Scouting: Food52 Holiday Market

December 12, 2014 by Laura Messersmith in Scouting

Erin McDowell's Dessert Creations | Image: Laura Messersmith — **Erin McDowell's Dessert Creations** | Image: *Laura Messersmith*

When I’m looking for guidance on a recipe or cooking technique (and Ina isn’t available to help with her words of wisdom) I check out Food52 to see what their experts have to say. So I was excited when I found out that the site was organizing a holiday pop-up shop downtown complete with demos and classes to help home cooks step up their game for holiday entertaining.

As soon as I saw the list of offerings I knew immediately that I wanted to sign up for a session called “Make Your Desserts Beautiful” with Erin McDowell a food stylist and test kitchen manager for Food52.

Erin in Action | Image: Laura Messersmith — **Erin in Action** | Image: *Laura Messersmith*

Check out this description – doesn’t it sound amazing?

"Fancy cakes and pies aren't just for bakeries. Erin McDowell will teach you foolproof ways to make intricate pie crusts and decorative cakes. She'll demo tips for braided pie edges, the perfect crimped crust, the classic swirled cake icing, and more."

Classic Crimped Edge Pie Crust | Image: Laura Messersmith — **Classic Crimped Edge Pie Crust** | Image: *Laura Messersmith*

Classic Lattice Pie Crust | Image: Laura Messersmith — **Classic Lattice Pie Crust** | Image: *Laura Messersmith*

I went full-on honor society, showing up early, sitting right in front, asking 1,000 questions, and Erin could not have been lovelier or more approachable. She showed us her tricks of the trade for frosting and decorating cakes beautifully, proper technique for rolling out pie dough, and how to do fancy things like cut out top crust. She also introduced us to a brilliant creation of her own devising called the “fattis” aka a fat lattice crust (photo evidence below.)

The Fattis (aka Fat Lattice) Pie Crust | Image: Laura Messersmith — **The Fattis (aka Fat Lattice) Pie Crust** | Image: *Laura Messersmith*

I probably should have taken better notes, but thankfully Erin has several pie specific how-to articles on Food52 in case I need to jog my memory. I left feeling so jazzed about making pie and finally conquering a food group that’s always intimidated me. I’d sign up for this class again in a heartbeat, so while I wait for Erin to open up her own pastry school it’s going to be pie central around these parts while I practice these new skills. Step 1: try the All Buttah Pie Dough. Consider yourself warned.

Scouting: Kalustyan's

December 05, 2014 by Laura Messersmith in Scouting

Kalustyan's, Kips Bay, New York | Image: Laura Messersmith — **Kalustyan's, Kips Bay, New York** | Image: *Laura Messersmith*

few weeks ago, before the tree lots appeared and a random trip to the Kips Bay seemed like a good reason to leave my cozy spot on the sofa, I took a little journey south to check out Kalustyan’s. I came across the listing for this specialty food shop on Yelp and the reviews were glowing, so naturally I had to visit this foodie haven for myself.

One of the distinctive features of New York grocery stores is the space, or lack of it really, and Kalustyan’s is an outstanding example of efficiently using every square inch to offer a huge selection in a relatively tiny space. Narrow little aisles packed floor to ceiling with boxes, jars, and cellophane packages of tea, dried fruit, whole grains, mushrooms, seasonings, jam, and sauces. I can see why Saveur consistently refers readers to the shop for help sourcing ingredients not commonly found in American grocery chains, and a Bon Appétit writer mentioned it in an article about creating custom spice blends.

Honestly, you could lose entire days examining the options in each category, especially the house-brand spice blends. I left after more than an hour feeling a little dazed by the possibilities and carrying a small sack of farro and a jar of mango chutney. I have ideas for both items and I have this amazing shop to thank for the inspiration! So, while a trip to Lexington and East 28th isn’t always the most convenient for me, you better believe that I’ll be keeping Kalustyan’s in mind the next time I’m looking for something a little out of the ordinary.

Kalustyan’s | 123 Lexington Avenue; New York, NY 10016 | Mon - Sat 10:00 am – 8:00 pm; Sun 11:00 am – 7:00 pm

Scouting: Mast Brothers Chocolate

November 28, 2014 by Laura Messersmith in Scouting

Mast Brother Chocolate, Brooklyn | Image: Laura Messersmith — **Mast Brother Chocolate, Brooklyn** | Image: *Laura Messersmith*

I first learned about Mast Brothers Chocolate about a year ago. Another blogger (or was it a Pinterest board?) now lost in the sands of my memory mentioned the company and I'll be honest I was almost more intrigued by the packaging than I was by the contents. Who can resist clean, beautiful design? I figured/hoped any company that puts so much effort into creating such an appealing exterior must certainly put the same level of care into the chocolate within. Also, it's CHOCOLATE and by nature worthy of further study.

