Sunday, February 2, 2020

Learn How to Garnish Your Drinks with Art of the Garnish Author & Two World-Class Mixologists at Kosaka Restaurant, Feb 10th Cocktail Party


It’s rather difficult to add anything nor change this invitation to the upcoming Art of the Garnish event at Kosaka restaurant (see their link under Art) next Monday, February 10th.

It’s truly an honor to be asked to host a fabulous cocktail party at Kosaka - the only Michelin-starred restaurant in Gotham!

Kosaka is an elegant restaurant, revered not only for its food, but for its art program, curated by EunYoung - the extraordinary horticulture talent, who I’ve had the honor of working with -- in New York, in New Jersey and in Ecuador - at Hacienda Cusin - where she introduced the gardeners there in the edible garden to microgreens. (just one of EunYoung's extraordinary talents).

See the overview and links below for Art of the Garnish details.

Please share and invite your garden-to-glass cohort in Gotham area to this tasty, pre-Valentine, fun event. Long live love!

We’ll be serving up four cocktails, food-pairings, barscapes, and readings. There will be the opportunity for book signings, too, naturally.

I sincerely hope you can join us.

Doug Young photo 


Here is the Kosaka invite:

We are happy to announce a special cocktail event Art of the Garnish by Leeann Lavin for Valentines' week. Tickets are available at Event brite.

Learn the "ins & outs" of garnishing your drinks with the specially prepared garnishes with star mixologists featured in her new book. You’ll be delighted to learn tips, tricks, and instructions on the right way to prepare a dizzying array of garnishes, from herbs and citrus to nuts, candy, meat, and jewelry. Sip and see how these garnishes enhance cocktails and will help make you the star of happy hour while enjoyed craft cocktails from the Art of the Garnish along with food pairings.

A special sponsorship provided by Hudson Whiskey. The recipe will showcase the classic New York Rye Manhattan, created by Hudson brand ambassador, David Powell. It is very exciting to have mixologists Jessie WohlersTom Sebazco in our special evening!

Leeann Lavin wrote a Food & Drink column for Examiner.com, curating the food spectrum that dazzles and elevates the radical New York food and drink world. She writes the popular Garden Glamour blog covering the nexus of garden art and culinary art, food events, artisanal food makers, and cookbook reviews. She is also the author of The Hamptons & Long Island Homegrown Cookbook and a contributing author to Savoring Gotham.

A 2015 IACP Cookbook judge, Leeann is also a BlogHer Influencer and a SheKnows Expert. A passionate food and garden thought leader and frequent guest speaker, Leeann has worked in restaurants, bars, and food catering; and creates food and drink recipes with passion, using ingredients from local greenmarkets, her herb garden and farm-ette at her country house in the Garden State, making sure to always add the best ingredient: love.

Here is the official invitation link to Kosaka art’s Art of Garnish event

Thank you all so very much. I am forever deeply grateful.

Cheers! 

Sunday, January 19, 2020

Art of the Garnish - My New Book Shows How to Finish Cocktails With Glamorous Style

The Art of the Garnish

I recently wrote -- with great excitement and full of hard-earned pride -- about the publication of my latest book, Art of the Garnish:

“Tis the season!” is heralded throughout the holidays. We toast, we Prost, we Sláinte, and Salute! And what sparks the salutations is the drink! A frizzy, frothy, bubbly, elixir fashioned with a redolent, glittering garnish to top it all off. So why not gild the lily; give the perfect gift - Art of the Garnish.

Now that it’s January - my Capricorn birthday month -- I can’t believe that I only recently learned that a Capricorn is not “just” a goat but a she-goat! Curious by nature, I needed to learn more. And indeed there is more. (What does this have to do with garnishes and cocktails, you, my dear reader, may be tapping out. Please wait…) (smile) Besides, who doesn’t just love astrology and fairy tales?

I learned (according to Greek Mythology.com) that while Capricorn is usually depicted as a goat or sea-goat, in Greek Mythology he is the God Pan. Pan ruled over forests and woodlands, (see how I’m feeling the connection?!). Eventually, Pan became the God (or maybe, just maybe, the Goddess of Nature - wink). Some of the deity’s qualities, such as sexuality and love of nature have become part of the character of people born under this sign. (oooh la la)
Consequently, Capricorn is an earth sign and people born under this sign are responsible, patient, and loyal.

