February 8, 2010 4:52 pm
Here at Behind the Burner, we believe food is love, so this Valentine's Day, share the amore! Give the foodie in your life a culinary delight to pique their hunger and warm their hearts. Here are our favorite treats this year.
The Nescafé Dolce Gusto: A great way to quickly make your favorite coffee drink, the Nescafé Dolce Gusto has a nifty design that lets you brew a variety of coffee-house beverages from black coffee and espressos to lattes and iced cappuccinos—all under a minute right on your kitchen counter. The Gusto retails for around $149.99 and a pack of 16 capsules is $8. My personal favorite is Chocochino!
The Nook: This Barnes and Noble eReader is a great way to read recipes in the kitchen without having to hold down the pages of your favorite cookbook. Named the "Best New Gadget of 2009", it can retain up to 1,500 eBooks, eNewspapers or eMagazines on 2GB of space. Definitely a great item if you're in the mood for something sweet without soiling the edges of The Joy of Cooking. The Nook retails for around $259 and is available at all Barnes and Noble booksellers.
Lifebooker Gift Certificate: Treat your significant other to mani-pedis and other treatments such as the White Sugar Honey Polish at the Acqua Beauty Bar or the Chocolate Peppermint Pedicure at Sothy's Spa. A Lifebooker gift certificate will let your sweetie test out some of the greatest spas in Manhattan, at a discount. Pamper your favorite person with a relaxing dessert.
Chocolate Potpourri Gift Bag: A chocolate company out of Chicago, Chocolate Potpourri offers a delicious Valentine's Day gift box that includes chocolate covered Oreos, or "Dunkers", a box of handcrafted chocolates, molded chocolate hearts and white chocolate covered mini pretzel balls. Behind the Burner is offering a deal with Chocolate Potpourri—members earn free shipping when they type in the code BTB2010 at checkout!
Hotel Chocolat Liquid Chocolate: Ideal for couples staying inside on a cold day, the Classic Chocolate is not too sweet with a pure and deep chocolatey taste, and the Aztec Chili has a gentle heat that envelopes your mouth when sipped. You can find them on HotelChocolat.com for $25.00 packaged together or $15 individually.
Godiva Chocolate Liqueur: A great gift to entice your favorite cocktail lover, Godiva Chocolate Liqueur can be used in a chocolatini or even added to your coffee or espresso! For Valentine's Day, we recommend sipping it on the rocks with fresh strawberries. You can pick up a bottle for sensual sipping at your local liquor store for around $29.99.
Spice and Ice: Written by Behind the Burner expert Kara Newman, this spicy cocktail book contains 60 tongue tingling cocktails. Favorites include the Wasabi-tinis, the Jumpin' Julips and Sangria Scorcher. Her Hot Lips Chocotini is the perfect treat to wake up your evening. Can be found for $16.95 at many book sellers.
BUILT Wine Tote: This wine tote comes in a fabulous, saucy red that's great for carrying a bottle of bubbly to a friends for a Valentine's to remember. Insulated and made of neoprene, this unexpected tote will keep your bottle chilled until you can uncork it, and makes schlepping wine across town a little more fun.
Rose's Heavenly Cakes: From the author of the Cake Bible, this collection of treats proves that there is a cake for every occasion. The cookbook is organized by cake varieties, including cheesecake, flour-less cake, baby cakes and oil and butter cakes. Favorites include the Double Chocolate Valentine Cake (page 113) and the Heavenly Coconut Seduction Cake (page 20). The book retails for $39.95 and can be found at most book retailers.
The Brooklyn Kitchen: The beloved Williamsburg culinary store offers funky cooking classes during the month of February and Behind the Burner members save 10% with the code BtB. Some upcoming examples of learnable cooking include Drop-In Cookie Decorating and an Anti-Valentine's Day Party for those who'd rather celebrate in a group.
Barefoot Contessa Red Velvet Cupcake Mix: A quick fix for your sweet tooth, the Barefoot Contessa has cleverly packaged her popular cupcakes into a handy mix, complete with cream cheese frosting mix. All you need is butter, eggs, cream cheese and little love and presto!, instant dessert. Ina Garten doesn't stop there; her mixes come in many varieties and can be found in Crate and Barrel and online.
Magnolia Bakery Cupcakes: If baking ain't your thing, but cupcakes definitely are, Magnolia has got you and your sweetie's sweet tooth covered. The Love Note Box includes six amazing cupcakes that spell out love, with a cupid and heart. Pre-orders end around the 12th, so you might want to get them in ASAP. It's well worth it the $28 for a box of these creamy confections!
— Written by Kaitlin A. Lipe
0 Comments >
Share This >
February 7, 2010 11:18 pm
Usual drill early in the week, to read over the pages and pages of juicy info on new hot spots...some of them not so much! I came across several names. But craving warm, fresh spiced meats and dips one can enjoy with a motley crew —it had to be Lebanese.
Think Middle Eastern, minus the yummy music. The red velvet drapes and weathered wooden tables were expected. But a glance at the staff, any foodie knew there were too many with arms folded, not a clue what to do.
The bad news was Balade only obtained their liquor license that morning. Only a bottles of Lebanese Red and White to polish down the herby Haloumi and Kibbeh. A gulp of the red tasted like Italian table wine served to the tweens at a Sunday family meal. Tip, call before you go to ensure hard liquor is available.
