Food and Things » Events

Food and the Arts: Symphony Space Lets You Eat with Artists in their Homes

Laura Weiss — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 17:45:48 +0000

You can (for a price) dine in artists’ homes, courtesy of Symphony Space. E.L. Doctorow, B.D. Wong are among the actors, authors and other artists who you can chow down with. Here’s the info:

Blueberry Pancake Eating Contest at Fairway Upper West Side

Laura Weiss — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 13:51:57 +0000

Blueberry pancakes are a snap. But if you’re too lazy to make your own. Or if you’ve turned your spatula into a back scratcher and your frying pan into a planter, then this Fairway blueberry eating contest is for you.

And if I’ve shamed you into cooking up some blueberry pancakes, here’s a great recipe from 101 Cookbooks. I use whole wheat pastry flour to make them extra-healthy.

Upper West Side: Henry’s Signs Up to Support School Gardens

Laura Weiss — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 16:09:59 +0000

Henry’s, an Upper West Side American-style pub, is one of twenty restaurants in Manhattan and Brooklyn to sign up for a program to give back a portion of each guest’s check to a citywide school garden program.

The program, which takes place June 24-30, is to support the efforts of Grow to Learn NYC, a government-private partnership to spur the creation of school gardens citywide. Some of the city’s top restaurants are participating, including Gramercy Tavern, Ma Peche, Northern Spy Food Co. and Back Forty. Many will be offering a special Greenmarket menu for the week.

Details follow:

School gardens get a boost in a week-long restaurant promotion.

Henry’s
2745 Broadway @ 105th Street.
NY, NY 10025
212 866 o600

Gin in June: Modern drinks and Vintage Ones Too at This Brooklyn Event

Laura Weiss — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 15:35:00 +0000

Gin and Tonic. Photo by by massdistraction via flicr.

Nothing says summer more than gin and tonic, so this June 10 gin-and-a dose-of-history event at The Old Stone House in Brooklyn, is well-timed. You can hop on the 2/3 train which stops near the Old Stone House, then have yourself some summer drinks and learn a little gin history, too.

They’ll serve old time gin drinks as well as modern ones. Apparently, gin has a strong connection to NY drinking history. The early Dutch settlers, it is said, were fond of gin. To give the event that old time feeling, historian Sarah Lohman, author of the food blog www.fourpoundsflour.com, will present a flight of traditional gin cocktails.

Here are the details:

What: Gin in June! Classic Cocktails & the History of Gin – a fundraiser to support the Old Stone House of Brooklyn.

When: Friday, June 10, from 6:30 to 8:30 pm

What’s to drink: Sarah Lohman, author of the food blog www.fourpoundsflour.com, will present a flight of traditional gin cocktails. Sample four gins, including two historic gins and two contemporary gins, from traditional Dutch Genever to locally distilled Breuckelen Gin. Lohman will discuss the history of each liquor and mix it into a cocktail from the past.

Where: 336 Third Street, between 4th and 5th Avenues in Park Slope, Brooklyn. During the playground renovation, enter the park mid-block on Third Street and access the House through the door facing 4th Avenue.

How much: Tickets: $45 in advance, $50 at the door. Purchase at http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/177776.

An All Ice Cream Dinner June 6 in New York

Laura Weiss — Sun, 22 May 2011 22:51:33 +0000

Ice Cream Cones. Photo: Roger Smith Hotel

NEW UPDATE: The New York Times, June 1, 2011:

Five-Course Dessert

Ice cream from soup to nuts will be featured at a five-course dinner on Monday from 6 to 8:30 p.m. at the Roger Smith Hotel…. Click here to read more.

UPDATE: Carolina M Capehart of Historic Cookery will be making ice cream the old fashioned way at the dinner. Samples will be available for tasting!

