Cookstr image by www.cookstr.comMargot and I had the great fun of attending a party, celebrating the launch of a new website called Cookstr. Cookstr concentrates on all sorts of recipes, written by accomplished chefs and cookbook authors. There's a plethora of recipes on the site right now--and they plan to update it with new content each day!
Browsing through the site yesterday and today, I liked what I saw. Cookstr's look is clean and the site is easy to navigate. You can search according to different criteria such as author, price, cost, skill level, whether the food is kid friendly--and basically anything and everything that you can think of. What I like about it is that the recipes tend to be short and there's a picture of almost every dish. I saw a lot of good Thanksgiving suggestions on their homepage, so if you need help in that area, use this for inspiration.
Now I also want to mention the party venue, Pasanella and Son, Vintners, located Downtown on South Street. I'm not very familiar with this neighborhood but last night's visit definitely peaked my interest. There were so many nice shops and restaurants on South Street, that I'm going to have to check them out when the weather gets warmer.
Pasanella is a quaint and very special kind of wine store. The building that it's housed in dates back to 1839 and you can definitely feel the rich history as soon as you walk in. Exposed beams, brick walls and an antique car embellish the main room, intriguing you to peruse every corner of this intricate wine shop.
Boasting over 400 wines from whites, reds and sparkling, Pasanella has it all. They merchandise their wines especially well, as each bottle is displayed strategically and even has suggestion cards/signs, showing why a particular wine is the perfect wedding gift, Thanksgiving complement or an aphrodisiac.
We walked past the main room into a private tasting room, which really impressed us. The antique look continued here, as everything was tastefully decorated with simple candles, photographs and paintings. They had an assortment of nice hors d' oeuvres such as cured meats and cheeses, focaccia bread and even dessert, consisting of shortbread cookies and good quality dark chocolate. Everything tasted delicious because it was fresh yet simple and not overdone.
The evening was a lot of fun and I'll gladly return to Pasanella to buy good wine and maybe even stop in for a tasting--they have them every Saturday from 2 p.m. - 5 p.m.
Oh and one more thing...we had local celebrity sighting, as we saw Tamara and Zora from Astoria's Sunday Night Dinner. They're working ferociously on their upcoming cookbook and are busy testing all sorts of recipes. It was fun to see them and I wish them much success for their awaited book launch!
Pasanella and Son, Vintners - 115 South Street, New York, NY 10038
212.233.8383
A, C, 2, 3, 4 or 5 Train to Fulton Street/Broadway-Nassau Stop
www.pasanellaandson.com
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