Some time later I also learned that Mast Brothers makes their chocolate just across the East River in Brooklyn and the company actually offers tours to the public. Sign me up! Or rather, take 10+ months to get your act together and finally buy tickets when your sister is in town. To be fair, Katherine is a fellow chocolate lover so this scouting mission was a perfect fit.

We headed to Williamsburg on a chilly Friday night for the tour and were greeted first by the scent of cocoa as we approached and next by the welcoming glow of the factory store. The word factory conjures Willy Wonka visions of industrial level machines, but the reality of Mast Brothers is much more down to earth.

They take a very hands-on approach, literally; from sorting the sacks of cocoa beans individually so the roast is even, to tasting every batch of chocolate, to molding and unmolding each bar. After the bars age it's time to wrap them in those colorful papers and apply the labels. All by hand! The amount of labor that goes into producing Mast Brothers Chocolate is amazing and yet even in the midst of the holiday push everyone we met was clearly happy to do it.

Our tour took a hands on approach too allowing us to smell the roasted cocoa beans, crunch through some nibs, taste and compare chocolate at different stages of the stone grinding process, and of course sample their 5 single origin flavors in the finished form.

The tasting especially made me think about chocolate in a different way. Much like wine or coffee or cheese there are nuances of flavor that driven by the soil, weather conditions, and the drying process. It was really a cool experience that I'd highly recommend for anyone who likes to see how things are made or just wants to learn a little more about chocolate as food, not just candy.

Mast Brother's Chocolate | 111 N 3rd Street | Brooklyn, New York 11211 | 718.388.2625

Scouting: Portland, Oregon

November 21, 2014 by Laura Messersmith in Scouting

The second half of our trip to the Pacific Northwest took us to Portland, Eugene and along the Oregon Coast for some rose gardening, football watching, wine tasting, and sea lion spotting (in that order).

I spent the first 21 years of my life in Upstate New York and there were glimmers of the rolling hills and misty woods that reminded me of home, but then I’d realize that the trees were fuzzy with moss and the rocks along the water were jagged and be recalled to how different the landscape is in the Northwest. The forests and mountains are spectacular and I seriously could not get enough of Haystack Rock at Cannon Beach and the wild, windy coastline.

International Test Garden, Portland | Image: Laura Messersmith — **International Test Garden, Portland** | Image: *Laura Messersmith*

Willamette Valley Wine Country, Oregon | Image: Laura Messersmith — **Willamette Valley Wine Country, Oregon** | Image: *Laura Messersmith*

Haystack Rock, Cannon Beach, Oregon | Image: Laura Messersmith — **Haystack Rock, Cannon Beach, Oregon** | Image: *Laura Messersmith*

Most of our city time was in Portland and we were there for such a short time that this is in no way a comprehensive list, just the places I visited and would love to go back to the next time we’re in town:

Blue Star Donuts I usually avoid donuts, not because I don’t like them - I like them too much, but willpower wasn’t up to the temptation of Blue Star and I totally caved. Luckily there were six of us, so it wasn’t a big stretch to get a dozen in assorted flavors. My personal favorites: Lemon Poppy Seed (teeth aching lemon is a good thing in my book), Old Fashioned Buttermilk, and surprise flavor Blueberry, Bourbon & Basil.

Alder & Co I knew Alder and I were on the same page as soon as I spotted the table of cookbooks near the window – Mimi Thorisson, Buvette, Yotam Ottolenghi – and then there were the beautiful wool blankets, linen napkins, polished wood measuring spoons… then there are the flowers by Hilary Horvath. If it were possible to live in a store I’d move in.

Oregon Coast | Image: Laura Messersmith — Oregon Coast | Image: *Laura Messersmith*

Powell’s Books is a Portland institution and if the selection of cookbooks (two whole aisles!) is any indication of the variety available…. I could easily lose a whole afternoon browsing in that place. A book lover’s dream.

Ox Since we only had one night in Portland we wanted to be sure we chose our restaurant carefully. Ox came highly recommended (thanks, Alex & George!) and it seemed like an ideal place for our costumed Halloween dinner – we were pretty sure they’d be cool with having the cast of Clue as guests. We were right on both counts. Again, having six people helped us cover a lot of ground on the menu and stand outs for me were the ribeye, caramelized cauliflower, and the “everything” bagel seasoned brussel sprouts.

Heart Roasters & Stumptown Coffee Roasters kept us caffeinated over our two days in Portland which is no small feat given our hectic schedule and jet lag. Both of these spots are a quick walk from downtown and are solid choices when you want a little jolt or a place to rest up for the next adventure.