New Dinner!

Domestic Labor Dinner and Dance Party: Last Supper Fundraiser

It’s true. Long time no post! Things will get up and running again soon, I promise. I blame it on a completely successful summer. This past month, I’ve really embraced the old ‘work hard, play hard’ ethic. Long hours at the store followed by longer hours at my gallery, finally wrapping up my day around 12am. Instead of sleeping (which I obviously should have been) I jump on my bike and in pursuit of cold beers and the general enjoyment of sweating on my rooftop with my dog waiting for the evening breeze to lull me to sleep.

And now, on to the dinner. Here’s the deets: I’m catering a fundraiser for an awesome installation called “The Last Supper” which I can only liken it to “the ‘Burning Man’ of Williamsburg.” It’s a nearly 24-hour shit show of food, art, music and video all addressing the themes of consumption. It’s pretty darn neat. This Saturday will be the fundraiser for that super awesome event! The benefit is called “The Domestic Labor Dinner + Dance Hoedown.”

The Domestic Dinner Dance will be in Williamsburg, too- at a new space down by Marlow & Sons on Broadway. Drawing inspiration from past periods of economic hardship, the evening celebrates simple pleasures and simple measures: the fruits and labors of local artists, farmers, craftspeople, musicians, DJs, filmmakers, and writers. The funds collected at the door are what helps keep an event like “The Last Supper” (which attracted 300+ people last year) affordable: $10 at the door with canned goods for a food drive.

With earnest appreciation, we turn to the local-pastoral in order to revisit the past and re-imagine the future. Please join us in conversations about labor, value, and alternative economies of means, while enjoying a farm feast inspired by the Food Files and Films of the WPA.

Celebratory Hoedown included in Dinner Ticket for $45, or individually priced at a fair $10.

What you can look forward to:
-FOOD: Ambrosial appetizers, luscious libations and multi-course creative Supper will be served up by yours truly, Food Artist Lila Dobbs, of Brooklyn Sour and co-host of CinemaKitchen.  There are rumors of liquor being poured from a claw foot bathtub!
-MOVIES: WPA films about rationing, victory gardens, domesticity and labor will be screened throughout the dinner.
-MUSIC: from Ian Beck, Dorie Colangelo, and DJ Selector Honeyknuckles, along with multimedia sound and video projection performances by Ryan Brennan.
-ART: from local resourceful artists Sarah Walko, Coralina Meyer, Dan Quinn and many more.
-TALK: with NYC backyard visionaries and Last Supper alumni about Consumption, Means, Labor and Domesticity.
-ACT: Revel in your resources! Bring an old T-shirt for screen printing and one-of-a-kind drawings.  Canning demo to follow dinner!  Contribute your ideas about means and resources by participating in this great community event. Multi-Media Fundraiser for the upcoming Last Supper Salon.

Saturday, August 29- 6pm
26 x 3 Art Space: Everard Findlay/ 26 Broadway/ Williamsburg
contact: brooklynsour@gmail.com
Tickets available at Brown Paper Tickets:
Dinner: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/78663
Hoedown: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/78674

MENU
________

seasonal libation
___________

sourdough toast
butter beans, bacon & chard

cornmeal drop biscuits
smoked eggplant
tomato jam
_____

soup of cucumber & kefir

corn & squash
brown butter, lemon-thyme

potatoes [new & sweet]
garlic, rosemary

market salad
slow roasted tomatoes
_____

peaches with housemade ricotta and honey
buttermilk and brown sugar pound cake
cocoa molasses toffee

Weekend!

Weekend To-Do!

