Next Summer: NYC Food Film Festival

Ok, in the midst of the freezing cold, lets think about the warm summer for a moment.

Right now there is a call for entires for the 4th Annual NYC Food Film Festival held June 23rd-27th 2010 in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens.

What's that you say?

Tell you MORE about this glorious film festival?

I'd be happy to!

Straight off their website, "The NYC Food Film Festival is a multi-sensory experience where filmgoers are able to watch food films and then sample the food portrayed in those films. "

That's right....you can sample the food shown in the movies. Genius I say! Last years winning films were: "The Sandwich Thief" "Clam Pie" "Sacred Food" "Mr. Okra" "Power of the Peep" "Know Your Mushrooms" And here last year's NYC Food Film Festival Trailer: 2009 NYC Food Film Festival Trailer from George Motz on Vimeo.

Biala Kielbasa

Super sized fresh kielbasa in Greenpoint, Brooklyn

Determined to buy some biala kielbasa, I ventured into three of the four Polish butchers within 3 blocks of my apartment. Can you tell I live in a Polish neighborhood?

Wildly popular at Easter, biala kielbasa is a raw, non smoked pork sausage mildly seasoned with salt, pepper, and garlic.

The always jam packed Polam Market didn't have any that I could see, not that I could even get a good view of the meat cases due to the line of 40-50 something year old Polish women forming a barricade and obstructing my view at 2:30 pm on a Monday afternoon.

I skulked out of similarly popular W. Nassau Market or "Kiszka" after not seeing any either.

So I ventured into uncharted territory.

Mazur Meat Market is not on anyone's top list of butchers in Greenpoint. In fact there were only three customers in the store.

Not understanding the Polish that the woman spoke to me, I panicked for a moment and forgot to say Czesc, (pronounced Chesh-ch) and blurted out Hello. Crap, I'm off to a bad start.

My slick recovery was to quickly say the words biala (pronounced biawa) kielbasa.

The woman nodded and walked over to meat case.

Success!

However, we hit another language barrier as she held the links up for me to see.

I asked, "Do you sell by the link?"

Half of a link with some stoneground mustard

She looked confused for a moment, responded in Polish, and gestured to the two links she held up.

I said OK and nodded.

I was pleased to walk out of the store with two massive pieces of fresh kielbasa - about four servings for a single woman like me. Grant total -- $5.11.

Though Mazur's kielbasa wasn't quite as good as Polam's kielbasa that I had over the summer, this was still a comforting and filling treat.

Hopefully this week, I'll write about one of the three Polish bakeries that are...you guessed it....within 3 blocks of my apartment.

The 2nd Annual Cookie Takedown

The leftover bits

An old friend and I headed over to the Bell House (yes, I’m there a lot these days) and scarfed down 30 types of cookies at Matt Timms’ Cookie Takedown a few days before Christmas. A big thumbs up goes to Matt for having tons of paper plates on hand and carrying a labeled ballot box around. Atta boy!

With 30 contenders for me to talk to, I only recognized one from my previous litany of cook off competitions this year - that would be Phoebe and Cara from Big Girls Small Kitchen. Phoebe and Cara dished out brownie batter cookie dumplings with espresso dipping sauce. I was pleased to see their cookies in dumpling form. Bonus points for creativity! I made sure to congratulate the ladies on their new book Cara & Phoebe’s Quarter-Life Kitchen.

Drizzling espresso sauce on the dumplings

Being so worn out from chocolate at many recent events, I could barely tolerate the sight of all the chocolate & chocolate chip varietal cookies... God help me there were a lot of them.

Drawn to the unusual appearance and fabulously sweet flavor of Jane Hansen’s Birdie's Eye, I had to learn a bit more about them. Jane informed me that the cookies were based on a family recipe originating from a German lady whose name was, you guessed it, Birdie. The small butter cookie featured red current jelly, almond extract, powdered sugar and another ingredient beginning with a “b” that is mostly illegible in my notepad, but I think might say brandied. What can I say? I get a little excited while jotting down notes.

Mmm...red current jelly in Birdie's Eye

Newcomer Melissa Danchak dazzled me with her oatmeal apple cranberry crumb cookie. Hey, I’m a major sucker for cranberries. It had the perfect texture for me. Soft, sweet, chewy. She won third place Judge’s choice! Way to go Melissa.

With so many entries, I found myself stunned by the number of ordinary entries. Gingersnap, check. Triple chocolate, check. Chocolate chip, check. Yawn!

A damn fine gingersnap by Jessica Vail

Most everything was good, but there seemed to be a lack of originality compared with other food competitions I’ve seen. Sure there were some a-typical ingredients like sea salt, bacon, and pretzels, but I was expecting some outside-the-box cookies.

