Piquant

And the winner is...

 

Eric Zawacki! 

Zawacki won the Grilled Cheese Sammie contest sponsored by Artisanal Bistro and judged by Arisanal and Picholine restaurateur Terrance Brennan, Citysearch's restaurant editor Josh Ozersky and other illustrious foodies.

The sumptuous grilled cheese made my own efforts look like a dowdy cousin.  I can only hope my recipe wasn't among the ones which Ozersky proclaimed "gnarly" in posts on The Feedbag.

The winning recipe, which goes on Artisanal's menu, May 4, follows:

Taleggi Cherry Mostarda And Arugula Grilled Cheese

Serves 1

The sweetness and pepperiness of the Mostarda and Arugula cut the richness and stinkiness of the strong Taleggio. Once the Taleggio melts it gets extra gooey and accomponies the other flavors and crispy Peasent Bread perfectly.

Sandwich

- 2 Slices Pane Rustica (Italian Peasant Bread) Cut 3/4 Inch Thick
- 1/4 Pound Taleggio Cheese, Rind Removed, Cut Into 1/4 inch Thick Slices
- Handful of Arugula
- 4 Heaping Tablespoons of Cherry Mostarda (Recipe Follows)
- Room Temperature Butter

Cherry Mostarda

- 3&1/2 Cups Sugar
- 3/4 Bottle Of Red Wine (Preferably Primitivo)
- 1/4 Cup Black Pepper
- 2 Quarts Pitted Red Cherries
- 1&1/2 Cups Stone Ground Mustard
- 1/4 Cup Tuffle Oil

Mostarda Procedure

- Combine Sugar, Wine, Mustard and Pepper In A Saucepan
- When Mixture Comes To A Boil, Lower Heat, Add Cherries And Truffle Oil
- Simmer, Stirring Occasionally Until Cherries Are Soft And Breaking Apart
- Cool To Room Temp

Sandwich Procedure

- Preheat Oven To 350 Degrees
- Cover One Slice Of Bread With Taleggio Cheese (Layering If Necessary)
- Top With Cherry Mostarda And Arugula
- Butter Other Slice Of Bread And Form Sandwich (Buttered Side Up)
- Add Tbspn Of Butter To Pan And Melt
- Place Sandwich (Buttered Side Down) In Pan, Butter Top Side Of Sandwich
- Cook Til First Side Is Golden Brown Then Flip
- Cook For 30 Seconds Then Place Pan In Oven
- Remove Once Cheese Is Melted And Gooey
- Cut In Half And Serve

Gourmet on Tour offers deals for culinary travel

U.K.-based culinary travel group, Gourmet on Tour is offering extra nights free on select tours in Italy and France.

Established in 2000 by former publishing professional Judith von Prockl, the travel agency offers culinary adventure, wine tours and tastings and cooking courses for "foodies who want to see the world a little differently."

From private tours to small groups to solo tours, Gourmet on Tour offers excursions throughout Europe, in Asia, Northern Africa and the United States. 

Reflections revives the spirit with luxe spa experience

Reflections Spa is not a tree-hugging, granola-crunching spa experience. It's purely decadent.

Deep red panes of glass, pieced together in the pattern of prisms glow warmly. Water gurgles peacefully from the stacked glass waterfalls embedded in the walls of this restful warren of massage and treatment rooms, saunas and lounges. 

From the ceiling hundreds of small crystal quartz gem stones - noted for their regenerative and healing therapeutic properties - dangle. The fiery red décor and the more than 8,000 quartz gems create an atmosphere both soothing and energizing.

Beautiful young women glide from the lounge to the foot salt scrub and soaking room carrying trays of chocolate truffle-garnished glasses of Moet Chandon rosé champagne or herb-infused ice water.  

Cotton terry-robed guests sip their champagne or ice water while relaxing with their feet in a warm water soak amidst floating rose petals. 

In the steam room, where each woman has her own tiled seat, equipped with a cooling water spigot for individual temperature adjustments, women are given slivers of cucumber to reduce eye puffiness while they purify and detoxify their skin.

