Andy and I were lucky enough to snag an invite to the Electrolux ICON cooking demonstration at the Spotted Pig with April Bloomfield, herself.  Once we realized Chef April would be there demonstrating some of her recipes and would be actually cooking for us, we were in, even though we didn’t know much about the European appliance powerhouse behind the event. We headed to the Spotted Pig and then started climbing the stairs to the third floor private space- now decked out with some very serious Electrolux ICON line appliances.  Apparently, Electrolux came in and redid the whole kitchen- so it’s now one crazy kitchen on steroids – and then Chef April agreed to cook up some of her classics with her new tools.  I mean this kitchen would make any NYC cook cry (especially when you return home to see your miniscule stove that can’t even house a nice size turkey).

We were greeted by some Electrolux reps who pointed us to some ridiculous passed hors d’oeuvres- onion & thyme tarts with ricotta, devils on horseback (stuffed dates wrapped in bacon – on the Spotted Pig menu), and seared beef filets with horseradish and arugula (my fave).  We were excited at first bite, but once we saw Chef April and her team hard at work in the kitchen, only a few other guests milling about, and the bartender with wine and spirits bottles lined up in front of her like obedient little soldiers, we knew were in for quite a night!

First of all, Chef April is awesome.  She is seriously the most un-celebrity chef I can imagine – casual, frank and quite funny.  She demonstrated three courses for us, took all of our questions, and then stuck around to mingle with the crowd. 

The first course was the best gazpacho soup I have ever tasted- heirloom tomato gazpacho made with heirloom tomatoes, cucumber, shallot, jalapeño, fresh mint, basil, red pepper, olives, etc. (screw the blight).  It was perfectly spicy and surely refreshing on a hot August night.  Then we had grilled chicken liver toasts (on the Spotted Pig menu) followed by seared pancetta wrapped scallops with basil and corn salad.  The chicken livers were perfectly cooked and spiced before being chopped onto that crispy grilled bread (well, obviously- Chef April was cooking) and the summery basil and corn salad was the perfect match for the decadent seared pancetta wrapped scallop (also perfectly cooked).  After we ate, we chatted with Chef April and had some more wine.  Andy was eager to ask her about the Breslin and I was eager to find out where I should go for the best produce in the city.  We were even able to take home the recipes, which I am looking forward to recreating (most definitely far less successfully than Chef April). 

And what about these Electrolux ICON appliances?  Well, I certainly am not able to invest in them (or anything comparable) now, but I do think that their under the counter appliances are huge for city life (saves that precious counter space) and they certainly created a gorgeous kitchen which Chef April seemed to love.  Is it time to give Viking a run for its money?

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