 Source VegNews Chelsea Clinton is a vegan and gluten-intolerant, and her wedding menu included vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free items, and a wedding cake that was gluten free. The nine-tier vanilla cake, filled with dark chocolate mousse, frosted in white fondant, and decorated with 1,000 edible sugar flowers was created by Frances and Maarten Steenman of La Tulipe Desserts in New york's Westchester County. Now for something YOU can make at home. Per VegNews, here's a Creme-Filled Chocolate Orange Cupcake Recipe that took top honors on Cupcake Wars, making vegan chef Chloe Coscarelli the fist vegan to claim victory in a Food Network competition. Enjoy! Per the NY Times, "A federal district court judge revoked the government’s approval of genetically engineered sugar beets Friday, saying that the Agriculture Department had not adequately assessed the environmental consequences before approving them for commercial cultivation." You can read the full article here. McKinsey Global Study: Executives & Importance of Biodiversity for their Future Strategies 08/23/2010
Per a recent McKinsey Global Study, Executives are now beginning to recognize the importance of biodiversity for their future strategies. You can read more about the Study here: http://ow.ly/2sDKk SF Chefs' Sugar Party Inspires 08/23/2010
      The SF Chefs Sugar Party featured renowned and award-winning pastry chefs from some of the most famous San Francisco restaurants. If you attended, you would have tasted the best-of-the-best and most creative desserts being made today, and met these hardworking chefs literally making the desserts and putting on the finishing touches right in front of your eyes! Many of my Gratitude Gourmet readers are vegetarian or eat some vegetarian, and I'm including many of the Restaurants and Pastry Dishes featured at the event below. Also, a friend of mine during the event asked me how one can veganize desserts. Check out the delicious Details/Answers below. While at the SF Chefs' Sugar Party Saturday, August 14, 2010 at the Westin St. Francis, a friend of mine, who knows that I'm very familiar with vegan food, asked how one can make desserts vegan. My real introduction to vegan desserts and foods started with Colleen Patrick-Goudreau, cookbook author and speaker. The common substitutions include: ground flaxseed and water instead of egg, and almond and soymilk instead of regular milk. For practical ideas on vegan substitutions, check out Colleen's Food Inc Recipes which include Blueberry Cobbler, Decadent Chocolate Cake, Fresh Strawberry Pie with Chocolate Chunks etc. Are you hungry now? Some of the SF Chefs Sugar Party Restaurants, Chefs and Desserts featured the following. May you be inspired to try these or try your hand at your own culinary creativity :-) and let me know the results! I'm currently experimenting with a vegan strawberry cheesecake. 1) Tell Tale Preserve Company & Humphry Slocombe Collective - Ice cream bon bon, raspberry-sweet corn ice cream sandwich - Imperial stout float roasted white chocolate 2) Absinthe- Luis Villavelazquez- Partnered with Smitten Ice Cream- Robyn Goldman - Cantalope, Lavender and Lemon 3) Anchor & Hope- Christine Law - Blue Bottle Coffee Milkshake with Maple Whoopee Pie 4) Orson- Elizabeth Falkner- Partnered with Mr. and Mrs. Miscellaneous - Grilled sour dough ice cream sundaes with concord grape syrup, salted brazil nuts and spanish peanuts and chantilley 5) Westin St. Francis- Jean-Francois Houdre - Peach Assemblage Slow Roasted Peach Puree Poached Peach in Anis Syrup Thyme Financier House-made Crème Fraiche Ice cream Thyme meringue sticks 6) Michael Mina- Catherine Schimenti - Smoked Vanilla Bean Parfait, with cashew butter, fudge and marshmallow 7) Farallon- Emily Luchetti - Peach Split with Creme Fraiche Ice Cream, Butterscotch Sauce and Raspberries- Partnered with Bi-Rite Creamery 8) Nick Flores of RN74 - "Blackberry-Coconut Verrine" Blackberry Creme, Kaffir Lime Panna Cotta, Coconut Sorbet as well as Assorted Macaroons & Chocolates  Gary Danko & Mary Vincent (David Hom) I remember enjoying a very nice dinner with wine pairings at Gary Danko's San Francisco restaurant a few years ago. As a vegetarian at the time, I asked the Server for vegetarian - wine pairing, and I was very pleased with the delicious and savory results. During SF Chefs 2010, I had the opportunity to meet Gary Danko as he was preparing for a Williams Sonoma San Francisco Cooking Demonstration, and he was in the midst of a recipe challenge by taking an old recipe and reinventing it. Gary was reinventing the old Tiramisu recipe by using a Raspberry Shrub. Per Gary, "a Raspberry Shrub is an old way of preserving fruit with vinegar and straining it and cooking it with sugar that makes a thick syrup. If you taste it, it's very sweet and tart." He then adds brandy into the vinegar and soaks the lady fingers into it. He also makes the traditional filling with marscopone and lightens it with whipped cream. A video of Gary Danko describing part of the process is below. It was great meeting you Gary, and thank you for taking the time to share your creative, gourmet insight with us at Gratitude Gourmet!       