Diane and Tom Faglon
Cooking, Food And Wine
Never Trust a Skinny Chef
Diane and Tom are avid "foodies". Our favorite TV channel is the Food Network. We can "kick it up a notch", and BAM it with Emeril and the best of them. We surf the web looking for new gourmet food suppliers and wine merchants. To better hone our cooking skills, we have attended cooking and baking courses at The Institute of Culinary Education in New York and King's Cooking Studio in New Jersey. We have also participated in wine courses given by Connie Fowler, a local New Jersey wine expert, Pierre's Bistro (Morristown, NJ), the Stage House Inn (Scotch Plains, NJ), and Serenade (Chatham, NJ). Our "foodie"-mania is evident in our memberships in the Shitake Mushroom Society, the Vidalia Onion Lovers Club, Cooking Club of America, "Foodie Forum", Beer Across America, Wine Library Wine Club, Coffee Anyone Gourmet Coffee Club and D & M Champagne Society and Armagnac Inner Circle. We receive probably 25-50 food and cooking catalogues a month. Our mania around food and cooking centers mainly around our dinner and tea parties, our wine and food pairing seminars, building relationships with chefs, our favorite suppliers and restaurants and, of course, our favorite food fantasies. In addition to our regular culinary events, each year we have one big extravaganza that really puts our skills and capabilities to the test. Some of our culinary adventures include:
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Partnering with the TV Food Network to realize one of our food fantasies--to cook a dinner party for a 4 star chef!
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Serving as featured chefs for a culinary weekend at the Fox Creek Inn, Chittenden Vermont
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Catering a "Culinary Cruise" for the Wyse Advertising Company and 70 of their key clients
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.Donating a food and wine pairing seminar for a fund raising auction at the annual New Jersey Junior Achievement Gala.
Cooking Page Index
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Fox Creek Inn Featured Chef Experience
Culinary Cruise Aboard "Le Gastronomique"
Food And Wine Hot SitesFood Network Food Fantasy TV Series Experience
Wine And Food Pairing Seminars
We hold six or seven dinner parties a year for 12 to 21 guests on average.
At times we have had to rearrange our entire living and dining
rooms to be able to seat everyone at one long table. Our dinners are seven or eight
course degustation meals, with menus planned around a central theme. Themes range from: a
country (e.g., Italy, Russia, Mediterranean cruise); an era (e.g., colonial America or the "Impressionists'
Table" ); a chef (e.g., Daniel Boulud); to a favorite set of ingredients (e.g.,
"roots of flavor", lemon, seafood). Each course is complemented by an appropriate wine. We
have developed a local recognition and reputation for the lavishness of our dinner
parties, as described in a review in a Bridgewater, NJ newspaper, the Courier News, in
July 1995. Want to hear more about what it takes to put on one of our dinner parties and
even take a peek at us at our colonial theme party? Visit our NEWSPAPER REVIEW.
Take a look at the new menus we've added for our 2008 dinner parties, including our
Food Fantasy dinner with Chef Jacques Torres for the Food Network. MENUS
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5/3/2008 BREAKING NEWS: Another one of Tom's recipes (Coddled Duck Eggs) has received national recognition and is published at Recipe4Living.com
We are always hunting for or developing new recipes. We have amassed
thousands over the years. Tom often enters his recipes in food contests to
"test the waters". He won his first national contest
with his Spinach Frittata recipe entered into the Colavita Olive Oil Contest in April of
2001. In March, 1999, his Crab Dip took third prize (out of 210 entries) in the
Annual Irish Recipe Contest at the Fitzpatrick Hotel in Manhattan. In February,
2001, Tom was awarded the Grand Prize for his Vegetarian Chili in the Kings Cooking
Studio Chili Contest. Tom had had two
national winners 2006.