Loyal. That brings me back to Art of the Garnish -- and my enduring passion for all things natural, plant-based and horticulture. I’ve been enchanted by gardens, garden history, garden art, secret gardens, native plant gardens, ecology, along with garden design, edible gardens, and more - for - well - for ever. I’ve so enjoyed sharing this farm-to-table and fork-to-table and dock-to-dish journey with you. And now -- it’s a garden-to-glass celebration.

In the Beginning I’ll have more to share in subsequent posts but for starters, here’s how the Garnish book came about.
Even with this introduction, I’ll summarize; there are plenty of chapters in this part of the saga. And as most everyone knows - books take a very long time to incubate and birth. A very long time…

After my first book, The Hamptons & Long Island Homegrown Cookbook was published, I wrote even more about food, drink, restaurants, dining, growing food, sustainable agriculture, gardens, garden design, and eventually designing tablescapes and cocktail compositions, as well as book reviews for both my Garden Glamour blog and for Examiner.com. I also contributed several chapters to Savoring Gotham and wrote the foreword for Alive and Cooking: An Easy Guide to Health for You and Your Parents.

It wasn’t long after I reported on the The Essential NY Times Cocktail Book that I got a call from its publisher, Cider Mill Press, asking if they could schedule a call with me.

I came to learn that they wanted to talk about me working with them to write a book.
About cocktails.

You can almost picture this all-too-hilarious scene straight out of a Lucile Ball or Melissa McCarthy comedy sketch where the publishing executive asks if I am interested and while you want to feign calm and check your calendar to see if the Ask can be accommodated -- sheer thrill precludes any diplomacy or restraint. A hearty and honest “YES, I’d be honored,” was in order.

And then, in a kind of Rumpelstiltskin riddle - there was just one catch.
Naturally.
The book’s research and manuscript needed to be completed in three months. Or less.

There was no time to waste.

The Manuscript
I did indeed clear my calendar.
I immediately dove head first (or “bottoms up”!) into what we could offer in the cocktail book.
Initially, I knew we could offer a garden-to-glass perspective both in terms of the spirits and the mixes, and the garnishes. After all, I couldn’t think of any spirit that was not plant-based!

And given how very much I adore storytelling, I figured I could not only provide the history and context for some of the classic cocktails, but also offer drinks from some of the places that I have traveled to or lived in that have had a profound influence on me and my cocktail culture, including, Switzerland where I attended school, Japan where I traveled frequently for business, Cuba where I visited for sustainable urban agriculture - and had always dreamed of seeing (it doesn’t disappoint), Ecuador where I’ve worked doing garden design and horticulture and menu development, Aruba where we have a place and sojourn every winter for R&R, and Denmark where I lived and worked - helping compile background research about America’s distinguished early jazz musicians for a Danish notable.

And then I had the idea that most folks don’t embrace the cocktail hour as much as it once was - not for lifestyle reasons, although that is nevertheless true. I was thinking more from a food and drink perspective. We indulge in food pairing with wine and beer but cocktails -- not so much. Why? I believed it was because so many of our cocktails were made with mixes that contained a lot of sugar and processed ingredients that to my palate, not only didn’t taste good, but could also render you rather peaky at the same time.

So the book would showcase the real, regional spirits from a diverse geography of places that use their local, homegrown flowers, roots, bark, fruit, and herbs, for their digestifs, bitters, soda, and simple syrup mixes.
After all, many of the spirits began their jobs as tonics and medicines at the local apothecary and pharmacy. I wanted to showcase that distinctive, handmade, artisanal world of cocktails.

I’m devoted to creative design - elegant and whimsical, as well as crafted, authentic, quality ingredients. I figured all these elements would contribute to the storytelling intrigue of the Garnish book.

And finally, I wanted the book to offer the reader a fun, jaunty journey into the world of cocktails, libation lore, drinks, food, mixology tools cum art, and the festive barscape presentations and ambiance, along with the accessories that mark this ephemeral art.

In putting together Art of the Garnish, I started by thinking of it as the embodiment of a great cocktail party. Beside my one inspired garnishes and cocktails and food pairing, I was privileged to invite some of the world’s best mixologists to the party.

