Springerle
• Using a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat the eggs until they are light and lemon-colored. Add the sugar to the eggs and continue to beat until well mixed. • Add 1 cup of flour, the anise oil and the hartshorn to the mixture and mix well. • Switch the mixer’s paddle attachment…
Gram’s Mincemeat Pies
4 8- to 9-inch pies or 18 mini pies
Holiday recipes from the Sauffice
The best part of the holidays? The food, of course. Whether new or old, each family has its own traditions, a bevy of delicious dishes that lure them into the kitchen for hours on end each winter. In our 2010 holiday guide, we gave you a brief look at what’s in the oven at several…
The Scoop: Pretzel Boys to add to local soft pretzel market
Pretzel Boys, a soft pretzel chain that was started five years ago in Philadelphia and that now totals 10 stores nationwide, is making its westward expansion. Owner Tim Garvey is setting up shop at 11750 Manchester Road in Des Peres, where he will offer carry-out and wholesale/bulk order delivery of umpteen varieties of soft pretzels,…
Extra Sauce: Holiday baking at the Sauffice
The best part of the holidays? The food, of course. Whether new or old, each family has its own traditions, a bevy of delicious dishes that lure them into the kitchen for hours on end each winter. In our 2010 holiday guide, we gave you a brief look at what’s in the oven at several…
Kourambiedes (Greek Christmas cookies)
approximately 90 cookies
Hanukkah Hamantaschen
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. • Combine sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl and set aside. Dough: • Combine vegetable oil and sugar in a bowl and beat well. • Add in eggs, one at a time, and beat well until combined. • Add juice and 9 2/3 cups flour. Filling: • Mix…
Teetotaler: Carrot smoothie at The Vine
At The Vine Mediterranean Café and Market on South Grand Boulevard, where falafel, baklava and tabouli are the main draws, it’s nice to find little treasures like fresh-pressed juices on the back page of the menu. And with the resurgence of the juicing craze, these cheap drinks are a tasty little treat. The Vine offers…
The Scoop: Quincy Street Bistro coming to South City
The doors at the historic Jimmie’s Saloon building in South City will soon reopen but, this time, it won’t be just a bar. Kevin Winkler and Mike Enright bought the building at 6931 Gravois Ave., at Quincy Street, and have done a total remodeling job in hopes of making their soon-to-open Quincy Street Bistro a…
The Scoop: What’s smokin’ at Boogaloo
When The Scoop learned back in early September that Boogaloo was up for sale, we worried it might mean we’d have to say farewell to the Maplewood restaurant. Fortunately, local restaurateur and chef Mike Johnson, who was already a minority partner in the business, recently purchased additional shares in Boogaloo, giving him controlling interest in…
Drink This Weekend Edition: Tequila dinner season begins at Espinos in Chesterfield
Espinos, the family-owned Mexican bar and grill in Chesterfield Valley, began offering tequila dinners long before imaginative multi-course meals paired with cocktails became popular. Next week marks the start of tequila dinner season at the restaurant, with Cazadores tequila featured in the glass and on the plate. Owner Roseann Espino has quite the fiesta planned…
Stocking Up: The perfect rolls for your holiday table
You probably have a culinary black sheep somewhere in your family. He’s the one who can’t cook worth a lick but, bless his heart, still wants to contribute to Thanksgiving dinner. This year, instead of choking down mushy Jell-O salad or resigning yourself to a pre-fab pumpkin pie, just assign Uncle Harold to bring bread,…
Extra Sauce: Make Miso on Meramec’s warm Japanese mushroom salad
In this month’s feature, Warming Trend, we shared how creative chefs around St. Louis are letting produce shine this season through warm salads. Now, you can make one of these hearty dishes at home. What a beautiful way to introduce some exotic new vegetables to your family’s holiday meal. For the recipe to executive chef…
More from Warming Trend
In this month’s feature, Warming Trend, we shared how creative chefs around St. Louis are letting produce shine this season through warm salads. Now, you can make one of these hearty dishes at home. What a beautiful way to introduce some exotic new vegetables to your family’s holiday meal. For more Extra Sauce from our…