His Grilled Lamb Chops With Apple-Onion Chutney won first prize in the
"Better Homes & Gardens 2006 Easter Recipe" contest. His Shrimp and Chorizo Salad was chosen as a finalist in the national
"Better Recipes" contest. In May, 2008 Tom's recipe for
Coddled Duck Eggs received national recognition and was published at
Recipe4Living.com. We have put together a collection of our favorite
recipes to share with you. We have added
over 90 new recipes in 2009. In addition, we added a
new category of recipes for Breakfast and Brunch. If you would like to enthrall you guests with delights such as:
Oysters Rockefeller Soup, Parmesan Sesame Biscuits, Goat Cheese Grape
Truffles, Pumpkin Pie Brulee, Wild Mushroom and Gruyere Tart, Porcini
Mushroom Turkey With Mushroom Gravy, Cold Blueberry Soup With Herbed Orange
Sorbet, Roast Turkey with Pomegranate Glaze Warm Crab And Lobster
Pate, Roast Beet And Tomato Bisque; Asparagus Lasagna, Rack Of Lamb With Rosemary Scallion
Crust; Raspberry-Rosemary Sorbet, Coconut Cake With Lime Curd, Yellow
Gazpacho,
Fennel And Watercress Salad With Cranberries And Pecans, Roasted Mango With
Vanilla Yogurt, Mussels With Smoked Ham, Lemon And Oregano, Mixed
Grill With Cherry Cola Barbeque Sauce, Grilled Stuffed Tomato With Goat
Cheese And Sage,
Watercress And Radish Stuffed Eggs, Corn and Chive Pudding, Mango Blueberry
Fool, Slow Roasted Tomatoes, Spiced Strawberry Sorbet, Sweet Potato
Layer Cake With Cranberries And Orange Cream Cheese Frosting, Spicy Raisin
Carrot Oatmeal Cookies, Mango Tea Bread, Lemon Passion Fruit Meringue Pie,
Breakfast Strudel, etc., visit our RECIPE PAGE. We now have over
840
recipes in the collection!!!
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In the summer of 2004, the weekend of July 23, 2004, specifically, Diane and Tom were the featured chefs for a culinary weekend at the Fox Creek Inn in Chittenden, Vermont (near Rutland and Killington). This inn is one of our favorites--take a look at our review at Tom and Diane's Favorite Country Inns. We prepared afternoon tea and dinner on Friday; breakfast, afternoon tea and dinner on Saturday. The dinner on Saturday was an 8 course degustation dinner with matching wines. Since the Fox Creek Inn is well known for their wonderful food and hospitality, has been the recipient of several Awards of Excellence from the Wine Spectator and is recommended by the prestigious Select Registry--Distinguished Inns Of North America, we were more than excited at this invitation. We invite you to share the experience with us--take a peek at the Fox Creek Inn Culinary Weekend Menus and our Photo Album of our Fox Creek Inn Culinary Experience
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Diane and Tom discovered the delights of afternoon tea on our first trip
to England ten years ago. Our first experience was at Brown's Hotel in London. Imagine,
this is a very formal dining room where waiters wear tuxedos in the afternoon. When we had
our first taste of clotted cream, we evidently exclaimed our pleasure at bit loudly
because the waiter came rushing over thinking there was some emergency. In the last year, real English clotted cream
has been allowed to be imported into the US---Hooray!!! You can buy
both clotted cream and Double Devon cream. Since our first trip to England, we have hosted Ladies Tea Parties regularly. Of
course, there is a role for Tom and any other gentlemen who may wish to come--that role is
to serve the ladies. Would you like to know what we serve at afternoon tea? Take at
look at TEA PARTY MENUS.
We have
added some new menus.
