Eat First

Used but not abused cookbooks: the winners are...

Jenna K. Andrews, Alison Fromme, Beau Harbin, Amber Smith, Suzanne Ellis and Michelle Breidenbach are the winners of used-but-definitely-not-abused cookbooks in the first-annual Eat First January Cookbook Clean-Out and Giveaway.

Jenna, Alison and Beau: Check your e-mail for a message from me. Amber, Suzanne and Michelle: See you soon.

Congratulations to all! Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to enter. And stay tuned for more giveaways.

 

 

 

Cookbook Giveaway: Weeding out and trimming back

January is a good time to take stock of things and do some housekeeping. Today, this involves the kitchen bookshelf.

I love cookbooks and take great pleasure in their company. They're like friends, there when you need them (for a recipe, to answer a cooking question or take you back to a special time and place) and there when you don't need them, per se, but take comfort in their presence just the same. 

But there comes a point when there are just too many of them (cookbooks, not friends!) and you have to do some weeding out and thinning back. Which brings me to my first-annual January Cookbook Giveaway.

I'm parting with about a dozen gently used food books to make room for a couple new titles ("The Gourmet Cookie Book: The Single Best Recipe from Each Year, 1941-2009'' and "The Essential New York Times Cookbook: Classic Recipes for a New Century'') and to bring a couple titles up from the basement ( "Dishing Up Vermont,'' "The Essential Baker'') now that there's a little more room upstairs.

Titles range from "Joey's Italian'' by Joey DeCuffa (of the Carrier Circle restaurant of the same name) to the "Coyote Cafe Cookbook'' by Mark Miller to "Blue Plate Specials and Blue Ribbon Chefs,'' by Jane and Michael Stern of "Roadfood" fame.

There's a book about wine, a book about cheese, a book about chocolate, a book about soups and stews, a teeny-tiny book about muffins and a petite book packed with 50 appetizer recipes.

In all, 11 books are up for grabs!

Here's how it works: To be eligible to win, leave a comment in the comment field below (one entry per person, please). The deadline to enter is noon Thursday, Jan. 27. The winner will be notified by e-mail and must be able to pick up the book in person over the weekend or sometime next week.

Good luck!

Note: The books pictured above and below are part of my collection but not necessarily part of this giveaway.

 

 

Oh, the mouth-watering places we'll go!

The year is young, but I've already crossed one delicious Central New York destination off my 2011 foodie "bucket list.''

Following is a list of the Top 10 (now Top 9) places on my radar screen for this year. One of them isn't even open yet!

 

1. Bittersweet Wine Bar and Desserts, 121 W. Fayette St., Syracuse,  This downtown dessert and wine bar, which also serves light fare, like soups, salads and paninis, opened in the fall. I haven't been there yet but will soon, thanks to a discount deal purchased through Living Social.

Not to mention the menu, which includes creme brulee, carrot cake, Death by Chocolate Cake, cheesecake, "Fun-Due,'' and other temptations.

Exposed brick in a cozy corner of Prime.

2. Prime Steak House, downtown Syracuse. I'm not the world's biggest steak fan, but the bacon-wrapped scallops, calamari, crab and Roquefort tart and other "small plates" on the bar menu at this downtown newcomer are calling out to me. Besides, it's nice to see the lights on again in the long-vacant lower-level space in the historic Gridley Building in Hanover Square.

 

3. Anyela's Vineyards, Skaneateles: World-class wines are right in our backyard, on Skaneateles Lake, and I'm itching to get out to Anyela's Vineyards. Bestsellers include Noiret, a red wine made with a grape developed by the New York Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva. It's said to be a nice complement to everyday foods, like pizza and pasta.

4. Moro's Table, Auburn:  Chef Ed Moro is known for searching out fine ingredients, utilizing the culinary bounty of the Finger Lakes and preparing food with flair.

