When apricots are in season, why not switch things up a bit from the standard prosciutto and melon. Only here, I don’t just cut up the fruit and plate it with the beautiful translucent slices of cured meat. Grilling the apricots brings out the sugars and the touch of Grand Marnier brings out the sweetness and the floral fruitiness even more. This dish is still embarrassingly easy though, so easy that you can still add this as a last minute addition to your dinner tonight. Prosciutto an... Read Full Story

People often ask us what our favorites products are, what kind of knives to buy, what foods they should try. The most common question is probably, what’s a great gift for a food lover? We’ve been answering these e-mails separately one by one, but we thought it would be great to have a FoodMayhem Market right here so you could browse and see, and buy all the stuff that we love. Just so you know, we will benefit from this, some small percentage per purchase, but you will be getting ... Read Full Story

We picked up a sample of Mashuga Nuts from the Fancy Food Show.  These candied pecans look a bit like moon rocks and have a clever product name: “meshuggah” in Yiddish means “crazy” (a term that my mom often applied to me growing up). That’s about the limit of interest in this product.  Jessica and I both felt they were overly sugary.  The nuts are coated in a cinnamon-sugar meringue, which creates an airy, crisp sensation around the nuts, similar to the feeling... Read Full Story

I’ve heard a lot of hype about the brunch at Prune 54 East First Street, New York, NY 10003, but they don’t take reservations and we’re not into waiting on line. When I decided to meet Alice for lunch, Prune seemed like the perfect idea, only a short walk from her office. Mediocre black olives and celery with a little dish of salt is the first taste you get and it sets the tone for the whole experience, different but not that great. The Spicy Eggplant is nice, but lo... Read Full Story

While I was waiting for the rest of my party to arrive, I sat in the bar area in the front of Convivio 45 Tudor City Place, New York, NY 10017 and decided I don’t like red colored restaurants. The similar feel this had to Strip House and Giorgio’s of Gramercy (both very red inside) feel old-fashioned and make me uneasy. Red walls seem to close in on me and I don’t think I’m claustrophobic. Luckily, the dining room has a much lighter, white and gray approach (on... Read Full Story

I spent two days (6 hours each day) sampling everything I could at the 2009 Summer Fancy Food Show (held at the Javitz Center). Even though I’ve experienced the show many times, the sheer size never fails to be overwhelming. I have learned how to pace myself, often only taking one bite per sample, trying not to finish whole pieces. At times something is so delicious I fail and gobble it all up. I feel tormented about throwing out some food and the amount of waste but there’s no o... Read Full Story

Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture is a not-for-profit farm in Pocantico Hills. It took us about 35 minutes to drive there from the Upper West Side (no traffic), but the anticipation grows as the sounds of the gray city fade away and the site of tall green trees appear.  Once you enter the property, you’ll see animals grazing and neat rows of crops. But when you pull up to the main building, the valets greet you. It’s almost a city touch but they are not dressed in unifor... Read Full Story

We went to Blue HIll at Stone Barns Sunday night (full post coming soon) and we shared a bottle of 2005 Charles Baur Gewurztraminer. I fell in love with it! It’s a sweet wine, almost sweet enough to have as a dessert wine, but still perfect during a meal. It’s still refreshing and just bursting with flavor. All through our meal, I kept saying how much I loved it, particularly because I tasted lychee in it.  I asked if others tasted the lychee and got…no. Lon said maybe I wa... Read Full Story

Sophia brought over some incredible cream puffs one day. They were airy on the outside and filled with cream to the max. She told me they were from Happy Lemon 40-23 Main Street, New York, NY 11354, the first kiosk on your left when you enter Sweet Season Shopping Mall (really small mall). I had been waiting so long to have these again that I bought a box of six, not at all knowing who was going to eat all of this with me. I hopped into the car (my mom was driving) and started to dig... Read Full Story

This week’s Weekend Shout out is to Sara at Sara’s Kitchen. I’ve had her post on Chickpea Fries bookmarked since February (at least it’s from this year). The fancy name for these is Panisses, and I spotted a recipe on David Lebovtiz’s blog as well. Since I love fries, you can get me to try anything related to, similar to, or just called a fry. What’s awesome about this recipe is that the hardest part is finding the chickpea flour. I’ve heard that som... Read Full Story