nor'easter

the last few weeks, and months to be honest, have been a little nuts. we have been shooting and shooting, being exposed to all sorts of great food related items. but with these busy streaks, we really get on a roll with trying to seek out all the good eats we can find. last night we went to dinner at public. chef brad farmerie is truly amazing with his food. i had the pleasure of photographing him last week with martha stewart for a grilling special, and all he cooked was so tasty we decided to go eat his everyday food. we actually sat in their newer monday room, attached to public. it has the same menu as public, just with a few additions. we really enjoyed all he had to offer, all the way down to the great service. you need to check it out when in manhattan.

we also recently had dinner at char no 4 in brooklyn with some new friends on their weekly summer bbq night. every wednesday in the summer, for $22 you get 3 kinds of meat, 2 sides, a beer and a shot of whiskey! it was really good fun and great food. I believe that each month it changes food, and we had great slow roasted lamb shoulder, and an amazing cheddar sausage among other things. while we were waiting for a table, we were introduced to one of char no 4's signature cocktails, the nor'easter. it is adapted from a dark and stormy, but with bourbon instead of rum...it was truly delicious. you can also find the recipe in this great book of brooklyn's best food and drink.

nor'easter

from char no 4

makes 1 drink

1.5 oz bourbon (char no 4 uses old crow)

.5 oz fresh lime juice

.5 oz pure maple syrup

1.5 oz ginger beer

1 lime slice garnish

in a cocktail shaker, combine the bourbon, lime juice, and maple syrup with some ice cubes. shake well. strain into a glass filled with new ice. top with ginger beer and garnish with a lime wedge. enjoy!

mangoes & blackberries

we love elaborate breakfasts as much as the next person - poached eggs, a good corned beef hash, stacks of pancakes dripping in buttery syrup, omelets with all the fixings. but few things come close to the simple satisfaction of great bread perfectly toasted, spread with a little butter and your favorite jam. we've made preserves before here and here, but this is our latest experiment in slow simmered fruit and sugar - mangoes, blackberries and vanilla bean. it's so wonderful on toast that you'll have a hard time only eating one or two slices and it's equally as delicious on pork chops or roasted chicken.

Mango Blackberry Preserves

makes about 3 cups

3 ripe mangoes, peeled & diced

1 pint blackberries, washed

1 vanilla bean, split and scraped

1 cup granulated sugar

place all ingredients in a medium pot and bring to a boil over medium high heat. reduce to a simmer and cook 1 hour or until fruit is broken down and slightly thickened. add a little water if mixture becomes too thick and/or a little more sugar to taste. if necessary, mash slightly with a potato masher or back of a wooden spoon. transfer to glass jars for canning or refrigerate for up to 2 weeks. enjoy!

summer seafood

the summer 2011 issue of sweet paul magazine is out today! we developed, shot and styled a light summer seafood story with our friend sarah cave and are so pleased to be a part of this beautiful issue.

besides the renegade craft fair going on this weekend in brooklyn, the big apple bbq block party is happening sat & sun in madison square park and we're definitely looking forward to eating some great ribs and pulled pork! we also can't wait to check out the second section of the high line that opened this week as well as the lot! what are you up to this weekend?!

happy weekend!

uppercase

just a quick hello and a little peek at an article in issue #9 of Uppercase magazine - we were featured in great company with Heidi Swanson of 101 Cookbooks and Aran Goyoaga of Cannelle et Vanille. Thanks to Tara and everyone at Uppercase for including us in such an inspiring piece!

looks like Uppercase will be attending this year's renegade craft fair in Brooklyn this weekend - are you going?! Sweet Paul will be there too - and we of course are anxiously awaiting the summer issue's release on friday!

rancho gordo

hope everyone is feeling rested and relaxed after the holiday weekend. we enjoyed the sun and warm weather finally here in nyc with friends, a night at citi field and a few glasses of rose here.

check out this post on the den about our work with gilt taste. now that summer is here, so are all the great outdoor fleas and food markets like smorgasburg, which we checked out last saturday. also excited to check out the latest east coast outpost of blue bottle coffee - how's that view?!

we've shared our love of Rancho Gordo products on the blog before here but realized it's been way too long since we've cooked with any of their amazing beans! we recently picked up a bag of christmas lima beans which are big and beautiful with their maroon stripping and deep chestnut flavor. this salad is adapted from Heirloom Beans, a great reference for how to cook all things rancho gordo by the company's founder. this hearty healthy salad is great for summer gatherings as a whole meal or a perfect side dish.

Christmas Lima Bean Salad

(adapted from Heirloom Beans)

serves 4 to 6

5 small beets

1/2 cup quinoa

3 cups cooked christmas lima beans

4 green onions, chopped

1 avocado, diced

1/2 cup yellow pear tomatoes, halved

1/3 cup feta cheese, crumbled

juice of 1/2 lemon

1 tbs red wine vinegar

1 tsp honey

1/3 cup olive oil

kosher salt & fresh ground pepper

preheat oven to 400 degrees F. wash and scrub beets. wrap in foil and wrap until tender when poked with a fork, about 45 minutes to 1 hour. when cool, peel and cut into bite size wedges. in a medium saucepan bring quinoa and water to a boil. reduce heat and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes or until fluffy but still a little tender. drain well and rinse under cool water.

combine beets, quinoa, beans, green onion, avocado and tomatoes.

in a small bowl combine lemon juice, vinegar and honey. while stirring, slowly drizzle in olive oil and whisk to combine. pour over salad and toss to combine. season to taste with salt and pepper and sprinkle with crumbled feta before serving. serve at room temperature & enjoy!

matt's bites

ok, we know we need to blog more, and learning to juggle work and play and the blog all together has been a great learning experience. we love the outlet of the blog, and are ready to roll and start posting as much as we can! what better way to start than cooking from a wonderful new book from a blog friend Matt Armendariz. carrie and i are suckers for food on a stick and lovers of matt's blog, matt bites, so what better way to get our creative juices flowing for our blog than to cook, shoot and more importantly eat something from matt's new book, on a stick!...we love the concept and for as approachable as it is, i'm sure we will be cooking from it all the time. pictured above are the wonderful corndogs. we made mini corndogs using the same recipe and they turned out great. we also made a twist on a dipping sauce by using 3 parts ketchup to 1 part sriracha, a nice and spicy way we like to zip up our ketchup. we also can't wait to try the deep fried mac and cheese or the chicken and waffles, just to name a few. so go out and get this book, and make some food on a stick!

its fun to let you know, finally, that we have been a part of the beginnings of gilts new website, gilt taste. so fun to be able to work with the talented paige hicks and adrienne anderson. we think this site has potential for big things.

some other little updates...I just spent 7 great days up at martha stewart's house in bedford shooting a project i cant wait to share with all of you. lots of shots with some amazingly talented people. also carrie and i just did a shoot for food network mag that will be out in september, can't wait to share as it is always fun for us to work together.

we have lots of great recipes and photos coming in the weeks ahead, so check in with us and see what we have been up to.

thanks

more msl

a quick mid-week hello to update you on some fun projects we've been a part of recently. these tasty looking pasta dishes are just a few of the things andrew shot in the may issue of martha stewart living.

we had a great trip to birmingham, AL last week for a shoot. besides the wonderful people we met we also ate some good food - great ribs & pulled pork here, a kentucky hot brown here, and a wonderful dinner with a new friend here. birmingham was really beautiful and we can't wait for our next trip to the south!

we'll be hosting our annual urban family easter again this year but with brunch on saturday. hot cross buns & ham are on the menu so far - anyone have a great champagne cocktail recipe we should serve??