Thursday, June 11:
Craig Claiborne and the Invention of Food Journalism
For a measly five bucks, come hear a rock star panel of food writers. You have a better way to spend a rainy Thursday? Speakers include NYTimes writer Craig Claiborne (called the nation’s preeminent food journalist), Molly O’Neill, former New York Times columnist, and author of the New York Cookbook; Betty Fussell, author of The Story of Corn and Raising Steaks; Anne Mendelson, author of Stand Facing the Stove, and Milk: the Surprising Story of Milk Through the Ages, and a contributing editor to Gourmet; David Leite, publisher/editor-in-chief, Leite’s Culinaria, and author of The New Portuguese Table; John T. Edge, Director, Southern Foodways Alliance, University of Mississippi, contributing editor, Gourmet, author of Southern Belly. The panel will be moderated by Andrew F. Smith, editor of the Oxford Companion to American Food and Drink, and Food Studies professor. Sponsored by the Food Studies Program at The New School. Theresa Lang Community and Student Center, Arnhold Hall, 55 West 13th Street, 2nd floor. $5. Reservations and inquiries can be made by emailing boxoffice@newschool.edu or calling 212.229.5488.

Saturday June 13th-19th:
3rd Annual NYC Food Film Festival!

View the event’s trailer here. The schedule is here.

Saturday, June 13-14th:
The Seventh Annual Snapple Big Apple Barbecue Block Party!
The weekend-long event takes place every June and brings together the country’s top pitmasters who cook up their award-winning food for over a hundred thousand barbecue enthusiasts. Set against the beautiful backdrop of Madison Square Park, the Snapple Big Apple Barbecue Block Party attracts people from near and far to sustain and celebrate America’s authentic culinary and musical traditions.

Admission to the event is free. Take in the sights, sounds and smells of the event – from great live music to engaging seminars and cooking demonstrations – without ever dropping a dollar. The country’s best barbecue is available from top pitmasters for only $8 per plate.

Proceeds from the Snapple Big Apple Barbecue Block Party support the Madison Square Park Conservancy, the organization responsible for the beauty, ongoing maintenance, and programming of this historic park. Madison Square Park June 13-14, 2009, from 11am – 7pm.

Food Media!

Food Media!

There are things I love about this whole blogging business. Writing, posting photographs- it’s like a slightly more serious afternoon spent making collage. However, writing and photography cover only 2/3’s of the journalism holy trinity.

Be it on your I-pods or on your computer (or even on an actual radio!) I don’t think I’m so far off by assuming that many of you have WNYC streaming in some capacity during the week (or at least on the weekend- namely on Sundays at 4pm.) So I’ve decided to post a page of all the wonderful food/news interviews/features/stories that have been riding the airwaves lately. (You know, I did work in public radio once upon a day.)

Today:
via WNYC
Thursday June 11, 2009

THE LEONARD LOPATE SHOW
From Food to Fatherhood…


Today WNYC kicks off its new series,
Food in the City—about reinterpreting and adapting recipes for New York City living—with chef Michael Lomonaco. Interview with Leonard Lopate to follow, on the highs and lows of being a dad with the editor of, and contributors to, a new anthology about fatherhood.

Video Bonus! Beside the NPR interview, we also get a you-tube clip of Leonard Lopate baking up his favorite buttermilk pancakes!

Food in the City: Leonard Lopate’s Half-Inch-High Buttermilk Pancakes
My mother used to make pancakes on special weekend occasions when I was a kid, but they were always from a mix. It wasn’t until I began to cook for myself and others that I realized just how much better they taste when you make them from scratch. And they require only a bit more work. As far as I can remember, I got the original recipe for these pancakes from Cook’s magazine. But then I lost it and came up with this version from memory. Everyone I know loves them. And David Waltuck, the chef at Chanterelle, even included this recipe for half-inch high pancakes in one of his cookbooks. I hope you enjoy making it as much as I do.

Half-Inch-High Buttermilk Pancakes
Makes eight 3 1/2-inch-wide pancakes

1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 large egg, separated
2/3 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup milk
Canola or other vegetable oil, for greasing the griddle
Spiced Maple Syrup, for serving

1. Place the flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, and baking powder in a medium-size mixing bowl and stir to combine.

2. Place the melted butter and the egg yolk in a small bowl and whisk to blend. Add the buttermilk, milk, and the egg white and whisk thoroughly to combine.

3. Pour the egg mixture into the dry ingredients and mix until combined, but do not overwork. The batter should be quite think and very lumpy.

