Piquant

You are what you Eataly: Batali & Bastianich slow food mecca

Fifty-thousand square feet of food heaven could be the best way to describe the latest addition to NY's already vast foodcentric culture.

Located in the Flatiron district, Eataly, (200 Fifth Avenue, NY, NY 10003, 646.398.5100) the ambitious Italian slow food emporium opened three weeks ago. 

Plans include a 300-seat partially covered rooftop biergarten to open in November as well as a cooking school headed by master chef Lidia Bastianich. 

Choose from more than a dozen restaurants and food stalls for meals and takeaway and shop for everything from housewares to provisions and wines - even a vegetable butcher

Eataly New York is the project of chef Mario Batali and restaurateur and vineyard owner Joe Bastianich,

Eater has the Early Word on the Eataly experience.

You are what you Eataly: Batali and Bastianich slow food mecca

Fifty-thousand square feet of food heaven could be the best way to describe the latest addition to NY's already vast foodcentric culture.

Located in the Flatiron district, Eataly, (200 Fifth Avenue, NY, NY 10003, 646.398.5100) the ambitious Italian slow food emporium opened three weeks ago. 

Plans include a 300-seat partially covered rooftop biergarten to open in November as well as a cooking school headed by master chef Lidia Bastianich. 

Choose from more than a dozen restaurants and food stalls for meals and takeaway and shop for everything from housewares to provisions and wines - even a vegetable butcher

Eataly New York is the project of chef Mario Batali and restaurateur and vineyard owner Joe Bastianich,

Eater has the Early Word on the Eataly experience.

Farm to Fork local NC fundraiser set May 23

Join a remarkable group of NC Piedmont and cooks for an evening of food, live music, and fun!

W.C. Breeze Family Farm
Extension and Research Center
4909 Walnut Grove Church Road
Hurdle Mills, Orange County
(A few miles north of Hillsborough)

Organized by Slow Food Triangle, Center for Environmental Farming Systems, and Orange County.

www.slowfoodtriangle.org

www.cefs.ncsu.edu

orange.ces.ncsu.edu

Proceeds will benefit the PLANT at Breeze Farm Enterprise Incubator, an innovative and important sustainable agriculture program in Orange County, and the Center for Environmental Farming Systems.

Last year,  more than $10,000  was raised.

Tickets are available now and must be purchased in advance at www.farmtoforknc.com.

$50 for members of Slow Food, CEFS, and Friends of Breeze Farm.

$60 for non-members.

Take a fish to lunch at The Beach, Florida's best kept secret

October is National Seafood month and what better place is there to enjoy fresh seafood than at The Beach on Northwest Florida’s gulf coast.

Take a fish or shellfish to lunch when you show up at one of the many fall foodie festivals taking place all across the 227-mile coastline of The Beach. Local chefs will be cooking up everything from shrimp to barbecue to German sausages.

The action starts in late September each year and continues through the month of November. Join thousands of visitors who venture to these sugar-sand shores for great food, fine wine and live music.

Here you’ll find fish and shellfish boiled, fried, blackened, sautéed, raw and as the featured item in many original culinary creations.

Check out competitions between the best local cooks, mouth-watering recipes from area restaurants as well as the best vintage wines  and home brews.  The festivals are like one long progressive dinner and everyone’s invited.

Grab a handful of napkins, check out the menu and dig in to fall culinary travel at The Beach.

Here are the appetizers.

32^nd Annual Pensacola Seafood Festival - September 25-27, 2009

Hours: Friday, Sept. 25, Noon – 11 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 26, 10 a.m. – 11 p.m., Sunday, Sept. 27, 11 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Seville Square in downtown Pensacola, 850-433-6512

www.fiestaoffiveflags.org/SeafoodFestival or www.visitpensacola.com

Tthe Pensacola Seafood Festival is one of the Southeast Tourism Society’s “Top 20 Events in the Southeast,” and one of the largest events in Florida, with over 100,000 in attendance.

Area chefs offer selections that include fried grouper, blackened mahi mahi, and Pensacola crab ball, while festival goers enjoy the arts and crafts of over 175 vendors. Live music by a dozen local bands, cooking demonstrations, a 5K walk/run, a Splash Dog competition and children’s activities make this three-day event an area favorite.

