Across from Georgetown Cupcake on the other side of M St., sits the chocolate shop J. Chocolatier. It’s a wonderfully cozy little shop, with exposed brick, beautiful chocolates perched in glass displays, and soft lighting. The weather around DC appears to have gone south in a hurry, but if you’re munching on a chocolate and sipping something hot at J. Chocolatier, things aren’t all bad.

Here’s a video I shot with owner Jane Morris to to show you what the shop is all about. I recommend that you get there soon and treat yourself to a chocolate.

J. Chocolatier
1039 33rd St. NW
Washington, DC
202-333-4111

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wChX4KKE27M

Possessed with a cast iron stomach and an inimitable willingness to eat anything, not much fazes Andrew Zimmern of “Bizarre Foods.” Yet I distinctly remember the episode where one food practically brought him to his knees; it was durian, a fruit he described as tasting like “completely rotten, mushy onions.”

If the taste of durian is unpleasant, the smell is supposed to be even worse.  In fact, durian is banned in some public areas of Malaysia and Singapore due to its offensive odor.

The Korean supermarket near my parents’ house in Lexington, MA sells durian. Naturally, I wanted to try it. Actually, I wanted my family to try it while I filmed their reaction. We took the spiky durian out to the ping pong table (far removed from the main part of the house), my mom put on rubber gloves, a cleaver was unleashed, and I shot this quick video with my parents, sister, brother-in-law and nieces.

Either we chose a mild durian, or the durian legend is overblown. Not only did the thing taste okay, it smelled okay, too. See for yourself.

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_TWMbwjrCE

According to recent statistics, over 20% of Westchester’s residents are 60 years of age or older, with seniors ages 85+ representing the fastest growing segment of the population. For seniors who are unable to cook, finding a way to eat can be difficult; restaurant meals and take-out are expensive, while supermarket frozen dinners are a nutritional wasteland.

Enter Top Chef Meals, which prepares and delivers affordable, nutritious meals to homebound residents, including seniors, the disabled and those on fixed incomes. I’d read about it earlier this year in Westchester Magazine’s “Best of Westchester 2010″ issue — it was named “Company With a Heart.”

I was happy to shoot this video, so you could see what Top Chef Meals is all about.

Top Chef Meals
175 Clearbrook Rd.
Elmsford, NY
914-372-7080

(*Note: I’m embedding all videos from now on in 720p HD. If you have a slow connection and are having trouble viewing the video, click on the “720p” in the bottom right of the viewer and change the resolution to 360p or 480p.)

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiSW59Cckcw

If you’re a kid, you’re not doubt putting the final touches on your Halloween costume and dreaming of candy.  If you’re an adult, chances are you’re going to a Halloween party in the coming week (and possibly planning a costume of your own).

At Riviera Bakehouse in Ardsley, the holiday affords the bake staff a chance to open up their imaginations and unleash their creativity.  Halloween cakes are a big deal at Riviera, for good reason: they’re pretty amazing.

Liv Hansen was kind enough to let me invade the bakery and shoot this video of her creating her Halloween cakes. What a treat. It’s a true joy to watch exceptionally talented and creative people at work, and hopefully I was able to capture some of Liv’s artistry.

Take a look.

Riviera Bakehouse
660 Saw Mill River Rd.
Ardsley, NY
914-693-9758

Today is my mother’s birthday, so this post is for her.  Among her many cooking specialties are egg rolls, which she makes every Christmas and on other special occasions.

In college, she would sometimes send me back to school with a few egg rolls after a visit home.  I’m not proud to admit, I never shared a single one with my roommate or friends. Couldn’t do it. I was hungry all the time in college (not much has changed) and those things were like gold.  Whatever magnanimous spirit I may have possessed did not extend to mom’s egg rolls.

I was up in Boston last weekend visiting the family, and my mom and I shot this video of her making her awesome egg rolls.  You’ll see that they’re quite different from the heavy, cabbage-filler egg rolls often served at Chinese restaurants with goopy duck sauce. My mom has her own preference of filling, but you can put whatever you like inside.  They’re best eaten with a vinegar-soy dipping sauce or with hot sauce.

Hope you like the video!  Let me know what you think.

And happy birthday, Mom!