4. Heat a griddle over high heat until very hot (a drop of water should sizzle on contact). Lightly grease the griddle with a small amount of oil, then lower the heat to medium. Using a ¼-cup measure, pour the batter onto the griddle. Don’t crowd the pancakes; you want the batter to spread comfortably, leaving enough room between the cakes to be able to turn them easily.

5. Cook the pancakes until they begin to firm up and bubble appear on the surface (watch closely; sometimes the cakes firm up before the bubbles show up), 2 to 3 minutes. Use a spatula to lift a pancake to check its bottom side; if it’s nicely browned, slide the spatula all the way under and flip the cake. Check all pancakes before flipping.

6. Continue cooking the pancakes until the second side is nicely browned, about 1 minute more.

7. Serve the pancakes immediately with the syrup, if desired.

CinemaKitchen 03!

New CinemaKitchen Date + Menu!

6/25 : CINEMAKITCHEN 03 : The Umbrellas of Cherbourg

Screening 03:
7:30pm, Thursday, June 25 @ UNIONDOCS
322 Union Ave – Brooklyn, NY 11211

BUY TICKETS HERE : https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/70414

LES PARAPLUIES DE CHERBOURG (1964) / Directed by Jacques Demy
Curated by Gina Telaroli of Project Film School

Jacques Demy’s 1964 masterpiece The Umbrellas of Cherbourg is a pop-art opera, or, to borrow the director’s own description, a film in song. This simple romantic tragedy begins in 1957. Guy Foucher (Nino Castelnuovo), a 20-year-old French auto mechanic, has fallen in love with 17-year-old Genevive Emery (a luminous Catherine Deneuve), an employee in her widowed mother’s chic but financially embattled umbrella shop. A completely sung movie, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg is closest in form to a cinematic opera. Composer Michel Legrand composed the score, modeling it around the patterns of everyday conversation.

M E N U / by Lila Dobbs of Brooklyn Sour
(subject to change without notice and all vegetarian!)
______________________

Market Salad
spring greens, goat cheese ’scallops’ and cider reduction

Vichyssoise
green garlic, chive oil and creme fraiche

Sourdough Baguette
confitures en tous genres
(lots of jams!)

Strawberries and Rhubarb in Phyllo
almond creme anglaise, assorted meringues and petits gateaux

MOVIE-WATCHING SNACK
Ice Cream Sandwich
brioche, michel cluizel chocolate ice cream
____________________________

all baked goods and some dairy are prepared on premise, from scratch.
drinks: surprise – you’ll get 1-2 drinks but please feel free to bring something to share!

*seating limited to 15

Tonight!

Tonight!

How could I forget?!  Fellow food blogger and close buddy of the Brooklyn Kitchen, Cathy Erway (of Not Eating Out in NY fame)  is kicking off her new supper club Happa Kitchen tonight at BKLYN Yard.

6pm – 9pm; FREE ENTRY * $7 for a plate of food

With Chefs: Cathy Erway & Akiko Moorman
With Pasturized Pork by Tamarack Hollow Farms
With Desserts by: Treats Truck

MENU:

Tequila-Soy Pork Kushiyashi
Vietnamese Pork Meatballs
Buffalo Tofu Skewers

sides:
Curried Potato Salad with Rosemary and Chickpeas
Honey Miso Coleslaw
Hoisin Chipotle Baked Beans

choose one main course and get all three (vegetarian-friendly) sides

Openings

Openings

Strawberry Ice Cream on Chocolate Chip Cookie, $5

Parlor Tricks
Jacques Torres opens Brooklyn Ice Cream shoppe in Dumbo! Fresh made waffle cones, malt balls and chocolate covered cheerio toppings. Gah. Can’t make it for the opening? Don’t worry- you got options. Jacques Torres Ice Cream, 66 Water Street, Brooklyn NY 11201 (b/n Main Street and Dock Street.

Spring Feast at Resto
Consider your buddy’s next birthday party planned. This spring, Resto is advertising, “Pick a whole animal. Come to Resto. Feast.” Literally. Once you pick an animal, Chef Robert Hellen will design a seasonal, custom menu using the entire animal. The animal will be broken down into primal parts and prepared in a variety of different ways with items from the Union Square Green Market. Moreover, sommelier, Hannah Selinger can pair your feast with select beers and wine. Season’s offerings will include: spring lamb, guinea hen, suckling pig, whole striped bass, spring goat and poularde en demi-deuil.

