Food and Drink Archives - An Eye For Detail

PRESENTATION IS ALL!

By Libby|2011-10-14T02:09:00-04:00October 14, 2011|Food and Drink|

Do you “repackage” and “re-container” what you buy?
I mean, do you take those luscious, small, sweet tomatoes that arrive in your house in the ubiquitous blue cardboard box and pour them into a bowl?

Yes? Well then, read on!

I was never really into this particular form of nesting, or kitchen “reformatting”. My kitchen just wasn’t big enough, there wasn’t much counter space, and thus you wouldn’t really notice a small gem of
fresh whatever in a pretty bowl!

But now with my larger kitchen and more counter space, yes siree, count me in..

Sweet summer cherry tomatoes

And here are some in a bowl.

But wait…look what I found the other day at Anthropologie (where else?)

Ceramic, made to look like the cardboard. How cute is that?

These chocolate covered pear bits found a new home….

Yes, these ARE as good as they look!

in a small Italian bowl:

Love this blue bowl with the ruffled rim:

Fresh figs are in season:

Of course, I always need a home for my ongoing addiction to tea. This I […]

HOW TO MAKE (GREAT) ICED TEA

By Libby|2011-07-25T01:00:00-04:00July 25, 2011|Food and Drink|

It sounds so simple: make some iced tea. But it wasn’t until I moved South and was able to buy Luzianne tea bags, that I discovered REAL iced tea. In the South you are always..A L W A Y S…offered either “sweet tea” or “unsweetened tea”. Me, I’m a sweet tea girl, for sure. Growing up in Philadelphia we had wonderfully, very sweet tea at home; plus lots of lemon and mint. It was a brew!

One of my pet peeves at restaurants is being served a tall glass of iced tea with one teeny tiny wedge of lemon on the side and then having to put in those awful teeny tiny midget sized packets of sugar. And, of course, they never E V E R dissolve. So if you don’t have a straw….well…you’re stuck with unsweetened tea, right?

Here’s the tea!

One tea bag per quart of boiling water. Let it sit for at least 30 min.

Add half a lemon and some mint.

To sweeten: combine 1/2c. sugar and 1/2c. water in a small pot. Bring to a boil and set aside. You can vary the proportions here, but 50/50 makes for a nice, concentrated syrup. This is the KEY […]

Summer Squash Soup…from Sarah Foster

By Libby|2011-06-19T23:27:00-04:00June 19, 2011|Food and Drink|

Here is a really fine summer soup from Foster’s Market in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

Foster’s is a remarkable place down here, so go to the link to read all about it. It’s one-of-a-kind, and well worth repeat visits!

4 Tbl. (1/2 stick) butter
2 Tbl. olive oil
1 onion, diced
3 celery stalks, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
4 c. chicken broth
6 med. summer squash, trimmed & sliced
sea salt & pepper
1 c. half & half
8 basil leavesHeat the butter & olive oil in large, heavy saucepan or stock pot. Add onion & celery and cook, stirring, about 5 min. Add the garlic and cook for one minute more.

Heat the butter and olive oil in a large saucepan or stockpot. Add onion and celery and cook, stirring, for about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and stir for another minute.
Add the broth, squash, salt and pepper. Bring to a low boil, reduce heat, and simmer until squash is tender, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool (about 30 min.), then add the cream and basil (be SURE to use fresh!).
Puree in a food processor or blender.

I did find it was hard to get this totally blended and smooth, but then again, I like it with bits of squash showing..and, it is on the liquid side. Maybe add a little more squash, or less cream. But in […]

TRENDY MONDAY IS BACK!

By Libby|2010-10-17T23:38:00-04:00October 17, 2010|Food and Drink|

It’s a Tea Party!

Time to have a cup ‘a. Time to take a tea break. Time to be civilized and sit awhile and enjoy a cup…or a mug. What kind of tea do you like? Do you drink tea? I’m sure you have noticed that tea/tea drinking has become a trend in this country.

Do you know that worldwide, tea is the most popular beverage except for water?

But in the U. S., tea is #6, ranking behind water, soft drinks (!), coffee, beer, and milk. And yet, tea is growing rapidly in popularity: both green and black, in bags and loose.

In the U.S., more iced tea is consumed that hot tea. Down South (south of Baltimore, most people say) a serving of iced tea is always qualified by “sweet” or “un-sweet”. Really, that is how it is asked. I am definitely a “sweet” tea drinker, so this is just fine with me. No longer do I have to open those anemic, pathetic paper packets of sugar, put them into a tall glass of tea which invariably has too much ice, try to stir and quickly drink before the sugar has sunk to the bottom once again. No ma’am, now I can just enjoy my sweet tea!

Now, if they could only include some mint…

But as for hot tea, well, […]

SUMMERTIME COOKING

By Libby|2010-07-28T21:48:00-04:00July 28, 2010|Blogs, Cooking, Food and Drink|

It was 100F outside, and no, our house does NOT have central air. So, why NOT “take to the kitchen” and start cooking for a dinner party?

We were having one couple for dinner. But, you have to understand here, I don’t really cook any more. Oh, I make the standard fare: salads, lots of fish, corn on the cob, various pastas with a variety of sauces…that kind of thing. But I find, these days, I have too much to do to spend quality time in the kitchen.

So, this was going to be fun. Choosing what to make is always a treat. And this time, I knew exactly where to go for ideas: Lindaraxa’s Garden! This is a blog (not your average blog!) written by a very old and dear friend of mine, Julieta Cadenas. Julieta has an unusual background: she and her family emigrated from Cuba in 1960 and no, she has not returned since. We met in high school, then we didn’t see or talk to each other for many, many years(wouldn’t you just love to know how many…) and about two years ago we became friends again. What initially drew us together were our Westies! Westie lovers are a tight knit bunch. My Westie, Sunday, still lives on in spirit, and Julieta’s Westie, Lucy, is very much alive and well and […]

WHAT TO DRINK IN FRANCE (OTHER THAN WINE)

By Libby|2010-07-11T20:39:00-04:00July 11, 2010|Food and Drink, Paris/French|

Well, actually, this drink is not limited to France!

It’s been hot for many of us, so here is a “cool” idea:

In France these are known as “syrups” or sirop. Un sirop au citron (lemon syrup) is my favorite on a hot day. Order a Perrier and syrup: oh so… refreshing. They are all good, but somehow the tart lemon just hits the spot.

These, the true Monin brand syrups are not easy to find in this country. I buy mine at Zabar’s in New York: they have a huge selection and are always well stocked. But you CAN buy it on line here and here. Beware: they are expensive to buy on line although you save if you buy in quantity. Try and find a local retailer!