Remember, if you have an event you'd like us to feature next Sunday, just email the details to pennappetit.blog@gmail.com.
Gingerbread House Decorating
Where: Reading Terminal Market, 12th St. and Arch St.
When: Sunday, December 7, 10:30 am - 12:00 pm
What: Decorating elaborate gingerbread houses at Reading Terminal Market. Call (215) 922-1170 to register.
How much: $40.00 per person
"Festeggiamo In Italiano": Celebrating in Italian
Where: La Cucina Demonstration Kitchen, Reading Terminal Market, 12th St. and Arch St.
When: Monday, December 8, 5:45 - 7:45 pm
What: A fun workshop that involves learning about--and eating--Italian specialties. Call (215) 204-6946 to register.
How much: $55.00 per person
Jose Garces Cooking Class
Where: Reading Terminal Market, 12th St. and Arch St.
When: Tuesday, December 9, 5:45 - 7:45 pm
What: Learn from famed chef Jose Garces of Distrito and Amada. Call (215) 922-1170 to register.
How much: $65.00 per person
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Upcoming Food Events
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Friday, December 5, 2008
Friday Blog Lovin' - Snickerdoodles
Blog: Vegan YumYum
I am definitely looking forward to the upcoming holiday season, especially for the cookies! This snickerdoodle recipe is perfect for a vegan, but looks delicious enough for anyone to enjoy! Check out this award winning blog for more vegan-friendly recipes!
Thursday, December 4, 2008
The Quest for Home
We all crave for the taste of home once in a while. Two weekends ago, a bunch of my Indian friends and I agreed, in a moment of nostalgia, that our taste buds needed some reawakening. We also knew, without a doubt, where we were going to go- Udupi Dosa Palace. Rumors had it that Indians from all over Bucks County flocked in droves to sample the delectable South Indian buffet at Udupi.
The six of us squished into my friend’s Acura, our excitement fueled by the colorful rhythm of Bollywood music blaring from the speakers. Thankfully in our cacophonic exuberance, no one noticed the slow growling emanating from our stomachs- clearly we were all ravenous. Finally, after what seemed like eternity, we arrived at the restaurant, and we all scrambled to get out of the car. The smiles of rejoice melted away quickly, as we found ourselves staring into dark windows- the restaurant was closed. Wails of disappointment and some very innovative curses erupted into the night air. And then we noticed the bright orange paper taped onto the door. In bold black letters read- “This restaurant has been shut down for not maintaining proper health standards…” Some Dosa Palace!
Even though our stomachs turned a little, we were still determined to find some semblance of home. Thankfully my friend had a GPS in his car, and we hastily scrolled through the list of Indian restaurants within a 3 mile radius. We found one that seemed appealing- Tandoori & Dosa. After twenty minutes of whining and my friend yelling angrily at the dulcet voice of the GPS (who was insisting that he had taken a wrong turn), we finally discovered that Tandoori & Dosa had turned into Kashmir Garden. Not surprisingly, considering it was 9pm, we were the only customers, and the kitchen was closing in half an hour. We ordered seven main course dishes, rice, and a big bread basket- the waiter cautioned us that it might be too much food. We assured him that we were hungry enough to order the whole menu, and looking convinced he hurried off to start getting our food ready.
The smells from the kitchen made us salivate, and we munched on the papad, wafer thin discs of spicy lentil crisps to keep our mouths engaged. Our waiter finally came out, expertly balancing the plates of food. He presented them with a flourish and the moment he was gone we attacked the food in a clatter of porcelain and silverware. The food, to describe in a single word, was exquisite. The chicken and lamb kebabs melted in your mouth, the tadka dal or lentils was the perfect combination of home-made goodness and simplicity. The bread basket was an impressive collection of whole wheat tandoori rotis, stuffed potato parathas, garlic and butter naan. The kofta (or fried balls of paneer or cottage cheese), paneer masala, and dal makhani had just the right amount of spice tempered with the creaminess of the curry. They even had dosa! The pancake had been fried to the perfect crisp, and the ghee or butter seeped into the warm potato filling inside. The accompanying chutney was, as my friend described it- “out of this world”. The most impressive part was probably the size of the portions; New Delhi and Sitar usually serve portions that two hungry people, let alone six, can barely share. Despite our colossal appetites, we had several doggy bags, and lunch for the next day.
Kashmir Garden is a delightful surprise tucked away on Krewstown Road, in Bensalem township in Bucks County. The restaurant doesn’t have the fancy ambience of New Delhi, but it offers a flavorful variety of Indian food, and the sincerity and skill of the chefs is evident in the quality of the food. I would definitely embark on another adventure to eat at Kashmir Garden again. At least they don’t have a health warning issue.
TweetWednesday, December 3, 2008
Live Blogging - Top Chef Season 5: Episode 4
11:00
Alex leaves and returns home to get married, not too surprising or upsetting, especially considering that I could barely remember him on a week to week basis. Next week the chefs have to cook for Gail's bridal shower, which Carla describes as a "frickin' disaster" and during which Fabio woos dozens of middle-aged women. Looks like another good one!