Call at 212.685.5585 or email james@restonyc.com to find out more about this unique dining experience. One week notice is required. Resto can accomodate parties as large as 18 people. 111 E. 29th Street, Manhattan.

BKLYN Larder: Franny’s Expands!
Yummy deli with prepared foods, salumi, and cheeses facing shelves of imported pastas, fancy chocolates, and other non-essential (but lovely) items, and a refrigerated section full of yogurts, bacon, and $9 pints of house-made gelato. Sammys rotate daily and (mostly made on Sullivan Street bread) follow the Franny’s aesthetic: simple, flavorful, delicious. Some offerings include: rapini and ricotta, grilled castellano (a melty sheep’s milk cheese from Spain) as well as uncooked porchetta by the pound, veal meatballs as well as local treats from the usual suspects (i.e., McClure’s and Salvatore, to name a few.)

photo courtesy of serious eats

Also exciting to buy: the canned San Marzano that goes into Franny’s pizza sauce. Wait- even more exciting: olive oil by the jug! Sort of. They’ll fill bottles of the “green and peppery” Terra di Bari DOP Extra Virgin olive oil for $19 (per 750 milliliters) from a big stainless-steel jug called a “fusta.” Neat! 228 Flatbush Avenue, Brooklyn. 718-783-1250

To-Do Part II!

Plan Your Week/End!

Saturday, June 6th
Grab Specialty Foods in Park Slope has spent the past year pairing each one of their 150+ craft beers with each one of their 150+ cheeses! Signs include a small description as well as a beer recommendation so you will know if this cheese is the right one for you. Perfect for beginners who can only characterize their cheese as stinky or gooey or for those who ask themselves, “What will happen when I put my Pecorino Toscano with my Cantillon Kriek?” Grab Specialty Foods, 438 7th Avenue, between 14th and 15th Streets, Brooklyn.

Grab Specialty June Tasting Schedule (Free!):
Saturday, June 6th 4-6pm: STONE BREWING COMPANY
- Arrogant Bastard
- Levitation *New*
- Ruination
- Pale Ale

Saturday, June 13th 5-7pm: BRASSERIE D’ACHOUFFE, OMMEGANG & DUVEL
- Ommegang Rouge
- Hennepin
- Houblon Chouffe Dobbelen IPA Tripel
- La Chouffe
- Duvel

Saturday, June 6th
Birthday Beers at Beer Table!
Reap the benefits of a bartender’s birthday. Justin Philips, the owner of the specialty beer and food nook, Beer Table will host Teo Musso of Le Baladin fame on Saturday, June 6th between 4 and 6 PM. We’ve also just learned that we’ll have two other distinguished guests; Leonardo from Birra del Borgo and Giovanni from Birrificio del Ducato! Please join us to taste through the diverse range of Teo, Leonardo, and Giovanni’s creations. No reservations necessary.

Extra Bonus: We’re going to start serving a special version of Ploughgate Creamery’s Willoughby cheese which was custom-washed in Birriificio Italiano Cassisona by Princess and Marissa just for this event! Cosa bella formaggio!

Sunday, June 7th

1st Annual Brooklyn Beer Experiment!

This should be a fun afternoon of tasting and competition at The Bell House. Justin will be a judge for the homebrewer’s competition. Buy tickets in advance: 1-5 PM, $18

Monday, June 8th

Matthew Polacheck will join us to tell the story of the Schmaltz Brewing Company and to taste various beers and schnacks. He’s bringing an exceptional lineup of oddities, so this should be a really fun tasting. Beer Table, 7-8:30 PM, $35

Friday June 12
Jell-O Mold Competition!

