to move up and down
Flavors: Wednesday, December 21st
Who’s done with their holiday shopping? NOT ME! I spent so much time concentrating on what to get my kids that I totally forgot there are other people in my life I need to shop for. I’m sure there’s lots of you in the same boat, so I put together a little gift guide for you.
1: Robicelli’s Brownie/Whoopie Pie Gift Boxes: This is what I give most of my family members every year. Seriously, what the hell does my 56 year old aunt with 3 grown kids need from me? A vase? Wind chimes? Does anyone really need freaking wind chimes from a relative they see once a year?
Here’s what’s awesome about food gifts:
-You don’t need to dust them. You eat them, they’re gone, you have room for a new gift next year. Everyone already has enough crap in their houses- they don’t need more.
-They work for the whole family. My aunt’s got 3 kids from 13 to 24. Now I COULD buy separate gifts for the 3 boys, my aunt, and her husband. OR I can give them a giant box with 3 dozen brownies that they can stick in their freezer and all go to town on for the next few months.
-They’re a good gift for everyone. Whether it’s a close relative, a relative you barely know, a neighbor, a doorman, a coworker, or your first cousin’s weirdo boyfriend you’ve never met who’s coming to Christmas for the first time- food’s a great blanket gift that makes anyone happy.
-Nobody has to “pretend” to like brownies. You know when someone you barely know gets you another basket of assorted shower gels and you have to do that whole awkward “Oh thank you! I really needed this- I’m never, you know, smelling good, and I was really hoping someone would give me some apple shower gel to fix it- you’re so thoughtful!” moment. No one wants to be told they’re smelly on Christmas. Sweets? You don’t have to fake liking that.
2. Robicelli’s Hot Cocoa Mix: Same as all that stuff I talked about above, but in liquid form. And hot.
3. The First Annual Grand Prairie Rabbit Festival by Ken Wheaton:
Mr. Wheaton is a fan of ours, and I’ve been promising myself that I would read his book for over a year now. Finally last week, I was in need of a new book and remembered to buy it. And I feel so incredibly stupid it took me this long because it was without question one of the most amazing books I’ve ever read in my entire life. Better than “The Babysitter’s Club”.
If you saw me this morning at Union Square with my nose in a book, blowing off work and simultaneously laughing and crying, it’s all Mr. Wheaton’s fault. I did not want to put it down, and I didn’t want to let the story go, but I had to finish it. And it was so good that when I got on the train tonight, I turned back to page one and started reading it again.
Plus, there’s recipes for gumbo and etouffee in the back, and who doesn’t like those? So if you know anyone who likes reading, who likes laughing, loves travel or food or just likes to smile, you should buy them this book. Then buy a copy for yourself, read it, and then find me so we can talk about how great it was. Maybe we can meet up for gumbo too- that stuff is delicious.
And if any of you have written a book I should read, let me know! I’m always looking for a good one.
4. A Lion:
Who wouldn’t want a lion? Who doesn’t respect a dude riding a lion?
5: Tauntaun Sleeping Bag:
If you don’t know what this is or agree that this is the coolest thing ever, I don’t know if we can be friends.
6. Cupcakes
What did you think I would say? Macarons?
Clockwise from front: Milk & Cookies, The Blatt, Port Poached Pear, The Hansel
The Blatt: Raspberry jam filled vanilla cake, cheesecake buttercream, raspberry jam, fried cookie dough
Milk & Cookies: Brown sugar chocolate chip cake, mascarpone buttercream, crushed chocolate chip cookies
Port Poached Pear: Pear cake, vanilla buttercream, port poached pear, port wine reduction
The Hansel: Gingerbread cake, white chocolate pudding, speculoos buttercream, white chocolate dipped gingerbread cookie
Available at:
Robicelli’s at the Union Square Holiday Market: Booth Number C34
Robicelli’s at DeKalb Market: 138 Willoughby Street, Downtown Brooklyn
Hom: 88th & 3rd, Bay Ridge
Cafe at Sam’s Bakery: 94th Street off 3rd Ave, Bay Ridge
Tazza: Clark Street off Henry AND Henry Street off Atlantic, Brooklyn Heights
Joe Columbia University: West 120th Street btwn Broadway & Amsterdam, Morningside Heights
Red Hook Lobster Pound (whoopie pies only)
Flavors: Hanukkah-Monday, December 19th
Happy Hanukkah!!!