If you’re food fantasy is an all ice cream dinner, then this event may be for you. Yours truly, an Upper West Side author, will also be speaking about ice cream around the world. Here are the details and the menu:

Ice Cream: Edible Conversations at the Roger Smith Hotel

Where: 501 Lexington Avenue, New York; 212 838 0844

When: June 6th, 2011 6-8:30pm

What: From Tallahassee to Tokyo: The Scoop on Ice Cream’s Global Allure

Speaker: Laura Weiss, Upper West Side author.

How much? Tickets: $45 for an ice cream based dinner and talk. Reserve a seat: icecreamglobal.eventbrite.com

Almost All Ice Cream Dinner Menu (tentative)

Snacks

Marinated Olives

House roasted nuts

Canapes

Guinness float

Smoked salmon tartar on crostini with horseradish ice cream and chives

First Course

Chilled Green Pea Soup with Yogurt Ice Cream

Second Course

Beet Carpaccio with Goat Cheese Ice Cream

Third Course

Seafood ceviche with Cilantro lime sorbet

Fourth Course

Venison loin, fingerling potatoes, grilled asparagus, lingonberry demi glaze ice cream

Fifth Course

Dark Chocolate gelato with sea salt, caramel, broken pretzels

Daniel B. Mowles

Executive Chef

Roger Smith Hotel

Passover: Chozen Ice Cream-A Lighter Finish to that Heavy Seder Meal

Laura Weiss — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 14:04:22 +0000

Photo: Laura B. Weiss

Chozen Ice Cream, concocted by three New York women, with names and ingredients that tap into the shtetl/Jewish culinary tradition—from Matzoh Crunch to the newest flavor, Apples and Honey, is a great finish to your Seder meal. Let’s face it, Haroseth, pot roast and matzoh ball soup (hopefully, of the non-cannonball variety), calls for a light finish laced with Jewish food memories. That’s what you get with kosher Chozen.

The ice cream comes in 6 flavors:

* Ronne’s Ruglach
* Matzoh Crunch
* Coconut Macaroon
* Chocolate Gelt
* Chocolate Babka
* Apples and Honey

Come sample Chozen at a New York Writers Workshop multi-author reading at the JCC May 2, 6-8 pm. I’ll also be reading from my new book, Ice Cream: A Global History.

My personal flavor is creamy, chunky Chocolate Gelt (ok, wrong holiday), but I also enjoy Apples and Honey (again, wrong holiday, but it’s all Jewish and it’s ice cream, so who cares?), with a subtle taste of honey that ripples through the ice cream. These ice creams tend to veer slightly toward the sweet side, so serve them with fruit, or something like Melissa Clark’s Crunchy-Topped Whole-Wheat Plum Cake. (Try substituting matzoh meal for the flour.)

Here’s where you can buy Chozen:

Upper West Side: Colorful Cocktails and More at Publicolor Fundraiser

Laura Weiss — Sat, 09 Apr 2011 22:31:02 +0000

Cocktails, a dinner and Soledad O’Brien, the CNN news person will headline a fundraiser at to raise funds for Publicolor, a program for disadvantage youth, on Monday, April 15.

Publicolor puts together groups of students and teaches them how to paint, not on canvases, but on the walls of their schools. The idea is that the teens will benefit from the disciplined teamwork of completing commercial painting projects. Students also receive tutoring, as well as other support services.

Cocktails and dinner are included in the minimum contribution of $500. But helping these at-risk youth is the real goal of the evening.

Where: Martin Luther King Junior High School, 122 Amsterdam Avenue (65/66th Streets)

Time: 6:00pm Colorful Cocktails + Painting Stations; 7:30pm, Seated Dinner and Silent Auction.

Mandy Gonzalez and Eliseo Roman will perform two numbers from their 2008 quadruple Tony Award – winning show, Best Musical, In the Heights.

Tickets: 212.213.6121 or chelley@publicolor.org., or www.publicolor.org.

