Gone Scouting + Bonus Reading Material

March 27, 2015 by Laura Messersmith in Reading Material

We’re just hours away from the weekend – hooray! – and I’m looking forward to a little trip out to eastern Long Island. That’s right, L.I. the Land of Ina (eeeeee!)

While I’m not sure that the weather is going to cooperate and make a stroll on the beach very enjoyable; I’m sure we’ll have a great time exploring some of the quaint towns and doing some comfort food cooking.

Since I’m haven’t written you a fun new post to read, I’ll direct you to some of the items that caught my attention this week. (Does it ruin it if I point out how I avoided a pun about “food for thought” or “something to chew on”?) Hope you have a great weekend!

Reading Material:

This piece on The Toast about living like a Nancy Meyers film cracked me up. Mallory Ortberg is a treasure.

Lord I love waffles, Huff Po does too.

And while we’re at it, I love Chef Emily Luchetti’s approach to making our daily meals #dessertworthy via the James Beard Foundation

I’m back on a book reading kick and finished The Vacationers about a year after everyone else did – a solid beach read even if you’re nowhere near the beach.

Now I’m starting on The Emperor’s Children. Sounds like a movie version is afoot…

Intrigued by this Buzzfeed list of old-school NYC businesses. Field trip anyone?

Scouting: La Boîte à Epice

September 05, 2014 by Laura Messersmith in Scouting

La Boîte à Epice | Image:  Laura Messersmith — **La Boîte à Epice** | Image: *Laura Messersmith*

I sometimes think that understanding why certain ingredients in a recipe are there and how they work is half the battle when cooking. Does the cocoa content make a dark chocolate bar taste better in this cookie than say, milk chocolate or semi-sweet? Would a finishing salt or using a vanilla bean really pump up the flavor? These are questions answered through experience (aka trial and error) but also by knowing the options.

New York, thanks to the many, many nationalities and ethnicities that call it home, offers a huge array of ingredients and this fall I’ve decided to explore my options and check out some of the international groceries and specialty shops around the city.

My first stop on this odyssey was La Boîte à Epice. The creation of Chef Lior Lev Sercarz; roughly translated it means "The Spice Box" and contains more than 40+ specially blended spice mixes with evocative names like N. 34 Orchidea, N. 23 Tangier, and N. 7 Pierre Poivre. The mixes are made of everything from Fleur de Sel, rose blossom, cocoa, and tea, to lemon grass, saffron, star anise, and sumac – in some cases I had never even heard of the ingredient. Fenugreek? Annatto?

I think I opened every jar on the rack and found myself both delighted and overwhelmed. I’m accustomed to using herbs and spices individually in classic combinations – basil + oregano + garlic; rosemary + thyme + lemon zest.

So, looking at a mix like N. 13 Galil, which has verbena, white cardamom, and sage I was stumped. Chef Lior to the rescue! He has written a cookbook – The Art of Blending – full of gorgeous photography and delicious recipes in collaboration with other well-known chefs and food personalities to help beginners like me. Whew!

I’m excited to make some selections with N. 33 Mishmash (crystalized honey, saffron and lemon) topping my list. I can already see my culinary horizons expanding!

Minty Fresh Scouting: Ample Hills Creamery

August 01, 2014 by Laura Messersmith in Scouting

Brooklyn Bridge | Image: Laura Messersmith — **Brooklyn Bridge** | Image: *Laura Messersmith*

Everyone needs a summer project; a goal to work toward over the hottest months of the year; a plan that will give meaning to an otherwise lazy series of days. I considered this question carefully and arrived at the most obvious answer: visit as many ice cream shops as possible in search of the best Mint Chocolate Chip Ice cream.

Why Mint Chocolate Chip? Mainly, because it’s my all-time favorite flavor, but also it seems like most shops offer an option that combines mint and chocolate. I’m willing to consider gelato, novelties and sorbet, but ice cream is really what I’m after. If you have recommendations on places I should try I’d love to hear them!