Elevating the Art of the Garnish
I began by recreating my favorite cocktail recipes: my Duchess martini is featured in Art of the Garnish as is the classic Manhattan. I make my own maraschino cherry garnishes, too. (I'll add image later. Sigh)

Recipe for maraschino cherries:
A pound of fresh, pitted cherries (when in season) or cans of Oregon or MIchigan sweet cherries, Peel of one whole orange, a cup of water, cup of sugar, cup of cherry liqueur, fresh vanilla bean seeds scraped from half a vanilla pod, 2 teaspoons lemon juice, 1 cinnamon stick, dash of nutmeg. In a saucepan, combine all the ingredients except the cherries and the liqueur and bring to a boil. Then reduce the heat. Add the cherries and simmer for 5 minutes. Even less time is needed if using canned cherries. Remove from the heat and add the cherry liquor. Let cool. Store in airtight container.


I also added my own rendition to some cultural classics of my special places. And people too. One of my dear garden design clients has her own honeybees; to honor her and those pollinators I created “Maria’s Mead: Nectar of the Goddesses.” It’s a great story too. Mead is the oldest spirit and its use gave rise to the term, honey-moon. I’ll explain more later…

In addition, I asked some of my favorite spirit makers to suggest some of their favorite top-tier mixologists and brand ambassadors who would best showcase their brand(s). Of course, Macchu Pisco and their star executive and friends, the sisters Melanie and Elizabeth and their London-based cousin, Natasha immediately came to mind. These women are true “she-roes” and straight away offered talent from London and Miami, including Isaac Morrison, drink consultant at Dash Concept, Fabiano Latham, beverage director for Chotto Matte, Valentina Carbone, bartender at Nobu Berkeley St, Calum O’Flynn, The Botanist at Sloane Square, London; Maria Pottage, beverage director at COYA Restaurant & Members Lounge, Miami.
You must read about and taste Macchu Pisco if you don’t already drink their award-winning, hand-crafted Peruvian nectar. It’s a true American success story.

I also worked with Joe Gallo and his clients, including Patron tequila and Cutty Sark Scotch Whisky. I was also gifted to work with Hennessy and their US National brand ambassador, Jordan Bushnell.

Of course, I tapped into family: Jessica Wohlers, fine artist and general manager of Leyenda Brooklyn - one of the best cocktail bars in America, frequently cited as the Best American Bar. Jess is super networked to the world of bartenders and craft cocktail artists and tiki masters. She introduced me to a cohort of Gotham-based professionals who contribute meaningfully to the Garnish book, including, KJ Williams, bartender at Flatiron Lounge, Brian Miller, Ryan Liloia and Jelani Johnson, bartenders at Clover Club and Leyenda; Marlo Gamora, bartender, Dante NYC and Mother of Pearl, NY.

I knew Tom Sebazco, entrepreneur and bartender at Fitzerald’s Pub - having worked with Tom and his multi-talented wife, EunYoung.

I did identify one artist via Instagram: Josh Suchan, Ice and Alchemy, who creates some breathtaking cocktail creations. I was astonished looking at his feed. Further, Josh is a truly nice man. I’ve very much enjoyed working with him. You can readily see his work in the thumbnail images my publisher posted as part of the Amazon link.

Chandon was yet another brand that I very much like; having worked with them in the past. Chandon was kind enough to contribute a few of their world-class recipes to Garnish.

Using my design style, it was relatively easy - and fun - to create the Finishing Touches for the cocktail creations. I was inspired and informed by the ingredients, of course. And fantasy; Hollywood glamour; my fashion garden design background, too.

Garnishes that inspired me were in that same lane. Edible flowers and herbs came naturally to adorn seasonal drinks. Did you know you can eat passion flowers? Or orchids? Or Fuschia?





And talk about fun, for “I’m Nutty for You,” for example, I used Cracker Jacks - complete with a prize.

Or jewelry: think brooches or a tie tack - perfect for spearing a fruit or candy garnish. You know you've lost an earring or cuff link or two. Repurpose it to a memorable garnish.


Knitting needles in a Sweater Weather drink? Of course!

Did you think about candy licorice or passion flower blossoms or sesame seeds with a tahini pairing?



Or smoke? Or toys? Or gold dust? And you thought parasols were the bees knees!