Speaking of outside the box....the wild card entry of the day was Nacho Mama’s cookies. I found them largely flavorless, but looking at the orange butter cream filled triangles below and I think you’ll see why these were memorable.

Nacho Mama's cookies tied for People Choice first place!

Julie Powell reads from “Cleaving”

Julie Powell slices meat after reading from "Cleaving"

On a freezing mid December night, I wandered over to The Meat Hook at 100 Frost Street in Williamsburg to listen to Julie Powell read from her controversial new book, “Cleaving: A Story of Marriage, Meat, and Obsession.”

Having heard about the controversy over Julie's extramarital affair, but not having read the book yet, I wasn’t sure what to expect as far as the content of the book reading. The twitter post that lead me to this event noted Julie would be reading some of the juicy bits.

Hmm....ok I guess it will be a bit racy.

After listening to Julie read about her butchering experience at Fleisher’s butcher shop in Kingston, NY, the chapter segued right into some accounts of her romps with the gentleman known only as “D.”

She’s a sub? I thought to myself. Funny, I’d have pegged her as a dom.

A few more risque passages were read and yes, its glaringly obvious why some of her devoted readers are upset that their snarky, yet sweet, Julie Powell from the book “Julie & Julia” has another side to her. A side that some women will object to. A side that will make some women extremely uncomfortable because it directly hits on lust, betrayal, and deception.

I’m not sure how well the threads of butchering and an extended affair tie together since I only heard a small section of the book. I felt the writing about butchering seemed forced and heavy with jargon. But I was quickly absorbed into the affair because I felt her writing was stronger on that subject.

Julie’s taken a risk with “Cleaving” and has already alienated some of her readers as evident by the scorching comments which often appear below her online interviews.

Was the affair written about to drive sales? Was it written for therapeutic reasons?

I can’t say for sure. But Julie must now constantly defend herself in interviews, defend herself against criticism about the movie adaptation of “Julie & Julia,” and defend her marriage. She did it during Q & A and I'd imagine it must be exhausting.

Towards the end of Q & A, Julie disclosed she’s in the early phases of her next book project - which will be fiction. Interesting choice. I wonder if Julie Powell has had enough about writing about her personal life.

Stay Tuned...Events are coming

December is a slow month for food events if you haven't noticed. Making matters worse is that I accidentally missed last Sunday's Jewish/Italian culinary discussion. OK, I'll fess up. I completely forgot about it. Whoops!

Fortunately, I found out via twitter that Julie Powell is scheduled to read some juicy bits from her new book "Cleaving" tomorrow at uber hip Brooklyn butcher shop the Meat Hook. Tom Mylan, who runs The Meat Hook is featured in Julie's book. Who else do you think taught her the down and dirty butcher skills she has?

I'm also checking out Matt Timms' Cookie Takedown on Sunday.

For any fellow Brooklyn readers - I highly recommend the green chorizo sausage at The Meat Hook. I tried it last weekend and it was mighty fine. It's the peppers that make 'em green, but it's not spicy. Just rich in flavor.

So in short, stay turned fearless readers. I will have more to post on soon!

Today's Specials: The Design of Food Presentation

Photograph by Mitch Feinberg

A few weeks ago I got my seat at Today’s Specials: The Design of Food Presentation

Hosted by former New York Times food critic, Frank Bruni, the event featured a handful of artistic professionals slated to give visual presentations on well....the design of food.

Featured presenters included:

Philip Tiongson of Potion Interactive Design

Mitch Feinberg, Photographer

Victoria Granof, Food Stylist

Tacey Rosolowski, Literary Essayist and Critic

With a full house in Tishman Auditorium, I sat watching a slide show projection of pictures from the Food Porn Flickr Group inspired around the phrase - “In Paris, everything looks like dessert.” Soon Frank Bruni graced the stage and he introduced tonight's event and presenters.

The two standout presenters of the night were Mitch Feinberg and Victoria Granof.

Mitch showed a stunning collection of his food photographs and described the abstract concept in one or two words. He explained the difficulty shooting abstract ideas as opposed to concrete objects or nouns. For example, one can easily photograph a runner, however it is more difficult to capture an image of speed.

One memorable photo in Mitch's presentation was an image of 15 pounds of various cuts of red meat arranged in a rectangular shape. The title was “Dead Weight.”

He explained details of memorable photo shoots, accidental successes on film and the unexpected frustrations of being a food photographer. Mitch spoke slowly and deliberately, pausing at precise moments to give his words their full impact as the audience listened. Check out his website here

Victoria was technically challenged with her slide presentation, but it didn’t matter. As an artistic food stylist she easily found the words to describe her photographs once she got the right photo on the screen. She joked about torturing food into submission and her love of food photographs featuring a controlled mess such as accidental drips of oil or crumbs left on a table.

