Basher Fromagerie expands!

The  block on Dizengoff between Arlozorov and Jabotinsky has gone recently gone through some major gastronomic changes. 

The Tel Aviv institution Café Batya closed but will reopen in the near future at 95 Hashmonaim….A hotel will be built in its place.

A bit further north is NOLA (New Orleans for those not in the know) which serves American including mud pie,  brownies, cornbread muffins, blueberry muffins and biscuits and gravy. The  food menu  also has an American (mac and cheese!) twist.

A few doors up from NOLA is Basher Fromagerie which opened in 2010 as a branch of the legendary Basher from the Mahne Yehuda market in Jerusalem.  Proprietors Liat and Igor took over an adjacent clothing store (don’t worry, there are plenty left) and have expanded the shop to include an indoor seating area and more extensive wine assortment.  The boulangerie style menu uses only the finest ingredients which are sold in the shop and includes cheese platters, sandwiches and delicious buttery baked goods.  Future plans include a weekly fondue night.

Basher Fromagerie - Tel Aviv

The communal table ala  Le pain Quotidien  in the middle of the shop is available for  seating and private wine and cheese tastings for up to 10 people.

Communal Dining Table

With NOLA (Dizengoff 197)  and Basher Fromagerie (201 Dizengoff)on the same block you can visit New Orleans and Paris on the same day.

A Hot  Soup for  A Cold Tel Aviv Night

It hasn’t stopped raining in Tel Aviv for 3 days and it looks like there’s no let up til Friday.  Jerusalem is going to see snow but seaside Tel Aviv is just getting lots of rain and high winds.  This is the perfect weather for a steaming bowl of soup.

I heard no complaints when I served this soup this past weekend.  It’s delicious without the cream and even better with.  Enjoy!

Mushroom and Chestnut Soup

What you’ll need:

7 oz.  (200 g)  packaged cooked and peeled chestnuts

2 1/2 cups sliced mushrooms (I used a mix of brown “Horesh” and white mushrooms)
3 Tbsp. butter
3  large shallots, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 stock of celery, sliced
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh thyme
1/4 plus 2 Tbsp. good Spanish sherry
4 - 6 cups vegetable stock
.5 oz. (15 g) – dried mushrooms reconstituted in 2 cups of boiling water
1/2 tsp. honey
salt
white pepper
1/2 cup cream

 Garnish

1/4 cup minced mushrooms
1 Tbsp. butter
sprigs of fresh thyme
1 Tbsp. truffle oil

Instructions

In a large saucepan, melt the 2 Tbsp. of butter over medium high heat. Add the mushrooms to the butter and cook without stirring until mushrooms are deep golden brown - about 4 - 5 minutes. Flip mushrooms and continue to cook until golden brown. Remove mushrooms from the pan and set aside. Melt the remaining tablespoon of butter in the pan over medium heat and add the shallots and garlic, cooking until softened, about 5 minutes. Add mushrooms back to the pan and increase the heat to medium high. Add the sherry and cook, scraping up the bottom of the pan and cook until almost all the sherry has evaporated, about 3 minutes. Add the chestnuts, celery, thyme, reconstituted mushrooms with their liquid and stock. Bring to a boil, cover the pan and reduce to a simmer. Simmer for approximately 1 hour until chestnuts have softened. Let soup cool slightly and then puree in a food processor or with hand blender. - if the mixture is too thick, thin it down with a little vegetable stock. Return soup to the pan and re warm, seasoning with salt, pepper and the honey. Add the cream (optional)  and the remaining 2 Tbsp. sherry. Garnish with the cooked mushrooms, fresh thyme sprigs and a drizzle of truffle oil.

For garnish: In a small saute pan heat the 1 Tbsp. butter over medium high heat. Add the mushrooms and cook, without stirring for 3 - 4 minutes or until mushrooms are golden brown.   Serves 8.

Based on a recipe found on A Communal Table

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Support Small Businesses Day in Israel – Thursday and Friday (January 4^th and 5^th 2013)

In November, north Tel Aviv resident Amit Winder posted an appeal for consumers to shop at a tiny store on Ibn Gvirol Street called “Kol Bo Yehezkel”.  A “kol bo” is the Israeli equivalent of a true “mom and pop” store that sells cleaning supplies, toilet paper, small kitchen utensils,  toy and the like.  “Kol Bo Yehezkel” is owned by Ami, the son of the late Yehezkel who founded the store in the 50’s along with Ami’s now 86 year old mother.
 

Business has suffered due to a lack of street parking in the area and a new generation of shoppers who tend to visit malls instead of local merchants.

Winder’s post on Facebook page garnered over 3,000 “likes” and over 10,000 “shares” and has brought new customers to “Kol Bo Yehezkel”.

This Thursday and Friday are “Support Small Businesses Day” in Israel.  Take a walk around your neighborhood and check out the small stores that you tend to ignore as you  drive home at the end of the day.  Chances are their prices are lower than where you do your usual shopping. 

And for those of you in Tel Aviv – “Kol Bo Yehezkel” is located at 163 Ibn Gvirol on the west side of the street,  just north of Nordau.
 

 Attack of the Killer Oreo

The cupcake craze hit Tel Aviv about 2 years ago but who knew that the Killer Oreo was next in line.