The team at Cider Mill Press was a clutch of delightful and supportive professionals - all women -- who aided and assisted every step of the journey with humor and charm. We had fun, too. But I must confess, I did get worried when the original team changed over the course of time… And then Buzz - my new editor came on board. He sherpa’d Garnish - with grace and courtesy - through the challenges of tying up the loose threads to completion, as well as the somewhat daunting initiative of tasking me last year to produce all the instructions about what tools to use to create citrus garnishes; how to craft the garnishes -- Reamers, Rimmers, zesters, wheels, twists, tattoos, citrus baskets, sculpted garnishes, to name a few and all the detailed drawings to accompany the how-tos.


And much to my heart-fluttering joy, Buzz - and I’m guessing John, the publisher, created the perfectly pretty and glamorous book cover. I clutched my heart and sighed with delight upon first seeing it.

So, while it wasn’t three months to completion - rather three years. It was, undoubtedly, worth it.

Photography
Then, there is the undisputed genius of the professional photographer, Doug Young. While there are a number of my own photos in the book and some stock photos - you will surely recognize the superior quality of Doug’s composition, lighting, craft, and talent that adds so very much to Garnish. I’ve worked with Doug in the past -- was introduced to him and his work through my Long Island Homegrown Cookbook cohort - and was sincerely honored that he agreed to come to our country house to photograph the cocktails for the book. What a day! It was crazy - rushing the natural light. Trying this and that. Cutting flowers; dripping honey; igniting fire (near or on my antique dining table that gave me a sincere case of the frets!). Bill brought in slate from the walk; I mixed and whipped and garnished trying to keep pace with Doug and his unswerving eye and dedication. Bless you. Thank you.





Art of the Garnish
It’s said you can judge a book by its cover - and the glamorous, tactile and textured hardcover Art of the Garnish book beauty is a sight to behold - and touch. It’s pretty-in-pink, accessorized by the Garden-to-Glass green garnishes herbs, flowers, and spices that star in the book. It’s a great size too (6 x 8ish) - ideal for gracing your bar cart, bar, or island mixing station (or bedside table!).

According to Amazon, as supplied by my publisher, the incredible Cider Mill Press - (who I couldn’t love more) - the Garnish book is described as:
Full of tips, tricks, and instructional illustrations about how to prepare a wide range of cocktail garnishes, The Art of the Garnish is a mixology must-have!

The perfect cocktail is a sight to behold, and it is often enhanced both in flavor and appearance thanks to a garnish. Learn the ins and outs of garnishing your drinks with The Art of the Garnish. Full of tips, tricks, and instructional illustrations on the right way to prepare a dizzying array of garnishes, from herbs and citrus to nuts, candy, meat, and jewelry, this book is a must-have for the aspiring mixologist! Like all the books in the “Art of Entertaining” series The Art of the Garnish offers easy-to-follow recipes and colorful photographs; the beautiful images detail how these garnishes enhance cocktails and will help make you the star of happy hour.


I promise -- you will so enjoy the book! I relished researching the cocktail lore: exploring “Where did these drinks originate? Who gave birth to which garnish?” Besides the patina of time, the stories passed on are fueled with booze, not surprisingly, so the true tales are often a bit hazy - but no less intriguing. These are fun stories - the ones you hear from your favorite bar tender who knows her cocktail history.

I based my cocktail recipes and food pairings on the idea that one could enjoy cocktails even more when using natural, garden-inspired spirits that, more often than not, are regional, seasonal, and at one time - gave drinks their special, homegrown panache. For example, Crème de Violette liqueur is made from violet wildflowers native to Austria and Switzerland, adding a light vanilla and floral note to champagne or sparkling wine and cocktails. Moreover, Crème de Violette’s regal color adds more glamour to your drink compositions.


Likewise, the Italian, bitter amaro is an herbal liqueur that started out as a digestif - as did many liquors. I love its regional distinctions; contributing so much flavor due to its artisanal creators. It stands to reason that every amaro is different: it’s a mix of herbs, flowers, aromatic bark, citrus peel and spices—a blend that can include anything from cardamom to elderberry flowers. Therefore, each and every cocktail made with this luscious liquor is unique.
A rather existential experience... True luxury. Plus, I love this sense of adventure.

Yet one more example is that of the Boba Pearl drink recipes. Boba pearls are made from tapioca. I love tapioca - and as a kid, asked that my birthday celebrations include either tapioca - or angel food cake - in place of the traditional birthday cake.