Teetotaler: Water you didn’t know you needed
Not much beats pulling a coconut off a tree, cracking it open and drinking its contents with a straw. But as the cool wind begins to wipe the trees of their leaves here in the Midwest, there’s an alternative that can hold you over until that trip to Hawaii. Harvest Bay Coconut Water is a…
The Scoop: Jilly’s Cupcake Bar to expand, launch Sunday brunch buffet
Jill Segal, owner of Jilly’s Cupcake Bar and Café, is expanding her restaurant located at 8509 Delmar Blvd., near I-170. If remodeling the space next door that was formerly Winston’s Fabrics goes according to plan, the seating capacity at Jilly’s will double by mid-December. Remodeling plans include creating a room for small private events such…
Warming Trend: Local chefs turn up the heat on seasonal salads
Come autumn, when the air turns brisk and market stalls shutter for the season, fresh produce finds its way into heartier fare. For the next few months, root vegetables baked into creamy gratins, savory roasted Brussels sprouts and butternut squash puréed into a rich broth will tide vegetable-lovers over until the first signs of spring…
Drink This Weekend Edition: Sweet and savory sipping at Prime 1000
Have you stepped inside the doors at 1000 Washington Ave., yet? There’s something for everyone at Prime 1000, restaurateur Claus Schmitz’s new downtown steakhouse. Depending on your mood, you can saddle up to the bar, sit in the main dining area or hang with friends in the tucked-away lounge of the coolly transformed space that…
Stocking Up: Black walnuts
Are you nuts? If you’re in Missouri and you’re talking about black walnuts, the answer should be a resounding “yes.” That’s because the Show Me State is one of the nation’s leading producers of these full-flavored little treats. Black walnuts can be harvested in the wild, although – as we revealed in our October issue…
Sniff, Swirl, Sip … Tweet tonight at the Four Seasons
Ah, the power of technology. Over the years, technology has enabled us to see and hear things we haven’t been able to experience firsthand. But so far, we can’t exactly taste things removed from our purview. Tonight, we’ll come a touch closer to having a virtual culinary experience. Wine lovers will experience a brave new…
Traditional Treats
December is one of the best times to visit bakeries, where the sweet smells are nearly as good as the rich taste of Hanukkah doughnuts, Mexican buñuelos, Danish kringles, Italian panettone and spiced German cookies. No matter your background, you’ll want to bite into these seasonal sweets. Kringle A buttery, flaky puff pastry. An almond…
The Scoop: Jon Parker to open Delmar Farm and Food in spring 2011
Those who appreciated Jon Parker’s excellent taste in wine and artisanal foodstuffs (Remember the tasty grayish-black calamaretti nero bulk pasta?) were awfully saddened when Parker’s Table closed its doors at 8137 Maryland Ave., in Clayton in early 2009. But it’s time to uncork the good stuff and bring on the warm fuzzies because the affable…
Teetotaler: Good Earth’s Original Sweet & Spicy Tea
Judging what your cup of tea will taste like based on its smell is usually unreliable. The overpowering scent of pomegranate may be undetectable on your tongue or the vanilla you smell may taste nothing like vanilla. But Good Earth’s Original Sweet & Spicy Tea tastes just how it smells: sweet, spicy and delicious. A…
The Scoop: New wine bar to feature art, classical music
Musicians Mathew Daniels and Aaron Johnson love the arts. So when they open their new wine bar, Tavern of Fine Arts, at 313 Belt Ave., in DeBaliviere Place, art “will be reflected on the walls, on the plates and in the glass,” said Daniels. St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Joe Bonwich broke the news last week that…
Drink This Weekend Edition: Bixby’s blood orange Margarita
Apples are tasty this time of year, but we’ve chomped through a bushel already and used another to make pies and pantry perks for winter. Oranges are slowly getting there, but those round globes need a month or more to reach their peak of ripeness. Blood oranges, though, are in season and uniquely delicious when…
