If you’re looking for holiday gift ideas, I always love giving cookbooks. Pick out your favorite recipe from the book (flag the page with a post it note) and pick up the ingredients the recipient will need to make the recipe. It makes a super cute gift basket! I already owned the Michael Schlow, “It’s About Time”, cookbook and love that the recipes are so easy to make (that even this novice chef can whip them up!) I’m a fan of all of Schlow’s restaurants, my all time favorite being the now closed Radius (I still have dreams about that burger!). Have you been to Alta Strada, Tico or Doretta Taverna?

I was excited to be invited to the Chef’s table at Eataly a while back when Michael Schlow was the guest chef. The intimate two hour class had Schlow preparing three recipes (with wine pairings from the Eataly sommelier) while sharing some personal stories in between each course. First up was the crostini of creamy mushrooms with lemon and mint (page 58 in the book), which was paired with the I Clivi, RBL Brut, Friuli-Venezia Giulia. The recipe can be made with any type of mushroom you prefer and you can use the mushrooms to top any number of dishes, bot just crostini – let your imagination take you away.

The congolese in brodetto (clams in broth) (page 60 in the book)were the star of the show. The raw clams were beautiful and still alive when we got to take a peek at them (you can tell if they are still alive when you buy them if you tap them lightly and they close). That one piece of bread was not enough to soak up all that delicious broth (not kidding, I wanted to drink up every last bit). It was a simple dish with just  a handful of ingredients – a sure way to impress guests at your home. You can pick up any of the ingredients you need to make these recipes at Eataly – how convenient is that one stop shopping! The clams were paired with a Antinori, Cervaro Della Sala 2014 from Umbria.

Schlow talked about how the pasta station at any restaurant is the hardest one – so that you know that the chef who is running it is the best one in the kitchen. It is an art to get out multiple pasta dishes all perfectly al dente (especially if they are all different kinds of pasta – rigatoni cooks differently than spaghetti etc). While I wasn’t sure about the black olives in this dish when I read the description, I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. The rigatoni dish was served with white beans, tomato and black olives ( page 64 in the book). It was served with a Mastrojanni, Rosso di Montalcino 2015, from Toscana. The flavors melded so well with each other and the beans added another layer of comfort to this dish.

I highly recommend picking up Michael Schlow’s cookbook, “It’s About Time” and make sure to check out Eataly’s class schedule (you even get a coupon for 10% anything you buy at Eataly after the class!) Hint: Another great gift idea is giving a cooking class!

Disclaimer: I was invited to be a guest at the Chef’s Table, my admission was complimentary. All opinions are my own.

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We were recently in the city for a wedding at the Four Seasons Hotel. The luxury hotel just underwent a 15  million dollar renovation and it couldn’t be more beautiful. The iconic hotel is steps away from the Public Garden and the floral displays in the lobby are always a sight to see.

The public spaces have been refreshed with new furniture and artwork and the 273 guest rooms have been converted into “sleeping sanctuaries”. They have double walled windows for soundproofing, blackout shades and high end bedding. They have proprietary mattresses  made by Simmons, and man are they comfortable! I love the artwork in the rooms, simple and elegant – my favorite (not shown) is a whale weathervane in gold leaf. I love the pop of the yellow furniture in the rooms.

We spent most of Saturday at the pool. Located on the top floor of the hotel, the pool and fitness center offer guests picturesque views of the Public Garden. The pool has noodles and kick boards for the kids (or the young at heart), and robes and slippers so you don’t slip on the deck. Take a relaxing soak in the whirlpool or swim laps in the 44 ft pool. Spend some time in the pool chairs reading the paper and snacking on some fresh fruit.

The service at the hotel does not disappoint. They offer a complimentary house car drop off service within 2 miles of the hotel; coffee, tea and fruit are offered in the lobby from 5am – 8am in the morning on weekdays; a gourmet pastry is offered at check in each afternoon; they offer twice daily housekeeping and evening turndown service; you have access to a DVD player with a library of children’s dvds; and special age appropriate amenities for children and teens.

If you are looking for a staycation option, I highly recommend checking out the Four Seasons Hotel.

Four Seasons Hotel

200 Boylston Street, Boston, MA

www.fourseasons.com

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If I could only eat one dish for the rest of my life, it would be pasta with Parmesan cheese. I was pumped when I was invited to the “From Wedge to Rind” event at Eataly with the Consorzio. The event was mainly cheesemongers and cheese writers. Me, I’m just a cheese lover. We were treated to a variety of dishes, of course featuring Parmigiano Reggiano, and some of the attendees had a chance to make risotto with the executive chef of Eataly.

So what was on the menu?