But what is tapioca? Most shrug. Yet, tapioca comes from the cassava plant. Therefore, I paired the drink with a root vegetable appetizer so that the cocktail and food complement one another in the same way that cooks and chefs admonish, “What grows together, goes together.”

More food pairings - and that didn't make it into Garnish:






Let’s not overlook the ice. It’s such a key ingredient in most every drink and yet… Of course, we invested in a pure ice maker so can indulge in those ice nuggets. And pretty ice too - we have skull cubes and heart cubes and…

In a punch, I use flowers in a bundt pan filled with distilled water. As the ice melts, the floral wreath emerges and adds an elegant finishing touch. Below is a video of a Halloween punch with dry ice and a floral ice ring.  Have fun with your ice - more ephemeral cocktail art!



It’s often said that there’s no doggie bag for cocktails. I adore that in-the-moment cocktail experience that cries out for family, friends, community - and conversation; glamour, and style. And you get to do it over again the next evening.

In a home bar or in our case, a speakeasy - complete with a hidden door!


Or in a local tavern, swanky hotel lounge, a terrace, or a beach, or cocktail lounge or bubble bath! The possibilities of place and garnish are limitless. 

As I joyfully herald in Art of the Garnish, cocktail culture is one of the few if only customs that has so many iterations that span many categories - including fashion: a cocktail dress; interior design - a speakeasy or cocktail lounge or bar or tiki hut; a time of day - cocktail hour or happy hour and let’s not forget the Morning After.

Please enjoy my latest book, Art of the Garnish. You’ll be equally smitten with the “libation lore,” the history, the food pairings and tablescape compositions, as well as the cocktail style and the glamour…  Here's a video of my remix on the classic Grasshopper - mine is the Verdant Green Jangala.  The Barscape composition includes the green drinks and garnish, along with plants. and smart devices tuned to jungle or animal YouTube videos - to add to the jungle ambiance!  Fun and immersive.
The smart technology adds to any number of parties - especially those with strong visual elements such as an Oscar or Super Bowl party. You can play old films or previous games.  Or maybe an opera party with Madame Butterfly videos charming your guests.

And I must ask because it's so important to the success of the book - when you do receive your copy, can you please post your review on Amazon or B&N or your local Indie.
We very much appreciate the book love...

Cheers.

Tuesday, December 24, 2019

What is the Legend of the 7 Fishes & the Recipes to Make


Do you wonder what is the history and legacy of the Feast of the Seven Fishes on Christmas Eve? And do you know how to cook this special dinner celebration?

If you’ve been baffled about the history and significance of the Feast of the Seven Fishes that’s celebrated on Christmas Eve -- and what to serve - Chef Marisa Iocca - the country’s foremost proponent of authentic yet playful cucina Italiana will explain and demonstrate.

What’s the Seven Fishes lore? Is it the seven days of the week? The seven sacraments? The seven hills of Rome? It’s all a mystery.

And yet…

Chef Marisa - is the award-winning chef and owner of Spigga restaurant who can interpret the La Vigilia - the never-ending fish feast celebrated by Italian Americans.

Do you prepare linguini and clams? Scungilli, calamari, anchovy? Or ...

Chef Marisa cooks with the best ingredients: especially high quality EVOO from Europe.

There are a number of other Meditierranean Holiday dishes, including, fried vegetables, fried potatoes, fried artichokes, fried squash blossoms, and more.

Not surprisingly, there are quite a number of fish dishes featured in my first book, The Hamptons and Long Island Homegrown Cookbook - my love letter to artisanal growers and the chefs they inspire to create seasonal, market-driven menus. After all, Long Island is surrounded by some of the best fishing waters anywhere.  T

There’s Arctic Char filets with miso, grapefruit, and yuzo; PEI Mussels; Rakmacka - contributed by Homegrown chef Joe Isidori.

Arroz de Choco (squid with rice) - contributed by Homegrown chef, Rosa Ross

A Spiced Fish and Vegetable Stew is a happy new take on traditional 7 Fishes meal; the Monkfish with Stewed Leeks - are both from the incomparable Chef Eberhard Müller, now of Satur Farms fame. And making this a “hat trick for Chef Eberhard, I also recommend Chef’s Tuna Tartar with Radishes.