June 12th marks the deadline for the June 20th Jell-O Mold Competition. The most distinguished engineers working in a gelatinous medium might be the Jelly Mongers, Sam Bompas and Harry Parr, but two Brooklyn roommates are bringing the jiggle wiggle to New York City. Basically they thought, what the hell, let’s organize a Jell-O Mold Competition. And since only two pretty interesting gals could say that, we decided to learn more about them and this competition. Register by June 12 for the event, which is happening on Saturday, June 20, from 6 to 10 p.m.

You can read their interview with Serious Eats here

Coming Up!

Sunday June 21
Father’s Day Special: Is That Chocolate in My Beer?

Treat your dad, your buddy or your partner to an afternoon of chocolate and beer. You will learn about the many varieties of cocoa beans and chocolate, how the Aztec and Maya discovered chocolate, and how to make your own chocolate bars from the bean. Learn all of this with ethnobotanist Nat Bletter, who has studied and made chocolate for over 5 years and regularly sells out of every bar he makes.

In the class everyone will participate in making delicious chocolate bars from scratch after a short talk on the history of chocolate with some tastings, and you’ll go home with recipes and a bar of chocolate.

Jimmy Carbone, owner of Jimmy’s 43, fine beer aficionado and originator of the Good Beer Seal of Approval will pair Nat’s homemade chocolate with a selection of artisanal beers.

Proceeds will go towards Slow Food NYC’s Harvest Time in Schools Program.
Jimmy’s No. 43 – 43 East 7th street (downstairs), Manhattan, 2:00pm – 5:00pm.

Monday, June 22
Eat Your Pride Out! Garden Party 26
6:00-10:00 pm
Hudson River Park Trust, Pier 54
West 14th Street and the Westside Highway

Garden Party is NYC’s official kick-off to Pride Week, raising much-needed funds that allow the Center to keep its doors open 365 days a year. Most importantly, the money raised at Garden Party allows the Center to build and support our community through advocacy, culture and health programs, as well as meeting and conference services.

Garden Party started in 1984 with 1,000 donors and friends and one catering company. Nowadays, Garden Party attracts over 2,300 friends and supporters and features 40 food participants. Our celebrity chefs this year include Rebecca Charles (Pearl Oyster Bar), David Pasternak (Esca), and Daniel Angerer (Klee Brasserie). And back as our Event Chair this year is Gourmet Editor-in-Chief, Ruth Reichl!

As the only LGBT tasting festival in the country, Garden Party is definitely a tasty treat you will not want to miss this year. Join us on Monday, June 22, 2009 on Pier 54 for delicious food from some of New York’s finest and greatest culinary destinations and food purveyors. For a list of participating restaurants, click here. Ticket info here.

Wednesday, July 29
The Brooklyn Slur: Clover Club

The Slow Food NYC monthly Happy Hour! It’s fun, social, and informal. But it’s also your opportunity to talk to the leadership of Slow Food NYC and let them know what you think. Got a great idea for an event? Looking for ways to get involved? Want to learn more about Slow Food? Just want to have a relaxing drink with other “Slow” minded people? The Slur is your opportunity.

Clover Club uses seasonal ingredients to create traditional and updated versions of classic cocktails. Their attention to detail and commitment to quality has earned them the approval of cocktail lovers from all over the city. Hope you can join us there. Clover Club – 210 Smith Street (btn Baltic & Butler sts.), Brooklyn. 7:00pm – 9:00pm

Wednesday, July 29
Edible Brooklyn Presents “Good Beer at BAM.” local brewmasters pair with Gotham chefs in sudsy, symbiotic splendor. Produced in conjunction with Good Beer Seal. $45, 4- 8 p.m.

New York has been a beer town since it was New Amsterdam. But today’s beer revival is just built on Old World influences. It’s riding on Gotham’s craving for local eats and the good beers that go with them. On July 29, Edible Brooklyn, in conjunction with New York Beer month and the Good Beer Seal, presents Good Beer at BAM–the first annual beer and food pairing event of its kind in New York City–at BAMcafe
in Brooklyn.

Two dozen breweries from New York and the region will pour alongside an edited list of tastes from Brooklyn and Manhattan restaurants and food makers.
Stay tuned at www.ediblebrooklyn.net.