Recipes For Using Your Homemade Crème Fraîche
In this month’s feature A Fraîche Start, we showed you how easy and delicious it can be to make authentic crème fraîche at home. Only problem is, the recipe we provided will leave you with a hefty serving of this creamy creation. We’re here to help. We’ve dug through the extensive Sauce recipe base for…
Extra Sauce: Recipes for using your homemade crème fraîche
In this month’s feature A Fraîche Start, we showed you how easy and delicious it can be to make authentic crème fraîche at home. Only problem is, the recipe we provided will leave you with a hefty serving of this creamy creation. We’re here to help. We’ve dug through the extensive Sauce recipe base for…
A Fraîche Start: Cheese-making cultures put authentic crème fraîche within reach
There is something mysterious about authentic crème fraîche. In an age when armchair gastronomists have thoroughly deconstructed the wonders of the home kitchen, crème fraîche is a paradox: within reach, but unpredictable. Pronounced krem fresh, it’s sometimes used interchangeably with sour cream. It’s most widely known for its role in traditional French cooking, but it’s…
Charcuterie’s New Age: Modern chefs tackle the pinnacle of nose-to-tail cooking
Nashan, Craft, Galliano, Rook, Willmann, Fiala – a veritable who’s who of St. Louis chefs stood quietly in the kitchen at Sidney Street Cafe on a recent sunny Sunday afternoon. All eyes were focused on the older gent seated in the center of the room, the almost two dozen chefs listening intently. What could he…
The Scoop: Gelato Di Riso closing CWE location
Gelato Di Riso will soon close the doors at its Central West End location. Owner Susan Reis told Sauce that she is “restructuring the business and focusing only on our headquarters on The Hill.” Reis opened the location at 4663 Maryland Ave., in March 2008. In July, The Scoop reported that Reis would be closing…
Three Reasons to go see Raghavan Iyer at Wash. U. this weekend
Welcome to Three Reasons, a new online column that tells you exactly what you’ll find at various stops around St. Louis. We won’t just tell you that a new restaurant has opened, we’ll tell you what to get there. We won’t simply report that a festival is happening this weekend, we’ll tell you what parts…
Stocking Up: A locally grown gobbler for your Thanksgiving table
Thanksgiving is surely the highest of holy days for foodies and by now, your preparations are most likely in full gear. Tracked down Aunt Edna’s recipe for candied yams? Check. Debated the merits of chestnut versus cornbread stuffing ad nauseum? Check. But what about the turkey? No self-respecting foodie should settle for a frozen supermarket…
The Scoop: St. Louis Wine Market & Tasting Room to open in Chesterfield Valley
Say you like wineries but don’t really feel like driving to Augusta or Hermann. Perhaps you’ve got dinner plans at a Chesterfield restaurant but want to start the evening with a glass of wine somewhere else. Or maybe you just need to stock up on wine, beer or some quality liquor. Owners Jeff Bender, Tom…
The Scoop: VegaDeli No. 2 coming to the city
Leah and AJ Mensey, owners of popular Chesterfield vegan restaurant VegaDeli, will be inking the lease this week that will bring VegaDeli to St. Louis City. VegaDeli’s newest location will make its home at 307 and 309 Belt Ave., off of Pershing Avenue and just around the corner from Atlas Restaurant in the Skinker-DeBaliviere neighborhood.…
Extra Sauce: More from our interview with Vito Racanelli
For this month’s Five Questions column, Byron Kerman spoke with Onesto chef-owner Vito Racanelli about everything from his oversized arancini to the plans for his new restaurant – and the adorable story behind its tentative name. Now, on our Extra Sauce page, we share the rest of Kerman’s interview with the fun loving, never boring…
More From Our Interview With Vito Racanelli
You came from the Bronx to St. Louis – have you had to dial down your East Coast gruffness for our Midwestern politeness? I am the type of person that spouts the first thing that comes to mind and I’ve had to learn to watch what I say. Not everybody really wants to hear it.…
Short List Runner-Up: Onion Rings
