Bling in the Holidays with Edible Gold And Edible Silver from Easy Leaf Products

Nothing says celebration like bling – or in the case of Easy Leaf Products – edible bling. This holiday season, the distributor of ORO FINO (edible gold) and ARGENTO FINO (edible silver) commissioned food and beverage experts to develop sumptuous recipes for the 2010 holiday season. Recipes include a sparkly Caribbean cocktail, a spectacular beet appetizers and show-stopping desserts like petite couverture cakes and vanilla soaked sponge cake – each of which is adorned in edible gold and edible silver.

Award-winning mixologist Ryan Magarian, renowned chef Wendy Brodie and specialty dessert ingredient company PreGel AMERICA each created unique recipes embellished with edible gold in honor of the coming holidays. Recipes are described below. (Complete recipe and high resolution photos are available upon request.)

Caribbean Snowflake
Ryan Magarian, recipient of the coveted Tastemaker Award (Food and Wine Magazine; 2004) and named Best Mixologist of Seattle (Seattle Weekly; 2005), wanted to develop a distinctive recipe, fitting for the season and eye-catching. With the Caribbean Snowflake he did just that – gilded cocktail topped with snow-like foam and edible silver, the mouthwatering blend includes ingredients such as freshly squeezed lime and grapefruit juices, single barrel rum, all spice dram, whipped egg white and orange bitters.

Chilled Roasted Beet Soup or Stuffed Beets with Sour Cream, Caviar and 23 K Gold Petals
Celebrated California Artist/Chef Wendy Brodie, owner of Lincoln Court Catering & Cooking classes in Carmel, Calif., developed two options for seasonal beets. The delectable chilled beet soup blends ingredients like beets and cooked red onion into perfect consistency. Or, for an interesting twist, Brodie developed a stuffed beet recipe that uses roasted and peeled beets. For each, the robust color is set off by dollops of sour cream and caviar, and topped with an edible gold leaf.

Le Petite Antoine
With years of expertise in teaching, PreGel AMERICA and the 5-Star Pastry Series invite dessert connoisseurs to cook like pastry experts with their extraordinary holiday recipes. With Le Petite Antoine, guests can indulge in an amazing combination of warm holiday tastes. The dessert combines layers of crispy croquantine, hazelnut dacquoise, chocolate cream, thin milk chocolate rectangles and milk chocolate Chantilly. Each portion is topped with an edible gold leaf petal.

Le Marceau
The Le Marceau, from PreGel AMERICA and Stephanie Glacier, introduces a dessert course designed to invoke celebration with style. The dessert features tantalizing layers of crispy croquantine, chocolate sponge cake soaked with vanilla syrup, chocolate mousse and chocolate glaze. An edible gold leaf provides the final exquisite touch.


ABOUT EASY LEAF PRODUCTS
Easy Leaf Products’ uniquely packaged line of ORO FINO (23 Karat Genuine Edible Gold) and ARGENTO FINO (Pure Edible Silver) are perfect for gilding cocktails, hors d’oeuvres, wedding cakes, pastries, and savory dishes. Products are available for purchase on Easy Leaf Products e-commerce Web site (www.easyleafproducts.com) and a variety of retailers across the nation such as Neiman Marcus, Surfas and Sur La Table. Easy Leaf Products, a division of Neuberg & Neuberg Importers Group, Inc., is based in Los Angeles, CA and is the sole importer and distributor for all ORO FINO and ARGENTO FINO products in North America.

ABOUT RYAN THOMAS MAGARIAN
President Liquid Relations™ and Co-Founder Aviation Gin, Ryan Magarian’s unique "chef like" approach to mixed drinks along with the development of several innovative and efficient Professional Cocktail and Spirit Service Cultures locally, nationally, and internationally, has gained him recognition as one of America’s top mixologists. Based in Portland, OR, Ryan oversees the day to day operations of Liquid Relations™ and contributes to the ongoing development of Aviation Gin, his partnership with Portland’s own House Spirits™. For more information, visit www.liquidrelations.com.

ABOUT CHEF WENDY BRODIE
A graduate of the first class of the California Culinary Academy of San Francisco, well-known Chef Wendy Brodie has held executive chef positions at prestigious world-class resorts, including the Preserve at Rancho San Carlos, where she developed her own innovative style of ranch cuisine, Stonepine Inn and Gardiner’s Tennis Ranch, all in Carmel Valley. Currently, she and her husband, Bob Bussinger, CHA, are co-owners of Lincoln Court Catering & Cooking Classes in Carmel. Brodie also has her own television show, “Art of Food,” broadcasts locally and nationwide in the US and Canada. For more information, visit www.ArtofFoodTV.com.

ABOUT PREGEL AMERICA
PreGel AMERICA is the U.S. subsidiary of PreGel, a global ingredient company headquartered in Reggio Emilia, Italy. PreGel develops, manufactures and distributes natural ingredients, toppings and fillings of the highest quality from Italy, including flavors, powders and pastes used in gelato, frozen yogurt, pastry and other specialty desserts. Based in North Carolina since 2002, PreGel directly sells to restaurants, gelato cafes, coffee shops, frozen yogurt shops, bakeries, pizzerias, hotels, resorts, grocery stores and universities, as well as a few distributors in the United States. PreGel believes in blending Your Passion with Our Ingredients. For more information, visit www.pregelamerica.com.