Admission is free.

31^st Annual Destin Seafood Festival - October 2-4, 2009

Hours: Friday, Oct. 2, 4 - 10 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 3, 10 a.m. - 10 p.m., and Sunday, Oct. 4,

11 a.m. - 4 p.m.

HarborWalk Village on the Destin Harbor, 850-837-2711 www.destinchamber.com/destin/seafoodfestival.asp or www.destin-fwb.com

Also listed in the Southeast Tourism Society’s “Top 20 Events in the Southeast,” the Destin Seafood Festival offers fresh seafood prepared by some of the area’s most popular restaurants, while local bands share the stage with top national music makers.

This year’s headliners are Survivor and Joan Jett and the Blackhearts.

Children’s activities and arts and crafts booths overlook the Destin Harbor where the month-long Destin Fishing Rodeo takes place each October.

Festival goers can watch the afternoon weigh-ins on the docks as anglers compete for cash and prizes.

Around 36,000 people attend the three-day event.

Admission for all three days is $15, or you may purchase daily admission bands for $5 each for Friday and Sunday and $10 for Saturday.

Oktoberfest – October 2 & 3, 2009

Hours: Friday, Oct. 2, 5 – 10 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. – 10 p.m.

Grace Avenue, downtown Panama City, 850-785-2554

www.visitpanamacitybeach.com or www.panamacity.org

Dig out the lederhosen it’s Oktoberfest time.

Each year downtown Panama City is transformed into a German-style village, with accordion players, carnival rides, sausage eating contests and lots of food and local brews.

Tthis beer and brats fest annually attracts more than 25,000 people.  Family activities include clowns and face painting for the kids, and beer tastings and polka dancing for the grown-ups.

Admission is free.

3rd Annual Blue Jeans & BBQ – October 3, 2009

Hours: Saturday, Oct. 3, 3 – 9 p.m.

Hayes Ranch, 5097 Berryhill Road in Milton, 850-208-7122

http://support.covenanthospice.org/bluejeans/index.html or www.floridabeachestorivers.com

Both a food festival and a bull riding competition, Blue Jeans & BBQ shows off the country side of The Beach and includes arts and crafts vendors and children’s activities.

There are Kiddie Korral games from 3-7 p.m., and the bull riding competition from 7 - 9 p.m., as well as live entertainment, lots of down-home BBQ, and drawings.

Guests are encouraged to bring lawn chairs.

Tickets are $10 each prior to the event or $15 at the door. Children 5 and under are free.  All funds raised from the event go to Covenant Hospice.

Festa Italiana – October 9 & 10, 2009

Hours: Friday, Oct. 9, 5-9 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 10, 11 a.m. - 8 p.m.

Sons of Italy Lodge, 808 South Dr., Fort Walton Beach, 850-651-4008

www.destin-fwb.com

Hosted by the Sons of Italy Lodge #2422, Festa Italiana is an old fashioned street festival with authentic Italian food and live entertainment.

Admission is free.

St. George Island Oyster Spat Festival - October 9 & 10, 2009

Hours: (Eastern Time Zone) events at various times starting at 8 a.m.

St. George Island on the beach, 850-653-8678 (Franklin County TDC)

www.oysterspat.com or www.anaturalescape.com

Oysters reign supreme at this festival on St. George Island that includes a parade, a treasure hunt, live music and a 5K race.

Area residents are proud of their long-standing oystering, fishing and shrimping traditions, and with 90% of Florida oysters coming from the Apalachicola Bay, they have lots of facts about the humble mollusk.

For instance, an oyster spat is a baby oyster that has just passed the larva stage and has attached itself to its home base.  Who knew?

Festival goers can attach themselves to plates of oysters and other seafood at this two-day festival on the beach.

Panama City Beach Seafood, Wine & Music Festival - October 9-11, 2009

Hours: Friday, Oct. 9, 4 - 11 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 10, 11 a.m. – 11 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 11,

11 a.m. -11 p.m.

Frank Brown Park on Hwy 98 (Back Beach Road) across from Pier Park, Panama City Beach

www.panamacitybeachfest.com or www.visitpanamacitybeach.com

Combining three ever popular activities into one huge event, the Panama City Beach Seafood, Wine & Music Festival pairs daily wine tastings with celebrity chef exhibitions and nationally known performers in jazz, rock, reggae and country music.

