Press Event: Electrolux

Once again courtesy of Foodbuzz, I was invited to attend a press event for Electrolux.  Look at that gorgeous showroom kitchen!  The weird thing was that it was hosted in this literal glass box show room close to 5th Avenue – in fact, it faces the office building in which my “close friend” works, so I’ve passed by it many times but never noticed it.  I think perhaps it changes what it’s showcasing each time?  In any case, the entire place was set up like a large living room/kitchen, with comfortable couches on one side, and the above kitchen at one end. 

And what a kitchen – hybrid induction/electric cooktop, beautiful island, and the double oven to the left of the above picture?  Has a “perfect turkey” timer to cook turkeys to perfection.  All in all, it was a cool experience to drool over all these high tech appliances that won’t fit in my apartment (nor could I afford them right now).  But the best part was having the chef from The River Cafe, Brad Steelman, demo all these great appliances for us – by cooking for us!

Since I arrived about 15 minutes late, I missed out on the passed hors d’oeuvres.  Boo =(

We started with a mushroom risotto, which I found odd that Chef Steelman gave a recipe for that included using plain water instead of stock to flavor.  No matter, this dish wound up being a case of Goldilocks: I found the risotto too soft; StB found it too hard; Zach found it just right, as did most of the other food bloggers around us.  So maybe StB and I are just too picky or crazy, it’s possible.  Otherwise, the flavor was there, just my risotto was way mushy and I like risotto to still have a teensy bit of bite to it.

Next up was a sandwich encompassing all the classic trimmings of holiday turkey: cranberry sauce, stuffing, turkey!  I found the sandwich pleasing, though the bread was a bit large and puffy for my tastes – the innards were seasoned perfectly, though, and the turkey was moist and succulent, not really needing the cranberry sauce except for a tang of sweetness. 

Then… dessert!!!

Creme brulee served in mini pumpkins!  So cute!  The best part was digging my spoon into the flesh of the pumpkin and eating it with the creme brulee, very tasty.  I thought this was an adorable presentation – one that I could definitely see re-creating at home.  Not too hard and not too intricate, but impressive and delicious all at the same time.

While I can’t say I’m sold on the Electrolux line of appliances – I’m not in the market and I simply don’t have that kind of space – I did pass along the brochures to my sister, who IS actually looking to redo her kitchen in the near future (and, having a house, has this kind of space), and she seemed pretty interested in everything.  So we’ll see where that goes! 

***If you’re interested in the recipes for any of the above items, please email me and I will send you a scan of what was included in the press packet.  Thanks!