Archive | February, 2010

Dante – A tale of heaven and hell?

by Jamie Ginsberg on 28. Feb, 2010 in Jamie Ginsberg

I was fortunate to be invited to a fundraiser at Dante for ORT. I have been somewhat hesitant to try Dante after what could only be called a disaster at Lockkeepers. Still any new restaurant in town deserves to be given a fair shot, this was not that fair shot. Why? Prefix 3 course meal on a random Sunday evening with wine pairings. The good news is I have to go back and order off the menu.

Wine selections from the cash bar were ok. I have given up on finding decent $8 glasses of red wine in Cleveland. Every restaurant thinks it is acceptable to charge $13 a glass for wine that retails at $22 per bottle. Do I get therapy for my issues related to this? No, I just prefer to drink at home…Dante kicked off the evening with a demonstration on how to cut up a chicken. Best tips of the night? Use a medium to smaller blade and remove the wishbone to preserve some of the best meat. It was nice to see a chef working and Dante did a good job at breaking down the chicken while explaining his process.

The salad was served first. I am into the Beet salads around town these days and this one had a nice light dressing. I would have enjoyed some cracked pepper, but the staff was moving quickly and never came around with any. The Vegetarian option was a perfectly cooked thicker linguini style noodle with a light sauce and lots of veggies. My kind of meal. Loved it. I could eat this 5 nights a week. Hearty and delicious without loads of fat, maybe a hint of vinegar.

Dessert was a passion fruit creme brulee. I was bummed there was no chocolate, but strangely enough truly enjoyed braking thru the crispy shell to spoon out creamy deliciousness. This was a great ending to the meal, capped off by Dante’s candy cart loaded with Lemonheads, fireballs, bubble gum and jolly ranchers rolling out onto the main floor. Excellent way to end a great evening. What about the wine pairings? Who cares…just kidding. The highlight was the St.Suprey Moscato paired with dessert. Sweet and rich, this is the kind of wine that will leave you wondering why you decided to drive to Mexico at 2 am. The white to start and red for the main course was well whatever.

I tried to take pictures, but the light was so low all I could here was my friend Simone telling me that I should not post such poor quality pictures. What I will tell you is I wish I had gotten some nice shots of Dante cutting the chicken or my pasta dish. Overall, I am looking forward to a return visit to Dante to put their menu to the test, looks like he has found a great potential home here in Cleveland and I hope he focuses on creating great dishes with exceptional service.

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Drink More Drink Better

by Jamie Ginsberg on 27. Feb, 2010 in Jamie Ginsberg

With a 3 week detox under belt in 2010 and a lot of working, I have not done my fair share of drinking this year. I am committing to drinking more wine, starting tonight! With that in mind, I thought I would share some of my sources for wine.

If you are interested in a wine club, try http://www.klwines.com – I am in their signature red club and it is fantastic. You can buy wine from any of their clubs at the discounted price. I have consistently gotten excellent wines. I try and save up my orders and have them deliver a case, instead of monthly, to get a better deal on shipping.

If you want great service, selection and prices – check out http://www.winelibrary.com – I have been a fan of Gary Vaynerchuk for more than 8 years and have gotten some blockbuster deals. Subscribe to his newer service http://www.cinderellawine.com – I have bought at least 4 or 5 times on these nightly deals since it launched. You have to be patient and buy when you see the deal you want. Every time I have bought, I have been THRILLED.

Last but not least, locally. You have to “hustle,” as Garvy V. likes to say. I hit up a variety of stores and browse the shelves. From Michael Resnick’s store at Cedar and Green to Heinens, Chuck’s in Chagrin Falls, Pat O’Briens at Lander Circle and my new favorite Colonial Beverage way out in Chesterland. Each store has an “expert” you can learn from. It is hard to buy at a store here in Ohio, because the pricing sucks. That said, when the price is right – I buy. This week, I scored a case of 2006 Simi Zinfandel at Heinen’s at $9 a bottle, when you see a blow out that is 50% off on good wine you have to buy in bulk. I can drink this over the next 3-4 years, no problem.

Last but not least, drinking with friends is fun and educational. We all taste wine differently. I am weak with my adjectives, but still enjoy tasting with my friends and hearing what they like or do not like. If you want to drink more wine this year, get a few friends together on a regular basis and try different wines together. Make the effort to rate the wines, evaluate their smell, color and flavor. Be a critical thinker. The more wines you try, the more you will find that wines are like people, unique. Celebrate their differences!

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Please tell me you’re not making brownies from a box

by susannahm on 10. Feb, 2010 in Susannah Michaels

I’m sort of aggressive about my brownies. I’ll walk up to people at work functions and parties and say, “Those are the best brownies, aren’t they?” The thing about brownies is that they are so simple. And it’s my pet peeve (well, one of them), that people do crazy things around brownies. They frost them or use a mix or buy gigantic ones at coffee shops. The best brownie, I will maintain until my dying day or until someone proves otherwise, is a simple, homemade, normal-sized brownie.

Homemade brownies:
4 oz unsweetened chocolate
1 stick butter
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup flour
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Melt the unsweetened chocolate in the microwave; about 1.5 minutes. Add one the butter and continue melting for another 40 seconds or so. Meanwhile, put the sugar in a bowl. When the chocolate and butter are melted (and they don’t have to be completely melted. Give them a mix and they will finish melting from their own heat), pour over the sugar and mix with a whisk. Add the eggs, whisking after each and being snappy about it so that the hot ingredients don’t cook them. Add the salt. Add the flour. Add the vanilla. Add the walnuts if you want. Pour into a greased 9 x 13 inch pan and bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Cut them as soon as they come out, so the top doesn’t have time to crust over and crumble as you cut. If you just need a few, this recipe halves very well; bake in a 9 x 9 inch pan. They are best eaten fresh, within about 2 days. Sometimes I freeze a few and then I look like a genius for pulling a homemade dessert out of my hat. If dinner isn’t too successful, it’s always nice to be able to follow it up with a freezer-brownie.

The reason brownie mixes are my pet peeve is that making them from scratch takes just 5 minutes and the flavor is more chocolaty and delicious. Eaten with a glass of milk … mmmm, nothing better or more fundamental. Yes, that’s it, call me a fundamentalist … when it comes to brownies. Please tell me you’re not using a box.

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