Sformato di Patate con Fonduta di Parmigiano Reggiano® (Potato Sformato with Parmigiano Reggiano® Sauce)

Risotto con Brodo di Parmigiano Reggiano® (Risotto with Parmigiano Reggiano® Broth)

Tagliata di Manzo con Scaglie di Parmigiano Reggiano® (Sliced Steak with Shavings of Parmigiano Reggiano®)

Torta al Olio d’Oliva e Gelato al Parmigiano Reggiano® (Olive Oil Cake with Parmigiano® Gelato)

And here were the wine pairings:

Antinori, Cervaro della Sala, Umbria

Caves Cooperatives de Donnas, Donnas, Valle d’Aosta

La Stoppa, Macchiona, Emilia Romagna

Capanna, Moscadello di Montalcino, Toscana

Every dish was delicious, and used Parmigiano Reggiano in a different way. The most surprising dish was the Torta al Olio d’Olivia e Gelato al Parmigiano Reggiano. Parmigiano gelato?!? Yeah, that’s what I was thinking! But it was delicious! Another wonderful surprise was the dessert wine pairing that went with it. Sweet, but not the usual dessert wine sweet – you know what I mean…

Want to try out some of the recipes from the event? Check out the links below:

EatalyBoston_LaScuola_RecipeCard_Sformato di Patate con Fonduta di Parmigiano Reggiano

EatalyBoston_LaScuola_RecipeCard_Sliced Strip Loin

Want to visit the dairies where Parmigiano Reggiano is produced? Check out the Parmigiano Reggiano website to see how to make that happen!

Looking to learn more about raw milk cheeses? I certainly am. Head over to the Oldways Cheese Coalition to learn more.

Thank you to The Brand Connection for hosting me at this event. All opinions are my own.

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I had family in town this weekend so we tried to pick out some touristy type things to do in the Back Bay. No trip to Boston should be without a stop at the Boston Public Garden. The flowers are a sight to see (I especially love to see the allium) and bring some bread for feeding the ducks. I’ve been reading my kids Robert McCloskey’s “Make Way for Ducklings” and wanted to show them the swan boats. This season they are open April 15 – September 17. They are open 10am – 5pm daily. Tickets are $3.50 for adults, $2 for kids age 2-15 and free for children under 2. The ride lasts about 10-15 minutes and is a nice way spend some time. For more information head over to their website.

What else is there to do in the Back Bay? How about a Duck Tour? A visit to Mario Batali’s Eataly. Take in some different views of the city from the Top of the Hub or the Skywalk.

Where are my favorite places to eat? Try:

Freshii for something light and healthy

VERTS for a fast casual, filling meal

Red Lantern for some upscale asian cuisine

Deuxave make sure to save room for dessert, Shaun Velez has some amazing creations

Porto for some seafood on the patio

The Courtyard in the Boston Public Library for some afternoon tea

Liquid Art House take in some art with your dinner

Shop on Newbury Street, in the Prudential or Copley Place, or roam the boutiques of the South End.

The Prudential offers events like FIT on the Garden and Family Film nights. Make sure to stop at the concierge desk to pick up a FREE PRUferred card that gets you access to discounts at many of the shops in the mall.

Newbury Street will close one more time before the summer is over, on September 10th. No cars will be allowed to drive from Arlington Street all the way up to Massachusetts Avenue. Restaurants have patio tables on the street and there are live performances scattered throughout the closed off area. Click here for an interactive map of Newbury Street.

What do you love about the Back Bay?

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This summer Lady M Cake Boutique opened up on Newbury Street. This is the first Boston location for the brand, which has other outposts in New York, Los Angeles, Charlotte, Singapore and Hong Kong.

The minimalist storefront has full cakes on display and you can order slices or full cakes from the window in the back. Lady M is known for their signature Mille Crêpes cakes, which feature no less than 20 paper thin handmade crepes layered with pastry cream. The Mille Crêpes cakes come in the original, green tea and chocolate flavors. See my post about my visit to Lady M (and the Mille Crêpes cake) in New York here.

Other flavors include: pumpkin nuage (fall only), flourless chocolate cake, and strawberry shortcake to name a few.

I couldn’t resist getting my favorite, the strawberry shortcake. As delicious as I remember it when I was in NY, so light and delicious. I also had a piece of the pumpkin cake which tasted like equal parts pumpkin pie and pumpkin cheesecake. Again, very light with a nice cinnamon flavor and a thin graham cracker crust.

The storefront has no seating, so it’s takeout only. Parking is on street at meters or in nearby garages.

Lady M Cake Boutique

304 Newbury Street, Boston, MA

https://www.ladym.com/

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The space has a similar look and feel to the Cambridge location with its kitschy decor, but the space is much smaller. This family friendly restaurant offers almost as many items on the menu as the Cheesecake Factory and the best part is that they serve breakfast all day!

