Eat this Word: Sake

by jbfauthor on May 24, 2010

WHAT? For goodness, sake. Considered Japan’s national drink, sake is made by inoculating white rice with a special mould (Aspergillus oryzae), mixing it with pure water, and allowing it to ferment. It’s a process more similar to beer making than to wine making, but sake is nevertheless usually translated as "rice wine." Also like beer, sake is best drunk young—Shizuo Tsuji, author of Japanese Cooking: A Simple Art (Kodansha), says experts recommend three months of age. Sake comes graded into classes: tokkyu (special class), ikkyu (first class) and nikyu (second class), but unlike French cru classifications, these do not designate quality. What you drink your sake in depends on whether you drink it hot or cold. Cold sake is usually served in cedar boxes called masuzake, sometimes with salt. Hot sake is served in small ceramic carafes called tokkuri, and is drunk from little cups.

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Eye Candy: Incredible, Edible Eggs

by jbfauthor on May 24, 2010

A chef fries up some hen eggs at a dinner featuring UpStairs on the Square's Susan Regis, Steven Brand, Maria Santos, and Matthew Paul Reiser. You can see more photos of their dinner by clicking here.

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Recipe: Challah French Toast

by jbfauthor on May 21, 2010

The perfect French toast starts with a rich and luscious bread; challah, which is loaded with eggs and butter, is the perfect candidate. Bruce and Eric Bromberg, owners of the popular Blue Ribbon restaurants in New York, use it in their version of the Sunday brunch staple. (You can also taste the real thing at this weekend's Beard House brunch, which will feature some of the brothers' signature rise-and-shine fare.)

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On the Menu: Celebrating Oaxaca

by jbfauthor on May 21, 2010

Tonight's Beard House dinner will introduce diners to the utterly unique cuisine of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, a narrow stretch of land separating the Mexican gulf from the Pacific Ocean in the southeast of Oaxaca. Ivy Stark of Dos Caminos has designed the menu centering on this largely unknown part of the world, and will be joined in the kitchen by two members of her team, Scott Linquist and Pastry Chef Hugo Reyes. Here's what they will be preparing: Hors d’Oeuvre Molotes de Flor de Calabaza Quesillo > Masa Turnovers with Zucchini Blossoms and Oaxacan String Cheese Tortitas de Camaron > Tiny Omelet Soufflés with Dried Shrimp Pasilla Oaxaca Relleno de Requeson y Durasno > Cheese and Peach–Stuffed Smoked Pasilla Chilies Tostaditas de Erizo > Crispy Corn Totopos with Sea Urchin, Serrano Chile,

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