Rubbing elbows & snagging recipes at the Soho House, courtesy of Grey Goose

Last night, my friend, Devon, and I had the pleasure of attending an invite-only, Grey Goose Vodka-sponsored "Cocktails & Canapes" event at the exclusive Soho House. 

The fun began in Chef Paul's kitchen, as he demonstrated how to make the following holiday party-appropriate hors d'oeuvres:

• Red Grapes with Goat Cheese & Pistachio
• Short Rib Empanadas with Hot Mustard Horseradish
• Bacon-wrapped Scallops
• Smoked Salmon Bites with Dill Creme Fraiche

Between nibbles, we were served two fabulous Grey Goose-based cocktails - both of which I snagged recipes for!  Enjoy...

~

GREY GOOSE La Poire Golden Harvest

Ingredients

• 1 ½ oz Grey Goose La Poire
• ½ oz St Germain
  
• 1 oz of lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon freshly shucked corn or leftover roasted corn
• ½ oz of agave nectar

• Garnish:  Grated nutmeg and chipotle chili powder
• Glassware:  Martini

Directions:
*In the bottom of a cocktail shaker, add corn and syrup.  Muddle thoroughly.  Add ice, La Poire, St Germain, and lemon juice - shake vigorously.  Strain into martini glass.  Grate nutmeg over top and sprinkle with chili powder.

~

GREY GOOSE L’Orange Autumn Sage (this was my personal favorite of the two cocktails)

Ingredients

• 1 ¼ oz Grey Goose L’ Orange
• ½ oz green chartreuse
• 2 1-inch pieces of fennel, diced small
• 3 sage leaves
• ¾ oz agave nectar
• 1 oz lemon juice
• 2 ounces of seltzer

• Garnish:  Fennel fronds
• Glassware:  Highball or large rocks

Directions
*In the bottom of a cocktail shaker, add:  fennel, sage and syrup.  Muddle thoroughly.  Add ice, L’ Orange, Chartreuse, and lemon juice - shake vigorously.  Strain into glass filled with ice.  Top with seltzer and garnish.

~~~

Until we drink again,

The Lunch Belle

*CONTEST* plus 'Cool Cravings & Cupcake Cakewalk'

*UPDATE* Unfortunately, due to the impending forecast and the fact that the MTA will be partially and/or fully shutting down mass transit services, Saturday and Sunday's Cool Cravings and Cupcake Cakewalk will be postponed until a later date.  Once I receive the new details, however, I will start the contest from scratch (as only four of you responded - what's up with that?).

Are you bummed about the fact that you’re staying in the city this weekend?  Well, cheer up.  Because the team over at Openhouse Gallery, a New York pop-up space, has something very sweet in store for you: allow me to present “Cool Cravings and Cupcake Cakewalk,” back-to-back foodiEVENTS that are taking place this Saturday and Sunday!

Here are the deets:

Cool Cravings: Openhouse Gallery and Clean Plates, the healthy food guide and one of my most favorite websites, have partnered to bring together eight frozen dessert artisans from around NYC, ranging from vegan soft serve – coconut-based and dairy-free ice cream – fruit-filled shaved ice – to all-natural juice pops.  The lineup includes: Brewla Bars, La Cremeria, The Juice Press, Raw Ice Cream Co., The Shaved Ice Shop, The Soft Serve Fruit Co., Stogo, Sky Ice, NibMor, VitaCoco, and Hint Water.

• Date: Saturday, August 27^th
• Time: 2pm – 8pm
• Where: 201 Mulberry Street (between Spring and Kenmare Streets)
• Purchase your tickets HERE!

Photo: The Soft Serve Fruit Co.Cupcake Cakewalk: don’t be fooled by the name of this event – because it ain’t no “cakewalk.”  It’s actually a competition!  Fighting for the title of NYC’s best cupcake will be: Alice’s Tea Cup, Billy’s Bakery, ChikaLicious, Duane Park Patisserie, Robicelli’s, and Sun in Bloom (a Clean Plates-approved vegan/gluten-free cupcakery).

• Date: Sunday, August 28^th
• Time: 2pm – 8pm
• Where: 201 Mulberry Street (between Spring and Kenmare Streets)
• Purchase your tickets HERE!

Photo: Billy's BakeryA portion of the proceeds for “Cool Cravings and Cupcake Cakewalk” will go to Wellness in the Schools, a not-for-profit that inspires healthy eating, environmental awareness, and fitness as a way of life for students NYC’s public schools.

Contest: are you feeling lucky?  Good, because I’m feeling generous!  And since I am so excited about these festivities, I’m giving away tickets to each event.  One lucky reader will receive two tickets (one for themselves plus a guest) for Saturday’s “Cool Cravings” – and another lucky reader will receive two tickets (one for themselves plus a guest) for Sunday’s “Cupcake Cakewalk.”  **FYI: Contest is limited to folks who will be in the NYC area this weekend, 8/27-8/28, and are available on both Saturday and Sunday.**  

So, are you ready to play?  To enter, please send me an email with “dessert” in the subject line: Lindsay@TheLunchBelle.com.  The two winners will be the 7^th and 8^th emails that I receive!  #7 will get two tickets to Saturday’s event; #8 will get two tickets to Sunday’s event.  Good luck!

