Decanting Wine | New York

Decant a Bottle of Wine

Wine Drinking 101

Sure, decanting wine makes you look sophisticated. But if you don’t know what you’re doing, it can have the opposite effect.

Patrick Watson, founder of Brooklyn Wine Exchange, shows the proper technique for separating vino from sediment. Be sure to have a candle on hand.

Is there something you wanna learn how to do? Submit ideas to easydoesit@dailycandy.com.

Next Video: Chocolate Fondue Recipe

Chocolate Fondue Recipe

Easy Instructions from Tribeca Treats

Nothing warms the soul — and impresses friends — like a melty pot o’ fondue (preferably served with strawberries). Best part: You need only a few ingredients and ten minutes.

Need more to satisfy your sweet tooth? Check out our video recipes for devil’s food cake, marshmallow icing, and hot cocoa. For other great ideas from Rachel Thebault, preorder her book (out October 26).

Next Video: Devil's Food Cake Recipe

Homemade Hot Cocoa

Easy Instructions from Tribeca Treats

You don’t realize how good hot chocolate can be until you make it yourself (no offense, Swiss Miss). Make a big batch and package it as a gift, or be kind to yourself and spike it with bourbon.

Need more to satisfy your sweet tooth? Check out our video recipes for devil’s food cake, marshmallow icing, and chocolate fondue. For other great ideas from Rachel Thebault, preorder her book (out October 26).

Next Video: Marshmallow Icing Recipe

Devil's Food Cake Recipe

Easy Instructions from Tribeca Treats

Rachel Thebault, founder and head confectioner of Tribeca Treats, swears this dessert is so easy you won’t reserve it just for birthdays. Perfectly rich and moist, it takes less than an hour from start to finish. Don’t forget to make some marshmallow icing while it’s baking.

Need more to satisfy your sweet tooth? Check out our video recipes for chocolate fondue and hot cocoa. For other great ideas from Rachel Thebault, preorder her book (out October 26).

Marshmallow Icing Recipe

Easy Instructions from Tribeca Treats

Obviously, you can’t serve your devil’s food cake and cupcakes without icing. Whip up this simple recipe, top with graham cracker crumbs, and you’ve got yourself a s’mores-type situation.

Need more to satisfy your sweet tooth? Check out our video recipes for chocolate fondue and hot cocoa. For other great ideas from Rachel Thebault, preorder her book (out October 26).

Next Video: Daniel Boulud Makes the Perfect Stove-Top Burger

Daniel Boulud Makes the Perfect Stove-Top Burger

Chef Daniel Boulud Shares His Hamburger Recipe

The French have a way with the classics. Case in point: Daniel Boulud’s simple, perfect burger.

In this video, renowned chef and owner of DBGB proffers his tips for an amazing stove-top burger, whether your stove is electric or gas (grills being not so common in New York). Besides a heat source and a good cast-iron pan, all you really need are fresh ingredients and a little know-how — and some Dijon mustard, bien sur.

We tried it at home, and let us say, this is one good burger. Start now, and you’ll be a pro by Labor Day.

Hungry for more? Check out recipes from other famous chefs, four picnic-perfect dishes, and Sophie Dahl’s to-die-for asparagus soup.


	Up to 65% off Noir When it comes to edgy-glam jewelry, Noir is anything but in the dark. A celeb favorite, the line is chockful of must-own statement pieces at up to 65% off today on Swirl.

Next Video: The Easiest Fish Recipe Ever, No Stove Required

The Easiest Fish Recipe Ever, No Stove Required

Nuela South American Restaurant Opens in the Flatiron District

Shockingly, South America is out of the World Cup. But it’s not out of the limelight.

Nuela, a South American restaurant and cevicheria, is soft opening next Monday in the Flatiron District after almost a year of delays — and we think it’s been well worth the wait.

For proof, check out today’s video featuring a simple and refreshing salmon ceviche recipe from chef Adam Schop. All you really need are a handful of Key limes, salt, apples, and onions (all the celery-based ingredients are optional). And, perhaps, the magical touch of a chef schooled in the cuisines of Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela.

Or you could just visit the restaurant, a 200-seat space dreamed up by fashion designer Angel Sanchez, where you can find dishes like smoked brisket arepas with plantains and black beans and pork and rock shrimp empanadas. With more than fifteen types of ceviche — mackeral, hamachi, tuna — it’s a great place to share.

So everyone comes out a winner.

Nuela, 43 West 24th Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues, Flatiron District (212-929-1200 or nuelany.com).

Up to 50% off Gustto
Graced with sophisticated hardware, designer Agathe Planchon’s lush leather bags are the perfect accessories for seizing the day (or night). Go for the Gustto — at up to 50% off — on our sample sale site.

