Tag: giveaway

Chic Made Simple – Review & Giveaway!

When I first received the Chic Made Simple cookbook, I was wowed. It’s filled with beautiful pictures, impeccable food styling, and lots of delicious recipes that are truly, made simple. Esther Deutsch’s new cookbook promises fresh, fast and fabulous kosher cuisine, and it delivers. With appetizers & sides, soups, salads, poultry, meat, fish, dairy and desserts, the cookbook lacks for nothing. Chef’s are fond of saying “We eat with our eyes first”, and no one knows that better than Esther. Her talent for plating and food styling are on full display page after page. As a wannabe food stylist (at least for my blog) this book has taught me a lot.

While styling is important, the food also has to speak for itself. The recipes in Chic are simple enough for the novice cook, yet sophisticated enough for the more experienced chef. Some of my favorite dishes include quinoa patties, pulled meat wontons, roasted chestnut pumpkin soup, sundried tomato basil capons, creole veal burgers, 60-second cajun salmon, fruit tartare, and many more.

All that being said, I do have a few small qualms about this book. As the food editor of Ami magazine, many, of the recipes appeared in the magazine at some point (46 of the recipes in the book have never been published). While it mostly reads like a cookbook, there is some confusion where the pictures don’t entirely relate to the recipe, and some magazine spreads that were stuck in the book, disrupting the flow. The pictures, having been photographed by a few photographers, don’t offer the same style, and some are so highly manipulated, they don’t look realistic. As a graphic designer, I find this very frustrating, but to the untrained eye, most people will not be disturbed by it.

Bottom line: Chic Made Simple does in fact offer chic recipes that are fairly easy. Some recipes use highly processed ingredients, but most include ingredients that you’d find in your pantry. While many will not be able to plate their dishes as impeccably as pictured, the recipes sure seem to taste as delicious as they look.

To enter the giveaway, leave a comment telling me about a simple recipe that you serve in a chic way! And if you don’t already follow me on facebook, like the BIB page here. Winner will be chosen at random at 11:00 PM Wednesday, December 5th. 

1 year ago: black bean brownies
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Salad Bar + Quick & Easy Dressings

I can’t tell you how many people I meet who tell me that they just can’t figure out what kind of salad to put together at a salad bar. They usually end up going with classic caeser or greek salad. I, on the other hand, love experimenting with different ingredients and coming up with all sorts of flavor combinations. Otherwise, I’ll just get bored and dread my salad-eating :)

My all time favorite make-you-own-salad-bar combo would have to be:

crisp rommaine
red cabbage
shredded carrots
beets
craisins
red onions
scoop of tuna

For the dressing, I opt for caeser or honey mustard. To make your own at home, follow my easy recipes below.

I thought it might be fun to see what unique salad combinations you all come up with at a salad bar. To get you in the sharing mood, I’m giving away the book of 500 Sensational Salads by Julia Canning. To enter this giveaway, let me know your favorite make-you-own-salad-bar combination in the comments below. I will choose the most original submission on February 15, 2012.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Bitayavon Magazine Review + Sample Recipe + Subscription Giveaway!

Busy in Brooklyn is giving away a ONE YEAR SUBSCRIPTION to Bitayavon Magazine. For a chance to win, “like” our facebook fan page (click the “become a fan” button on the side of the blog or go to www.facebook.com/busyinbrooklyn to get to our fan page). A winner will be chosen on Sunday, April 17th.

If you love cookbooks as much as I do, you probably love cooking magazines too. Cooking magazines, to me, are like mini cookbooks, with a lot more advice and interesting food-for-thought (pun intended!). And so back in the day, when eBay used to offer magazine subscriptions for next to nothing, I subscribed to a LOT of them. Here’s the problem (besides for the fact that I had piles and piles of cooking magazines) – every page you turn to has another mouth-watering photo that you just have to make. Then you look at the recipe and either it has meat seared in butter, or it’s loaded with nonkosher unmentionables. And so, after admiring the food photography of loads of magazines, I let the subscriptions run their course and I didn’t renew a single one.

Imagine my excitement when I heard about the new kosher magazine, Bitayavon. I was first in line for their premiere issue back in February, and I couldn’t wait for their spring edition. The premiere issue was full of exciting recipes, articles and tips. The spring issue shines even more, with brighter pictures and even better recipes (yes, even, and especially, the Pesach ones). You’ll find a nice mix of simple fare for the on-the-go cook, and more advanced recipes for the gourmand.

The Pesach issue boasts over 70 recipes and tips. It starts off with protein-packed family dinners like Quinoa israeli salad and Bran Flake crusted turkey breasts. The “Going Gourmet” section is chock-full of original gourmet sandwich ideas such as Banh Mi, a Vietnamese recipe that uses leftover roast chicken as well as a Tiramisu sandwich using store-bought sponge cake. The recipes are paired with mouth-watering photos as well as additional winning recipes from the sandwich contest that was introduced in the previous issue.

The magazine continues with a twist on traditional recipes such as “gefilte fish crab cakes” and an “eggplant deli roll”. These deconstructed recipes are creative and simple enough for the novice cook. It’s Pesach section runs the gamut of fish, salads, meat/poultry, sides and desserts. Each recipe is clear with numbered instructions. You will find original preparations such as salt encrusted sea bass, as well as chicken noodles, all paired with an apropo wine.

Rounding out the issue are articles on kashrus, the kosher challenge abroad, seasonal recipes, an interview with a chef and a look at a cookbook, among others. The magazine is well thought out, with interesting topics and an all-encompassing menu (both in the articles and recipes) for the kosher consumer.

I guess I will be subscribing to a food magazine after all. This time, only one.

Bitayavon!

Thanks to Bitayavon Magazine for sponsoring the subscription.
Photos & Recipe courtesy of Bitayavon magazine.

{UPDATE added April 17th, 2011: Mashi Laufer of Brooklyn, NY has won the Busy in Brooklyn subscription giveaway! Congratulations Mashi and Chag Kasher Vesameach!}

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