As always, Martha Stewart knows the holidays...

"Why settle for ordinary eggs and toast when you can show your love with this version?"

Really, is there anything cuter than this for Valentine's Day breakfast with a mimosa? Leave it to Martha Stewart to come up with something so simple, and yet so perfect. Now to just come up with some sides to go with it. Hmmmm...

INSTRUCTIONS

"Using a 3-inch heart-shaped cookie cutter, remove the center of a thick slice of bread, and toast it. Melt 1 1/2 teaspoons butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Place bread slice in skillet, and cook until underside is lightly browned. Add another 1 1/2 teaspoons butter, and flip bread. Fit cookie cutter, coated with cooking spray, in bread's cutout heart, and crack an egg into cutter. Cover skillet, and cook until egg is set, 2 to 3 minutes. Use tongs to remove cutter. Serve with toasted heart for dipping into yolk."

It's a DIY Valentines Day

Why go out to lavish dinners, buy hallmark cards full of blanketed statements of emotion, or buy expensive chocolates that might support child slavery in Africa? This year, why not approach the holiday with more of a personal touch? Pull out the doilies, construction paper, and old magazines and make your own valentines day cards! Look online for recipes to make a romantic feast. Check out http://www.liquor.com/ for some creative valentines day cocktails. And while you are at it, why not try your hand and making homemade truffles? They really are not as hard as you might think and made for an excellent gift. Here is the basic technique for making the ganache that I found on http://www.about.com/. Instead of rolling the truffles in cocoa powder, you might try crushed candy canes, coconut flakes, a cinamon mixture, chocolate shavings, sprinkles, and sugar. I also like the idea of adding some cordials to your truffles for variety.

"It doesn't get any simpler--or more delicious--than this. Dark chocolate and cream come together to form divine, melt-in-your-mouth dark chocolate truffles. Use good-quality chocolate for the best results. A tablespoon of rum or brandy can be added in with the vanilla, if desired. These candies, like most truffles, have several extensive chilling periods, so make sure you leave enough time when making them."
Ingredients:
•9 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
•2/3 cup cream
•1 tsp vanilla extract
•1/2 cup cocoa powder

Preparation:
1. Prepare a baking sheet by lining it with aluminum foil or parchment paper. Place the chopped chocolate in a large bowl.

2. Place the cream in a small saucepan and scald it until bubbles being to appear around the sides of the pan. Pour the cream over the chocolate and allow it to soften and melt the chocolate for one minute.

3. Using a whisk, gently stir to incorporate the cream and chocolate. Add the vanilla and stir until well-combined, but do not stir too vigorously or you will incorporate air bubbles.

4. Cover the truffle mixture with cling wrap and allow it to cool to room temperature. Once cool, refrigerate until it is firm enough to spoon, about 2 hours.

5. Using a teaspoon or cookie dough scoop, form small 1-inch balls from the ganache and place them on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining ganache. Return to the refrigerator to chill for another hour.

6. Place the cocoa powder in a small bowl or pie tin. Dust your hands with cocoa powder and place a truffle in the cocoa, rolling it until it is coated. Roll the truffle briefly between your palms to form a round shape, then place it back on the baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining truffles.

7. If you have different varieties/shades of cocoa powder, you can experiment with rolling the truffles in two different cocoas, creating stripes or dots of different colors. Truffles can also be topped with chocolate shavings. Store the truffles in an airtight container in the refrigerator, and bring them to room temperature before serving.

Caribbean Holiday Drinks: Sorrel and Coquito

Because my parents eloped on St. John, I spent an early part of my childhood growing up in the Virgin Islands. After moving to Hartford, we still visited the islands for nearly all of our family vacations. As an adult I have met friends from Jamaica, Haiti, Peru, Panama, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic and the Barbados. As such, my life has always had a tropical flair to it and I have developed a love affair with Caribbean foods and drinks. My mother retains a wonderful collection of old island cookbooks and I love flipping through the pages for inspiration. Since it is so cold outside, and I am dreaming of warmer days, I thought it would be nice to honor all these friends and memories with two traditional holiday drinks, coquito and sorrel.

Coquito is a coconut beverage that is the Puerto Rican version of eggnog. This version that I have written up however is missing the eggs and focuses more on the coconut. Just my preference. If you would like a recipe using eggs, I would be happy to provide.

