover states there's 100 recipes, because many dishes have sauces or vinaigrettes, it seems like there are more than 100 recipes.
When I dined at Casa Mono, my favorite dish was the fideos with cockles and chorizo. The book has the recipe, so now I can re-create it at home!

Cons:

It's format is hard to follow - it's broken down into section by cuisine. Instead of listing out the recipes in the table of contents, only the cuisine, chef, and restaurant are mentioned.
New York's restaurant scene is forever changing and some of the chefs, for example Anne Burrell, are no longer working at the restaurants associated with their recipes.
Some recipes are complicated with lots of steps. They seem more suited to a restaurant than a home kitchen. Also, others lack detail.
There are no desserts.

Recipes: While I've never heard of a few of the restaurants or chefs, it is the recipes that are important. Here are the ones that caught my eye.

Anne Burrell's taleggio, speck, and egg pizzetta
Mikey Price's blood orange and red onion salad
Joey Campanaro's gravy meatball sliders
Michael Lomonaco's Philly cheesesteak sandwich

Imagery: This read is full of delicious-looking food images and fun restaurant shots. However, not all of them are in color. Every recipe does not have a corresponding picture. Some of the chef's photographs seem dated. After seeing her on Top Chef Masters, it looks as if the picture of Anita Lo was taken years ago.

Overall: This book is a wonderful collection of recipes. It would be an excellent gift to a foodie moving to or from New York. Any well-respected home cook who loves to dine out while vacationing in NYC will also enjoy this tome.

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Noteworthy Nibbles - Sept. 8-15, 2009

YumSugar — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 14:30:11 -0700

Haven't recovered from holiday mode yet? Thankfully, this week is full of events promising to be liquid vacations. From Chicago, IL, to Rhinebeck, NY, it's the unofficial week of wine festivals.

Although sadly I don't have a flight out to Louisiana for the annual Natchitoches Meat Pie Festival, there'll be plenty of opportunities to indulge at Ghirardelli Square's Chocolate Festival this weekend in San Francisco.

Where will your appetite lead you this week? Let us know in the comments below!

Chicago, IL: Windy City Wine Festival - Sept. 11-12
Natchitoches, LA: Natchitoches Meat Pie Festival - Sept. 11-12
Long Beach, CA: Long Beach Lobster Festival - Sept. 11-13
Fort Worth, TX: ZestFest 2009 - Sept. 11-13
Annapolis, MD: Maryland Seafood Festival - Sept. 11-13
Columbia, SC: Viva La Vista - Sept. 12
San Francisco, CA: Ghirardelli Square Chocolate Festival - Sept. 12-13
Rhinebeck, NY: Hudson Valley Wine & Food Fest - Sept. 12-13
Gettysburg, PA: Gettysburg Wine & Music Festival - Sept. 12-13
San Diego, CA: San Diego Restaurant Week - Sept. 13-18

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Happy Hour: The Peony

partysugar — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 16:00:04 -0700

Listen up budding home bartenders! I've got an exciting new recipe for you to experiment with. Crafted by Danny Louie of San Francisco's Dosa, the Peony is an exotic mix of coconut milk, hibiscus syrup, fresh lime juice, and gin. The cocktail was created to mimic the flavors of the Indian cuisine served at Dosa. Don't be fooled by the thick pink appearance of this concoction. While it may resemble a strawberry milkshake, the taste and texture are more similar to a piña colada. The coconut milk coats the mouth likening a tropical beach vacation. The heavy lime aroma is tart and fresh, and the gin is only apparent on the smooth finish. In a word this cocktail is fabulous! I first enjoyed it at Nirvino's recent gin seminar and have plans to seek it out again soon.

For those of you who can't get to Dosa, but want to impress your friends with this drink (and mixology skills!) check out the recipe - there's also a video of Danny making it so read more.

The Peony from Nirvino on Vimeo.

