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I worked in a mom-and-pop juice bar years ago, where I discovered my favorite blend: freshly squeezed apple, pear, carrot, and beet juice. Once the job ended, I still craved the concoction, but juice bars were inconvenient and expensive. I knew I what I had to do: juice it myself. After working with a superefficient, mammoth, professional juicer at the bar, I had small hopes for home juicers and even smaller funds to buy one until I found this Waring model.
The machine is sturdy, fast, and pretty quiet. Cleanup is easier than any of the commercial/home juicers I’ve used in the past. I’ve had the ol’ Waring for several years now, and it still continues to encourage health, stave off hangovers, and quench fresh juice cravings with great success.
Waring Pro Juice Extractor (Model JEX328), $69.95
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| last friday at 3:30pm
| 0 comments
Tagged with: gadget, juicer, freshly squeezed, waring, jex328, pro juice extractor
As everyone thought that my last pick was a little … indulgent, I figured it might be fun to continue with more “what ifs.” These are not items I have, nor could ever fit into my tiny apartment, but I think there is something wonderfully 1999 about an asparagus cooker. Imagine having an entire pot just for steaming your favorite vegetable! Asparagus is mine; if you prefer artichokes, take a look at this artichoke holder. A bit more economical in terms of space and money, it keeps your artichoke from drowning or browning on one side.
All-Clad Asparagus Pot, $49.95
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| last thursday at 3:28pm
| 2 comments
Tagged with: cookware, gadget, all-clad, asparagus pot
While browsing on PrankPlace.com (I was indulging my inner frat boy), I came across the Canouflage. It’s a reusable vinyl sheet printed to look like a soda label that can be wrapped around your beer can. The offerings include faux Sunkist, Pepsi, and Mountain Dew labels, and the site makes a pretty good case for Canouflage: “Want to enjoy some suds in the park or in an area where they frown upon the consumption of beer? Don’t want to pay the inflated prices for a cold beer at the beach? Well now you can enjoy your brews and nobody will be the wiser.” Apparently, the product’s realistic enough to have prompted a cease-and-desist letter from the Coca-Cola Company (which appears to have worked—no faux Coke labels are part of the package now). Use at your own risk.
Canouflage, $5.89
Posted by
| last wednesday at 3:26pm
| 4 comments
Tagged with: canouflage, beer, prank place, gadget
To the French, bobo is slang for a person or thing both bourgeois and bohemian (and not just to the French—it’s also in the title of a book by David Brooks, Bobos in Paradise), but to New Yorkers it stands for a little restaurant tucked away in the West Village. Last fall, an aging brownstone got gussied up to resemble a swanky French resto, with food to match. When I went, the Euro-influenced and thoroughly modern menu featured a cheese plate that was memorable and fish that was perfectly cooked. But what really won me over was the convivial service: The bartender understood my bourbon-loving ways and made me a delicious sparkling-wine-and-bourbon drink. The Chowhounds write Bobo off as an overpriced hipster hangout with bad service and not-so-great food, but we’ll just have to agree to disagree. I’m hoping to head back again once the weather warms up, as Bobo has an outdoor patio that’s fitting for a lazy summer afternoon.
Bobo
181 W. 10th Street, New York, New York
212-488-2626
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| last tuesday at 3:29pm
| 1 comment
Tagged with: restaurant, bobo, new york, french
The last time I was in Philadelphia I went to Basque wine bar Tinto, the newest endeavor from Chef Jose Garces. The small plates (or pintxos) were superb. Some of the highlights when I was there included a Bomba rice paella with chorizo, shrimp and braised rabbit, a braised short rib sandwich with bacon, asparagus and celery root aioli, and a list of charcuterie and cheeses that included all my favorites, such as saucisson sec, Monte Enebro, and Idiazabal. The wine list is extensive, focusing on lesser-known northern Spanish and southern French wines. Chowhounds recommend the bocadillos de salmon, montaditos de pato (duck), and montaditos de panceta (pork belly), and another hound included Tinto in a Philly tapas circuit.
At the risk of offending Philadelphians everywhere, I’d take Tinto’s short rib sandwich over a cheesesteak any day.
