New England Dessert Showcase

Last weekend, I ate dessert for breakfast...and I liked it.

I woke up on Saturday, jumped on the T, and met Melissa at the Westin Waterfront Hotel so we could eat our way through the New England Dessert Showcase. 

Every September, the New England Dessert Showcase brings together incredibly talented dessert designers and their creations for us East Coasters to enjoy. And boy, did we enjoy just about everything we consumed that morning. From iced coffee to gelato to whoopie pies, there were plenty of sweet treats to sample.

Because we sampled so many different desserts, it would be next to impossible to properly recap all of them for you. So instead, I am going to share my top four favorite samples that I tried (and that I think you guys will like too). 

First up: Boston Whoopie.

I tried a red velvet whoopie pie (not pictured). The cookies were pillowy soft and the cream cheese center was sweet, but there was just enough of it sandwiched between the two cookies. As of now, Boston Whoopie doesn't have a storefront, but they can deliver their whoopie pies throughout the Greater Boston area. Just simply place your order by phone (617-718-1782) to get your goodies.

With a tagline like "Legalized Frostitution," how could I not have fallen in love with VCVC Cupcakes?

The women working this table were enthusiastic, funny, and clearly passionate about their product. And after one bite of their mini cupcake (I believe it was a chocolate cake with a salted caramel icing), I was hooked. I'm usually not a fan of sweet icings, but this one had just enough of a buttery flavor and texture (not to mention incredible flavor) to win me over.

I'm sure no one's surprised that another one of my favorites was from a winery. Plymouth Bay Winery, to be specific. The folks from Plymouth Bay were giving out samples of their jams, which are made with their wine.

I tried a variety of flavors, but my favorite was the Raspberry Spice, made with fresh raspberries and habaneros - and red wine! It had just the right amounts of heat and sweet, with a subtle yet apparent taste of the wine. It was unique and delicious.

And, last but not least, this Hot Chocolate Lava Cake from Chart House was my favorite dessert of the day. A rich, molten chocolate cake made with Godiva liqueur, served warm with chocolate sauce, Heath bar crunch, and vanilla ice cream. 

Do I even need to tell you why this was good? I didn't think so.

The event itself seemed really well organized, and I loved how they had accessible trash cans and water stands throughout the room. The space at the Westin Waterfront was also ideal - big enough for people to spread out, avoiding too many long, cramped lines.

All in all, this was a really fun event, and it was fantastic to meet all of the people behind these delicious desserts. I also discovered some new-to-me businesses that I will be sure to keep an eye out for moving forward. Thanks again, Melissa, for inviting me!

What's your all-time favorite dessert?

I attended this event as part of the media, and thus my ticket was complimentary. As always, all opinions are my own. 

Two Things

Hey all! I hope everyone is having a great start to the week. My week is a little bonkers - lots of holiday [ugh...already?!] deadlines and new projects picking up, which is all exciting - just a little crazy. With that being said, I just have a quick post for you today about two things I am excited about - and think you guys might be, too.

1.) Vegetarian Food & Wine Pairing at Boston Wine School: Six wines paired with seven courses. I'm doing the cooking, while the folks at Boston Wine School are picking the wines. Updated menu for fall: Sweet Potato and Black Bean Tacos; Pumpkin Mac and Cheese; Orange and Fennel Salad; Roasted Parsnips; and Apple Bread Pudding. Tickets are $100, and I assure you you'll leave happy and full. It's going to be a fun evening! Buy your tickets here.

2.) Warby Parker: Random, but I just ordered glasses through this website and I could not be happier with my experience (and no, this post is not sponsored by Warby Parker in any way. I just had a fantastic experience, and wanted to share it with my fellow four-eyed friends). Here's how it works: you pick out five frames on their website, and they're shipped to you free of charge so you can try them on at-home. Then, you return them all within a few days (return shipping is also free), and then pick out which frames you liked best on their website (I ended up not liking any of mine, but tried the "virtual try-on" and found a pair I liked). From there, they get your prescription information, make your glasses, and send the final product to you - with 30-day free returns, in case you aren't completely satisfied. Oh, and did I mention these prescription glasses were only $95?? Yeah. They also have sunglasses, if that's more up your alley.