The Peony
From Danny Louie of Dosa

Ingredients

1 1/2 oz. gin (recommended: Right gin)
1 oz. Hibiscus Masala Nectar (recipe below)
3/4 oz. sweetened coconut milk
1/2 oz. fresh lime juice
2 drops orange flower water
1 kaffir lime leaf
1 bird's eye chili
lime zest, for garnish

Directions

Dry muddle Kaffir lime leaf and birds eye chili in a shaker tin.
Add all ingredients and ice.
Shake vigorously and double strain into a chilled champagne flute, neat.
Garnish with the fine zest of lime.

Makes 1 drink.

Hibiscus Masala Nectar
1 tsp black peppercorn
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp mustard seed
3 bird's eye chili
2 cups water
8 whole hibiscus
1 cup turbinado or raw sugar

Grind the first five ingredients in a spice mill. Then place in a small pan. Toast over low heat until fragrant.
Add 2 cups water and bring to a boil.
Add sugar and hibiscus and simmer for 15 min.

Let cool and strain before using.

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Happy Hour: Mai Tai

YumSugar — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 14:00:47 -0700

One of the best seminars I attended at last weekend's Aspen Food & Wine Classic was a cocktail class that focused on tropical cocktails. The lesson was led by Julie Reiner, the owner and bar genius behind such Manhattan hotspots as the Flatiron Lounge, Pegu Club, and the Clover Club.

Julie started off by giving us a primer on one of America's favorite drinking pastimes, the tiki bar. America's unique tiki culture owes much of its history to a San Francisco pioneer by the name of Victor Jules Bergeron, Jr. - perhaps better known to the rest of the country as Trader Vic.
Trader Vic created many of tiki's classic concoctions - among them, the Scorpion and the Fog Cutter - but is most famous for the Mai Tai, a world-famous liquid vacation that combines the tartness of lime with the sweetness of orgeat and the caramelized molasses flavor of dark rum. See Trader Vic's tried-and-true recipe when you read more.

Trader Vic's Classic Mai Tai
From Julie Reiner

Ingredients

2 ounces aged rum
3/4 ounce orange curaçao, preferably Marie Brizard
1/4 ounce Monin Almond Syrup, or other orgeat
3/4 ounce freshly squeezed lime juice
1/2 ounce dark rum
Parasol, lime wheel, and mint sprig, for garnish

Directions

Shake aged rum, orange curaçao, orgeat, and lime juice in a shaker with ice.
Strain contents into a lowball glass filled with fresh ice.
Top with 1/4 to 1/2 ounces dark rum.
Garnish with a lime wheel, sprig of mint, and a parasol.

Serves 1.

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From Alan Wong to 7-Eleven, Here's a Taste of Oahu

YumSugar — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 04:30:52 -0700

While I have been enjoying staycations, it was nice to recently have a real vacation in Oahu! Sure the beaches are outstanding, but the food is even better. The Hawaiian islands have experienced a bit of a food revolution: Gone are the days when everything was shipped from the mainland. Now the islands make use of their own resources from both the land and sea. The results are wildly delicious. Here, you'll find a taste of my favorites.

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Simple Substitution For Buttermilk

partysugar — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 10:15:38 -0800

I was at my vacation house when an intense craving for homemade waffles hit. Since it was snowing heavily, we had to make waffles with the ingredients in the kitchen. The recipe called for buttermilk, and rather than find another recipe, I decided to make the simple substitution for buttermilk that is a combination of milk and lemon juice.

Here's the easy recipe:

Place a tablespoon of lemon juice in a liquid measuring cup.

Add enough milk to bring the liquid up to the one-cup line.

Let stand for five minutes. Then, use as much as your recipe calls for.

I needed two cups of buttermilk, so I started with two tablespoons of fresh lemon juice and then filled it up with milk. The waffles turned out perfectly and were insanely comforting.

Have you ever used this substitution for buttermilk?