Fluke Crudo - created by Chef Gretchen Menser

Pistachio-Crusted Halibut and a fabulous Grilled Octopus (one of my true favorite dishes) are recipe contributions from Chef Mitchell SuDock

Oysters - hands down, my favorite, especially when they are farmed locally. This pure, is from Cuvée Bistro & Bar owner and chef: Deborah Pittorino. And the classic Long Island Oysters with Mignonette Sauce - this is how I serve my oysters - from the oh-so-creative Chef Kevin Penner. I’m afraid for the “Out East” shellfish farming and the Peconic Bay oysters. I hope I’m wrong…

Speaking of Peconic Bay, these Bay Scallops with butter and lemon is pure joy from Nick & Toni’s chef Joseph Realmuto

Baked Seafood Sagaponack from our dear, late chef, Anna Pump. I adored her, her culinary creations, her indomitable spirit and generous support… And don’t get me started on her famous Lobster Salad that we made at on of the Homegrown booksignins at her Bridgehampton store.

Chef Starr Boggs - a beloved and true culinary star of the Hamptons created the Softshell Crabs with Southern Succotash recipe - after all, chef Starr originally hailed from what many recognize as the crab capital - the eastern shore of eastern Virginia. Chef Starr also contributed the recipe for the Basil-Crusted Swordfish

Striped Bass Grilled with Six Spices - from Greenport’s incredible chef: Robby Beaver

& Striped Bass Montauk - pan-roasted is a favorite - from Chef Michael Rozzi

The Grilled Swordfish Montauk Style with picatta-style sauce is a classic from Shelter Island’s Vine Street Café’s Chef Terry Harwood

The Tuna Crudo is also from chef Kevin Penner’s collection.

All dishes are made with local ingredients -- and love…

If you don’t already have access to the recipes via your much-used, sauce-stained pages of the Homegrown Cookbook, please reach out to me and I can share the recipe(s) you are hungry to make.

BUON NATALE A TUTTO IL MONDO

Sunday, December 1, 2019

How to Power Up Gourmet Food & Drink Recipes At Home: My Hands-On Review of Breville's Super Q Commercial Grade Blender

Breville Super Q Blender - photo courtesy of Angie Lambert
How often do you ask yourself if your kitchen blender is working for you? And by that I mean, not only working to fulfill your food and drink needs. But rather as your assistant - or as your very own sous chef, if you will.

Does your blender inspire you to create new and exciting dishes - from smoothies to gelato to cocktails? Bill and I were rather perfectly happy with our beautiful --and I thought plenty powerful blender/mixer. I do still love it and its design complements our country house’s blue-ish kitchen decor.

So when Breville asked me to review their Super Q™ - initially I was hesitant.
After all, I was very happy; fulfilled with my present mixer. What can I say? I’m a loyal Capricorn. But ok - I thought. I’m game to try out the Breville model for my loyal readers.

When the Breville box arrived at our Gotham apartment - it was a formidable size. The footprint was “woah.” This suggested that the Breville was more than what I had expected. In the end, Wow! is an understatement.

Let me just jump ahead. And I’ll get back to the more poetic review shortly.

The Breville Super Q is perfect. I didn’t expect to love it so much. (after all, see loyal notation above).

The jaw-dropping, muscular performance of the Breville is akin to a Ferrari - or whatever high-performance analogy you want to reference. (Feel free to drop in Corvette, Tesla, Falcon jet, Harley. You get the idea.) However, it can’t be overstated - this mixer is just so darn elegant and powerful. True Luxury!

What I found while reviewing this commercial grade blender is that it inspires you. That’s what I mean about it being your own personal sous-chef.

The technology is so powerful and the features so intuitive and ergonomic that It actually frees you up to make things you never thought you could. Do you like peanut butter? How about expanding your palate to whip up some Maple Pecan & Brazil Nut Butter, or Chunky Pistachio & Macadamia Nut Butter or Almond, Flaxseed & Chia Butter. In five minutes!

Or how about dough? There’s an entire chapter in the recipe book, “Magical Milling” that embraces Gluten Free Flour Mix to Flaxseed, Sunflower & Almond Meas (FSA Meal) to good ol’ Chocolate Chip Brown Butter Cookies!  (And be sure to order a sheet pan with rack for easy baking and broiling) 
I love making Exotic Spices & Pastes.