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We do our share of holiday entertaining. We have our annual
Thanksgiving pilgrimage to Diane's sister Sheila in the Midwest. We are always
invited provided we do all the cooking. Sheila's responsibility is to shop, invite
guests, and, of course, pay for everything. Thanksgiving dinner at Sheila's is
always an adventure--like the year we found out the day before that one of the guests was
a lactose intolerant, borderline anorexic who was allergic to onions and garlic! We
also have an annual Christmas party, which ranges from about 30 guests to our all-time
high of 66. Imagine, 66 guests wandering through our two bedroom apartment with
nine Christmas trees and ten cats! Our nine trees are supplemented by large poinsettias
and our collection of Chef and Wine Maker Santas, nutcrackers and
snowmen. (We now have over 200) Of course, we do a lot of baking for the
holidays. Before Thanksgiving, we bake sweet breads, and make various cranberry
sauces and conserves. Before Christmas, we bake cookies and our cinnamon
pecans. In 2008, we had some extra time for holiday baking. We
ended up making made 130 breads
and 210 dozen cookies (33 different kinds). Some of our favorite holiday
baking recipes are included in our RECIPE PAGE. Would you like some
ideas for your next Thanksgiving menu or holiday party? Take a peek at our latest
menus and holiday party buffet selections. See Tom carving the Thanksgiving
bird and smack your lips over our latest holiday menus at our HOLIDAY ENTERTAINING PAGE.
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Participation in a series of food and wine pairing classes gave Diane and Tom an appreciation for the kismet of wine and food. How the right pairing can elevate them both to a higher level and make them taste far better together than they would be on their own, and an incorrect pairing can be disastrous to both. In 2001, we decided to combine our passion for food and wine with some fun, entertaining and education. We partnered with wine writer and consultant, Connie Fowler to host wine and food pairing seminars. As with our other "foodie" events, we build on themes that are a bit off the beaten track (dessert wines, champagne and food pairing), or take a well traveled road (wine and cheese) and "kick it up a notch". We recently explored the wonderful world of German wines of the 2001 vintage--called the vintage of the century for German wine. In the spring of 2006, many New Jersey philanthropists bid on one of our food and wine seminars at the NJ Junior Achievement Annual Fund Raising Gala. To find out more about our wine seminars, and see the twists we took to exploring the principles of food and wine pairing, wine and cheese matching, the versatility of German wine, and the worlds of dessert wines and champagne, take a peek at our Wine Seminar Page
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Some people are "groupies" for movie stars, or rock stars, or sports stars, but not Diane and Tom. We like to hang around chefs. We especially like to establish relationships with chefs to be invited to work with them in their restaurant kitchens. We have worked with Chef Chris Gesualdi when he was at Montrachet in New York, with Chef Steve Bidwell when he was at Trattoria Nicola in New Jersey, and have had several "Chef of the Day" experiences with Chef Walter Leffler, formerly Executive Chef at the Short Hills Hilton (the only 5 Star hotel and restaurant in NJ. Since we were the first to participate in his "Chef" experience, we were the subjects of yet another article in the Bridgewater NJ Courier News, in September 1995. We've added some pictures to our CHEF OF THE DAY page so you can get the full effect. In addition, Tom also worked with Chef Walter on a televised version of "Chef of the Day' for CNBC.
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Tom and Diane recently realized one of their Food Fantasies with the help of the TV Food Network. We always wanted to have a dinner party for our favorite chefs. We were discovered (would you believe) though our website and recruited by the Food Network to participate in an upcoming series to be called (of all things) "Food Fantasies"! The intent of the show is to help someone make their fantasy come true. On March 3 and 4, 2000, we spent 2 days filming our fantasy experience. We had a dinner party for a 4 star Chef. Of course, to make matters interesting, they did not tell us who the chef would be--we just hoped it would be one of our favorites. The filming encompassed shopping, interviews, cooking, cleaning the big cooking mess, and, of course, the party. It was a fabulous experience--imagine when I opened the door and found Jacques Torres, the King of Pastry Chefs, former Executive Pastry Chef at Le Cirque 2000, Head of Pastry and Baking at the French Culinary Institute, owner of Jacques Torres Chocolate, the Chocolate Haven and Star of his TV shows Dessert Circus (PBS) and Chocolate With Jacques Torres (Food Network)! Jacques was wonderful, gracious and extremely charming. Despite some set-backs and minor disasters during the day, the evening was awesome--the highlight of our millennium.