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Come Party With Me: Girls Winter Weekend - Menu

partysugar — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 09:00:26 -0800

This weekend I've invited my seven very best friends to join me at my vacation house in the Sierra Nevada mountains. We'll watch movies, go wine tasting in Murphys, and indulge in nonstop good eats. Naturally I'm planning the menu. Two of my gal pals are pesceterians (they don't eat meat, but will consume seafood), so the food will be vegetarian-friendly. After the long car ride to the cabin, the girls will be hungry for a hearty, soothing meal. An Italian-style vegetable soup served with olive cheese bread is filling and scrumptious. The following morning we'll eat store-bought bagels and cream cheese before we hit up the local wineries for lunch. Saturday night will be "make your own pizza" night.

Each girl can grab a ball of Trader Joe's pizza dough and choose from a variety of toppings - crumbled sausage, prosciutto, caramelized onions, pesto, kalamata olives, mushrooms, roasted red peppers - to make an individual pie. A simple green salad with Dijon vinaigrette finishes up the menu.

Sunday morning we'll have a leisurely brunch featuring a potato and leek frittata paired with oven-crisped bacon. For these recipes, which are perfect for enjoying with your friends and family on any Winter weekend, read more.

Italian Vegetable Soup
From Better Homes and Gardens

Ingredients

1 9-oz. package frozen cut green beans
1/2 of a 16-oz. package frozen cauliflower
1 14.5-oz. can diced tomatoes with basil, garlic, and oregano
1/2 cup chopped onion (1 medium)
1/2 cup sliced celery (1 stalk)
1/4 cup regular barley
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
3 cups reduced-sodium vegetable broth
1-1/2 cups reduced-sodium vegetable juice
1/4 cup purchased pesto (optional)
Finely shredded Parmesean cheese (optional)

Directions

In a 3 1/2- or 4-quart slow cooker, place frozen green beans, cauliflower, undrained tomatoes, onion, celery, barley, garlic, and pepper.
In a medium bowl, combine vegetable broth and vegetable juice. Pour over vegetable mixture in cooker.
Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 6 to 8 hours or on high-heat setting for 3 to 4 hours. If desired, top each serving with pesto and Parmesan cheese.

Serves 6.

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Mixed Green Salad With Tarragon Vinaigrette
From Gourmet

Ingredients

4 teaspoons Sherry vinegar
1 tablespoon minced shallot
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh tarragon
1/2 lb frisée (French curly endive), torn into bite-size pieces
1 head Boston lettuce (1 lb), torn into bite-size pieces
1 bunch arugula (1/2 lb), coarse stems discarded
1 bunch watercress (1/2 lb), coarse stems discarded

Directions

Whisk together vinegar, shallot, mustard, salt, and pepper in a small bowl, then add oil in a slow stream, whisking until emulsified. Whisk in tarragon.
Toss greens with dressing in a large bowl and season with salt and pepper.

Serves 8.

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Yukon Gold Potato, Leek, and Fromage Blanc Frittata
From Food and Wine

Ingredients

2 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, unpeeled (3/4 pound)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 leeks, white and tender green parts only, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
10 large eggs
1/3 cup whole milk
4 ounces fromage blanc or crumbled feta cheese (1 cup)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375°.
In a medium saucepan, cover the potatoes with water and bring to a boil. Boil the potatoes until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain and let cool slightly, then cut into 1/2-inch dice.
In a 10-inch nonstick ovenproof skillet, melt the butter. Add the leeks and cook over moderate heat until tender, about 4 minutes.
Add the potatoes and cook for 3 minutes longer. Season with salt and pepper.
In a large bowl, whisk the eggs with the milk and season with salt and pepper. Pour the eggs over the leeks and potatoes and cook for 5 minutes without stirring.
Dollop the fromage blanc or sprinkle the feta cheese over the leeks and potatoes.
Transfer the skillet to the oven and bake until the eggs are just set in the center, about 18 minutes. Slide the frittata onto a serving plate. Cut into wedges and serve.

Serves 8.

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