Chef Judi’s Flavors of the Month...

Apple Crumb Pie at Euphemia Haye. A longtime house specialty, it is as though a Mid Western Grandma from the farm were up in the Haye Loft baking away. Fresh Greens and herb salad with house made sorbet at Beach Bistro. Just as it is placed on the table, the sorbet begins to slightly melt, drizzling the most delicious fruity flavor on organic produce presented as a picture perfect refreshing experience. The Brunch...

Prawn, Mango and Avocado Salad...

1 lb. poached jumbo shrimp, chilled, tails off 1 mango, diced 4 avocados, sliced 6 tostadas Scant ½ tsp Sriracha hot chili sauce (this is VERY spicy, so be careful) ½ head minced romaine lettuce ½ tsp lime juice Approximately 1/3 cup Hellman’s mayonnaise Kosher salt Freshly ground white pepper Mix the mayonnaise with Sriracha sauce. Add lime juice. Chop shrimp and gently fold in the mayonnaise mixture. Season...

Fresh Summer Salads...

By Chef Judi Gallagher. To know me is to know that I am definitely a self-proclaimed ‘saladaholic’. I grew up having salad every night, with the exception of Chinese night. If we had pizza, which was rare, we had a composed salad. My Nana’s specialty was what she called a chopped Greek salad. Although there was not a single olive or piece of feta, let alone oregano, the salad was crisp and refreshing. Chopped...

The wines for when you want a meal to sparkle...

By Robert Paul. Nearly a decade ago when talking to a French wine buyer for a large beverage chain, I asked him what wine he’d suggest when a couple’s meal choices were divided between fowl or seafood on the one hand and beef or lamb on the other. What he said has stuck with me. “You can never go wrong with a sparkling wine. It is celebratory; it pairs with a wide variety of foods; its acidity stands up to...

One Couple’s Food Network Tour...

By Herb Gardener. The Food Network home office sits above Chelsea Market, a hip Manhattan block-long restaurant and retail arcade resonant of the neighborhood’s industrial past. My wife Flora and I (tourists to NYC) felt fortunate just scoring a guided tour and didn’t expect special treatment, but our guide Kristen certainly delivered with good fun and inside information. Soon we were sharing opinions about programs...

A Yummy Mystery...

By Marsha Fottler. I’m reading every one of Diane Mott Davidson’s books because for a food writer there is nothing more agreeable than climbing into bed on a rainy night with a beverage and a dish of trail mix and reading an absorbing mystery, unless that mystery book also includes recipes you want to get up and try as soon as the killer is determined. Davidson’s 13th book, called Dark Tort, (2007) is once...

A Sense of Place...

By Marsha Fottler. Whenever I invite more than six people to sit at my table I use place cards. Some people consider place cards a foolish affectation on the part of an overly controlling hostess. But positioning people at table is an old and respected custom. In ancient China the guest of honor at a banquette was always seated so he faced east. In medieval times if a guest was seated “below the salt,” i.e. on...