April Showers

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Bringing up (or out) baby! 

Spring arrived in true style this season here at The Supper Model. We began the warming weather with a slew of April Showers, which we found fitting and truly appropriate. Here are some wonderful sweet shots from a recent Upper East Side baby shower....

We were tickled pink to be asked to create this mother-to-be's first baby shower and many thanks go out to our lovely Sweet Genius, Dani Fiori of Sweet Dani B, who created these custom theme colored Animal Menagerie cookies for take home favors for all the guests!

Our Mocha Chocolate Baby Birds Nest Cupcakes made for a decadent and delightful dessert!

Creating the theme and setting the scene...

~Love and kisses, kids and cookies~

TSM for Toddlers...

Darcy Jones

Words to EAT by

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Join TSM!

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The Supper Model is looking for experienced servers to join our growing team. We have some exciting events and *weddings* coming up and are looking for affable, hard working folks in the NYC area. If you are interested or know someone who may be we would love to hear from you!

Send us a note and/or forward your resume to: info@thesuppermodel.com

Thanks and look forward to hearing from you!

Go Green

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In honor of the greenest of all holidays and the greatest of all excuses to eat, drink, and be merry we are working on our tabletop tricks and talent to set the perfect mood for tonight's Sunday Supper. Hoping the luck of the Irish is on our side this day, we've put together an ambitious English/Irish feast to live up to the over-the-top table setting!

The roast is on, the potatoes are in progress, and the soda bread is baking, so while the meat stews and the beer brews we're taking a little time out to wish you luck and a very Happy St Patricks Day.

Guid Forder!

Food From The Heart

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Happy Valentines Day! What's that you say? Yes it's today! Did you.... forget?

For many, holidays seem to sneak right up on us leaving us stammering, stumped, and searching for last minute gifts, cards, and reservations.  But this Valentine's Day why not forget all that manic-panicked last minute craze. Life is hectic as is it- holidays are a time to slow down. So why not do just that, and surrender yourself to The Supper Model?

Our Valentine's Day moto:

Think simple not sinful, and praise taste over waste(d) calories that is...

Yes, prepare a Vegan Valentine's Day Dessert for the one you love and show him or her how deeply you care.Making my Macerated Berries with Lemon Cashew "Cream" is a labor of love in the modern sense: easy to prepare, ready in no time, and good for those you choose to share it with. This healthy dessert is wealthy in taste and texture, and after you try it you may think cream an ingredient of the past!

Macerated Berries with Meyer Lemon Cashew "Cream"

Serves 2

Ingredients

1 pint organic blueberries

1 pint organic raspberries

1-2 pints organic strawberries

1 pint organic blackberries

honey or agave nectar

balsamic vinegar

For the Cashew "Cream":

2 cups lightly roasted raw cashews

2 cups fresh pressed or organic apple juice or white grape juice (you can also use fresh orange juice in a pinch)

zest of 1 meyer lemon

juice of 1/2 meyer lemon

mint to garnish

Method

1. Rinse and pat dry all berries and place them in a bowl. In a separate small bowl, drizzle a scant amount of honey or agave (just shy of a tablespoon if using honey, a tsp if using agave) and even less of the balsamic vinegar. Whisk together, pour over the berries, tossing them gently with you fingers just to coat. Cover and place the bowl of berries in the refrigerator till ready to serve.

2. Meanwhile lightly toast the cashew in a dry pan till you begin to just smell the nuts. Then pour them into the bowl of a food processor fitted with a large blade. Pulse to bring the cashews to a corse grind, and begin to drizzle in the apple or grape juice. After 1 cup is added. Squeeze in the meyer lemon juice, and taste to determine texture. *You want to reach a heavy wet consistency a bit runnier than creamy almond butter* Add more apple or grape juice as needed, and process long enough to get the cashews to a fine grind. 

3. Add the lemon zest and pulse once more. Decant the cashew "cream" in a jar or bowl, cover and place in the fridge for at least and hour, if you can, to cool and stiffen up to the desired texture.

