My Brother Bobby’s Salsa

Last week Tuesday I attended the International Restaurant and Food Service Show held at Manhattan’s Javits Center. There I met my friends Bobby and Valerie Groper from My Brother Bobby’s Salsa. The company started in 1993 and recently moved into its own state-of-the-art processing facility in Poughkeepsie, NY.

Bobby and Valerie Groper in their booth at the International Restaurant and Food Service Show

My Brother Bobby’s Salsa makes four delicious products:

• Fresh Bruschetta Topping
• Original Red Salsa
• Hot Tomatillo with Corn Salsa
• Tropical Black Bean Salsa

Everything is kosher certified by the OK, under the leadership of Rav Don Yoel Levy. All products use top quality, natural ingredients and no preservartives.

I used the Bruschetta Topping to make a succulent, super easy, Bruschetta Bread:

Bruschetta Bread

My version of Bruschetta Bread...

Ingredients

• 1/2 loaf Italian bread, sliced open
• olive oil
• 2 slices Natural & Kosher Cheddar
• My Brother Bobby’s Salsa Fresh Bruschetta Topping

Directions

1. Brush olive oil over white surface of the Italian bread. Put in 350 F preheated oven for about 2 minutes.
2. Melt cheese slowly in a pan over a small flame.
3. Cover surface of bread with melted cheese.
4. Top the cheese with bruschetta topping
5. Sprinkle any leftover melted cheese over the topping.

It barely took more than 5 minutes and was a real treat. You can use any other flavor of cheese to melt, with shredded cheese you’ll even get better and faster result. Your bread loaf need not even be covered with sesame seeds, I used it because it was what I had handy, same goes for the cheese. Frankly, gentle reader, it was a very filling lunch.

Now I have to try the rest of My Brother Bobby’s Salsa products.

CS

Kosher Food & Wine Experience 2011 – Part 1

It was billed as bigger than its preceding shows… it was, it was billed as better than its preceding shows… it was! This was one of those rare occasions when hype and truth actually walked in locked step. The food, the wine, the liquors, all added up to a wonderful evening, an epicure’s dream come true.

SYR and I went in at 4:00pm, we saw and met many friends, magazine editors, fellow foodies and bloggers. We delighted in some products we’d already raved about on these pages, we discovered the new and revisited some great restaurants. As we spoke to favorite chefs, we  were happy to hear their craft was more than just a job, their passion for food, their creative juices continue unabated. Chef David Kolotkin of Solo and Prime Grill, Chef Jeff Nathan of Abigael’s and his wife Alison, Chef Mark Green of Glatt A La Carte, Jose Mireilles of Le Marais were among old friends showing off their creations.

Pomegranate had a large booth serving up some dishes that could have been made at any top restaurant.

Chef Emilio getting ready to hand out some delicacies.

Shana Wendel and staff presented Pardes‘ fares…

Lamb Meatballs with Turnip and Olive. Juicy, succulent, beautiful to look at... unmistakably Pardes!

Dr Alan Bronner and Chef Jack Silberstein of Jack’s Gourmet were serving  Chorizo Tacos, Pepper and Onion Soup with Sweet Italian Sausage and Bratwurst Sliders. We sampled all three and and loved them, here is an easy recipe they shared with us:

Bratwurst Sliders

Ingredients

• 1 package (4 links) Jack’s Gourmet Cured Bratwurst Sausage sliced 1/4″ thick on an angle
• 12 slider buns (4 burger buns can be substituted instead)
• 1/2 cup sauerkraut
• 1 tablespoon caraway seeds
• 4 tablespoons grain mustard
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon leaves

Directions

1. Combine the sauerkraut and caraway seeds and reserve.
2. Combine the mustard and tarragon leaves and reserve.
3. Heat a saute pan over medium heat with 2 tablespoons oil. Add sausage and cook until golden brown, about 3 – 5 minutes.
4. To serve, slice the buns in half. Spead a small amount of mustard on the bottom half of each bun. Top with sausage and sauerkraut and place other half of bun on top. Secure with a toothpick if necessary.

Some other friends with a great product are Valerie and Robert Groper from My Brother Bobby’s Salsa. SYR finally got to taste their salsas, she fully agrees with me they are superb. Can’t wait until they are available in Brooklyn!

Shalom Bombay was there as well, I had a selection of their Chicken Pakoras, Chicken Biryany and the Chicken Tikka Masala liberally sprinkled with the Mint and Tamarind Chutney and loved the whole combo. Noi Due still makes the best Espresso I’ve ever tasted in the US.

