"Sherry" news and stories

Also known as Shaoxing cooking wine, this essential Chinese staple can make or break a dish.

• Have a spot of sherry -- it's making a reentry on the cocktail circuit.
• Pastry chefs around the country offer their tips for a well-stocked baking pantry. (Hint: Chocolate is a must.)
• Truly transformative: Peel some oranges, add some red wine and let the magic happen.
• Ming Tsai offers this recipe to unleash your inner [year of the] tiger on Valentine's Day.

• Symbolizing longevity in Japan, soba noodles should be "supple, lustrous and slurpable" -- instructor Akila Inouye of Tokyo's Tsukiji Soba Academy enlightens us on the process.
• Tired of ringing in the New Year with mundane Champagne? Sherry's "distinct, maderized flavor" is again gaining appeal, particularly in plucky cocktails at La Brea Avenue's Tar Pit.
• From "potluck queen to Pillsbury Bake-Off finalist," Susie Littlewood is one of 100 competitors aiming to win lots of dough from Pillsbury -- one million dollars, to be exact. Her caramelized red onion Feta burgers got her foot in the door.
• A reader requested the recipe for the "best chocolate pie ever." Ask and ye shall receive -- Cold Springs Tavern's warm chocolate pie recipe with nuts and rum.
• Recipes: Shrimp Tostones from Cafe Verde in Pasadena; Cauliflower and Potato Gratin; Wilted Brussels Sprouts with Walnuts.

Chocolate chip cookies are magic. Especially when warm. And sprinkled with sea salt.

Jim Mamary and Alan Harding were Brooklyn restaurant pioneers, opening a dozen restaurants in the past decade. But now people are mad because they say their restaurants are chains. Chains are bad. Yuppie fight!

If the above item makes you roll your eyes at New York, consider this: the city has roaming "Sweetmobiles" serving cookies, hot waffles, and crème brûlée. I heart New York indeed.

Eric Asimov gives poor, maligned dry sherry some love.

The Minimalist does cold soup.

A recipe for a pea and raw squash salad.

Fried milk. Cool. See for yourself.

Source

On July 1, 2008 at 6:30 pm the Astor Center in New York City will be hosting the seminar The Wonderful World of Sherry: A Food Pairing. Roger Kugler, Sommelier of Suba Restaurant and Wine Director of Boqueria Restaurant will lead a discussion and tasting of those beautiful and complex fortified wines and how they pair so well with various foods.

Roger has an extensive background in wines, with a strong focus on those from Spain. He is interviewed often and has been mentioned in, and tasted wines on panels, for the New York Times. This seminar looks like it will be a fun, entertaining, and educational event for those who want to know more about his oxidized elixir from Spain. The courses and dinners at the Astor Center are truly marvelous, and having been to quite a few, I heartily recommend them.