What's new with you? Do you have anything exciting going on this week?

My Bachelorette Party

Well, I survived my bachelorette party (barely). It was this past Friday night to Saturday afternoon, and it was a total surprise. My bridesmaids planned an entire evening and day in Portsmouth, N.H., complete with a booze cruise Friday night (followed by more drinks at Gas Light), breakfast at The Friendly Toast the next morning, then a brewery tour (and more drinks) at Redhook Brewery. Some friends even came as far as Long Island. To say I felt special would be an understatement.

Here are some of the non-embarrassing photos from the occasion:

My awesome cake.

This photo does not do the double rainbow we saw on the cruise justice.

King's Hawaiian Brunch at Catalyst

If you've been reading this blog for a while, you know that carbs are my jam. Even with my wedding under four weeks away (gasp!), I still manage to eat my bodyweight in carbs on a daily basis.

So, when the folks at King's Hawaiian bread asked me if I wanted to attend their brunch event at Catalyst, I couldn't say no.

King's Hawaiian is a family-owned business that began back in the 1950's (you can read all about their history here). Repping for the company at this brunch was Courtney, the granddaughter of King's Hawaiian's owner and founder (Courtney's dad is currently the company's CEO). Courtney was sweet, hilarious, and extremely proud of her family's product and business model. 

For this brunch event, Catalyst was basically transformed into a Hawaiian getaway. Hawaiian music was playing through the restaurant's speakers, and the table decor included vibrant flower centerpieces and bright orange tablecloths. It was stunning.

Our meal began with guava mimosas (not pictured) and a few passed appetizers. I sampled the Fig and Blue Cheese on King’s Hawaiian Crostini with Cassis Syrup, as well as the White Gazpacho Sips, which were garnished with a grape and a Crispy King’s Hawaiian Garlic Chip. Some King's Hawaiian bread was also blended into the gazpacho to give it an extra creamy (not to mention interesting) texture.

After the passed appetizers, we all sat down for our plated meal. Catalyst Chef William Kovel had prepared several courses for this event, all using King's Hawaiian bread. Our first course was the Seared Ahi Tuna Salad with local greens, tomato, cucumber, and sheep's milk feta topped with black olive tapenade and King's Hawaiian crostini. The tuna was incredibly fresh, and I loved the varying textures and flavors in this dish.

For our second course, we had several entree options, but I went with the Maine Lobster Salad served on King's Hawaiian Original Hawaiian Sweet Hot Dog Bun, with house-made chips on the side. 

Filled with fresh herbs and lightly dressed in mayonnaise, this was one near-perfect lobster salad roll. The sweet, buttery bun paired with the obviously fresh lobster beautifully. It was also a bonus that the roll was piled high with the delicious crustacean.

Finally, for dessert, we had King's Hawaiian White Chocolate Chip Bread Pudding with caramel sauce, which Chef Kovel and Courtney showed us how to make before it was served to us. 

I'm not typically a big dessert person, but I ate every last bite of this one. Somehow, it wasn't overly sweet, but wonderfully decadent and full of white chocolate and caramel flavors.

This was such a fantastic event, and I loved learning more about King's Hawaiian bread and the family behind it. In the Boston area, I've seen their products at Shaw's and some Star Markets, to name a few - you can also find a retailer near you that carries them by clicking here. I definitely recommend giving their products a try, especially for your next BBQ!

Friendly reminder for the local folks: I'm partnering with the Boston Wine School this Thursday for a six-course wine dinner. I'm doing the cooking, and the wine experts will be pairing a different wine with each course. I hope you can join us, or at least share this event with your friends! Tickets can be purchased here. 

Eventbrite Boston Blogger Review

Over the past three months, I've had the pleasure of being an Eventbrite Boston Blogger. As part of this partnership, I was able to attend five food and/or wine events of my choosing - and then share my experience about each one with you.

