Tag: Food

On the coast of Newburgh, N.Y., Blu Pointe takes advantage of its Hudson Valley setting by showcasing the region’s prized ingredients and wine producers. Chef Jeffrey Greene’s seasonal specials highlight produce at its peak, sourced through personal relationships with nearby farmers. The American menu ranges from fresh seafood platters to hearty entrées from both land and sea, plus a selection of sharable plates. The 440-label wine list also celebrates locality with many labels from New York producers such as Brotherhood, Lieb Family and Millbrook. At the same time, wine director John Chamorro’s diverse list represents regions around the world, excelling in France, California and Italy. There are an impressive 42 wines available by the glass, including a handful of Coravin selections poured tableside. Most of the 6,300-bottle inventory is displayed in a massive glass-enclosed cellar at the center of the restaurant, and the terrace offers sweeping views of the Hudson River.

Virgins need not apply – actually, nobody need apply – superstar was reportedly seeking private chef but within hours the ad has been pulled off the website.

Embrace autumn with our collection of comforting yet easy pumpkin desserts. This is the season where the orange gourd is king.

Six highlights from Food on the Edge 2018, the symposium founded by JP McMahon. From sustainability to food waste and harassment: where is gastronomy going?

The MOST HEAVENLY pumpkin donuts! So moist, they just melt-in-your mouth! Coated in melted butter and cinnamon sugar. It’s perfection!

Pumpkin spice lattes. Pumpkin cheesecake. Pumpkin cookies. Pumpkin cupcakes. Pumpkin bread. Pumpkin scones.

You would think I’ve OD’d on pumpkin by now but I still need more pumpkin this season, and these donuts hit that mark just perfectly.

It’s a cross between pumpkin bread and a donut. So really, it’s just a piece of cake in disguise in donut form.

It’s soft, it’s crumbly, it’s melt-in-your-mouth heaven.

And when you coat it in cinnamon sugar and melted butter – oh. my. goodness. You’ll pray for Fall to stay and never ever leave us.

I already skipped dinner and had four of these.

Don’t tell Ben. We said we were doing the wedding diet together but I broke a few days ago. Sorry!

The post Pumpkin Cake Donuts appeared first on Damn Delicious.

Two years ago, we started a new tradition at Urban Plates by opening on Thanksgiving Day and offering a special Thanksgiving meal. The feedback from our Guests was so enthusiastic that we’re extending this tradition. All Urban Plates restaurants will be open on Thanksgiving Day from 11:00 am to 7:00 pm. The Thanksgiving holiday is a special day to give thanks, celebrate, and spend time with family and friends by sharing a special meal together. Our team members are proud to share this special occasion with your family and friends by offering our entire Urban Plates menu plus some specials our Chefs developed for Thanksgiving Day. Our special Thanksgiving menu is also available for Pre-Ordering and Take-Out. Thanksgiving Family Meals, which serve four, are also available.

Herb Roasted Turkey Breast

The center of our Thanksgiving Plate is an herb-roasted turkey breast. Our turkey is raised without the use of antibiotics or hormones. From hatch to harvest, the farmers take great care to ensure the birds are raised to the highest standards, including a strict vegetarian grain diet without animal by-products. We prepare our turkey by marinating it overnight with sage, parsley, thyme, honey, butter, garlic, lemon zest, salt, pepper and a pinch of red chili pepper flakes. After marinating, we slow-cook it overnight to ensure the turkey is very juicy and bursting with flavor. Then, we finish the Turkey at a high heat to seal the herb crust and cook until it is golden brown. To keep the turkey at its peak of flavor and moisture, we hand-carve it to order. Turkey is high in protein, low in fat and a great source of vitamin B, which makes it a healthy choice with the added benefit of balancing post meal insulin levels. Not to be forgotten is our raw cranberry orange relish, gravy, any two sides of your choice and chargrilled rustic bread.

Thanksgiving Stuffing

As a special side to pair with our herb-roasted Turkey breast, we are offering an original mushroom stuffing. This stuffing is our twist on the traditional style. It’s made with rustic bread, our roasted mushrooms, grated apples, fresh herbs, and brown-butter cornbread made fresh by our pastry chefs. We bake our stuffing with house-made chicken stock and finish it with a light brushing of butter to get the perfect blend of crispy edges and moist insides.

Thanksgiving Cranberry Sauce

Our cranberry relish is the perfect complement to all the savory indulgence of Thanksgiving stuffing and mashed potatoes. We intentionally avoid cooking the cranberries and apples to maintain the full natural benefits of the phytonutrients which offer antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer benefits. This relish is packed with vitamin C and E. We lightly sweeten the relish with organic sugar, freshly-squeezed orange juice, and add a pinch of fresh mint.

Mashed Potatoes and Gravy

You are welcome to select any of our Urban Plates sides to pair with the special Thanksgiving items. Many Guests tell us they can’t refuse our signature mashed potatoes and gravy.

Perhaps that’s because we make them the old-fashioned way with freshly peeled organic potatoes, lightly whipped together with whole milk, butter and seasoned to perfection. We take no short cuts in making this classic side and you can tell we make them fresh multiple times a day.

Our gravy can’t be missed with or without the mashed potatoes. We use cage-free chicken as the base combined with organic carrots, celery, onion and parsley slow simmered to create a rich and healthy scratch made chicken stock. We then make a roux, browned butter and flour, to thicken the chicken stock and reduce the sauce slowly with sage, bay leaf and black pepper. The final result is a gravy that is irresistible over our mashed potatoes and pairs perfectly with our Thanksgiving menu items.