A new discovery was got cholent? Inc. I had their Moroccan Dafina and the Polish Cholent (just like my mamma used to make!!!). They have 16 different types of cholent, wish I could taste them all… The same people folks also own Gemstone Catering and we were very impressed with their Eve’s Apple and Hickory Wood Smoked BBQ Pulled Brisket Sliders. Tammy Polatsek from Aristocratic Design Co. told us these guys make superbly delicious food, well… they do!

There were so many restaurants to choose from, so much looked, smelled and tasted great I could write a very long post extolling the virtues of each, suffice it to say that the choice of eateries and caterers represented was tops. We also talked to cookbook authors Chef Lévana Kirschenbaum, Chef Jeff Nathan, Chef Susie Fishbein, Chef Jamie Geller. All in all a delightful evening, amidst delightful people.

CS

2010 Kosher Restaurant & Wine Experience – The Event

Last week Monday, February the first, Pier 60 at the Chelsea Piers in Manhattan hosted the Royal Wine Corporation’s organized the 2010 Kosher Restaurant & Wine Experience. Restaurants, a caterer, a supermarket, a salsa manufacturer presented some of their food creations while dozens of wine producers from around the world showed off  their potables.

Some of the early crowd, a couple of hours before the the 6:30pm general admission

In the back of the room in the photo above, behind the restaurants, between two glassed walls and directly overlooking the Hudson River Nesher Caterers (4023 13th Ave; Brooklyn, NY  11218-3501; Telephone: 718.437.3631). Their huge display sporting chairs and tables consisted of a full fare with many choices of appetizers, fish, meat, salads and desserts. The food was delicious and I walked away convinced Nesher should be a natural choice for anyone’s simcha.

Pomegranate had a huge display I sampled all their meat selections, the Heimische Brisket however was among the best I ever tasted. Juicy, tender and oh, so flavorful!

Abigael’s, Carlos & Gabby, China Glatt, Cho-Sen, ClubHouse Cafe, Colbeh, Dougie’s, El Gaucho Steakhouse, etc steakhouse, Fumio, Glatt A La Carte, Le Marais, Noah’s Ark, Nesher, Noi Due, Tevere. were the restaurants represented at this venue. Each eatery, offered tantalizing samples of some of their favorite dishes.

While most preferred posed shots, I opted for candids…

Hard at work, warming up some of those delectable Cho-Sen Lo-Mein Noodles

Jose Mireilles, owner of Les Marais and Clubhouse Cafe, taking orders...

I discovered some delicious salsas at My Brother Bobby’s Salsa booth, their recently introduced Bruschetta topping was superb. It’s no wonder they won so many accolades in various upstate fairs. Valerie and Robert Gropper, the owners, are a very energetic couple with an infectious – yet fully justified – enthusiasm for their excellent products. Their fresh products include: Original Red Salsa, Tropical Black Bean Salsa, Hot Tomatillo with Corn Salsa and Bruschetta topping. Selected “Best Bruschetta 2008” and “Best Salsa 2009” by Hudson Valley Magazine.

Giving out samples, talking product

If I can ever find these products in Brooklyn or Manhattan I’ll have to do an in-depth review. They tasted great!

There were more than 200 wine selections from around the world, the French Collection by Pierre Miodovnick attracted a lot of attention. I sampled two white sweet ones, 2001 Chateau Piada and a 1999 Chateau Guiraud, made from grape from the Sauternais region of the Graves section in Bordeaux.

The Chateau Piada – from Semillon grape – was sweet, luscious and full flavored, with a long, lingering finish. I could see it being served with full flavored cheeses and sweet desserts. The Chateau Guiraud was even better as it also includes some Sauvignon Blanc, which made it less sweet and more delightful to my palate.

For a dry French wine I tried a 2003 Chateau Pontet-Canet Paulliac, it has an intense color, strong on the nose with blackberries, rapberries well balanced with liquorice and other wooden tones. It’s made up of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc, and 1% Petit Verdot. This one will certainly occupy a place of honor in the pantheon of the best wines I’ve ever tasted!

There were some Israeli wines that I also liked, notably a 2006 Petit Castel, 2006 Yatir Cabernet Sauvignon (quite fruity and with subtle vanilla tones), Alexander Gaston Reserve (40% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 30% Shiraz), the 2006 Alexander Syrah (90% Syrah, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon) and, of course, my all time favorite Israeli wine… 2005 Benyamina The Cave!

Before leaving I attended a session by Pierre Miodovnick where he explained about the great wine producing chateaus and their wines. After him, Jay Buchsbaum explained some wine terms and how to read a wine label.

Pierre Miodovnick, Jay Buchsbaum

This event proved informative and delicious, I can barely wait until next year!

CS

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Thoughts and Musings on the 2010 Kosher Restaurant & Wine Experience