According to the Food Section, Italians are expected to eat 40 million panettone this holiday season. What is panettone? A holiday sweet bread originating from Milan dotted with dried fruit, usually rum raisins and bits of citron.

Example of generic panettone in a red box

When the supermarket has red boxes of pre-packaged panettone stacked to the ceiling, it’s a strong indicator that the Holiday season is in full swing. Having heard tales of dry, stale and dense panettone, I’ve been hesitant to invest in some for myself. Luckily, my friend Gary, who works at Grandaisy Bakery, gifted me a loaf and I’ve been carving away at it like a turkey on Thanksgiving day.

Panettone from Grandaisy Bakery

Studded with zesty citron and plump rum raisins, and enhanced with a touch of honey, the panettone at Grandaisy is freshly baked. This panettone is perfect to soak up your morning coffee with but light and airy enough to eat on its own; totally unlike what I imagined panettone to be. When storing panettone, make sure to keep it wrapped tightly to prevent it from becoming hard and stale. Ok, now that I’m getting hungry, time to carve a slice for breakfast. Ciao!

Grandaisy Bakery
212.334.9435

73 Sullivan Street
New York, NY 10012

176 West 72nd Street
New York, NY 10023

250 West Broadway (at Beach St.)
New York, NY 10013

Rachel Yang, Akira Back, Youngsun Lee, Andrew Chang, and Tommy Lee

Don’t let her sweet demeanor deceive you, Rachel Yang makes some serious food.  She and her husband Seif own Joule Restaurant in Wallingford, Washington, where seasonal ingredients, French techniques, and Korean flavors take center stage, coming together harmoniously to create magical tastes that transcend cultural boundaries.

The first bite of Rachel’s smoked tofu with Honshimeiji confit and wild sesame seeds delivered a powerful smoky flavor, bearing close resemblance —in both taste and texture—to smoked mozzarella.  The smoky tofu slab was topped with a bed of Honshimeiji mushroom confit, then sprinkled with a chiffonade of basil, wild sesame seeds, and a drizzle of tart soy truffle vinegarette.

A trio of pickled beef tongue, braised kohlrabi and quail egg was shuffled into small wooden boats and quickly swept away by the hungry masses.  Pickling was a especially interesting way to prepare beef tongue, an ingredient commonly found stuffed into tacos or sliced like deli meat and stacked inside sandwiches.

Rum raisin and chestnut honey sweet rice fruit cake was a deliciously sticky orgy of glutinous rice, rum raisins, diced jujubes, and nuts topped with a dash of course sea salt and microgreens for embellishment, then generously drizzled with chestnut honey.

Previously a professional snowboarder shredding the slopes in Colorado, Akira Back now tears it up in Las Vegas, where he helms the kitchen and wields the sushi knives at Yellowtail Restaurant and Lounge in the Bellagio Hotel and Resort.  You can usually find him slicing up fat blue fin tunas freshly shipped from Japan in his army pants and bright blue Etnies kicks and mixing things up, often times throwing in ingredients on his menu that are probably more familiar at a Korean restaurant.

Kwang Eo with caviar and Gochujang sauce were meticulously laid out onto each plate beneath a delicate bed of micro cilantro and micro bulls blood beet greens.  Although this dish seemed fairly simple to make,  sake, mirin, and 7up were all stirred in with gochujang, a fermented Korean chili paste, to create a spicy effervescent concoction.

Youngsun Lee stays true to Korean flavors and culinary techniques in his cooking.  When asked by MC Vivian Lee why he chose cooking as his profession, he explained his mission to educate more people about Korean cuisine and culture.  Previously the chef and owner of Persimmon in the East Village, he is now teaches at the Institute of Culinary Education, his alma mater.

A sliver of braised pork belly “bo ssam”, moo woo kimchi, salted napa cabbage and baby shrimp.  The salty pork belly and spicy and tart kimchi are a winning combination.

A mild and creamy concoction of eggplant with tofu dressing, or “ga ji neng jo rim” in Korean, consists of slow-cooked eggplant, silken tofu and black sesame counterbalanced with crunchy black and white bits of fried rice cake.

Braised until tender, the grilled octopus salad, or “moon eo goo yi”, is paired with water chestnut, shallot, and pickled Asian plums.

Andrew Chang was born and raised in New York and is the newly appointed sous chef at the Central Park Boathouse.  He is Korean by heritage but 100% New York at heart — with a downright fierce devotion to the Yankees and a sleeve full of witty remarks.  Founder and president of the Global Culinary Society at his alma mater, the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, it is apparent that New York’s global culinary landscape is a major source of his inspiration.

Andrew’s pumpkin porridge with dried jujube, pumpkin seed oil, and roasted chestnuts had the texture and viscosity of a hearty butternut squash soup.  The bits of dried jujube and roasted chestnuts bring a nice sweetness to the soup when mixed together.

Having gone to Vietnam with Andrew and other student chefs for a culinary tour over four years ago, I still have vivid memories of all the delicious food we had while we were there.  Seeing a summer roll reinterpreted with Korean ingredients and flavors brought back nostalgic Vietnam moments and was a very welcome surprise.  Andrew’s version of summer rolls were filled with bulgogi in a shallow pool of spicy pineapple ginger dipping sauce.

Last but not least was Tommy Lee of Battery Gardens in New York.  Accustomed to catering to dignitaries and top political figures, he veered away from his usual repertoire and turned to his Korean roots for some inspiration.

Miniature pork and kimchi raviolis were a perfect mouth-popping size.

photo by Kathy YL Chan
More mini raviolis; these sweet versions are filled with red bean paste over a dollop of whipped cream, topped with crystallized ginger and a sprig of cilantro.

photo by Kathy YL Chan
Lollypop-sized Korean style barbecue lamb chops.

At the end of the night, while everyone was cleaning and packing up their belongings, Rachel approached me and asked, “Veronica, what should I do with this bucket of beef tongue?  This can keep for a while, since it’s pickled, and I would hate to throw it away.”  And just like that, I went home with a bucket of tongue.