Brooklyn Butcher Blocks offers beautiful butcher blocks all handmade by Nils Wessell. I got the chance to spend an early Monday morning in his workshop to see how a butcher block was made. Nils told me that on a good day it’ll take him about 3-4 hours to make 1 block but of course that doesn’t count for the hours it take to let the glue dry. And since he cut the same butcher block twice to make end grain blocks, he will have to glue and dry the pieces twice.
After making sure the block is perfectly flat and straight he sands it down until smooth. After an overnight dip in mineral oil (which gives the block it’s nice dark color), the block is then given a nice shine with Nils’ homemade beewax.
If you want to learn more about Nils Wessell and Brooklyn Butcher Blocks, check out this excellent interview over at Cheery Observations.
When I first walked into the kitchen at Liddabit Sweets, I told Liz Gutman “wow smells like heaven.” Liddabit Sweets, started back in 2009 by Liz Gutman and Jen King, makes candies with seasonal ingredients. If you want the full story, please check out my friend Liza de Guia’s video on Food Curated.
The morning I was there they were busy making chocolate covered honeycomb, caramel popcorn, passion fruit sauce with rice krispies (I am intrigued by this) and cutting and wrapping caramel. I was told that they’re pretty much in the kitchen Monday to Friday from 9 to 5 PLUS the weekends at the Brooklyn Flea. If you’re ever at the flea, please go check them out. They work hard to bring you tasty treats.
I was pretty excited when I heard that Chef Nate Smith, who I met at the Pie for Dinner at Four & Twenty Blackbirds, was going to open his new restaurant on Dean and Underhill called Dean St. Though sadly just a month at Dean St, Nate Smith no longer works there as the head chef. I did get a chance to snap few photos of him and his crew in action and also got to have brunch on an early Sunday morning.
Here are some of the photos I shot way back in October for the December issue of Edible Brooklyn. Rosca de Reyes is a Christmas bread eaten in January to celebrate “Day of the Kings”. I was lucky enough to go to Don Paco Lopez Bakery in Sunset Park to witness the making of such deliciousness. Since I’m not a good writer please read the article from Edible Brooklyn by Jamie Feldmarhere in digital form on page 80 or pick up a free copy if you see them.