In the Newsy

Of Interest: Week of 6/2/09

In no particular order of importance-
Articles:

Rooftop Farm in Brooklyn Overlooking Manhattan Skyscrapers [Serious Eats]
You’ll also see in the last picture, our very own CinemaKitchen hostess Gina Telaroli with a sore green thumb.

A New Kind of Victory Garden
Brooklyn Based featured two new super exciting community-art projects. One of them is Sharecropper- a micro farming installation by artist Leah Gauthier to last for one growing season in New York City, Summer 2009. Leah will be using organic growing methods to plant rare and endangered heirloom vegetables and herbs, and to cultivate wild edibles on 17 parcels of donated land or growing spaces located in each of the five boroughs. A portion of the harvest will be shared with local soup kitchens, and series of public programming, including urban farming panel discussions, art happenings, and cooking performances around the city are being planned.

Veggie Trader
When life gives you lemons…trade them. For something better. Veggie trader is a super neat (free!) networking site to buy, sell or trade local produce. It works a lot like Craigslist. Simply post a listing describing the excess produce you have and what you’d like in return, and then wait for a response. Or, if you’re looking for local produce, you simply enter your zipcode and see what your neighbors have available. You can also post specific produce you’re looking for in the Wanted section. Sounds like the perfect answer for when you get a sack of kholrabi from your CSA and the only people you can turn to are your friends who eat from your neighborhood taco truck almost exclusively.

Summer Internships are Going Organic [NYTimes]
with slideshow and recorded interview with NPR’s The Takeaway

Related:

The Case for Working with Your Hands [NYTimes]

Preserving Time in a Bottle (Or Jar) [NYTimes]

A Town Fights to Save an Oasis of Baugettes [NYTimes]

Bar? What Bar? [NYTimes]

Essay: Food Bloggers of 1940 [NYTimes Sunday Book Review]

Weekend

Round Up: Weekend To-Do

FRIDAY:
Pigs on Film!
The latest of Monkey Town’s heavily themed dinners focuses on pork, with four swine-inspired films (Delicatessen, Porco Rosso, Black Moon and Animal Farm) on the screen, accompanied by a six-course snout-to-tail menu ($40; $65 with wine pairings), which includes crispy pig’s-ear salad, roast pork loin and bacon-apple pot-au-crème. Reservations are highly recommended but maybe Swine Flu has made it easier.   58 N. Third St. (between Wythe and Kent aves.), Brooklyn; 718-384-1369 or monkeytownhq.com. 5/29 through Sunday, 5/31. 7:30pm

SATURDAY:
Cobblestone Cookout
Chefs from 25 Chelsea and Meatpacking District restaurants (including Cookshop, Pastis, The Red Cat and Tia Pol) take to the streets for this walk-around tasting, which benefits the NYC Lab School. Tickets ($35 in advance; $45 the same day) include six dishes of your choosing. Gansevoort St. (between Hudson St. and Ninth Ave.); tastesnyc.org. 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Fuck Brunch!
Quarter, a bar in the South Slope offers free Old Crow bourbon and cheap food from the grill: burgers, dogs, veggies and vegetarian dogs. Live DJ, too — you can pretend it’s nighttime. No cover; 3-4pm. Quarter. 676 5th Ave, at 20th Street. 718.788.0989

SUNDAY:
Fleas on Bikes
Bicycle freaks and geeks join up this Sunday for a love train on gears at the Brooklyn Bike Jumble. Found at Park Slope’s JJ Byrne Park, the Jumble is NYC’s first and only flea market to celebrate the city’s bike culture. Organizers promise a slew of enthusiasts who will be on hand selling a complete range of bicycles, parts, accessories, and clothes from 10am-2pm.

Marty McSorley & the Funky Brunch
One dollar pitchers of beer is practically free. WFMU DJ Marty McSorley plays Funk and Soul while you drink nearly free beer and dine on $2 “gourmet grillables” by Escarlata. Sounds like brunch. And dinner. $1 32oz pitchers of beer, no cover. 12pm-7pm. Sweet Ups. 277 Graham Ave. Williamsburg.

