I went to dinner at Daniel in New York City last week and had one of the best cocktails I have had in a long time.  It was very simple in its composition—Grey Goose pear flavored vodka, homemade Earl Grey tea syrup and a twist of lemon.

I don’t usually like flavored vodkas, but this variety is great.  It tastes like the skin of a ripe pear without seeming artificially flavored.  The citrusy and floral flavor of the tea pairs well with the fruit and is rounded off nicely with a bit of fresh lemon juice.  But, best of all this drink easily be recreated at home (less the $15 price tag)!

Earl Grey and Pear Martini
1 oz. Grey Goose pear vodka
1 oz. Earl Grey Syrup (see recipe below)
1 tsp. fresh lemon juice

Shake over ice in a martini shaker and strain into a chilled glass.   Garnish with a lemon zest twist.  (You could also rim the glass with a bit of sugar for a more finished look.  Or if you wanted to get really fancy, you could replace the vodka with pear brandy, my favorite being made in Portland, Oregon by Clear Creek Distillery.)

Earl Grey Syrup
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
2 Earl Grey tea bags

Bring the sugar and water to a boil for one minute.
Remove from heat, add tea bags and steep to a moderately strong flavor.
Remove tea bags and let cool down at room temperature.  Once cool, transfer to another container and let chill in the refrigerator until completely cold.

I recently bought New York-based Pastry Chef, Francois Payard’s, new cookbook, Chocolate Epiphany. I am very happy about the purchase.

His book is a great combination of classic French pastry and good old American comfort dessert recipes. It also includes lots of great photographs (I’m always more inclined to try the recipes that have pictures). So far, I am really liking the looks of the peanut-caramel tart and the chocolate canneles. I can’t wait to actually test them out myself!

Originally from McCall’s Family Style Cookbook (1965), then found again on a blog about retro foodstuffs, these marshmallow creations are so cool that I had to post them!

How great of a project would this be for kids?!

Ordered as an appetizer, but better as a dessert, the Venezuelan version of arepas called “yoyos,” that I had recently was really great!  They were filled with caramelized sweet plantains and a mild white cheese that was similar to mozzarella.  But, what made them dessert-like was the dough used, which was sweeter than usual and seasoned with cinnamon before being deep-fried.  They tasted like banana French toast!

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Ostrich eggs that is!!!

Near the produce section of my local gourmet grocery store, I noticed a new display dedicated to specialty eggs.  In it’s selection, there were quail eggs (snooze…), wild duck and turkey eggs (interesting), and ostrich eggs (what?!).

I’m assuming these monster-sized eggs, priced at a whopping $29.99 each, were there simply to catch my eye.  The specialty egg department is new to me, and had those giant eggs not been there, I might not have paid much attention.  Nonetheless, if this was a marketing scheme, it did the trick!  Now I just need to start researching recipes that call for ostrich eggs…

One of my favorite Latin American drinks is agua de tamarindo. The beverage is made similar to a tea, by boiling tamarind pods and seeds in water until the brew takes on a strong flavor and dark caramel brown color. It is then sweetened with white sugar, chilled, and served over ice—something like a Latin version of sweet tea.  It also makes a nice cocktail when mixed with Myer’s spiced rum and garnished with a fresh lime wedge.

The flavor of the drink is very distinct, and the best way I can describe it is by calling it sweet, sour and tangy. To really understand the flavor, you have to go try it yourself. I’ve found most people either love it or hate it—and not much in between.

You can also buy the beverage bottled by a company called Jarritos. Their variety is also very good, but it is a bit sweeter and is carbonated. And when you can’t get it homemade, it makes a fine substitute.

This is one of my all time favorite vegetable side dishes. It is simple to make and accompanies any number of entrees nicely. The earthy flavor of the Brussel sprouts is offset well by the sweetness of the caramelized onions and fresh grapes. And because of the sprouts disguise behind a very child-friendly fruit—the red grape, these less-than-loved veggies can sometimes be slipped past the pickiest of little eaters!

Here’s the how-to: Thinly slice about a quarter of a small red onion and one small clove of garlic. Sauté in olive oil until just soft and lightly caramelized. Add a couple of handfuls of cleaned and quartered raw Brussel sprouts and cook on medium heat until just soft (if they are sticking to the pan, add a bit more olive oil and a 1/4 cup of water). At this point, season with a bit of salt and pepper to taste. Once the sprouts are cooked to where you like them, toss in a couple of tablespoons of freshly chopped parsley and a couple of handfuls of fresh red grapes, sliced in half. Quickly toss in the pan, until the grapes have just warmed through, and serve!

For a quick lunch a couple of days ago, I stopped into a dumpling bar near NYU that I recently read about. What I wasn’t expecting was a dessert dumpling to be included on their menu.

The dumpling consisted of a shell of chewy, gelatinous rice cake that was rolled in black sesame seeds and filled with dark Swiss chocolate. After being deep-fried to order, the center became a fudgy, gooey mess and the sesame seeds took on a toasty flavor. It reminded me of a cross between a molten chocolate cake and a Chinese sesame ball—a perfect combination of east-meets-west cuisine!

Traditionally purchased for a dollar from a Mexican street vendor in my former neighborhood in Chicago, elotes came to be one of my favorite childhood snacks (a craving that has followed me into adulthood) . So when I found it on the menu at my new Brooklyn neighborhood Latin eatery, I was so happy I didn’t mind the $2 price tag.

Elotes, is a calorie counter’s nightmare. It is a piece of roasted corn, slathered in melted butter (or sometimes margarine), then slathered again with mayonnaise (preferably Hellman’s). Then it is rolled in grated parmesan (usually the Kraft brand), squirted with a bit of fresh lime juice, and lightly dusted with chili powder.

I’m sure after reading the description, you can see how this could quite possibly be the world’s greatest junk food. And if you are not sold on the idea, you should definitely try making this at home–especially if you have kids!

After readings a few articles this week about this new and ever-so-popular dish, then hearing a friend talk about having it on her veggie plate at Daniel, I decided that this idea is actually pretty cool.

Instead of using pasta with carbonara, the uber hip chefs of New York City are slicing paper thin strips of raw asparagus, then tossing them into warm carbonara sauce to gently cook them right before serving.

I haven’t tried the combination myself, but I think it sounds quite tasty, especially as a nice accompaniment to an entree or a lighter take on the traditional Italian dish.