"elegant" news and stories

There have been plenty of California blood oranges in the markets lately, so this is the second week in a row that I've made this very simple blood orange salad. The basic version that I make at home and usually see in restaurants includes blood oranges and thinly sliced red onion, garnished with cracked pepper and good olive oil. I added some torn Italian parsley and, this time, some thinly sliced hearts of palm. If you're unfamiliar with hearts of palm, the flavor is mild and fresh, a bit like an artichoke, and the texture is similar to barely cooked asparagus. As the name implies, these are the edible cores of the cabbage palm. You'll generally find them canned, among the other canned vegetables. As they're fairly mild, they work well with the acidity of the oranges and the richness of the olive oil. This is a great way to start a number of different menus, but I think it works particularly well as foil to richer dishes like stews or braised meats.

Van Gogh Gin is a premium gin in a beautiful bottle showing the canals of Amsterdam. Just the bottle alone takes four countries to produce. First the bottle is made in Germany, then it is etched in France, silk screened in Belgium, and the corks are Portuguese. Then the gin is made and bottled in Holland. It is distilled twice in a column still to remove any bad congeners (bad by products if distillation) and then a third time in a pot still to 47%abv / 94 proof. Made in small batches the botanicals are distilled separately, mixed carefully, and then aged to bring all the flavors together. The ten botanicals used are angelica, coriander, grains of paradise, almonds, lemon, liquorice, juniper, cassia, orris, and cubeb berries.

The aroma is deep and complex, with a quick dark and spicy hit buoyed up by fruit and citrus, with a juniper finish. Very pleasing with unusual notes that keep me going back to sniff repeatedly. The taste starts off with a sudden, strong, tangy and spicy note, sort of like a spiced fruit that then turns citrusy. Then there is the long finish with a whole mélange of spices coming along one after another, so fast it's hard to name them. Finally it settles down to juniper, lemon zest, and faint hints of cassia and liquorice. The finish was very long and minutes later I can still taste the lingering botanicals on my tongue. Straight up in a snifter or on the rocks are my thoughts for enjoying Van Gogh. I am not so sure about in a Martini or GnT, since I never got that far, but it has the potential to mix very well if it doesn't get overpowered. This is an elegant and refreshing gin that keeps me pouring excitedly.

One of the appealing things about cupcakes is that the individual serving sizes are incredibly convenient when you are serving them to company. There is no "I'll just have a sliver" or "I want a piece twice that size!" Each person gets one. But you don't always want to make cupcakes because, in part, no matter how trendy they are, they're still not exactly the most elegant way to serve cake. The Buttermilk Mini Cakes with Lemon Frosting, from Jenjen at i love milk and cookies, demonstrate a great way to take advantage of pre-portioned cake servings without opting for cupcakes. The cake is baked in an ordinary rectangular pan, then cooled and sliced before frosting. Jenjen used some beautiful sugar crystals to top hers off, and for a closer look, take a look at this photo.

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The Godiva G collection is the ultra-gourmet line of chocolates made by the popular chocolatier. For Mother's Day, they have introduced a limited release 20-piece set of chocolates. Each collection is packaged in an elegant pink gift box and, in honor of the jeweler Aaron Basha, a free travel jewelry case is included with each purchase. Unfortunately, no jewelry is included, but speaking of jewels, each candy in the collection looks like one, with unique and vibrant coloring topping of each of the decadent, intense truffles. The box is $65 and will only be available through May 14th.

There are fifteen unique flavors in the G collection, which you can read about here. I loved the Key Lime Pie and the Salted Caramel, but the Thai Coconut and PB&J, neither of which I had the chance to try, sound fantastic, as well.

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When you think about wedding cakes, chances are that you envision a tall, elegant dessert. It has sleek sides and might be adorned with splashes of sugar roses and pounds of buttercream frosting. Even if the cake is simple, ungarnished with excesses of sugar sculpture and fondant shapes, a wedding cake will always be elegant.

At least, almost always.

More and more couples are moving away from the traditional wedding cake model, having cupcake towers so that each guest can have an individual, elaborately decorated cake. The cupcakes maintain the elegance of tradition, but allow for an infusion of fun. Even further from the standard, however, is the snack-food cake. A snack food cake can be made of anything from Twinkies to Snowballs and chocolate donuts. What I didn't realize was how much the trend towards down-market "cakes" was catching on until I saw a "cake" of homemade Ding Dongs in the New York Times wedding announcements over the weekend.

Would you have wanted this at your wedding? Are you considering it for the future? I can't say that I would want it, but I would definitely serve ice cold milk, and not champagne, if I did.

[Image NYT]