Oscar Night Cocktail and Snack: Blushing Campari and Kale Chips

Laura Weiss — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 21:15:19 +0000

Oscar Statue.

The Oscars are coming! Chances are you’ll be hosting a party Feb. 27 or going to one. A pot luck may be part of the plan. So, whether you’re rooting for Black Swan or The Social Network, you’ll surely want a drink and snack close at hand.

Chef Renee suggests the following:

Oscar Party Drink and Snack: Blushing Campari and Kale Chips

A bittersweet cocktail (or mocktail), this crimson-hued bubbly is a perfect companion for the tart and salty kale chips.

BLUSHING CAMPARI

4 servings

4 tablespoons Campari
4 tablespoons fresh lime juice
4 tablespoons orange liqueur, Grand Gala or Grand Marnier (not Cointreau)
1 pint sparkling wine, or citrus flavored club soda
Chilled glasses
Combine the Campari, lime juice and orange liqueur in a pitcher. Leave for 10 minutes to develop the flavors.
When ready to serve, rub a piece of lime peel on the rim of each chilled glass, add sparkling wine, and serve (a champagne flute or tulip shaped wine glass works well) immediately.

KALE CHIPS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

One head of kale, leaves removed, washed, dried, center stem removed and cut or torn into large (2×2 inch) shards. Discard the lower portion of the kale if you can’t get large pieces.

Prepare the pan: using a cookie pan or wide baking pan with sides, spray the pan bottom with olive oil. Spray the kale shards with olive oil and toss them well, so they are completely coated with oil. Sprinkle sea salt on kale and toss again.

Spread kale in one layer on baking pan or cookie sheet. It is important not to crowd the pieces together. You may have to do this step twice.

Bake in the oven for about 10 minutes (check after 5 minutes). When the edges are just turning brown, but the kale pieces are still green, remove the pan and let the chips rest until they cool down and harden.

Variation: you can toss the raw kale shards with a curry, masala or chili powder mix.

NY Coffee and Tea Festival Coming Feb. 19-20

Laura Weiss — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 03:06:31 +0000

Coffee pots. Photo by by Lotzman Katzman via flickr.

Coffee drinker or tea lover? Whatever your preference, the NY Coffee and Tea Festival may make you forget (at least for an hour or two) the awful winter we’re having.

Here are the details:

NYC’s COFFEE AND TEA FESTIVAL

What: The northeast Ultimate Barista Challenge® competition and a VIP tea tasting with two guest Hong Kong tea masters. Other offerings:

coffee cupping & tasting,
afternoon tea etiquette,
making tea cocktails,
incorporating coffee into your favorite recipes.
Exhibitors include: Melitta, Tavalon Tea, Harney & Sons Fine Teas, Jalima Coffee, Fang Gourmet Tea, Peet’s Coffee & Tea, TeaClassics, Aroma Espresso Bar, Hancha Tea, Coffee Lab Roasters, Montauk Beverage Works, Runa, Joe’s Coffee House, QTrade Teas, Entenmann’s Coffee, World Green Tea Association, and the Tea Association of the U.S.A.

Where: The Festival will be held at 7 W, 7 West 34th Street. The event is open to the public and the trade. www.CoffeeAndTeaFestival.com.

When: February 19-20, 2011

Tickets can be purchased in advance at: www.CoffeeAndTeaFestival.com. The event is sponsored in part by www.CoffeeAndTeaNewsletter.com. Prices range from $20-$40.

Upper West Side JCC Hosts Mario Batalli, Amanda Hesser for Food Talk

Laura Weiss — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 19:21:42 +0000

One of the first evens on the 2011 celebrity chef circuit will take place at the Upper West Side JCC when chef Mario Batali and cookbook author and former New York Times writer Amanda Hesser will be talking up their new cookbooks.

Check out Hesser’s web site, Food52, in which readers get to vote on recipes that are submitted to the site.

The event takes place Jan. 12 at 730 pm at the JCC. Here are the details: