A Food-a-Licious Day ‘N’ Night
Last Thursday was a banner food day for this food-lovin’ mama. I had lunch at Coppa with a couple of friends, and let me assure you, it’s just as fab for lunch as it is for dinner. But I do urge you to try both – because while the menus have some overlap, there are far fewer cooked dishes at lunch. The crostini are superlative, and the pizzas are scrumptious, but you’ve gotta try the pastas and the meatballs, too. Lunch was a lot less crowded, so if you’re in the ‘hood (or desire a field trip), you should definitely give it a whirl. Note also that the patio is now open – too cold for us to eat there last week, but it’s in full sun at noontime and would make for a truly spectacular lunch or dinner experience when it warms up.
Later that evening, I attended a great event at the New Art Center in Newton called “The Art of Making Food Beautiful.” The evening was divided into two halves, a sweet and a savory (my kinda event!); mine started with sweet.
John Pergantis, the owner of Party Favors, demonstrated cake decorating technique. Party Favors is well-loved around Boston for its fanciful decorations and tasty cakes. They can create pretty much anything your heart desires in terms of cakes – in fact, they did a 3-D Tigger cake for L’s first birthday that was truly amazing. While I don’t have the patience to do any serious cake decorating (if my cakes have 2 layers, well, that’s somethin’), it was interesting to see how these famous goodies are frosted. And did you know that Party Favors’ delicious butter cream frosting is made from only butter and powdered sugar? (I always add a bit of milk or cream to mine.) They apparently beat it forever to get all the air out.
This is what their finished product looked like. I love the monkeys!
Next, each of the attendees got to try her hand at cake decorating. Party Favors provided us all with white-frosted chocolate or vanilla cupcakes and set us to work with various icing tips and colored frostings. Here’s the creative and energetic D.H., hard at work on her masterpiece, which she promptly devoured. I didn’t even bother with the formalities, I just dug in. It was, of course, delicious – moist and flavorful and the frosting was to die for.
In the next half of the evening, Jeff Founier, the chef and owner of 51 Lincolnin Newton Highlands, talked about his food and art. Like many local chefs, Fournier is focused on fresh, local food, served simply. Fournier also spoke about translating his love of clean, bright color and simplicity from canvas to food. He had some great examples on hand – the vibrant colors in his paintings were picked up in squeeze bottles of bright purees (think pinky/purply beets and brilliant yellow bell peppers) and made for stunning stripes of color on plates of über-fresh ceviche and carpaccio.
The food was tasty and his tips helpful. When asked what “mere mortals” can do in the home kitchen to jazz-up food, Fournier brought up vinaigrettes. He said flat out that no one should be buying salad dressings – they’re so easy to make (sound familiar?) and gave a few off-the-cuff recipes like a citrus vinaigrette with OJ, shallot, champagne vinegar and canola oil; an easy bleu cheese dressing with buttermilk, Hellmann’s mayonnaise, bleu cheese and white vinegar; and a “smoked strawberry” one with grilled strawberries.
And his advice for a great way to get your dinner guests’ attention? Contrast – either in flavor or in temperature. So think bursts of intense flavor layered with more subtle ones, or something cold or hot added to a dish of the opposite temperature.
It’s always interesting to hear chefs talk about where they find their inspiration and I definitely would like to try 51 Lincoln – the menu changes based on the season, the chef’s whim and the availability of ingredients – sure to make it a fun and interesting dining destination.
I happily waddled home that night, visions of paté, charcuterie and cupcakes dancing in my head!
© 2010, Sarah. All rights reserved.
