Pro Site Coming in JULY 2007

Hey Guys,

The unveiling of iFoods brand new Professional Site is fast approaching! Thanks to the massive support and encouragement from our fans, we're now filming an extra hundred delicious dishes in the beautiful setting of Castle Leslie in Ireland... the iFoods team now includes a world-class consutlant chef, who has cooked for loads of celebrities and recently took charge as Head Chef of the worlds most expensive ever charter aboard Tatoosh! Our combined contributions will make sure that you have professional guidance from top chefs, to bring the finest dishes to your table with a bit of craic thrown in for good measure!

The new site development is underway and we hope to have a few teaser videos out for you over the next week or two.

Unfortunately the filming has taken a little longer than expected (just to make sure everything's perfect!), the launch of the Pro Site has been post-poned until Mid-July - but believe us, it will be worth the wait.

Wine & Food Pairing Tools

Wine and food. You could spend a lifetime trying to understand that relationship! Lately I've been developing some recipes for a wine retailer and it's been a lot of fun. It's also been a challenge since my normal process would be to start with a dish and then figure out what to serve with it, not the other way around. Along the way I've talked to a lot of people, read a number of books and gathered up as many resources as I can to help me.

This weekend at brunch, Derrick of the food blog Obsession with Food, mentioned his basic rules for wine pairing and they are really good ones. Check out his post on the subject here.

Along with my "bible" What to Drink with What you Eat, I also like Andrea Immer's book, Everyday Dining with Wine. If you want something short and sweet and internet accessible, here are some links to sites I find useful as well.

1. Wine & Food Matcher
This is a great tool, tucked away on Natalie MacLean's web site, Nat Decants. You can start with the wine or the food and see what pops up.

2. BBC Good Food Grape Guide
Here you can sort by wine/grape or by food type. It's not comprehensive, but it does have some nice suggestions and good descriptions.

3. Food Network Food and Wine Pairing Chart
This is a fun one because it actually lists the flavors associated with wines, and makes suggestions for wines, depending upon your budget.

Wine blogger extraordinaire Alder of Vinography has put together a tasting tool and while it doesn't pair food with wine, it does help hone in on just what's going on in your glass (head to his site to download it).

Bottom line--drink what you like with whatever you like! Food and wine are about enjoyment, not about adhering to strict rules.

FOOD + WINE

Sparkling Jellies: Recipe

Ok, so England isn't the home of one of the world's greatest cuisines, but it has exported a number of delicious dishes. I'm particularly fond of crumpets, Summer pudding, bangers and mash, fish and chips, the Sunday roast with Yorkshire pudding, and chicken tikka masala (while not completely English the combining of chicken tikka with a masala sauce is believed to be a British invention). On the rise in popularity are sticky toffee pudding and perhaps one day, my favorite English sausage the chipolata.

Something else I think of as decidedly English that has not gained in popularity yet here in the States, are Jellies. Not jelly like grape jelly, but jellies for eating that we call gelatin or Jell-o. But the British versions are much more sophisticated often including booze and ending up like gelatinized versions of elegant cocktails. Every Summer, British cookery magazines feature a variety of these lovelies which can be served instead of a cocktail, as a starter, a palate cleanser or a dessert.

The possibilities are endless. One package of gelatin and you are on your way! Other requirements include little glasses and tiny spoons. I have collected some shot glasses for this purpose and also use my otherwise rarely used vodka set. In fact, vodka is a good ingredient for some jellies. Look for juices, fruits and any number of liquors for inspiration. Any sparkling wine is wonderful "gelatinized". It's a great way to use up your bubbly, if you are left with some extra in the bottle. You could also add some fruit flavored syrup instead of sugar. Recipes are really more formulas than anything else. I'm working on a limoncello version at the moment...

Sparkling Jellies

1 envelope powdered gelatine (such as Knox) 1/4 ounce or about 1/2 Tablespoon
1/4 - 1/2 cup sugar, depending upon your taste
1/4 cup cold water
1 bottle of sparkling wine, if it's missing a glass or two that's ok
fruit, as desired

In a saucepan combine the gelatin, sugar and water. Let sit for 10 minutes, stir to combine. Add the wine and heat until gelatin is thoroughly dissolved. Pour into glasses and top with fruit if desired. Chill for several hours.

Enjoy!

FOOD

The Food of Love: Book

Ah Springtime! Beautiful weather necessitates the need for the perfect beach read. Not that you have to go to the beach to read it--the backyard would be fine too. The ultimate beach read in my mind is a paperback, it's light and upbeat, nothing too serious, it has a little romance and whole lot of fun. Oh, and a little food and foreign travel wouldn't hurt either.