Next Video: Mom's Cucumber Salad

Mom's Cucumber Salad

Perfect Picnic Recipes from Tamara Reynolds

Nothing cools the senses like crisp cukes. We made this recipe with low-fat sour cream, and it still tasted like something unhealthily delicious. Bingo.

For more easy-as-pie ideas, buy Reynolds’s book online at amazon.com or check out her blog.

Next Video: Watermelon Feta Salad

Watermelon Feta Salad

Perfect Picnic Recipes from Tamara Reynolds

What would an alfresco fete be without sweet, juicy melon? Adding tangy feta proves our theory that cheese makes even the best things better.

For more easy-as-pie ideas, buy Reynolds’s book online at amazon.com or check out her blog.

Next Video: Boozy Figs and Peaches

Boozy Figs and Peaches

Perfect Picnic Recipes from Tamara Reynolds

Who says you can’t drink in the park? Immerse figs and peaches in rum, and you’ll be, in Reynolds’s words, “all the wiser.” We like her style.

For more easy-as-pie ideas, buy Reynolds’s book online at amazon.com or check out her blog.

Next Video: Salty Potatoes

Salty Potatoes

Perfect Picnic Recipes from Tamara Reynolds

It may not be the prettiest finger food, but it’s a universal picnic-pleaser. We like to think of it as nonfried French fries that won’t get soggy in the sun.

For more easy-as-pie ideas, buy Reynolds’s book online at amazon.com or check out her blog.

Next Video: A Southern-Fried Version of Habana Outpost

A Southern-Fried Version of Habana Outpost

Goods Restaurant Opens in Williamsburg

It sounds like the beginning of a bad Jeff Foxworthy bit: What do you get when you put three handsome Southern boys in an old trailer home on a dirty corner lot?

But Goods, a Williamsburg restaurant where all the food is prepared in a shiny, refurbished 1946 Spartan trailer, is no joke (and the 3rd Ward guys behind it are mighty clever). Chef Alex McCrery, the star of our video, turns out tasty, south of the M-D line fare that’s almost all locally sourced or made in-house.

Starting today, he’s serving breakfast (egg, bacon, and cheese biscuits; beignets) and lunch/dinner (hot dogs, burgers, fish and chips) from the window. Ten days from now, you’ll be able to eat in the adjacent garden, a complete overhaul of the lot that’s been vacant for years.

And with everything priced at less than $11, we predict it will become your go-to in B’burg. That is, if you’re smarter than a fifth grader.

Goods, 571 Lorimer Street, at Metropolitan Avenue, Williamsburg (347-763-1622 or goodsfood.com).

Up to 50% off E.vil Tees
E.vil takes basics up a notch with sparkly details and cheeky phrases. Pick up the label’s sweet-meets-badass tees while they’re up to 50% off on our sample sale site.

Next Video: The Perfect Gin Gimlet

The Perfect Gin Gimlet

Cocktail Recipes from Employees Only

The Employees Only bartenders have been on the pouring side of more tipsy evenings than we can remember. Literally. And now that they’re selling their own brand of cocktail mixers, you can emulate their best-in-the-biz cocktails at home. Near your bed. Which is good.

In today’s videos, they teach you how to make the perfect gin gimlet (above), tequila daisy, and upgraded Tom Collins — using their new, all-natural lime cordial and/or grenadine.

The mixers are almost tasty enough to guzzle on their own. They’re made with real pomegranate and lime and sweetened with sugar and agave nectar, not high-fructose corn syrup.

We hear more flavors are on the way, but for now they’re keeping ’em an employees-only secret.

Available at Employees Only, 510 Hudson Street, between Christopher and West 10th Streets (212-242-3021 or employeesonlynyc.com). For more great recipes, check out our Drunk Punch Love photo gallery.

this week on swirl!

Up to 80% off Chaiken
SF designer Julie Chaiken is famous for her expertly fitted slacks. Load up on those and more (sleek LBDs, cashmere cardis, swanky silk tops) while they’re up to 80 percent off on our sample sale site.

Next Video: A Delightful Tom Collins Variation

A Delightful Tom Collins Variation

Cocktail Recipes from Employees Only

Who was Tom Collins? We don’t know, but we’re sure he was a great man. To honor him, the guys at Employees Only put together a slight variation of his eponymous drink using their own brand of grenadine. The result: delicious.

Mixers available at Employees Only, 510 Hudson Street, between Christopher and West 10th Streets (212-242-3021 or employeesonlynyc.com). Keep the party going: Learn how to make a gin gimlet, tequila daisy, and more.

Next Video: A Terrific Tequila Daisy

A Terrific Tequila Daisy

Cocktail Recipes from Employees Only

Nothing gets a party started like tequila. Especially when it’s combined with Employees Only-brand grenadine and lime cordial. In this video, learn how to make a crowd-pleasing tequila daisy.