In this month’s Short List, Sauce contributor Shannon Parker found the city’s tastiest onion rings. See who made the cut here. As we do each month, we asked Parker to share with us whose onion ring came just shy of making the top three. Whose did she slide into the fourth place slot? Sage Urban…
Teetotaler: Meet the Cubano
About halfway down the menu at The Mud House on Cherokee Street sits the Cubano. For those who aren’t familiar with the ways of the island, a Cubano is an espresso shot that’s brewed the way the Cubans do it – with sugar. There is a bit of variation on how to brew the perfect…
Extra Sauce: Short list runner-up
Each month, we scour the city for the best version of a single dish. Be it French fries or foie gras, Buffalo wings or BLTs, we report which three spots are dishing up St. Louis’ best – and exactly what we loved about them. But who says we have to pick just three? Our writers…
Breakfast of champions at The Stable
Beer geeks might want to pay special attention to what’s brewing over at The Stable Sunday, Nov. 21. That’s when the South City brewhouse, distillery and eatzzeria will tap all three varietals of the Founders Breakfast Stout. The Breakfast of Breakfasts will feature the original Founders Breakfast Stout, brewed with coffee, oats, and chocolate; Founders…
The Scoop: Mama Carlies barbecue joint to call downtown home
Here’s some news for all you downtown workers and residents looking for a new place to pick up some mean barbecue: Give Mama Carlies a call when the calendar flips to 2011. Mama Carlies is moving in at 742 S. Fourth St., near Busch Stadium in the space formerly occupied by Imo’s Pizza. The restaurant…
Drink This Weekend Edition: Araka joins STL’s craft cocktail scene
How nice it is to find yet another bar in town using freshly squeezed juice and house-made liqueurs, garnishes and infusions – even specially made ice! The bar at Araka in Clayton is the latest to get hip to the craft cocktail movement. Lead bartender Tim Kosuge, with help from Sean Thomas, is infusing liquor…
The Scoop: Former Herbie’s sous chef set to steer ship at Molly’s in Soulard
Chef Bryan Flaxbeard, whose last name has earned him the affectionate sobriquet “The Angry Pirate” among friends in the industry, is hardly a raging marauder right now. That’s because Flaxbeard has been handed the top spot at Molly’s in Soulard. Flaxbeard has been in the business for about 13 years. He spent time in the…
The Scoop: Joel Clark jumps behind Sancturia’s bar
Sanctuaria’s recent hiring of Joel Clark brings Pi’s talented bar manager to the wild tapas eatery in The Grove. As lead bartender, Clark told Sauce that he’ll be supporting bar manager Matt Seiter who has been running ragged shaking up original cocktails like Wascally Wabbit, The Prince of Jalisco and 47th Ward while also grabbing…
3 Reasons to hit up First Saturdays: Food for Thought
Welcome to Three Reasons, a new online column that tells you exactly what you’ll find at various stops around St. Louis. We won’t just tell you that a new restaurant has opened, we’ll tell you what to get there. We won’t simply report that a festival is happening this weekend, we’ll tell you what parts…
The Scoop: John Griffiths takes helm at Truffles in Ladue
John Griffiths has been hired as the executive chef at Truffles in Ladue. The career chef – he’s been in the biz since his early teens – was exec chef at An American Place when the now shuttering downtown restaurant opened in 2004, and worked as a consultant chef for private event venue Lumen as…
Gravois
1
Extra Sauce: Go behind the scenes of Operation Charcuterie
In this month’s cover story Charcuterie’s New Age, we showed you how many of St. Louis’ most talented chefs came together to learn the ins and outs of charcuterie. Now, you can see how they applied what they learned from master charcutier Fritz Sonnenschmidt in our Extra Sauce video. Go behind the scenes in the…
The Scoop: Riddles is the latest in a string of local restaurant closings
It may be flu season, but it looks like we’ve got a case of (very) bad timing. As you’ll see in our November issue, which hit the streets Monday, Old School columnist Liz O’Connor weighed in with a review of Riddles, the beloved locavore restaurant in University City. We learned today, though, that Riddles is…
More from Charcuterie’s New Age
