I’m having the time of my life right now working furiously on the first issue of the soon-to-be-resurrected ROSENGARTEN REPORT, due imminently…in fact, on Dec. 15, 2014!
As you may know, the old ROSENGARTEN REPORT had a six-year run, from 2001 on—attracting 50,000 paid subscribers, and a James Beard Award for best food-and-wine newsletter in America. The REPORT was the shining achievement of my entire 30-year career in food-and-wine journalism. Unfortunately, it was slowed, then finally stopped, by that ol’ debil zeitgeist of 2008, death to earnest entrepreneurs everywhere.
Since its demise, I have been praying, hoping, waiting, looking for the right business partners, the right team…and dagnabit I’ve found all of ‘em! I must tell you, in all honesty, that I’m even more excited about the new ROSENGARTEN REPORT. Why? Because the passage of time has made the surrounding landscape so different. I’m sure you’ve watched our field decline feeling the same pain that I feel. Food reporting today is glitz-n-glamour, manna for the ADD crowd (which seems like most of the world, at this point! Are you paying attention?) Depth? Extensiveness? Hard work? Good luck finding them.
And that’s where the resurrected ROSENGARTEN REPORT comes in. Each issue of this quarterly will be the result of three months of research, a thick compendium of my recommendations on what to eat, what to buy, where to shop, where to travel, which restaurants to visit world-wide. If you’re a reader of every Tuesday’s post right here on davidrosengarten.com—you’ll find the new ROSENGARTEN REPORT like my website posts on steroids. For example, the lead story of the first issue will be my look at the top importers of Italian food in America. We spent the summer winnowing through approximately 1000 imported products, gathered from 60 American importers of Italian food. The result: we will name the top three Italian importers in the U.S…and publish reviews of at least 50 different mind-blowing Italian products you probably weren’t aware of…and can have in your kitchen tomorrow!
And one more bonus for davidrosengarten.com readers: I’m so happy you’ve been faithfully following my web site recipes on Thursdays…recipes that have been pulled from the vast store of recipes I’ve created over 30 years. But we’re going beyond that in the upcoming ROSENGARTEN REPORT. Every issue will be chock full of brand-new recipes that I’m creating exclusively for publication now…recipes that reflect my ever-sharpening view of culinary classics, plus the great tastes and ideas I’m picking up today in food destinations all over the world.
So, for example, in the first new issue of THE ROSENGARTEN REPORT, I will present an exciting just-devised recipe for products that came from each of the three lauded importers. One of the importers brings in an incredible refrigerated version of pesto from Liguria, the best I’ve ever had; I’ll present it along with a recipe that shows you the precise Ligurian way of making pasta with pesto (which includes a few ingredients you may never have dreamed of). Another importer brings in an incredible fish sauce from the Amalfi coast that’s like Thai fish sauce times ten; I’ll show you how to cloak tiny squid with a flavor-burst sauce made from this product velvetized with butter.
Lastly, in this group, is one importer’s incredible eggplant sauté, which will go over a new recipe for veal and sausage stew, which will go over another importer’s truffle-flecked polenta. Winter’s coming!
Here are a few other research-rich stories that will be in issue #1:
* The Next Big Thing in Chocolate: choosing your bar by the bean variety that made it! We’ll tell you why the chocolate world is a-buzz with this concept, and which varieties will become the “Pinot Noir” of chocolate. I’m also tasting my way through approximately 500 varietal chocolate bars right now, looking for the best of the best. If you like Venezuela…you’ll love this story!
* The Battle of Vindaloo…in which my favorite Indian chef in America invades my kitchen with his spices, challenging me to a duel over this iconic Goan dish. The crazy twist: he prepares a great version of the kind of vindaloo you’ll find in New York and London restaurants…while I prepare an authentic Goan version. Both recipes published for your delectation, of course.
* My Ten Greatest Restaurant Visits of 2014…from Sicily to Chicago!
* Holiday Special: Prime Rib for Christmas dinner…how to cook it just right!
* THE BIG TASTING: The Very Best Top-of-the-Line Champagnes for Your Holiday Celebrations this Year
*And, as always, “Products I’m Lovin’ Right Now,” the round-up of new treats for you and your kitchen that are just a computer click away from your house. There’ll be 7 or 8 in the upcoming issue. Here’s a sneak preview:
Dang Toasted Coconut Chips
I didn’t think my odds were high here for gastronomic delight—most coconut chips are “too” something-or-other for me—but the staff member who alerted me to these chips nailed it! Dang! Best coconut chip ever? They are smallish flakes, thin, like broken-up potato chips in the bottom of a bag; they are also mostly tan-cream in color, with some golden-brown. Texture is crispy-marvelous—nothing like the hard-to-chew-through coconut chips I know. But the bang of the Dang is in the taste: intensely coconutty, with all the glorious waxy-buttery tastes you’d expect from fresh coconut. In addition, the sweetness level, for me, is just right: they are sweet enough to give you a little sugar rush, but savory enough to make you want to keep eating them. And…this very on-the-borderness means you can use them both in savory dishes (such as a crispy topping for Thai curries), and in sweet applications (on yogurt, on fruit, on cereal). Keep these away from me!
Well, I hope you feel my excitement. I kid you not: this is gonna be really, really good. Really good.
***Subscribe Now to the ROSENGARTEN REPORT for 30% OFF*** (use discount code EARLYBIRD30 at checkout)!