Ingredients:
•2 15-ounce cans cream of coconut
•2 14-ounce cans condensed milk
•6 ounces white rum (I suggest Jamaican Wray and Nephew)
•1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
•1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
•1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
•1 teaspoon coconut (or vanilla) extract

Preparation:
1. Mix all ingredients in a blender.
2. Refrigerate for about an hour before serving. Serve cold.
Serves: This recipe makes about 36 ounces.

Sorrel is non-alcoholic, spiced Carribean drink, although I am sure it would taste quite good with some rum added as well.

Ingredients:
2 cups dried sorrel
8 cups water
1 teaspoon grated ginger
1 stick cinnamon
1 cup sugar
4 cloves

Preparation:
Bring the water to a boil in a large pot, then add all the ingredients to the pot. Bring back to a boil and reduce the heat to a rolling boil. Allow this to boil for about 5 minutes, then turn off the heat, cover the pot and allow this to steep for at least 4 hours (overnight would be best). Next up, strain the contents into a juice jug and add more sugar as needed. You can store this in the fridge for about a week

"Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire" and all that...

How many stories or songs have we listened to when we hear mention of chestnuts being roasted? And yet, I was wondering...how many people have actually indulged in this holiday treat? Let alone, know how to roast a chestnut. So, I decided to do the research and post my findings for you. Turns out that chestnut roasting is not as difficult as actually finding the nuts! I am guessing that your best bet for locating these gems is probably your local Whole Foods, or a farm stand.

1st step: You can cook your chestnuts over 3 different heat sources. The traditional of course, is the fireplace. However, I completely understand that in 2011, that is not an option for everyone. As such, you can also cook them on a grill or campfire, or at home in your oven (preheated to 400 degrees).

2nd step: Score the nuts. This means using a sharp, pointy knife and cutting a X into the flat side of each nut. This is a crucial step as it allows the steam to escape. I trust that you don't want an oven of exploded chestnuts. 

3rd step: Place the nuts on a baking sheet with a rim (if you are putting in the oven), or put directly on the grill, with the X side facing up (if you like them crispier, place the X facing down). Sprinkle lightly with water. If you are using a fireplace, or campfire, you will need a wire basket, or a pan with a long handle and a cover.

4th step: Roast for 15 to 20 minutes, or until they are tender and the shell can easily be removed

5th step: Wrap chestnuts in a towel and squeeze to crush the skin. Leave in the towel for 5 minutes and then peel the shells away and ENJOY!

For those who prefer visual instructions, check out this video:

Here's the top ten best books in Food Literature according to Amazon!

1. Twain's Feast: Searching for America's Lost Foods in the Footsteps of Samuel Clemens
by Andrew Beahrs
In his first book, Beahrs uses the palate of America's great humorist and satirist to celebrate and explore native foodstuffs and even make the case for him as a passionate locavore. The book intersperses Beahrs's firsthand experiences, such as observing Illinois prairie chickens in mating season and attending an Arkansas raccoon supper, with Twain's gastronomical record. The sheer breadth of Twain's travels and jobs permit discussion of such 21st-century topics as the far west's Great Basin water reclamation and cranberry bog expansion with historical developments like the invention of modern farm machinery and its impact.


 2. Punch: The Delights (and Dangers) of the Flowing Bowl
by David Wondrich
Acclaimed cocktail expert and historian David Wondrich takes readers on a raucous guided tour of all things punch-a tour that starts with some very lonely British sailors and swells to include a cast of lords and ladies, admirals, kings, presidents, poets, pirates, novelists, spies, and other inimitable characters. 

3. Medium Raw: A Bloody Valentine to the World of Food and the People Who Cook by Anthony Bourdain
No one really expected Bourdain to top his wildly popular Kitchen Confidential, even Bourdain himself: several critics wrote that he seems alternately awed and appalled by his own celebrity. Those parts of Medium Raw--more of a collection of essays than a streamlined narrative--that seemed to grow out of that celebrity, such as Bourdain's feuds with food critics and celebrity chefs, impressed reviewers the least.