In this month’s cover story Charcuterie’s New Age, we showed you how many of St. Louis’ most talented chefs came together to learn the ins and outs of charcuterie. Now, you can see how they applied what they learned from master charcutier Fritz Sonnenschmidt in our Extra Sauce video. Go behind the scenes in the…
Stocking Up: Top Hat Gourmet Butters
Fashionistas know that an easy way to breathe new life into an old outfit is to add accessories. A chunky necklace, sparkly bracelet or colorful scarf can brighten up any little black dress. Think of Top Hat Gourmet Butters as the perfect culinary accessory. Top Hat, a St. Louis-based company, produces four different flavors of…
Extra Sauce: Choosing the Cover
Each month, Sauce art director Meera Nagarajan thumbs through hundreds of beautiful photographs to pick the perfect image for the issue’s cover. Want to know how she landed upon this month’s? She tells all in Choosing the Cover. Also, don’t forget to check our Extra Sauce page throughout the month for more recipes, interviews, photographs…
The Scoop: Café Nura opens in Webster Groves
Starting tomorrow, the coffee hits the cups at Café Nura, the new coffeehouse and hookah bar at 117 E. Lockwood Ave., in Webster Groves. The café will serve Mississippi Mud coffee and locally baked goods, according to owner Rimla Javed, who added that she may extend the menu to sandwiches and soups for lunch at…
The Scoop: Tee’s Golf Grill will swing into Chesterfield early next year
Listen up golf fanatics: Soon there will be a place where you can practice your swing, drink a brewski and enjoy a burger. No, Tiger Woods isn’t opening a bar in St. Louis, but Tee’s Golf Grill – an interactive indoor golf center – is coming to Chesterfield Valley early next year. The bar and…
Choosing the Cover
Photographer Greg Rannells used to ride on his family’s hogs with friends after school. These days, he’s still pretty enthusiastic about his pork. Several weeks ago, Kevin Nashan, chef and owner of Sidney Street Cafe, asked Greg to document a charcuterie workshop he was hosting for chefs around St. Louis with master charcutier Fritz Sonnenschmidt.…
Review: The Absinthe Bar at Lola in St. Louis
Whether you enjoy absinthe or not, you have to love the ritual. It goes like this: The bartender pours three-quarters of a shot of pure absinthe into a glass, lays a slotted spoon and a sugar cube atop the glass, then douses the cube with the remaining shot and sets it on fire. The sugar…
Marcel Keraval takes the helm at Chez Leon
Chef Marcel Keraval has been in kitchens longer than many Sauce readers have been alive – 48 years, to be precise. Before settling in St. Louis, he cooked in his native France, in Switzerland, Canada, The Bahamas, NYC and – c’est la vérité – in Nebraska. He opened L’Auberge Bretonne with his brother-in-law, then Cafe…
Seven Winter Recipes to Warm Up Your Kitchen
Winter’s pretty darn nasty, but a hefty pork roast, braised beef, lamb stew or oven-baked chicken can chase the chill right out of the kitchen. The smells alone feed cold souls. But this year, one of my go-to flavor enhancers for cold-weather cooking, the locally made verjus from Claverach Farm, won’t be available to deglaze…
Review: Mr. B’s on The Hill
Editor’s note: Mr. B’s has closed. Part neighborhood bar, part Italian restaurant on The Hill, Mr. B’s is a joint where all types are welcome and will feel as such. In the dining room, located past the bar and around the corner, the lights dim with the kicking-on of some large appliance in the kitchen,…
Recipe: Cielo’s Caesar Fondue
Caesar salad? At Cielo? Yep, but don’t pass over it, because what arrives at the table isn’t the same old tired salad served at every bar and grill in America. Executive chef Fabrizio Schenardi’s version features baby romaine, barely grilled for just a touch of smoke, with a lemony dressing served on the side for…
Review: Grace Manor in Edwardsville
My first visit to Grace Manor in Edwardsville was a mere appetizer. Back then, August to be exact, the quaint historic home and one-time tea room served lunch and dinner, the latter being served until only 7 p.m., a time befitting a nursing home, not a restaurant this good. Dinner was from the aptly titled…
Crème Fraîche
• In a stainless steel pot, slowly heat the cream to 86 degrees. Sprinkle the starter culture on the top of the cream, let it sit for a minute to rehydrate, then stir it in with an up and down motion for about 1 minute. • Transfer the mixture to a glass jar with a…
