International Culinary Center

Dec 8

Catching Up in December

How did it get so late so soon? It’s night before it’s afternoon. December is here before it’s June. My goodness how the time has flewn. How did it get so late so soon?
~ Dr Seuss

At first I thought this quote perfectly captured the short day anxiety I’ve been feeling this winter, but really, it sums up my whole year. Case in point – this should have been my catching-up post for November. Not that I’ve been wasting time. This month, I was thrilled to be part of SAVEUR’s 2012 Cookie Advent Calendar. It’s full of amazing recipes, and I loved flipping through the cabinets and looking under the lampshades for more suggestions. If you prefer musical advent experience, the New York Magazine Les Miserable Advent Calendar is a second (albeit close) favorite. Here’s a quick list of links that may tell you where the rest of my time has gone. Read more

May 12

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Food Blogging with Steven Shaw

On May 15th, the International Culinary Center is starting a new session of Food Blogging with Steven Shaw, founder of e-Gullet. I’ve written about it before but I just can’t say enough about this class. If you read Amanda Hesser’s advice to food writers, followed the ensuing hashtag storm, and wondered if food blogs were really over but still want to start your own, then this might be the right class at the right time. Click here for more information about the next session of classes starting up next week!

May 4

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Food Blogging with Steven Shaw

On May 19th, the International Culinary Center is starting a new session of Food Blogging with Steven Shaw, their Director of New Media Studies and founder of e-Gullet. I was talking with a friend interested in starting her own blog the other day and found myself gushing about how much support, encouragement and invaluable information Steven packs into the six-week course (and beyond). If you ever considered starting up your own site or just want help developing the one you have, this is a great way to go about it. This year, they’re also offering one full and one half scholarship to enrolled student. The deadline for submissions is coming up (May 9th) so I hope you’ll click here for more information.

Sep 30

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Catching Up In September

I considered skipping this month’s September catch-up but didn’t let it go by without letting everyone know what’s been going on. My pan de medianoche was chosen by three guys from Miami as their food photo of the month which is great since they were nice enough to let me use their recipe in the first place. Hungry Sofia was also featured on the Food Network‘s Food2 site with more to come and received a great write-up in Amanda Hesser and Merrill Stubbs’ Food52. Of course, when anything good happens on my site, Steven Shaw, eGullet founder and Director of New Media Studies at The International Culinary Center, is the first person I let know. Read more

Mar 15

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The Other Chinatown

After years of winding my way through the streets of lower Manhattan, I think I’ve finally figured out Chinatown. A little overwhelming and often confusing, you always know you’re in New York. A few blocks in any direction and you’re in Little Italy, Tribeca or the Lower East Side. I’d always been curious about the “other” Chinatown – the one they keep in Flushing, where Jennifer 8 Lee said the “real” Chinese restaurants were. I had no good reason for not making it out there until now so when my teacher, Steven Shaw planned an excursion for his current food blogging class, I had to sign up. After all, he’d written the book. This weekend we met up at the French Culinary Institute on a gray day to make our way through cast iron Soho to Spring street where a 6 would get us to the 7 to Flushing. When we came up from the station, it was clear we were not in Manhattan anymore.

Class Break

I’ve owed my teacher Steven Shaw a rave since I took the first food blogging course at the ICC this past year. He’ll be teaching the course again starting February 18 at the French Culinary Institute, and I absolutely recommend it to anyone interested in new media, starting their own blog or food writing. I browse listings for writing courses and workshops all the time. While they sound interesting, the fear is always that you’re going to pay for a teacher to ignore you and your fellow students to analyze you, at best a writer’s group and at worst group therapy with deadlines. Absolutely, none of these fears materialized in Steven’s class. A founder of eGullet.org and James Beard award winning writer, he was beyond generous with his time both in and out of class, so that you saw real development in everyone’s blogs from week to week (plus the speakers were great and the class drew together a perfect mix of writers, chefs, and starters). Click here for more information and here for five more reasons you should take this class!

Sep 15

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The Scoop

Pastryscoop.com, sponsored by the French Culinary Institute, has opened registration for their fall 2009 conference to be held on Sunday, October 18th at the International Culinary Center where I’ll be helping out. For one day, they open their kitchens for top pastry chefs hold two hour demonstrations, workshops and tastings. I’m always amazed at how generous the chefs that take part are with their time and most importantly, they’re secrets.

Jun 1

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In a Manhattan Kitchen, Part 2

As promised, I’m posting the results of our market run through Chinatown. When it was all laid out, I have to admit I was intimidated. I knew absolutely nothing about Filipino foods. A combination of Spanish, Mexican, Malaysian, Chinese and Indian, I had never seen many of the ingredients before and their names wouldn’t stop moving long enough to be written down so I’ve included a lot of pictures. With Benjie’s help, Annette explained the origins of what we would be making. Then it all started going at once…

In a Manhattan Kitchen, Part 1

New York City’s Chinatown offers everything you could possibly want while seeming completely inaccessible at the same time. That’s why I really wanted to take advantage of the market tour and Filipino cooking class offered by a member of my blogging group, Annette Tomei. Annette is a chef, writer and teacher at the International Culinary Center. Her blog, Wander, Eat and Tell, chronicling her travels and food experiences is always a push out the door, especially when she turns her attention to nearby neighborhoods I can explore with new eyes. One of her trips was to the Philippines to visit her brother-in-law Benjie’s family. While she was there, she spent time in a Filipino kitchen learning from four elderly women who shared their recipes and cooking knowledge in exchange for a promise that she teach it to others in her own country.

To that end, Annette planned today’s class. I met the group at the ICC and we walked over to Chinatown to pick up the final ingredients (and do some snacking you can read about here). The group was made up of Annette; Steven, our writing teacher; Hayley, another ICC instructor; Benjie and his friends, Luisa and Raqui. Food markets in Chinatown can be overwhelming so it was great to work our way through with a sense of purpose and Annette prepped guide. Looking the pictures now, it all seems so vivid. Before today I never felt like I could find the same spot twice, now I can’t wait to go back.