4. 97 Orchard: An Edible History of Five Immigrant Families in One New York Tenement
by Jane Ziegelman
In this compelling foray into forensic gastronomy, Ziegelman pulls the facade off the titular 97 Orchard Street tenement.The result is a living dollhouse that invites us to gaze in from the sidewalk.With minds open and mouths agape, we witness the comings and goings of the building's inhabitants in the years surrounding the turn of the twentieth century. By focusing on the culinary lives of individuals from a variety of ethnic groups, Ziegelman pieces together a thorough sketch of Manhattan's Lower East Side at a time when these immigrants were at the forefront of a rapidly changing urban life. 


5. Chasing the White Dog: An Amateur Outlaw's Adventures in Moonshine
by Max Watman
Although most of us associate moonshine with Prohibition and the cross-border gin runners of the 1920s, the first moonshiners actually were outlaws who protested the new tax on whiskey; this was in the 1790s, and it was such a serious rebellion that George Washington and Alexander Hamilton sent 13,000 troops into Pennsylvania to quash it. Moonshine is, in parts of the U.S., still a booming business and an important part of the economy of the South. 

6. As Always, Julia: The Letters of Julia Child and Avis DeVoto
by Joan Reardon

Culinary historian Reardon's collection of the correspondence between Child and her pen pal, Avis DeVoto (portrayed in the film Julie & Julia by Deborah Rush), bubbles over with intimate insights into their friendship. In 1952, Child was living in Paris when she wrote to Cambridge, Mass., historian Bernard DeVoto after reading his Harper's article about knives. Her letter was answered by his wife, Avis, who soon became her confidante, sounding board, and enthusiastic fellow cook. The two met finally met in person two years later. As a part of the publishing community, Avis (who died in 1989) was responsible for securing the publication of Mastering the Art of French Cooking, steering the book first to Houghton Mifflin and then to its eventual home at Knopf. 


7. Reading between the Wines
by Terry Theise
Acclaimed importer and wine guru Terry Theise, long known for his top-notch portfolio and his illustrious writing, now offers this opinionated, idiosyncratic, and beautifully written testament to wine. What constitutes beauty in wine, and how do we appreciate it? What role does wine play in a soulful, sensual life? Can wines of place survive in a world of globalized styles and 100-point scoring systems? In his highly approachable style, Theise describes how wine can be a portal to aesthetic, emotional, even mystical experience.


8. Cooking for Geeks: Real Science, Great Hacks, and Good Food
by Jeff Potter

Are you the innovative type, the cook who marches to a different drummer -- used to expressing your creativity instead of just following recipes? Are you interested in the science behind what happens to food while it's cooking? Do you want to learn what makes a recipe work so you can improvise and create your own unique dish? More than just a cookbook, Cooking for Geeks applies your curiosity to discovery, inspiration, and invention in the kitchen. Why is medium-rare steak so popular? Why do we bake some things at 350 F/175 C and others at 375 F/190 C? And how quickly does a pizza cook if we overclock an oven to 1,000 F/540 C? 

9. Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work
by Aki Kamozawa
Alex Talbot and Aki Kamozawa, husband-and-wife chefs and the forces behind the popular blog Ideas in Food, have made a living out of being inquisitive in the kitchen. Their book shares the knowledge they have gleaned from numerous cooking adventures, from why tapioca flour makes a silkier chocolate pudding than the traditional cornstarch or flour to how to cold smoke just about any ingredient you can think of to impart a new savory dimension to everyday dishes. Perfect for anyone who loves food, Ideas in Food is the ideal handbook for unleashing creativity, intensifying flavors, and pushing one’s cooking to new heights.


10. Cakewalk: A Memoir
by Kate Moses
Novelist Moses recounts her life’s journey, planting its mileposts by the foods that have figured in her personal history. As emphasis, she provides a relevant recipe with each chapter. The foods that have meant most to her fall into the category of American comfort foods, her tastes leaning toward the decidedly simple. Traversing the country from California to Pennsylvania as a schoolgirl, she relished what was for her the novelty of McDonald’s but she at the same time was developing a taste for more exotic fare such as fried clams.

My love affair with "Made in Spain"

     This post was inspired by two people. The first is one of my favorite chef's, Jose Andres who has a show on CPTV called "Made in Spain". The second is my friend Josh who recently mentioned his love of parsley to me, and his inspiration of ripping up his front lawn and replacing it with field of parsley! I love it, of course.
      This made me decide to share with you a simple recipe by Chef Jose utilizing parsley for it's sauce. Also, I highly recommend visiting the website and checking out some of the videos that has been posted of the show. You can also find more of his recipes there, as I am sure after this one, you will be craving more.
"Clams often get a bad rap, because it is so easy to overcook them. The key is to pull the clams out of the pot just as they open in order to keep them juicy and tender."