Here's a quick recap of the events I attended:

• Grape Expectations: Chardonnay and Pinot Noir
• Smuttynose Beer and Local Cheese Pairing
• Central Bottle Miscellany Wine Club
• Summer Entertaining with Formaggio Kitchen
• CSA Cooking School at Clover

I really enjoyed working with Eventbrite because it gave me the opportunity to try out different classes and events that I normally wouldn't have signed up for - most likely due to being stuck in my own social ways and not wanting to branch out too often. However, having the opportunity to learn new cooking skills, taste new (to me) wines, and discover food and wine (and beer!) pairings I may have never discovered otherwise was pretty darn cool. And, it was nice to branch out and step out of my comfort zone, all while meeting some new people.

It's also been a lot of fun getting to know Evenbrite Boston's Marketing Manager, Sara. Sara is clearly very passionate about this city, and it's obvious she loves bringing people together to learn something new and just have a good time.

All in all, working with Eventbrite over these past few months has been a really rewarding experience. I hope you guys enjoyed my posts, and are able to try out some of Eventbrite's events for yourself soon! (Like this one. Just sayin'.)

Have you ever attended an Eventbrite event before? If yes, what was the event?

Gazpacho

I hope everyone had a great 4th of July! We spent the earlier part of the long weekend with friends at a lake house, then ended the holiday with a beach day in Newport, R.I. It was a glorious few days, and it was nice to get away before "wedding crunch time" really kicks in (it's 4.5 weeks away!).

Another thing we did this weekend is make gazpacho. I've always been a gazpacho fan, but never attempted to make my own until this summer. And now, I feel like I'm making a new batch every week. I tried this recipe a few weeks ago when I was testing recipes for a catering client, and it was delicious. The only thing I'd change: use less V8 or tomato juice. Like, at least one cup less (the original recipe called for 4 cups). The gazpacho tasted fine the next day, but I like my gazpacho to taste fresh and full of vegetables...not full of tomato juice. 

Gazpacho

Yields: 8 servings

Adapted from The Pioneer Woman

-2 cloves garlic, minced
-1/2 red onion, diced
-1 large cucumber, diced
-5 Roma tomatoes, diced
-1 zucchini, diced
-2 stalks celery, diced

-1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced
-Salt and black pepper, to taste
-3-4 cups low sodium V8 juice (or tomato juice; number of cups depends on how you like your gazpacho)
-1/4 cup olive oil
-1/8 cup red wine vinegar
-2 tablespoons granulated sugar
-6 dashes Tabasco or hot sauce
-Palmful of fresh cilantro, plus extra for garnish

Directions:

1.) In the bowl of a food processor or in a blender, combine the minced garlic with half the red onion, half the cucumber, half the tomato, half the zucchini, half the celery, half the jalapeno, salt, black pepper, half the tomato juice, olive oil, red wine vinegar, sugar, and Tabasco. Pulse until all ingredients are blended well.
2.) Pour into a large bowl and add the rest of the tomato juice, and half of the remaining onion, cucumber, tomato, zucchini, celery, and jalapeno. (Reserve the rest of the diced vegetables for garnish).
3.) Stir mixture together and check seasonings, adding more salt or pepper if needed. Chill soup for at least a couple of hours, although overnight is best.
4.) Remove the soup from the fridge and stir. Check seasonings one last time. Ladle into a bowl and garnish with remaining diced vegetables, a sliver of fresh avocado (optional, although highly recommended), and cilantro. 

[Print this recipe]

What could be better than cold, nutritious soup on a humid summer day? Not much, my friends. Not much.

Are you a fan of gazpacho?

Side note: For the Boston peeps, I am partnering up with the Boston Wine School for a fun vegetarian tasting event next Thursday, July 18th! The event will feature six wines that pair with seven meatless courses - all cooked by me. For more information, check out the event page here.

CSA Cooking School at Clover in Harvard Square

Clover Food Lab is one of my all-time favorite eateries in Cambridge. I live for their Chickpea Fritter sandwich. It's amazing.