Catfish Brunch
3 free drinks with $13 brunch. I feel like this is probably only good if you wake up so hung over that your day would’ve been truly shot anyway. They also do free PBRs on Tuesday from 6-8pm. Lazy Catfish. 593 Lorimer Street, at Conselyea Street. Williamsburg. 718.599.9055

MONDAY:
Flight Club
A pair of great beer deals kick off June: The Thirtnight of Fury starts June 1 at Pacific-Standard–each patron who tries each of their 30 beers in the month of June will be rewarded with a party and specials (and probably a massive headache, but that’s the price you pay). They’ll also be eligible for two grand prizes, a $100 gift certificate to Bierkraft and a dinner for two at locavore paradise Farm on Adderley. Over at the Bell House’s “Flight Club,” $10 = a flight of four beers and cheeses (plus $3 Six Point all night) the same night.

Coming Up…

Wednesday, June 3:
Beer and Cheese Tasting at Beer Table via Food for Thought Tours.
The latest installment of the Food for Thought local dinner series brings Anne Saxelby, champion of American-made artisanal cheeses, to Beer Table where she and Justin Phillips (owner of Beer Table) will set you up with plenty of beer ‘n cheese tastings to provoke your thoughts. Beer Table. 427 B 7th Ave., Park Slope. Tickets, $35.

Meet-the-farmer Dinner at Applewood
Applewood puts on a four-course tasting menu with wine pairings to showcase the products from Hardwick Beef Cooperative. Chat it up with farmer Ridge Shinn, “the nation’s foremost authority on grass-fed and grass-finished beef,” over a lovely meal. Also meet chef David Shea, who will expound on the farmer-restaurant connection, and why he chooses to partner with small, local farms. Call for reservations 718.788.1810, $85. 7pm.

Sunday June 7:
1st Annual Brooklyn Beer Experiment!
Taste the delectable beer-infused creations of over 25 amateur chefs, while sampling the best home brewed beers Brooklyn has to offer. Your vote along with a panel of celebrity judges will determine the Brooklyn beer king or queen. Winners take home mouthwatering prizes, a large amount of cash and unlimited BEER glory! Entry forms still available, tasting tickets are on sale in advance for $18, which gets you one beer courtesy of Brooklyn Brewery or Smuttynose, plus the chance to experience beer history in the making. The Bell House. 149 7th Street. Brooklyn. 718.643.6510. brooklynbeerexperiment@gmail.com.

Monday, June 8:
The Story of Schmaltz
Matthew Polacheck comes to the table to share the story of a Coney Island gem, the Schmaltz Brewing Company. Pull up a seat and nurse a pint while a sudsy story hour ensues. Beer Table, 427 B 7th Avenue (Btwn 14th & 15th Sts), Park Slope.

Friday June 10:
Food, Inc.: The Brooklocavore Premiere!
Like me, I’m sure you weren’t invited to the Food, Inc. premiere either.  But you know what?  It was held in the arm pit of Manhattan (otherwise known as midtown) at the Times Center.  Gross.  So Brooklyn Based has come to our resuce (as per usual) by hosting a premiere at the Bell House. Doors will open at 7pm for pre-movie munchies from Roebling Tea Room and Sweet Deliverance, as well as several drink specials from local wine and beer producers. Following the film, food writer and Brooklyn Based editor Annaliese Griffin will moderate a q&a with director Robert Kenner and author Eric Schlosser, who also appears in the film.  The Bell House. 149 7th Street. Brooklyn. 718.643.6510. info@thebellhouseny.com

Thursday June 11:
Craig Claiborne and the Invention of Food Journalism
Panelists include: Molly O’Neill, Betty Fussell, Anne Mendelson, David Leite, John T. Edge, and Andrew F. Smith. “Called the nation’s preeminent food journalist, Mississippi-born Craig Claiborne trained in Switzerland as a chef on the GI bill after World War II. On his return to the United States, he began writing articles for Gourmet and became an editor at the magazine. His career skyrocketed when The New York Times hired him as its first food columnist in 1957. Claiborne’s columns, reviews and cookbooks introduced Americans to a wide range of international and ethnic food. Other newspapers followed The New York Times’s lead, and soon a cadre of authoritative newspaper food writers helped attune millions of Americans to the finer points of good food and cooking. Our panel explores Claiborne’s life, work, and his seminal influence on food journalism in America.” The New School. Theresa Lang Community and Student Center,  Arnold Hall. 55 W. 13th St., 2nd floor. Admission, $5. 6pm.