Before we begin today’s Tumblr, I issue an important reminder that I am not Jewish, but I love latkes. And since I’m Italian-Catholic, this means I have to live with an agonizing lack of latkes in my world. Therefore, I will gladly take all charitable donations of latkes, so if you have any lying around feel free to bring them to me in Union Square. Booth C34 people. You know how to find us.
I have a well documented love affair with Jewish food: from my childhood noshing on corned beef and pastrami sandwiches, to the years I spent working in kosher kitchens, to our family’s annual Jewish deli crawl for Matt’s birthday (Three delis! Four hours! Five days of recovery!). What I love more than the meats, more than the schmaltz, is the stories. Nearly EVERYTHING on the Jewish table is filled with rich tradition and passionate storytelling. Why this is not seen as one of the worlds most exciting cuisines, I’ll never understand.
The food of Hannukah has two major elements: oil, and dairy. Oil is obvious- we all know the story of the Macabees and the miracle of the oil in the lamp lasting eight nights. This is why fried foods like latkes are so popular, and on the dessert end sufganiyot- jelly donuts.
Dairy dishes, such as blintzes and cheesecake, are eaten to celebrate the story of Judith. As the legend goes, thousands of years ago the Babylonian army was destroying her village, and as a woman of legendary beauty, she was able to seduce her way into their camp and into the tent of their leader, bringing with her baskets of salty cheese to eat and wine to quench his thirst. And when he finally consumed so much wine that he passed out, Judith picked up his sword and chopped his freaking head off.
Eff YEAH Cheesecake!!!!
We’ve got two special Hanukkah inspired sweets to celebrate the Festival of Lights. First is a cupcake filled with jelly, topped with cheesecake buttercream and more jelly, then sprinkled with fried cookie dough bits. Then at Union Square and DeKalb, we’ve got our first ever Hannukah whoopie pie, filled with blueberry cheesecake buttercream. Because in my opinion, blueberries are the most superior of all the blintz fruits, and it’s damn tasty sandwiched between two chocolate ca-ookies.
And don’t forget- we’ve got lovely blue and silver boxes at Union Square and DeKalb that fit three festive whoopies for only ten bucks, so if you’re looking for a nice gift, there you go!
Now let’s all enjoy this lovely photo taken by our good friend Eric Isaac of the Snap Food blog- we’re today’s features photo essay!
Nice, right?
Clockwise from front: Port Poached Pear, The Hansel, Eggnog, The Blatt
The Blatt: Vanilla cake filled with raspberry jam, cheesecake buttercream, jam topping, fried cookie bits, powdered sugar
Port Poached Pear: Pear cake, vanilla buttercream, port poached pear, port reduction
The Hansel: Gingerbread cake, white chocolate pudding, speculoos buttercream, white chocolate dipped gingerbread cookie
Eggnog: Eggnog cake and buttercream, freshly grated nutmeg
Available at:
Robicelli’s at Union Square Holiday Market: Booth C34
Robicelli’s at DeKalb Market: Flatbush Ave Ext and Willoughby, Downtown Brooklyn
Cafe at Sam’s Bakery: 94th off 3rd, Bay Ridge
Aloha Grinds: 77th and 3rd, Bay Ridge
Bagel Schmagel: 76th and 3rd, Bay Ridge
Crespella: 7th Ave off 9th Street, Park Slope
Tazza Cafes: Clark off Henry AND Henry off Atlantic, Brooklyn Heights
Cake Shop: Ludlow btwn Stanton & Rivington, LES
Joe Columbia University: W 120th btwn Broadway & Amsterdam, Morningside Heights
Jem: Broadway off Franklin, Tribeca
Queen City Cupcakes: West Main Street, Patchogue, Long Island
Red Hook Lobster Pound Classic Whoopie Pies Only