Initially, I asked if the Breville came with a recipe book. I was told no.
No worries. I knew I could create my own recipes for food and drink. (Wink.) I’m a food and drink writer, after all, and an author of two plus books on these topics. But after that quirky snafu I discovered that the unit certainly does have a lovely hard-cover “Simply SuperBlending” recipe book complete with gorgeous photos and easy-to-follow directions using both text and icons and measurements that are provided in both Metrics and the US customary Or Imperial system of units.

So. back to why you, dear sweet reader, would want to purchase a Breville Super Q to either replace your present blender standby, to add to your kitchen essentials and/or gift to family and friends for wedding registry or the holidays.

There is no denying the power of the Breville. I shared with the Breville folks that we love our indoor Breville bbq unit. It’s enduring good performance and design has served us and our guests for more than a decade. So there’s the trust factor engineered into the brand.

With regard to the Super Q, I put the put the Breville through its paces. My test-drive review was to see how it performed in what I thought were three key areas that represented what I think most home cooks indulge in. Recipes that fall into these categories:
  • Drinks
  • Savory
  • Wellness
I started with corn ice cream -- I’d made this previously for the last several years - posting in my food and drink column on the now defunct Examiner food site. Much to my surprise - the Breville eliminated a step - surely because of its power to pulverize the corn kernels making them silky and creamy in what seemed a miracle wave of the wand. Er, button. This was remarkable.

It saved time and made the corn ice cream smoother.
While my first time making the corn ice cream I used market purchased corn ears; this year I was blessed to be able to use our own homegrown corn ears

- so while it may be possible that the homegrown corn was a wee bit more tender, thus rendering the mixer/blender “easier” this year - I’m gonna disavow this element. (I only bring it up as full disclosure.) It’s the power of the blender, no question.  Check this out! 



You have to love all the accessories provided by Breville - here I can readily scoop out the blender to cooktop




As the author of The Art of the Garnish - I simply could not review the Breville Super Q without embracing its vroom to cocktails!

We determined to power up a up a libation or two. I wanted to stay true to Breville - and so profiled a drink from the “overlooked” recipe book - vs. using one of my book’s cocktails. While I do hope that all of you have purchased your copy of The Art of the Garnish (smile) I wanted to construct the product review as if I was you without the benefit of my garden-to-glass cocktail recipes.

I was drawn to the Margarita with cucumbers, in no small part because I wanted to use our garden/farm-ette’s prolific harvest of homegrown cucumbers.
Margarita Breville cocktail prep - Photo courtesy of Angie Lambert  

Bill and I asked our favorite neighbors, Eric and Angie to come up for a shared tasting. But then, Angie worked her magic taking these photos. Angie is a superlative photographer.

Woah! Not only did the Breville take us to the next level of cocktail mixology; Angie and her photos took us to the next level of imagery.

You can see the step by step mixing here:
Margarita Breville prep - Photo courtesy of Angie Lambert 

Plus, there was a kismet culinary moment that is worth repeating here. My husband’s name is Bill - as I mentioned previously. I texted him about the taste treat and success of the Breville Super Q blending for the Margarita. But yikes! Shortly after my text, I received a text back from one of the most-admired celebrity chefs: Bill Telepan who is now the executive chef at Oceana Restaurant. I had the honor to interview Chef Bill Telepan again not too long ago for Garden Glamour

Boy was my face red! I hit the send to a Bill that wasn’t my husband while describing how great the Breville is! And then - because Chef Bill Telepan is so cool - he merely wrote back that he was equally enamored of the Breville. He was mixing up a smoothie in his Breville! What are the chances?! High, it turns, out. I asked Chef Bill if I could use his kismet reply in the Breville review and he agreed to OK it. I think it’s all a rather telltale recommendation about how the culinary industry’s best use -- and love -- Breville. (Surely, it was a sign, yes?)
Breville assisted Margaritas - Photo courtesy: Angie Lambert

The other ~ and final ~ test drive as part of the rigorous process was for a soup. Seriously - at this point - I knew that no matter what I could throw at the vaunted Breville to test-drive there wasn’t anything that could daunt its performance. But I wanted - daresay needed -- to continue the full-throttle review.
Photo Courtesy: Angie Lambert 

There was one other category of food and drink in order to be “thorough.” But you know when you’ve found the perfect significant other that you don’t need to search anymore? Well, it was like this. Breville had me at “corn.” Yet, I’m a diligent reporter.