4. To serve, spoon a few heaping tablespoons of the macerated berries into a shallow bowl. cover with 3 tablespoons of the Lemon Cashew "Cream" and garnish with a small mint leaf cluster, placed in the center. Savor and enjoy.

So this holiday give that someone special a gift both from and FOR the heart.

With love and kisses,

Darcy Jones

The SUPPER Bowl

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Last minute guests? Went through all the chips and dips during the Superdome's power outage? Fear not here are my ultimate go-to, stand-by, must-have hors d'oeuvres:

In-the-clutch Chicken Curry Bites 

I have no doubt that once you've made them, they will quickly become a staple of your own home- turf fare!

Easy, elegant, fun, and a cinch to put together: all you need is 10 minutes, a few ingredient staples and an oven. Et voila! Restaurant quality bites perfect for the best of all, or just any, ball games. Here, tender shredded white and dark chicken mixed with an array of chopped dried fruits, celery, spice, and a Dairy Free sauce fill crispy baked wonton cups to provide a single bite that has it all.

I provided my base recipe, but I am often mixing it up depending on what I'm in the mood for or what I've got on hand! For a sweeter bite I'll add a splash of coconut milk or a tablespoon of coconut yogurt to the mix and top the finished cup with toasted shredded coconut. In the fall, I add finely diced apple, a pinch of ground cardamon and cinnamon, and a splash of cider vinegar. And in summer I substitute the lemon juice with lime juice, double the amount of cilantro, and add a deseeded finely chopped red chili pepper.

CLUTCH Curry Chicken Cups
makes 20-24 cups

Ingredients
1 package Wonton square wrappers
Grapeseed oil spray

Filling
breast and leg meat from 1 roasted chicken, skinned and shredded
1/3 cup dried currants
1/3 cup chopped dried apricots
1/4 cup finely sliced celery
 heaping 1/3 cup Veganaise (more or less depending on what texture you prefer your chicken salad)
1 tsp dijon mustard
1/2 tsp honey
juice of 1/2 a lemon
1 tablespoon curry powder
3-5 grates of fresh nutmeg
3 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro
3 spring onions, finely sliced
1 tablespoon pickled ginger finely diced
salt and pepper to taste

Toasted sesame seeds or black sesame seeds to garnish

Method
1. Preheat oven to 375 degree F. Spray grease 1 large or 2 small mini muffin tins. Place one wonton wrapper in each cup pressing down the center and allowing the sides curl making various flower like shapes. Brush gently with a little vegetable or olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

2. Bake wonton cups for approximately 8 minutes, or until the top edges are slightly brown and the bottom of the cup if cooked through. Remove and let cool in cups.

3. To make the filling, simply slice, dice and shred accordingly and place all the filling ingredients in large bowl. Mix gently and just till incorporated. Taste and season to your liking. Cover the filling with plastic wrap and let chill as long as possible (30min or an hour is preferable).

4. To serve simply place the tray of wonton cups in the microwave for 20-30 seconds, scoop in the curry chicken filling and sprinkle the sesame seeds of your choice over the tops. Serve, eat, and enjoy.

Because game fare shouldn't be unfair to your figure...

XOXO

Rawk The New Year

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While we've said adieu to advent,

And watched Christmas slip away,

One can't ignore approaching sounds,

For New Year's on it's way!

Each year I seem to love the days between Christmas and New Year's Eve more and more. Family lingures, work subsides, movies are watched, leftovers are eaten, games are played, lives are shared, and for a brief moment time feels still. It's those 5 days in between holidays that in my mind make the holidays.

And as they say, what you do in those last days of the year effects what the year ahead will look like. Whether traveling, exploring, relaxing, or decompressing: whatever you're doing to occupy these final moments of 2012 I garuntee you spend a least a moment of it reflecting.

This year, I'm spending my Final Five on the west coast of Florida with my husband, two corgis, and my in laws. Looking out onto the Gulf of Mexico each morning and watching sunsets over the vast blue water and white sand each evening truly lends itself to meditation and self reflection.