10:50
Haha, that psycho Kathy Lee is helping judge the winner, and it's not pretty as she spits out Jeff's shrimp right of camera. Ariane takes the win, and Carla claps and screams excitedly in the apartment. She seems more into it than Ariane herself. Rocco gives her a lame tool set of cooking tools, but her better prize is a live spot on the Today Show tomorrow, so tune in everyone, because I'm sure it will be absolutely riveting to watch her make a salad with watermelon. I think Jamie will be safe just based on past performances, but it's a toss-up between Alex, for his faulty creme brulee, and Melissa, a victim of apparently inedibly spicy shrimp, for the boot.
10:38
I'm not really sure what the point of doing the demonstrations ahead of time for the judges is. In the interest of entertaining television, I would just throw them on camera completely raw and watch them crash and burn. I mean nothing happens at all during the fourth hour of the Today Show anyways. So they chose the top 3, which includes Jeff, Fabio, and Ariane for the first time. She may be around longer than I anticipated. Jamie falls to the bottom 3 courtesy of the raw egg on top of her salad. She better get her act together, of else Team Rainbow will disolve completely. Tom comes to wake up the top 3 at 2 AM to take them to the studio at 30 Rock. I think that's the average bedtime of most Penn students these days.
10:23
That segment was seriously like 3 minutes long, and all we got to see was the shopping portion at Whole Foods, which never ceases to entertain me and Lea saying that she was planning on making a seared duck breast with corn and blueberrys. She says it works, but I think that she's lucky that she has immunity for this one.
10: 14
Ok, sorry. I knew I said that I would blog last week, but I didn't get around to watching the Tivo-ed episode until like 11 on Thanksgiving night, and I was in a semi-vegetative tryptophan induced state, so I barely recall the hopefuls assembling Thanksgiving dinner for the Foo Fighters in microwaves and toaster ovens. I do remember quite vividly Ariane rising from the ashes of the bottom three with a successful turkey and being dubbed a cougar by her teammates.
The quickfire this week is to make a breakfast amuse-bouche, and everyone does decently in impressing guest judge Rocco DiSpirito. Actually, I want to eat 90% of what the chefs cook, especially Jamie's mini breakfast BLT. Lea comes away with the win and gets a paperback of Rocco's new book. Paperback, come on, I think you can provide the hardback copy of your own book Mr. DiSpirito. Padma introduces the elimination challenge: cooking a 2.5 minute segment live on the Today Show. Carla, who is quickly rising the ranks of my favorites, says that if you go over your time limit, the producers will "cut you." I'm pretty sure she meant "cut you off," but I'll forgive her, because she reminded me of Bon Qui Qui and because she's repping my hometown of Washington, DC
Top Chef Live Blogging Tonight!
Don't miss a live blog of this week's Top Chef episode from Tucker, starting at 10 pm tonight!
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Recap of Event with Naked Chocolate
Thanks to everyone who came to the event last night to celebrate the launch of Penn Appetit! For those who couldn't make it, here's a little rundown of what happened:
Tom Block, from Naked Chocolate, talked about how he got into the high-end chocolate business after owning an ice cream shop for many years in Princeton, NJ. His daughter, Sara, wanted to go into business with him and open a store in the city. After traveling around Europe, to some of the best chocolate cities (among them Paris and Brussels), Tom and Sara opened the Center City location of Naked Chocolate in 2006. Why "Naked," you ask? Well, they didn't have much of a marketing budget, so they wanted a name that would grab people. Originally the idea was to open a shop exclusively for chocolates, but Tom realized that the niche might be a tad too specific, so they went for the full-out concept of "dessert cafe." The store took off, due to, in Tom's opinion, an increased American tendency to appreciate high-end or gourmet chocolates. Because of the success of the first Naked, they recently opened their store on 34th and Walnut, right on Penn's campus. (I guess Princeton wasn't quite good enough...)
Students in the audience asked questions, including Tom's favorite Naked truffle. He unequivocally said that a good piece of dark chocolate, with no frills, would be his ideal choice. One person asked if he was interested in trying a chocolate and cheese combination; and while he hasn't yet, he has tried something with bacon and chocolate--and is always open to new possibilities.
The over 400 pieces of chocolate that we ordered were mostly gone within 20 minutes...though I must say that even though I didn't get a morsel of food at our event with Ellen Yin in the spring, I was able to snag a few pieces of chocolate this time. And of course, they were delicious!
Sticky Rice with Chicken (Lo Mai Gai)
For those of you who love Chinese dim sum, this is a slightly different, fuss-free version of a perennial favorite known as Lo Mai Gai (in Cantonese). You can get pretty much everything you need below at an Asian grocery store and prepare this in 20 minutes flat. Enjoy!
Ingredients:
1 1/2 c. white sticky rice (also labelled as sweet rice or glutinous rice)
1 3/4 c. water
1 lb. chicken thigh, deboned, sliced
1 chinese preserved sausage, sliced
1 tbsp. fresh ginger, julienned
2 tbsp. oyster sauce
2 tbsp. sesame oil
1 tbsp. soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
1 lb. chinese kale or bok choy
Directions:
Marinate the chicken and sausages with the ginger, 1 tbsp. of sesame oil, oyster sauce, soy sauce, and pepper. Leave aside.