Tinto
114 S. 20th Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
215-665-9150
Posted by
| Monday, May 5, 2008 at 3:59pm
| 0 comments
Tagged with: tinto, basque, small plates, pintxos, jose garces, philadelphia, restaurant
The Prather Ranch Beef Sticks sold by my local farmers’ market always disappear in one efficient snacking swoop. Man, they are good. Sort of like an upscale beef jerky, they have a little skin on the outside and are meaty, chewy, and soft on the inside. They cost $7 for six sticks and come in original or teriyaki flavor. Unfortunately the Beef Sticks are only sold at Bay Area farmers’ markets, but you can still get your hands on Prather Ranch’s organic, pasture-raised beef cuts here.
Posted by
| Friday, May 2, 2008 at 3:51pm
| 2 comments
Tagged with: prather ranch, beef sticks, beef jerky, pasture-raised beef, organic beef, green
I spend most of my time in a kitchen, surrounded by modern gadgets that whiz and hum all day. Maybe that’s why the item I covet most is an antique machine, like a restored Berkel meat slicer. With a beautiful hand crank and a glossy red finish that’s more akin to a high-end sports car’s, antique Berkels look as good as they perform. When I was attending the Terra Madre conference in fall 2006, I spent an inordinate amount of time ogling the rare H8 model. Known as the Rolls-Royce of slicers, it cuts meat paper thin with ease, and without all the noise.
Antique Berkel H8 Slicer, $10,500
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| Thursday, May 1, 2008 at 3:42pm
| 0 comments
Tagged with: appliance, mario batali, terra madre, berkel, meat slicer, h8
Paul Gayler’s Mediterranean Cook is a favorite in my kitchen. Gayler—a British chef—organized the book into four sections: the Balkans, the central Mediterranean, the eastern Mediterranean, and Maghreb and Egypt. There are only a handful of recipes from each region, but Cook is heavy on beautiful photography and a lot of extra information on the ingredients, cooking tools, and methods that define the various cuisines.
You can opt to buy the hardcover version, but I like using the spiral-bound one because it lies open easily and has a mess-resistant plastic cover. Some of the more successful recipes I’ve tried are the artichoke torta and a salad sprinkled with fresh-made dukkah. This weekend I’m making the fried halloumi cheese and white bean salad. And I want to try the semolina almond cakes.
The book is out of print, but you can still pick it up online: Mediterranean Cook, $8.44
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| Wednesday, April 30, 2008 at 3:37pm
| 0 comments
Tagged with: cookbook, mediterranean cook, paul gayler, artichoke torta, dukka, dukkah
Over the weekend I spent some time at my favorite San Francisco dive bar, the 500 Club. (Confession: My friend Rachel tends bar there.) Like any true dive, it’s not the place you go to find inventive drink concoctions, 10 kinds of bitters, or the latest obscure liqueur brought over from Europe. But oddly enough, it is the place I tasted Canton—a ginger-flavored liqueur from France—for the first time.
Canton is a blend of Vietnamese baby ginger, VSOP Grand Champagne Cognac, orange-blossom honey from Provence, and vanilla. It also comes with some street cred, having won Best in Show Liqueur at the 2008 San Francisco World Spirits Competition. Most important, it’s damn good, and one of the first liqueurs to pique my interest in a long time. The ginger tastes fresh and spicy without being bitter, and the honey adds a nice touch of sweetness. I had mine mixed with soda water and fresh lemon, but I could have easily enjoyed it on the rocks or as a welcome addition to a classic margarita or Mojito.
Domaine de Canton French Ginger Liqueur, $29.95
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| Tuesday, April 29, 2008 at 3:31pm
| 2 comments
Tagged with: alcohol, liqueur, ginger, san francisco world spirits competition, domaine de canton, french ginger liqueur
As a member of CHOW’s food team, I’m ashamed to admit that we used to store our spices in a cardboard box in the test kitchen. Because we were moving into a new kitchen, we thought it might be time to make a change. This spice rack from the Tubular Spice Company is exactly what we were looking for: It’s handmade from alder wood, holds a whole lot of jars, and keeps everything out in the open.