Women enter the spa a little too briskly, with faces week-weary from life's pressures - perhaps a little tense, maybe irritable or over-tired; they leave reluctantly with skin glowing, attitudes re-adjusted and balance restored.

Spa products are themed to reflect the many facets of Crystal Springs Resorts from a Champagne, Caviar & Truffles facial (organic anti-aging) to the Pinot Noir Signature Body Glow (vinotherapy body exfoliation and hydration) to the Warm Gemstone Massage (Chakra balancing and mineral-infusing massage).

The three-month-old spa is more Dolce Gabbana than Laura Ashley. Sleek and modern with nothing that even hints of a spartan experience, Reflections redefines the luxury spa experience with up-to-the minute treatments, minute attention to detail, and hand-holding, constant pampering.   

For more information:

Grand Cascades Lodge

3 Wild Turkey Way

Hardyston, NJ

973.827.5996

www.resortscrystalsprings.com

Brooklyn Uncorked 2009 at BAM

Raise your glass in a toast to locally grown and produced wines at Edible Brooklyn's annual local-tasting soiree.

Stroll the halls of the Brooklyn Academy of Music while sipping on Long Island wines and nibbling on samples from your favorite Brooklyn restaurants.

There will be austere steel-fermented whites, robust reds  and varietal roses--all without getting on the L.I.E.

And this year Brooklyn Uncorked will spill over into the lobby of BAM, making way for much more food, from barbecue to cheese, from oysters to carnitas.

That means a whole evening of food and wine for just $40 (or half price if you subscribe to Edible).

Last year's event sold out, so reserve your spot now.

The event runs from 4-8 p.m. and tickets to the general public are $40 or buy a subscription and get your ticket at half price ($20).

Brooklyn Food Conference this weekend in Park Slope

 Rich Text

Don't know a parsnip from a potato?

Want to find out exactly what's in your food or just get closer to the source? 

Concerned about obesity and the role of food politics in its increase in our communities?

The Brooklyn Food Conference has answers to all your burning food questions - and even a recipe or two. 

Events are scheduled Friday & Saturday, May 1-2  at  Park Slope Co-op, John Jay High School, Gardens of Union and Old Stone House.

NY state wines featured in the Greenmarkets

(photo by Jon Sullivan)

Supporting the local economy means opting to buy and support the vintners and vineyards in your home state. In the past, this hasn't always been the best or most viable option.

Not so now New Yorkers (and I'll be reporting on other options outside of the tri-state area in weeks to come).

If you live in the city, a visit to the Greenmarkets  offers shoppers a chance to try the different wines being produced throughout New York State. Look for the Winestand on Fridays from 9-5 at Union Square Park and on Saturdays from 9-4, and explore the best wines New York has to offer.

KeysCaribbean offers up to 50 percent off through Summer 2009

 

The Florida Keys most celebrated local was an angler. Writer Ernest Hemingway lived, wrote, drank, and fished in Key West.

 No doubt he would have hoisted a glass and cast a line during the month of May with its wealth of events for anglers.

KeysCaribbean Luxury Resort Villas & Marinas is offering visitors to the Keys an opportunity to take advantage of the resort's elegant accommodations with a May Spectacular Savings Offer of up to 50 percent off at all KeysCaribbean resorts through Summer 2009 (subject to availability).

Events Information

In Key West, the Yamaha Dolphin Masters Invitational on May 23 features experienced offshore captains leading the chase for the colorful and acrobatic dolphin fish and a hefty first prize. First class resort accommodations in Key West and the up to 50 percent off discount is available at Coral Hammock Resort and King's Pointe Oceanside Condominiums.

During the 23rd Annual Coconuts Dolphin Tournament May 14-17 in Key Largo, top anglers compete for more than $50,000 in prizes. Mariner's Resort Villas & Marina in Key Largo offers luxury accommodations, free Wi-Fi Internet, free unlimited local and long distance calls, and the up to 50 percent off special discount.