The 2009 stars include Grand Funk Railroad, Julianne Hough, John Anderson, and STYX.

This celebration of seafood and fun also hosts a classic car show, antiques vendors, arts and crafts, and features wine from local and nationally recognized vineyards.

Bring a lawn chair or a blanket for the shows.

Advanced tickets start at $15 per person per day. Children 12 and under are free. Parking is $5 per car per day.

33^rd Annual Boggy Bayou Mullet Festival – October 16–18, 2009

Opening Hours: Friday, Oct. 16 at 11 a.m., Saturday, Oct. 17 at 9 a.m., Sunday, Oct. 18 at 10 a.m.

Mullet Festival Grounds, State Road 85 North at College Blvd., Niceville

http://mulletfestival.com or www.destin-fwb.com

The main attractions for this fishy weekend are mullet and music, especially fried mullet, and country music by this year’s headliners, Blake Shelton, Chuck Wicks and Billy Ray Cyrus.

Named after the mullet, a fish found in abundance in the local waters, the Boggy Bayou Mullet festival features an arts and crafts show, a juried art show and handmade and decorated clothing in the Boutique area.

Additionally, more than 40,000 hungry mullet fans will consume up to 10 tons of this humble fish during the three-day festival along with seafood, international foods, Cajun and country cooking.

Admission is $10 per person and includes all entertainment. Children 11 and under are free.

11th Annual Mexico Beach Art & Wine Festival – October 17, 2009

Hours: Saturday, Oct. 17, 2 – 10 p.m.

Driftwood Inn, 2105 Highway 98, Mexico Beach, 850-648-8196

www.mexicobeach.com or www.visitgulf.com

The sleepy gulf coast town of Mexico Beach comes alive with fine artists and fine wine at the annual Mexico Beach Art & Wine Festival.

Over 30 artists from across the country display their artwork and vie for over $2,000 in prize money.

Patrons enjoy live entertainment while they peruse the artists’ works, sipping great wines and sampling great food from local restaurants.

Tickets are $10 per person and all proceeds go to Special Events of Mexico Beach.

Taste of The Beach - November 5-8, 2009

Hours: Events at various times and locations over four days

www.tasteofthebeachfla.com

The newest of the Northwest Florida food festivals, Taste of The Beach is like a progressive dinner, stretching through three gulf coast counties over a four day period.

Southern Wine & Spirits is the exclusive distributor for Taste of The Beach. They and their suppliers provide the wine for this culinary and cultural charity fund raiser which offers wine dinners and walk-about food events in various locations.

It all starts on Thursday, November 5 with Taste of The Destin Harbor, located at the Emerald Grande overlooking East Pass and the harbor in Destin.

From there progress to Taste of Bay at Pier Park in Panama City Beach, Seeing Red Wine Festival in Seaside, and Taste of The Beach & Charity Auction at the Hilton Sandestin Beach in Miramar Beach. Also included is the Telluride MountainFilm on Tour festival at Watercolor.

Ticket prices vary by event and proceeds benefit regional children’s advocacy and medical foundations.

46^th Annual Florida Seafood Festival - November 6 & 7, 2009

Hours: (Eastern Time Zone) Friday, Nov. 6, 10 a.m. – 10 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 7, 10 a.m. – 11 p.m.

Battery Park, downtown Apalachicola, 888-653-8011

www.floridaseafoodfestival.com or www.anaturalescape.com

Florida’s first and oldest seafood festival, established in 1963, the Florida Seafood Festival takes place in downtown historic Apalachicola at the mouth of the Apalachicola River.

The highlight of the two-day event is the Oyster Shucking Contest followed by the Oyster Eating Contest. Some participants have been known to eat as many as 300 oysters in the allotted 15 minutes of time.

Mounds of seafood prepared by local residents, arts and crafts, live music, blue crab races, a parade, the blessing of the fleet, and the crowning of Miss Florida Seafood Festival, make this piece of forgotten Florida a don’t-miss event.

The ultimate gourmet marshmallow: Plush Puffs

If your notion of marshmallows is old school bags of semi-soft sort of bland Campfires, then we have some serious good news for you.