4 Tier Wooden Spice Rack, $36.99
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| Monday, April 28, 2008 at 3:29pm
| 0 comments
Tagged with: spice rack, food storage, tubular spices, chow test kitchen, tubular spice company
This timer-thermometer combo was something I didn’t know I’d want, but now I’m not going back to my old meat thermometer. You stick the probe into the meat, which goes in the oven. A metal-coated wire connects to the timer unit, which sits on the counter. You set your desired end-cooking temperature on the timer unit, and when the internal temperature of the meat reaches it, the alarm goes off. Simple. It also displays the current internal temperature of the meat as it cooks. No more repeated temperature checking or cutting things open to look and letting the juices out. The Polder does double duty as a kitchen timer too.
Polder Original Cooking Timer and Thermometer, $25
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| Friday, April 25, 2008 at 3:16pm
| 4 comments
Tagged with: gadget, meat thermometer, polder, kitchen timer
Knowing my infatuation with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, a friend gave me a jar of artisanally produced Blue Chair Fruit Company bergamot marmalade. Traditionally, marmalade is made with Seville oranges, but the bergamot shines in this concoction, adding sweet, floral notes. The tender strips of fruit are mixed with just the right amount of sugar and juice, making the jam soft and spreadable without being too gelatinous. I haven’t tried any of the other Blue Chair preserves, but the company has a plethora of interesting flavors like black mulberry, and aprium with green almonds. If you don’t live in the Bay Area, just shoot Blue Chair an email for a current list of flavors, and it’ll ship.
Available at select markets or by mail order; approximately $10 to $12 for a six-ounce jar.
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| Thursday, April 24, 2008 at 3:14pm
| 0 comments
Tagged with: food, blue chair fruit company, jam, preserves, jelly, peanut butter, bergamot, marmalade
Sifting through professional wine reviews can make a wine-buying experience daunting because of all the highbrow words and sometimes unapproachable attitudes from the critics. The website Nirvino is tackling this problem by pulling together user-contributed and professional reviews and averaging them all into one score. The site also directs you to places where you can buy your selected bottle. Nirvino is anything but intimidating, and it gets bonus points for its well-designed mobile version and for useful wine-pairing advice.
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| Wednesday, April 23, 2008 at 3:08pm
| 3 comments
Tagged with: wine, web site, nirvino, wine reviews, website
Oftentimes instead of dining out, I “dessert out.” Recently I indulged in such an outing at San Francisco restaurant Jardinière. They had a bonne bouche (a French term meaning a delicious tidbit) platter on the menu, and I convinced my husband to split it with me. Each pastry, including the opera cake, carrot cake, fruit jellies, biscotti, and fruit tarts, is made to a quarter of its size. I was a bit worried about the effect this would have on the pastries’ texture and taste, but every morsel, down to the tiny madeleine, was perfectly creamy, crispy, silky, and chewy all in the right places. My ultimate favorite was the canelé: wonderfully crunchy on the outside and moist on the inside.
Jardinière
300 Grove Street, San Francisco, California
415-861-5555
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| Tuesday, April 22, 2008 at 3:03pm
| 0 comments
Tagged with: food, dessert, bonne bouche, jardiniere, traci des jardins
The burger and the restaurant were forgettable, but the Beaver Brand sweet hot mustard I remember: It was excitingly hot with a sweet touch of honey—just smelling it cleared up my sinuses. I can’t think of a better complement to any burger.
Beaver Brand Sweet Hot Mustard, $12 for six 13-ounce bottles
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| Monday, April 21, 2008 at 3:56pm
| 4 comments
Tagged with: food, condiment, sweet hot mustard, beaver brand
I never thought that Evert-Fresh Green Bags were a legitimate product since their website mentions “AS SEEN ON TV!” and they are advertised through a cheesy infomercial. But that changed recently, when friends sent me home with some of their hand-grown produce in one of these green-colored bags.