The August 11, 2010 TasteTV at The Press Club's 1st Annual Wine & Food Pairing Taste-Off was a great success!At the Taste-Off, attendees sampled six food & wine combinations, and helped the Press Club decide the best new pairing to put on their lounge menu. Attendees judged seasonal plates paired with four reds and two whites from their six, Northern California partnered wineries: Miner Family Vinyards, Fritz, Saintsbury, Mount Eden Vinyards, Hanna, and Chateau Montelena. The food pairings already had two vegetarian options, and I asked Chef Bill if he could make all my pairings vegetarian or vegan. His colleagues graciously created special food pairings. Here were the Veggie Pairings (these can be veganized with some creativity): 1. Chateau Montelena Chardonnay, Napa 2008 Savory Zucchini Cakes topped with an Arugula Pesto Cream, Fried Shallot Garni 2. HANNA Sauvignon Blanc, Russian River 2009 Lettuce Cups with Summer Grilled Peach Salsa 3. Mount Eden Domain Eden Pinot Noir, Santa Cruz Mountains 2008 Organic Spinach and Mushroom Blintz with Truffled Chevre, Chive Oil Drizzle 4. Miner Family Sangiovese, Gibson Ranch 2007 Creamy Three Cheese Crostini with Heiroom Tomato, Basil Chiffonade 5. Fritz Reserve Zinfandel, Dry Creek 2007 Tostadas with Artisan White Cheddar, Cilantro Cream 6. Saintsbury Toyon Farm Pinot Noir, 2007 Crispy Taro Root, Island Slaw Garnish Miner Family Sangiovese, Gibson Ranch 2007 was the Event Winner!! Congratulations! Recipe: Gourmet Blueberry Vanilla Granola 08/17/2010
 Credit: Nielsen-Massey Are you in the mood for Granola? Here's a delicious recipe to try. Gourmet Blueberry Vanilla Granola 3 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats 1 cup wheat germ 3/4 cup flaked coconut 1 cup coarsely chopped pecans or nuts of choice 1/2 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar 1/2 cup canola oil 1/2 cup pure maple syrup 1/2 cup gourmet blueberry syrup 1 tablespoon Nielsen-Massey Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Bean Paste 2 teaspoons cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup dried cranberries 1/2 cup dried dates 1/2 cup raisins Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Coat a 9 x 13-inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. Combine the oats, wheat germ, coconut and pecans in a large bowl and toss to combine. Whisk the brown sugar, canola oil, maple syrup, blueberry syrup, vanilla paste, cinnamon and salt in a separate bowl. Pour over the dry ingredients and mix well. Recipe courtesy of Nielsen-Massey. Gratitude Gourmet E-Newsletter 08/17/2010
Like the Gratitude Gourmet articles? Make sure you've signed up for my weekly e-newsletter to receive the latest news and sweepstakes offers. On the Blog Page's right-hand side, simply enter your email address then hit Subscribe. How Do You Drink Your Coffee? 08/17/2010
 Do you like coffee? If so, how do you drink it? Here's an interesting consumer packaging article from The NY Times called 'A Coffee Conundrum'. I've seen these 'pods' in the United States and in Europe and questioned the practice of single-use packaging due to environmental reasons. BTW - There are more health benefit coffee studies from this month's Prevention Magazine (September 2010) called '4 Ways Coffee Cures'. Specifically: 1. At least 1 cup per day lowers your risk of early death from all causes by 37% 2. At least 2 cups per day reduces your risk of death from heart disease by 25% 3. At least 3 cups per day slashes your risk of dementia and Alzheimers by 65% 4. 4 or more cups per day makes you 56% less likely to develop type 2 diabetes Which reminds me...it's time for my daily almond milk latte created from a pound package of organic coffee (no pods) made in my old fashioned-style Italian Coffee Maker in this picture :-) Paprika Potatoes (Paprikás Krumpli) 08/17/2010
Many of you know I worked in Hungary, and as of late, I've been wanting to try a vegetarian Paprika Potatoes (Paprikás Krumpli). Try this recipe, and let me know what you think! if you have a recipe you like better, please let me know by commenting on this post! Ingredients: 4 Medium potatoes cut into wedges or slices 1 Onion 2 Tablespoons canola oil (or water for a lighter version) 3 Teaspoons paprika 1 Tomato 1 Garlic clove Mince the onion. Saute the onion in the oil until golden. Add the paprika and 1 cup of water. Add the tomato and garlic, cover, and simmer for 15-20 minutes. Add salt to taste. Add potatoes and add water until the potatoes are covered. Enjoy! |   ArchivesAugust 2010 Copyright 2010. All Rights Reserved. |