So, when I heard that Clover's Harvard Square location had started offering a CSA Cooking School (the HUB location also has a class coming up in September), I jumped at the chance to attend one of their classes as part of my partnership with Eventbrite Boston. The first class was also perfect for summer: it was all about soda syrups, agua fresca, and lemonades.

The class kicked off with a complimentary beer. 

The class, which was held in Clover's intimately-sized kitchen, was taught by Vincenzo. The class was held in the small space while regular business was going on, but there were surprisingly few distractions during the hour-long demonstration.

During the class, we learned how to make rhubarb agua fresca with fresh rhubarb, strawberry soda, and basil lemonade. The rhubarb and strawberries were both from Four Town Farm in Seekonk.

Strawberry soda.

Basil lemonade.

Each drink we tried was incredibly refreshing and delightfully complex in flavor. My favorite was the strawberry soda, which was basically just strawberry puree (strawberries + sugar) mixed with soda water. All class attendees got sent home with some of the puree, and Z and I used it in several amazing cocktails afterwards.

Besides imbibing for an hour, Vincenzo also taught us some great tips, including knife skills, best use of a blender, and proper shelf life for the ingredients used. One tip I took away was that rhubarb tends to be sweeter (read: better) later in the summer, and you should always look for rhubarb that is firm and red/pink in color.

All in all, this was a really fun, informative, and unique class. I look forward to checking out more of Clover's CSA Cooking School in the future!

This post is part of an ongoing partnership with Eventbrite Boston. Eventbrite enables people all over the world to plan, promote, and sell out any event. It's also a destination for people to discover awesome events going on in THEIR city! Whatever your desires, hobbies, or interests - from photography workshops and wine classes to food festival and industry conferences, there's an event on Eventbrite for you to attend! Keep up on the goings-on in Beantown by following Eventbrite Boston on Twitter, or liking them on Facebook! Planning an event? Go ahead and create an account to get started. 

Summer Entertaining with Formaggio Kitchen

Last week, I attended yet another class at Formaggio Kitchen - but this time, we learned all about summer entertaining.

The two-hour class included a variety of sips and nibbles prepared by Julia and Jessica (our instructors for the evening). Each drink and bite we tried were all simple yet elegant items that can easily be put together for a summer shindig - and require little heat to prepare.

First up: a Cocchi Americano Cocktail paired with apricots with Bayley Hazen Blue Cheese and honey, as well as roasted red grapes with thyme and buffalo mozzarella.

This was one of my favorite pairings of the evening thanks to the simply prepared but wildly fresh apricots. The sweet apricots paired with the tangy, stinky blue cheese was an incredible combination, and the refreshing cocktail happily washed each bite down.

The second pairing of the night included Rose Sangria with fresh berries and June Taylor Blackberry Fennel Syrup, served alongside a goat cheese tart with tomato jam and cherry tomato confit.

Haven't I said enough with "rose sangria"? In case I haven't, this beverage was way too easy to drink, and it complemented the rich, buttery tart beautifully.

The third pairing of the evening included a variety of cheeses, paired with a Cantine Cincinnato "Castore," 2012. 

The cheeses included a goat's milk, two sheep's milk, and a cow's milk, all paired with a different condiment.

My favorite cheese and condiment pairing was the Cabot Clothbound Cheddar with the Fieschi Mostarda di Cremona (candied fruits). The sweet, syrupy fruits paired with the salty cheddar was a divine combination - and the white wine they were paired with didn't hurt, either.

The final course of the evening was a Poderi Cellario Moscato d'Asti, 2012 (not pictured) served with honeyed ricotta, which was topped with macerated strawberries and extra aged balsamic drizzle.

I'm usually not a fan of moscato - it's typically too sweet for me - but this one was surprisingly dry and crisp. The dryness of the wine also helped to balance the sweetness of the dessert, which was decadent and dangerous (let's just say I ate the entire thing in about 30 seconds).

Formaggio Kitchen's Summer Entertaining class was informative, fun, and incredibly delicious. We even got sent home with recipes for the dishes we sampled during the class! I highly recommend taking one of their classes, if you haven't already.