Cured Olives
Step 1 • Taste a raw olive to know the starting point for bitterness. • Place the olives in a large bowl or ceramic crock. Fill the bowl with tap water until the olives are completely submerged. • Cover and set aside at room temperature. • Change the water daily. (Cloudy water and bubbles on…
Brasserie’s Marinated Olives
Makes 2 pounds of marinated olives
Mojo Criollo Roast Shredded Pork
10 to 12
Dashi
4 cups
Robust Olives
• Combine all of the ingredients. • Marinate in the refrigerator for a day or two to blend the flavors, stirring from time to time. 2 lbs. assorted olives (cerignola, arbequina, barnier picholine, kalamata) Zest and juice of 2 oranges and 2 lemons 5 sprigs fresh thyme 3 or 4 bay leaves ½ tsp. chile…
Finally, a list a locavore will love
As a big supporter of Missouri wines, I always look for them on local wine lists. And I’m usually disappointed, as many restaurants don’t include them among their offerings. Every month, I pontificate about the virtues of local wines and go into tirades about how restaurants preach about local farmers but don’t support local wineries.…
Holiday Gift Guide: The baker
For more gift ideas: The Home Cook, The Food Snob, The Home Cook and The Merrymaker THE BAKER Bakers are fun to shop for, as they do love their toys, whether decorative or purely functional. But the best part is, the more cool presents you buy for the bakers in your life, the more likely…
Holiday Gift Guide: The food snob
For more gift ideas: The Baker, The Home Cook, The Locavore and The Merrymaker THE FOOD SNOB Is he a food snob? Or just someone with incredibly good taste? There’s a fine line between snobbery and high standards, and we’re sure the gourmand on your list falls firmly into the latter. Someone who knows the…
Holiday Gift Guide: The locavore
For more gift ideas: The Baker, The Food Snob, The Home Cook and The Merrymaker THE LOCAVORE What to get the locavores on your list? They’ve already stocked their larders with Missouri wine, locally roasted coffee and plenty of jam from the farmers’ market. Tickle their little local hearts with any one of these Missouri-made…
More from the November issue
Welcome to Extra Sauce, where we give you more from our current issue. Visit this page throughout the month for all the recipes, interviews, photos and video that we couldn’t fit on the pages of our November issue. Find out how Sauce art director Meera Nagarajan chose this month’s cover. Read more from Byron Kerman’s…
Sip Scotch From Shuttered Stills
What do Port Ellen, Rosebank and Littlemill have in common? Yes, they are all brands of single-malt scotches, but they also fall into a special category: silent stills. Silent stills are distilleries that have been closed – even demolished – or mothballed, meaning that production has stopped for an extended period of time. Although thousands…
The Uncommon Cure: Brining your own olives unleashes the possibilities for this kitchen staple
As pears, pumpkins and late-fall apples find their way into cozy soups and rich desserts at this time of year, it can be easy to overlook another fruit harvested from the end of October through November – the olive. But no one forgets olive season at Extra Virgin, an Olive Ovation in Clayton, an artisan…
Short List: Onion rings
While even the best onion rings probably won’t propel you onto a quest of Tolkien-ian proportions – there’s no one ring to rule them all – they can serve as the ideal french fry alternative or stand alone as an appetizer. Thinner rings allow the batter and onion to stay intact as you bite through…
Holiday Gift Guide: The merry maker
For more gift ideas: The Baker, The Food Snob, The Home Cook and The Locavore THE MERRY MAKER ‘Tis the season for tippling. This year, our eyes are on stunning stemware, cool bar accessories that make stirring and shaking oh so merry, plus a potation or two to brighten your spirits even more. 1. The…
Teetotaler: The Lemon-Lime Rickey
The problem with high-fructose corn syrup is that, well, it tastes like high-fructose corn syrup. It has an aftertaste that stays with you, turning the initial sweetness into something less pleasant than what first hits your taste buds. That may be one reason why Empire Bottling Works makes its line of sodas with 100 percent…