Victoria’s website can be found here

Both Mitch and Victoria agreed that you often have to play with food to get the best photo and that everyday objects have their own personality.

I’ll think about that next time I pull out my blender.

So Many Cookbooks, So Little Time

Cookbook heaven

Nestled on W. 10th Street in the Village, is a small vintage cookbook shop run by Bonnie Slotnick and her neighbor’s friendly dog Rawlins.

Stacked on shelves from floor to ceiling are thousands of old cookbooks on every topic imaginable: Regional American, historical periods, Asian, Jewish, Caribbean, sauces, bread making, etiquette, celebrity chefs, state specific, legends like Julia Child and James Beard, and even a small Wartime cooking shelf.

Vintage cookware and household items are also for sale. I nearly bought the 1960s cake decorating kit for my sister but opted for a reprinted copy of “Housekeeping in Old Virginia” instead. Bonnie had the 19th century original, but at $400, it was a tad out of my price range.

Hanging on a wall is a framed letter and photograph the acclaimed food writer M.F.K. Fisher wrote to Bonnie in 1980.

It’s best to arrive when you have time to browse and ask questions because Bonnie is chock full of stories and information that she is more than happy to share. I guarantee that you will undoubtedly lose track of time in the shop because it is a metaphorical Candy Land for the home cook.

Handle the 19th century books with care

While Bonnie spoke to a customer from Indiana on the phone, I leafed through “The Rural Kentucky Cookbook” as well as Gertrude Kirby’s copy of the “Saint Alban’s Cookbook” published in 1957 by St. Alban’s parish in Washington, DC. I’m not sure who Ms. Kirby is, but the cookbook she owned has found a happy home.

Bonnie looks forward to coming into work everyday. As a former cookbook publisher for 16 years, Bonnie has a staggering knowledge about cookbooks. Five years ago, she finally put labels up on the shelves. Before that, you could say browsing took a little longer.

For the typical question, “where can I find a cookbook on ____," the answer lies in Bonnie’s cataloging system which mostly resides in her head. She must have a near photographic memory because she sells and replaces books on a regular basis.

When looking to give a book as a gift, Bonnie will ask you for details on the gift recipient - their age, hometown, interests, personality etc. Bonnie used this technique to find the perfect gift for a 30 something woman in Connecticut who loves food but doesn’t have the time to cook. Try doing that in Barnes & Nobles!

Rawlins often greets customers

Usual store hours are 1-7pm, six days a week. The day it closes varies, so call ahead to make sure Bonnie will be there.

163 West 10th Street
New York, NY 10014-3116
(212) 989-8962

Bonnie Slotnick's website can be found here.

It's the Chili Takedown

Whole lotta Chili going on

Matt Timms and his Chili Takedown returned to Brooklyn and I was doing back flips that this wasn’t another chocolate event.

Highlights include - Nick Suarez’s Chili Heaven consisting of a staggering 30 ingredients. That makes for one blended and damn fine chili.

30 ingredients in Chili Heaven

Chili Five Oh got my winning vote and came in as the judges number one pick. Yep, I can pick a winner. Made by Melissa Sands, this chili featured beef, pork, grilled pineapple and bacon. It was meaty, chunky, had good heat, and was topped with shredded cheese and cilantro.

Phoebe Lapine and Cara Eisenpress of Big Girls, Small Kitchen (the blog and now book) made voting a cliff hanger for me with their Brisk Autumn Chili featuring brisket, pumpkin, and cilantro lime cream. I kept waffling back and forth, agonizing between this chili and Chili Five Oh. Who knew chili could be so stressful?

Check out Phoebe & Cara's blog - biggirlssmallkitchen.com

I must mention my adoration for Monte Isom. Not for the taste of his chili perse, but for the name he bestowed upon it - Monte’s Patented Bitchin Panty Removing Chili. Monte I give you a thundering round of applause.

Its all in a name

Alas, this Takedown couldn’t hold a candle to Nick Suarez and Theo Peck’s smooth running food “Experiments” held in the same venue - The Bell House.

Timms’ Takedown lacked the free beer with admission, had fewer people, and no kick ass DJ. I’m not sure who chose the heavy metal I heard blaring....

Strike one - they ran out of paper plates and napkins only an hour into the event. The horror....the horror.

Strike two - Seek and ye shall find your ballot with Matt Timms. Why did I have to hunt him down for a blank scrap of paper ballot?

Streerike three - Where oh where is the ballot box? Matt said he didn’t have one yet when I was ready to leave. So I asked the friendly guy selling Matt Timms’ hot sauce near the door to kindly cast my vote. He already had two votes in his pocket. Seems I wasn’t the only person who had to eat, vote and run.