Plush Puffs are plump all natural marshmallow pillows packed with flavor from Vanilla Bean to Caramel Swirl (my personal favorite) to Peppi Mint and Chocolate Chipetta. 

The plush bags of gourmet marshmallows retail for $6 for 16-18 i -inch cubes of gooey deliciousness.

Eat them straight out of the bag plain, toasted, dunked in chocolate fondue, or afloat in your hot chocolate.

Need more inspiration? Plush Puffs' website has recipes.

Top Paris pastry chef opens Nutella patissierie

I am of a certain age, which here means that I can remember a time that Nutella was sadly NOT available in US groceries.

I remember stashing jars of the chocolatey, nutty goodness in my suitcase to hold me until my next trip over the pond.

Thank goodness this indignity has been rectified, although I still think the European product far superior to what we mere Nutella newbies get stateside. And technically, US Nutella is manufactured in Canada.

For those of you fortunate enough to find yourselves in Paris, My Little Paris, the insider's guide to La Ville-Lumière or the City of Lights, suggests La pâtisserie des rêves (93 rue du Bac, 7th Metro Rue du Bac or Sèvres Babylone tel : 00 33 1 42 84 00 82) where pastry chef Phillippe Conticini creates the recipes in his cookbook,Sensations Nutella dedicated exclusively to the jar of chocolately, nutty deliciousness.

We can't think of anything more divine.

il Buco celebrates all things pig with Sagra del Maiale, Festival of the Pig

il Buco restaurant celebrates its 15th anniversary on Sunday, September 20, 2009, during its sixth annual Sagra del Maiale (Festival of the Pig).

The event, an outdoor pig and apple festival marks the Autumnal Equinox (when day and night are of equal length).

The celebration will take place outside il Buco on Bond Street between Lafayette and Bowery from 1:00 - 8:00pm. Chef Ignacio Mattos and staff will rise before the sun and start a bonfire on Bond Street, where they will slow-roast a 200 pound heritage breed Crossabaw Pig.

Cooked on an infiernillo (literally "little inferno" but more commonly known as "little hell"), the pig slowly roasts between two large iron griddles with an intense wood fire above and below, a method developed by Chef Mattos' South American Mentor, Chef Francis Mallmann.

Throughout the night, Chef Mattos will tend to the flames while encountering late-night passersby for an incredibly fun New York night.

Starting at 1pm, friends and family alike will line up early for a convivial feast of all things pig.

Tickets will be available on-site for $20 per plate. Red and white Wine, Prosecco, Lambrusco, and Wolffer Estates Apple Wine will be $10 per beverage. Beer will be $8.

il Buco works extensively with the Crossabaw Pig, a special hybrid of the a rare breed Ossabaw, a pig from Georgia's coast on Ossabaw Island. The Ossabaw, left by the Spaniards more than a century ago, is a direct descendant of the "Pata Negra", or black-footed pig so treasured for its flavorful meat.

These Ossabaw pigs are raised in the open woods in North Carolina, on a diet of acorns and peanuts, both extremely high in oleic acid, the same fats that make olive oil so healthy. So pig is, indeed, good for you!

Executive Chef Mattos is from Santa Lucia, Uruguay. A protégé of the renowned South American Chef, Francis Mallmann, Ignacio has also worked with Alice Waters at Chez Panisse, Spain's Martín Berasategui, and with Judy Rodgers at Zuni Café.

As Executive Chef of il Buco, a beloved NYC establishment that has been open for 15 years, Ignacio has had the honor of cooking at the James Beard Foundation, has taught cooking classes with the Institute of Culinary Education (ICE), the French Culinary Institute (FCI), DeGustibus and The New School and has participated in numerous food events in and around New York City.

i

Moja Mix: make your own muesli giveaway

"When you wake up in the morning, Pooh," said Piglet at last, "what's the first thing you say to yourself?"

"What's for breakfast?" said Pooh. "What do you say, Piglet?"

"I say, I wonder what's going to happen exciting today?" said Piglet.

Pooh nodded thoughtfully.

"It's the same thing," he said.

Winnie the Pooh has the right idea. Breakfast should be exciting - not blah.

The creators of Moja Mix have set up a website where you can chase away the breakfast blues by customizing your own special breakfast mix guaranteed to put a smile on your mug.