He served as executive chef at Mirbeau Inn & Spa in Skaneateles and the Hotel Clarence in Seneca Falls before opening his own restaurant in Auburn last year. I HEART that many menu selections are available as small plates as well as entrees.

 

5. Red Newt Cellars Winery and Bistro, Hector (Seneca Lake): Whether it's lunch in the Winternet cafe in the slow season or a daytrip and dinner as the days grow warmer and longer, I'm determined to get to this winery and restaurant on the east side of Seneca Lake.

David Whiting runs the winery and his wife, Debra, is the "locavore'' chef whose focus is seasonal, local and regional ingredients. The bistro boasts an all-Finger Lakes wine list, including selections from Red Newt and many other wineries.

6. Middle Ages Brewing Co., Syracuse:  A pint of their Syracuse Pale Ale, ImPaled Ale, Swallow Wit and others always hits the spot at our local pubs, but somehow I've never visited the tasting room.

It's open six days a week, and I hear it's the place to be on Friday and Saturday. A thoughtful friend gave us a "growler'' of Syracuse Pale Ale for Christmas, so we'll be stopping by for a refill soon.

7. Green Planet Grocery, Fairmount:  Organic produce. Bulk foods (grains, cereal, legumes, herbs and spices). Packaged health foods and free-range meats. Vitamins and supplements. A vegan raw food cafe where you can enjoy lunch or dinner.

I went to Green Planet Grocery once last year and need to make an effort to get there more often this year. The natural foods store makes it easy to eat healthy.

8. Nonpareils, Manlius:  Cake artist Jen Comfort makes and sells sinfully delicious and beautiful cupcakes out of her wedding/special occasion cake showroom on Route 92. Favorites include Chocolate Chambord, Erin's Fave (vanilla almond cake with lemon and raspberry fillings and almond buttercream icing), Lemon and Red Velvet, but my vote for most creative goes to Jen's Chocolate Stout Bacon (yes, BACON!) cupcake. I visited Nonpareils for a cupcake "flight'' on Friday and KNOW I will be back!

9. Ethnic eateries in CNY: Byblos Mediterranean Cafe in downtown Syracuse, Azteca (Mexican food) in Oswego. Dosa Grill (Indian cuisine) in DeWitt... all sorts of interesting little ethnic eateries are popping up all over the region. I'm looking forward to checking some of them out.

  

10. Dey's Fresh Market, Syracuse:  I'm counting the days until spring and the opening of Dey's Fresh Market at the former Dey Bros. department store, now called Dey's Plaza, at 401 S. Salina St. in downtown Syracuse.

The owners aren't ready to share the vendor list yet, but the market is great news for people who live and work downtown and anyone else who loves fresh, locally sourced food. 

 

2010: Looking back on a delicious food year in CNY

Out with the old, in with the new! You hear those words a lot when we start a new year. But when it comes to food, especially local food, there's plenty worth noting and remembering from the year that's just over.

Here's a recap of some of Eat First's most tasty and memorable local food experiences of 2010. May there be many more in 2011!

WINE

Cruising mindlessly down Route 14, on the west side of Seneca, a big, white banner flapping in the spring breeze outside Fulkerson Winery in Dundee caught my attention:

"Have you tried our reds?''

Until then, I hadn't. But I sampled several that day, including Cabernet Franc, Pinot Noir, Merlot and Dornfelder. Dornfelder? That was a new one for me. The hybrid is one of Germany's top three red wine grapes. Some wineries, including Fulkerson, have high hopes for the grape in the Finger Lakes.

Fulkerson's Dornfelder is dry, fresh-tasting and full-bodied. Take a break from the region's signature Rieslings and give it a try.

I had my first taste of the Pinot Rose made by Ravines Wine Cellars, Hammondsport, in a restaurant. It's lush, fruity and highly drinkable, a perfect picnic wine, but hard to find in stores. That means visiting the winery to stock up, which isn't a problem, especially when you get there and find out  they're offering wine flights paired with New York cheeses and chocolate.