Urban Plates Holiday Perfect Sides

One of my favorite things about Urban Plates are the sides. I know I’m not alone in this sentiment, as I feel like I have heard this from many of our guests. I believe that is because sides remind us of the holidays, especially Thanksgiving, when everyone brings a side dish to the table to share. I sometimes enjoy the sides more than the main entrée and love that Urban Plates offers the classics like macaroni and cheese, roasted brussels sprouts and mashed potatoes so I don’t have to wait until Thanksgiving to enjoy my favorites. We also have a great selection of seasonal sides like our miso mushroom sweet potato sauté, chilled beet salad with goat cheese and roasted vegetable farro if you are looking for lighter side options. Our sides make the perfect pairing to holiday meals and can be ordered to share at your Thanksgiving Meal or any gathering.

Fess Parker Pinot Noir, Santa Rita Hills, 2014

Pinot Noir is a classic choice to pair with your Thanksgiving meal. The Fess Parker 2014 Pinot Noir from Santa Rita Hills in California is plump, medium- bodied, with cherry, spice and sagebrush aromas, accented by the moderate acidity of red currant, cranberry and plum flavors. These red fruit and lightly earthy spice characteristics pair well with the herbaceous flavors in our roast turkey, earthy mushroom stuffing and bright cranberry sauce. Overall an excellent approachable choice for your thanksgiving meal.

Thanksgiving Pastry

Our Pumpkin Walnut Cake has returned and will be offered through the holidays. This cake was crafted to satisfy your sweet tooth craving without the guilt. Inspired by a Thanksgiving favorite, pumpkin pie, it has all the flavors we look forward to this time of the year.

This cake consists of velvety pumpkin mousse seasoned with cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, clove, turmeric and vanilla bean. We then layer the mousse with walnut cake layers made with pumpkin puree, organic olive oil, walnuts and sweeten it with dates and raisins instead of cane sugar. The cake is finished with raw pumpkin seeds and edible flowers. We are proud to say this cake is made without dairy, gluten, eggs or refined sugars and we bet you can’t tell they are missing! It is a great compliment to your Thanksgiving Day celebration or holiday parties.

As we do year-round, we will also offer our full pastry menu, including our famous Mango Tart made-from-scratch with hand-sliced mangos and carefully layered into a beautiful floral pattern with rum cream filling in our handmade tart shell. All pastries are available for pick up Thanksgiving Day.

 

Signed,

Chef Jen

The post Chef’s Blog: Urban Plates Thanksgiving Menu appeared first on Urban Plates.

The South African restaurant industry is set to celebrate in style at theannual Cape Town awards ceremony on 16 November.

Snickerdoodle cookies are an American classic. Discover fun facts about this whimsical-sounding cookie and the ultimate recipe for the best Snickerdoodles.

The deep history of Bordeaux first-growth Château Haut-Brion was not lost on the Wine Experience crowd as they settled into the last seminar of the weekend: a tasting of six wines from the estate. Owner Prince Robert of Luxembourg recounted some of that history, from the first vines believed to be planted in the 1st century AD to the important figures who enjoyed Haut-Brion wines over the centuries, including quite a few U.S. Founding Fathers.

Another crucial part of the château’s history is the one between Prince Robert and Haut-Brion director Jean-Philippe Delmas, who have known each other their entire lives. The prince joked that, while he built sandcastles in the sandbox, Delmas would create sand mounds and plant little twigs on their southern sides. “When he started bringing gravel in the sandbox, that’s when things got a little bit worrisome,” said Prince Robert. “But it all makes sense now. Jean-Philippe and I have been building castles and vineyards now, or at least tending them, for almost a quarter of a century together.”

The tasting started with the estate’s second wine, Le Clarence de Haut-Brion 2010 (93 points, $200), an approachable introduction to Haut-Brion’s reds.

The 2005 vintage (100 points, $930 on release) was a testament to the freedom Delmas is given to make the best wine possible from a wonderful terroir: The blend Delmas thought surpassed all others could only be made in a very small quantity, but Prince Robert gave him the OK, forgoing the chance to sell a larger amount of grand vin from a much-hyped vintage.

The 2003 vintage was extremely hot, but the 2003 Haut-Brion (96 points, $325 on release) was surprisingly fresh. Delmas recalled why. After tasting the berries in early August, he and his vineyard manager concluded that the grapes needed to be picked—but France was in the middle of its month-long summer holiday. He summoned back his vacationing and incredulous father, Jean-Bernard Delmas (who retired from Haut-Brion later that year) and spent two days tracking down all of his workers. The grapes were harvested in the sweltering heat.

Delmas could smell the signature of Haut-Brion’s terroir in the maturing 2000 (94 points, $425 on release) and 1998 (97 points, $193 on release) vintages: smoky nuts, burnt coffee beans and chocolate. Though the vineyard is planted equally to Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, the ’98 is 60 percent Merlot, as it was a much better year for that grape. Delmas prioritizes making the best blend possible, as opposed to relying on a majority of one grape regardless of its quality. As his father always said, “It’s 100 percent Haut-Brion.”

“And now we have a special gift for you,” Delmas told the audience. It was the 2013 vintage of the rare Haut-Brion White (98 points, $982). Production for the white typically maxes out at 500 to 600 cases a year, compared to about 10,000 cases of the red grand vin; the white can also command almost twice the price. It was a thrilling conclusion to the New York Wine Experience tasting seminars.

This rich fruity paste is cheese’s natural ally. Learn how easy it is to make and enjoy it for months to come.