July Crush of the Month: The Kitchn

The Kitchn, Apartment Therapy’s food and kitchen spin-off, is nothing new to webby food lovers. And I read it, comment on it and refer to it regularly. But just this week, it’s entered my life in multiple and wondrous ways. It’s my July Crush of the Month.

So what exactly has gotten me so excited?

My latest purchase at IKEA: cookie cutters shaped like mountain wildlife, including a hedgehog, moose and squirrel. I first read about them on The Kitchn weeks ago.

A cure for ridding my kitchen of a multitude of pesky fruit flies: a small bowl full of cider vinegar mixed with dish soap. The vinegar smell attracts the flies; the dish soap traps and kills them.

The trick for making ice cream without an ice cream maker. The lack of an ice cream maker has been gnawing at me all summer. But I think I’ve found what I need and it involves things I already have or can acquire quickly and on the cheap. In fact, I’ll be making my first batch this weekend.

A funny little water thermometer that multiple friends brought to my attention. It starts singing opera when your pasta is ready!

Gelato Coma

I started this post on Tuesday, after returning home from my first visit to the new Capogiro on E. Passyunk. Three words into the post, I shut down, my body overwhelmed by the copious amounts of gelato consumed within the previous hour. I can't blame it entirely on the gelato... there had been a tasting of a soon-to-be-released spirit and a sandwich from Cafe Ole earlier in the evening. But it was the gelato that did me in. Specifically, my brother's Turkish coffee and chocolate frappe.

The new Capogiro didn't disappoint on most fronts. It is beautiful, with a small courtyard in the back, sexy blue chairs, stained glass windows and a marble bar for enjoying your ice cream and/or coffee. Nestled in between Paradiso and the newly opened Michael's Cafe, it feels like you've stumbled onto a little set piece from La Dolce Vita.

But it was the gelato that, yet again, didn't do it for me. I went old school, with a small cup of chocolate and vanilla. They both tasted good, but the vanilla was more like marshmallow fluff in consistency than gelato. And it didn't taste much different. A sample of the Black Grape reminded me of soap. And the Turkish coffee, while tempered by the chocolate in the frappe, was strong in an unpleasant way, with irritating grounds getting stuck in my teeth.

But was this my last jaunt to Capogiro? Mmmmm... no. Capogiro is like that old boyfriend you keep going back to, the one you know is going to disappoint in the end, but he's so pretty and you have such high hopes for him that you want to believe it's going to be different this time. And sometimes it is different and other times... it's kind of a bust, but because he's so pretty and you have such high hopes for him... etc. etc. etc.

Capogiro, I just can't quit you.

Crush of the Month: Mission to Marzipan

My relationship with marzipan is an international love affair. Our first tryst was in Budapest, having been introduced to each other by our mutual friend Lindsay. It was a weekend trip during my junior year semester abroad, a time for experimentation and breaking down boundaries. I was intrigued by this chocolate-coated bon bon, though slightly skeptical, having always been wary of it's fruit-molded incarnations. But Lindsay is a persistent matchmaker. I had a bite and I was smitten.

Years later I traveled to Lubeck, Germany- the birthplace of marzipan- primarily to visit my friend Elisa but also to get to know more about my almond-scented lover, meet the family, so to speak. It was an intense couple days, and almost signaled the end of our relationship. Sometimes you can have too much of a good thing, and following tastes of marzipan liqueur, yogurt, ice cream, sundry chocolate combinations, I was growing tired. I had no one to blame but myself, and I recognized that, but still took out some of my aggression on this poor, defenseless candy.

We survived that rough patch with our desire in tact, though not without needing to take some time apart. Often it is the red-wrapped Rittersport marzipan that reawakens my desire... though now I have a new object for my lust... Ben and Jerry's Mission to Marzipan ice cream.

It's sweet cream ice cream with swirls of marzipan and chunks of almond cookies. The marzipan is gooey, the almond cookies are soft, the ice cream is a little bit icey. It's a dangerously delicious combination. Alice brought some over to Daniel's place on Friday night and I just made a 9pm run to the Acme to pick up a pint for myself. Marzipan and I needed some alone time to work through some stuff.

And in case you were worried, we are doing juuuuuust fine.

Is Gelato the New Water Ice?

The next store in the Capogiro gelato empire is due to open this week on the 1600 block of E. Passyunk in South Philly, competing with neighborhood favorites like John's Water Ice for the crown of Summer Treat of Choice. Now, this may be heresy to some, but it took me a while to take to Capogiro's ice cream. I've spent a fair amount of time throughout Italy and can safely say I understand gelato. I use one flavor in particular to test the authenticity of a new type of gelato: yogurt. If the yogurt is more sweet than tart, forget about it. It needs to taste like fresh plain yogurt, just cooler and creamier. Unfortunately, Capogiro's didn't make the cut when I first tried it years ago. And their dark chocolate, while delicious, has a consistency more akin to tar than gelato. Plus, I found their attempts at exoticism to go a bit overboard- Rosemary Goat Milk Cream Thai Basil Peppercorn etc etc etc.

I have had shouting matches with Italians and non-Italians alike over the authenticity and deliciousness of Capogiro.

That said, in the name of peace, love and understanding, I would still go there from time to time. And it was on such a random occasion that I tried their Tahini flavor and a fan was born. Calling it Tahini is just a fancy name for sesame. It was subtle and nutty and creamy and delicious, and I decided to start sampling their wares with a more open mind. I still stay away from the multiple flavored gelati. I prefer the fun of making up my own combinations... yogurt and dark chocolate, pistachio and burnt sugar, lavender and crema...

So I am actually very excited for the new Capogiro, just blocks from my house. And besides, I don't like John's Water Ice anyway. (I'll address that little nugget of blasphemy in a later post. Promise.)

Updates: Capogiro E. Passyunk is now open. The West Philly shop is slated to open this Friday, the 22nd (featuring a bar and a non-gelato Italian menu). And Bon Appetit named Capogiro one of the top 10 ice cream shops in America. (5/19)