Yield: Serves 4

1 bunch fresh parsley, stems trimmed
1 teaspoon minced garlic
12-18 little neck clams
2 tablespoons Spanish extra-virgin olive oil
2 ounces dry white wine

Put the parsley and garlic in a blender. Add ¼ cup of water and puree. Strain the mixture through a fine mesh sieve, pushing on the puree with the back of a wooden spoon to release all the liquid.
Heat the olive oil in a shallow pot over medium heat. Add the clams and cover the pot. Once the pot begins to steam, carefully remove the lid and pour in the white wine. Cover the pot again and let the wine reduce, about 30 seconds. Uncover the pot often and remove the clams as they open. Set them aside in a serving bowl. Discard any clams that do not open. Once the clams are removed, add the parsley puree to the clam juices in the pot. Stir until well combined, then pour the sauce over the clams and serve immediately.

Chef Jose's passion for simple and fresh food is intoxicating, and he is obviously in love with the ingredients and it shows in his meals. I only wish that I had a chance to get down to DC to visit one of his restaurants. Foodie roadtrip perhaps???

Free Cooking Classes II

TECHNIQUE CLASSES
Presented free of charge at your local Williams-Sonoma store, each hour-long-class is dedicated to a specific topic led by one of our culinary experts. Class size is limited, so reserve your space today.

Sunday, October 3
Chuck’s Classics–Celebrating Founder’s Day
For the past five decades, Williams-Sonoma has helped customers celebrate the pleasures of cooking. To commemorate our 2010 Founder’s Day, we’re pleased to present a collection of recipes personally selected by Chuck Williams. These easy-to-prepare dishes represent Chuck’s style of cooking at home–simple, interesting and delicious. You’ll learn to make crème brûlée plus many more of Chuck’s favorites.

Sunday, October 10
The World of Root Vegetables
Autumn is prime time for savoring hardy root vegetables because the cool weather transforms their starches into sugars. In this class you’ll learn how to select, store and prepare an array of roots, from potatoes, carrots and onions to celery root and leeks. Recipes will include beautifully roasted root vegetables, a warming soup and a root vegetable main course–we guarantee you won’t miss the meat!

Sunday, October 17
From Tough to Tender
Discover the secrets to transforming tough cuts of meat, such as pot roast, brisket and shoulder, into meltingly tender, full-flavored dishes that are perfect for fall and winter meals. We’ll prepare these well-priced cuts on the stovetop and in a slow cooker, as well as using the newer technique of sous vide.

Sunday, October 24
Breads & Spreads for the Holiday Table.
As you gather friends and family around your holiday table, fill your breadbasket with a bountiful selection of baked goods. In this class you’ll learn to make some easy breads and spreads to enjoy with the meal-from no-knead bread and classic dinner rolls to corn bread, focaccia and more.

Sunday &Monday, October 31 & November 1
Back to Basics – A Classic Thanksgiving
Join us as we show you how to host a memorable Thanksgiving feast-and enjoy a stress-free celebration. You’ll learn all the basics: how to roast a juicy turkey, make creamy mashed potatoes with rich homemade gravy, and prepare classic side dishes. These traditional recipes will bring the spirit of the season to your holiday table.

Mark Twain, a fellow foodie???

I thought that I would share the following event and article with you fellow foodies. It's happening tonight at the Mark Twain House, and it's free. If you are looking to make an evening out of it, swing by Real Art Ways afterwards for Creative Cocktail Hour.

Today · 5:00pm - 7:00pm
Location 351 Farmington Avenue, Hartford, CT 06105
Created By The Mark Twain House & Museum
Montblanc unveils the Writers Edition 2010 Mark Twain Writing Instrument & presents Author Andrew Beahrs reading from his new book “Twain’s Feast.” Mr. Beahrs will be signing his book with the Montblanc Writing Instrument following the program.
Before the reading, the Mark Twain Museum Center will host a reception of local foods including pies donated from Rose's Berry Farm.
Reception will begin at 5:00, reading at 6:00.
The evening will be free to the public.