Cinema Success!

Dinner Party Re-Cap

Nearly a week later, I’m ready to get back into a regular writing routine. I’ve been waiting on a new digital camera and was convinced I couldn’t post without it (dumb.)  I did however, get in a set of pictures from last week’s CinemaKitchen courtesy of my lovely little hostess, Gina. Hopefully more to come. Well, they better considering 75% of dinner attendees were documentary filmmakers.  No matter, lots of good things going on in the ‘hood and I will post photos as my fellow diners send ‘em in.

So I’m sitting in my room and it’s raining. I’m drinking a small mug of hot Kona coffee (god bless the french press) with hot Ronnybrook cream and wild Oahu honey (reason #105 why having an expat for a brother can be a wonderful thing.) I’m procrastinating majorly but pleasurably from making more jam for a new line of goods (!) for a friend’s CSA/farm stand in New Jersey. I also need to design a label. And a logo. I think “That’s My Jam” is taken by another hipster canning operation. So suggestions are welcome.

CinemaKitchen. Awesome. As you might’ve read, this project is a collaboration with Project Film School where I create and execute a menu inspired by a movie (curated PFS member and friend, Gina) to be screened alongside the meal. The film was Louis Malle’s “God’s Country.” It’s a beautiful and meditative (and somewhat cinema-verite) piece on a homogeneous Minnesota town in the early 80’s. Imagine a more personable, less eccentric/condescending Werner Herzog. That’s Louis Malle- at least in this film. Same quirky European voice-over but there seems to be a lot less projection going on. In any case- expect lots of polka, obsessive lawn care and beer. It’s quite wonderful and totally beats any kitschy home movie footage I ever had.

The dinner itself was a joy to put together. I’ve learned a lot from previous dinner parties/supper clubs, both my own as well as ones hosted by friends. In the past, I used to bus all the (mismatched) dishes from our gallery to my apartment kitchen on the second floor (without a wash tub.) Sometimes I did it all on my own and sometimes I had too much help. While I always took on the menu/cooking/shopping solo, I somehow ended up with too many hands in the actual kitchen. Coupled with the fact that I was also attempting to serve four different craft beers made things, well, stressful. The help would drink. And eat. And then quit halfway. I never did understand how other hosts managed to shop, cook, seat and then actually EAT with their guests. In a dress no less! Whenever dinner was served here, I would still be in the kitchen sweating and covered in flour with a stained apron tied around my waist. THIS time, I was keen enough to borrow a portable induction burner from work (along with some uh-mazing All-Clad pots and pans) and set up a plating station and “line” from within our film projection booth inside our gallery. This way I was able to toss salad for 15 on the spot, plate it, squirt some fancy sauce on it and hand it through the window to Gina, who then could serve it to the hungry folks. It was both seamless and ideal. We also have a fridge and SS sink in the back of the gallery, too. It was almost like being back in a restaurant kitchen. Almost. Sort of. Except for a greasy tattooed chef breathing down my neck. The best part of all? When Gina introduced me half-way through the meal to explain the menu, I was met with a round of applause. You, guys.

5.22.09

buttermilk biscuits
ramp butter, cracked coriander
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spring salad
with saffron-green garlic aioli & chive flowers

from friday’s farmer’s market
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roasted jersey pheasant
over orange-scented beluga lentils & baby root vegetables

or

asparagus bread pudding
sourdough, gruyere & shitakes

german potato salad
mustard, fresh herbs & smoked sea salt

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PBR beer float
buttermilk ice cream & ginger-rhubarb compote

buttermilk popcorn!

To come…a for dummies guide to cooking for a dinner party! And more pictures!  And the dinner’s recipes!