Monthly Archives: April 2011

Book Review: 97 Orchard

97 Orchard

97 Orchard

The story of the immigrant has always fascinated me. Perhaps because I have lived in so many places, I appreciate the importance of preserving one’s culture in foreign lands. In “97 Orchard,” the author focuses on the food, culture and history of 5 immigrant families — German, Irish, Italian, and Eastern European Jews — all of which lived in the same tenement building at 97 Orchard Street in the Lower East Side of New York City from the mid 1800‘s to mid 1900‘s. These stories show that the food we cook and eat is one of the most powerful components of our cultural identity.
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Semana Numero 17

Picture of the Week - April 29, 2011

Picture of the Week - April 29, 2011

Last week, I was surprised with a special home-made dessert.
My favorite cookies of all time are alfajores!
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Cocktails 101: La Algarrobina (Pisco Egg Nog)

Algarrobina (Pisco Egg Nog)

Algarrobina (Pisco Egg Nog)

If you like your cocktails creamy and smooth, much like an egg nog, the next drink in the Cocktail 101 series was made for you. All you need to make one at home is Pisco, carob syrup, sugar, evaporated milk, egg whites, cinammon, and a blender. Señoritas y señores, I present to you, La Algarrobina.
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The Oldest Pisco in the World

From my Brief History of Pisco in San Francisco post, you already knew that Pisco first arrived in the United States during the Gold Rush. But did you know that the oldest distillery in the America’s, Hacienda La Caravedo, was established in 1684? That makes it the oldest Pisco distillery in the world, and last Thursday night I had the pleasure of tasting it’s Pisco Porton for the first time.
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Cooking Class: Part 3

In the third and final class of Anthony Bourdain’s Basic Techniques, we used the fish stock we prepared last week to cook a fish soup while the other students prepared a protein feast of steak, roast chicken, and beef bourguignon. As before, the class was divided in two halves. In the first half, we used our knife skills to dice, mince and chop the ingredients and arrange them in our mise en place. In the second half, we cooked all the dishes, plated them and enjoyed our final group meal.
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