Ample Hills Creamery | Image: Laura Messersmith — **Ample Hills Creamery** | Image: *Laura Messersmith*

My fourth stop in my quest for the best minty-cool cone in the land was a little closer to home than my last spot but still required a little bit of an adventure to the remote and untamed borough of BROOKLYN…. Just kidding, I’m kind of in love with Brooklyn and have all sorts of schemes to go back ASAP especially if the ice cream is as good as Ample Hills Creamery’s Mint Chocolate Flake (quite a promising name….)

Here’s the scoop (I’m so sorry) on Ample Hills Creamery summarized from their website:

“…Ample Hills was the first to pasteurize on site in New York City – which makes us a registered dairy plant – and are one of the few places that make ice cream this way. We handcraft our ice cream from start-to-finish in small batches, using fresh, local, all-natural milk, cream, and eggs. Instead of relying solely on extracts, we steep source ingredients in our homemade mix, slowly drawing flavors out of vanilla beans, cinnamon sticks, peanuts and coffee beans [ed. note: and presumably the mint leaves too.]”

The Scientific Part:

The five criteria are Flavor and then the four “Cs” - Color, Creaminess, Chips, and Charm.

I like a dash of kitsch with my high-quality ingredients, so my preference is for pale green ice cream with intense mint flavor and deep dark chocolate shavings. Yes, I realize that this doesn’t make them ‘chips’ per se, but then they’re more smoothly incorporated with the ice cream. I’m giving extra points for a whimsical setting or special experience.

Mint Chocolate Flake by Ample Hills Creamery | Image: Laura Messersmith — **Mint Chocolate Flake by Ample Hills Creamery** | Image: *Laura Messersmith*

Ample Hills Creamery’s Score:

Flavor – deliciously minty and cool (5 of 5)

Color – a peppermint pattie white, sigh (1 of 5)

Creaminess – lovely and creamy (5 of 5)

Chips – shavings of dark chocolate, see I wasn’t making it up! (5 of 5)

Charm – the waterfront location, just a short walk from the Brooklyn Bridge is pretty hard to beat (4 of 5)

Total Score: 20/25

Current Rankings:

For folks following these adventures at home, here are the current rankings of the ice creams and shops I’ve visited so far. Those top three spots are pretty hotly contested!

1. The Lands at Hillside Farms: 22/25

2. Ample Hills Creamery: 20/25

3. Van Leeuwen Artisan Ice Cream: 18/25

4. Sundaes and Cones: 11/25

Minty Fresh Scouting: Sundaes and Cones

July 11, 2014 by Laura Messersmith in Scouting

Sundaes and Cones in East Village | Image: Laura Messersmith — **Sundaes and Cones in East Village** | Image: *Laura Messersmith*

You might be wondering: why Mint Chocolate Chip? Mainly, because it’s my all-time favorite flavor, and because most shops offer an option that combines mint and chocolate. I’m willing to consider gelato, shakes, and 'novelties', but ice cream is really what I’m after.

My second stop on this delicious adventure was Sundaes and Cones in the East Village. Based on the information I had going in my hopes were high, perhaps too high. S&C calls their flavor Mint Chocolate Chip, but information on the formulation and process was, ummm, non-existent. Color me suspicious. I found myself underwhelmed and the ratings tell the tale…

Mint Chocolate Chip by Sundaes and Cones | Image: Laura Messersmith — **Mint Chocolate Chip by Sundaes and Cones** | Image: *Laura Messersmith*

The Scientific Part:

The five criteria are Flavor and then the four “Cs” - Color, Creaminess, Chips, and Charm. I wish I could come up with a cool acronym, but I'm stumped.

I like a little kitsch matched with great ingredients, so my preference is for pale green ice cream with intense mint flavor and deep dark chocolate shavings. Yes, I realize that this doesn’t make them ‘chips’ per se, but then they’re more smoothly incorporated with the ice cream. I’m giving extra points for a whimsical setting or special experience.

Flavor – strong, syrupy minty-ness. I doubt this was achieved naturally. (1 of 5)

Color – bright green color that leapt across the line too far into kitsch for me (2 of 5)

Creaminess – almost fluffy?, but still nice and smooth (3 of 5)

Chips – large shavings of semi-sweet chocolate (4 of 5)

Charm – not much effort put into the shop itself, but cute benches out front (1 of 5)

Total Score: 11/25