This is a great place to go if you have a group: Sarah wants a pancake as big as a dinner plate, Bob wants an egg sandwich, John feels like a cottage pie, Amy is a vegetarian and gets the avocado burger and you’re vegan so you get the vegan nachos (or do you get the vegan pancakes?).

We were there for a late breakfast/early lunch and it wasn’t super crowded (we got in and out before the lunch rush). Our waiter was super friendly and even put this fun face on our pancake!

Don’t feel like trekking out in the cold for a meal? Don’t worry, you can order from the Cambridge and Back Bay location and have it delivered right to your door with Dashed!

Friendly Toast

35 Stanhope Street, Boston, MA

https://www.thefriendlytoast.com

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Three of us headed over to Luke’s Lobster for lunch before our little field trip to Eataly. We showed up right before the lunch rush and boy did it fill up fast. I had first been introduced to Luke’s Lobster when I was in New York. (See another post here.) They have two locations in Boston, one in Back Bay near the BPL, where we went, and one in DTX. You order at the register and they call out your number when your order is ready – service is pretty speedy. They  have their own blueberry lemonade (tastes heavy on the honey flavor) and chocolate chip cookies from the South End Buttery.

We decided to get the Noah’s Ark for 2 ($46) which includes two 1/2 lobster rolls, two 1/2 crab rolls, two 1/2 shrimp rolls, four crab claws, two drinks and two chips or 2 slaws and pickles. We order the lobster bisque and the clam chowder as well. Let’s start with the good: the soups. LOVED the clam chowder and the bisque, creamy but not too thick, and packed with flavor. We gobbled these up quickly! Great on one of these cool winter days we have been having. Now the not so good: we may have just caught them on a bad day. The rolls were seasoned, but they were watery (you couldn’t really get the flavor of the actual seafood). The buns were soggy under the meat so it was hard to enjoy them. I remember the rolls being a bit better when I was in NYC. For $46 I had hoped for a little more for my money. Willing to try them out again though at some point in the future to see if we indeed just caught them at a down moment.

Luke’s Lobster

75 Exeter Street, Boston, MA

http://www.lukeslobster.com/

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Chef Johnny Sheehan was named the new Executive Chef of Liquid Art House back in September. We first met Sheehan when he was working over at Tavern on the Wharf. He put out some amazing dishes and his plating skills were off the chart. We would have gone back to Plymouth to see him there but we were pleasantly surprised when he came back to work in the city. Sheehan is a graduate of Le Cordon Bleu and he worked his way up the line at Ken Oringer’s Clio. The menu at Liquid Art House changes seasonally, and Chef Sheehan has expanded upon Chef Rachel Klein’s opening dumpling menu.

We grabbed a bite at the bar, my favorite place to sit, and enjoyed the company of the great bar staff on a weekday night. I loved every dumpling we tried, each one better than the one before. Currently on the menu Liquid Art House is offering: pork and leek gyoza, goat cheese sacchetto, Lithuanian cheese dumplings and Aphil’s himalayan momo.

The menu of the dining room is diverse, here is a sampling:

• TUNA TARTARE red yuzu kosho, avocado mousse
• SZECHUAN LOBSTER fried garlic
• CHARRED CAULIFLOWER mustard vinaigrette, fried capers, pickled onions, chili, dziugas cheese
• BEEF TENDERLOIN (CREEKSTONE FARMS, KANSAS) potato terrine, bone marrow, maitake mushroom, black truffle jus, beets, kohlrabi, fine herb
• PERUVIAN ROTISSERIE CHICKEN aji amarillo, purple potato, huacatay, corn
• DIVER SCALLOPS uni butter, carrot jus, watercress, risotto, buddha hand

And just to leave you with your mouth watering, here is a sampling of their dessert menu:

• CHOCOLATE MILK & COOKIES cookie dough, 66% chocolate, chocolate milk ice cream, malted milk
• CHOCOLATE CREMEUX chocolate cake, white chocolate, pecans, milk chocolate ice cream
• YAMS smoked yam custard, 85% chocolate, scotch, pate sucree, burnt honey, pecan ice cream
• ROOTS, BEERS, AND ROOT BEER root beer panna cotta, oatmeal stout baked oatmeal, vanilla ice cream, carrot cake, crispy root veggies

Liquid Art House

100 Arlington Street, Boston, MA

www.liquidarthouse.com

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I was fortunate to be invited to the media preview of Eataly that will be opening tomorrow, November 29th! I wasn’t sure what to expect, I have been to the Eataly in the flatiron district in New York, but there has been a lot of skepticism going around about this location. I was pleasantly surprised when I walked in the front door off of Boylston Street. Guests are greeted with a large coffee bar and crepe station before they head upstairs for the full Eataly experience, perfect if you just want to pick up your morning cup of coffee. There’s nothing worse than going to let’s say Ikea, knowing exactly what you want and then having to walk all the way through the store to get it anyway.