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As with all true "foodies", Diane and Tom have their (ever
growing) list of FOOD FANTASIES
which are always somehow interwoven in their menus. In recent years, we have really gotten
into seafood, even raw bar kinds of items. To ensure we get the best
of seafood, Diane has taken courses in Fish and Shellfish Techniques at the
Institute for Culinary Education. In
addition, we have substantially expanded our tastes in wines. Come and look at what
we've added to our list of food and libation obsessions.
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Our 2005 Culinary World Cruise for Wyse Advertising put our capabilities to the ultimate test. This was a huge party for 70 of their key clients and guests, all centered around great food and wine. We were cooking and baking for four full days and a few very long nights! Since this was a significant business event, it was all the more important that it be a smashing success. The theme was a trip aboard the cruise ship "La Gastonomique" to exotic culinary destinations and ports of call. The event took place in the home of the CEO, Marc and Sheila Wyse, in Cleveland. This was another challenge to find the ingredients we needed in the mid-west, e.g., the freshest seafood. We found that we needed to have many things shipped in, e.g., the first fresh morels and fiddlehead ferns of the season.
Marc and Sheila's home is beautiful and had the perfect set-up. There were "Destination" tables on various "culinary decks" throughout the house, with a natural circular traffic pattern -- 5 with hors d'oeuvres, a Captain's table dinner buffet and a dessert buffet, plus the wine bar. Wines were chosen to complement both the food and guests' preferences. In all, we had 23 hors d'oeuvres selections, 10 selections on the dinner buffet and 7 selections on the dessert buffet. When guests entered, they were welcomed aboard and given a "Passport for your Palate" to help guide them through their culinary cruise. The passport included: a welcoming message, menus for each of the "Destination Tables", wine selections and tasting notes, our culinary biography, and a listing of specialty suppliers. We invite you to share the experience with us--take a peek at the "La Gastronomique" Culinary Cruise Menus and our Cruise Photo Album.
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Finding suppliers of the best, the freshest and, many times, most unusual
ingredients can be a challenge. It is not unusual for us to drive two hours for meat or
spend hours surfing the net for particular ingredients. On dinner party weekends, our
building security people are used to getting orders of mushrooms, cheese and other
delicacies via overnight courier. We are always delighted when cook book authors, e.g.,
Emeril Lagasse or Daniel Boulud, list their key suppliers. Why not look at our list of
FAVORITE SUPPLIERS. We've
added some new ones.
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Sampling new restaurants is always fun for "foodies". Equally
gratifying is becoming favored customers of special restaurants. We look for more than the
quality of the food. We are interested in the full experience--great food, great wine,
great service, wonderful ambiance, a pretty room and flowers, and value (not necessarily
inexpensive--but worth the price). The following FAVORITE RESTAURANTS have always
provided memorable experiences for us. Take a look at our list--we added new
restaurants in New Jersey, and Cleveland, .
The Ending Of An Era -
Chanterelle Closes Its Doors
It is with the utmost sadness that we understand that
Chanterelle has closed its doors for good right before their 30th
Anniversary, a victim of economic downturn. It is unfortunate
that the perpetrators of this disaster get a bailout--but the victims do
not.
A few years ago, we found what we consider the "ultimate" dining experience at
Chanterelle, in the Tribeca area of New York. We had returned many times, and each visit was better than the last. Each time we put ourselves in
Chef David Waltuck's hands for an 8 course dinner with wines matched by Roger Dagorn,
their Master Sommelier. We had a tradition of sharing our holiday baking with
the Chanterelle staff, and sending them large "care packages" at Thanksgiving and
Christmas with samples of our holiday sweet breads, cookies and confections. Who
else do you know who sends food to a restaurant? We were so taken with Chanterelle, that we dedicated a special place on our site.
We will leave our pages up as a memorial and in remembrance of this giant
of a restaurant. For a sample of of a lost icon, visit CHANTERELLE,
THE ULTIMATE DINING EXPERIENCE.
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Updated October 24, 2009