August 28, 2008

Behind the scenes at the "Today" show and beautiful cappuccino!

This past Wednesday on the "Today" show, I demonstrated a number of recipes from the September issue of my Everyday Food magazine. As usual, this digest-sized publication is chock-full of easy, healthy, and really wonderful recipes. After the show, I had a craving for a cappuccino, so we stopped by Bottega del Vino at 7 East 59th Street in New York City. Sammy Lin is a barista who works there and he is also quite an amazing artist. Come and see what I mean.
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This colorful presentation is herb-crusted salmon –- the crust adheres
to the salmon because of a thin layer of Dijon mustard.
It's served with a spinach salad.
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This is a bowl of Cuban black-bean stew with rice –- protein-rich and
vegetarian. On the orange plate is a juicy glazed pork chop with
smashed potatoes and stewed green beans
.
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All of these recipes are part of this month's Grocery Bag, a feature in the magazine that provides a shopping list and time-saving strategies to help get dinner on the table in no-time. To see more speedy recipe ideas from the Everyday Food editors, visit their blog, Dinner Tonight.

Barista artist Sammy Lin and me.
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Sammy begins his creation by carefully spooning foamy milk.
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He's inspired by the pattern the foam makes.
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With a steady hand, Sammy uses a wooden skewer to create images.
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Unbelievably detailed and quite gorgeous! Almost too beautiful to drink, however, the cappuccino is unbelievably delicious! 
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Sammy at work behind a stack of clean cups.
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The front of Bottega del Vino.
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The cafe's "shingle."
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And here is the link to the video from the show!