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

Creative Eye, Creative Mind

Tammy Polatsek

What makes one person walk into a ballroom or a gymnasium and be overwhelmed by it’s scale and structure wondering how they can possibly make the space interesting, and the other be charged with neurons, colors, structural nuances dancing in their heads filling the room with endless creative possibilities? What makes one person with a healthy budget and a good eye for detail, color and proportion be inspired by others and recreate good decor, floral and table arrangements, attractive foods; while the other with half, equal or double the budget is engaged in creating and using space, objects, colors and textures in forms that burst forth in endless streams of creative harmonic innovation and beauty?

Meet Tammy Polatsek of Aristocratic Design Co. From the first to the last detail, she’s a steady, self directed, well orchestrated stream of flowing unique mental images metamorphosed into magnificent creations – working form, color, medium and function of objects as her partners in creation. Be it a cake, a dish, a flower, a space, a wedding, an event, Tammy has the unique gift of transforming the plain into the magnificent and magnificent as you’ve never seen it before.

We visited her yesterday at the Aristocratic Design Co. booth. She was setting up for a Bonei Olam auction, where she was donating $3,000 in event planning services. Tammy showed us her custom-made line (Carmona) of off white porcelain dishes. Note the aesthetic flow of form and function

The shapes, the lighting, the color reflections... perfect positioning!

that she adheres to, while creating shapes that are totally original. (Aristocratic Design Co. will do custom orders on these plates, BTW).

Graceful interplay

Ahhh, the table setting… done on a table made from a wonderful piece of wood she found and shaped into a design that is signature Polatsek. The family of colors just flow from one to the other; it’s a feast for the eyes in shades of pinks, brown and burgundies that just blend beautifully with shapes that move together in harmonious union. Even the flowers, (which she imports fresh directly from Colombia & Ecuador) seem to bend to her will, yet she seems to submit to their will as well.

The subtle yet deep dance of form and tone on a monochromatic theme, in this closeup of one of the flower arrangements

Her creative juices are forever unfolding, evolving, moving, never stepping on the same place in the river of her artistic consciousness.

...another floral arrangement

Tammy showed us photos of some of the events she created. From moving floral arrangements on runway models, to Indian weddings, to show stopping events for the Oscars in Hollywood, to World Wrestling Entertainment, to the Emmy Awards, to Las Vegas events, to Fox News she outdoes herself and any of the competition with eclat and originality!

What began in her early married life as a challenge to herself to prove to that she could, when told by others that she could not, sparked the beginning of a creative process whose ongoing journey creates an Eden of gorgeous ‘out of the box’ possibilities wherever she directs her energies.

Having already published her Aristocratic Fruits – a step-by-step book on fruit carving – and other projects, she is now working on a new book, From Chef to Chef with Love – a composite of over 400 chefs from around the globe telling their stories and sharing their experiencing cooking with the various cultural food restrictions of their respective regions.

Tammy and Aristocratic Design Co. are available for booking. Floral Wedding design packages start at around $3,500. Don’t be intimidated by her talent, she’s got a warm, accessible nature. And be assured that she will deliver a stunning original event that will be talked about and copied for years to come.

SYR

Kosherfest: Day 1

Today was the opening day for Kosherfest at the Meadowlands Exposition Center, in Seacaucus (NJ). Not only was the number of exhibitors bigger than ever, but so was the attendance. There is no question that the kosher consumer is more and more demanding, both in the number of items as well as in their quality. I only stayed for a few hours, as I had prior obligations so I decided to go for some unusual or otherwise interesting items.

First, however, we decided to meet some of the cookbook authors we reviewed recently and had interviewed over the phone and on radio.

Paula Shoyer, Pastry Chef par excellence, cookbook author

Paula Shoyer, recently had her The Kosher Baker published by Brandeis University. It is one of the most beautiful kosher cookbooks both SYR or I have ever seen.

Susie Fishbein, the top kosher cookbook author and whose Kosher by Design series sold globally in numbers comparable to the world’s top cookbook authors was there too…

Susie Fishbein being interviewed, at the Kolatin gelatin booth by TJC TV

We reviewed a pre-publication copy of her newest – Kosher by Design Teens and 20 Somethings (due to hit the stores on October the 27th!) – yesterday.

Quite a few exhibitors used the occasion to launch new lines, among them we were happy to see that Lévana Kirschenbaum finally and officially put her new bakery products on the market. At the beginning of the summer SYR and I were among the exclusive few who got to taste these delicacies…

Lévana demostrating her new products

As I searched for unusual products, I spotted these unusual bottles of Tequila…

Kah Tequila... guaranteed to get your attention!

I then tasted the middle bottle of the Agave 99 line…

Smooth and flavorful

Next I did a tasting of the Secreto line of wines from Argentina.

Secreto - Vinos kasher de Argentina

I first tried their Malbec (80% Malbec – Argentina’s most famous wine grape – and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon); I followed it with their Cabernet Sauvignon (80% Cabernet Sauvignon and 20% Malbec); next I tried their Trivarietal (50% Bonarda, 25% Malbec and 25% Cabernet Sauvignon). I found all three to be excellent selections, especially in their price range ($10-$12).

I then saw a line of medicinal teas from Spain, Helps by Pharmadus.

A nice line of special teas for children, women's needs, and a whole lot more.

Next we saw Tammy Polatskek‘s new line of superbly designed dishes under the Carmona label.

Beautiful, unusual, contemporary

Beautiful, contemporary shapes that will greatly enhance the pleasure of any meal, the beauty of any table.

Before we left we passed by the booth of Happy Hearts Wine…

Some great wines from some of Israel's smaller wineries...

They distribute Israeli wines from from small boutique wine producers like, Odem Mountain Winery, Or Haganuz Winery, the Mony Estate Vineyards, Dovev Winery, Hameshubach Winery, and the Efrat Winery. Their selections were quite good, I was familiar with some of their labels already.

We didn’t cover as much as we would have liked, especially after some very interesting products we sa, but I’m going back tomorrow and I expect to cover far more ground.

CS