 

I recently walked by the Red Velvet Bakery at 9 Ibn Gvirol and saw the largest Oreo ever!  Actually, this 16 shekel Oreo should be outlawed by the sugar police.  The cookie was delicious and the filling equally satisfying but lacking the sturdiness of the original.  This is a cookie to be shared.

 

In addition to the most scrumptious looking cupcakes there are daily specials like vanilla pudding with chocolate cake and strawberries or chocolate pudding with a peanut butter filling.

Enjoy!

Fashion Week TLV - Wedding Dresses

The Diaspora Museum (Beit Hatfutsot) joined with the  fashion department at Shenkar College of Engineering and Design for to create beautifully hand embroidered wedding gowns.



These unique designs were revealed on the runway of Gindi Fashion Week Tel Aviv, which is produced by Motty Reif.  There are now 2 (!!) Tel Aviv Fashion Weeks due to a fight between last year's producers Mr. Reif and Ofir Lev.

The project, which was part of the annual course on designing wedding gowns, was undertaken by 14 Shenkar third year fashion students. Following the Fashion show, the gowns returned to Beit Hatfutsot where they will soon  be displayed in a special exhibition throughout 2013.

Two of my favoritee dresses were by Chen Meron and Chen Ariel Nachman.  Meron's design is inspired by tefillin and Nachman's is inspired by the Jews of Saloniki.

The dresses were very impressive but one has to ask why none of these "brides" were smiling and why such harsh make up???? And...some of these "brides" lost way too much weight before the wedding.

Wedding Dress by Chen Meron

 

Wedding Dress by Chen Ariel Nachman

Check with the museum regarding the opening date of the exhibition.
Tel: 03-745-7808

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Hanukkah Bark

The December issue of Food Network Magazine has a copycat recipe for  Williams Sonoma "Almost-Famous Peppermint Bark" which is a huge favorite this time of year.

It's pretty hard to find candy canes in Tel Aviv and you can forget blue and white stripes to make the bark for Hanukkah.  However....most of the malls have "candy islands" and if you'll look carefully you'll find lollypops in blue, white....and green swirls.  Or take a trip to the Carmel Market and visit the candy guy on the east side closest to the main parking lot. 

You'll also need to pick up some peppermint extract and there's no place like the Tel Aviv institution, Front Bros. spice shop. The shop was established in 1879 in Warsaw, Poland and relocated to Israel in 1940 where it has been on Allenby St. at the entrance of the Carmel Market ever since.

Here's the recipe.  One tip - make sure you spread chocolates in very thin layers as you'll find it pretty hard to crack into pieces if it's too thick!

 

 

What you'll need:

350 grams good quality semi sweet chocolate, chopped in to 1/2 inch pieces (I used Elite's 70% Splendid Bittersweet)
450 grams good quality white chocolate, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces (I used the regular Elite white chocolate. Eh.)
1 1/2 teaspoons peppermint extract
3 blue/white/green swirled lollypops, crushed

What to do:

1.  Line a 9 x 13 baking dish with a  sheet of foil, shiny side up; smooth out wrinkles. (I used a cookie sheet and parchment paper)  Heat 1 inch of water in a saucepan til steaming.

2.  Put all but 3/4 cup of the dark chocolate in a heatproof bowl.  Set the bowl over the saucepan. DO NOT LET THE BOWL TOUCH THE WATER and stir til 1/3 of the chocolate is melted. Remove the bowl but keep the water steaming.  Gradually stir in the remaining chocolate into the bowl, a few pieces at a time, until all of the chocolate is melted.  Return the bowl 5-10 seconds at a time to help melt the chocolate.  Do not rush this step: it may take up to 10 minutes to melt all of the chocolate.

3. Wipe off any moisture from the bottom of the bowl. Stir 3/4 of the peppermint extract into the chocolate then quickly pour into the prepared baking dish/cookie sheet and spraed in an even layer.  Firmly tap the dish/sheet against the counter to remove any bubbles. Set aside at room temperature until almost set, about 10 minutes.

4.  Meanwhile, put all but 1 cup of the white chocolate in a heatproof bowl and repeat the melting process.  Dry the bottom of the bowl and add 3/4 teaspoon of peppermint extract; pour over the dark chocolate and spread in an even layer.  Sprinkly immediately with the crushed candy.  Set aside a room temperature to set, about 1 hour. 

5. Lift the bark out of the pan using foil and break it into pieces.  Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.  Keep in mind that the Elite ("Cow" brand) is not the finest quality chocolate and may not harden on it's own...You can also put the pan in the frig for a short time before breaking up the bark.

Enjoy and Happy Hanukkah!

Boutique Public Toilets in Tel Aviv

When you gotta go, you gotta go and there’s no better place to go than the very clean restroom facilities at 2TheLoo located at 9 King George St. in Tel Aviv. 

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Nominated for Most Innovative Retailor in Belgium 2TheLoo’s first Israeli branch is conveniently located about a block east of Tel Aviv’s Carmel Market.  If you’ve ever had use the “loo” in the market you know how unpleasant the public bathrooms in the area are.  They are scary. No other word.

The facilities are open from 10 am – 8 pm during the week (closed on Shabbat) and for 3 shekels you can use the toilet and other facilities to freshen up.  There are also diaper changing tables!. 

Ooops! Ran out of diapers or other sanitary items? Not to worry, all are for sale at 2TheLoo.

This is the way public toilets were meant to be.

Thanks to SE, PBE and KC for the tip.