We patiently waited until Mario Batali came down the stairs to greet us. He was accompanied by Oscar (top right) and Nicola (top left) Farinetti. Oscar is the Founder and Creator of Eataly and Nicola, his son, is the CEO of Eataly USA. Both father and son are charismatic and you can tell they are passionate about food. Mario explains to us that at Eataly, they don’t just want to sell you food, they want to teach you how to make it – taste some delicious pasta at one of their restaurants but then go and replicate it at home.

There are certainly a lot of products that are imported from Italy, but to them, it didn’t make sense to import seafood when we have some of the best, freshest seafood right here in our backyard. Eataly has partnered with a number of local companies to keep everything local. They are even implementing  a frequent buyer program with their fish department. When you choose eligible fish, lesser known local catch, you get a stamp – collect 9 stamps and you will receive 10% off of your next purchase.

Eataly has partnered with Island Creek Oysters (bottom) and they even buy meat from CJ (second from left), Red’s Best and Wulf’s. The gentleman on the top left is Andrew Morgan of Cape Cod Shellfish, a boutique shellfish company – we tried some fresh (raw!!) scallops with just a drizzle of olive oil and it was so delicious, it melted like butter – and as Mario said, “it’s like candy!”

GIVE.ME.ALL.THE.CHEESE! Eataly will make fresh mozzarella daily and will get their curds from Narragansett Creamery over in RI (bottom right). Lourdes Smith, formerly of Fiore di Nonno, will be joining the mozzarella making staff!!

Eataly will sourse their meat from sustainable farms where the animals graze in open pastures and are humanely handled. They have chosen to work with VT99 Meats and Stillman’s Quality Meats. The lamb on the right was so tender and delicious, it just melted in your mouth (and it wasn’t gamey at all).

Mario told us a story that when he first opened Eataly in New York, his kids thought that the pizza ovens were made of real gold…and they still do! Pizzas here are made in 90 seconds using the finest ingredients and the fresh mozzarella that they make in house. You can buy dry pasta but you can also watch fresh pasta being made daily (and buy it!). Top right is a photo of the cooking school at Eataly, La Scuola di Eataly. There will be free live demos and ticketed hands on classes. They partnered with Valcucine kitchens to design the “classroom” and let me tell you the space is beautiful! I wish my kitchen at home could look like this!

Here is a little sneak peek at the retail areas.

Let me hit you with some quick numbers:

3 floors

45,000 square feet

4 restaurants

10 eateries

2 cafes and 3 bars

10,000 products

5 fresh production counters

7 retail departments

500+ employees

Check out the videos below for an inside look at the cheese and fish counters!

Give me all the cheese!!!

The seafood selection is amazing!

I highly recommend you stopping in to check out Eataly tomorrow (or whenever) when it opens – it is amazing and just something you need to experience!

Disclaimer: I was invited for a media preview of Eataly. I was provided with complimentary samples of food while in attendance. All opinions are my own.

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I never really liked school – but dumpling school is something I can definitely wrap my head around. A few weeks ago I was invited to Dumpling Palace for a hands on dumpling making tutorial. The intimate event had us forming dumplings with the chef and eating what we made! Top left is Leah Palone, Marketing Director of Boston Magazine; top right and bottom left Fiona from Gourmet Pigs.

Something tells me I will need a little more practice before mine look even remotely acceptable, but it was a fun evening! Bik Ng from the Mayor’s office was on hand to help translate for us along with Chris Haynes from CBH Communications.

Leah and I had been to the restaurant once before and had an outstanding meal, this one was equally as delicious.

No we didn’t make these, but we did sample a variety of dumplings – everything from pork to vegetarian.

And as if I wasn’t stuffed to the gills with dumplings, after we completed our class, we were treated to a delicious feast of lo main, fried rice, even more dumplings and scallion pancakes. Let’s talk about scallion pancakes, they are usually greasy and heavy, these ones are made fresh, never frozen, and made to order. They were crispy and light and I am now comparing all other scallion pancakes to these!!

Some more exciting news, the owners behind Dumpling Palace are opening a second restaurant in the next few months in Allston, keep your eyes out for Dumpling Kingdom!

Disclaimer: I was invited to be a guest at Dumpling Palace. My meal was provided complimentary, all opinions are my own.

Dumpling Palace

179 Massachusetts Ave., Boston, MA

http://www.dumplingpalaceboston.com

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