This year health has been the number one thought on my mind. In fact health almost entirely sums up my 2012, and with 2013 right on the horizon line, I can't help but notice how much this concern has changed me: My Vegan 75 experiment has now become a natural habit, a near religion really as my recuperating system is constantly seeking calm, balance, soothing and strength from everything I eat, do, and practice.

And I'm not the only one with wealth in health on the top of the list. My in laws are in the process of switching over to the Paleo Diet. Paleo, otherwise known as the Caveman diet, in short ellimenates diary, legumes, grains, and processed foods replacing them with meat, poultry, fish, vegetables, and fruit: essentially clean foods prepared simply. And so as a guest this holiday I find myself adventuring in the 'Land of Paleo'... and as a lactose- intolerant and almost Vegan I must say that this sojourn has inspired, challenged, and enlightened my work and knowledge as a chef, cook, and consumer.

And so here is an excerpt from my diary on day one of this quest to conquer the Paleolithic Plate and Palate...the only way this Supper Model knows how:

My Chocolate Peppermint Paleo Pudding is a living raw food, packed with protein, omega 3's, and loads of good stuff. Antioxidants and alkalinizing ingredients make me question whether or not I can even call it a dessert, but despite its non traditional composition, this seasonal treat is only sinfully good tasting, and would give any holiday homecooked pudding a run for it's recipe...

Chocolate Peppermint Paleo Pudding
Serves 4

 

Ingredients

3 ripe avocados
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
3 tbsps dense organic almond butter (I like Justin's Original Almond Butter)
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp fresh ground nutmeg
2 tsps strong coffee or espresso (room temp)
generous pinh of sea salt
3/4 tsp peppermint extract
1/4 cup and 2 tbsps Raw Cocao Powder
1/4 cup raw honey

Garnish
2 packages organic raspberries (you will need 40-50 raspberries)
fresh mint leaves

Method
1. In the bowl of a food processor place the hulled avocado flesh (pit removed) and 1 tablespoon lemon juice. Pulse until the avocado is just smooth. It is important to use ripe avocados so that no hard chunks of avocado remain. Add the remaining ingredients and process to combine (be sure not to over process.
2. Scoop out all the pudding mixture into a meduim mixing bowl and with a spatula continue to fold the ingredients until fully combined and a pudding texture is acheived. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let refridgerate for at least an hour, 3-4 is best. This can also be made the night before.
3. 1 hour before serving re-stir the chilled pudding to slightly whip up the teture. Scoop even amounts of pudding into serving glasses or dishes and gently smooth out the top insuring that the pudding has settled a bit into the dish. Top with 10-12 fresh raspberries and place a small mint leaf in the center for contrast. Present and ponder how on earth this tastes the way it does...translation: it's GOOD!

*Optional For a  Very Sweet Tooth : Before placing the raspberries a top the pudding you can sprinkle them with a touch of Splenda or a tiny tiny pinch of raw Stevia powder stiring lightly to dissolve the sweatener.

Love and best dishes from my Paleolithic Plate to yours,

 

 

 

 

 

Darcy Jones

RED Christmas

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A little Dasher, a little Dancer, and whole lot of Blitzen! Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good nightcap...

Peace, Love, and Joy

Darcy Jones

L'Infusion

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Maintaining your health throughout the holiday season can seem impossible these days. When Thanksgiving week begins, I know that the following 6 weeks will likely be the toughest of the year. During these trying weeks filled with wintery weather, family pressures, packed work and social schedules, long insufferable travel, and over eating and drinking it is a struggle to simply survive without hitting the proverbial wall.

For me, this last leg of the year annually produces a massive breakout (heightened stress and added sugar intake), a need for an emergency Z Pack (the head and sinus cold due to planes, trains, coatless party outfits, and chilly weather) and an all out Christmas breakdown (including dropping to the floor in hysterical tears and loosing all greater perspective on the meaning behind the holidays entirely).