And so I give you my choice for one heck of a great beach read. The Food of Love is a twist on the classic Cyrano de Bergerac (Roxanne) story of mistaken identity with one man courting a woman on behalf of his friend but in this case it is done though food. The main characters are Laura, an American art student living in Rome, Tommaso her paramour and Bruno, the Cyrano character who happens to be a talented chef. Bruno cooks for Laura and of course she falls in love with Tommaso who she is lead to believe is doing the cooking all along. The story is set in Trastevere and the book feels in some ways like a travelogue, you get the sights and sounds and the flavors of Rome. You'll taste the aphrodisiac tartufo, enjoy trips to view Renaissance masterpieces, learn to make Saltimbocca (recipes in the back of the book) and get caught up in the romance of Italy.

There is plenty of humor, great details of Roman and Italian cuisine and culture and even a little sex thrown in to keep things interesting. Having once been an American girl in Italy, there was a lot I could relate to in it. There was even a beach scene that reminded me of going to the beach when I was in Rome. The author really has an eye for details, and an obvious passion for all things Italian. The book is thoroughly charming and if I'm not wrong it will soon be made into a movie. But for the beach, the paperback version is the way to go. The book came out a couple of years ago and you can find used paperback copies of it on Amazon for under $1. You can also check out the book website here.

READ MORE Over at SF Station is my review of the Nua a fairly new restaurant in North Beach.

FOOD

Shrimp and Mango Kebabs:Recipe

How many courses could you eat that feature mangoes? Three? Four? I had five last night and I'm not sick of them yet! There was mango used in sashimi, in salad rolls, in a sauce for scallops, in a spicy salsa topping for duck and chunks of mango layered in between tapioca and mango granite. Each course was positively delicious and helped to showcase how mangoes can be used in just about every way, paired with many ingredients and with many different wines.

At dinner was famed Florida chef Allen Susser, in town to talk about mangoes and while I am a big fan of the fruit I had no idea just how many varieties there are. Over one hundred different varieties grow in Florida alone, and at least 8 - 10 are grown commercially. Susser literally wrote the book on mangoes, The Great Mango Book and is known for offering his customers a dinner for two in exchange for a wheelbarrow filled with mangoes.

Mangoes are the most popular fruit in the world, which isn't surprising when you consider how they are grown all over Latin America, Asia, the Carribean, etc. According to the Creations Dessert site, an enzyme in mangoes is not only good for digestion but comforting and "partially responsible for that feeling of contentment". Learning more about the different varieties and understanding which varieties work best with which recipes is something new for me. There are differences in texture, fiber and flavor. I do see different mangoes at stores and I look forward to experimenting with them and trying some new recipes.

Allen Susser will be at the Bristol Farms store at the Westfield Center in San Francisco today, May 23rd, from 4 - 6 pm sampling mangoes and answering questions, stop by if you are in the neighborhood.

Here's my recipe for Mango Shrimp Kebabs that I created to be paired with a Viognier which was the same wine I had with the scallop and mango dish.

Mango Shrimp Kebabs
4 servings

1 lb large shrimp (16-20/lb)
2 teaspoons fresh ginger, finely grated
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup orange juice, freshly squeezed
1/4 cup lemon juice, freshly squeezed
pinch red chili flakes
pinch of salt
2 mangoes, peeled

Soak 10-12 bamboo skewers in water for about 30 minutes to prevent burning.
Make the marinade by combining the ginger, olive oil, orange and lemon juice and a pinch of red chili flakes and salt. Peel the shrimp and place in the marinade for 5 minutes. Slice the mangoes into about 12 chunks each. Skewer the shrimp alternating with the mango on the skewers and grill or broil for 5 minutes, turning once, until completely pink.

Enjoy!

FOOD

Taste of Ratatouille

Have you heard about the latest film from Pixar ? It's called Ratatouille and I can't wait to see it. The film is about a gourmet rat who dreams of becoming a chef at a fine restaurant in Paris. The ultimate impossible dream. Or is it?

Over at Yahoo! there are not only teaser trailers but a 9 minute preview of the film to whet your appetite. There are four videos in all. Check them out here. See you at the movies on June 29th!

FOOD

The Candy Shop: Shopping

Take a trip to candyland this weekend. An adorable little candy shop has opened up in my neighborhood called The Candy Store and it's got something for everybody. There are lots of retro classics like Zotz, Pixie Stix and candy buttons but also hard to find treats like Valomilk, Idaho Spuds and horehound candies. My picks are the malt balls in three varieties including peanut butter and some lovely lemon drops I've taken to carrying in my purse. But from licorice to m&m's, gummies, deluxe chocolate bars and more there are treats for every budget.

My full review I Want Candy! is over at SF Station. Check it out and stop by the shop if you are in the neighborhood.

The Candy Store
1507 Vallejo Street @ Polk St.
San Francisco
415.921.8000

Tues - Sun 10 - 7 pm

FOOD