Mixers available at Employees Only, 510 Hudson Street, between Christopher and West 10th Streets (212-242-3021 or employeesonlynyc.com). Don’t stop here: Learn how to make a gin gimlet, Tom Collins, and more.

Next Video: Pizza a Casa: Pizza Self-Sufficiency Center

Pizza a Casa: Pizza Self-Sufficiency Center

DIY the Best Pie Ever

Pizza: Even when it’s $1.50-slice-from-Tony’s Down the Block bad, it’s pretty good. And as dozens of artisanal, Naples-trained, wood-fire-building, San Marzano-using obsessives have recently demonstrated, a fresh, hot pie can be ambrosial.

Thing is, you have to wait in line for that. But you can skip the queue after taking a class at Pizza a Casa: Pizza Self-Sufficiency Center, where you’ll learn to make your own.

Founder/pizza scientist Mark Bello, featured in today’s video, has honed his skills for more than fifteen years (he estimates his annual slice intake to be in the thousands). During the four-hour class, you’ll learn all his secrets, from the best way to roll dough to when to add herbs for optimal flavor.

You can also host parties for up to twelve in the tchotchke-filled space. We predict it’ll be the new go-to for birthday celebrations. Just wear an elastic waistband.

Pizza a Casa: Pizza Self-Sufficiency Center, 371 Grand Street, between Essex and Norfolk Streets (212-228-5483 or pizzaacasa.com). Tickets ($150) available online at zerve.com.

Music: Courtesy of Michael Beharie

Up to 65% off Amrita Singh
Notes on a sandal: Amrita Singh’s easy footwear — in neon brights to earthy metallics — is perfect for warm weather. Swirl’s 65% discount will put some extra spring in your step.

Next Video: Open a Bottle of Wine

Open a Bottle of Wine

Wine Drinking 101

It’s a dead giveaway that you’re not a connoisseur: bits of cork in the wine.

Learn how to avoid the situation with help from Patrick Watson, owner of Brooklyn Wine Exchange.

Is there something you wanna learn how to do? Submit ideas to easydoesit@dailycandy.com.

Next Video: Decant a Bottle of Wine

Decant a Bottle of Wine

Wine Drinking 101

Sure, decanting wine makes you look sophisticated. But if you don’t know what you’re doing, it can have the opposite effect.

Patrick Watson, founder of Brooklyn Wine Exchange, shows the proper technique for separating vino from sediment. Be sure to have a candle on hand.

Is there something you wanna learn how to do? Submit ideas to easydoesit@dailycandy.com.

Next Video: Make Asparagus Soup with Sophie Dahl

Make Asparagus Soup with Sophie Dahl

Welcome to the Dahl House

There’s something irresistible about watching thin, beautiful people stuff their faces full of grub.

Which explains our love for Sophie Dahl, the former hotshot model-turned-chef whose unabashed love for all things delicious inspired her new cookbook, Miss Dahl’s Voluptuous Delights.

In today’s video, the lovely Brit — whose knack for writing might come from her grandfather, Roald Dahl — teaches us how to make an unbelievably tasty and simple asparagus soup with Parmesan. And you won’t believe there’s no cream involved.

Other recipes from the book include rice pudding with peach puree, pasta puttanesca, fish soup, Eton mess with rhubarb, and flourless chocolate cake. Charming/funny stories abound.

Talk about having yours and eating it, too.

Available online at amazon.com. For more detailed instructions, recipes, and pictures from Miss Dahl’s Voluptuous Delights, check out our photo gallery.

Music: John Gold

Next Video: Drink Wine like a Pro

Drink Wine like a Pro

Head of the Glass

You should like your wine how you like your men: full-bodied, fragrant, mature, and sweet on the tongue.

So how come you keep drinking the vino equivalent of Spencer Pratt?

Stop settling and watch today’s Easy Does It video, in which we teach you the four things you should notice — and enjoy — when drinking reds and whites. Helping us out: Patrick Watson, the connoisseur behind Stinky Bklyn, Smith & Vine, The Jakewalk, and the new Brooklyn Wine Exchange.

Watson just opened a jazzy learning center at the Exchange, where he and others will teach courses on topics ranging from Spanish varietals to cheese pairings.

You might even meet your soul mate.

Brooklyn Wine Exchange, 138 Court Street, between Atlantic Avenue and Pacific Street, Cobble Hill (718-855-9463 or brooklynwineexchange.com). Wine classes held the first Wednesdays and Thursdays of every month (times vary) and most Saturdays at 4 p.m.

Photo: Courtesy of Brooklyn Wine Exchange
Music: Courtesy of The Morning Pages and Small Black