On May 9, the high-action Battle in the Bay Dragon Boat Festival comes to Marathon with boats racing along a 400-meter course parallel to Sombrero Beach in the only beach-launch boat race of its kind. Nearby, the Village at Hawks Cay Villas & Marina offers luxury accommodations with free Wi-Fi Internet and free unlimited local and long distance calls, as well as the up to 50 percent off special discount.

For reservations, book direct at www.keyscaribbean.com or call 305.853.5000.

Hotel Shangri-la to open The Dining Room with Noah Rosen at the helm

Find your way  to Shangri- La. Then have dinner - creative, simple and fresh.  Leave satisfied by a good meal and the knowledge that you've helped reduce the carbon footprint. 

Hotel Shangri-La, Santa Monica's "iconic architectural gem, anticipates its first restaurant, The Dining Room, in May 2009.

Owned by veteran restaurateur and nightlife impresario, Marc Smith, who also designed the 71-room hotel, the restaurant will be new American with a California fresh feel. Far from your grandmother's dining room table, this ocean front restaurant will offer the cuisine of one of the West coast's top chefs.

Executive chef Noah Rosen will oversee the restaurant as well as all of the hotel's food and beverage outlets.

"I like Noah's approach to life. His surfer mentality is calming in the kitchen and he works really well with the team- doesn't let ego get in the way, and he uses ingredients in the way they are intended. In this sense, he is seeking to cook for the sake of cooking versus celebrity, which truly makes him a chef of a dying breed," says Smith. 

Rosen is a Southern California native with extensive experience working with some of the West coast's finest culinary establishments including Patina, Melisse, Mini Bar, Wilshire, and most recently as Chef de Cuisine at BLT.  His new menu for The Dining Room showcases his American Farmer's Market Cuisine with French sensibilities and is priced in alignment with the current economy.

The executive chef's mandate is to be as green as possible, reducing its carbon footprint and sourcing as much as possible from local California farmers. His wine list features a predominately large selection of California wines, supporting Rosen's vision ofsupporting the local economy while minimizing the impact on the environment.

To experience Rosen's culinary skills firsthand, intimate dining experiences can be arranged for select private parties and cooking retreats. This opportunity will allow guests to shop with Rosen at the Santa Monica Farmer's Market and work with him to learn his innovative approach to the culinary arts.

Easy Prosciutto Wrapped Asparagus Spears

Growing asparagus is not for the impatient. 

For those with the forbearance to wait three years for the first new crop, there is nothing lovelier than the sight of a slender, pale green tip breaking through black dirt.

Such a sight! 

My mother grew asparagus and the anticipation of the annual crop was special, but not as magnificent as the first feast. 

We usually ate our asparagus unadorned by anything other than a little salt, pepper and butter, perhaps a squeeze of lemon to brighten things up. 

These Prosciutto Wrapped Asparagus appetizers are the perfect spring finger food. They're exquisitely easy to make and everyone loves them.

Prosciutto Wrapped Asparagus

serves 20-25

Ingredients

2 lbs of fresh asparagus, trimmed and steamed

10 ounces sliced prosciuttio

1 red pepper' sliced thinly for garnish

Procedure

Cut the slices of prosciutto in half.  Roll one slice around each asparagus spear.  Arrange on a platter and garnish with thinly sliced red pepper.

Don't bag yesterday's baguette - make French toast

 

Have a gorgeous extra baguette from Citradella? Hate waste?  

Me too!

Yesterday I took a day old baguette -- too good to toss, but hard enough to break your teeth -- and made rich, milky, eggy French toast.  

Delicious, if I do say so myself, and so easy to prepare.  

Frugal French Toast

serves 6 generously

Ingredients

1 cup milk

3 eggs

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1 baguette, sliced diagonally

1 tablespoon corn oil

Whisk together milk, eggs, cinnamon and nutmeg.  Add sliced baguette and allow to soak until soft but not mushy.  

In a skillet, heat oil until medium (not smoking).  Add soaked baguette slices, cooking until browned and golden on both sides, about five minutes.

Serve with sliced seasonal fruit, dusted with confectioner's sugar or with warm maple syrup.