I enjoy writing and putting together all of the posts for this blog, but this video on Hemlock Hill Farm ranks as one of my favorites. One of the oldest and last-standing livestock farms in Westchester County, Hemlock Hill is owned and operated by the De Maria family.  I spent some time with Laura De Maria, and she couldn’t have been nicer as she showed me around.  Not only did I have a blast traipsing through the fields (while managing not to get trampled by large, Black Angus steers), but I found it especially rewarding just to be able to visit a local farm — something I’ve wanted to do for a while now. It’s a great experience to see the animals up close and learn more about where your food comes from.

Hemlock Hill is an important part of the community, with connections to Captain Lawrence Brewing Company and the highly praised Birdsall House in Peeksill.  In fact, Hemlock Hill supplies Birdsall House with all of its beef.  Can’t get much more local than that.

I hope you’ll take a visit to the farm.  Chat with Laura, her dad and the farmers. Stop in at their market, open seven days a week.  You can even pick your own vegetables from their fields throughout the summer.

Thanks for watching the video; as usual, if you’ve got a fast broadband connection try watching it in 720p HD — it looks so much better that way.

Please share the video with others, and let’s keep supporting our local farms.

Hemlock Hill Farm
500 Croton Ave.
Cortlandt Manor, NY
914-737-2810

Rinku Bhattacharya teaches Indian cooking classes, writes the blog Cooking in Westchester and is the author of the upcoming cookbook, The Contemporary Indian Table. We teamed up to put this cooking video together for one of her recipes: Salmon with Tamarind Chutney and Tangerine Glaze.

I can tell you firsthand that the recipe’s a keeper.  See that nice piece of fish?  I ate the whole thing after we finished shooting.

Enjoy the video, share it with others, and keep an eye out for Rinku’s cookbook in late summer/early fall.

Oh, and here’s the recipe:

Ingredients:
1 lb salmon or tuna steaks
1 tsp salt
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp red chili powder
Oil for searing
1/2 tsp carom seeds
1 tangerine or orange
4 tbsp tamarind chutney
2 -3 green chilies, sliced lengthwise
10-15 fresh oregano leaves

Method of Preparation:

1) Cut the fish into individual serving portions.
2) Rub the fish with the salt, turmeric and red chili powder and set aside for 5-10 minutes.
3) Heat the oil and place the fish in the pan in a single layer, cook for about 7 minutes (less if using tuna) and turn and cook for another 5 more minutes.
4) Remove fish and immediately pour on 1-2 tsp of the tamarind chutney.
5) Squeeze fresh tangerine or orange juice over fish.
6) Add oregano leaves and sliced green chilies.
7) Garnish with tangerine slices and serve.

This video came about somewhat haphazardly. I planned to meet up with Katherine Curry, a freelance food writer for The Journal News, to check out a few hot dog and ice cream spots in Westchester. I asked Katherine if she minded me shooting video of her, mostly for testing and to work some technical things out. She was kind enough to say yes and let me stick a camera in her face. So I grabbed a bunch of shots, and later when I reviewed the footage decided, what the heck, maybe I can eke a piece out of this.

We had intended to hit three hot dog spots, but ran out of time and only made it two. We were also lucky enough to be joined at the first two stops by The Journal News’s Liz Johnson, and Liz’s intern, Colin.

One more thing: I stupidly forgot to bring my spare camera battery. Ran out of juice while we were at So Dam Hot, so I had to stop shooting; you’ll notice there’s no natural ending to the piece. Lesson learned. That won’t happen again.

Anyway, hope you like it!

Some people eat to live; others live to eat.  You can probably guess which camp I fall firmly into.  The purpose of this blog has never really been to review restaurants or pretend I’m some sort of critic, but rather to share my enthusiasm for food and cooking of all kinds, and show you the breadth of what’s out there in Westchester and the Hudson Valley.

So it’s with great pleasure that I present this video on Tavern Restaurant in Garrison, NY.  As you’ll see, Tavern’s a special place, and I hope that comes through in the piece.  A big thank you to everyone at the restaurant, especially Eric Gabrynowicz, for being so hospitable and patient with us during the shoot.

If you have a fast internet connection and a good computer, I recommend watching the video in HD, 720p, full screen. Otherwise, 360p or 480p works fine, even though the quality’s not quite as good.

I hope you enjoy watching the video as much as I loved making it. Please feel free to share the link with other people! And your feedback is very important to me, so let me know what you think!

Tavern Restaurant
955 Route 9D
Garrison, NY
845-424-3254