According to the Evert-Fresh website, the bags are treated with “natural minerals” to absorb damaging gases like ammonia, ethylene, and carbon dioxide that fruits and vegetables release as they ripen. The site also says that the bags help control moisture. After reusing mine a few times, I can honestly say that it keeps my lettuces and leafy vegetables fresher much longer than grocery store plastic bags. Some of the claims seem a little far-fetched (who would want to eat 30-day-old produce anyways?), but for keeping greens brighter and less wilty, these do a nice job over the course of a week.
Evert-Fresh Green Bags, $9.95
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| Friday, April 18, 2008 at 3:15pm
| 5 comments
Tagged with: gadget, evert-fresh, vegetable storage, green bags, infomercial
As a girl, my favorite Mister Rogers’ episode was when he went to the crayon factory. I was mesmerized by those machines pumping out perfect symmetrical tubes of color. The Food Network program Unwrapped gives me the same thrill: It’s an entire show dedicated to visiting the factories of different food companies to see how mass-produced products are made, and it’s full of “Oh, that’s how they do that” moments. Unwrapped delves into the technology, engineering, and crazy chemistry behind America’s favorite junk foods, though I could do without some of the useless knowledge, like the fact that it takes five days to make a gumball. One of the best episodes is about cereal, in which they explain the history of Lucky Charms, created by combining Cheerios and diced orange circus peanuts.
Unwrapped airs on the Food Network. Check your local listings.
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| Thursday, April 17, 2008 at 3:11pm
| 7 comments
Tagged with: food network, unwrapped, junk food, lucky charms, television
Anyone with a bit of patience and the right recipe can make a tasty cookie; it takes brains to make a smart cookie. The three Milano sisters of Big Girl Baking are putting out some wicked interesting edibles via their friendly neighborhood bakery and the Internet.
The Bronxville, New York–based bakery walks the line between sweet and savory. Sablés du chocolate are shortbreadlike chocolate cookies spiked with salt; the interplay is both tasty and compelling. Sweet sesame polenta biscuits are mildly sugary biscottilike cookies with a strong sesame bite and a wonderfully delicate buttery, crumble-in-your mouth texture—again, they’re pleasantly restrained. Both these offerings are for locals only, sold in-house but not online. The “Very Gingery Snaps,” which are available on the website, taste almost underbaked in the best possible sense of the word: They have a velvety texture that plays nicely with the cookie’s snappy spice flavor.
Big Girl Cookies, $8.50–$9 for a 1/2 pound
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| Wednesday, April 16, 2008 at 3:42pm
| 2 comments
Tagged with: food, bakery, bronxville, milano sisters, shortbread, ginger snaps, big girl baking, cookies
Somewhere along the way in dried-fruit history, raisins became the lunchbox king while prunes got written off as fodder for the intestinally unfortunate. It’s no wonder, seeing as prunes tend to be large, mushy blobs and raisins are petite, sweet, wrinkled bites. We’ve been using Sunsweet pitted prunes in the CHOW test kitchen for different fruitcake recipes we’re trying out, and though the cakes still need some work, the prunes do not. These Sunsweets are full of flavor and are moist—not mushy at all. The company also offers individually wrapped prunes, making for a great snack when you’re on the go.
Sunsweet Pitted Prunes, $2.35
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| Tuesday, April 15, 2008 at 3:45pm
| 3 comments
Tagged with: food, prunes, dried plums, fruitcake, chow test kitchen, raisins, fruit, dried fruit
Grainaissance’s bake-and-serve organic brown-rice mochi doesn’t look nearly as good as it tastes. To make it, all you have to do is defrost the slab, cut it up, and bake it. (A nice alternative if you’re too lazy to make mochi from scratch.) While baking, it puffs up into little cupcakelike vehicles for whatever topping you like. I prefer honey, for some extra sweetness, but you can also opt for one of the sweeter flavors like chocolate brownie or raisin-cinnamon. They’re healthy and have that gooey, chewy inside that deeply appeals to mochi addicts like me.