What's not to like about the New York Wine and Culinary Center in Canandaigua? Nothing! It's anything and everything you want it to be. You can take a culinary class in a state-of-the-art kitchen or stop in for lunch or dinner (reservations recommended), or both.

I had the pleasure of both dining and class time at NYWCC  last spring, while working on a feature for The Good Life Central New York Magazine. And I'll be back, courtesy of an excellent Christmas gift from a thoughtful sister and brother-in-law.

CHEESE, PLEASE!

I sampled a 14-year-old cheddar, maple cheddar and other specialty cheeses at Gold Cup Farms' River Rat Cheese Shop in Clayton, a cheddar affectionately named "Old Grandad'' and an un-named 16-year-old cheddar at Jewett's Cheese House in Earlville and sheep's milk feta, boursin and other artisan cheeses from Meadowood Farms, Cazenovia.

 

 

I intended to get to at least several stops on the Finger Lakes Cheese Trail, but my cheese plate was too full, I guess. This year, that's a must.

PIZZA WITH PIZAZZ

I've got Mario and Salvo's in DeWitt on my speed dial, but the best pizza I had in 2010 was at a "parlor'' 60 miles away, at The Copper Oven, at Cayuga Ridge Estate Winery in Ovid.

 

Owners Seth Kircher and M.J. Challen specialize in thin-crust, European-style pizzas, made with fresh, local ingredients, including produce from their garden, in season, and meats and cheeses from the Finger Lakes. Pizzas are cooked in a wood-fired pizza oven. Pair them with a selection from the winery.

CONDIMENTS

In June, I learned the backstory (make that backstories and squabbles) behind the origins of Thousand Island Dressing, one of New York State's signature foods, thanks to an assignment for The Good Life CNY Magazine.

My salad dressing of choice is vinaigrette, but Allen and Susan Benas, co-owners of the Thousand Islands Inn in Clayton, made me a believer in their version of the dressing story -- and a fan of their zippy, house-made dressing.

A visit to F. Oliver's in Canandaigua gave me a new appreciation for the world of artisan, small-batch olive oils and vinegars out there. I'm rationing my supply of Persian lime olive oil and blushing peach white balsamic vinegar and dreaming about what flavors I'll try next.

Organic extra virgin avocado oil? Finger Lakes Fabulous Squash Seed Oil? Both?

LOCAL PRODUCE REDUX

We thought about signing up for a CSA share, but instead shopped for local produce at the dozens of farmers markets in Central New York. Favorites include the Regional Market, the Downtown Farmers Market, the teeny-tiny farmers market held Wednesdays at the Westcott Community Center and the periodic University Community Harvest Farmers Markets at Syracuse University.

A memorable, late-summer excursion took me to Schoolhouse Farms in Borodino for heirloom tomatoes. There is nothing better than a red, ripe tomato, fresh from the vine, except for maybe a red (or yellow, orange or purple) ripe, lopsided heirloom tomato, grown in the countryside near Skaneateles.

OUT-OF-THE-WAY PLACES

DeRuyter is home to DeRuyter Lake and the Red and White Cafe, a charming restaurant in a former Red & White store on the main drag in the village. Think homemade breads, muffins, cookies, cakes and pies. And pancakes with real, New York maple syrup.

Equally out-of-the-way and equally charming was a lunch visit to the Hardware Cafe and General Store in Fair Haven, on Lake Ontario. It wasn't the best panini I've ever had, but the setting -- a circa 1874 hardware store, enjoying a new life -- is worth the trip.

SWEET!

Walking into the Pastry Palace in Jamesville was like coming home -- home  to the former Snowflake Pastry Shoppe, a legendary Syracuse bakery (RIP). I'd been enjoying owner Francis Yemma's cinnamon rugelach for years at Freedom of Espresso. Now I go straight to the source.

Speaking of source: May 2011 be a year of delicious, locally sourced food discoveries!