saucey sunday

"(bair-naz) - It is a variation of hollandaise sauce. White wine or vinegar, diced shallots, tarragon, and peppercorns are cooked together and reduced and sieved and then added to hollandaise sauce. The spice tarragon is what gives it a distinctive taste. The sauce is served with beef and some shellfish."
via whats cooking in america


Ingredients
* 2 tablespoons tarragon vinegar
* 2 tablespoons dry white wine
* 1/4 cup very finely chopped shallot
* 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper, more if desired
* 1 tablespoon finely chopped tarragon leaf
* 3 large egg yolks
* 1 tablespoon water
* 1/2-3/4 cup unsalted butter, very soft (I've always used 1 1/2 sticks)
* coarse salt
* pepper, if desired
* lemon juice, if desired

Directions
1. Combine vinegar, wine, shallots, black pepper, and 1 1/2 teaspoons tarragon in a small saucepan.
2. Cook over medium heat until reduced to 1 tablespoon, 5 to 10 minutes.
3. Add egg yolks and 1 tablespoon of water to reduced vinegar mixture.
4. Whisk until thick and pale, about 2 minutes.
5. Set pan over moderately low heat and continue to whisk at reasonable speed reaching all over bottom and insides of pan, where eggs tend to overcook.
6. To moderate heat, frequently move pan off burner for a few seconds, then back on.
7. As they cook, the eggs will become frothy and increase in volume, then thicken.
8. When the bottom of the pan is visible in the streaks left by the whisk and the eggs are thick and smooth, remove from heat.
9. By spoonfuls, add soft butter, whisking constantly to incorporate each addition.
10. As the emulsion forms, add butter in slightly larger amounts, always whisking until fully absorbed.
11. Continue incorporating butter until sauce has thickened to consistency desired.
12. Season with salt, remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons chopped tarragon and, if desired, pepper.
13. Add a few droplets of lemon juice if necessary.



via recipe zaar

food fun!

40 extraordinary examples of edible art
thanks russ!

tom tom magazine

"Tom Tom creates a community for these women by way of their sleekly-designed quarterly, now on its second issue, covering everything from current fashion to signal processing and drum techniques."

love.
via coolhunting

Graphic Design + TV = LOVE

My friend Heather sent me this great site blanka. Thanks HK!

saucey sunday

"Aioli is a zesty garlic mayonnaise that's used as a sauce, most often for seafood and shellfish, although it's also great on green beans and potatoes. It's made by slowly whisking oil into egg yolks and garlic, but health concerns about the safety of raw egg yolks have many chefs starting with commercial mayonnaise, which is made from pasteurized egg yolks. This eHow explains both ways, and will make just over a cup of aioli."


Things You'll Need:

* 3/4 cup olive (not virgin) oil
* 3-5 garlic cloves
* 1/2 tsp salt
* 1 lemons
* 3 egg yolks
* 1/4 tsp white pepper
* 1 tbsp Dijon mustards
* 1 tsp white vinegar
* 1 tsp white vinegar
* 3 egg yolks
* 1 tbsp Dijon mustards
* 1/4 tsp white pepper
* 3-5 garlic cloves
* 3/4 cup olive (not virgin) oil
* 1/2 tsp salt
* 1 lemons


Step 1
Puree, mash or mince the garlic as finely as possible and add it to the olive oil. If you have a small food processor or blender, the two can be blended together.

Step 2
Place the egg yolks and mustard in a medium mixing bowl and whisk together for two minutes.

Step 3
While steadily whisking the yolks, begin to drizzle in the oil in a very thin, steady, slow stream.

Step 4
The yolks and oil will begin to come together. When about half the oil is in, and the mixture is beginning to resemble mayonnaise, add the vinegar and salt and pepper.

Step 5
Whisk together, then continue to drizzle in the oil while whisking. Stop before you've used all the oil.

Step 6
Squeeze in a little lemon juice, stir it in well, then taste. If it needs more salt, lemon juice, pepper or garlic oil, add it now and whisk it in until it tastes right. It should be thick and creamy, not overly garlicky, with none of the other flavors too strong.

via ehow

the sketchbook project

gallery showing February 19-21 at the Art House, Brooklyn

melangerie inc

Check out Melangerie on Etsy!

whisker graphics

Check out Whisker Graphics on Etsy!

saucey sunday

Asian Peanut Dipping Sauce

1/3 cup smooth peanut butter
1 garlic clove
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
1/8 teaspoon cayenne, or to taste
1/3 cup water
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1. In a blender puree together peanut butter, garlic, lime juice, soy sauce, sugar, cayenne, water, salt and pepper until mixture is smooth.
2. Transfer sauce to a serving bowl.

Makes about 1 cup.

via cooksrecipes

pandas!

Maybe it's my friend Eileen's puppy bowl party Sunday or it could be the fact that I just saw Kung Fu Panda, but my mind is obsessed with all things adorable today.

"It was the first taste of independence for the youngsters at the Wolong National Nature Reserve, in Sichuan Province, south west China. Keepers at the reserve posed for a class photograph with their wide-eyed pupils and were helping the babies adjust to their new life under the gaze of visitors at the reserve. Around 1,600 giant pandas live in the wild in China, mostly in Sichuan and the north western provinces of Shaanxi and Gansu. Another 290 pandas are in breeding programmes in the country."

read more

saucey sundays

Ingredients:

* 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
* 2 tablespoons finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
* 1 1/2 teaspoons finely chopped garlic
* 2 cups chopped canned peeled tomatoes
* Salt



For a sweeter, mellower sauce, cook chopped onions until softened in a combination of extra-virgin olive oil and butter for your base.

Don’t let the garlic brown or the sauce will taste bitter.

Chop all ingredients into even, bite-size pieces or smaller.

Add sturdier ingredients, like zucchini or eggplant, early on to cook through before adding delicate ingredients, like tomatoes or fish, which will break down if cooked too long.

For egg pasta dishes, reduce the sauce less, as egg pastas will absorb some of the liquid.

via rachaelraymag.com

nonpareil

nonpareil online magazine launches!

"Nonpareil is an online magazine that approaches weddings and other occasions with a focus on hip, stylish, do-it-yourself projects and inspiration, and our goal is to awaken your creative side and to help you plan a beautiful wedding in a more accessible way."

graphic hug blog

" We love graphic design. We love to hug. We love to hug graphic design."
Graphic Hug

making music into art

What a fantastic, d.i.y idea, put you're favorite lyrics of your favorite band, on canvas. Then hang, annnnnd it's art. I like this idea. It could make a nice gift as well.

vinegar hill house

I went to the Vinegar Hill House on Sunday night with some friends. It was fantastic, the service was very good and the food was very flavorful.
My friend's daughter, Coco (51/2 years old), described where we sat as "creepy, it's like we're in a castle"
She might have been referring to the lovely fireplace and the wood lined cabin- like walls. I loved Coco's commentary none the less. The music was sweet, a little Hall n Oates and there were fresh succulent plants everywhere. My experience at Vinegar Hill House was great, Check out their menu, I had the pumpkin ravioli, so buttery and delicious. I also had tastes of the fennel salad and the brussel sprouts, equally as delicious.

Valentines shoot!

On Saturday, I styled a food shoot with my good friend Abdi. Our friend Cathy is blogging about the food the she makes, the photos above are a couple of the things that she made. I really love how it turned out!!

Food/Recipes : Cathy Christino, Word of Mouth

Art Direction/Styling: me, Michelle

Photos: Three photographers,

aziz at the soho apple store tomorrow!

Aziz at the Apple Store in Soho tomorrow at 7pm!