The gazpacho we made from our homegrown tomatoes and garlic and was more a test of pulverizing the tomatoes; blending the herbs, spices, and more. We froze the extraordinary blend; just indulging some now in November. Isn’t that an extraordinary value-add special treat to come from using garden-fresh edibles - blended to be used as a farm-fresh dish for any time you want - in any season?

Bill just made cucumber soup the other night - for Thanksgiving.
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From this:

What did we love most about the Breville Super Q? It’s sleek. In design. And performance. The base is a marvel of ergonomic technology. Easy to read screen for speeds. Dial up or down knob. Timer stats readily visible.
Photo courtesy of: Angie Lambert 



Breville cocktail prep - Photo courtesy of Angie Lambert 

Starting with the plug. It’s one of the Breville signature features - the “Bouche” cutout base, ring pulls, plus round controls, you benefit from a complete finger control. Meaning you don’t need to “yank” the plug out of the outlet.


The Breville Assist Plug with the convenient finger hole makes it so much easier and safer to remove from the electrical outlet .
How thoughtful!

Then there is the equally thoughtful finger access on the lid. No more waffling and trying to tilt the top to take off. There’s a donut hole to allow your finger to capture the lid for ready input and pull out.

The Luxe Collection by Breville comprises 20 small kitchen appliances in four new finishes – Black Truffle (matte black), Sea Salt (matte white, the major emerging trend in appliances), Smoked Hickory (metallic dark gray) and Royal Champagne (metallic gold-tungsten) – in addition to classic Silver. The collection features Breville yet is even more elevated, expressing the company’s four core values – creativity, simplicity, excellence and insight – in its clearest voice to date.

There are so many impressive stats. The One Touch programs feature optimized time/speeds to produce the tastiest results. You can enjoy silkier dairy smoothies and smoother green smoothies thanks to the two smoothie programs. Do you know the difference?? The high pressure vacuum pump of the Breville Vac Q draws out the air from the jug before blending, to provide smoother textures, brighter colors and richer flavors to your blend.



The Super Q is compatible with the Vac Q vacuum pump. The Vac Q improves texture, colors and flavors for some of your mixes. For certain recipes flavors will be greatly enhanced providing smoother green smoothies, creamier spreads, delicate dips and silkier gazpacho soup. For milk based shakes, it's the air that's whipped through and trapped into the shake that gives that light and bubbly texture. The Vac Q is sold separately.

You can turn ice into snow with the pulse/ice crush, get creative with the frozen desserts function or make fast hot cold-to-hot soups easily with the soup one touch program.

The Smoothie blending was an eye opening, delicious experience. Do you know about microbubbles as the secret to super smoothies? Or that there is a distinction to be made for smoothies with bubbles and those sans bubbles?!

With a powerful 1800 Watt motor, the Super Q has the highest possible motor rating. With 186mph blade tip speed under load for quick results.

There are 5 one-touch settings.

There are 12, dizzying speed settings - for the vast variety of texture optimization you will explore.

The noise suppression technology is ahhhh - so welcome. I’m very sensitive to noise, so again, the folks at Breville have thought about every single customer feature…

Accessories

The Super Q comes with a Personal Blender attachment

This way, you can mix up your own sized cup to go! How thoughtful is this, too!

It features an intelligent base that automatically recognizes the vessel and optimizes performance, whether you use the 68oz jug or the personal blending on the go cup.

The Super Q also comes with a Tamper and a Spatula.
Mixing it up & Straining -  Recipe from Breville, Photo Courtesy of Angie Lambert 


Breville® Limited Product Warranty

All Breville® products have at least a one-year limited product warranty, valid from the date of purchase. Should your Breville® product have a defect in product material or workmanship within the Warranty period, Breville® will arrange to have your original product returned to us, and either deliver an identical or comparable replacement to you, free of charge or apply such other remedy as described below. Some models may have longer warranty periods on the product or specific components so please consult the individual product warranty for complete terms and conditions.

I LOVE this blender. The Super Q is indeed Super. It’s the best blender you can own or gift.

I love the respect for the food and drink this blender demonstrates. And I love that the Breville folks have engineered features into the unit that I couldn’t have dreamed of.

Thank you. Enjoy your Breville. I now want to be a card-carrying Breville brand lover.


So glamorous!