Spirits strong, we ordered with fervor. Not a small dish forgotten. After all, the best way to proceed with Middle Eastern to embrace all the variety. The bus boys made several attempts to clear full plates of food. An urge to slap their wrists was building.
Kudos to our pals for keeping the evening flavored with spicy anecdotes from times past as the meal left much to be desired. Perhaps the one redeeming quality—the pitzas. 9 on 10 for originality—the flaky thin crust allowed for a crisp yet aromatic bite. The herbs somehow penetrated the thin layers and emanated the rustic scent of an olive oil from lands beyond.
For this one mouthful of "pitza", Greek, kebab or seafood—foodies are requested to zip down to 13th Street and get involved. This is what makes Balade special.
— Written by Aditi Malhotra
0 Comments >
Share This >
February 6, 2010 9:37 pm
The Chinese New Year is one of the longest and most important events of the Lunar Calendar, and this 15-day festivity is definitely worth celebrating. Still looking for something to do? Try hosting a tea party (after all, tea was discovered in China) to celebrate 2010, the Year of the Tiger. The color red is said to scare away bad luck, while gold brings prosperity, so buy some festive decorations and invite your nearest and dearest over to toast the new year.
Sound like too much work? Don't sweat it, just head over to the Mandarin Hotel to celebrate the 8th day of Chinese New Year, the "Day of Luck" (and how fitting...oranges and tangerines are said to symbolize good luck). They'll be serving up authentic Chinese teas and traditional foods that are said to bring more than just great flavor. From the shiitake wontons (for a long life) to chilled lobster and banana sandwiches (which symbolize occupational success), this is the perfect celebration to kick off the start of a new year. And since no party is complete without music, the Mencius Society for the Arts will be providing entertainment with traditional Chinese New Year music.
Chinese New Year Tea of Togetherness
February 21, 2010, 3-5PM
Mandarin Oriental, New York's Lobby Lounge
80 Columbus Circle, 35th Floor
(60th Street at Broadway)
New York, NY 10019
212.805.8800
Photo credit: sunenergytours.com
— Written by Lisa Curry
1 Comments >
Share This >
February 5, 2010 3:50 pm
It's NYC Restaurant Week and I am on a quest to find the best sushi in the Big Apple. It's going to take a while before I hit every NYC hot spot, but man, did I find a good one. Nestled next to the Trump World Tower in Midtown East sits Megu, an elegant restaurant dishing up modern Japanese cuisine. The menu was impressive but definitely on the pricey side. Tip, save this spot for when you have a little extra to spend or a client is taking you out to lunch. I brought my shrimp-loving friend and went to town. The two of us each started with a bowl of Spicy Bouillabaisse Miso Soup that was delicately fiery and loaded with fresh seafood. The bowl was much larger than your average miso starter and way more satisfying. If it wasn't outrageously inappropriate, we would have licked our bowls clean to salvage every last drop. Our palates were officially warmed up as we embarked on our first appetizer—the Megu Oriental Salad, a wild sea bream sashimi with homemade spicy dressing and julienned vegetables. The waiter drizzled sesame oil over the dish for a light sear, but rather, created a greasy piece of fish.
Fortunately, things picked up and our meal did not stop there. The second appetizer was a home run. Our waiter came over with a remarkable dish: Tuna and Avocado Megu Style. This appetizer consisted of garlic-soy marinated cubes of sashimi tuna layered in between avocado and garnished with perfectly chopped pieces of mango and Parmesan cheese. Using a fork, our server combined all the ingredients into a guacamole-like dish that was creamy, fresh and delicious.
For my main course, I ordered the lobster roll. Tip, if you're watching your carbs, wrap your roll in cucumber rather than starchy rice. Although the dish was surprisingly small for a main course, the presentation was stunning. The rolls came out in a glass bowl filled with crushed ice illuminated by a blue light. The lobster tasted succulent, fresh and paired nicely with the cool cucumber casing.
Because we were stuffed to capacity and I felt as though the button was going to fly off my pants, we opted for some hot green tea rather than dessert . Trick, if you're dieting or watching your weight, sip green tea daily as it increases metabolism and promotes fat burning. Overall, Megu Midtown was a wonderful dining experience. The wait staff was extremely attentive, if a bit slow. The fish was fresh, the soup was excellent and the ambiance inviting. If you're looking for a good business lunch or after work dinner, and seafood sounds appealing, Megu won't disappoint.
Megu Midtown
845 United Nations Plaza
New York, NY 10017
212.644.0777
megurestaurants.com
— Written by Alix Weiner
0 Comments >
Share This >
February 4, 2010 7:07 pm
One of my favorite accessories of the new year thus far is Toast-Its, a recently launched line of wine bottle wraps that take the idea of wine gifting to a whole new level. A quirky, cool alternative to wine bags, boxes and gift cards, Toast-Its labels' cheery designs are matched with playful messages like "Sip Sip, Hooray!" and "From one wino to another" and "May you be in Heaven a half-hour before the devil knows that you're dead."
Created by Hi-Industries, a new IMAGEHAUS company dedicated to "elevating a moment into a memory," the collection features 25 different designs to wrap around your gift bottles. They're available for $3.99 each at toast-its.com. Tip, if you have a vino-loving Valentine in your life, now you've found the perfect gift!
— Written by Anna Carnick
0 Comments >
Share This >
1 2 3 4 5 ... 76 Next »
Subscribe to our Feed >
Join Our Facebook Group >
Follow us on twitter >
View our Flickr Photostream >