Grainaissance Mochi is available at Whole Foods and other natural grocery stores nationwide, $2.49–$3.29
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| Monday, April 14, 2008 at 3:45pm
| 0 comments
Tagged with: food, mochi, brown rice, snack, grainaissance
At a recent birthday party for a New Orleans transplant we munched on Zapp’s potato chips. Mesquite BBQ and Spicy Creole Tomato were a couple of the flavors being passed around, but my favorite has to be Spicy Cajun Crawtators. A chip flavoring that captures the true essence of a crawfish boil, minus the crawfish. The chips are tangy and slightly spicy, and have an umami essence that coats your mouth in flavor. Plus they’re crunchy and brittle just like a kettle-cooked chip should be.
Cajun Crawtator Potato Chips, $21.50 for eight 5.5-ounce bags
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| Friday, April 11, 2008 at 3:02pm
| 5 comments
Tagged with: food, potato chips, new orleans, kettle-cooked chips, zapp's, spicy cajun crawtators
I picked up Baratti & Milano’s chocolate-hazelnut spread at a local Italian grocer, and it brought me back to days of wandering around Europe with some bread and a jar of Nutella in my backpack. I’ll always like Nutella, but this chocolate-hazelnut spread is definitely a cut above. It’s made in Turin, Italy, and has a thinner consistency than Nutella, with more intense flavor. The spread isn’t as uniform in texture, either; instead it’s flecked with tiny chunks of hazelnut. After giving it to a friend in a birthday gift basket, I got an IM from him saying, “Damn you, I’m trying as hard as I can not to eat that stuff with a spoon!”
Baratti & Milano Crema alle Nocciole, $8.99
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| Thursday, April 10, 2008 at 3:53pm
| 1 comment
Tagged with: food, nutella, condiment, hazelnut, baratti and milano, crema gianduja alle nocciole, crema alle nocciole, chocolate, spread
Nut oils are so sensitive. Bottled raw, they have a shelf life so short that they’re often rancid before being sold. And when it comes to the less common oils—walnut, pistachio, and hazelnut—the flavor can be feeble and downright bland. I’ve been on a frustratingly long (and pricey) journey to find good nut oils, and it’s finally ending. La Tourangelle oils are expensive, but because most of them are sold roasted, they last longer than the raw varieties out there. (A tip: They last even longer if you store them in the refrigerator or freezer.) And I can’t deny that I like to look at the aesthetically pleasing round bottles—though that hasn’t helped me overcome the price.
La Tourangelle Nut Oils, $12.99–$29.99
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| Wednesday, April 9, 2008 at 3:42pm
| 3 comments
Tagged with: food, nut oils, la tourangelle, walnut oil, pistachio oil, hazelnut oil
Total Trattoria, an installation by designer Martino Gamper, is a fully functioning kitchen and dining space inside of London’s Aram Gallery. Gamper designed every element of the installation—from the table to the cutlery, the glassware to the storage units—making it the quintessential DIY dinner event. The highlight was Gamper cooking dinner there recently for 25 invited guests. (The menu included beetroot and celeriac soup, mackerel in ginger broth, and rhubarb stewed in homemade beer.) Gamper is yet another in an intriguing line of artists whose cooking is performance: Rirkrit Tiravanija and Gordon Matta-Clark precede him. Practical? No. Awesome? Yes.
Total Trattoria at Aram Gallery, through April 26
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| Tuesday, April 8, 2008 at 3:39pm
| 2 comments
Tagged with: cooking, performance art, aram gallery, martino gamper, rirkrit tiravanija, gordon matta-clark
In today’s world of highly produced cooking and food programs, it’s easy to forget about public television’s contribution to the genre. Long before Emeril and Rachael Ray, there were a host of shows that are now nostalgic favorites. And most of these were no-frills, with small budgets and modest kitchens. Cee Dub, a.k.a. Butch Welch, host of Dutch Oven and Camp Cooking, doesn’t even have a kitchen, but he still whips up a sincere batch of biscuits ’n’ gravy with a trusty Dutch oven, an old recipe, and a campfire. It’s true that he may be a little rough around the edges, but who wants a coiffed camp cook in a chef coat? Making its debut 10 years ago on public television, the show is now in syndication. Check local listings to see when it airs in your area, or purchase a book or DVD from the Cee Dub collection. I’m definitely looking forward to channeling the unassuming attitude of ol’ Cee Dub on my next camping trip.
