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As the summer flies by, Dine Magazine's Summer Happy Hour series continues to be a sensation in Palm Beach Gardens. Secrets Piano Bar and Grill at the Windsor Gardens Hotel hosted our July 1st event with a superb spread of hors d'oeuvres by Chef Joe Angelucci including Mozzarella Caprese skewers and Truffled Shrimp Salad in Cucumber Cups. Guests also enjoyed Saaga Vodka melon infused martinis. The food, drinks and atmosphere were delightful. Despite the name, Secrets Piano Bar and Grill, this restaurant should be no secret at all! Be sure to check out all the photos from the event as well!
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Although I have lived in my share of cities, I am always impressed with the diversity and quirkiness of events being held in Minneapolis. Where else can you attend a community gathering over hundreds of hotdishes? A book club in a bowling alley? A town hall discussion in a vintage theater?
On Thursday, we're in store for another of these great events. This time around, it's a free, socially responsible film series held in the parking lot of Patrick's colorful cabaret.
Movies in the Park-ing Lot is the creation of local filmmaker Mark Wojahn, best known for his documentary What America Needs.
Mark is a curator of underground micro-cinema. He shows thought-provoking documentary films throughout the year under two names. Casket Cinema is held in his studio space in the Casket building in Northeast. And Movies in the Park-ing Lot is held throughout the summer in the lot wedged between The Hub Bike Co-Op and Patrick's Cabaret. Head over to facebook to sign up for each of these groups so you won't miss these great opportunities.
This Thursday July 2 at 9:30 p.m. Mark is showing the movie Food Matters, a documentary about America's industrialized food supply and largely unhealthy eating habits.
In grassroots fashion, Mark also asked a number of local experts to join in for the discussion and showing, which is sponsored by Seward Co-op. There'll be a raffle for gift cards to the co-op. One of the guests is Adiel Tel-Orien ("Dr. T"), the owner of Ecopolitan raw foods restaurant. There will be also be short cartoon on food by local filmmaker John Akre.
Grab some lawnchairs, food, drinks, and your friends and RSVP here so that Mark knows you are coming.
Minnesota Public Radio recently reported on the "great harvest" of food movies being shown in Minneapolis. You can stay in the know by heading over to see Food Matters and, best of all, talk about food issues with your community on a wonderful summer night.
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by Klaus Fritsch with Tylor Field III and Mary Goodbody
2009, Clarkson Potter/Publishers
ISBN: 978-0-307-40926-1
Just the name Morton’s on a cookbook could be intimidating enough for a home cook based on their reputation for having the best steaks anywhere. Then as you look at the pictures, the intimidation grows because the food showcased looks absolutely amazing. It isn’t until one looks at the recipes that they realize the recipes aren’t that hard to follow.
Going through the cookbook, one can easily visualize the spirit of Morton’s Steakhouse from all of the side stories shared with the recipes. To help the cook at home, sample menus are located throughout the cookbook. Drink pairings are provided for the main dishes.
I was able to make several of the dishes from Morton’s The Cookbook. I made warm blue-cheese dip, filet mignon with light garlic rub, old-fashioned roasted chicken and sautéed garlic green beans. All of the dishes were delicious, not just at the first serving but also as leftovers. The warm blue-cheese dip was a crowd favorite with a second batch made the next day. My favorite was the old-fashioned roasted chicken. It was extremely moist and flavorful. I can only imagine how it must taste at an actual Morton’s Steakhouse.
Before the steakhouse classics chapter, the reader is provided information about cooking and timing a steak. This is perfect for the beginner, and I found this information to be extremely helpful. As I made the other recipes, there were some directions that I found confusing, so it was helpful to have friends and family around to help. Home cooks should read the entire recipe before starting to make sure they understand everything.
The only thing I felt that was missing from Morton’s The Cookbook was nutritional information for the dishes. Although with how delicious these recipes were, I probably wouldn’t want to actually look at that information. Overall, I believe that Morton’s The Cookbook is a must have for any home cook.
Written By: Kristin Ewing
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I like to think of myself as someone who tries new things. I will try anything once and I rarely, if ever, will turn anything down. Recently, I noticed a miner flaw in my experimental diet. I realized that once I try these new things, I tend to find certain foods/dishes that I fall in love with and then proceed to go on a strict diet of my new obsession for an undisclosed period of time. There's nothing wrong with ordering tuna for dinner because raw tuna could be one of the most delicious fish on the planet, but it's not okay to eat tuna for 9 days in a row--I know you are either thinking a) there is no way in hell I could have eaten tuna for dinner 9 days in a row, b) That can't be a healthy level of mercury intake or c) both a and b.....but, sadly. this is true.
As you can imagine, this is not a healthy way to live. Not because of mercury; I am not worried about mercury intake because I once did a research paper on mercury levels in tuna and discovered that the trace of mercury in our diets is no where near the dangerous level of mercury set by the EPA. But, because I am a creature of habit, as all humans are; I am guilty of giving in to what is easy, what I know I like and what my taste buds are screaming for. I should be more aware of what I order; instead of going for what is safe, I need to take the initiative to order the unknown... I learned this lesson this week, not from tasting an unfamiliar dish or because I realized I had tuna for the last 5 meals (true story) but, from a mixologists whose creative cocktails reinvigorated my taste buds and piqued my culinary curiosity.
Rainlove Lampariello is the revolutionary beverage director at Rouge Tomate, 10 East 60th Street, in mid-town Manhattan. He creates seasonal cocktails from local and fresh ingredients--some are reinvented classics, like the mint julep (Bourbon, mint syrup, lemon in a classic julep cup), and others are unique concoctions.
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He even works with Natalia Rusin, Rouge Tomate's registered dietitian to create drinks with fresh herbs, produce and other atypical cocktail ingredients, like The Grasshopper (with snap peas and topped with shaved dark chocolate).
[caption id="attachment_109" align="alignright" width="240" caption="The Grasshopper "]
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StirRED, the new lounge at Rouge Tomate, hopes to pay tribute to the time when liquid craftsmen created unique cocktails and mixers; an ode to pre-prohibition style cocktails. Natalia helps ensure that Rain, along with Executive Chef Jeremy Bearman, prepare seasonal menus, that are compliant with the principles of S.P.E. (a nutritional charter developed by chefs and dietitians that offer a balanced approach to sourcing, preparing and enhancing food). Natalia also offers a series of cooking classes, held at Rouge Tomate, with a menu that varies based on seasonal ingredients and the timing during the year.
Rain is a master of his craft, a scholar of beverages and a liquid artist whose menu creations and daring concoctions make him unique to today's modern mixologist. The aroma of fresh herbs combined with knowledgeable and skillful bartenders and a sophisticated beverage menu full of esoteric ingredients, makes for an inimitable cocktail experience at Rouge Tomate.
Not only do I need to mix it up when I am ordering my meal, but Rain has showed me its about time to mix up my drink orders, too! Goodbye Cosmopolitan--Hello Rhubarb Crisp!
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