Wash the rice with cool tapwater and steam in a microwave rice cooker with 1 3/4 c. of water and 1tbsp of sesame oil for 6 minutes (may differ depending on your microwave). Give it a good stir with a pair of chopsticks. Then top it with the marinated meat on top of the rice. Steam for 6 more minutes in the microwave.
Steep the vegetables in boiling water for 2 minutes. Then top with 1 tbsp. of oyster sauce and mix well. Serve on the side.
This should leave you with enough Lo Mai Gai for two people, and for a unique variation, you may also add in Shitake mushrooms or slices of barbecued pork (char siew) to the marinated meats.
Monday, December 1, 2008
Penn Appetit's Fall 2008 Issue
Today is the launch of Penn Appetit's third issue! For those of you who are new to this site/blog, Penn Appetit is a student-run food magazine at the University of Pennsylvania, started in 2007. We include all kinds of food writing in our magazine, from recipes and restaurant reviews to interviews with people in the Philly food scene to discussions of food issues.
If you're at Penn, you can get a copy of Penn Appetit on Locust Walk, in the dining halls, or in your dorm/academic buildings all this week. If you're not at Penn and would like a magazine, please email me at pennappetit@gmail.com with your name and address so I can send you one. You can also look through our website, www.pennappetit.com, to see the PDF of the latest issue and to find out more about our organization.
I also want to let you know about an event we're having tonight. To celebrate the launch of this issue, we've invited Tom Block, the chocolatier at Naked Chocolate Cafe, to speak about his experiences in the chocolate/confection industry. After Tom's talk and a Q&A session, we will have a reception with FREE chocolate from Naked and other hors d'ouevres. This will be tonight at 7PM in Rodin's Rooftop Lounge, and again, it's free!
Hope to see you tonight - and enjoy the new issue of Penn Appetit!
Life is Like a Box of Chocolates…
What's the first thing you turn to when you end a long relationship? Or when you’re pretty sure you just failed your midterm? Or when you have two papers due in an hour? I’m sure a few would immediately say their moms or their best friends. But let’s be honest. We take a trip to Wawa and buy the biggest bar of chocolate we can find. Throughout history, chocolate has been considered a mood-booster. The Aztecs even believed that it had the same effects on the body as falling in love. Well, they weren’t too far off.
Every year, lovers around the world indulge in nature’s greatest gift to mankind. Last Valentine’s Day, over 35 million heart-shaped boxes of chocolate were sold, bringing in over $1 billion. This extraordinary figure is a result of the universal love of chocolate. In fact, in a recent survey, most women said that they preferred chocolate over flowers on Valentine’s Day, especially women over 50 (so guys, take note). Even if you find yourself alone on Cupid’s day, chocolate can easily replace a significant other. It isn’t an aphrodisiac, but it does trigger the brain’s production of natural opiates. What those love-struck Aztecs were feeling was the effects of phenylephylamine, the same hormone that the brain triggers when you fall in love. Chocolate also has a decent amount of caffeine—enough to perk you up, but not enough to leave you feeling shaky. In addition, this addicting comfort food stimulates endorphin production, giving a feeling of pleasure, and contains serotonin, which acts as an anti-depressant. Cocoa even contains cannabinoids, substances that mimic the effects of marijuana. But don’t get excited. A 130-pound person would have to eat 25 pounds of chocolate all at once to get the effect of marijuana. And I’m pretty sure heart disease would set in before that happened.
But maybe not. Chocolate has an undeservedly bad reputation as a “guilty pleasure”. Chocolate actually contains natural antioxidants called flavonoids, which can help prevent heart disease and lower blood pressure. It only takes 40 grams of milk chocolate to obtain the same amount of antioxidants as a glass of red wine. Dark chocolate is even more beneficial, containing almost as many antioxidants as a cup of black tea. But a warning to chocoholics: don’t go thinking that you can stuff your face with chocolate and not feel guilty. Trust me; I’ve already tried it. Chocolate is a pretty high-calorie food, so although it’s a good idea to incorporate it into your daily diet, make sure you create room for it. You only need about half of a dark chocolate bar’s worth of antioxidants to receive the benefits, so don’t go overboard. And don’t try to trick yourself this winter into thinking that a cup of hot chocolate is doing you some good. Hot chocolate only has about half of the antioxidants of milk chocolate because of its dilution. But hey, after a long day, throw some marshmallows in and just enjoy. In addition to antioxidants, one study even found that a specific substance in cocoa helps the body process nitric oxide, which contributes to healthy blood flow and blood pressure.
For those of us who aren’t fans of technicalities, let’s sum it up: chocolate relieves anxiety, increases energy and alertness, provides antioxidants, reduces pain, and provides a feeling of pleasure. So who even needs a significant other? If you find out that your roommate is now dating your ex-girlfriend, who’s also actually sleeping with your current girlfriend, don’t get upset. There’s always chocolate.