Cee Dub’s Cookbooks and DVDs , $9.95–$69.95
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| Monday, April 7, 2008 at 3:24pm
| 1 comment
Tagged with: cee dub, dutch oven and camp cooking, butch welch, cooking shows, public television
I’m very interested in ways to keep the fresh herbs I buy at my Saturday farmers’ market kicking around longer. I’ve tried the methods shown on CHOW: Keeping them watered in a jar and storing them in damp paper towels in the crisper drawer. They both work pretty well, but this little gadget looks to be an even easier option. I especially like that there’s less waste (no plastic bags) and no chance of knocking over a jar of water.
Herb-Savor, $29.95
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| Friday, April 4, 2008 at 3:55pm
| 5 comments
Tagged with: herb-savor, fresh herbs, food storage
Living only a brief car ride away from a major center of wine production, I often become stuck in a rut of drinking only California wines. Though not bad, too much of anything isn’t always good. Recently, I received a bottle of wine from my sister-in-law that reminded me there is a world of wine to try. She gave me a bottle of 2006 Graham Beck Pinno Pinotage, from South Africa. Knowing nothing about it, I felt like I was on a blind date, hoping for the best and expecting the worst. But I was surprised by its smoky aroma and rich berry flavor. It wasn’t heavy or overwhelming, and with a balance of tannins and acidity, it’s a wine well suited for sipping alone or with a meal. And at just over $10 a bottle I’d consider this my cheapest and most successful blind date ever.
2006 Graham Beck Pinno Pinotage, $11
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| Thursday, April 3, 2008 at 3:55pm
| 0 comments
Tagged with: graham beck pinno pinotage 2006, wine, south africa, napa
The increased popularity of the culinary arts seems to have spawned a new kitchen supply store or website on every street corner and available URL. But before there were Rachael Ray–approved pans and silicone-coated everything, Surfas Restaurant Supply was serious about anything to do with the kitchen. The Los Angeles store, originally only for professionals, was opened to the public a few years ago, and Surfas Online quickly followed. What the site lacks in usability or good looks, it makes up for in quality and breadth. With anything from terrine molds to those cookie decorations you can’t seem to find anywhere else, you’ll be hard pressed not to find what you’re looking for.
Surfas Restaurant Supply
8824 National Boulevard, Culver City, CA
310-559-4770
Posted by
| Wednesday, April 2, 2008 at 3:54pm
| 2 comments
Tagged with: surfas restaurant supply, cookware, chefs, surfas online
I poured Bates & Schmitt’s thick apple cider syrup on some acorn squash the other night before baking it, and the syrup’s tart-sweetness added a nice layer of flavor. Apple cider syrup is a new product to me, though apparently it’s an old New England thing, which was used as a substitute for then-expensive sugar.
This version is made from organic apples grown by the Philo Apple Farm, located just outside Boonville, California. The apples are pressed into cider, which is then reduced to a seventh of its original volume. The makers recommend it on French toast and apple desserts, but I’m imagining it will also rock as a glaze for ribs or pork chops. As an added bonus, the apple farm has a few guest cottages available, and also offers weekend cooking classes.
Bates & Schmitt Apple Cider Syrup, $16
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| Tuesday, April 1, 2008 at 3:47pm
| 1 comment
Tagged with: boonville, bates and schmitt, apple cider syrup, philo apple farm
Behind a glass pane at the Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia you can watch an assembly line of bonneted and bearded Amish men and women kneading and forming malty dough.
Walk round to the other side of the counter at Fisher’s and order up some soft pretzels, straight from the oven, sprinkled with crunchy salt and slathered with butter. They are chewy, slightly sweet, and have a crisp, thin crust that offers just the right amount of textural contrast to the airy interior.
Fisher’s Soft Pretzels
Reading Terminal Market
12th & Arch streets, Philadelphia, PA
215-592-8510
Posted by
| Monday, March 31, 2008 at 3:50pm
| 2 comments
Tagged with: philadelphia, amish, reading terminal market, fisher's soft pretzels