The site is easy to navigate and offers thousands of possibilities. Choose from endless varieties of grains, nuts, and dried fruits or pick a pre-mixed cereal. 

Average cost is $9-10 for a 12-ounce custom mix.

Discount food shopping for damaged or discontinued products

ABC News reported today about the growing trend of salvage grocery stores, grocers where customers can get deals on damaged, dented and discontinued food products.  Some of these products are past or near their expiration dates.

It is a sad statement that the people of this country are reduced to buying damaged, dented and discontinued food products - past or near expiration - to feed their families.  If families are forced to buy cheap food just to fill the stomach, it's no wonder our health problems - obesity in particular - are rampant.

We need to reform more than just health care in this country. We need to teach our kids about the relationship of the farm and the land to our foods as well as how to prepare whole foods and how to eat better.  Further, we need to provide good food to all people, not just those whose wallets are fat enough to purchase organic and fresh.

I am apalled by salvage groceries on two counts.  One, it smacks of manufacturers profiting off the desperation of the poor and two, it continues to promote cheap, processed food and therefore poorer nutrition.

While there is no evidence the food is harmful, it's common knowledge (or should be) that badly dented cans could harbor the growth of botulism, serious food poisoning with the potential to cause death.

If the food is safe, then perhaps it could be put to better use by filling the shelves of food banks (but there's no profit in that for the manufacturers).  

The larger question we need to ask is where's the deal in perpetuating low quality food and poor food choices. The money we save now will surely come out of pocket later in poor health and higher medical bills.

Photo Credit: Daily Mail

Numi Organic Teas to offer complete line of specialty teas to US

Premium-quality tea purveyor Numi Organic Tea will display its complete line of organic puerh teas – a first-to-market offering in the U.S. – at the world’s leading culinary and specialty food trade show, NASFT Fancy Food Show in New York City, June 28-30.

Numi’s Organic Puerh offerings include six varieties of bottled Puerh iced teas, including five varieties of Puerh tea blends and one Rooibos Herbal blend; four varieties of bagged Puerh tea; and a traditional Puerh brick.

 Puerh (pū-ĕr) is an ancient healing tea known for its medicinal properties and rich taste. Numi’s Organic Puerh comes from 500-year-old wild tea trees grown in China’s pristine Yunnan Mountains.

The maturity of these trees yields a superior tasting tea compared to younger pruned bushes. Unlike traditional teas that are oxidized, Puerh undergoes a unique fermentation process resulting in a bold, earthy flavor with hints of malt and elevated levels of antioxidants.

Puerh can be compressed into bricks and aged, like fine wine, for months, years or even decades. This increases its value, health benefits and premium taste.

“We wanted to bring the wonderful flavor and health benefits of Puerh to the U.S. marke,” said Ahmed Rahim, CEO and Alchemist of Numi Organic Tea.

“We therefore decided to offer our Ready-to-Drink lineup as blended teas, combining some of Numi’s most popular flavors – Moroccan Mint and Earl Grey, for example – with Puerh to make it instantly accessible and innovative,” Rahim added.

Independent Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity (ORAC) tests have shown that Numi’s Organic Puerh tea averages 32 percent more antioxidants than green tea, the Numi CEO said. Numi’s bottled Organic Puerh teas yield an average of 50 percent higher antioxidants than leading competitive bottled tea brands, he added.

 Numi Organic flavors include: Mango Passion Puerh Black Tea, Earl Grey Puerh Black Tea, Magnolia Jasmine Puerh Green Tea, Peach Nectar Puerh Green Tea and Moroccan Mint Puerh Green Tea.

In addition, Honey Lemon Rooibos Teasan is available as an herbal, caffeine-free option.

Barely sweetened with honey, agave nectar and/or organic cane sugar, the blended teas have a suggested retail price of $2.49 per recyclable glass bottle.

Numi Organic Puerh tea bags are available in Chocolate Puerh, Emperor’s Puerh, Magnolia Puerh and Mint Puerh in boxes of 16 full leaf tea bags for suggested retail price of $8.99.

Numi’s Organic Aged Puerh Brick breaks off into twelve portions for easy steeping.  Suggested retail price is $12.99 for up to 48 servings.