If the world was going to end tomorrow, what would your last meal be? Mine would be a bottle (or two) of wine, cheese, and crusty bread.

This post is part of an ongoing partnership with Eventbrite Boston. Eventbrite enables people all over the world to plan, promote, and sell out any event. It's also a destination for people to discover awesome events going on in THEIR city! Whatever your desires, hobbies, or interests - from photography workshops and wine classes to food festival and industry conferences, there's an event on Eventbrite for you to attend! Keep up on the goings-on in Beantown by following Eventbrite Boston on Twitter, or liking them on Facebook! Planning an event? Go ahead and create an account to get started. 

Strawberry Harvest Review Dinner

Last week, I had the pleasure of joining a few other bloggers for Harvest's latest The Harvest Review dinner. This month, the tasting dinner focused on strawberries (from Ward's Berry Farm in Sharon), and was appropriately named "Berry Good Time."

How The Harvest Review dinners work is you pay $44 to enjoy four courses, each paired with a different wine (tax and gratuity not included). Executive Chef Mary Dumont, Executive Pastry Chef Brian Mercury, and Wine Director John Mooradian present the dinner before it begins, explaining each dish and why they paired it with each particular wine.

Although The Harvest Review dinners are a set menu - and although Harvest's website says they are "unable to accommodate special requests" - I was definitely taken care of for being a vegetarian. Chef Dumont, when presenting the dishes, even made sure to include the vegetarian course they prepared for me. 

For the first course - while the omnivores enjoyed a Grilled Kurobuta Pork Sausage - I had homemade tortellinis filled with smoked ricotta. Like the sausage, mine also came with pickled green strawberries, toasted brioche, and strawberry black pepper gastrique.

This dish was paired with a crisp white wine (Herdade Do Esporao, Gouveio Blend, Alentejano, Portugal 2011). I don't usually love smoke flavor, but I adored the whipped, smoky ricotta with the tart strawberry gastrique. And the pickled green strawberries? Surprisingly delicious and interesting.

The second course was a Lavender Compressed Strawberry Salad, comprised of lime yogurt, lavender olive oil powder, and Eva's Pea Greens.

Paired with a refreshing rose (Chateau Virgile, Rose, Costieres De Nimes, France 2011), this was one ideal summer salad. I loved the idea of using pea greens, and the innovative lavender powder added a welcome unique flavor throughout the dish.

The third course was a Seared Scottish Salmon, served over a Yukon Gold potato, leek, and smoked bacon hash (I just ate around the bacon). Under the hash was a strawberry, ginger, and rhubarb jam. 

The salmon was paired with one of my favorite red wines, a pinot noir (Sterling Vineyards, Pinot Noir, Carneros, California 2011). The flaky, tender salmon with the soft, well-seasoned potatoes was an incredible combination. The jam was also subtle enough to help add some sweetness and tartness to the dish without being overpowering.

For our fourth and final course, we had Fresh Strawberry Sorbet, which came with strawberry meringue, lovage cream, and oat cracker.

Paired with a sweet moscato (Saracco, Moscato d'Asti, Piedmont, Italy 2011), this was one of the most interesting desserts I've ever had. The sorbet was fresh and full of strawberry flavor, and the silky lovage cream and crunchy meringues and oat crackers added necessary, varying textures to the dish.

While we were eating our dessert, Chef Mercury came out to see how we liked it. While we were talking to him, Harvest's PR rep mentioned that Chef Mercury makes all of his own sea salt. Like, he actually goes out at an ungodly hour in the morning to forage his own. We even had the pleasure of tasting his latest batch, pictured below. He adds his fresh, flaky sea salt to a lot of his desserts at Harvest.

Overall, we had a fabulous, seasonal, and mostly local meal at Harvest for their latest Harvest Review dinner. I highly recommend checking one out!

What's your favorite way to enjoy strawberries this time of year? I just love eating them as is. ;)

This meal was complimentary, but all opinions are my own.