~~~

Until we eat again,

The Lunch Belle

Friends, family, & 5 Napkin Burger introduce...

Sending a cyber shout-out to my friend and fellow food-blogger, Judith, whose site recently morphed from "Foodista NYC" to "Fooditka."  So, why the name change, you ask?  "Fooditka is a direct reflection of me.  With my Slovak name being Juditka, the word Fooditka is an extension of that and exemplifies my true passion in life.  Food!  The suffix 'itka' is an affectionate way to address someone (a woman, particularly) in Slovak," said Judith. 

On Tuesday evening, Juditka, the Fooditka invited 60+ of her closest friends, family members, media, and fellow foodies to join her in celebrating the launch of her beloved website's new name at 5 Napkin Burger in Astoria (Queens)...

Cheers to you, my pretty Fooditka!  Wishing you and your website much continued success and prosperity - I cannot wait to watch and see what your bright future holds!

~~~

Until we eat again,

The Lunch Belle

Sealed with a kiss: Nigel Barker, Kelly Rutherford stand up to end the Canadian seal hunt

While they may not be as glamorous as fur seals (their luxe-coated cousins up North), I could not help but fall head-over-heels in love with the adorably playful, awkwardly vocal sea lions that sang, danced, and swam with me during my travels to the Galapagos Islands in 2009.  So you can imagine how touched and thrilled I was to have been invited to Tuesday evening's Chefs for Seals NYC event, a fabulous soiree that celebrated the more than 250 New York chefs who have pledged to stand up for seals by boycotting Canadian seafood. 

With forces like Nigel Barker, Kelly Rutherford, Cat Cora, Mario Batali, Beth Ostrosky-Stern - plus thirty James Beard Foundation Award-winning chef supporters - the impact of this cause is growing: more than 130 of America's highest regarded restaurants have established seal-friendly seafood buying policies, which means that they have pledged not to purchase some, or all, Canadian seafood until the country's commercial seal slaughter ends.  Pair that with an additional 5,500 US restaurants, grocery stores, and hotels who are also pledging their support to help end the commercial seal hunt in Canada, and you've got one hell of a steadfast cause.  

So, are you ready to stand up for seals?  Here are three *free* ways to show your support:

• Find restaurants, grocery stores, and chefs who have joined the boycott near you!
• Pledge your support for the boycott of Canadian seafood
• View Nigel Barker's seal images from his 2008 visit to the harp seal nursery in eastern Canada

Please enjoy some of my favorite captured moments from the Chefs for Seals NYC event, held on various levels of the lofty and fabulous Skylight West...

A seal mascot greets guests as they arrive to the eventGuests are whisked from the street via freight elevator, which is fully enclosed by caging. This is the view I had on my way up to the event.A lighting banner that shined on the venue's concrete floors.One of Nigel Barker's photographs adorning the walls at the event"Handprints of the stars" wall artCrudite, vegetable sushi, and soup shootersStep and repeat / Gossip Girl's Kelly RutherfordKelly Rutherford, name not given, Beth Ostrosky-SternMy favorite picture of the evening: the bartender's silhouette is captured as the sun sets over Midtown ManhattanNext, we took another elevator up to the sprawling rooftop...

A view from the top: note the Empire State Building!DJ booth

Famous local bartenders photo shootGetting poured by "Death & Co's" finest...~~~

Until we eat again,

The Lunch Belle

Red, white, and beans: a recap of 2011's Lone Star Chili Cook-Off

As Texas ex-pats, there is one particular event in NYC that unites us each May: the annual Lone Star Chili Cook-Off, set amidst 230 Fifth Avenue's lush and beautiful rooftop terrace.  Presented by the New York Texas Exes and the New York A&M Club, the proceeds from this sold-out fiesta benefit each organization's respective scholarship fund.

For the past three years, I've had the honor and privilege of being selected to judge this delicious affair.  Here's a list of who else accompanied me at this year's "chili-tasting" table:  

• Joaquin Baca
• Lori Bolding  Associate Director of Development, UT Austin
• Moira Campbell
• Matt Dunning  journalist
• Jeff Holmes
• Bruce Sterman  owner/founder of Manhattan Chili Co.
• Anne Thornton
• Meena Thronkompola  sous chef, Nobu 57

The judges~

Please enjoy some of my favorite snapshots from the judge's table at the 18th annual Lone Star Chili Cook-Off.  Until next year, y'all!

Check out their mascot, "CHILI SHEEN!" Loved this.

I'm not sure who this girl is, but I love this picture. It's so random - feminine - fun - and funny.A nice lil' scenic shot for y'all..."More Cowbell" always takes home one of the top 3 prizesA chili collage