What Did Mark Twain Eat? Author Discusses His Book
     For all the labels we've given Mark Twain — humorist, advocate of social reform — we've managed to overlook "foodie."But Twain's devotion to food, American food in particular, gets full examination in "Twain's Feast: Searching for America's Lost Foods in the Footsteps of Samuel Clemens" by Connecticut native Andrew Beahrs.
     He will discuss the book at the Mark Twain House Aug. 19 at an event that will include a reception and food (probably local, in the spirit of Twain). Also, folks from the Montblanc pen company will present the Mark Twain House with its "Mark Twain Limited Writers Edition 2010 writing instrument," an elaborately designed $750 pen.
     Despite his wife's warnings ("I just don't want you to become 'that freaky Twain guy'"), Beahrs threw himself head-first into researching the book. He cooked Twain's favorite breakfast for his family. He went to the Gillet Coon Supper, an annual event that kicks off the political season for the town of Gillet, Ark. (pop. 800, "Home of Friendly People and the Coon Supper"). That's where he ate raccoon. Despite an overwhelming smell during the cooking ("like nothing I've smelled before, but which I'll now recognize until I die"), it tasted mostly like the dark meat of a chicken.
Beahrs, who grew up in Darien, also returned to Connecticut to talk with maple-syrup makers. He was surprised that Twain, who otherwise had a taste for strong flavors, preferred clear syrup over the more flavorful dark variety.
     Beahrs, who now lives with his family in California, says the seed of the book came about when he came across a list of more than 80 foods Twain wrote in 1879 while in Europe. The trip was a culinary disaster for Twain. European hotel food (particularly the saltless butter, which he called a "sham") irked him. The list was a love letter to the foods that Twain missed the most. Much of it sounds great ("apple dumplings with real cream," "roast wild turkey"), some of it a little iffy ("sheep-head and croakers," frogs, opossum, aforementioned raccoon).
     The list skews toward Southern cuisine ("hot corn-pone, with chitlings," "hoe-cake"), but Twain's 17 years in Hartford get their due with the inclusion of Connecticut shad.
     Twain and food might sound like a sliver of a topic, but Beahrs uses it as a starting point for looking at how much our eating habits and our attitudes about food have changed. Also, it shows how much things come full circle. Long before anyone coined the term "locavore," Twain's list is a reminder of just how local food was all the time."One surprise is how contemporary his food writing sounds," says Beahrs. "'Fresh' and 'local' aren't new terms."
     Beahrs was surprised by how much food changed just during Twain's lifetime as railroads and steamboats gained in efficiency and transporting food over long distances diminished the role of regional fare.
     The most mysterious item on Twain's list to catch Beahrs' eye: Prairie chickens. Beahrs learned that they existed in the millions in Illinois when Twain spent his summers on his uncle's farm. Today, prarie chickens are all but gone, existing in the mere hundreds in Illinois.
     It was on that farm, Beahrs says, where Twain acquired his appreciation for food.
"And once you start looking for it, you see that it's threaded throughout all his novels," Beahrs says. For instance, here's Huck discussing a particularly good meal: "So Jim he got out some corn-dodgers, and buttermilk, and pork and cabbage and greens — there ain't nothing in the world so good when it's cooked right."
     Steve Courtney, publicist for the Mark Twain House, says the book is a great look at Twain's attitudes toward food. As for his Hartford dinners, Courtney says meals tended to include things like molded jellos, chicken and mayonnaise and something called scalloped oysters.

BY WILLIAM WEIR, bweir@courant.com
August 12, 2010

Enjoying Huckleberry Vodka, and selection of fresh & local fare from Firebox Restaurant.

One of my favorite cookbooks of all time is called "Surreal Gourmet: Real Food for Pretend Chefs" written by Bob Blumer. And I feel like mentioning it now because it is such a hoot! It's perfect for someone who feels like they are the kind of person that somehow manages to burn something as easy as pasta whenever they set foot in a kitchen. Yet equally worthwhile for a foodie. I love it because of the great recipes, funky food art (who doesn't love a broccoli headed chef?), technical instructions on useful things like drink garnishes, and because it always inspires me to cook when I am feeling less than motivated. Plus it's on sale on amazon.com for a mere penny right now. Hence this post...