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Thursday, November 3, 2011

Blogging with the Voltaggio Brothers

Hello from Samsung headquarters in Ridgefield Park, NJ. Here with dozens of mommy bloggers, cooking bloggers and even some daddy bloggers from places like Montclair, Bayonne, Harlem, Pelham Bay in the Bronx. Samsung sent cars to pick us up and drive us home. Much better to sit in that black SUV with a polite man named Hassan @ the wheel than battle traffic on my own steam.

The Brothers--famous chefs Michael and Bryan [the former won highest honor on Bravo TV's season 6 of "Top Chef"]--cooked us Thanksgiving dinner on Samsung's new Flex Duo Oven [retail price, $1,600]. It's two ovens in one; you can bake your red velvet cupcakes at one temp and broil your flounder at another, or remove the special divider and have one big oven.

But first, Samsung revealed survey results:
  • 56. Percent of people polled who are worried about synchronizing Thanksgiving dinner so everything is ready at the same time--the green bean casserole, the turkey, the pie.
  • 45. Percent who say they'll begin their meal prep a day in advance.
  • 62. Percent who feel challenged by preparing varied side dishes at different temps [one Thanksgiving, my traditional rosemary biscuit muffins emerged hard as rocks].
We moved into the Samsung Kitchen @ 4:41 P.M. After a demo and questions, we started sampling. Such a yummy Thanksgiving dinner preview. So in the mood for the big feast now. My favorites, served on little biodegradable bamboo-style plates:
  • Roast turkey with rich, savory gravy, spooned onto flat, thick half-moons of cornbread stuffing, with a single fried sage leaf on top. This is the only dish I had two helpings of--nice with the crisp white wine.
  • Black olive brioche. Individual rolls, like little presents, so golden and buttery and gorgeous, tender and fun to pull apart. [Picky kids? The brothers said you could make a simple cinnamon sugar filling instead. And the dual oven means you could bake the two flavors at once, and they won't wind up smelling like each other.]
  • Roasted root vegetables with chimichurri sauce. 
  • Cinnamon Coffee Cake with a dainty, melty scoop of bay leaf ice cream. Yes, bay leaf. I like the uniqueness of that.
  • Individual Apple Tarte Tatin. Base was buttery good.
The brothers signed copies of their cookbook, VOLT Ink. Event's hot-potato message: The new range means less stress and a more streamlined holiday, if you take their word for it. Ovens at Lowe's and Best Buy. And though I don't like to think of myself as being spoonfed information by corporations, I'd be lying if I said I didn't like being served that succulent turkey, stuffing and brioche from a silver spoon. Best way to a blogger's heart is occasionally through her stomach.

TCOY
  1. Balance Bar.
  2. Walked Sug around block twice.
  3. Worked hard on magazine article deadline.









2 comments:

  1. Thanks Alice for taking me there, it was such fun! The food was delicious and the book is beautiful.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Lisa, I am so glad you and your friend could come. It really is invigorating to meet other bloggers, isn't it? and to see the whole process? see you soon!

    ReplyDelete