So with late nights, little sleep, and lengthy travel already a part of your current day to day headache how can we all ward off the impending expiration date of our adrenaline?

I think I might have finally found the answer...

My L'Infusion. Otherwise known in our household as "the cure for the common Christmas breakdown!"

This holiday-inspired tea infusion is laced with essential oil tinctures and herbs to help cleanse, heal, detoxify, and recharge your system - all while you sleep!

So after years of going out strong and crashing, miserably making my way to the 25th and New Years Eve,  just how did this recipe and powerful remedy come about?

Since my last post I have been traveling, eating, and NOT sleeping non-stop. From Vegas, to South Carolina, to London and Paris- I cooked an entire Thanksgiving feast from scratch in 16hrs, only to pack up and head out again the next day, and the 36hrs straight I finally had home in NYC were unfortunately spent in the hospital under going a back procedure. So it goes without saying that my system has been in over overdrive!

And when this overworked and underpaid lady arrived on a best friend's doorstep on a early London morning, she must have looked as I know she felt: more like a Super MORON than a Supper Model.

Thankfully my wonderful expat girlfriend seemed to know the exact trick to getting me good and ready for the worldwind week in Europe that lie ahead: her French herbal l'infusion.

Curled up on her coach in a near fetal position, I hazily watched as she brewed a warm blend of thyme leaf tea infused with many drops of this French digestible essential oil mixture. Served super hot (in an Hermes mug, bien sur) the infusion felt like an IV drip of the magic cure-all: just what the doctor ordered and this Supper Model desperately needed.

London's Louis Duck... ever the "practically perfect in every way" hostess

It induced a long nap and after taking a Vitamin E Eucalyptus Epsom salt bath that I swear by (recipe to come on TSM) I was revived, ready to hit the town, and keep up with our ambitious schedule...

Expat Ladies out in London

TSM hits Loulou's of London for an all night extravaganza

I drank the infusion for 3 evenings straight to kill any signs of fatigue and revive my immune system, and recalibrate my digestion. I firmly believe that this action avoided a massive round of antibiotics, or a visit to a Paris l'hopital...

TSM and Co. outside Scott's : the best restaurant in London by my standards!

And so upon returning to the states I took my jet-lagged self to the local whole foods and got to work creating the perfect blend of herbal essential oils and spices to recover and ready myself for the long holiday weeks still ahead.

And here it is: the ultimate cure for that pre and post Holiday Hangover...

L'Infusion
(Serves 2 large tea cups)

Ingredients:

2 sprigs fresh mint leaves
2-3 tablespoons dried Thyme
3 cloves (cracked or crushed)
1 lemon wedge or orange rind
2 cups boiled filtered, bottled, or mineral water

5 drops each Liquid Herbal Extract of:
Peppermint
Cinnamon Bark
Echinacea
Lavender
Tumeric
Cayenne


Method:

1. Bring the filtered water to a boil on the stove, while placing the mint leaves, cloves, lemon/orange rind, and dried thyme in a loose tea strainer or serving tea pot.
2. Place 5 drops of each herbal extract or tincture into each tea cup.
3. When the water has boiled turnoff the stove and pour the water in the serving pot, making sure to cover ad soak the herbs and spices. Cover ad let INFUSE for 3-5 minutes.
4. Pour the infused hot tea into each cup being sure to use a strainer if your teapot is not fitted for loose tea. Stir gently to combine the extracts and herbal tea and sip gently but hastily as it is best to drink the infusion when it is as warm as possible. This aids digestion and absorption. Et voila! You'll be fighting off all the negative stressors and strains of germs while sleep soundly. Yes this also is an excellent sleep aid during these hectic and stressful weeks.

*Tinctures and Herbal Extracts can be found at any Wellness Section of Whole Foods, or a local well-stocked Health and Wellness store. Order online at: www.newwayherbs.com or find one of my favorite brands, Gaia Herbs, on www.centerfornaturalhealing.com

Because the holiday season ain't no sprint...it's a marathon baby. So find your Serenity ASAP.

Love,

Darcy Jones