~~~

Until we eat again,

The Lunch Belle

New Taste of the Upper Westside's "Best of the West"

"Hiiiiiiiii!"  The two employees standing behind the Magnolia Bakery table seemed a bit startled by my enthusiasm.  As was I.  And before they even had the chance to respond, I asked, "Is one of you 'Bobbie Lloyd,' by chance?"  The woman with the blonde hair smiled, shook her head, and politely pointed to my right.  "That's Bobbie," she said.

New Taste of the UWS: Magnolia Bakery's famous banana pudding"Hi Bobbie!"  I gushed, "I just had to come over and say hello!"  I swear, I must have been talking at 1,000 miles/hour.  "I'm the girl who eats her cupcake with a spoon!"  Oh god - I panicked - what if she didn't remember me?  After all, it had been a couple of weeks since our phone interview.  And then...a grin.  Which gave way to a chuckle.  "Of course!"  Bobbie exclaimed, "It is so nice to meet you!"  Phew!  We spent the next 5-minutes chit-chatting about Magnolia's new red-velvet cheesecake, Kate Spade, and the "secret" behind those delectable lemon cupcakes: they delicately inject sweet 'n sour lemon curd in to the center of each 'cake.  Genius.

New Taste of the UWS: Magnolia's "leaning (cupcake) tower of heaven"Bobbie and her team were busy.  And it's not like I was at the New Taste of the UWS's Best of the West event to hang out with Magnolia Bakery for the entire evening although I very well could have. 

With what seemed like hundreds of restaurant/bakery/gourmet grocery/beverage/wine stations under one white tent, I had some serious ground to cover - and if I spent as much time at each as I spent at Magnolia, then I wasn't going about this properly.  I decided to regroup - gather my thoughts, if you will - over a glass of wine, closer to the event's entrance.

It was there that I decided to "start from the beginning."  Instead of bolting to one particular table and making my way from there - in circles, no doubt - I would move from restaurant to restaurant, winery to winery, bakery to bakery, etc. in somewhat of a more orderly fashion.  Probably just as the event planners had envisioned. 

New Taste of the UWS: guests arrive and receive "wine glass" necklaces, used to sample wines in the eventNew Taste of the UWS: guests enter the eventNew Taste of the UWS: a chef from the Atlantic Grill creates this beautifully plated crudoNew Taste of the UWS: hands down, my favorite "adult drink" of the night - rum + strawberry lemonadeNew Taste of the UWS: Fishtag's tilefish crudo w/ piquillo peppers, almond, muscat grapes, shishito aioliNew Taste of the UWS: Kefi's lamb slider w/ spicy whipped feta sauceNew Taste of the UWS: Graffit's manchego cheese toast in "four bites." This was, by far, the most creative and well-executed tastings of the evening.New Taste of the UWS: Calle Ocho's cevicheNew Taste of the UWS: the Valrhona Chocolate dessert barNew Taste of the UWS: Landmarc's shrimp toastNew Taste of the UWS: Alice's Tea Cup's assortment of scones, cupcakes, and peanut-butter fudgiesNew Taste of the UWS: Telepan's potato pierogi w/ scallions & chivesNew Taste of the UWS: A Voce/Missy Robbins' chilled spring pea soup w/ whipped mascarponeNew Taste of the UWS: Salumeria RosiNew Taste of the UWS: Euphoria Greek Olive Oil's chocolate dessertNew Taste of the UWS: Rosa Mexicano's famous margarita, chips, salsas, and guacamoleNew Taste of the UWS: Jacques Torres' bomboloni (top), chocolate chip cookies & homemade ice creamNew Taste of the UWS: Wine & Roses' tuna tartareWinners of the evening

• Crowd pleaser: Blue Ribbon Sushi, Jacques Torres, Rosa Mexicano
• Cutest table display: Magnolia Bakery
• Most creative tasting: Graffit
• Most delicious: Euphoria Greek Olive Oil's chocolate dessert topped with olive oil and sea salt.  Does anyone know where I can get this recipe?  Holy crack - I'd give one of my limbs for it!

Losers of the evening

• Lincoln Ristorante and Porterhouse NY: I say this only because each restaurant served the exact same "tasting" items at Tom Colicchio's Toast to the Children of Bellevue, not two weeks prior.

~~~

Westside 'til I die,

The Lunch Belle